𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙴𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

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"Zuko, I really should take a look at the-."

"I said go away!"

"But-."

The prince groaned loudly, and finally got up from his meditative pose to open his door. The islander girl was looking up at him with a waterskin and a smug smirk. He scowled, "Just because I opened the door doesn't mean you win."

"Was I interrupting something?" The worst possible idea suddenly popped in her mind.

It must have shown on her face too because Zuko snapped, "I was meditating! Or trying to before an annoying minx showed up at my cabin."

She shook the waterskin, the liquid sloshing around, "This can help with that too! It'll help you relax while I-."

"I said no!"

"The skin is splitting." La'kea slammed her hand against the door before it could shut, she couldn't take no for an answer. It was winter time and the air was always driest this time of year. She had been his healer for the past three years, salvaging his depth perception and hearing. She knew where the skin was pulled taunt and where it split.

"It's prone to infection when it splits. Personally, I would like you to keep the eye, I spent weeks healing it." A grin split across her face, "I'm sure you remember."

The prince knew she was right, and grumbled his complaints as he let her in. "You're supposed to refer to me as 'Your highness.'"

The islander scoffed as she pulled the water out into the air, "Sure, as soon as you start referring to me as, 'Slave girl.' If you want to use official titles."

Zuko bit out another groaned as he laid down on his bed roll, he had dealt with her for three years, he could do it a little longer. Of course, that's what he had to remind himself as he felt the skin around his eye relax, coaxing the rest of him to follow. The minx had been right, it did help him calm down, not that he'd ever admit that to her.

"Prince Zuk- Oh." Iroh suddenly burst into the room, only to stop in his tracks. "Hello Miss La'kea."

She tossed a smile over her shoulder as Zuko breathed out, "The only reason you should be interrupting is if you have news of the Avatar."

"I have news," His uncle revealed calmly, pulling out a scroll from his sleeves. "But you might not like it, don't get too upset."

"I really don't think-," La'kea began, still holding her hands over the prince's eye.

"Spit it out," He demanded.

"This is a delicate balance I need to concentrate on! The eye is a sensitive muscle."

"We have no idea where the Avatar is."

"What!" The row of candles burning nearby erupted into an inferno, causing La'kea to drop the water onto the prince's face.

"You really should open a window in here," Iroh said coolly, lightly fanning himself.

Zuko jumped to his feet, wiping the water off his face and snatching the scroll from his uncle's hands. "Give me the map!" She had to tiptoe to see over his shoulder as he unrolled the map.

"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down." The former general explained.

"How am I going to find him," The prince gripped the edges of the paper, "He's clearly a master of evasive maneuvering."

That just didn't seem right to La'kea, "He's only a child though, what could he know of evasive maneuvering?"

"That child is one hundred and twelve years old," He retorted.

"Which we still haven't figured out how that was possible." She couldn't imagine it was anything other than a mystical Avatar power, but if the Avatar could stop his aging process, why hadn't they heard about it before?

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It was always rather odd to La'kea how word managed to travel across oceans and continents. A girl whispers to a fisherman, that fisherman tells a fish market worker, and that worker tells a chef. Who tells Prince Zuko that-.

"The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island?"

La'kea was startled out of her bed at the sudden banging on her door. The prince didn't wait for an answer, barging in despite her protests, "Get up. The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island."

She scrambled to tuck her pants into her boots, hopping after the prince, "Kyoshi? Isn't that a neutral zone?"

"Which makes it the perfect sanctuary for the Avatar," Zuko clenched his fist in determination, oblivious as the islander fell to the floor with her boot. "Prepare yourself, we're taking the rhinos."

La'kea paused in tying her hair back, "Those beasts? Please tell me you're joking."

"I never joke."

She followed the brooding prince down the hallway with a roll of her eyes, "Right, my mistake."

Temperamental as always, the mounts stomped their feet against the cargo bay with a huff as she eyed them disapprovingly. The komodo rhinos were associated with some of her worst memories. Zuko slipped on his helmet adorned with the insignia of the Fire Nation prince, and swung a leg over his rhino deftly. Three years and riding, or simply mounting, rhino's were still no easy task for the islander.

The prince pulled on the beast's rein's with one hand, holding out his other begrudgingly, "Get on the rhino."

"I'm telling you, it'll be easier if I just walk-." She barely got the words out before Zuko was grabbing her arm and throwing her over the rhino. Righting herself on the saddle with a huff, she gripping onto Zuko for dear life, praying today wasn't the day she'd get thrown off and trampled.

Accompanied by two firebending guards, Zuko led the search, forcing his rhino down the ship's ramp. "I want the Avatar captured alive." La'kea took one look at the hill the rhino's had to walk up and instantly forgave the prince for making her ride. At least it's an island, she comforted herself, plenty of water on all sides.

