Chapter Four: Awkward Reunions
Mai's aching head pulled her out of unconsciousness. A small groan escaped her throat. She tried to roll over into a more comfortable position, but her wrists were tied behind her back and her ankles were tied together. The only moderately comfortable position she could manage was sitting up, and that took a little while. Her arms tingled as numbness wore off. Her bones felt stiff.
She blinked the bleariness out of her eyes and looked around in the dim light. Jet was laying face-down nearby, wrists and ankles bound like hers. He snored gently. Mai shifted her weight, moved her legs around, and managed to kick him. He snorted and shifted, but didn't wake.
"Insufferable." Mai muttered, and glared at the small room they were in.
It was empty, with a hard dirt floor and wooden walls. She was sure her dress had been ruined. The door was on the opposite side of the room and so well-fitted that no light escaped through the cracks. The only light in the room came from four fire-filled sconces, one in each corner.
Mai checked her sleeves and her boots, mildly surprised to find that her knives were still in their places. She would be able to cut them out of their bonds at any time, but the problem was making sure it would be the right time. At that moment, she could free them, but then how would they get out of the room? Better to wait for the door to open, then use the knives to kill their captors and escape that way.
She shifted a sleeve and a knife dropped into a palm. She rubbed the blade against the rope, tearing away enough that she could break it with a good twist of her wrist when she was ready. She would have done the same for her ankles, but she couldn't reach them as she was. Where was Tai Lee when you needed her?
Jet mumbled something unintelligible and sat up, blinking furiously.
"Wha...?" He looked around, took in the surroundings, and sighed. "Not again."
"This happens to you often?" Mai asked testily.
"All the time." He shifted around, cursed. "They took my boot knife."
"Here." Mai scooted toward him in as dignified a manner as possible, which was not all that dignified. "Use mine."
"You have a boot knife?" Jet turned his surprised face away so that she could transfer the throwing knife to him, back to back. "That's not a boot knife. Who are you?"
"I'm Mai. Don't cut your ropes off all the way. Just enough so you break them when it's time."
"Have you done this before?" Jet finished with his ropes and pressed the weapon back into Mai's palm.
"Keep it." She said, giving the knife back to him. "I have more."
"You're not just any stuck-up aristocratic snob, are you?" Jet asked as he turned around to face her.
"That's not important. What is important is that we have a coordinated plan of attack ready for them when someone opens that door."
"You have done this before." Jet marveled. "I want details."
"Fine. Just pay attention. That door is shut tight. No knob on this side, see? So we can't get out unless one of them opens the door for us-"
"And when they do, we break out and kill them and then we make a run for it and kill anyone in our way. I get it. I didn't mean details about this. I meant details about who really are."
Mai pierced him with a stare, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound awful. The best she could think of was 'my best friend went insane and tried to kill my boyfriend-well, ex boyfriend-who also happened to be her brother, and I was named an enemy of the state and imprisoned for a while because I picked my boyfriend, who is now the Firelord, over her'. Before she could decide whether to say it or keep her mouth shut, the door opened.
"Gran Gran?" Katara asked as she stepped through the flap of her grandmother's tent-like home. "Are you here? It's me-"
"Katara!" Sokka scooped his sister up into a squashing hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay in the Fire Nation with the Avatar."
"Aang and I broke up." Katara said sourly and pulled herself away from her brother.
"Wait – you were together?" Sokka's mouth dropped open.
Katara gave him a pitying look.
"Katara." Suki stepped up next and gave her a warm hug.
"Suki." Katara returned the gesture. "Is Gran Gran around?"
"Zuko! What are you doing here?" Sokka shouted as the Fire Lord entered the humble tent.
"I gave Katara a ride, and I'm looking for my mother."
"Wait," Sokka's mouth opened and closed, half-finished questions falling out of it, "aren't you suppo-what are you doing with-what happened to-I thought your mother-what are you doing with-"
"I need to find my mother." Zuko said and pressed his lips together.
Sokka's mouth kept opening and closing, but nothing else came out.
