The Blue Spirit ღ (Zuko x OC)

Chapter ⅠⅠ: Under Dark

The girl had been hiding in a tree, staying silent as she watched him, ensuring that he hadn't followed her. When he was out of earshot, she stood and walked to the water's edge of the swamp. She dipped her hand in the water, watching tiny fish swim around it with curiosity. She wished she had healing abilities in times like these, but thankfully, the burn wasn't too bad. A superficial pain at best.

The interaction hadn't gone as planned. She hadn't counted on him being a Firebender, or being so explosive. She had, in fact, been watching them over the past day or two and she'd taken an interest in the boy and his much older parental figure. She had wrongly assumed they'd been harmed by the Fire Nation and needed helping.

She gathered some soothing plants, crushing them and letting their juices ooze onto her wound, then wrapped the hand tightly. It wasn't the best, but it would do for tonight. She placed the mask over her face and set off for the edge of the swamp, stealing cover from the shadows, her footsteps light.

She was fast and agile, and she had made it to a Fire Nation establishment at the edge of the swamp. Shrouded by the night, bent vines to creep up the walls, allowing her to scale them with ease and ferocious speed. She weaved in and out of shadows, evading the sight of the guards and watchmen until she made it inside. She stood on a roof, listening intently to a conversation.

"The Yuyan can pin a fly to a tree from a hundred yards away." Came one voice. "... Without killing them. You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards."
"I can do whatever I want with their talents. They're my archers, and what I say goes." Came a second voice.
"But my search for the Avatar is--..."
"Is nothing but a vanity project!"

The girl wasn't sure what the men were arguing about, and began to take leave, when she heard the wings of a messenger hawk overhead. She flattened herself against the roof as it flew to the men below. One of the voices suddenly turned to boasting.

"It appears I've been promoted to Admiral. My request is now an order." She watched on as the other man took his leave and the archers loosed their arrows. The Blue Spirit waited another moment, then took her chance to leave. She made her way into the kitchens, avoiding the sights of the kitchen staff. She began to slink around without a sound, stealing supplies and food, as much as she could fit into the sacks she had strapped to her. Suddenly, the door opened and someone had walked inside, forcing her to duck down quickly. She took a deep breath and walked the opposite way as the footsteps, rotating to the opposite side of the bench he was moving. The footsteps stopped.

"I swear I ... where do my cabbages go? Dammit, they warned us cabbages were bad luck at the moment." The man's voice mumbled from behind the bench. She heard someone else coming and rolled quietly behind a bunch of barrels.

"Did you say no cabbage?" The voice belonging to the second set of feet came.
"They were just here!"
"What did you do with them?" Barked the husky second voice.
"Nothing!"
"You should have cooked them. Now look what you've done. The guards must've gotten hungry and stolen them again. Now we have to make do with leek."
"Oh, no. They hated the leek..."
"That's your fault, and you're gonna be the one to tell them."

The girl heard the pair of feet leave the kitchen and let out a deep breath. It seemed the best score was in the storeroom, but she dare not risk it. She had already stayed too long and had another place to hit on her list tonight.

*✧*

It was not long till dawn when the girl found herself on a roof in a small village. She crept down from the roof of the building and carefully removed the sacks of food tied to her, then began removing the food she had taken and placing it all into a small crate. She kept her wits about her, being careful so not to be noticed and to not make a sound. She'd had close calls, and she was known to be an enemy of the Fire Nation, but it was worth it. These people were poor and starving ... victims of the war and she had taken it upon her self to take what she could from the cruel people who took so much, and give it back to the people who's lives had been impeded upon.

She finished placing the last cabbage on top of the rest of the food, then tied the sacks back to her and fled for the cover of the trees once again.

It wasn't long till she was back in her part of the swamp. She ran her fingers along the burn marks the boy had left on the tree. She couldn't settle on whether or not he was just another player in the war, or maybe a rebel who's in hot water. What did it matter? A Firebender is a firebender. They were all hotheaded and boarish.

She began to unravel the black wrappings on her hand, then the bandages. She examined it. Her hand was still very sore and the skin took on a red and raised appearance. It wasn't the worst burn in the world, but it certainly ached after a night of using her hands. Somehow, to look upon the blistering wound allowed her to feel it's full wrath. 'Next time,' She thought, wincing, 'I'll make quick work of that hothead if he tries me again.' 

Dawn had begun to creep into the skies over the trees and the events of the night began to weigh heavy on her eyelids. But suddenly, she heard the approach of footsteps...

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Author's Note:

Hello! Thank you for reading so far!
In this story, I am trying to avoid just recapping different scenes from the show scene by scene. I just want to write it as if you're seeing what happened to Zuko between the story of Aang.
I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.
Please star if you'd like to. (: