The Last Waterbender

by crunchy_granola

Summary:

“My sister isn’t the bender.” Sokka lied. “I am.”

When the Fire Nation comes looking to the last water bender of the South Pole, Sokka lies to save his mother and sister's life. He's taken as a captive to the Fire Nation Capital. Determined to escape and return home, Sokka confronts what it means to be a warrior when the battle can't be fought with weapons.

Notes:

18/11- Chapter 9 is new

Chapter 1: The Decision

Sokka was having the nightmare again. The one from where all of this began. He could still taste the soot mingled into the snow of Wolf's Cove, and he could still remember the look on his parent's faces when they realized what that soot meant. It always started the same way. Sokka stood behind his father as the Fire Nation men encircled the warriors from the Southern Water Tribe. His father had chided him when Sokka had called the Fire Nation men warriors earlier.

“Warriors don’t threaten the innocent. They protect the innocent.” His dad corrected. Sokka had only nodded. He tried to imagine himself as a grown warrior of the Southern Water tribe wearing the facepaint like his father and his father’s father. Someday, he would be a great warrior for his tribe. He snarled his teeth the way a real warrior would before a hunt, but stayed behind his dad so the Fire Nation wouldn't see. Their uniforms were horrific. Black and red knit together over a white faceplate so the soldiers looked like skeletons. Sokka knew enough about camouflage to know that those clothes were useless for hunting animals. The man in red spoke again.

“Give us the waterbender, and we’ll leave.” He promised. Hadoka (sometimes it didn’t feel right to call him dad) placed his hand on Sokka’s head, and Sokka pushed into the comfort. Mom and Dad had warned them about this. They said that there was a chance the Fire Nation army would come and look for Katara, but as long as no one said anything, they would all be fine. Gran Gran had promised baked fish for dinner tonight. He was looking forward to it.

“We don’t have any water benders. None have been born here for at least 20 years. Is it possible that you’re thinking of the Northern Tribe?”

“No. We know they’re here.” The man replied.

“You’re welcome to enjoy our hospitality as long as you like, but we have no water benders.” His dad spoke again. The man in red scoffed.

“We’ll enjoy whatever we like.” Hadoka pushed Sokka firmly behind himself and another warrior put his arm on Sokka’s shoulder, holding him firmly out of the man’s line of sight. A real warrior, like Sokka, notices these things.

The man in red nodded at the nearest two soldiers.

“Tear it down. Tent by tent.” He ordered. Several of the warriors moved to stop them, but Hadoka shook his head at them. Sokka nodded. Real warriors had to pick their battles, and the battle they had all picked was protecting Katara. Dad had said his mission was to stay silent, and he was doing a great job at it.

The fire nation's soldiers tore down the nearest tents, but Sokka figured that was ok. They could fix them once the soldiers left. All that mattered was protecting Katara. Gran Gran stood off to the side, holding a baby. She winced as the soldiers tore the tent down, but Sokka knew they would be ok. He smiled. They were real warriors, and real warriors were always ok. And then he heard Katara screaming.

“Dad!”

“Katara!” Hadoka broke through the line of Fire Nation soldiers and ran toward her. Sokka was confused. Dad had said it was important to stay calm. Sokka felt someone grab him from behind and held him, Bato. Hadoka dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Katara. She whispered something in his ear. Sokka could hear the Fire Nation soldiers beginning to whisper.

“What?” Dad asked. Something Sokka had never seen before crossed his father's face. He pushed Katara towards them. “Bato. Take the kids.” Bato nestled Sokka’s face into their shoulder so he couldn’t see what happened next. "Everything is going to be fine," Bato whispered. He rubbed Sokka's back. Sokka nodded. He heard screaming. Yelling. Bato set him down. He wrapped one arm around Kata and another arm around Sokka. "I need you both to keep looking at me," Bato whispered. Gran Gran stepped up behind them. She knelt so that she was right by Katara. Sokka bit his lip. He wasn’t sure if Mom and Dad had planned for this.

“Don’t either of you take your eyes off of me.” Bato breathed. He tried to turn their heads so they couldn’t see, but Sokka was smarter than him. Another fire nation man, Sokka would later learn his name was Yon Rha, dragged Mom towards the group. His fists were in her hair. Sokka felt Bato's breath catch, and he felt the air leave his lungs. A woman screamed. The Fire Nation man tossed his mother into the center of the group. Dad ran to her. Sokka froze.

“This woman,” Yon Rha shouted. Sokka wanted to tell him that shouting inside the camp was considered rude, but he decided against it. “Has lied to me about being the last water bender in your tribe.” Bato clutched Sokka against himself and whispered some calming words. Sokka knew warriors were allowed to feel fear, and he was grateful for that.

Dad helped Mom sit up, and he clutched her against his chest. Neither of them looked back towards Sokka and Katara. In the moment he had hated it. He had wanted reassurance from his parents that everything would be alright. Years later, Sokka finally understood why.

“The only reason someone would be stupid enough to lie to an officer of the Imperial Fire Navy, is if they were desperate. And the only reason you would be desperate is if you had someone to protect.” A wail escaped Mom’s lips. Dad held her closer. Sokka wanted to ask what the man meant, but he knew now wasn’t the time. He could ask over dinner. Gran Gran would still make fish even if the storehouses needed to be rebuilt. Bato pulled Sokka and Katara close. Sokka breathed through his mouth so he didn’t need to smell the seal pelt in Bato’s robes. He never realized that would be the last smell of home for six years.

“So who is she protecting.” One of the fire nation men called out. Yon Rha glared at him

“I am getting to that.” He paused and glared at the man who had asked. Sokka thought it was funny. “The only people you would lie to protect are your children. What happened to the little girl who was in the tent with you?” Sokka felt Bato’s grip tighten around them. Katara started crying.

“No. Please.” Mom was crying too now. Sokka felt something hurt in his stomach. Another man dressed in red shoved Gran Gran away and yanked Katara from them. Gran Gran screamed. Sokka and Dad yelled. They were going to take Katara. They were going to take Katara. Sokka was a warrior, and warriors protected the innocent. The man holding Katara summoned a ball of flame in his palm.

“If you’re the water bender, let’s see you protect your family.” Sokka felt his world stop. The man threw the ball of fire at Mom and Dad. It skidded harmlessly by them. Warriors protect the innocent. Katara screamed and flailed in the man’s arms, and a ripple of movement passed through the snow. Water bending. Or at least an untrained child’s version of it. Only one person could protect Katara now. Sokka’s body committed before his mind could. He broke free from Bato’s arms and struck a pose the way he imagined a bender would.

“My sister isn’t the bender.” Sokka lied. “I am.” He kicked up some of the powdered snow, the way he used to play at being a bender when he was a little kid. It was convincing enough. No one from the Water Tribe would have been convinced, but they didn't need to be. The man holding Katara threw her into a snowbank. Mom screamed. So did Dad. Yon Rha paused. Then he smiled. Sokka hated the smile then and hated it every day in the years to come.

“Well. This is unexpected. Zun Lo, get the cuffs. You see, our orders were to execute the water bender, but one this tiny can’t pose much of a threat at all.” Yon Rha smiled. “I think we’ll take him back to the Fire Nation. There’s a shortage of duck monkeys, so we’re desperate for entertainment.” Mom screamed again. Sokka snarled at Yon Rha. Dad looked back at Sokka, and Sokka nodded at him. Dad’s face was frozen. Sokka puffed out his chest a little. He was a warrior. He had to protect the tribe, why did Dad not understand this?

“He’s lying,” Katara screamed, “It’s me. I’m the bender!” Sokka laughed at his sister. Every adult had trouble understanding the kids when they yelled from the snowbanks. The fire nation would never be able to hear her. Hadoka scrambled up from the ground and pulled Sokka into a hug. Sokka was too stunned to breathe in the smell of his dad. He wished he had hugged his Dad back, he wished he had hugged Dad back.

“Be brave. You’re going to need to be a different kind of warrior Sokka. Just keep being brave.” Hadoka kissed his forehead. His mom appeared.

“Just survive.” She whispered. Behind her, Sokka could see a man approaching with cuffs. She kissed his forehead, and Sokka could feel her tears on his head. “We’ll try to get to you. Remember you are Sokka, son of Hadoka, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. You are my son and your name is Sokka.” Her whispering was low and frantic.

“Get away from our prisoner.” Someone threw Mom to the ground again. She sobbed. Sokka had never seen his mom cry before today.

“Get away from our son.” Dad spat back. He threw a punch at the man, but the soldier deflected it easily and twisted his father’s wrist. Hadoka screamed.

“Dad. Dad. It’ll be ok.” Sokka was crying now too. The warriors didn’t cry. Maybe he wasn’t a real warrior. The soldier clamped iron bracelets around his wrists and another one around his neck. The bracelets held his wrists tight before him, and Sokka couldn’t move his arms. He gasped for air. He looked at his dad. Hadoka nodded, he had tears running down his face too. Maybe warriors really did cry. Mom tried to get close to him again for a hug, but the Fire Nation men swatted her away. Sokka did start crying now if Dad was doing it, it must be ok.

One of the Fire Nation men grabbed Sokka’s arm and hoisted him up. Sokka attempted to wiggle free but it wasn’t working. The Fire Nation man merely threw him over his shoulder and the others near him laughed.

“We’re taking the son of your chief.” Yon Rhae explained. “Your last water bender, and if you ever raise a hand against the Fire Nation, we will kill him and then every last one of you.” He smiled. Sokka felt dizzy. His head was spinning. They were going to kill him?

“Let’s get out of this dump.” Yon Rha decided. Sokka wanted to scream, but the words stuck in his throat. He craned his neck to see if he could spot Katara, their tent, or his snow castle. He didn’t want to look at his parents, they were both crying. The firebenders fell into a defensive stance as they retreated from the village. Sokka forced himself to breathe. He needed to be a warrior. He trashed against the man holding him and tried to bite his ear.

“Stop wiggling, I don’t want to drop you.” The man carrying him ordered, though not unkindly. Yon Rha sent blasts of fire toward the row of igloos, melting them and destroying anything in them.

“A little something to remember us by,” Yon Rha called as he began heading for the gangplank that connected the ship to their village. Sokka screamed. This was actually happening. He thrashed in the man’s arms again, but whoever he was held tight. Sokka was carried up the gangplank.

“Mom! Dad!” He screamed until his throat hurt, looking for his parents. They were both frozen with looks of horror. Sobs began to escape Sokka’s lips. Katara is safe. Katara is safe. Katara is safe. His heart was still beating.

“Sokka!” He could hear Dad screaming. The man stepped off the gangplank and onto the ship. Sokka tried to bite the man’s ear. He cursed and set Sokka down on the deck. Someone forced a gag into his mouth. Sokka cried harder.

“Little brat.” Someone snarled.

“Bro, he’s a kid.” Someone replied.

“Still a brat.” Someone picked him back up and began to carry him below. Sokka craned his neck so he could see the blue sky one last time. Would the sky still be blue wherever they were taking him? He wasn’t sure.

“Get the seal cage.” Someone shouted. They dropped Sokka into a small cage. Sokka’s body racked with sobs as tears freely flowed down his cheeks. Katara is safe. Katara is safe. His heart beat out the reminder, but it was little comfort. He wasn’t sure how long they left him down there those first few days. He knew that sharp pains ebbed through his stomach and that his throat became dry. He knew he cried almost all of the time. Eventually, he stopped crying. It wasn’t that he stopped being sad, it was just that he couldn’t bring himself to do it anymore. He learned to lay there on the floor and just breathe. The gag dried out his mouth and caused an ache in his jaw. Sokka wanted it off. The cage was barely big enough for him to roll over, but he did it anyway just for the sake of doing something. The only other option was to just lie there. Sometimes sleeping, sometimes whimpering, but always thinking of home.

Chapter 2: The Tunic

“Hey buddy, you awake?” Sokka stopped trembling long enough to listen to the footsteps coming downstairs. “I brought you some water and food. We’re going to have you drink the water through a straw in the bars, no bending. Ok?”

Sokka knew he couldn’t bend even if he wanted to. And he hadn’t eaten since the morning of his capture. He was starving. The man looked like every other Fire Nation soldier. He had the same black haircut and the same amber eyes. The man reached through the bars and took the gag out of Sokka’s mouth. Sokka ran his tongue along his teeth and winced at how dry his mouth was. The man offered him a straw gently.

“Drink slowly, ok? It’s been a while since anything was in your stomach.” Sokka nodded. He gulped the water down. “My name’s Zun Lo. What’s your name?” He asked. Sokka winced at the memory of Zun Lo putting him in the cuffs. Sokka thought about lying given that his name was legitimately the last thing he had from home, but he also worried it might be some kind of test. Sokka just shook his head. Zun Lo nodded.

“That’s fair. How about you have something to eat?” He offered Sokka something white and shaped like a long bone. Sokka frowned. Zun Lo laughed. ‘It’s a rice stick! Have you never had one before?” Sokka shook his head. “Ok, we’ll split this one so you know it's safe.” Zun Lo broke the stick in half and handed it to him through the bars. Sokka took it slowly with his cuffed hands. Zun Lo bit into his stick with a smile, but Sokka needed more information. He sniffed it and then cautiously licked it. Zun Lo laughed again. “You’ve really never seen one of these before?” Sokka shook his head again. Zun Lo smiled. “I’ll let you enjoy it in your own time then. If I leave the gag off, are you going to start yelling?”

“What’s the point?” Sokka asked before realizing his mistake. Zun Lo smiled.

“So you can talk! But you’re right. There’s no point in yelling. Smart kid.” Sokka shrugged in response and cautiously took a bite of the rice stick. It wasn’t bad. It was crunchy yet sweet.

“Just so you have a sense of what’s going on, we’re meeting up with another ship and they’re going to take you back to the Fire Nation.”

“What’s…what’s going to happen to me after that?” Sokka asked. He wasn’t sure why he was asking. Part of him knew escape was impossible, and the other part of him knew he had to try to escape. Zun Lo shrugged.

“I’m not sure. No one expected that you would be an untrained kid. I figured the water bender was either your mom or dad based on how they were acting.” Sokka knew they were in dangerous territory. He shrugged.

“Well. You were wrong. It’s me.” He snuggled his back into the wall and tried to hug himself despite the cuffs. Zun Lo smiled as he stood up.

“I’ll leave you to rest. If you need anything, yell.”

“I need to go home,” Sokka stated. Zun Lo shook his head.

“Sorry kid, that’s the one thing I can’t do.”

The days passed in a bland repetition of each other. Zun Lo brought Sokka different fire nation treats and acted surprised when Sokka said he hadn’t tried them. He napped and missed his dad. He ate and missed his mom. He sipped water through the straw and missed Katara. When he was really bored, he rolled up his parka sleeves and counted the stitches in the embroidery from mom. 187 stitches in the penguins, 234 in the wolves, and 76 in the snow flowers. Zun Lo told him jokes that weren’t funny, but Sokka laughed anyway. He missed his family every day and with every breath. He missed the sun, the snow, and his friends. Zun Lo always told him to yell if he needed anything as he left, and Sokka always replied that he needed to go home. Zun Lo just smiled sadly.

It began to get hot under the ship, uncomfortably hot. He would have taken off his parka, were it not his last connection to home, and were his arms not bound into it due to the cuffs. Out of habit, he began counting the stitches again. He heard Zun Lo bounding down the steps again and paused when it wasn’t just Zun Lo.

“Hey, kid. We’re about to rendezvous with the ship that’ll take you the rest of the way to the Fire Nation, so we need to get you out of that parka.” Zun Lo’s voice was gentle. Sokka shook his head.

“No.”

“Kid. It’s protocol. You need to be in a prison uniform when we hand you over. We’ve let you keep it longer than we should have.” Zun Lo's voice was low and gentle. Sokka swallowed.

“Please.”

“I realize this is hard, but won’t it be nice to take your cuffs off?”

“Not for this.” Sokka pressed his back as hard as he could against the rear wall of the cage.

“Ok. We’re going to do our jobs. You do yours.” Zun Lo flipped open the roof of Sokka’s cage and lifted him out with little effort. Sokka thrashed and fought the way he had that first day, but there were more of them and they were bigger. Zun Lo held him while someone else undid the cuffs around his wrists. Sokka tried to bite Zun Lo’s ear, but the man was too quick.

“Stop fighting, otherwise we’ll need to cut it off you.” Zun Lo instructed. Sokka kicked someone with every ounce of strength in his body. Zun Lo sighed. “Get the knife.”

Someone brought the knife up to the neck of his parka and Sokka wailed. After the first few rips in the fabric, he stopped fighting them as they pulled the parka away from his body. He ran his finger over the stitching in his tunic sleeves. His mom had done those stitches, and once they were gone, so would be his last thing from home. A sob escaped his mouth. Zun Lo watched Sokka’s hand for a minute.

“How about, we let you get dressed into the new clothes by yourself, and I can see about you keeping the tunic as a personal item?”

“What do I need to trade for it?” Sokka asked glumly. His head hung heavy in defeat. How would he ever be a warrior if he couldn’t protect himself?

“Nothing. I can’t guarantee any outcomes, so just get dressed quietly, and I’ll ask.” Zun Lo replied. Sokka appreciated the honesty. He slipped the tunic off and pulled on the new red shirt. It itched in uncomfortable places and felt too big.

“It’s too red.” He muttered. The men all laughed.

“Naw. It looks good on you.” Zun Lo replied as he folded up Sokka’s tunic and parka. “Thank you for cooperating, I appreciate it. I know that wasn’t easy for you.” Sokka didn’t reply. He merely jutted out his chin and stuck his wrists out for the cuffs again. Without the tunic to protect his wrists, the cuffs were going to rub him raw. Zun Lo fought a smile off his face and lifted him back into the cage. The other men turned to leave. “I brought you a rice stick. Here.” Zun Lo stuck his hands through the bars.

“I’m not hungry.” Sokka breathed. He tried to curl up into himself, but it was harder without his parka.

“Are you thirsty? I don’t have the straw but I’d let you drink from my canteen.” Sokka nodded. Zun Lo detached the canteen from his belt and passed it through the bars. “I’m trusting you here.” Sokka merely took the canteen and drank his fill before handing it back.

“Can I be alone now?” He asked quietly. Sokka’s energy had disappeared, and he wasn’t sure where it had gone.

“Sure thing kid. Yell if you need anything.” Zun Lo smiled and waited for Sokka’s standard reply, but the boy just curled up and turned away. Zun Lo left silently, and Sokka tried to sleep.

The ship had stopped moving. Sokka wasn't sure how he knew, he just knew. His heart started beating faster as footsteps came down the stairs. It was just Zun Lo.

“Morning kid. We’re handing you over to the new ship today, but I got you a present first. Put your wrists through the bars, I’ll need to take your cuffs off,” Sokka did as he was told, and part of him hated himself for it.

Zun Lo whistled softly while he undid Sokka’s cuffs, and once they were off, he told Sokka to take his arms back and stretch for a minute.

“You’re probably going to be wearing them for a long time from here on out, so get the circulation while you can.”

“You’re not worried about me bending?” Sokka asked. He rubbed his wrists and flexed them in every direction he could. The skin was chafed raw and red. Zun Lo shrugged.

“I graduated top of my class from the academy, so if I can’t handle an untrained kid then I don’t have the right to call myself an Imperial Officer do I?”

“I don’t know what an Imperial Officer is,” Sokka replied. Zun Lo laughed.

“Fair enough. Let me see your wrists.” Sokka stuck his wrists back through the bars. Zun Lo pulled out the blue sleeves of his tunic with his mother’s stitching and Sokka gasped. Zun Lo nodded. “That captain said you couldn’t keep the tunic, but I figured if you were brave enough to lie to Admiral Yon Rha, then I needed to be brave enough to work around him too.” Sokka’s stomach flipped.

“What do you mean? I didn’t lie.” His brain reeled through all of his conversations with Zun Lo. How could he have known?

“Relax kid. Your secret is safe. I’m an older brother too. I get it.” Sokka felt his breath grow short. He had been so careful. He stared at Zun Lo for a minute in solid panic before his shoulders slumped forward. The game was up.

“How long have you known?” Sokka looked down so he didn't need to look Zun Lo in the eyes.

“I suspected it in your village based on how your parents reacted. And you didn’t try anything with the water yesterday. A bender would have at least moved it a little. The gift of bending comes with the occasional compulsion to do it.” He explained. He held up a tin of something. "This is just a salve for your wrists, should help with the chaffing a little." Sokka nearly cried out in relief when the ointment touched his skin, but he knew not to show too much in front of the enemy. Especially an enemy that knew his secret. Zun Lo wrapped the tunic sleeves around Sokka's wrists, insulating each one from the harsh metal cuffs.

“Does anyone else know?” Sokka hated how small his voice sounded.

“Nope. But now you know for next time, and now you can have your mom with you to protect your wrists. She was the one who did the stitching right?”

“Yeah,” Sokka whispered.

“My mom did the same thing when I left for the academy.” Zun Lo explained. He smiled at the memory. “But now I need to put your cuffs back on.” Sokka took a deep breath as the metal latched back on. They sat in silence for a minute.

“How long before they take me?” A new wave of fear was washing up in him. His stomach churned, and every muscle in his body felt like someone was holding a fire to it. This was worse than when they had first brought him on the ship.

“Another hour or so. The admirals are having tea and talking now. I heard you’ll be taken to the palace. They’ll probably just use you as a hostage and conversation piece. Scary, but no immediate danger. Do you want me to stay with you until they come down, or would you rather be alone?”

“Stay.” Sokka wimpered. His fingers found the tunic strips around each wrist and he tried to imagine his mom holding him.

“Ok.” Zun Lo slouched down against the seal cage so he was almost laying on the floor next to Sokka. Sokka wrapped his arms around his legs and reminded himself to breathe. He closed his eyes and then opened them suddenly.

“My name is Sokka.” He said to Zun Lo. Conversationally. Calmly. “Of Wolf’s Cove. I am the son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara.” Zun Lo smiled.

“Nice to meet you Sokka. I am Zun Lo of Dragon’s Street, son of Cheryu and grandson of Iroho.”

“Will you come visit me at the palace?” Sokka wasn't sure what he wanted the answer to be.

“Would you like me to visit you?” Sokka decided he knew what he wanted the answer to be.

“Yes please.”

“Ok. Then I’ll try.” Zun Lo smiled at him.

“Thank you.” Sokka took a deep breath. Sokka was a warrior, and warriors stayed calm.

“Keep chanting your name and your lineage to yourself. It’s a good way to stay calm.” Zun Lo instructed. He fidgeted with a bracelet on his wrist. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? It could be a while before they feed you again." Sokka shook his head.

“I’m scared.” He whispered it out. Warriors weren't supposed to betray secrets to the enemy. Zun Lo gave him a sad smile.

“That means you have a good read on the situation. But the scariest part was committing to being the waterbender. The worst is over, you just need to focus on yourself now.” He whispered back. The door at the top of the stairs slammed open.

“Zun Lo! Bring the waterbender up!” Zun Lo smiled at Sokka like he was a friend challenging him to a penguin sledding race.

“Ready?” He put his helmet on. Sokka felt his stomach fall out of his body.

“No.”

“Too bad.” Zun Lo slowly flipped the top of the cage open and helped Sokka climb out. Sokka hyperventilated a little. Zun Lo put his hands on Sokka’s shoulders. “I’m going to have you walk up the stairs. Close your eyes once we get to the top, it’ll be bright.” Sokka nodded. “Breathe Sokka. The hardest part is over.” Zun Lo kept one hand on Sokka’s shoulder and the other in a position ready to summon fire should the need arise. Sokka felt his legs go weak from the lack of use. “Keep going, kid.” They reached the top of the stairs. More fire nation men stood there.

“Close your eyes. It’s going to be bright.” Zun Lo reminded him. Sokka did as he was told. His muscles hurt, it had been too long since he had gotten to use them.

“Admiral Usam. The prisoner as requested.” Sokka trembled as he opened his eyes slowly. The admiral was an enormously fat man with a short gray beard. Zun Lo squeezed his shoulder. It was a friendly gesture. “He has been a model prisoner, and we’ve had no problems.” Admiral Usam squatted to look Sokka in the eyes. His breath burned Sokka's face.

“Your days of threatening the fire nation are over.” Sokka fought the urge to laugh. A joke about threatening the admiral’s dinner immediately sprang to mind, but he swallowed it. Zun Lo squeezed his shoulder again, and Sokka felt his breathing even out. Wherever they were, there were no icebergs. Just blue water as far as the horizons reached. Sokka met the Admiral's eyes and glared. The man humphed and turned back to another important looking man. Zun Lo's hands were still weighing on his shoulders. There was a sea breeze that reminded him of home, and the sunlight beat down warmth. A part of him was just grateful to be in the sunshine again, for however long it was.

“Take him away and stow him quickly. We have orders to bring the vermin straight to the Firelord.”

“Right away, sir.” Zun Lo squeezed Sokka’s shoulder again as he gently pushed him to the walkway connecting the two ships. Again, Sokka felt the air leave his lungs. His legs stopped. The ship was the biggest thing he’d ever seen, bigger than his entire village. “Sokka, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just huge.” Sokka whispered.

“Ok. I need you to keep walking. You’re almost there.” Zun Lo instructed. Sokka nodded. Two more Fire Nation soldiers met them at the end of the walkway and led them through a maze of halls.

“Just in here.” One of them offered as he opened a door. Sokka walked through and fought the urge to freeze again. He had been expecting another cage. This was the opposite. A small podium stood in the center of the small room, and chains hung from the ceiling directly over it.

“Step up onto the podium.” The first soldier instructed. Sokka did as he was told, but not without sending a fearful glance to Zun Lo. He nodded.

“Can I have the seal cage back? That was better.” Sokka commented as they ran a chain through his cuffs and pulled it tight. Sokka’s arms pulled high above his head and stretched out his spine. Zun Lo’s shoulders shook like he was trying to fight the urge to laugh as he adjusted Sokka’s cuffs so no blue fabric peaked through.

“How far are you from the Capitol? You can’t realistically expect a kid to endure this for long?” Zun Lo asked casually. He made eye contact with Sokka from behind his mask and nodded at him. Sokka recognized it as a gesture of support.

“Only a day or so. It’s very quick when the admiral wants to be.” The soldier replied as he secured the lax chain against the wall.

“Gentlemen, we have precious cargo of the utmost importance to the security of the fire nation. Make haste in the boiler room!” The other replied in an obvious imitation of the admiral from earlier. All three laughed. Sokka did too. They froze and glanced at him.

“Yeah boys,” Zun Lo explained. “Kid’s got a great sense of humor.” He made a face at Sokka from behind his mask. Sokka smiled. An ache was begging to creep into his shoulders.

“I wasn’t kidding about the seal cage though.” That got a real laugh from each of the three men.

“Let’s get underway and I’ll come back with a chair for you.” One of them said suddenly. “It’s not protocol but the protocol can’t expect a kid to stand in a stress position for 24 hours.” The three men began heading for the door.

“Thank you,” Sokka whispered. They stopped and turned to him. Sokka wasn’t looking at the man who had spoken though, he was looking at Zun Lo. The fire nation soldier gave a final wave.

“See you later, kid. Keep chanting, it’ll block out the pain in the shoulders.” Sokka nodded. The others left, and he was alone. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. The ship was too big to feel the rocking of the waves, so he just muttered to himself.

“My name is Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. My name is Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. My name is Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara.” The door opened again, A soldier slipped in. He held a small stool.

“I’ll loosen the chains so you can sit with your arms down. There’s not even any water here for you to bend.” Sokka smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Like seriously, don’t tell anyone. We’ll have to fix the chains before the admiral comes down to get you, but that’s a later problem.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” Sokka meant his words to be genuine, but there was a level of sass in his voice that hadn’t been there since his capture. He almost felt like Sokka again. The soldier disappeared. And he was alone again.

“I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara.” Zun Lo was right. It did help a little. His wrists rubbed against the cuffs, with the fabric from his tunic being his only protection. Zun Lo was his enemy and had taken him from his family and home, but he was also the only reason that Sokka still had a piece of his home. He had learned the first few days that he couldn’t think about home too much. He couldn’t think about Gran Gran making fish soup, or fixing the igloos with Dad, wrestling Katara, or cuddling with Mom. A new wave of despair welled up in him. He tried to force it down. If he started crying, he wouldn’t stop. And he would not let the Fire Lord or whoever was at the palace see him crying. Dad had cried, so Sokka knew it was ok for warriors to cry, but he didn’t want to do it in front of his enemies. More time passed. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. Sokka wasn’t sure. The door opened again.

“We’re almost at the port. I need to hang your arms back up.” Sokka stood back up obediently. He forced himself to take deep breaths as his arms were tied back up. “It’ll be another hour or so, you’re almost there.”

“I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara.” Sokka closed his eyes and tried to think away the pain. Every moment felt longer than the last. Tears welled up in his eyes, and Sokka knew the minute he opened them there would be no stopping it. He resisted as long as he could. Sokka’s body trembled and he reminded himself it was ok for a warrior to cry. Finally, the door opened again. Sokka tried to dry his face on the scratchy shirt, but it wasn’t much good. The fat admiral entered the room, accompanied by three more soldiers.

“I want him on deck. Now.”

“Aye, sir.” The men weren't nearly as gentle as Zun Lo had been. They didn’t shove him, but there was no one offering him friendly shoulder squeezes either. They forced him up through a maze of stairs and onto the deck in the bright sunlight. Sokka blinked through the pain in his shoulders and eyes. A tall man was standing there waiting for them with cruelty in his gaze. Sokka flinched and sunk into himself.

“Fire Prince Ozai, you dispatched us to retrieve the last water bender of the South Pole in your name and we have retrieved it.” Sokka bit his lip. He wanted to shout out that he was a person that his name was Sokka and that this was wrong but the look in Ozai’s eyes reminded Sokka of a leopard seal watching its prey.

“Put some face paint on it before you put it in the cage for transport. I don’t want people to think this is a regular child. And take out that ridiculous excuse for a topknot. Only those with honor wear them.”

“Right away, my Lord.” The admiral stated. He signaled the men around them. Two soldiers grabbed Sokka’s arms and dragged him down another gangplank to the ground. Sokka thought his first time touching the real ground in weeks would be more cinematic. He spotted a gold cage on wheels straight ahead, there was some kind of animal attached to it. Maybe a ox horse? Did they have those in the Fire Nation? His stomach hurt. Yon Rha’s words about duck monkeys rang in his head. He started to breathe a little quicker.

“Where are we supposed to get face paint.” One of the soldiers grumbled.

“Last time they used engine grease and rice powder. I brought some.” Paint his face? What were they talking about? One of the men grabbed two canisters off his belt.

“Hey kid, close your eyes. We’re putting that warrior face paint stuff on you.”

“You are not.” Spat Sokka, but he closed his eyes anyway. Maybe he was scared of getting grease in his eyes. Maybe he was scared of them. Maybe he just didn’t have the energy to fight them after being in that room for hours. Yeah, that was it. Sokka had only really worn the warrior facepaint for holidays and ceremonies at the South Pole. He knew what it felt like when it was applied though, and he knew they were doing it wrong. Nails dug into his skin where fingertips should have pressed, and he grimaced. He could feel whatever they were using itching at his skin and being pushed into his hairline. Sokka didn’t bother to correct them.

“Done.”

“Oh, the hair.”

“Good catch.” Sokka felt hands tugging on his wolf's tail and couldn’t keep the yelp off his lips. His hair fall around his ears as the soldier ripped the rawhide strip out, and tears began to well up in Sokka's eyes. His mom had done his hair that morning in the South Pole like she had every morning. His dad would tug the strip every time he walked past. Gran Gran said it made him look very mature. Sokka's thumb touched the tunic scraps under his cuffs. If those hadn’t been there, he would have begun sobbing.

“They’re coming. Get him in the cage and get the ox horses ready.” One of the men picked Sokka up and shoved him into the golden cage. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in one of the bars. Sokka barely recognized himself. His face was so much thinner. Nothing about the warpaint was right, and the grease hurt his skin. His hair hadn’t been cleaned in weeks so it hung around his face in a scraggly heap. It was like he was a skeleton from one of Gran Gran stories. Sokka began to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be happening.

Ozai came down the plank followed by the fat admiral and stared at him for just a moment.

“You’re lucky we found you when we did.” He spoke. “Any older and no one would have had any qualms about killing you.” And with that, he turned his attention to the soldiers and the horses.  “Let’s begin the procession. I want to be back by dinner.” A sob escaped Sokka's mouth. He gasped for air and clutched the strips of embroidery. 

Ozai swung himself up onto the ox horse and led the animal out ahead. The fat admiral did the same, but his horse was closer to Sokka. More of the soldiers fell in behind the cage, marching in perfectly straight lines. This was some kind of sick parade. Sokka backed himself into the corner of the cage and told himself it would pass. This was just some new humiliation designed to make him feel small, like putting him in the prison tunic or binding his hands. he forced a breath. The worst part was that it was working.

Their procession left the harbor and began to pull through the streets of the capital. Sokka had never seen this many people before. It felt like there were millions. Everywhere he looked, people were screaming and yelling. The air felt too hot to breathe and the paint felt heavy on his skin. Sokka forced another deep breath.

“Long live Fire Prince Ozai!”

“Damn the water benders!”

“Glory to the fire nation!”

Sokka didn’t know where to look. Everywhere there were people screaming obscenities at him. Sokka didn't know there were this many people in the world let alone this many people who hated him. There was so much heat in the air, that even breathing felt like too much work. He knew it was ok for warriors to cry, but were warriors allowed to pass out? He tried to look past the people at the giant building they were moving towards. It couldn’t be that much further, right? The screams were becoming too much.