The village was barren, a virtual ghost town if not for the fearful faces peaking out at them behind doors.

"Come out, Avatar," Zuko demanded. "You can't hide from me forever!"

After a moment of silence, the prince ordered the search party of three other rhinos to spread out.

La'kea eyed the empty streets with suspicion, it was too quiet, like someone was holding their breath. She was right, of course, something was wrong. The only warning they got was the soft crunch of footsteps against snow before fighters were leaping from roofs. Knocking the firebenders and soldiers off their rhinos.

She got a good look at them as one ran directly at her and Zuko. They were women, girls, dressed in armored skirts and white face paint, armed with razor lined fans.

Zuko didn't even give her a warning before his rhino whipped around, it's heavy tail slamming against the warrior. La'kea latched onto the nearest object to avoid getting thrown off, which just so happened to be the prince.

"That's it," She immediately untangled herself from him, jumping off the rhino. "I'm walking."

"Have it your- Omph!" A kyoshi warrior descended down onto the prince and they fell onto a house porch.

La'kea hated snow almost as much as she hated the cold. It was so difficult for her to get a hold of, there was no precision in her bending with snow. She couldn't risk sending a wave over Zuko as well and douse the flames.

Hand to hand it was then as she tackled one of the warriors standing over the prince. Ducking underneath the deadly war fan, she swept her legs out, only for the warrior to jump over her foot.

Side stepping her opponents fist, La'kea locked the warriors wrist with her forearms, and flipped the girl over her shoulder. Hooking her ankle around the crook in the fighters neck, the islander jerked her foot, knocking the girl unconscious.

It was a handy move, especially when it only appeared like she had snapped the opponents neck. Three more warriors charged her with battle cries, ready to avenge their fallen sister. Rolling her arms up, La'kea pulled a wall of snow up, forming a clumsy ice barrier.

Before she could switch to the offensive, Zuko jumped in front of the ice, knocking the warriors back with a fan of fire. Letting the ice fall away, she walked back over to the prince facing the deserted street.

"Nice try, Avatar!" He shouted into the air, "But these little girls can't save you!"

"Hey! Over here!" The twelve year old boy stood at the opposite end of the street defiantly.

"Finally," Zuko hissed, throwing a ball of fire just as La'kea planted her foot into the snow causing it to erupt under the Avatars footing.

The airbender deflected the fire with his staff, dancing around the pillars of snow. Twirling his staff over his head he lifted himself into the air, dropping in front of them.

Zuko knocked the irksome staff from his hands just as she finally released her whip of water from its canteen, wrapping it around the boys ankles. The Avatar stumbled back, bending two discarded fans into his grasp.

La'kea gulped.

Before she could warn Zuko, he charged the Avatar. Who spun around, conjuring a wall of air that slammed into the prince, who in turn, slammed into La'kea, throwing them both through the wall of a house.

The islander groaned, trapped underneath the broken pieces of wood and a whole Fire Nation prince. "Next time, you get to break my fall."

Zuko grunted as he pushed himself to his elbows, and she realized that their noses were uncomfortably close. "I'm sure I make a good cushion," She smiled nervously, "But-."

He scrambled off her, "The Avatar!"

"Yeah."

"Get up," The prince demanded, pulling her up to her feet and out the hole they had fallen through.

The Avatars bison beast was already over their heads. Zuko growled, "Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!"

They had only one rhino left, and by the time everyone piled on with the prince at the reins the Avatar was already half a knot away from the island. Until he suddenly dropped from the sky into the water. Before they could register what was happening, an unagi sea monster was spraying water over the burning village, putting out the fire.

Pushing a hand into the air, La'kea bent a barrier around the search party, keeping them dry. That didn't help improve the princes mood though, he scowled all the way to the ship.

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"It could be worse."

La'kea moved glowing water up and down the shoulder that had bad bruising. Zuko planted his chin on his palm, propped up on his knee, sitting cross legged on his bedroll shirtless. "We lost the Avatar, again. How could it be worse?"

She sighed, hands fluttering over his bare shoulder, ever since the... incident at Kyoshi, he wouldn't make eye contact with her. Which was frankly rude. "We could have never found the Avatar at all. At least we're on his trail."

Zuko only growled in frustration, turning his head farther away. A moment of silence passed before he relented. "You're right."

"Of course I am." Without even looking at her he could tell she was smiling smugly. "Now quiet, I need to concentrate."

"I am a prince," He protested, not as harshly as he could have. "You don't just tell me to be quiet."

She quirked a brow, unimpressed. "Why don't you heal yourself then. I'd love to target these bruises specifically when we spar."

Zuko turned back around, grumbling, and tried to ignore the soft laugh she let out, or the fact that his heart beat a little faster.

Fun fact: La'kea has very little sense of modesty by Fire Nation Standards