Chapter 116: Undeniable Thirst
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A/N: I added another Mai pic although it's a bit skimpy.
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Going through the contents of the scroll left by the fox spirit, Nik ascertained that Yue was right. It was indeed a map with only one identification tab jotted down— The Library, as if the circumstances already didn't feel haunting enough.
With no answers present, Nik placed the map in his personal space.
Katara and Suki needed to freshen up and so did Nik but given his alternatives, he decided to not have his shit frozen. Instead, he walked out of the house to look around. In fact, one of the most difficult acts with a busted knee was to relieve himself and that's why he would find chances to sneak into his personal space whenever possible.
Soon, from some discreet corner, Nik emerged— refreshed!
Now in better spirits, Nik walked around. The first thing he wanted to check was the prison camp and inquiry from those around him who were now aware from their hunter counterparts how much the new group had assisted in the victory revealed that the prison camp was carved into the giant wall itself. It was to deter Zhao from making any sudden movements. But even the civilians weren't sure of the situation on the other side.
Despite the victory, the rebels had yet to return to their previous homes and Pakku had sent a message to remain patient about the situation.
As Nik walked towards the giant entrance, he noted a few changes instantly. Yesterday, there was quite a bit of gap between the edge of the city and the entrance that cut off the tribe from the sea where a port is built to accommodate foreign ships. Now, however, there were many icy bridges constructed that connected the port, the entrance, and the tribe, revealing that the moment the fire nation's authority was lowered, the waterbenders were more than willing to provide their services once again.
Walking through one of the many bridges and hoping to not fall off, Nik navigated through multiple paths, inquired a few times more about the prison camp, he soon stood across an icy establishment manned by four waterbenders who nodded in his direction.
The Firebenders and the ordinary soldiers were kept separately due to various reasons. First and foremost was the fact that the firebenders could survive harsher conditions that would serve to drain their energy faster and keep them from bending fire to attack instead of keeping control of their temperatures. Meanwhile, the ordinary soldiers, although not tortured, did go through grueling experiences themselves as they would be rotated to sit on top of the icy gates.
Whether good or evil, it wasn't about the morality of the prisoners but the simple fact that their presence in the water tribe served to disrupt the flow and arrival of other waterbenders not to mention the threat they represented towards the Avatar.
Although Aang wouldn't make any of them go through such things, Pakku wasn't to be mistaken as a kind individual. They were simply on the same side, that's all.
Nik only came to the prison camp to see things through his own eyes. He didn't step up the wall due to how taxing it would be but a short conversation with the benders revealed that Pakku and a dozen waterbenders were still on the other side of the tribe.
The families of the prisoners weren't directly implicated but even Nik could understand that they wouldn't be feeling particularly pleasant at this moment.
Returning, Nik decided against meeting with the girls, wherever they may be, and chose to eat up.
It was still quite early in the morning and he ran into a few hunters from last night preparing to set out once again but this time from the proper channels. Wishing them luck, naturally, since his own fill depended on their gains for the day, Nik pushed aside the curtain of the tavern he ate in yesterday that provided food to the community regardless and was pleasantly surprised to find Katara and Yue within.
Little Uti sat next to them, taking small but vigorous bites out of a well-cooked shrimp, the scent of which only roused Nik's hunger further.
"Hey, where's Suki?" Nik smiled, sitting next to Katara this time and keeping his left leg straight.
Before Katara could answer, Uti jumped at the chance to interact with her mouth filled to the brim, "Brother Cripple, did you really beat the baddies?"
"Well..." Nik stroked his chin but Yue gently reproached the girl, "No, you must not call someone like that. That was incredibly rude."
Stunned, Uti's eyes widened as she looked at Yue with her thin lips puckered up sadly. "Fine... I'm sorry," the girl mustered and lowered her head.
"Hm... well, there's no point feeling sad about stating the obvious," Nik chuckled and shrugged before calling out to the owner, "Uncle, can I get something to eat?"
"Yes, yes!"
Seeing one of the most voracious eaters he had ever come across, the man only took Nik's existence as a challenge and began cooking breakfast once again, fully inclined to believe that he needed to put in effort equivalent to cooking for multiple hungry hunters.