Tears came out of his eyes again. He wanted his mom. He wanted to go home. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take, and worse, he had no idea how much more he would need to take. Sokka forced himself to move air in and out of his lungs. It drew his focus away from the people and onto himself; away from what he couldn't control and onto what he could. 

"Damn the water benders!" Someone threw a rock at the cage. It bounced off the bars harmlessly but Sokka winced anyway.

The obscenities from the crowd continued. Sokka didn’t understand how so many people could hate him so much. Something in his stomach twisted. Humiliation burned in his cheeks, and he knew he had nothing to be ashamed of, so hated himself for feeling it. Anger burned beneath his skin, and he tried to tune out the voices of the crowd. He wanted to think about something else. But it felt like there was nothing else. His world reduced to the golden cage and the people screaming hatred at him. Sokka dropped and curled up into the corner. He rocked back and forth while trying to tune the crowds out. 

"Coward!" The crowd screamed.

“I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara. I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, Son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna, brother to Katara.” He murmured over and over again. The tears made it a little more possible to get the paint off, and he knew that at least a little bit of his natural skin was showing through. Since they had first put the cuffs on him, Sokka's heart had beat out the refrain that Katara was safe, but now it turned into a taunt. Katara was home, safe, with their family while he was here suffering. Sokka hated her for it, for just an instant and then he was glad she was safe again. He covered his ears on he floor and prayed this would end soon.

Finally, the procession pulled through a set of gold doors that slammed behind the soldiers and Sokka could hear his brain again. He sat up slowly. This must've been the palace. There were gold and ornate carvings on almost every visible centimeter. Sokka had to tilt his head back in order to see the whole thing. Several people stood assembled on a landing in front of the building. There was a man who could have been older than Gran Gran, a sad-looking woman, and two kids Sokka’s age. The older was a boy who stared at him with interest and pity, and the younger one had the same scorn in her eyes as Ozai. They wore more gold and jewels than Sokka had ever seen in life. Not that he had seen a lot of jewels, but still. There were dozens of others too. They wore fine black clothes with red embellishments, but Sokka could see that they weren’t the important people here. He slid up the cuffs and touched his old tunic sleeves to calm himself. Ozai swung down from his ox horse. The admiral did the same. Both men bowed low.

“Rise. Speak my son.”

“Father! Fire Lord Azluzon! Six months ago, I dispatched our Southern Raiders to neutralize the last waterbender in the South Pole in your name. Upon their arrival, they discovered squalor conditions and this bender living amongst them. In your infinite mercy and wisdom, we liberated him in your name. He is our gift to you as we approach the anniversary of your crowning.” Ozai bowed low again. The woman and kids off to the side did the same thing. So did several other important people. Sokka straightened his back. He wasn’t going to bow to the man who had him put in a cage and paraded like a wild animal. But he wasn’t about to taunt the man either. The old man smiled, glared at Sokka, and then smiled at Ozai again.

“You have made me proud. Have the boy put in one of the cells.” And with that, he turned and began to walk back to the palace. The sad woman stood back up and placed one hand on each of her children’s shoulders. They waited until Ozai walked to them before going back into the palace. Sokka watched them go with little interest. His heart was still beating rapidly, and all he wanted was to vanish.

The door to the cage opened without warning. Sokka backed into the far corner of the cage. His knees knocked together.

“Easy way or hard way. Your choice.” The man stated. He wore armor like all of the other firebenders, but he was far more detailed and ornate than Zun Lo’s. He seemed impossibly large, and Sokka couldn't see any of his skin.

“Easy way.” whispered Sokka. There was no fight left in him. No part of him wanted to fight back, and no part of him could fight back. He tried to flip his hair out of his face, but it was no use. The man beckoned Sokka towards the door.

“Come on then.” The man lifted him out of the cage and to the ground. He wasn't gentle, but he wasn't trying to hurt Sokka either. Sokka wobbled on his feet. “Walk.” The man commanded. Sokka did as he was told. His entire body hurt with every step. The weeks of being confined in a small space, followed by the stretching, followed by the cage were not treating him well. His shoulders were burning and his ears pounded.

Two other guards flanked him as they walked. They led him through another network of hallways. Sokka couldn’t stop staring, at the walls, at the people, at the decorations. 50 igloos could have fit in this one hall alone. Did the Fire Nation have no colors other than red, black, and gold? It was all so ugly. Everywhere they went, people stared at him. Guards dropped their harsh posture to watch him go, women stood along the walls and whispered, and servants openly whsipered and pointed at him. Everywhere Sokka tooked, there were eyes. Some seemed more curious than mean, but others were more mean than curious.

They stuck him in a cell underground. Sokka kicked a pebble on the ground and bit his lip. There was no water. He'd need to live with his burning skin and dry throat. Sokka nodded. He was ok. He touched the tunic sleeves under his cuffs. He'd be fine. There was a small bedroll and a stool. Even the cell he was alone in was bigger than his entire family’s igloo. Sokka thought back to his mom and dad. What were they doing now?

He wiped his face off as best he could with his shirt. At least the shirt wasn’t red anymore. Sokka smiled. He ran his thumb along the stitches. Did his parents miss him? Surely they hadn't forgotten him, right? Sokka leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, feeling more alone than he ever had.

---

Sokka bolted upright and glanced around himself. Where was he? Where was he? He grabbed at his wrists. No cuffs weighed them down. He grappled with the bedroll and struggled away from the fire. His heart was beating rapidly. Was Ozai coming? What was going on?

“Sokka!” Someone called. Zuko. Sokka felt the years come rushing back into his head. The cages and the cells were gone. He was safe. Zuko scrambled up beside Sokka and wrapped his arms around him. “Hey. We’re at the Western Air Temple. You’re safe. You’re safe.” The boys sunk to the ground near the fire as the rest of the group began to wake up. Katara pulled herself out of her sleeping roll and came down on his other side.

“Sokka. It was just a nightmare.” She stated. Sokka couldn’t look at her eyes. She always looked so guilty when he woke up from the nightmares. In another world, it would have been her that was taken. He was glad it had been him.

“Scary,” Aanag added. “And also in the past.” Toph hung on the periphery with Sukki, neither really sure what roll to take in the aftermath. Zuko squeezed his shoulder and the two boys made eye contact.

“Tea?” Zuko offered.

“Please,” Sokka replied. The rest of the group nodded affirmatively. Zuko glanced around.

“I’ll, uh, make enough for everyone.” He muttered. Katara bended water into a pot and he silently heated it. Dawn’s lights were beginning to break over the mountains. Zuko poured some for Sokka first. “Want to talk about it?” He asked.

“Not really.” He replied loud enough for everyone to hear. Then in a lower voice, “It was the cage they used to bring me to the palace.” Zuko nodded.

“I remember that. I’d never seen my mom so upset.” He whispered back. Sokka nodded. He could see Katara and Aang on the other side of the fire, both listening and both pretending not to. might as well clue them in.

“I don’t understand why the nightmares are happening now. We’ve been away for years. I’m the safest I’ve ever been.” Sokka added in a normal volume. Aang perked up.

“I do! Dreams are how our subconscious makes sense of what we’ve seen. When you were a prisoner, you couldn’t process anything because you were so focused on survival. Now that you’re free again, your mind is trying to help you move past it.” Aang explained. Sokka glanced at Katara.

“You’re the healer. Does that sound right?” He asked, his brow furrowed. She shrugged.

“Mental healing is more Aang’s forte, but, I think so.” The group settled into silence as the day’s rays broke into the temple and scattered patterns of light on the floor. Zuko glanced at Sokka, the ghost of a smile broke over his face.

“Well. I’m up for the day. Want to swordfight?” He asked. Their old rhythm of banter was back. Something bad happened, they survived, they wrestled. It was the formula both boys had relied on for years. Sokka grinned.

“You’re on, sparky.”

“You’re not even a real bender.” Zuko grabbed their swords from the small pile near the bed rolls. He tossed the meteorite sword to Sokka. The restof the group grumbled and began going back to bed.

“Fooled you long enough though, didn’t I?” Sokka locked swords with Zuko and their dance led them away from the camp area. Sokka reminded himself that the ache in his shoulders was from sleeping on the group, no one had put him in chains in years, and soon they would have justice.

Chapter 3: Ursa

A light rustling woke him from his sleep. Sokka tried to rub his eyes and grumbled in frustration when the cuffs prevented it. The low lights blocked him back into focus. He gasped. The sad lady from earlier stood at the bars of his cell.

“Hello. I’m Ursa. I brought you some dinner. Are you hungry?” She had a gentle smile, and she reminded Sokka of his mother instantly. More tears threatened to break free from his face. “I know our food is very different than what you’re used to, but I have a son your age, and he loves roasted fire potatoes and duck. Would you like to try some?” Sokka nodded numbly and sat down in front of Ursa as she set a bowl of food and chopsticks in his cell. Sokka’s stomach grumbled. He stared at the food, terrified that it would vanish or there would be some price for it. She pushed the bowl towards him again. “Please eat.”

Sokka ate quickly, never taking his eyes off of her. She did the same. It was like he was home with Mom, in a different kind of way. The meat was incredible. Sokka couldn't believe it. He wanted to slow down to savor it, but he also couldn't eat it fast enough. Everything about it was perfect. At least in his mind, it was. Sokka had never tasted duck meat before so he had no benchmark for if it was good or not.

“I have a wet towel for your face. Promise me you won’t tell anyone I gave it to you?” She had a teasing smile on her face. Sokka’s heart hurt. She didn’t wait for a reply. Just stuck her hands through the bars and gently began to wash his face. She wiped away the grease, sweat, and weeks' worth of dried tears. “Is it alright if I try to fix your hair, I understand if that’s too personal.” And the look in her eye told Sokka that she meant it. He just shook his head and rotated so she could access his hair. She brushed through it with her fingers the way his mom would have. Her hands felt so gentle on his scalp. “I read that the water tribes use seal hides to tie their hair up, is that true?” She asked. Sokka nodded. “Well I wasn’t able to find seal hide, but I did get some ostrich cowhide. I know it’s not like you’d do it at home, but it’s still close.” Sokka could only nod. This all felt too confusing. The sad lady was really nice and was really like his mom? It was too much. He wanted to cry again, but his body was just too tired.

“I’ll see about getting you some fresh clothes tomorrow. Go back to sleep.” She instructed. Sokka could only nod. He curled back into a ball on the sleeping roll and Ursa stood up to leave. “Goodnight. I’ll check on you again soon.” Sokka closed his eyes. And then she was gone.

Ursa was true to her word. She brought him a new prison tunic and blankets, and she brought him different kinds of meat every night.

“Why are you being nice to me?” Sokka asked through a mouthful of chicken. He liked it better than the duck. Or maybe he preferred these spices. He wasn't sure.

“Because if my son were ever taken to the water tribe, I’d hope your mom would look after him,” Ursa replied. Sokka nodded. He didn’t ask any follow-up questions about her son. He didn’t want her to ask any questions about his family, and it seemed only fair.

Sokka dreamt fitful dreams over the next few days. He saw his parents, his sister, and the crowds of people hurling insults at him. Sometimes he was alone, other times his dad was there. Being awake wasn’t any better. They gave him a bowl of rice a day, and the hunger pangs rocked his stomach and dulled his mind. Ursa’s meals helped take the edge off, but it still wasn’t enough. The prison tunic began to feel bigger. That was one aspect of the food deprivation Sokka didn't mind. He could almost wrap himself the prison uniform and it and pretend it was a parka. A trickle of visitors would walk by his cell and stare at him. They were always Fire Nation, and Sokka tried to make guesses about who they were. Some were clearly advisors to the Fire Lord, others seemed richer than Sokka’s entire tribe. The guards that accompanied them wore different uniforms than Sokka had seen before, but they still seemed threatening. The first few visitors just walked in, stared at him, and left. Sokka didn't mind them. The variety broke up the monotony of his days a little bit. As the week went on, the visitors began to watch him longer and talk louder.

“He’s so skinny. Don’t they feed their children down there?” One woman whispered. Sokka wanted to reply that of course they did, but he was surviving on one bowl of rice a day from the guards and whatever Ursa brought him at night. A weak prisoner was more likely to be compliant, and the Fire Nation knew that.

“It’s so dirty.” One man commented. Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes. No one would let him clean himself for fear of his water bending and there was only so much the wet towels that Ursa brought him could do. Sokka talked back to the visitors once, and the guard threatened to gag him if he ever did it again. Sokka made sure to stay silent whenever he was watched from then on out.

“Why do so many people keep visiting me and staring?” He asked Ursa one night as she handed him a bowl of noodles with duck meat broth.

“Some of them are curious. We don’t often meet people from outside the Fire Nation. Others of them are cruel, and you shouldn’t worry about them.” She explained. "I've asked my husband to make them stop, but he disagrees." Sokka shrugged. He learned to ignore their comments and chanted his name silently to himself the way Zun Lo had told him to. None of these people knew who he was, and he intended to keep it that way. So Sokka slept and dreamed and breathed and when he was sure that no one else was coming, he would slide his cuffs up and rub the embroidery from his mother. He thought about the penguins, the whales, the fishing, and the snow but stopped himself from going any further. Thinking about his family usually brought on tears, and he couldn’t cry anymore. He wasn’t sure how long they kept him in that cell. Maybe two weeks? Ursa said they were trying to figure out what to do with him.

“They could let me go home,” Sokka suggested.

“I’d like to get you back to your family.” Ursa agreed. “You’ll see them again. I know it in my bones.” She smiled at him. Sokka smiled back. He never told her his name or his secret, but he thought she seemed at least a little trustworthy. After the first week, she started bringing cards down with her, and taught him how to play some new card games. She always let him win, which he appreciated. Ursa's visits made it easier to sleep through the day and the visitors before she would wake him up each night. He wasn’t surprised when she woke him up again one night, but he was surprised how upset she sounded.

“Sweetheart, wake up, I need to tell you something,” Ursa whispered through the bars. Sokka sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Ursa’s visits were the best part of his existence right now, but he didn’t like that she always woke him up. She set a bowl of roasted fire potatoes and duck (he had actually grown quite fond of the taste) through the bars and smiled at him.

“What is it?” He whispered. His voice was creaky. He didn’t talk a lot anymore, and they gave him little water. She passed him a thermos.

“Lemon tea for your throat.” She explained. She was leaning against the bars with her robes pillowed around her, but she sat facing the entryway. That was new. Sokka crawled towards the front bars.

“You woke me up for lemon tea?” Sokka asked. If she had, he didn’t care. He chugged it. The warm water felt so good on this throat.

“No sweet one. I came to warn you. The rice tomorrow will be drugged. You’re going to fall asleep, and they’ll move you to a new prison.” She glanced at the entryway again.

“Oh. Will it be bad?” Sokka fidgeted with his fingers slowly. Sokka wasn’t sure what he meant by bad, but he knew it could get a lot worse for him. He had never found out what they did to the first group of water benders taken when his grandmother was younger. Part of him had been expecting to be thrown into prison with them, but they were all just gone. No one spoke of them.

“I’m not sure. I only overheard a little bit of the plan. I won’t be able to come to see you as often.”

“Oh.” Sokka felt another wave of sadness. He wasn’t sure why. His stomach began to hurt again like it had before Zun Lo handed him over to the Admiral. Zun Lo. His tunic. The fabric. No. “Will they take my cuffs off?” He asked.

“I’m not sure. They’re very afraid of your bending abilities.” She replied. Sokka’s stomach twisted. He needed to keep his tunic sleeves. He needed to make a plan. He used one hand to slide the cuffs up, showing the blue fabric and his mother’s stitching. The embroidery patterns looked like home. Ursa leaned forward to see what he was doing.

“Can you keep these for me?” Sokka asked, desperation creeping into his voice. “Zun Lo said they wouldn’t let me keep them if they found them, but they’re all I have left.”

“Of course. I can take them now, and I’ll find a way to get them back to you.” She answered. She waited for him to give an affirmative nod before her gentle hands unwrapped the layers of fabric. “This embroidery is beautiful, did your mother make this?” Sokka nodded.

“They used to be on my tunic, but the admiral wouldn’t let me keep anything from the water tribe.” He explained.

“That was exceptionally cruel of him,” Ursa replied. She pointed to a spot in the pattern. “Tell me about this stitch, what does it mean?” Sokka leaned forward and ignored how the cuffs bit into his wrists without the fabric protecting them.

“That’s a penguin. We go penguin sledding in the South Pole.” Sokka answered. Ursa shifted her weight so she could lean against the bars.

“And this one, tell me about this one.”

“That’s some kind of snowflower. I don’t remember the name. I think my mom thought she was sewing something for my sister.” He explained. Ursa laughed softly. Sokka leaned into the bars and pointed to the next pattern. “That’s a fish. We have a lot of them.”

“Really? What’s your favorite kind?” Ursa put her arm through the bars so it wrapped around Sokka. He rested his head on her shoulder as best he could.

