Tadashi had been too hopeful. He had invested a lot of time in training Sikumi personally, using his firebending whenever they were away from the mainland. The young boy had managed to convince the Waterbender that learning some self-defence moves was essential to survive with them and the girl reluctantly agreed, her memories of the Unagi still appearing in her nightmares. Aki had taught her basic sword manoeuvres, even though Sikumi insisted she could never use one in actual battle.
"I'm telling you I really don't know!" she complained for the third time that day.
Tadashi sighed, also for the third time, trying to come up with a way to improve Sikumi's offensive bending. He had been avoiding the subject of her parents as he assumed they must have taught her some moves but his patience was quickly slipping away.
"I know, you've already said that," Tadashi groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
Tadashi, as a member of the royal family, was taught about the other styles of bending in his tutelage but he had never been given the opportunity to study their kata's or bending variations. Apart from her healing abilities Sikumi would be useless unless they found a good teacher.
"What if we went to the Northern Tribe?" Sikumi suggested.
Tadashi shook his head as he looked away. Although it may have been their best chance to find a teacher for Sikumi it was also the most dangerous. There was a reason the Fire Nation had not attacked the Northern Tribe yet, it would be far too taxing on their navy. Not only were they surrounded in their element but the Northern Capital City was situated in such a way that a long campaign would only hinder the Fire Nation. Aki had discussed this with Tadashi the other day as they figured that the Avatar must be making their way to the Northern Water Tribe to find a master.
"What if we found another drifter?" Tadashi asked.
Sikumi pouted, shaking her head in response.
"That's not entirely possible." She explained, "Even though we're like a big connected family tracking one down is almost impossible. Not to mention I don't think anyone would know that type of waterbending."
Tadashi gave Sikumi a sceptical look, but the girl simply shrugged and tried again to form a ball of water and push it forwards. The ball of liquid looked highly unstable and nowhere near as deadly as the boulders that Earthbenders would normally throw. The water barely moved before hitting the ship's floor with a lazy splash. Sikumi gave the wet remains a frustrated look and tried again, using her hands to summon more water from the ocean.
"Let's try something different," Tadashi stated after a while, "I want you to summon another ball but this time focus on squashing it together."
"What?" Sikumi questioned, doing as he ordered.
"Try to imagine each drop of water getting smaller, pushing against each other and…" Tadashi couldn't help but gasp as he felt the water heat up.
"Yes….like that!" Tadashi encouraged as Sikumi concentrated on the ball of water in front of her.
As she applied more and more pressure to the ball of water it started changing, the clear liquid turning into a ball of powdery snow. Sikumi let out a large gasp as she realised she had been holding her breath for several seconds.
"I did it….but what did I do? It feels…..warm?" Sikumi questioned, a smile creeping up on her face.
"You turned water into snow. I was hoping for ice but this is a good start. What I'm surprised by though is that it feels warmer than the water before. Usually ice is much colder, is this how all waterbenders create ice?" Tadashi asked in return.
"No," Sikumi answered, shaking her head, "There was this one guy I used to know who created Ice all the time. I must have been 8 or 9 at the time but it always felt really cold."
Sikumi then focused again on the ball of snow, putting more pressure on the ball as the clumps of snow slowly came together and formed one large clump of snow, only the core was frozen but neither Tadashi or Sikumi could tell. Tadashi noticed that it was even hotter than before, so much so that he got a dubious feeling from it.
"It feels kind of unstable." Sikumi murmured as she attempted to move it around in the air.
Tadashi wanted to back away but couldn't help moving forwards in awe. Aki had also noticed the two and was watching from a safe distance as well as the other crew members who glanced at the commotion in the hopes that something exciting would happen. All of a sudden Sikumi felt incredibly tired, as if the energy was draining from her body just by holding the ball aloft. In a swift movement Sikumi pushed the ball over the side of the ship.
"Well that was-" Tadashi was about to say when a large explosion shook the boat.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed to the boats side, surprised to see ripples of water where the explosion had occurred and a lining of snow on the boat.
"Was that….me?" Sikumi questioned in a state of shock.
"I think so….but how?" Tadashi wondered, "Can all waterbenders do that?"
"I don't think so," Aki said, walking up to the two, "Normally ice would encase the user or simply freeze them but this was…sudden."
As the other crew members went back to their stations one shook his head in disbelief as he approached Tadashi.
"With all due respect Director you come up with dangerous bending forms. This is the smoke manipulation all over again but with water!"
Aki gave the man a look who simply shrugged and went back to his work leaving Tadashi to ponder over what exactly had just happened.
"We need to do it again, are you up for it?" he asked Sikumi.
"You want me to do that….again!?" she exclaimed, backing away from the boy slightly.
"Sure, it may prove to be useful in the future but in the interests of knowledge isn't it worth knowing just why and how it happens, not to mention it'll help your bending too." Tadashi explained.
"I guess…." Sikumi said reluctantly.
