Following Her Scent

-Aang's Point of View-

"Aang?" Katara called out to me. "The volcano has died down now, and everyone's safe. We should start heading out soon," she continued.

"Okay. I'll meet you guys there," I replied to her. I heard her walk away from where I was sitting. Soon after I followed behind her.

Maya, Katara, and Sokka were all gathered near Appa at the village square. They were chatting and laughing, but the best smile I have ever seen was always Maya's.

They all looked at me as I approached them. "What you did last night was incredible Aang! You should do that more often!" Sokka energetically greeted.

"I'd rather not face volcanoes very often," I shyly replied. "Your plan was great too Sokka. Everyone wouldn't have been safe if it wasn't for you," I continued.

"Nah... We all did our part," he said and then he placed his arm on my shoulders and his other arm on Maya's. 

We suddenly exchanged glances and for some reason, I felt like she was avoiding my gaze.

Did she perhaps hear everything that I said last night? But I made sure she was asleep though.

"I think there's something we need to return," Katara said as she handed me the cloud-reading book.

Right... I almost forgot we 'borrowed' something. 

I took the book from Katara and then we all walked towards Aunt Wu who was standing in front of the podium. 

"Young Avatar, thank you for saving our humble village," Aunt Wu greeted. 

"No problem! But, it wasn't all just me. It was also thanks to my friends and to everyone who helped," I replied. 

She bowed down in front of me and so I did the same.

"By the way, we kind of 'borrowed' your book," I shyly said while handing over the cloud-reading book to her.

Her expression suddenly changed. "So you messed with the clouds, did you?" she snarled. 

I awkwardly smiled at her as was ready to face whatever wrath or punishment she was about to say but instead, she laughed.

"Very clever," she praised. 

"No offense, but I hope this has taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortune-telling," Sokka said to everyone in the crowd.

"But Aunt Wu predicted that the village wouldn't be destroyed and it wasn't! She was right after all," a man from the crowd argued.

Sokka sprinted up to him and stared at him in the eyes. "I hate you..." he said trying to restrain his anger.

Katara walked up to fetch his brother. "It's okay Sokka, let it go..." she said. "We'll go ahead and pack our stuff. Maya, care to join us?" she continued.

"Sure thing!" Maya replied.

The three of them went aboard Appa while I stayed behind. There was something I wanted to ask Aunt Wu.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked the old lady.

"Of course honey," she said with delight.

"You didn't really see love in my fortune, did you? You just told me what I wanted to hear..." 

"I'll tell you a little secret young airbender... Just as you reshaped those clouds, you have the power to shape your own destiny," she answered.

"Aang! Let's get going!" I heard Maya shout. She was sitting on top of Appa's head while holding onto the rope.

"Thank you, Aunt Wu," I bowed down and then flew aboard Appa.

"Goodbye, everyone! It was so nice to meet you! Take care!" Maya shouted to the whole crowd.

I sat down beside her and also held on to the rope. She looked at me and gave me the warmest smile I had ever seen.

"Appa, yip-yip!" I shouted.

Just like that, we're on our way again to the North Pole.

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-Zuko's Point of View-

"Aaah... See Prince Zuko; a moment of quiet and tea is good for your mental well-being," Uncle said as he poured me a cup of tea. We're currently inside my quarters.

I looked at my reflection in the cup and pondered upon what I should do now. 

It's already been days since I last encountered the avatar. I feel like I'm so behind in tracking him. I have no idea where he could be right now. 

I lifted the cup and was about to take a sip when the ship suddenly rumbled. I accidentally poured the tea onto my face. Good thing it wasn't that hot or else I would've been burned the second time around.

I grunted and stood up to check what was going on on the deck. We're currently docked near a port so I thought nothing would have bothered us but apparently, something did—something big.

"What was that?!" I shouted at the crew as soon as I arrived at the deck. "There's a lady riding some kind of animal trying to climb aboard the ship," one of the crew said.

As soon as he said that the mentioned lady appeared while riding her beast.

"Get back! We're after a stowaway!" she shouted. 

"There are no stowaways on my ship!" I firmly remarked.

All of a sudden the beast ripped apart a piece of the ship's deck revealing the storage we have in the hull. 

As the beast was sniffing around the storage, a man suddenly emerged and ran away, but he was not able to escape. The beast had stung the man with its tongue making him paralyzed in an instant.

"He's paralyzed..." I said in amusement. 

"Only temporarily. The toxins will wear off in about an hour, but by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money," the woman explained.

"But how did you find him on my ship?" I asked. "My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away," she answered while petting the huge beast.

"Well, I'm impressed," Uncle suddenly said as the woman left the ship. "Very impressed..." he continued while staring at the woman as it faded in the distance.

"You're a nasty old man," I remarked. 

"What? It's the animal I'm referring to. Imagine what it can find for you," Uncle said as an excuse.

Wait a minute, hold that thought... She said that thing can smell something a continent away right?

"You're right uncle, that thing can help me find something," I said. "Guards! Ready the rhinos! We're going after that woman and her pet!" I commanded.

"What are you planning Zuko?" Uncle asked. "That lady is gonna help me find the avatar," I answered.

"Hmm... The plan might work 'if' you have the avatar's scent. Do you?" Uncle asked. "No, I don't..." I replied. "But I have something that belongs to the one he's traveling with," I continued while pulling out from my pocket the necklace of that waterbender.

"Prince Zuko, the rhinos are ready," one of the crew said.

"Uncle, you're coming with me," I commanded him. 

"Gladly!" he replied.

The two of us, together with two other soldiers, outlined the forest in search of the lady and her pet. It took some time for us to be able to track her. 

By nightfall, we found her inside a rough housing bar where she was gambling off her money through arm wrestling with a bunch of men.

"Out of my way! Step aside filth!" I shouted at the bystanders. 

"He means no offense! I'm certain you bathe regularly," Uncle apologized to them. I snatched his collar and dragged him to the table where the lady was currently holding an arm wrestling match.

"Hey! Step aside we can't see!" I heard someone shout. I blasted fire in the direction where the shout came from.

"I need to talk to you," I firmly said to the lady. 

"Well, if it isn't my new friends... Angry boy and Uncle Lazy," she replied. Uncle laughed at her remarks.

As soon as she said that, she slammed the hand of her opponent against the tabletop, securing her win against their arm wrestling match.

The whole crowd cheered at her win and soon enough copper coins rained on the table.

"Your beast trashed my ship! You have to pay me back," I commanded her. 

"Aww I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money," she said while gathering the pile of copper pieces on the table. "DRINKS ON ME!" she yelled for the whole bar to hear. Everyone cheered more loudly.

She was about to take a sip from her drink when I held on to her wrist. "Money isn't what I had in mind," I angrily explained.

"Fine, what do you want?" she sighed in defeat. 

"Meet me outside," I said to her. We gathered around outside where her pet beast was resting.

"I need you to find someone," I said while holding in front of me the necklace of that waterbender.

"No introductions? My name is June by the way, if you care to ask," she said sarcastically.

"And I am Iroh, this is my nephew Prince Zuko," Uncle introduced.

"Ah... the banished prince... No wonder you've got a rough attitude," she teased.

"Enough with the introductions! Find me the owner of this necklace!" I commanded.

The lady examined the necklace and asked with a smirk, "What happened? Your girlfriend ran off on you?" 

"It's not the girl I'm after. It's the bald monk she's traveling with," I corrected.

"Whatever you say..." she rolled her eyes on me.

"If you find them, I'll consider the damages to my ship paid for," I offered as a reward.

"Forget it," she snarked. She started making her way up to her pet, ready to leave but Uncle's additional reward made her stop.

"Plus we'll pay your weight in gold!" Uncle shouted. She immediately jumped down and walked towards my Uncle.

"Make it your weight, then we got a deal," she bargained. Uncle laughed at her bargaining and replied, "You got it!"

She snatched the necklace off my hand and told the two of us to get on her pet. Uncle went ahead of me and I went to the two soldiers who traveled with us.

"Get the rhinos back to the ship, we'll meet you there in a few days," I commanded. "Yes, Prince Zuko," one of them replied and then they set off.

Uncle helped me up the beast and as soon as the animal got to track the waterbender's scent, we immediately went on our way.

Finally, after days of being lost, I'm back on track in search of the Avatar.

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-Maya's Point of View-

I was woken up by the sudden chill coming from the sea breeze. I woke up and saw Sokka who was staring seriously at the bonfire.

"Sokka? You didn't sleep?" I asked. 

"I'm sorry Maya, did I wake you?" he asked. "No, no... I was woken up by the cold air," I explained.

"Here, use this blanket," he offered. I sat down beside him and used the blanket to cover my body.

I looked over him one more time and he was staring blankly ahead at the bonfire with a serious face again. He's been like that ever since we discovered a fight between a Fire Nation troop and waterbenders within the forest.

We tracked down the fight and it led us to this beach where we found one of the Southern Water Tribe boats we used to have back in the village.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Sokka blinked twice as if he had just gone back to reality after hearing my voice.