“Salmon. It’s really good when it’s baked.”

“Amazing. Tell me about this pattern?” She asked again. Sokka wasn’t sure how long they sat there talking about embroidery. She asked about his favorite foods and what the weather was like in the South Pole. She asked about his family once, and he didn’t answer. He trusted Ursa, she had been nothing but nice to him, but he still didn’t want to risk her figuring out anything. She didn’t ask again. He knew he yawned at a couple of points, and suddenly it was hard to keep his eyes open.

“I’m scared for tomorrow.” He whispered. Ursa tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear.

“I’m scared for you too, but I don’t think they’ll physically hurt you. And maybe you’ll be able to see the sunshine in the new place. And I can come visit. And I can teach you a new card game, would you like that?” Sokka nodded. His eyelids felt heavy. Ursa kissed his forehead. “Sleep. I’ll stay with you as long as I can.” Sokka closed his eyes, and for the first time in a while, found no nightmares waiting for him.

When Sokka awoke, he was wrapped in his bedroll and alone in his cell. Ursa’s words weighed heavy on his mind. They would use the rice to drug him. He would fall asleep, and wake up somewhere new. His stomach hurt again, with more than just hunger pangs. The minutes turned into an hour, and he sat quietly. He tried to think of himself as a warrior preparing for battle. He heard the jangle of a key ring and an apathetic guard slid a bowl of rice into his cell.

“Breakfast.” The man chimed. Sokka rolled hs eyes.

“Does it count as breakfast if it’s the only thing you feed me?” He asked.

“Sure does. Break. fast. We’re breaking your fast. Now eat up.” The man kept moving. Sokka wasn’t sure if she should eat the rice or not. He knew they’d move him to a new prison whether or not he was asleep, but surely a warrior wouldn’t walk into their trap? Or maybe a warrior would. Sokka approached the rice bowl and sat down in front of it. If he was going to do it, he’d do it with as much dignity as possible. They hadn’t given him chopsticks, so he’d just use his fingers. Why hadn’t they just moved him during the night when he was asleep? They probably wanted to scare him with the drugs. Good thing he didn’t scare that easily. He ate slowly and deliberately, savoring each grain of rice and wondering just what it had been laced with. When the bowl was empty, he sat back down on his bed roll. His eyes began to get heavy. He was a warrior, springing their trap. He focused on his breathing, in and out, and he let the darkness take him.

Whatever drugs they had given him hadn’t been enough. He hovered just above his body in a dream-like state. He could sense someone picking him up and he could feel them removing his cuffs. He could feel them replacing his tunic with something else. He wanted to scream when rough hands began touching his hair, but he couldn’t move. He could feel paint being applied to his face again. And then it was over. They put the cuffs back on, They set him down in a new bed, and he was left alone.

Sokka came back into himself little by little. He became aware of the feeling of a bedroll under him, of light shining in from somewhere, of being able to move his fingers and toes. But he didn’t move yet. Once he could open his eyes again, he let himself sit up slowly. Sokka froze. He was in a new cage.

He was in front of what looked like a pathetic igloo, white paint on the ground, and the wall had been painted to make it look like it was made of ice. His red prison tunic was now a blue version. Nothing about it looked right. Not the shade of blue or the way it hung over his frame. He was almost scared to look at his face. Sokka crawled to the bars in the front. A glance at the reflective bars confirmed his suspicions. Someone had put the awful facepaint on him again. And his hair…oh his hair. They had chopped it off in uneven patches and left almost none of it. the air left his lungs for a second.

“He’s awake folks! For a limited time only, come see the last water bender of the South Pole at the Fire Nation Zoo! He’s here as a generous donation by the Royal Family, and we’ve made sure he can’t bend at all!” Sokka swallowed his horror at the crowds of people staring at him and fought the urge to snicker. They still thought he was the bender. He gave himself a few breaths to calm down. This was horrible, it genuinely was, but it just seemed like a more extreme version of the cell where people had come to stare at him. He could manage this. At least he was safe, and maybe they’d feed him. The announcer kept talking, but Sokka didn’t bother to listen. He ran a hand along what should have been his wolf’s tail or a braid and shuddered. The fire nation had dressed him up like a caricature of the water tribe, and Sokka wondered if Mom would even recognize him now. His stomach clenched. Sokka reached for the embroidery under the cuffs before he remembered that Ursa had taken them. He forced himself to take a deep breath. He had to survive this, and he would. He just needed to process it. The clothes and the facepaint felt manageable, but Sokka hated how the chopped hair felt on his head. Every time he turned his head, it felt lighter than it should have.

He sat back on his heels and the crowd jostled to get a better view of him. Sokka ignored them. They wanted a show and he wouldn’t give them one. He glanced at the painted walls and frowned. This was miserable. And cruel. 1,000 other things filtered through his mind but he didn’t want to process any of them. He crawled into the mouth of the igloo and bit his lip in displeasure. Obviously whoever had built this had never seen a real igloo before. The mouth of the igloo, normally a smaller tunnel served to block out the wind and protect the spacious inner part. Whoever had built this one, had blocked off the inner part. Sokka had nowhere to retreat to. He growled and curled up into himself using the tunnel. It wasn’t perfect, but one foot of privacy was better than nothing. And maybe the space behind the igloo could work too. Maybe Ursa would come to visit tonight? He had no way of knowing.

The announcer was still talking about him. Humiliation pricked at his cheeks again. He was a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe and here he was on display for the Fire Nation to see. The heat and humidity felt heavy on his skin, and the curling up made it worse. But Katara was safe, and mom and dad were too. The familiar refrain returned to him as a comfort and not as a taunt. That had to count for something.

He sat curled in the igloo mouth for hours. People eventually realized they could still see him if they angled themselves correctly. Sokka tried not to care. At least he couldn’t hear them whispering about him this time. He tried to use the tunic to rub off the facepaint, but it wasn’t working. Helplessness burned at the back of his throat. Warriors should never be helpless. A warrior wouldn’t hide, but Sokka also really doubted that a warrior would end up on display in a zoo. By hiding away, Sokka deprived them of their goal of seeing him. And a warrior would foil his enemies’ plans at every chance. But also by hiding away, Sokka lost any opportunity to examine the cell for weak points. He needed to be strategic about this. What would Dad do? Dad never would have been in this situation, he would have escaped long ago. Sokka grimaced. His stomach rumbled, his shoulders still hurt, and his legs still felt cramped, and Sokka decided not to care anymore.

He crawled out of the igloo and stood up to his full height (which wasn’t very tall at all). But the crowd gasped and then exploded into excited chatter. Sokka gave them a side eye, and deliberately tuned out the announcer. He was a Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, son of Hadoka and Kya, and he wouldn’t let anything into his head that said he wasn’t. The cage (cell?) was small, he could cross the entire length of it in five steps.

Sokka got busy examining the walls and looking for weak points. A small voice inside asked him what he would he would do, if, by some miracle, he managed to break out, and he quietly told the voice not to worry about that yet. He was aware of the crowd watching him, but it wasn't like they were hurling insults at him this time. He could ignore them. He explored the cell until the sun began to dip in the sky, and the last visitor departed.

“You said this was temporary, how long will I be here?” Sokka asked the announcer. The man rolled his eyes in reply and began walking away. Sokka shrugged. So much for that plan. He tossed his body weight against the bars to see if they would give. No luck. But they put him in here somehow, there must be a door. He went back to tapping on every fake ice block in the wall. If nothing else, it would help him pass the time. He didn't notice the four workers appear in front of his cage.

"Boy." One called. Sokka turned. "Come here. We're giving you your daily water." He evaluated the man. He had the amber eyes that most Fire Nation people did, but they lacked the warmth that Ursa and Han Lo's had offered. Sokka bit his lip. He had a feeling this would go badly for him. The man whistled and pointed at a spot on the ground near the front of the cage. "Let's go. We don't have all day." Sokka nodded numbly. However this would go, was beyond his control. He walked forward slowly, and two of the workers reached through the bars to grab his shoulders and shoved him to his knees. The third lashed his cuffs to a small horizontal bar towards the floor of his cell. Sokka resisted the urge to shudder and looked them in the eye instead.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He offered. "That'd just be stupid of me." He could feel mistrust radiating off of them sure as he could feel the sun beating down. The leader spoke again.

"The last waterbenders we captured said the same thing. We don't take chances with your kind." Sokka wanted to ask what had happened to them but before he could, the man summoned a palm full of fire and glanced at the other workers. Two others drew fire out as well, and the one who had tied him to the bars produced a water canister with a straw attached.

"You have 30 to drink as much as you can." She explained. Sokka didn't hesitate. The sun was strong and if he ever wanted to escape this place, he'd need to be hydrated enough to think clearly. She pulled the canister away at 24 seconds and Sokka glared at her. She smirked.

"Gotta be quicker." Another worker undid the rope connecting him to the bars and waved his hands dismissively. Sokka scrambled backward, never taking his eyes off the fire benders. He didn't trust them, and he only exhaled when they walked away. He brought his knees up to his chest again. Why couldn't they just let him drink water like a normal person? He was clearly an inexperienced bender, and only a water-bending master could have done something in the situation.

A scraping sound drew his attention. It came from the hut (Sokka couldn’t call it an igloo). He crawled inside and grinned. The wall had been lowered so he could access the inner part. And there was a bowl of fish in it! Sokka’s stomach grumbled and he ate it without complaint. Well, maybe he could complain a little. It wasn’t like they would let him go if he were nice to them. The fish was seasoned poorly, overcooked, and was overall terrible. He would have happily taken a bowl of roasted fire potatoes and duck from Ursa, but she never came.

The sun set and rose, and Sokka was relieved to be able to see it again. His new goal would be seeing the sky without any bars in front of him, he decided. A goal worthy of a warrior. Sokka inhaled, exhaled, and tried to quiet his mind. His stomach still murmured from the hunger pains and his head still ached from the lack of water, but he could feel himself recalibrating to cope with the situation. The first few nights, he waited up in case Ursa was able to come. She never did, and he tried not to take it to heart. She had warned him that it would be harder for her to see him, and he knew he needed to trust her. She had never given him a reason not to trust her. So Sokka curled up every night and hoped that this would be the night when Ursa would appear with a bowl of noodles and chicken, or rice and duck, or anything other than the bland fish rice they fed him in here. This wouldn't be forever, and someday he would get out of here. It took days, but the paint they had put on his face rubbed away slowly, and every day Sokka got to see a little more of his own skin. The Fire Nation never bothered to replace it and Sokka was grateful. His hair began to regrow too, but not long enough to pull it back or run his fingers through it. He'd need to wait a little longer for that. The cuffs made it almost impossible to do his hair, but he tried anyway.

They still barely gave him any water, and he hated the way they gave it to him. Their process had evolved. Once a day at noon, four fire nation soldiers would order him to his knees and tie his cuffs to a horizontal bar in front of his cell. Three of them would summon fire and threaten him while the fourth poured a canteen down his throat. Sokka could only gulp so much, and it usually ended up spilling on him. He knew they kept him here as a reminder of Fire Nation supremacy, but he had to wonder how supreme the Fire Nation was if four soldiers were needed to control a restrained and untrained child bender. The thought wasn’t much, but it was something to hold onto while the crowds watched him drink his daily allotment of water.

They started feeding him a little more. Not enough to have the physical and mental energy to plot, but enough that his headaches seemed to get a little better. He missed Ursa. He missed Zun Lo and his bad jokes. He missed home. He missed being seen as a person. Sokka felt like his body couldn’t cry anymore. So every night Sokka ate whatever bland food they had given him, stared at the sky, and pictured the day when he’d be free.

Chapter 4: The Zoo

“Sokka.” Someone was at the bars of his cage. Not his cage, he couldn’t call it that. The cage where he currently was being held. “Sokka, please, I don’t have much time.” A familiar voice hissed. Sokka crawled out of the hut and his jaw dropped. Through the rain, he could see her clenching the bars and whispering his name, was Ursa. She had a hood up around her face, and strings of her hair had fallen from her normally perfect topknot. Her skin was blotchy like she’d been crying.

“Ursa!” He called. He scrambled to the bars as quickly as he could. She came, just like she said she would! And then he paused. She was still actively crying. Tears streaked down her face. Ursa embraced him through the bars. The cuffs stopped him from hugging back, but he could lean his head into her shoulders and breathe in her jasmine perfume. The rain had dampened her cloak and hair, but he didn't care.

“Sweet boy. How are you?”

She wiped away her tears with one hand and clutched his hands with the other.

“I’m fine. Why do you look upset?”

“It’s not something I can talk about right now. I’m so sorry they’ve put you in here.” Her eyes lingered on his massacred hair. It had grown back since the initial chop, but they wouldn’t let him take care of it or brush it, so he looked ridiculous. “Here, I’m sure you’re thirsty.” She handed over a canteen of water and let him drink. Sokka nearly cried tears of happiness at being allowed to drink water on his own. He drank deeply and paused.

“It’s not that bad.” Sokka shrugged in between sips. “The food’s not good, but they don’t hurt me.” She smiled and squeezed his shoulders.

“Things will change soon. I’ve written to a friend. He’ll get you out of here, and take care of you. He’s a good man, he’ll have the sleeves of your old tunic.” Sokka blinked. She was leaving?

“Where are you going?” Sokka asked. His stomach began to hurt again.

“I’m being sent away, I did something wrong. But I need you to make me a promise.” Ursa grabbed his hands

“Anything.” Sokka looked into her eyes. She had always had kind eyes, but there was a wildness there now that he had never seen before.

“Promise me you will survive us, and you’ll see your family again.” Sokka nodded. She grasped at his hands. "Sokka, promise me you'll see your mother again." That was an easy promise to make.

“I will.” Sokka nodded. Ursa was really crying now. She smiled.

“Good. I’ve told my friend to introduce you to my son Zuko. I think you’ll get along.” Ursa leaned forward to tuck two strands of his loose hair behind his ears. The sad smile was still on her face as she looked around. “Justice will come back to us someday, but for now, I need to go.” She squeezed his hands one final time and then disappeared into the darkness. Sokka sat stunned. He didn’t know what to do. He crawled back up to the hut and leaned against it, wrapped his arms around his legs as best he could, and waited. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, but he knew the sunrise would be soon. The rain came to a stop, and Sokka sat frozen as the sun’s rays broke over the enclosure. There was nothing else he could do. He was stuck waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. The sun rose and sent golden light over the space. Dawn became midmorning, and a few of the zoo’s workers passed through. No one spared him a second glance. Sokka wasn’t sure if he preferred it that way or if he missed the crowds. No, he preferred it this way. Eventually, the heat became too much and he lay down in the shade of the hut. The heat, the buzzing of a grasshopper, and the rare sense of quiet began to lull him to sleep. Maybe if he had more days like this, his captivity would feel almost manageable. It wasn’t bad. The warm sun, the cool shade, and no crowds to watch him. It was actually pleasant.

A sudden bell tolling caused him to bolt up. It reverberated around his entire cage (not his- he needed to do better about that) and rang again, and again, and again. Sokka scrambled to his feet and looked around. The bell was still ringing.

“It was 12 chimes!” One of the workers screamed. She fell to her knees and began pulling at her hair and tearing her clothes.

“Fire Lord Azulon is dead.” Another shouted. She buried her face in her hands and began sobbing. Sokka quickly pulled his arms up around his face so that no one could see him laughing.

“Long live Firelord Iroh!” One of the men shouted. Sokka stared at them. The Fire Nation could say whatever they wanted about the Southern Water Tribe. Yes, they were smaller and didn’t have buildings the way the Fire Nation did. Yes, their ranks had been devasted by Fire Nation raids. But they never would have acted like this for the death of a leader. The Water Tribe would have carried on and mourned. Everyone in his tribe knew you could cry and do chores at the same time if you needed to, and back when the raids had been more frequent Sokka could remember people doing that a lot. He tried to avoid staring at the fire benders, it seemed like a bad idea to draw their attention. Sokka crept backward behind the hut and laid on his stomach so he could still watch them. The pose reminded him of hunting with his dad in the snowbanks, just for a moment, and then he shook the thoughts from his mind. He needed to focus.

He watched the workers watch each other mourn. Their whole process seemed pathetic. It seemed like they were all trying to out-wail each other. Especially considering one would stop, glance at the others and then keep going. They were hurting Sokka’s ears. Eventually, they disappeared, and Sokka was alone again.

He tried to connect all of the dots in front of him. Ursa said she did something bad and then disappeared. Azulon died. But who was Iroh and how did he fit into this? The only Prince that Sokka knew about was Ozai, and Ozai and Ursa were married. Ursa had never told him, but he thought they were. Sokka supposed that while it would be good to understand, he didn’t need to understand any of this. He only needed to understand if this would make it easier or harder to escape. It was too soon to know any of that.