"Gran Gran's out with Pakku." Suki said to Katara. "They're actually talking about getting married, too. We might make it a double wedding."
"Wow! Really?" Katara said, joy bubbling up inside her. "When will they get back?"
"Soon, I think." Suki said. "Do you want some tea while you wait?"
"Sure. That sounds great." Katara said, and went to help Suki with the tea things.
Zuko gently punched Sokka in the jaw to get him to stop gaping. They all gathered around the short table, and swapped stories of the last few days since they had been apart. Sokka was just beginning to prod Zuko about his mother again, when the ten-flap opened and Gran Gran and Pakku arrived, with two others behind them.
"Gran Gran!"
"Katara!"
"Aang?"
"Katara!"
"Zuko?"
"Tophe?"
"Aang." Katara glared at the Avatar. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to visit Sokka," he said and went over to her brother and threw his arm over his shoulders, "and wish him well as he prepares for his wedding. That's not a crime, is it?"
"Nope!" Sokka said with a big grin. "Not at all. It means a lot that you came by, buddy."
"Actually," Tophe said, "he's really here because-"
"Because," Aang interrupted, "I wanted to also help you plan your wedding."
"Uh, that's really sweet," Suki said, "but I think we've got it covered. Thanks anyway."
"Well, this is such a big group," Gran Gran interjected, "and this tent is so small. Pakku, I think it's time that we showed them. They're all here, after all."
"Well," he frowned at first, but it slowly transformed into one of his reluctant grins, "I suppose. This way, folks." He held the tent flap open again and let everyone outside into the brightness of the day.
"He's been working on it for days," Gran Gran confided in Katara, whose elbow she had grabbed. "You'll be impressed when you see it."
"I'm glad." Katara managed a weak a smile.
They walked a little ways through the Water Tribe encampment, until they came to a large tent-structure that seemed to have several rooms coming off the main one. Pakku held the flap open and let everyone in ahead of himself.
"Well, we were going to wait until the wedding before we revealed all this, and it's not quite finished yet, anyway, but," Pakku took a breath, "this is our new home, and we'd like to welcome any of you to come and stay here at any time. We've definitely got enough space for the entire family."
"I wanted to make sure everyone would have a place to sleep if you ever came to visit." Gran Gran added.
"It's wonderful, Gran Gran." Katara said, stepping into the middle of the main room and spinning around in the open space.
"Yeah, this is amazing." Sokka said.
"It's incredible." Suki said.
"It's not finished," Pakku said, "but let me show you around anyway." He started for one of the side rooms, and everyone followed, except Gran Gran, who pulled Katara back to stay with her.
"What's wrong?" Her grandmother said without preamble.
"What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong." Katara said with a glance toward everyone else.
"Don't think a grandmother can't see when her granddaughter is upset. As soon as the avatar walked in the room your whole face changed. What happened?"
Katara sighed and lowered her voice, since she could still hear Pakku and the others talking in one of the other rooms.
"I broke up with Aang. He's not putting being the Avatar first and he won't do it as long as I'm with him, so I broke up with him so that he could be the Avatar."
"And is that the only answer?" Gran Gran said with a knowing look.
"Yes." Katara said more firmly than was necessary.
"If you say so." Gran Gran lifted her eyebrows.
"Katara, this place is fantastic!" Aang said, bouncing up to her from the other side of the room. "Pakku really knows what he's doing."
Katara did her best not to cringe at his child-like enthusiasm.
"Yes," Pakku said, "I'm also hoping to open a water bending school here once everything's settled down. It would help build up the Southern Water Tribe."
"That's a great idea." Aang said. "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know." His eyes met Katara's, "I'd be happy to drop by anytime."
Katara glared at him and looked away. Her eyes happened to fall on Zuko, who looked from her to Aang and sighed.
"Well, I hope you'll all stay for dinner." Gran Gran said, "but I'm afraid we'll need everyone to help get this place ready."
"That's not a problem." Aang said, ever eager. "We'll all help, won't we, guys?" And everyone agreed, together again, just like they used to be.