"I'm fine Maya, it's just that—" he was about to tell me something when we suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

Both Sokka and I stood up and readied to fight.

"Who's there?!" Sokka shouted. His voice woke up Aang and Katara.

A man appeared from the shadows and called out Sokka's name. "Sokka?" the man asked.

"Bato?!" Sokka asked back. 

"Who the what now?" Aang asked—confused.

My defense went down as soon as I recognized a familiar face. "Bato!" I shouted and then I ran up to hug him. Sokka and Katara did so as well.

"Sokka, Maya, Katara! It is so good to see you three! You've grown so much!" he greeted with laughter.

"Hi I'm Aang," he greeted him too.

"Where's dad?" Sokka eagerly asked.

"Is he here?" Katara asked too.

"Sadly, he's not here... He and the warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now," he answered.

I saw great disappointment in the siblings' eyes as they heard the news. I was about to divert the topic when the cold wind blew once again; sending chills down my spine.

"This is no place for a reunion. Let's go inside," he placed his arms over the siblings, and then I followed behind them. Aang was beside me.

"Where are we headed?" Sokka excitingly asked.

"To the place I'm currently staying in," Bato answered. 

"By the way, what happened to you? Why are you all patched up?" I asked, gesturing at the bandages all around his body.

"We ambushed a Fire Nation troop a while back and I got badly hurt," he answered. 

"See! I was right about the whole fight thing," Sokka proudly said. "Wow, congrats," Katara congratulated sarcastically.

"How about you three? How come you're all here in the Earth Kingdom?" Bato asked.

"Well, a lot has happened in the few years you've been gone," Sokka started. 

"Let's just say we stumbled upon the Avatar at the South Pole and now we're on our way to the North in search of a waterbending master," Katara explained.

"I see... And you must be the Avatar," Bato greeted Aang. "Thank you for taking good care of these three," he continued.

"So tell us about your journey so far!" Sokka exclaimed. 

"I heard from one of the letters you've sent that you've already taken down 50 Fire Nation Troops in the past years!" Katara exclaimed also.

"To be honest I've lost count but, we have had many encounters with the Fire Nation so far," Bato answered.

All this talk about the Fire Nation is making me nervous. He doesn't know the truth about me yet, it's best if I divert the topic somewhere else.

"What about that time you encountered water spirits in the ocean? I heard it was a fascinating story," I changed the topic.

"Ahh yes... The water spirits... They were not quite as friendly as I thought they were," he caught the bait. 

"I haven't heard of that before!" Sokka said. "Same as I! Tell us more!" Katara agreed.

That was honestly a nice save. 

A few more talks and walks later; we stumbled upon a small institution deep within the forest.

"What is this place?" Aang asked. "It's the Abbey I'm staying in for the moment," Bato answered him.

We all went inside and were greeted by nuns dressed in white. They seem to be moving around large pots of something.

"After I was wounded, Hakoda carried me to this Abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since," Bato explained.

We walked up to three older-looking nuns and Bato greeted one of them. "Superior! These are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar. I found them by my boat," he said.

"Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our Abbey," the mother superior greeted Aang. 

"Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything—" Aang was cut off by Sokka who suddenly asked something.

"What smells so good Bato?" He then proceeded to sniff the air.

"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes," Bato explained. 

"Perfumes? Maybe we can dump some on Appa! 'Cause he stinks so much. Am I right?" Sokka tried to make a joke but failed.

Everyone went silent until Bato broke the ice. "You have your father's wit," he said.

"It's the middle of the night now Bato. Maybe you and the kids should rest," Mother Superior suggested.

"Yes superior. Come kids, I'll show you to my quarters," Bato invited, so we followed behind him.

As soon as he opened the doors to his room, we were welcomed by the warm atmosphere of the place.

"Bato! It looks like home!" Katara exclaimed. 

"The tent even looks like the ones we had back home! How I missed it so much!" I exclaimed.

"Everything's here! Even the pelts!" Sokka rushed inside and groped the animal fur rug on the floor.

"Yeah... Nothing's cozier than dead animal skins..." Aang said indifferently as he held Momo in his arms.

"Ooh! What's that smell?" I asked as soon as I noticed a familiar scent.

"No way! Is that stewed sea prunes?!" Katara asked.

"Oh, that was my dinner a while back. Are you kids hungry? Let me heat that up for you," Bato offered and then he lit the pit on fire.

As soon as the stew heated up, Bato prepared four bowls and scooped a ladle full of that delicious Southern Water Tribe delicacy.

"Help yourself!" Bato said to us as he handed the bowls.