Seeing Uti get off the hook so easily, Yue couldn't help but reprimand Nik through Uti herself, "Young children should be taught to respect the elders. It's not just the parents' job to do so. So, promise me not to call someone names once again."
Uti nodded hurriedly, "Promise! Now... Elder Brother, did you really beat baddies?"
"Well, Suki and Mai did," Nik smiled.
"Ehm," Katara frowned, clearing her throat.
"Yeah, they also saved the Princess sitting next to you... what do you think now that she's 'teaching' you... happy?" Nik flashed a mischievous smile befitting a child more than an adult as Uti couldn't help but pout and munch on her breakfast.
"Ehm," Katara coughed softly once again.
Nik glanced at her and inquired with his gaze only for Katara to almost lose her cool.
"Suki and Mai weren't the only ones with contributions..." Katara replied sourly.
"Oh, yeah. Even if the two of them took out the most, I also helped quite a bit," Nik added and Uti nodded.
Realizing the ploy to tease her, Katara scoffed.
"Still... where are they?" Nik questioned again.
"Who knows..." Katara muttered, "Off to defeating fire nation soldiers, probably..."
"Oh, come now. You know how helpful you were last night," Nik chuckled, his hand easily sneaking around her waist and pulling her close while Yue smiled, "So... now that he gave you the Betrothal Necklace, when do you plan to accept the blessings of the ancestors?"
"Huh?" Katara blanked out while Nik exhaled a soft, almost pitiable sigh and was quick to find another opportunity to poke fun. However, given how much Katara treasured her necklace, Nik didn't take credit for it, "Sigh, I'm not the one who made this necklace for her. In reality... Katara has a fiance waiting for her back in her tribe but after seeing the world, she is feeling complicated. I'm simply helping her
... soothe her troubles."
If Katara wasn't embarrassed before, she's now.
Flushed red, Katara hissed, "If you don't stop spouting nonsense, I don't mind slashing your other knee!"
"Hah!" Uti gasped, "Rude! It is our responsibility to weed out such rudeness. Sister Katara... you must apologize to Brother!"
"Sorry..." Yue smiled wryly. Things backfired in the most unexpected and spectacular manner.
"Here you go!" The old cook emerged with two plates filled to the brim as he placed them in front of Nik. The delicious scent intensified in an instant while Yue looked at Nik with a surprised expression. However, fearing that she would get played by him once again, Yue decided to observe and wait. She had already eaten and Katara wasn't a heavy eater in the morning, too. And since Yue had promised to show the group around and bring them to a special location, she didn't mind waiting right her. At least, it would distract her from the thought of her husband experiencing prison.
"So, Katara, are you betrothed?"
"No," Katara glared at Nik. She already had her hoody lowered so her choker was visible. Her fingers traced the pendant as she smiled, "It's... something that I remember my mother by."
"Oh... I'm sorry," Yue whispered as she understood the underlying intent behind Katara's words as the waterbender shook her head, "It's been a long time and I have seen many things to make me feel a little... less helpless about whatever happened. This liar being one of them." Katara leaned slightly against Nik as he stopped himself from digging into the northern delights cooked in front of him and smiled at Katara.
While Yue showed remarkable patience and surprise as she watched Nik devour contents of one plate after another, Uti had left quite a while ago.
Nik only felt satisfied at the eighth serving as he patted his stomach and leaned back with a soft sigh.
"Huh... you're done early..." Katara's remark almost made Yue cough loudly while Nik groaned with a tone of languid satisfaction, "It's breakfast... what did you expect? A man's got to start light!"
This time, both Katara and Yue rolled their eyes.
"How about I lead you to the location I talked about last night? It will also give you the chance to digest," Yue smiled while discreetly glancing at Nik's stomach, unable to figure out how so much food had disappeared into the seemingly bottomless pit within Nik.
"Of course," Nik nodded and slowly stood up, prompting Katara to help him steady the moment he wobbled due to stretching his arms outward out of habit.
The trio left soon enough. According to Yue... Suki had proposed a sparring match with Mai so they weren't too far from the segregated region. Of course, once Nik heard that, his interest was ignited on how the two would match against one another but breakfast presented a far more compelling argument, making him sit and enjoy it until it lasted.