He was left completely alone for the next few days. One worker would visit in the morning, dump some rice into his cell, let him have a few sips of water through the straw, and then leave again. Sokka took a certain amount of joy in knowing that the four soldiers previously responsible for restraining him for the daily water intake were completely for show. It wouldn’t have passed for funny two months ago, but it did now.

Sokka wondered when Ursa’s friend would come. He was beginning to get bored with the zoo. His capture had come in stages. There had been the initial terror, the horror of the parade, and then the stillness of the quiet cell. Now it seemed things were dull again. He took to napping in the sunshine and speculating about the personal lives of the workers he could see. He decided that the emotional woman had broken up with the stoic man over a date gone wrong and now they were avoiding each other. He further decided that the woman who gently set the rice bowl in the cage every morning was the youngest child of seven siblings and fighting with all of them. It didn’t make the boredom easier to bear, and it didn’t fix anything, but it did help him carry it.

He knew something was different when no food came for the second day in a row, and eight soldiers showed up to the cage one morning. Sokka sat crosslegged in front of the bars and stared at them, as they stared at him. He swallowed. They looked angry. Finally, one of them spoke.

“Our orders were to bring you to General Iroh. Unfortunately for you, you resisted.”

“You haven’t even touched me yet,” Sokka replied. He hated that his voice went up two octaves higher when he spoke. His fingers rubbed his wrists where the scraps of fabric would have been.

“Isker, Malawi, hold him.” The leader spoke again. Two men entered the cage through a side door. So that was where the door was... Sokka gulped and began to scoot back.

“I won’t fight. I won’t fight you.” He promised. “Please don’t hurt me.” Sokka bit his lip. The leader smiled.

“My father used to be a prison guard at the Waterbender prison. He never hurt your kind. And then one night, one of you animals decided to kill him in an escape.” Sokka felt his finger twitch. He looked at the man and tried to put an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m really sorry about that. But I wasn’t even alive when the waterbenders were taken from the South Pole.” He explained. The man threw his head back and laughed.

“We’re well beyond that.” The leader offered. The two men in Sokka’s cage grabbed him under the arms and lifted him up. Sokka screamed for help. No one came. One of the men holding him summoned a small ball of fire in his palm and brought it down over Sokka’s chest and shoulders. He screamed in pain. They laughed.

“Isker! Not in there!” The leader chastised. Sokka slammed his eyes shut and prayed it would be over soon. He could feel himself being carried out of the cage and into the sunlight. They forced him down to his knees. Sokka began to hyperventilate. He looked the man in the eye as he summoned two fistfuls of fire.

“Please,” He begged through tears. “I’m so sorry about your dad. But I didn’t do anything to you.” The man laughed.

“Sorry? You’re sorry? That’s pathetic. No, the only way this can be made right is if your kind can never bend again.” There was an edge in his voice. Sokka sobbed. The man brought fire straight down onto his cuffed hands. White hot pain seared across Sokka’s mind. He smelled something burning. He blacked out.

Chapter 5: Iroh

Sokka was vaguely aware of someone carrying him. He could hear yelling and then felt something soft. Someone was humming. Someone poured something sweet down his throat. Someone wrapped bandages around his hands. Everything hurt, but everything had been hurting since they'd taken him from home. Sokka didn’t want to be here anymore, so he slipped beneath the waves and dreamed of home.

Gran Gran held him and told him he was being so brave. His dad was proud. Mom was holding Katara, and Katara was bending. She moved streams of water around their igloo effortlessly. "It's because of you." She said with a smile. Sokka felt his muscles relax. Katara was safe, and she actually got to be a bender because of him. This was a nice dream. But he could feel it slipping away. Katara dropped the water, and his mom screamed for him. Sokka slipped back into his body.

He sat up slowly. Whatever this new cage was, there was no bedroll. He was in an actual bed. A dull pain radiated through his hands and wrists, but they weren’t screaming in pain the way they had been. Layers of white bandages wrapped around them, and they rested on two pillows. Sokka forced himself to breathe and take in the new situation. He had promised Ursa he would survive, and he wanted to keep that promise. He was wearing weird clothes. They were a lot lighter than anything they wore in the water tribe and anything he had worn in prison. They were soft and reminded him of Ursa’s robes. An old man was asleep in the chair next to him. He was snoring softly. Sokka was scared to wake him. He laid back and tried to evaluate his options. The man stirred.

“You’re awake! My name is Iroh. I am Ursa’s friend. I am very sorry about your wrists, they will heal in time, and you will be able to bend again.” Sokka didn’t reply. He curled his legs up to protect his upper body, Sokka noticed another layer of bandages around his chest from the first burn. The man smiled. “Are you hungry? You’ve been unconscious for days and I can’t imagine that prison food was very good.” Sokka tried to reply. Tried to summon some words, but nothing came. He just nodded. “I heard roasted potatoes and fire duck is one of your favorites. I’ll have it brought up as soon as you’re feeling better. For now, how about some broth?” Sokka nodded again. The man, no he said his name was Iroh, lifted a spoon to his lips and let him sip slowly. Spoonful by spoonful, Sokka managed to down the bowl. Iroh smiled.

“I have had the men who hurt you punished. They said you resisted them. I don’t think that’s true, is it?” Sokka shook his head. He hadn’t resisted! They had just wanted to hurt him. Just because he was a waterbender, and he wasn’t even a real waterbender. He bit his tongue. Zun Lo's words about the expectation of bending hung in his head. The lie might need to get creative. Maybe he could say that the fire had damaged his hands? Would they let him go home if he did? “Sleep now, I will stay with you. My household staff are honorable people, and you have nothing to fear from them.” Sokka felt his eyelids getting heavy again. Had the broth been drugged? If it was, there was nothing he could do about it. Sokka slipped back under.

---

Sokka couldn’t stop the whine from escaping his mouth. Warriors didn’t whine, they dealt with the problem. But his hands throbbed and his chest was hurting too. Sokka blinked slowly until the light came back into focus. There was something heavy and wet and cool on his forehead. A cloth.

“It’s alright,” The old man soothed. “Poppy tea to help with the pain, sip this.” He held up a cup to Sokka’s lips and let him drink slowly. It tasted warm and filling, and it rounded the edge of the pain. Sokka took his head away and closed his eyes again. “Go back to sleep,” Iroh whispered. “I will watch over you.” Sokka slipped back out of consciousness.

He dreamed of the South Pole and sheets of ice covering everything he could see. He shivered. It felt so good to be back in the cold. Sokka looked around. Where was Katara? He wanted to go penguin sledding, he wanted to see his mom. A crack opened in the ice beneath him. Sokka threw himself to the side. The crack sped along the ice shelf until it reached the village. Sokka screamed in warning, but it was too late. The crack swallowed their village, and Sokka tumbled into the dark after it.

Sokka sat upright and gasped. Iroh stumbled out of his chair.

“Are you alright, how’s your pain?” He knelt so that Sokka was above him. Sokka wiggled his fingers, but for the first time since the burn, he felt decent.

“It’s ok.” He breathed. The man nodded.

“Can you tell me what you remember?” The man asked. Sokka bit his lip. He didn’t want to think about the burns. Not when they were just beginning to feel better. He shook his head. The man smiled. “That’s fine. My name is Iroh. I am a friend of Ursa’s. She asked me to keep you safe. And that is what I will do.” Sokka nodded. Exhaustion was beginning to settle down onto him again. Iroh extended his hands but didn’t touch him. “I’d like to remove the bandages to see how you’re healing, is that ok?” Sokka bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t want to see the damage to his hands, but he knew that they probably needed to change the bandages or something. That was what his mom would say. Sokka nodded anyway and turned his head away so he didn’t need to look. Iroh gently unwrapped the layers of bandages and hummed something softly. Curiosity twinged in Sokka. What would the burns look like? Would he ever be able to tell a spear or weapon ever again? Assuming he escaped the Fire Nation… “These are healing nicely, would you like to see them?” Iroh asked. Sokka snuck a look out of the corner of his eye and grimaced. Ugly red marks covered his hands and up around his wrists. Layers of purple scar tissue showed where the cuffs had bit into him without the protection of the tunic. He exhaled. His tunic. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that he hadn’t been wearing the tunic when the burns had been inflicted. They would have been incinerated. “Come, you need to move to stimulate regrowth.”

Iroh helped him out of bed. Sokka pressed his shoulders tighter together in the front. The robe he was wearing felt too silky. It was red and black and had the Fire Nation insignias all over it. The fabric did help with the heat though. Sokka took a few uncertain steps forward; and tried to swing his arms the way he used to at home, but he hadn’t been able to in the past months due to the cuffs. His shoulders complained. His hips complained. He wasn’t sure why this was hard. Sokka stumbled again and bit his lip.

“Slow and steady.” Iroh offered. “You’ve been through a great deal, and this is the first time your body has been able to move.” Iroh didn’t touch him but kept his hands ready in case Sokka fell. The muscles ached, but Sokka shook out his shoulders and kept moving. Iroh nodded in support.

They made it into the hallway, and Sokka had to pause and lean against the wall. Why was he so out of breath? What kind of warrior was he if he couldn’t even walk down the hall? Sokka bit his lip. He took in his surroundings. It made sense that this place was different than home and different than the jail cells that had previously held him, but he hadn’t expected it to be this different. The hallway opened into a quiet internal garden with a pond and trees. A slight breeze blew in the sweet smell of flowers. Sokka inhaled deeply. Iroh smiled at him.

“Why don’t we sit in the garden, and have tea? We have a homemade jasmine brew that my nephew loves.” That sounded fine to Sokka, so he let Iroh help him into the garden. Sokka tilted his head back to feel as much sunshine as possible. He felt like he could breathe for the first time since he left home. No, not left, was taken from home. Iroh eased him down to the ground and waved over one of the servants. “Sokka, this is my friend Ming. Ming, this is our guest Sokka. Could you bring us some of that jasmine tea? And if we have any of the lavender cookies left, bring those too.” Ming smiled at Sokka and nodded to Iroh. She had a nice smile, and she wore her hair in a simple braid. The tea appeared quickly, and Iroh poured him a cup. Sokka sipped it and made a face. Iroh laughed. “Jasmine is a unique blend. Do you like it?”

“Yeah...” Sokka lied. Iroh chuckled. Sokka set his cup down and turned his attention to his hands. The blisters had healed and they almost looked normal again. With the exception of the ugly purple scars that wrapped around them and up his wrists, but he supposed that was his new normal. He wiggled his fingers and tried to imagine tying a knot or holding a spear ever again.

“Try a cookie.” Iroh prodded. Sokka obliged him. He bit into a cookie with a reasonable hesitancy and nodded. It was better than the tea. Iroh smiled as he reached for another one. “Your hands will need time to heal before you begin bending again, but you will bend again,” Iroh explained. Sokka stopped chewing. He stared at Iroh.

“What do you mean?” He asked. Iroh studied him for a moment. Sokka couldn’t read the expression on his face.

“Waterbendering requires much wrist and hand motion. How far along were you in your studies before we took you from your home?”

“I hadn’t really started,” Sokka admitted. It wasn’t a lie. The thought of lying, really lying, to Iroh, who had been nothing but nice to him, gave him pause. But there wasn’t another option.

“I am familiar with a few of the basic water bending forms. The introductory moves at least. I will teach you what I know.” Iroh promised. “A bender’s talent is a horrible thing to waste.” Sokka nodded and let the wheels in his mind spin. Han Lo had said there was a compulsion for benders to use their abilities, so how would he explain to Iroh that he didn’t want to bend? He could say his wrists hurt too much. How long would that work? Worse, what if this was a lie or a ploy from Han Lo or Ursa to figure out he wasn’t really a bender and they’d go after Katara? Sokka felt a heaviness appear in his chest. He set the cookie down. Iroh watched him.

“I’m really tired. Can I go back to bed?” Sokka asked.

“Of course. You never need to ask permission to move around my home. As long as you are here, it is your home too.” Iroh replied. Sokka stood up on shaky legs and Iroh moved to help him. Neither Sokka nor Iroh made any efforts to speak as they moved, and Sokka was grateful for that. Iroh assisted him up and back into the bed, Sokka eased back into the pillows.

“Ursa said you would have the sleeves to my old tunic, do you?” He asked. Iroh nodded.

“When the scabs have healed, I will return them to you.” He lifted the blankets up around Sokka. Sokka bopped his head and felt his eyelids growing heavy. His chest trembled. What if Iroh had drugged him with the tea? With the cookies? He needed to be smart about this. But then again, he was still a prisoner here. If Iroh wanted to hurt him, all the man needed to do was summon fire. There really wasn’t anything Sokka could do to protect himself. So Sokka slipped back into a fitful sleep.

Sometimes the nightmares were about fire benders. Sometimes they were at the South Pole. Sometimes he was back in the zoo. Other times he was in the first cage. But the nightmares always came. Iroh said it would get easier with time, and that someday this would feel very far away. They had breakfast together every morning, but Sokka didn’t believe him. He helped Iroh in the garden. Well, his hands weren’t helpful so mainly Sokka just talked to the old man. He didn’t know it was possible for someone to drink so much tea. It seemed never-ending.

He had returned the tunic sleeves to Sokka the second the scabs were healed. And Sokka had retied the fabric happily. The nightmares weren’t as bad that night.

“Come. Let’s practice breathing and some movement.” Iroh declared one morning. Sokka frowned at him. That didn’t sound fun. Iroh led him into a hidden side room. “Water bending is all about consistent, deliberate movements. We’ll begin with the introductory movements. Show me your stance.” Sokka didn’t move. He glanced around the room. It seemed to be some sort of practice space. There was no water to be seen. Sokka could work on this.

“How do you know this?” He asked.

“In my youth, I traveled a great deal and sought to learn from as many benders as possible in order to perfect my own bending. Now, show me your stance.” Sokka eyed the man and squatted in a opening move that would have made more sense if he had a spear. “Good! Square your feet more. Keep your upper body loose, but engage your core.” Sokka fixed his stance, and Iroh assumed a similar one. “Follow my movements. Water is the element of change. To be a water bender is to be able to adapt to your surroundings and think creatively.” Sokka nodded. “Your people hold a great wisdom. In your time with us, you have shown a remarkable endurance of a water bender, no one from the Fire Nation would survive as well as you have.”

“Is that why you attacked us.” Sokka hadn’t meant for his words to come out so bitter, and he kept following Iroh’s movements. But Iroh smiled gently.

“Perhaps. Perhaps my people attached out of fear, or desire for power. But there can be no justification for what you have been subjected to. Think about slow, deliberate movement. It is the basis for all good water bending.”

“Why are you teaching me?”

“Because it is wrong and dangerous to deny any bender the education of how to use their gifts. Let’s add our feet to the motion.” He began to stalk around the room in a weird sort of dance that reminded Sokka of a hunting party from back home. Despite himself, he followed. “Good! Keep your mind and body connected.” He stopped the movement but motioned for Sokka to continue. “It will be different when you actually bend. I will ensure the area around the garden pond is free of eyes and ears tonight. You might sneak out of bed and practice on your own.”

Sokka felt his breath catch. He had to keep up appearances.

“Thank you.” He voiced. Iroh nodded and then lowered his head in a solemn bow.

“No. Thank you. It is my honor to ensure the survival of the water benders of the Southern Water Tribe.” Sokka stared at him. Was he being genuine? It appeared so. Not knowing what else to do, Sokka nodded.

Sokka lay in the (his?) bed and stared at the ceiling. He could at least try and go practice the movements. He really should. But how far was he really willing to go in order to keep up the appearances of his lie? This couldn’t go on forever especially if Iroh was bent on teaching him how to bend. He needed to make a new plan. Maybe he could make a run for a ship and escape? No. Maybe he could pretend to be a Lost Fire Nation kid. No. Maybe he could say he was actually an earthbender? No. Maybe he could come clean and say that the bender was actually his sister and this whole thing had been a misunderstanding? Triple no. Sokka blinked and hoped sleep would take him soon.

“How was your night?” Iroh asked over breakfast. Sokka munched down on a rice stick. Time to commit.

“Good.”

“Did you practice the movements?”

“Yep.” Iroh furrowed his brow. Sokka needed a distraction. “Pass the tea please.”

“What kind?”

“Jasmine, please.” Iroh broke eye contact to pass him the pot. Sokka poured it and took a sip. He grimaced.

“So you were successful?”

“Yep! Isn’t this the best tea ever?” Sokka tried a new technique. Iroh frowned, and then something in his face softened.

“I am partial to a green or black tea in the morning, but I am glad you like the jasmine.” He explained. Sokka nodded and tipped the cup back. He kept his eyes on the tea and didn’t look at how Iroh studied him. 