And so the two continued into the late afternoon, throwing balls of pressurised ice into the waters of the Earth Kingdom they realised many things.
Firstly Sikumi had a rather low amount of chi, quickly getting tired after she formed the balls of ice, however towards the end of the day she felt stronger than before, forming the balls more easily and throwing them without having to exert herself too much.
The next thing they discovered was that only balls that weren't completely solid would explode, for some reason the ball needed trapped air and cracks for it to work, but it did mean they now knew the conditions needed to successfully make an ice bomb. Fire would heat the ice up and make it harder, lengthening the time before it explodes, whilst taking heat away from the surrounding would almost make it explode instantly.
The balls could be made in many sizes, but if made too small its effects wouldn't be noticed. Sikumi struggled to create anything bigger than the size of a head but from the range of sizes they did try creating anything bigger would have a devastating effect to ships.
The most important lesson however was that there were quite a few applications for the bomb. If Sikumi made it mostly out of ice, enough so that you could see through it, then the explosion would be louder and shards of ice would dissipate in every direction. They learnt this the hard way as the force of the ice shards almost skewered one of the crew members who was taking a break below deck. If a ball was made mostly of snow then instead of it acting as a weapon it would create a temporary smoke screen, but with snow instead. The sound of the explosion was also heavily muted too which made it useful for stealth purposes. Another interesting thing they discovered was that when Tadashi threw fire into the smoke like snow instead of turning to steam it ignited into a wall of fire, similar to a firebending technique that Tadashi still considered too advanced to perform himself.
By the end of the day the two were exhausted but felt fulfilled. Sikumi mentioned that she would definitely practice more but at the same time had concerns that it still wasn't a substitute for actual waterbending.
"Sure," Tadashi agreed, "We'll see if we can find a teacher or better yet something that can help teach you at the next port we visit."
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The Pirate ship was wooden, a very traditional design but looked sturdy. Tadashi and Aki had left the ship some time ago and in their search for a bending teacher were spotted by another pirate.
"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here!" a man spoke out.
The duo turned to look at the man wearing earth nation clothes, his moustache, large earrings and general disposition was suspicious.
"Ahh, brethren!" he said, "The captain will want to speak with you."
Tadashi shrugged as the pirate motioned them onto the ship, Aki following doubtfully. Inside there were many bold and unique items scattered about, including a monkey statue that featured many red gems. Tadashi merely shrugged at the statue before noticing a wall of scrolls. The captain, who had been watching the whole time, approached Aki and nodded.
"So you must be Captain Aki of The Crimson Raiders." He said with a smile on his face, "We heard that you were in the area when a group of drifters passed by."
"I see," Aki said, "Well we came in search for water-"
"Hey look what I found!" Tadashi said, interrupting the two.
He showed them a waterbending scroll showing basic forms for moves that would certainly help Sikumi learn how to bend properly.
"How much for this?" he asked, studying the scroll carefully.
"Your mate's got a fine eye, we got it up North, at a most reasonable price." He stated.
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"So where's the others?" Aki asked, inciting a look of shock from the pirate captain.
"That's a rare piece, but I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless of course, you have two hundred gold pieces on you right now."
"Sure we do," Tadashi answered, "But I'd only buy it for 50."
The captain laughed, intrigued by the upfront bargaining method of the young boy.
"Seeing as you're fellow raiders of the sea I'll cut you a special deal of 150 gold, eh?"
Aki shook her head, glancing at the scroll before looking back at the Captain.
"I've got a better deal, we pay 15 silver and a crate of Fire Nation military grade equipment?"
Tadashi gave Aki a shocked look but understood her intentions.
"And where did you get Fire Nation armour?" he asked.
"We got it up North, at a most reasonable price too." She said, "It's navy as well."
The captain couldn't help but gulp. Fire Nation weaponry and armour was some of the most sought after equipment for mercenaries and the military but for Pirates it would be too costly to acquire through trade. It was foolhardy to attack a Fire Nation ship, despite rumours of The Crimson Raiders doing just that, so he knew a crate of such equipment would sell for more gold than he could count on the black market.
"What's the catch? Why haven't you sold this equipment?" he asked, trying to cover all his bases.
"We're not too interested in profits, not to mention there's certain parties that we trade with but other than that all our goods are 100% fresh of the bodies that wore them." She guaranteed with a smile.
The captain wasn't a fool, he could sense the threat behind those words. The people in front of him were those that would simply take what they needed if it suited them. With this in mind the captain's thoughts went back to the 3 other replicas he kept hidden in the back, in fact the scroll the boy was currently holding was yet another replica and the original was hidden in the vaults in his quarter but no one had to know that.
"Deal," he finally said, offering Aki his hand, "We'll take the silver now and I'll send my boys to get the crate ok?"
"There's no need," Aki smiled, "My men are already on the way with the goods."
At such a statement the captain could only stare in disbelief. One of the pirates left the ship to verify and quickly came back in to confirm that a small group of men were carrying a closed box and heading towards their position from where the Crimson Raider's ship was docked.
