Wandering Firebender

Thirteen: Familiar

Back in the Earth Kingdom; it's not where Elio wanted to be, but he'd have to manage. After being caught by surprise in the previous stop, Captain Po made sure that he was aware that their next stop would be a Fire Nation colony within the Earth Kingdom.

Elio wasn't too keen about stepping back into Fire Nation territory, but after what had happened with Princess Azula, he felt strangely less worried about being in those areas. After all, he was still able to pass through as long as he kept his head down.

Elio reached into his bag and pulled out the headpiece that Azula had gifted him. He held it up with two fingers and turned it to look at it closely from different angles. It was beautiful and well-crafted. His family only had a few belongings that matched the quality of this small object.

All things considered, he found it remarkable that he had something from the princess in his possession. It would no doubt be a reminder to him that he'd gotten the chance to meet her, and for a brief time he had somehow won over her favor.

He couldn't help but think that if things surrounding their meeting had been different, he'd probably be with her right now. He could only imagine where a partnership like that would have led...

"All hands on deck! Prepare for battle!" Captain Po shouted from above deck. Elio's eyes widened in surprise.

All the crew members below deck similarly perked their heads up, scrambling to get up and grab their weapons. Elio shoved the headpiece back into his pack and grabbed his staff, running up the stairs. They rushed out to see what was going on.

"Pirates!" Captain Po yelled to them, pointing forward. The crew turned their heads and saw another ship sailing towards them. It flew no flag, and the men on the ship were rowdily shouting with their weapons in hand.

"Pirates. I hate pirates," Wo groaned. "Hope your master taught you some moves with that staff, kid. Your life's about to depend on it." He warned Elio. Elio swallowed nervously and gripped his staff tighter as the two ships sailed closer.

As the ships drifted side by side, the pirates were the first to begin boarding by setting down planks to walk across between the two ships. Elio was ready to rush forward and knock the planks into the water, but he noticed some of them were swinging across ropes and landing on the deck of the Yellow Horizon.

Elio rushed towards the closest target: a bigger man with a sword. Elio swung his staff towards his head. The man ducked under it and lunged forward with his sword. Elio spun to the side and tripped the man with a sweeping kick, then jabbed him in the back of the head with the staff.

At the sound of a battle cry, Elio turned around just in time to block another attacker with a sword. He held his staff up to block the blade being swung at him. He took several cautious steps back and blocked each attack being swung his way.

The bigger man got up and tried to tackle Elio. Elio used his staff to vault over him, jumping off the man's back and swinging his staff downwards to attack the second man. However, he jumped back to avoid the attack. Now Elio was stuck between two pirates with swords.

"I hate not being able to use my firebending." He thought to himself.

Elio swung his staff towards the bigger man first, making him jump back. He slid his hands to the other side of the staff, lunging towards the other man and making him stumble. Elio then advanced towards him and swept his legs out with the staff.

The bigger man rushed towards Elio with the sword raised over his head. Elio twisted his foot and threw a kick into the man's stomach, holding the staff up to block the sword. He planted his feet again and turned his body, smacking the man in the side of the head with his staff and knocking him down again.