---

Sokka surveyed the damage with the rest of the group. The mountains and valleys of the Western Air Temple were still standing, but who knew how many other people Azula would send after them?</p>

‘I’ll start packing.” offered Toph. Sokka nodded.</p>

“I’ll help.” He offered. Aang waved down Appa and the group silently began breaking down their camp. They moved with practiced efficiency. Even Zuko and Suki seemed to have a sense of how to quickly stow away the cooking pot and extra blankets. Sokka fixed his sword around his hips and tucked his boomerang into its pouch.</p>

“Here.” Katara offered. “Extra hide strips for your hair.” She stared at his wrists as he reached out to take them. Sokka took the strips gratefully and slid them into the pouch on his belt. He had long since stopped paying attention to the stares at his hands and wrists, just like he knew Zuko hardly noticed people staring at his scar anymore, but it hurt when Katara stared. He could see the wheels turning behind her eyes, calculating everything he had been through and wondering if she would have survived it while carrying the guilt of not enduring it in the first place. Sokka’s mind had gone to some dark places through the years he had enjoyed Fire Nation's hospitality, but never once had he regretted his decision to lie to Yon Rha.

“Hey, these don’t hurt anymore.” He redirected her. “Let’s get the sleeping rolls onto Appa.” She nodded. Sokka smiled at her and pivoted towards the group. “We need to make a plan for where we're going next.” Aang jumped up onto Appa and began catching the bed rolls Sokka threw to him. Suki shrugged.</p>

“I’d suggest Kyoshi Island, but they’ll check there.”</p>

“We’re also out of Air Temples,” Aang added. Zuko bit his lip.</p>

“If the Fire Nation is hunting us, they’ll fan out from the front and check every town and village until they get a lead. The only place we can go is somewhere behind the front line.” Sokka nodded. He remembered hearing similar things from Iroh. Toph brought over the cooking pots.</p>

“So we hide in the Fire Nation is what you're saying?” She drifted closer to Sokka as if she might need to protect him from something. Sokka could feel Katara’s eyes on him, but he was fine. He began dragging their supply bags from the cubby in the wall where they had been stashed.</p>

“We’d never be able to hide in the capitol. Maybe one of the smaller cities?” Zuko frowned and put his hands on his hips.</p>

“If we get caught, I’m not sharing my old cell!” Sokka shouted over his shoulder. The joke found its target. It got a laugh out of Aang, Toph, and Suki. Zuko shrugged.</p>

“I don’t think it’ll be an issue. I think I would just be executed for treason.” He mused. That stole the laughter from the group. Sokka shrugged. Zuko wasn't wrong. “There is one place. My family’s summer home in Ember Island. We haven’t been there in years.”</p>

“Bit of a gamble to assume they won’t check there,” Katara muttered. Sokka shook his head.</p>

“I think it’s worth a shot. The Fire Lord hates that place, it reminds him of Iroh and when he wasn’t the crown prince.” He voiced. Zuko nodded.

“I trust you guys.” Said Aang. “If you think it’s safe, we should try it.” Toph nodded.</p>

“The worst case scenario is we get to blow up the Fire Lord’s house if he finds us.” She pointed out. Zuko glanced at Sokka and the teens exchanged shrugs.

“Glad that’s settled.” Aang closed the conversation.

Notes:

Me: No one will ever predict what will happen next
Y'all in the comments: Iroh.

Chapter 6: Zuko

Summary:

Welcome back! Sokka is lying to everyone. Iroh knows that Sokka isn't a waterbender, Sokka doesn't know this.

Lying became an active part of Sokka’s morning routine. Every morning, Iroh would ask him how the movements were going, and Sokka would reply they were great. Sometimes he gave a thumbs up, but Iroh seemed confused by the gesture. Sokka just sipped his tea and prayed that the topic would change quickly.

His hair grew back, and Sokka couldn’t stop running his fingers through it. He asked Iroh one day about helping him cut it back into the Water Tribe Wolf Tail style, but Iroh shook his head sadly.

“I am sorry my friend. But I have been forbidden by the Fire Lord from allowing you to wear anything from the Water Tribe.” He had seemed genuinely sad about that, which Sokka appreciated. And Iroh had helped him keep the wrist wrappings from Zun Lo and his mom, so Iroh wasn’t all bad.

He had complete freedom in moving around Iroh’s home. As the burns began to heal, escape was the only thing on Sokka's mind. He may not have been a warrior of the Southern Water tribe yet, but he would get back home and everyone would be so impressed with him. Maybe he'd be declared a warrior on the spot. The dream sustained him. Iroh had him do hand drills to build dexterity back into his fingers. It worked slowly, but it was working. He realized escape would be impossible sometime in the fourth week with Iroh. After sunset, he had snuck into the garden and boosted himself into a windowsill and onto the roof. His balance wasn't as good as it used to be, but the movements Iroh had forced him to complete had preserved enough of his strength. Creeping along the tiles was even easier than running along the glaciers. They weren't even slippery. He clutched one of the stone towers and took in his surroundings. He knew a wall had surrounded Iroh's house, and he knew there were guard shacks built into the wall, but stretched out beyond the wall he could see a city stretch into the horizon. If he could make it over the wall, he'd still need to contend with a city full of fire benders who looked nothing like him. A city that he knew nothing about and lacked even the basic information about how to navigate. Fires illuminated the outlines of homes and buildings and he could see the light reflecting off of a gold building nearby. That must've been the palace. Something settled in Sokka's stomach and he realized there would be no sneaking out of here. If he wanted to go home, he'd need to find another route.

After that, Sokka wasted hours wandering around the rooms and staring at the ugly art hanging on most of the walls. It was a decent way to pass the time, but Sokka couldn’t understand why anyone would need a house this big. It was one of the things he had accepted he would never understand.

Sokka sat in the gardens as often as possible. He told himself it was the best place for working on the dexterity drills but the reality was the flowers smelled nice, and he liked being able to see the sky and the sun and thinking that maybe his mom was looking at the same one. It was an improvement from the zoo. No one gawked at him, and he was allowed to drink as much water as he liked. There may have been no cuffs or bars here, but Sokka knew he was still a prisoner. A cage was a cage, no matter how many flowers they put in it.

The jailers were nice though. The staff always greeted him when they saw each other, and Ming always offered him cookies. The cooks asked what his favorite foods were and if they could make any dishes from the Water Tribe to make him feel more at home. Sokka just shook his head. It wasn’t home. Not even close. The weather was different, he missed his mom, and the food tasted okay, but it always hurt his stomach. The angry red skin on his wrists became a softer pink, and Sokka wondered if his family thought about him as much as he thought about them.

“My nephew is coming over this afternoon to play pai sho. I’d like you to meet him. I think you could be good friends.” Iroh declared one morning at breakfast. Sokka blinked.

“What’s pai sho?” Sokka asked. Iroh’s eyes went wide.

“You’ve never played pai sho? My friend! Your horizons expand today! Come, it is a great game of strategy.” Iroh led Sokka to yet another room. “Sit, sit. I’ll ask Ming to bring us some tea. So the aim of Pai Sho is to move your pieces across the board and capture all of your opponent’s pieces. Each tile has a name and special movements.” Iroh kept talking. Sokka felt his mind glaze over for a minute. “The best way to learn is to play. Come. You move first.” Sokka moved one piece forward and Iroh smiled. “The white lotus! An excellent choice. I will do the same.”
Sokka stared at him and tried to figure out if this was some new test or torture. Maybe Iroh knew he wasn’t really a waterbender? No, he’d been so careful. Iroh talked the entire time. He pointed at good strategies Sokka was using, pointed at the art on the tiles, and called for more tea. Iroh let him win the first game.

“You see, young Sokka, strategy, and perseverance conquer all.” He mused. His eyes rested on Sokka as if he were trying to teach a lesson. Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Iroh had let him win, probably because he felt bad about the whole kidnapping thing. “Let’s play again.” Sokka nodded and recommited to the board. He felt something in his stomach loosen while he played with Iroh. Thinking about the strategies was marginally less painful than thinking about the impossibility of escape. He liked getting to hunch over the board and pretend to be a warrior strategizing before the battle. Iroh won the next two rounds, but Sokka made him work for it. Iroh downed another cup of tea and smiled. “You are a gifted strategist my friend.”

“Thanks.” Sokka smiled, maybe for the first time since that day in the South Pole, Sokka smiled. They played two more rounds. Again, Iroh won both, but Sokka came close a few times. Ming entered the room softly.

“Prince Iroh. Crown Prince Zuko is here, and lunch is on the table.” She announced. Iroh nodded.

“Come Sokka. You boys are the same age, it would do you good to have friends in your age group.” Sokka felt something bitter in his mouth, and his stomach tightened again. He wanted to say that he did have friends his age, and they were back in the South Pole. He swallowed the words. He couldn’t risk making Iroh angry with him. He followed Iroh to the entry hall, where a sullen Fire Nation-looking boy stood. Sokka instantly recognized the other boy from his first day in the cage. He had grown taller, but he was definitely the boy who had stood next to Ursa. He had the same fine robes as Iroh, but his top knot looked different. There was a metal flame pinned into it. The boy’s face lit up when he saw Iroh.

“Uncle!” He tossed himself into Iroh’s arms. Iroh laughed and hugged the boy tenderly. Sokka felt a pang in his gut. His dad used to hug him like that. Iroh set him down gently.

“Prince Zuko, this is Sokka, the Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. He is my honored guest for the time being and it is my hope you can be good friends.” Zuko looked Sokka up and down. Sokka met his gaze. The boys stared at each other for a minute.

“Is it safe for him to not be wearing cuffs?” Zuko asked. Iroh shrugged.

“I will not allow guests to be treated poorly in my home. That goes for you and him.” Iroh replied. Sokka felt his spine straighten involuntarily.

“Right, sorry,” Zuko stated that to no one in particular. He turned to Sokka. “My mom told me about you. She said it was our responsibility to make sure you were safe until you could go home.”

“I wish I could go home,” Sokka replied. He thought about how much he missed his mom, his dad, Katara and Gran Gran, his friends, and his mom’s cooking. He stopped that train of thought. Thinking about home only ever made him sad, and he didn’t want to feel that way now.

“Someday, you will,” Iroh added. “Come, we should eat before we play pai sho. It is an exhausting game.” Sokka nodded. He tried not to notice how they always changed the topic or suggested an activity when Sokka asked about going home. Zun Lo, Ursa, and Iroh had all done it.

Lunch was some type of grass and steamed buns. They were good, but Sokka always had trouble eating hot foods in the already heavy heat of the fire nation. Iroh said that warm foods in warm weather acclimated the body, but Gran Gran would have disagreed. Zuko offered a few comments about the palace and life there.

“All of the servants won’t even talk about Mom. It’s like she just disappeared.” He stated. Sokka could hear the sadness creeping into his voice. He recognized it well.

“I do not know why your mother made those choices, but I am certain she only would have done what she thought was best for you and Azula.” Iroh replied.

“How is leaving us best for us?” Zuko asked. He looked around the room and waited until the servant left. “She left us with dad.” He whispered that last bit. Iroh sent him a warning stare. Sokka sipped his tea. This was going to be an interesting meal.

“Prince Zuko,” Iroh lead. “Princess Ursa loved your father dearly. As she loves you and your sister dearly.” Sokka blinked. He tried to piece the family tree together in his head. Zuko was a prince, and the son of the current Fire Lord, but he hadn’t been the fire lord when Sokka had first arrived. Ursa was the wife of the current fire lord, but now she was missing. And in all likelihood, Sokka had been one of the last people to see her that night at the zoo.

“Then why did she leave?” Zuko asked. Iroh shook his head.

“Perhaps, someday we will understand.” Iroh sipped his tea. “I am glad you keep your mother’s memory alive, even if the others who knew her do not.”

“Is she still alive?” Zuko asked again. He glanced at Sokka, and Sokka knew his presence was blocking the question that Zuko really wanted to ask. “I overheard the servants whispering. They said it’s not a coincidence that she disappeared right when Grandfather died. They said she probably knew too much. What does that mean?” Zuko had put down his chopsticks and his tea was untouched. Both of his palms were pressed flat against the table and his shoulders curled up the way Bato's used to when they went seal hunting. Sokka glanced at Iroh. The old man sipped his tea again.

“I believe she is alive.” He replied thoughtfully. “As to the timing of it all, servants gossip and speculate. You know this. You should not listen to gossip.” Zuko huffed and sat back in his chair. He glanced over at Sokka and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something then closed it. He glanced down at the steamed buns that Sokka wasn’t eating. They were stuffed with some kind of vegetable that Sokka didn’t like.

“Are you going to eat those?”

“No. I don’t like them.” Sokka replied truthfully. He glanced at Zuko’s plate. He had eaten his buns but left the grass untouched. “I’ll trade my buns for your grass?”

“Deal,” Zuko replied. He passed his plate over, and Sokka did the same. Iroh watched all of this silently. “Is the food different here?” Zuko asked through a mouth filled with bun.

“Yes.” Sokka replied.

“It’s probably a lot better than what you’re used to.” Zuko offered. Iroh looked at Zuko, and Zuko looked back. “Oh. Um.” Sokka shrugged.

“You eat too many hot foods in hot weather.” He stated. Honestly seemed like a valid response.

“It’s for health,” Zuko replied. He sounded like the alternative had never occurred to him.

“You gotta try warm soup on a cold day. That’s for health.” Sokka offered. Granted, in the months he had come to the fire nation, he wasn't sure he had ever been cold. Hot, yes. Starved, yes. Humiliated and dehumanized, yes. Cold, no. He missed the way the wind could bite into exposed skin or ice could crystalize onto someone's eyelashes.

“If we ever have a cold day here, I will.” Zuko decided. “Does it get cold there?” He sounded serious. Sokka blinked. Zuko had asked if it was cold at the South Pole. Was he joking or…

“Yes. There’s snow everywhere and we live in igloos.” He offered. The Fire Nation already knew that. He wasn’t giving them anything they didn’t already have.

“I’ve never seen the snow,” Zuko admitted. “Is it white and fluffy like the books say?”

“Sometimes. Other times it’s icy and sharp and then it’s no fun to throw at people.”

“You throw it at people?” Zuko’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

“Yeah you can make it into a little ball and that’s called a snowball,” Sokka explained.

“And you just throw it at people?” Zuko asked again.

“Well usually we break all the kids into teams or we do a sneak attack on someone.” Sokka clarified. “We don’t usually just throw the snowballs at each other.”

“Oh.” Zuko seemed almost disappointed. “Be fun if you did though.” Iroh leaned back in his seat and sipped his tea. He seemed more relaxed now.

“Yeah, it would.” Sokka agreed. A comfortable silence settled over the group as everyone sipped their tea.

“Pai sho now, or fruit tarts for dessert?” Iroh offered.

“Fruit tarts.” Both boys replied at the same moment. Zuko grinned at Sokka, and Sokka gave a small smile in reply. Sokka decided that Zuko was pretty ok for a fire bender.

“You do have really good fruit here,” Sokka stated. Zuko nodded.

“We’re fortunate to have good weather,” Iroh explained. Ming came back into the room with a tray of tarts. She smiled at Zuko and Sokka before setting the tray down.

“Forgive the interruption, but Fire Lord Ozai has sent word. He wishes for Fire Prince Zuko to return home for an urgent matter.” Zuko and Iroh both frowned.

“Do I have to go?” Zuko asked. Sokka couldn’t believe how much smaller his voice sounded.

“We all serve the Fire Lord,” Iroh replied. Sokka had spent weeks listening to every slight tone change in Iroh's voice to try and predict what the future held for him. He had never heard Iroh like this before. “His wishes are the way. But let us wrap a tart up for you to bring back.” Ming nodded and disappeared again. Zuko played with the hem of his robe. “You will come back soon,” Iroh stated. “We have much pai sho to play.” Zuko nodded and bit his lip. Sokka almost felt sorry for him, almost.

Ming met them in the entryway with a box of tarts.

“Some for Princess Azula too.” She explained as she handed them over. Zuko nodded. He glanced at Sokka, and then looked back at Iroh and Ming. Again, Zuko opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, and then closed it.

“Uncle,” He bowed. “I hope to see you again soon.” Iroh smiled and returned the bow.

“Prince Zuko, I share that hope as well.” He replied. Zuko turned to Sokka.

“Do you have a title I’m supposed to use? My tutors for Court Procedures never covered a situation like this.” Sokka shrugged.

“The Water Tribe doesn’t do royalty.” He replied. Zuko nodded.
“Then Sokka of the Water Tribe, I hope to see you again soon.” He didn’t bow this time, but he did nod. Sokka did the same.

“Uh. Ok. I’d like that, Prince Zuko.” He used the title and returned the nod. Zuko bit his lip and turned for the door. He looked back over his shoulder as he went. Iroh nodded affirmatively back at him. Sokka took the situation in quietly. Iroh folded his arms quietly inside the sleeves of his robes and watched him go with an unreadable expression on his face. The Fire Prince climbed into a carriage waiting in the courtyard, and Iroh turned towards Sokka.

“You should go practice some of your bending forms, or go enjoy the fruit tart.” He suggested, but it was one of those tones that adults sometimes used when something wasn’t really a suggestion. Sokka read the room and nodded.

“Thank you for lunch Ming. It was really good.” He offered. She smiled in reply. Sokka stepped back into the main house and crouched by one of the ugly statues and windows. He wanted to hear what was going on in the entryway.