"But….but how?" he asked, fear starting fill his mind.
This time it was Tadashi who grinned and explained.
"You shouldn't underestimate us," he said, "We always come prepared."
In truth neither the pirates nor the captain had noticed the agent, posed as a trader, which had been listening in, nor did they realise that someone had already snuck aboard and was going through their stores. The equipment that would be given, whilst appearing new, would be dated and be impossible to use as a deceptive tool against the Fire Nation.
When everything was over the captain wiped his brow in relief and ordered one of his men to replace the scroll.
"I hope I never have to deal with their kind again," he said, cursing his luck that he'd run into other pirates that day.
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By the time the Avatar had boarded the Pirate Ship the captain had cooled off and was ready to trade again for extortionate prices. As the odd group walked into his boutique he quickly noticed the strange clothing the monk wore, his tattoo and the animal on his shoulders.
"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur. That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering." He looked at the lemur greedily, imagining how much he could charge the Earth Kingdom nobles.
"Momo's not for sale." Aang stated, unaware that the Captain mentally cursed.
As the trio browsed the shop Katara spotted a shelf where scrolls were being kept. As if fate had brought her here she laid her hands on a particular scroll with waterbending patterns on it, noticing that it was full of detailed illustrations and bending forms.
"Look at this, Aang. It's a waterbending scroll!" she exclaimed as Aang walked over. "Check out these crazy moves."
Aang, easily impressed, turned to face the captain.
"Where did you get a waterbending scroll?" he asked.
The captain, unnerved by the similar situation, put his hand on the scroll and took it before speaking.
"Let's just say I got it up North, at a most reasonable price, free." He stated, hoping that it would prevent any more prying questions.
Sokka, who had remained quiet, suddenly realised who these people were as he shouted.
"Wait a minute. Sea loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise, and pet reptile birds? You guys are pirates!"
"We prefer to think of ourselves as high risk traders." One of the pirates said,
"Plus the Crimson Raiders are real pirates." Someone else added under their breath.
"Who's the Crimson Raiders?" Aang asked.
"More pirates it seems." Sokka stated.
"Sounds like trouble," Katara added.
"They are-" the first pirate started saying before he saw the look his captain gave him, "but I guess that's how it is out there…"
"So, how much for the, uh, traded scroll?" Katara asked, holding a measly two copper pieces in her hand.
"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless of course, you kids have three hundred gold pieces on you right now." He stated, unconsciously inflating the price he asked for.
Aang spun around and faced Katara, hunching in a way that would only let hear what he had to say.
"I know how to deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle." He said, taking the pieces from Katara, "Watch and learn."
Aang walked over to the counter and leant against it.
"Let's say to the price of, one copper piece!" he said confidently, in a makeshift pirate voice, holding the single piece between his fingers.
The captain laughed, his crew also chuckling at the antics of the young boy before their Captain replied in his standard business like attitude.
"The price is three hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare." He stated.
"Okay, two copper pieces!" Aang said, holding two pieces between his fingers.
"It's not as amusing the second time, boy!" the captain replied, clearly annoyed.
Katara walked up to Aang and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Aang, can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks." She said, looking around as she spoke.
"Aye, we be casting off now!" Aang stated as they all left the boutique.
"Well that was weird." One of the pirates stated.
"Aye," another said, "They be all wanting scrolls today."
All of a sudden the captain swore, his face redder than usual. The pirate looked at him in confusion as the man struggled to contain his anger.
"Those brats stole the scroll!" he shouted, "Go after them!"
Without another word needing to be said several pirates dashed outside, chasing after the trio. Of course when some of them returned empty-handed, full of bruises and their pride in tatters the captain didn't know what to do with himself. If it weren't for the fact that he had made a questionably profitable trade that morning and that there were two customers within his shop now he would have closed up shop there and then.
One of the pirates, named Oh, approached his captain out of breath.
"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with." He said between breaths.
This caught the attention of one of the customers inside the shop, prince Zuko.
"This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?" Zuko asked, a flint on anger reflected on his eyes.
"Aye," the captain confirmed somewhat confused, "What's he to you?"
Before Zuko replied he turned to his Uncle who was busy admiring a monkey statue and thought up a simple plan. If it meant capturing the Avatar he would lower himself to work with pirates.
"I have a deal for you." Zuko stated.
"What is it with the Fire Nation and their deals….." one of the pirates murmured offhandedly.
"Go on…." The captain encouraged.
"We help you get your scroll while you help me capture the bald monk?" He suggested, watching the captain carefully.
"You mean the A-" Iroh was about to say before Zuko interrupted him.
"Yes, the adversary we're after!" Zuko said between clenched teeth, glaring at his Uncle.
Iroh, who seemed to realise just what his nephew was implying gave everyone a sheepish smile, before picking up the monkey statue and praising its design, asking the captain for its price before they sent their men to hunt the 'adversary' of theirs.