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The trio found Suki and Mai resting near the platform that connected two portions of the city with a bridge over one of the many streams that divided the city into many parts. Huffing and puffing, the two sat closer to one another so that the chill doesn't sneak up on them and when Suki caught the sight of Katara and Nik approaching, she hurriedly waved her hands, "Katara! Quick, dry me!" Suki hurriedly muttered. The last thing she wanted to combat when the threat of war loomed was a cold itself.
Though confused, Katara waved her hands gently and quickly pulled out the sweat lathering Suki's body until she felt dry while annoyed at his inactivity, Mai scoffed at Nik, "Do you need a special invitation or are you just worse compared to Katara?"
Amused, Nik shook his head, "Not worse... but my job is to do the opposite. Wait for a few seconds, Katara will be handling you," he shrugged, making Mai's brows lock into a tight frown while Katara almost choked on her words.
"What does opposite mean— oh... never mind," Yue's voice grew softer, the slightest hint of blush perceivable on her smooth caramel cheeks while Suki smiled, changing the subject, "You guys missed it... Mai is such a great fighter. I think I could learn a thing or two from her."
As if recalling something, Nik suddenly stretched his hand outwards and pulled back, causing Mai's sweat to seep through her clothes and fall on the snowy ground. Amazed by the sudden move, the girls looked at him while he grumbled, "What are you so surprised for? I've always been good."
"This is exactly what Tom-Tom says before he wants something," Mai's eyes narrowed down suspiciously as Nik shrugged, "I don't need anything from you—"
"Ah! He wants to learn how to throw knives from you!" Suki's words shook Nik for a moment as he coughed, "... no, I don't."
"Really?" Suki crossed her arms, "Your training schedule just opened up since you cannot practice with me or spar with Katara. So, aside from self-training... you would think of a long-range technique to practice in. Mai fits the bill... and you've never been nice to her."
If she had to choose between Nik and Mai, Suki would obviously choose the former but she had begun to develop a sense of friendship with Mai. Sparring with her also helped develop such a bond so Suki genuinely wanted to see Nik and Mai get along just a bit better. Not to mention that it was easy to put two things together once Nik did actually listen to Mai.
Seeing his thoughts so easily exposed, Nik couldn't help but think, 'No wonder I was chewed out by Esta... I'm simply easy pickings, huh...'
"Oh, so you did want something," Mai narrowed her eyes, her lips barely curving into a short smirk.
Not easily willing to fall short even when Mai was getting Suki's support at the moment, Nik shrugged, "Not really. I was just a bit interested in it, that's all."
"Oh," Mai nodded but didn't speak anymore while the surroundings fell into a stifling silence that Mai and Nik felt at ease in. But others didn't, especially Yue, who was more eager to have a move on and lead pulled their attention, "I would be quite busy later, if everything ends well, so let me repay all of you by showing you around."
"How is that fair?" Mai frowned.
"Eh?"
"We didn't save you to have you host us... no point in making things feel like it's a trade since it's not a fair deal..." Mai burst Yue's bubble rather easily as she felt a little embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to lower your contributions. I just wanted..."
"Oh, come on," Katara rolled her eyes, "She's just eager to have someone to talk to and hang out with. Yue, let's leave these training nuts back."
The woman pouted and walked close to the princess before hugging Yue's arms, making her nervous expression break out into a genuine smile.
"Since when did we turn to training nuts?" Nik mumbled as the remaining trio followed the duo, "As far as I can remember... Katara's the one who just wanted to train back in the ship."
Katara paid no heed to Nik's words until Suki supplanted, "And she was quite good at that. After all, I walked in on her while she trained."
"Nice," Nik and Suki high-fived each other while Katara almost tumbled down.
"What do you mean?" Not fully indifferent to Suki at this point due to the former's action of trying hard to converse with Mai, she inquired curiously, feeling that Suki's words hid an interesting story that might uplift her mood.
"Nothing!"
Katara interjected with cheeks flushed and eyes widened in annoyance.
Naturally, Mai found things suspicious. After all, this is how Tom-Tom would react if he'd been almost caught red-handed.
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