“He seemed to be doing well, all things considered.” Ming offered. Sokka heard Iroh huff.

“He hasn’t been the same since Ursa’s departure. What are the rumors being spread by Palace staff?” Sokka pressed his ear closer to the window.

“Not so much rumors, but notes on a series of incidents. News about your son's death was published in the court. Fire Lord Ozai called for a meeting with his family and Fire Lord Azulon. The children were asked to perform their latest bending sequences. And then the guards, Princess Ursa, and the children were all dismissed.”

“That’s not unusual,” Iroh replied.

“But what happened next was. My friends in the requisitions staff say whatever happened made Fire Lord Azulon angry. Herbs went missing from the stores that night, lots of them. And when they woke up, Fire Lord Azulon was dead and Princess Ursa was gone.”

“And the rumor is that Ursa had something to do with my father’s death?” Iroh asked.

“Yes, sir. No one wanted to bother you with the rumors at the time. You were mourning your son and then your father, horrible luck.” Sokka paused. Iroh had a son? He had never mentioned that.

“I doubt it was luck,” Iroh replied. “Keep me informed of any rumors, especially anything coming out of the palace. Ozai will want to show his dominance again soon, and I want to know about it before it happens.”

“Of course, sir.” Sokka recognized that the conversation was wrapping up, and slipped away from the window before he could get caught eavesdropping. His brain was released with the new information. Iroh had a dead son? Iroh didn’t trust the Fire Lord? Ursa had killed someone? He crept back into the dining room and tried to process everything along with the fruit tart.

Notes:

Hi! I'm back, I'm sorry! I've been sick recently so writing has felt like such a chore, and I reblocked the arc of this story because I think I can end it better than my middle school self. And isn't the goal of everything to be better than our middle school selves?

Chapter 7: Anger

The days kept passing one after another. Ming said fall was here, but Sokka didn't notice anything different about the weather. He tried to calculate how long he'd been gone. Three months? Four? He was sure that time had passed slower when he was in the cell. It had been the distance from the moon. He wasn't a water bender, but his entire culture revolved around the moon. It dictated the tides and ergo every facet of life in the South Pole. There were many upsides to life with Iroh, but the biggest was that he could see the moon from his room. It made telling time easier. The routine changed one morning when Ming sent Sokka to Iroh's study after lunch. Sokka knew something was different the instant he entered the room. Iroh couldn't take his eyes off the scroll on the table, and there was disgust written all over his face. Was Sokka in trouble for something? He hadn't done anything! Sokka felt a twist form in his stomach. Iroh took a deep breath and gestured that Sokka should sit. Sokka forced himself to breathe. Were they sending him somewhere else? Had Katara been caught? He exhaled. Whatever would happen, would happen. And there would be little Sokka could do about it. Iroh looked up at him.

“My brother, The Fire Lord, has asked me to bring you to court. I plan to refuse until he elaborates, and I will do everything in my power to protect you while we’re there, but I will not be able to get us out of this.” He opened. Sokka nodded. The safety had been nice while it lasted. He swallowed.

“What’s going to happen?” He asked quietly.

“I’m not sure, but I will tell you as soon as I know why he wants to see you. And I will stay with you while we’re there.” Sokka bit his lip. He appreciated Iroh’s words, but he knew there would be little Iroh could do if Ozai wanted to harm him. Sokka bit his lip and nodded.

“When will we go?” His fingers tugged on one another.

“Likely in two days. The Earth Kingdom has sent a delegation, and there's to be a reception. Sokka, there is one more thing.” Iroh led gently. Sokka nodded. He could feel the knots in his stomach pulsing. “I worry he may ask you to bend water. That’s going to be an issue, isn’t it?” Sokka felt the air leave his lungs. Iroh’s gaze held the same gentle understanding as Ursa and his mother’s, but Sokka didn’t know what else to say. There was nothing else to say.

“I'm a waterbender.” He blurted out. His fingers clenched around his pants. Sokka forced them back open. He needed to lie.

“Sokka, you will need my help to maintain this charade. But I cannot help you unless you are honest with me.” Iroh’s voice was steady and unrelenting. Sokka felt something bubble up in him—the anger he had been swallowing in the months since his capture threatened to spill over. Anger at the humiliation and pain he had been subjected to in Katara’s place had sat in his stomach since that first day in the cage and he had managed to keep it down long enough. If he got caught, this had all be for nothing. They'd kill him and go get Katara. He needed to let his pass. Sokka swallowed his anger one more time, but it refused to go down.

“Fine. I lied.” Sokka spat. He couldn't keep the venom out of his voice. “But I’m not telling you who the real waterbender is. I don’t care how badly you hurt me.” Sokka’s fists clenched. His nails pressed crescents into his palms, and his shoulders rolled back. Iroh probably wouldn’t hurt him, probably. He was Fire Nation though, and that meant he couldn’t be trusted. Iroh nodded. He shifted so that he knelt before Sokka and met his eyes. Sokka focused on not feeling the anger that wormed its way through his chest. That wasn't helpful right now.

“Sokka, you have my word that I will never intentionally bring harm upon you.” Iroh unfolded his arms from inside his robe so that Sokka could see his hands and took a deep exhale. “I suspect that you did this to protect someone close to you?” Sokka shook his head.

“I’m not telling you that.”

“I suppose that’s fair. But if that is what you did, it was very brave of you.” Iroh’s words hung in the air. Sokka swallowed. Another knot formed in his stomach.

“It wasn’t bravery.” He replied quietly. “I wasn’t brave. I was desperate, and I was the only one who could pass as the waterbender.” Sokka bit down on his tongue. He was saying too much. Iroh gently reached out and took Sokka's hand.

“Sometimes the two are interchangeable. I’ll need to ask you to be brave again.” Iroh explained. “But I will not ask you for any more information regarding the identity of the one you’re protecting.” Sokka nodded. This was the best he was going to get. “If I cannot teach you to protect yourself with water bending, I’d better teach you some other form of self-defense. Come, we have much to learn.”

Sokka debated saying that he needed rest or that he didn’t feel like it, but the anger still bubbled through his veins. Iroh took him back into the hidden room and tossed a straw mat to the floor. He struck a defensive posture.

“Come at me.” He stated.

“You’re a bender. That’s not fair.” Sokka pouted. Iroh was twice his size and four times as experienced.

“I will not use bending to repel you. Now attack.” He ordered. Sokka glared at Iroh. Iroh waved him forward. Sokka took a deep breath, and charged at Iroh. Within a second, Iroh flipped him upside down and gently set him to the ground.

“What? How?” Sokka rolled back up onto his feet.

“Again,” Iroh stated. Sokka felt the anger from earlier click into place, and he charged. Months of starvation, humiliation, and limited mobility had taken their toll. He wasn't nearly as fast as he used to be. That made him angry too. Iroh merely stepped out of the way and hugged him from behind. Sokka yelped in surprise. “Again,” Iroh ordered gently as he released him. “Mindful of your emotions. They can be a strength or a liability.” Sokka frowned. He balled his fingers into fists.

"Again. Throw a punch if you want to." Iroh ordered. Sokka did, but Iroh merely stepped out of his path. Sokka tried again, and again, and again. His lungs began to burn, but Iroh seemed unaffected.

“It’s not fair. You're bigger than me.” He protested. The anger was bubbling beneath his skin, and the knots in his stomach were pulsing. Iroh shrugged.

“Fine.” He reached into a robe pocket. “Take my knife. And do your worst.” Sokka took the knife and gripped it. It felt heavy in his hand. He thought about the seal cage on the boat, the chains, the cage for the parade, and the zoo. He thought about the facepaint the fire nation had stuck onto him and the horrors that they had wrecked on his hair. He thought about Gran Gran’s fish stew and how he had missed teaching Katara how to sled. Sokka screamed, and he charged again. Iroh smacked the knife out of his hand and pulled him in close. Sokka thrashed and kicked against Iroh until his body gave up. Iroh kept holding him. Sokka sobbed. Iroh pulled him in closer and rubbed his back. Sokka dropped his fists.

“I want to go home.” His words were barely audible among his sobs. Iroh nodded.

“I know, and I want to get you home. But I cannot do that right now.”

“I hate it here.” He cried into Iroh’s shoulder.

“You have every right to do so,” Iroh muttered. Sokka pulled back from the hug. Tears were still falling from his face, but he could feel air moving through his lungs again.

“Is Ozai going to kill me?” The question had sat at the edge of Sokka’s mind since Iroh had spoken to him. If Ozai wanted him dead, there was nothing he could do about it.

“No. He might do many things, but you are a valuable hostage. Ozai would not let you slip away.” Iroh replied. “But as I stated before, I will do everything in my power to protect you. That includes teaching you how to protect yourself.” Iroh set his hands on Sokka’s shoulders, and Sokka nodded. This was good. He could get behind this. “Your body has suffered in the time we have kept you here, not to mention everything your mind has been through. We’ll begin with calisthenics at sunrise to strengthen your muscles, and then move onto meditation and breathing to offer your mind some healing.” Sokka wrinkled his nose. The movement sounded fun, like the way warriors trained at the South Pole. But he didn’t want to do meditation.

“Do I get a say in this?” He asked.

“Of course. But surely you’d like to be able to beat me or someone else in a fight someday? I can assure you that will not happen without training.” There was a glint of mischief in Iroh’s eyes.

"Fine." Sokka agreed. "But does it have to be sunrise? That's early." Sokka felt his shoulders slump forward, but they did not out of exhaustion and teasing Iroh, not defeat. Knots in his stomach that had been tight for so long he had forgotten they were there were loosening. He felt hungry again, and thirsty, and something else. He didn't know how to describe it.

"Yes, no one would train in the heat of the day. Now, dinner and then bed. We have an early morning." Sokka nodded. He didn't know why he nodded.

Iroh woke him up with a training tunic and new boots before the sun was even out. Sokka groaned and pulled the blanket back over his head.

"Come, we'll jog a lap around my home as a warm-up." Iroh prompted as he pulled the covers down.

"It's already hot, why do we need to warm up?" Sokka complained. He tugged a tunic on over his head and yanked the pair of boots on. He was surprised that Iroh had all of this stuff in his size ready.

"Because our bodies need to acclimate. Now, are you ready?"

"No," Sokka answered truthfully.

"Good. You're honest; no one is ever ready for a fight. We prepare, and we train, but we're never ready. Let's begin." Iroh leads Sokka on a slow run around the compound and its external wall. Several of the guards they passed waved at Iroh, but most saluted him. All of them stared at Sokka. By the end of the first lap, Sokka could feel his legs burning and his lungs aching, but Iroh wasn't done. "Push-ups. A strong body is the foundation of a strong mind. Let's try for 10."

Sokka couldn't do 10 push-ups; he could barely do five, but Iroh seemed pleased anyway. They then moved on to sit-ups, lifting weights, lunges, and jumps. Sokka could rarely do more than five per exercise before his muscles gave out, but Iroh promised he would get stronger with time.

"It is always hard when we begin something new. Let's take a cool-down lap and eat breakfast. We'll focus on meditation after that." Sokka could only nod. Their 'cool-down' lap was even slower than their first. Iroh said he should be moving at a pace he could comfortably hold while talking. That meant basically walking for Sokka. Iroh said that was normal. His body felt tired and sore, but he wasn't in pain. It was the good kind of sore, Sokka reflected. Like he had spent the day doing chores for Gran Gran or hauling fish.

Ming smiled at him during breakfast and heaped extra meat onto his plate. Sokka decided that this might be alright after all.

---

The transition to Ember Island had gone about as well as could be expected. The second Appa had landed, Zuko had meandered through every room in the house, gathering the portraits of his father and proceeding to burn them in a pile. Katara and Aang had protested that this couldn’t be healthy, but Toph had suggested roasting dinner over it. Sokka didn’t say anything, and Suki followed his lead. He didn’t know everything that had gone down in the Palace, but he was fairly certain that Zuko had his own demons to sort through. And unlike Sokka, whose experiences with Ozai had a clear beginning and ending, Zuko’s blended together in one horrific symphony. Zuko only paused when the last portrait included his mother.

“Just fold it,” Sokka suggested. “You should have a way of keeping her close.” Zuko nodded. He folded a line between Ursa and Ozai and ripped it gently down the middle before balling Ozai up and tossing him into the flames. Sokka watched Ozai's face turn to ash. He wished that could be the real Ozai.

“If there’s anything else that reminds you of him, get rid of it. He’s not going to hurt us anymore.” Zuko's voice was gravelly. Sokka put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, and the prince turned away.

"Let’s make tea. Everyone seems tired.” Sokka decided. “Come on, Zuko, I bet Iroh kept a tea set up here.” Iroh’s name snapped Zuko back into himself, and everyone else seemed grateful for the topic change. They managed to eat dinner and chat like everything was normal. It was their first time sleeping in real beds forever, but Sokka wasn’t sure if anyone slept that night. Sleep eluded him, so he ended up sitting in the courtyard and enjoying the stars while polishing his sword. Aang joined him relatively early in the night.

“Is it hard to be in a place where Ozai has so much presence?” He asked. Sokka shrugged.

“Not as much for me. For Zuko, probably.” The two sat in silence while they stared at the stars. Aang never asked any questions about Sokka's time before joining them. It was something Sokka appreciated about the Avatar. Suki joined them later.

“Can’t sleep.” She commented. 

“Join the club,” Sokka replied. She sat down next to Sokka and smiled at him. 

“Cards?” Suggested Aang. He dealt a hand, and a peaceful silence fell over the group. Toph came out next.

“You can be on my team for cards,” Sokka decided. Toph shrugged and sat down next to him.

“I’ll tell you when they’re lying about their hands.” She whispered.

“Counting on it.” He replied. Zuko and Katara were the last to join the group. Zuko’s eyes were red-rimmed like he’d been crying, and Katara hovered protectively by him. No one commented on it, though, and the benders were dealt into the round. They played cards until dawn peaked over the sea, and golden light broke through the clouds. Fire Nation sunrises were spectacular, and comfortable silence rested over the group as they watched it. No one wanted to move to break the spell. Sokka’s stomach rumbled, and everyone laughed.

“I’m going to get started on breakfast.” Katara decided.

“I’ll help. The kitchen’s easiest to use with some Fire Bending.” Zuko decided.

Their days fell into an easy rhythm. Waking up for the sunrise, morning swims, burning breakfast and then eating it, training different attacks and laying out different attack plans, afternoon swims, and then arguing over what to make for dinner. But Sokka was grateful. He knew what to expect when there was a pattern in the world around him.

Sokka lay on the beach and savored the feeling of free air in his lungs and the warm sun on his skin. The only sounds before him were waves crashing on the beach while sea birds shirked. Behind him, he could hear the sound of Zuko drilling Aang on fire bending while Toph called out (useless) suggestions. A shadow stepped in front of him.

“Hi,” Katara opened. “Mind if I join you?”

“Pull up,” Sokka replied. He scooted over to make room for his sister. She dropped down next to him.

“I’m not sure I ever thanked you for what you did. If I had been taken…” Katara’s voice was unusually shaky. Sokka glanced at her. Her eyes were still on the sea caps and the foam dancing beyond the breaking waves. This was an unexpected conversation. He thought they were past this? 

“Katara, you don’t need to thank me for that. I’m your brother; I’m always going to do everything in my power to keep you safe.” Sokka was surprised to hear Iroh’s words coming out of his mouth. A surprise but not an unwelcome one.

“But still. You didn’t need to do it.” She picked at her nails. Sokka shrugged.

“I made my choice. And if I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I’d do the same thing. Well, maybe I would bite one of the Fire Nation guys, but you get my point.”

“I wouldn’t have survived it. Every time I hear you and Zuko joke about something, I just…I would have died.” She brought her legs up to her chest and kept her eyes on the ocean. Sokka exhaled. What would Iroh do? What would Dad do?

“No, you wouldn't. Katara, you’re one of the strongest people I know.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You think I could have gotten Aang out of the iceberg and up to the North Pole? Or freed the Earthbenders? You needed to be there.” She shook her head.

“Every time I look at your burn scars, I just feel so guilty. And then I feel guilty for feeling guilty and-” Tears began to run down Katara’s face. Sokka moved to hug her, and she collapsed into his arms. Behind them, Zuko and Aang had stopped drilling and were staring at the siblings. Sokka waved his arm in a ‘scram’ motion, and the other boys headed back up for a new beach section. Idiots.

“Katara, you have nothing to feel guilty about.” He pulled back from the hug and tried to look her in the eyes. She couldn’t look up from the ground.

“But don’t I? If I had been smarter, you wouldn’t have been taken.” She sobbed again. "If I had better control over my bending, they would have missed me entirely." Sokka pulled her back into the hug and rubbed her back.

“Katara, if you hadn’t done exactly what you did, Yon Ra would have killed Mom. Dad would have fought back, and he’d be dead too. My nightmares are never about that decision. You’re not responsible for any of the fire nation’s actions.” Katara nodded, and Sokka wondered if he’d finally gotten through to her.