"They're delicious as ever!" I exclaimed as soon as I got to taste the stew. Who knew I'd miss home this much? I suddenly missed Gran-Gran.

"Dad could inhale a barrel of these," Sokka remarked as he was sipping from the bowl of stew.

"It tastes like home..." Katara said.

Bato handed Aang a bowl but he didn't like it that much. He instead let Momo eat from his bowl.

"Since we're here and we've still got time before we sleep, why not catch up a little?" Sokka suggested.

"Yeah! We've got a lot of things to ask of you!" Katara added.

"We've heard a lot of your crazy adventures! I wanna know them all!" I exclaimed.

"Okay, okay... I guess we could chat for a while before heading to sleep," Bato surrendered.

"Me first! Bato, is it true that you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?" Katara asked excitingly.

"It was your father's idea. He just dragged me along... Well, the hippo did more of the dragging afterward," he answered.

"Hey, I ride animals too! One time there was this giant eel and I—" Aang tried to tell the story about the Unagi but Sokka cut him off.

"My turn! So, who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?" Sokka asked.

Bato laughed and said, "You knew about that?" 

"Everyone does!" I replied.

"What's that story?" Aang asked.

"It's a long one Aang, maybe some other time..." Katara replied to him.

"You and Uncle Hakoda had so many hilarious adventures," I complimented him.

"Not all of which are hilarious at that time but everything's funny with hindsight," Bato replied with a trace of laughter in his voice. "Hey, Aang! Please put that back... It's ceremonial and very fragile," he suddenly shouted.

We looked back and saw Aang wearing the ceremonial raccoon-wolf hat that Bato owned when he was proclaimed a Southern Warrior.

Aang carefully placed the hat back and then he timidly sat down.

Sokka continued with the conversation like nothing happened. We talked about a lot of other crazy adventures that Bato had with the other Southern Warriors and they were all amazing!

However, in the middle of the laughter and chatter, Bato suddenly got all serious as he said, "There's something I should tell you, Katara and Sokka. I'm expecting a message from your father."

"Really?!" Katara asked excitingly.

"When?!" Sokka too asked energetically.

"Any day now. Your father said he'd send a message once they found a rendevous point. If you wait here until the message arrives, you can come with me and see your father again," Bato answered.

"It's been over two years since we've seen Dad! That would be so incredible! Katara?" Sokka exclaimed and then asked for his sister's opinion about it.

"I do really miss him... It would be great to see Dad," Katara replied.

"It's been far too long hasn't it?" Bato asked. "I'm not sure when it will arrive, but when it does. I'll let you know," he continued.

I was listening to them when I noticed the sound of the door closing. When I looked back, Aang wasn't inside the room.

"Where did Aang go?" I asked Katara. 

"Maybe he just went outside for some fresh air," she replied.

"It would be great to join you Bato and meet with Dad, but we can't. We have to take Aang to the North Pole first," Sokka suddenly said.

"Even if we had time to wait for the message, who knows how far we'll have to travel. We don't have time for a long detour," Katara added.

I'm just amazed at how the siblings have matured so far. It must be crushing for them not to take the chance to see their father again but they still choose to help Aang.

"I'm sure that your Father would understand and be proud that his children are helping the Avatar," Bato smiled at the kids. He then looked at me and said, "And of course, he'd be proud of her niece as well."

I smiled back at him, but as soon as he looked away my smile faded. I suddenly felt like an intruder in their family reunion.

The three of them continued their small talks and story tellings but I just sat there quietly listening to them. I can't help but be guilty about the fact that I'm not being a hundred percent honest with them about my true nature.

Bato, Hakoda, and the rest of the tribe still think I'm one of them, when in fact I'm not. I feel like I'm deceiving them and it's plummeting in this ocean of thoughts about what if they find out and they disown me.

They've been going around the world fighting people from the Fire Nation—what difference am I from them? I don't want them to hate me, I don't want them to think of me as an enemy.

"Hey everyone! Sorry, I was gone so long," Aang suddenly greeted as he entered the room.

"Hey, Aang! I didn't notice you left," Katara greeted back.

"Yup! But now I'm back! Sure could go for some delicious sea prunes!" he quickly sat down and gobbled a bowl of sea prunes.

"But I thought you—" I was about to remind him that he didn't like it when he suddenly coughed. Everyone looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, that was some fun time catching up with you kids. But it's late now, and we all need some rest," Bato said.

"Yeah, it's time to make our beds," Sokka said.

"Help yourself with the cushions and blankets. I have lots for everyone," Bato offered.

After a few hours of prepping, everyone had made their way to sleep.