The siblings stayed on the beach until the sun began to dip into the sea. Neither really spoke, but Sokka was okay with that. Katara rested her head on his shoulder, and Sokka prayed they could finally put this guilt behind them. They wandered back to the main house and found Toph cooking dinner while Zuko and Aang offered occasional instructions from 10 meters away.

“This isn’t going to end well.” Sokka decided. He dropped down next to Zuko and landed a punch on his shoulder. Zuko tried to reciprocate, but Zuko dodged him easily. 

“It’s ok,” Katara offered in mock seriousness. “I’m a real water bender; we know how to handle cooking fires.”

"You don't need to be a water bender to be able to put out a fire; you just need to be able to dump a bucket of water on it." Sokka pointed out.

"Or sand." Agreed Zuko. Sokka nodded. Iroh had mentioned that they kept buckets of sand around the firebending schools for a reason. 

"Or put a wind funnel around it so the fire has no air." Aang weighed in. Katara rolled her eyes and glanced at Aang. Sokka paused. Was she? No. It couldn't be. He elbowed Zuko.

"What?" That time, Zuko managed to land a blow.

Chapter 8: Interlude

The Earth Kingdom’s visit came. Iroh put him back into the cuffs, but he promised they would come off the second they were away from the palace. His tunic sleeves had to come off too, but Iroh had wrapped his wrists in white cloth before the cuffs went back on. Sokka could feel himself shaking the entire ride to the palace. The knots were back in his stomach, and he tugged on his fingers incessantly. Iroh finally just wrapped an arm around him and murmured that he needed to breathe. Sokka nodded and began whispering his old refrain.

“I am Sokka of Wolf’s Cove, son of Hadoka and Kya, grandson of Kanna.” He whispered. If Iroh heard him, he didn’t comment. Sokka felt the carriage stop moving with a jolt, and he swallowed his fear. Iroh had to help him down the carriage steps, the cuffs threw off his balance. They went through a different door than Sokka had last time. This one was smaller and seemed more human. All through the hallways, people stopped to stare at Sokka. Iroh whispered that he should ignore them, and Sokka felt another knot tie in his stomach. The throne room had more gold than Sokka had ever seen. Rich reds, gems, and dark wood lined every inch of the space. Ozai's throne was at least two meters higher than the rest of the room, and he sat on it behind a moat of flames. They reflected off the gold in Ozai's clothes and hair. His beard had gotten longer and pointer. Sokka hated how he could feel Ozai's eyes on him, analyzing every fidget and stomach twist. Sokka decided just to admire it and not listen to Ozai threaten the Earth Kingdom for an hour. There were only so many ways to say ‘Surrender or we’ll kill you all’ and Ozai was going through every single one. Iroh kept his word and stayed near Sokka’s side the entire time. His hand stayed on Sokka’s shoulder the same way Dad’s hand had the day… no he couldn’t think about home, not here and now. The only time Iroh stepped away was when Zuko waved at him and smiled. The shorter girl next to him had smacked him for it, and then he had smacked her back. Iroh quietly stepped in between them until another adult ushered them away.

The Earth Benders stared at him, and Ozai had made a point of stating how well-treated Sokka was as their hostage, how they should surrender, and how their benders would be treated fairly. There was a part of Sokka’s mind that begged him to fight back, but he knew playing along with Ozai’s game was the best way for him to stay safe in the short term. The problem with that was, that once the Earth Kingdom surrendered, there would be nothing stopping the Fire Nation from turning all of their war resources to the Northern Water tribe. The delegation was also entirely dressed in green and gold. Sokka knew that shouldn’t bother him (after all, every water tribe member tended to wear blues and the Fire Nation stuck to reds) but it seemed less forced when his people did it. Zuko reappeared next to him.

“Sorry you have to wear the cuffs. Are they tight?” He whispered.

“They’re not as bad as they usually are,” Sokka replied. The fabric Iroh had wrapped around his wrists offered protection from the metal. Zuko nodded. The boys stood in silence for a few minutes while Ozai droned on about something. Sokka had stopped following the conversation once Ozai had finished referencing him and Iroh visibly exhaled.

“Their armor is so ugly,” Zuko commented. Sokka just nodded and swallowed his reply that Fire Nation guard uniforms weren’t much better. Part of him was grateful they hadn’t done anything to his hair or face again, the only thing worse than Fire Nation clothing was the Fire Nation’s version of water tribe clothing. Suddenly, Ozai yelled and the flames around the throne got brighter, and Zuko flinched. The Earth Kingdom refused to yield, and Ozai threatened to have the delegation thrown in prison. The men in the delegation glanced at each other, and one grabbed at his sword. Iroh said they could leave after that, and he quickly pulled Sokka, Zuko, and the girl from the throne room and out a new door.

“I wanted to stay and watch.” The girl pouted. Iroh just shook his head and called over one of the other adults.

“Princess Azula, there are some events of politics that are just not suitable for young people to view.” Iroh began explaining. Sokka didn’t hear him finish the sentence. Zuko started talking.

“Did you see the Earth Kingdom swords? They were so big. Why would a bender use a sword? Do you think they’re real Earth Benders? Or do you think the Earth King knew the delegation would be arrested so he sent the expendables?” Zuko fired off the questions to Sokka.

“Uh,” Sokka replied. The sounds of shouting and metal clanging and screams came from the throne room. Sokka shuddered. Iroh glanced at him.

“Sokka, we should go.” Iroh decided. “Prince Zuko, Princess Azula, it is always a pleasure to see you.” He bent his head in a shallow bow. Zuko did the same. The girl, Azula, made a comment about how Sokka needed to bow to her because she was royalty, but Iroh already had them moving down the hall.

And just like that, it was over. Iroh tugged the cuffs off him on the ride back to his house.

“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Sokka commented as he rubbed feeling back into his wrists. The question of what would happen to the Earth benders crossed his mind, but he didn’t want to ask.

“I’m glad. We’ll train tomorrow at sunrise again.” Iroh replied. He rested his forehead in his hands for a movement. Sokka opened his mouth to ask if he was ok but then closed it. Instead, he just leaned his head on Iroh’s shoulder, the same way he used to do with Dad coming back from fishing trips and the way he had on the ride to the palace. Iroh wrapped an arm around him, and they finished the ride in silence.

Sokka knew the time was passing, but it didn't feel like it. It felt like Sokka woke up one morning and Iroh laughed at him because his pants were too short all of a sudden. His hair grew long, longer than even someone from the Northern Water tribe would wear it. Iroh showed him how to pull it back, and how to tie it up. Sokka had refrained from looking at himself in the mirror for a while after that. Trainings in the morning became easier, and more fun. Suddenly, Sokka could keep pace with Iroh and do chin-ups and push-ups. He couldn’t do as many as Zuko, but Iroh said that was to be expected.

Zuko came over for lunch almost every other day. Despite their efforts, they still couldn’t beat Iroh at pai sho. Sokka drew up multiple plans, and the boys executed each one perfectly, but Iroh foiled them every time. Too often, one of the servants would interrupt and state that Zuko was wanted back at the palace for something. Usually, they would pack up quietly. Once, Zuko had begun crying and stated that he didn’t want to return to the palace, Iroh just hugged him. Sokka stepped around behind them and did the same.

“I wish I could stay here,” he whispered.

“I do too,” Iroh replied. “But you’ll be back in two days, and then we’ll play pai sho again.” Zuko nodded and wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

“You must think I’m an idiot for crying about this,” Zuko confessed to Sokka at the door. Sokka shrugged.

“I cry a lot here too, not really my place to judge.” He admitted. Zuko laughed, and Sokka smiled.“We’ll see you soon Prince Zuko.” He did the small head bow that Iroh usually did whenever Zuko came over.

“You better, Sokka of the Water Tribe,” Zuko replied as he returned the head bow.

Despite everything, Sokka was still homesick. He thought about the South Pole, fishing, and Katara for a few seconds every night before he fell asleep. Sometimes he thought about Mom, or Dad, or Gran Gran, but if he did it too often then he would cry. Iroh said it was ok to feel homesick, but Sokka wasn’t sure. He breathed in the smell of the tunic sleeves, which had long since stopped smelling like his mom and smelled like jasmine and myrrh now. They were turning to scraps of fabric, so he stopped wearing them every day. They lived in his room, beneath his pillow.

Sokka had been in the Fire Nation for 16 months when he couldn’t picture his mom’s face as he tried to fall asleep one night. He could remember the way her parka hung around her, how it felt to hug her, and the way she wore her hair, but when he tried to picture her face, all he could see was Katara. The guilt gnawed at him for two days until it spilled out of him while he sparred with Iroh one afternoon. His entire body trembled as he admitted it. Iroh had promised she’d understand when he saw her again. Then he’d suggested Sokka learn to sword fight.

“Sounds like you’re trying to distract me from the grief of being taken away from my family and culture.” Sokka deadpaned. Iroh stared at him for a moment, before they both erupted into laughter.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Let me write to a friend.”

Iroh had been right. Sokka loved sword fighting. He loved the feeling of the blade in his hand, he loved swinging it, and he loved the days when Piando came over to teach him. He was a tougher master than Iroh was, but Sokka didn’t care. He started waking himself up for morning training with Iroh and doing his own dexterity drills. Sokka wanted to be good at this, he needed to be good at this. Iroh set up dummies for him to practice on when Piando wasn’t around, and Sokka demolished them. Even his meditation and breathing exercises became more fun when he did them in the context of swords.

Sometime around the two-year mark, Sokka and Zuko genuinely beat Iroh in pai sho. Sokka had made the plan, and the boys had spent most of lunch whispering about it. Neither had really thought it would work. Iroh smiled, and the celebration was only interrupted when one of the servants said Zuko was needed back at the palace by the Fire Lord. Zuko fell silent and bit his lip.

“He keeps making me fight Azula, and I keep losing,” Zuko admitted. “It’s not fair. She’s a prodigy at fire bending.”

“It’s not,” Iroh replied. “But neither of you know how to draw your fire from the breath. We’ll work on it next time you’re here.”

“Does he get on you about water bending and breathing the way he gets on me about it?”
Zuko asked Sokka. Sokka shook his head.

“He used to. I’m honestly not that good at water bending though.” Sokka danced around the truth. He and Zuko usually avoided any mention of bending, and they let it hang over their friendship like a boulder.

“That’s fair. There’s no one to teach you.” Zuko decided. Sokka shrugged. Part of him wondered how Katara was managing it in the South Pole, assuming she was still there. He didn't like lying to Zuko, but there wasn't an alternative option.

---

Chapter 9: Parade

Notes:

Don't look too closely at our timeline...this was self-indulgent hurt/comfort that I wrote and then realized didn't mesh too well with the established timeline and at least one character arc. It'll get fixed as I move this fic closer to the finish line.

A Fire Rooster signaled the looming sunrise, and Sokka rolled out of bed. He stretched the sleep from his body and sighed. Two years and two months. Two years and two months since his mom had hugged him. Two years and two months since he’d hunted with his dad…Sokka stopped himself. Those thoughts lead nowhere healthy. He ran a finger through his hair and shook the tangles out along with memories of home. They did nothing good for his mind. He turned his attention inward and scrolled through each body part and what was sore. His arms complained from his workout the following day but everything was in working order.

Sokka tugged on his boots and shook his arms loose as he strolled through the hallway. Despite the early hours, most of the household was awake already. Servants greeted him as he passed, and he replied in kind. They’d all warmed up to him after a while. It was tough to hate someone who helped out with chores and resisted the urge to be a menace. He could smell breakfast cooking. Maybe some type of pork? It smelled like pork. If Iroh was late to their morning workout and made Sokka late for breakfast, he’d be bitter over it. He’d get over it, but not without concocting a devastating victory over the man in pai sho first.

Dawn was beginning to break over the walls surrounding the house. Streaks of red and pink clustered in the East, and Sokka treasured the feeling of a slight chill in the air. The sun would burn it away soon, but the cool air felt right on his skin. It was like the South Pole’s way of silently reminding him that the cold hadn’t forgotten him. Iroh stepped out of the shadows.

“Ready?” Iroh asked. Sokka smiled.

“Let’s do it.”

“No weighted vest today?” Iroh asked Sokka. Sokka smirked.

“Naw I gotta make it a fair race for you.” He paused. "Wait, no, the opposite.”

“Too late,” Iroh commented. He didn’t wait for Sokka to spin his words, just began jogging off towards the East side of the compound. Sokka grit his teeth and caught up.

“I meant to say..”

“Perhaps I shall sprint our warm-up today.” Iroh reflected. He sped up. Sokka laughed. It was an easy speed to match. Iroh waved greetings at the guards standing watch on the East Wall. Sokka did the same.

“Faster Sokka, you’re losing.” One called. He made a circular motion with his arms. Sokka knew that guard. All of Iroh’s household guards were professional, and some were plants from Ozai to keep an eye on him, but a few were genuinely kind people who reminded Sokka of Zun Lo. Regardless, the morning warm-up laps had become entertainment for most of them. Sokka had heard a few even placed bets on who would win occasionally.

“I’m saving strength for my escape attempt later,” He shouted back. Iroh snorted. He didn’t increase the pace. Sokka could work with that.

“I get off duty at 8. Do it after that!” The guard replied.

“Anything for you Ahzu!” The guard audibly laughed as they ran along the wall. Sokka turned his mind inward to focus on breathing. Everything felt good, he was sore, but he was strong. It was better this way. The more tired he was, the more sore, the less his mind screamed at him for not escaping or not resisting more. But what was there to even resist?

He raced Iroh through the last segment along the West Wall. So much for taking the warm-up easily. The guards called out encouragement.

“Come on General Iroh, don’t lose to a water tribe kid!”

“Sokka! Win!”

Sokka pulled away on the last stretch up the walkway. The guards cheered. He smiled at Iroh as the man finished.

“Push-ups?” He challenged.

“Why not?” Iroh decided. They headed for the training area nestled in the garden. The morning sun was beginning to burn off the dew and the illusion of coolness. Iroh had him beat on push-ups, and it wasn’t even close. Sokka slapped his arm in frustration. Iroh smiled.
“Sit-ups?” He suggested. Sokka nodded. He could win this one….nope. It was the same with every other exercise. Sokka had him in running, but nothing else. “Firebenders are not runners,” Iroh commented as the two sat back in the morning sun. Sokka smiled. He looked around. They were alone. He could make the joke.

“Neither are water benders.” He admitted. Iroh chuckled and gave him a warning look.

“My brother has ears everywhere.” Iroh reminded him gently. Sokka nodded. Iroh was right. Katara’s safety needed to be worth more than his punchlines. He knew better than this. If he screwed up, she’d end up here with him. “Come, breakfast is waiting.”

Breakfast bled into mid-morning, and Sokka helped Ming prepare lunch in the kitchen.

“Surely you have something better to do?” She asked. The warmth in her brown eyes let Sokka know she was teasing him. Sokka shrugged. Iroh was away at some meeting, Zuko was busy, and Piando was out. He’d already drilled every sword motion he could without combusting from boredom, and he’d combust from boredom if he had to meditate anymore.

“Ming, unless you got a boat to the water tribe around here, I’ve got nowhere else to be,” He stirred the soup. “Besides, I like hearing all of the gossip.”

“You like hearing kitchen gossip?” She smiled as she lifted a basket of pears onto the work table.

“Doesn’t everyone?” Sokka asked. Ming always knew everything that happened around the palace networks. The servants swapped stories and news like they were the most valuable commodities in the world. He’d heard about kitchen girls running off with imperial guards, palace officials being weird (though Sokka didn’t see that as groundbreaking), and the ever-present rumor mill surrounding the war. Sokka had lost track of every time he’d heard they were about to take Ba Sing Se or the looming defeat of the resistance in the Fire Isles or that the great wall in the Northern Water tribe was finally down. Ming smiled and pulled out another bowl.

“No.” She peeled a pear and gave him half. The rest she began to dice into cubes below. Sokka shrugged and ate the pear happily.

“Is it soup and fruit for lunch?” he asked. She handed him a knife and motioned that he should start dicing pears too.

“For the staff, yes. Assuming Prince Iroh is home in time for lunch, you two will be having roasted chicken over wild rice.”

“Classic.” He replied. It was one of his favorites for a reason. “If Iroh’s not home in time, I can just eat the soup. Don’t pluck a chicken just for me.” She smiled at him.

“The chickens are already plucked. You’ll either have them for lunch or dinner.” She sniffed the air. “Stir the soup. I can smell the bottom burning.” Sokka obeyed.

Mid-morning bled into the afternoon. Sokka wasted the heat of the day in the library reading through old scrolls as the sun was beating down. Ozai, Azulon, Sozin, and Sokka sounded out the familiar names as he pieced through the readings. Sokka bit his lip. It struck him as strange that the elder son was usually passed over for the younger, at least since the war had started, but he knew that was a question he couldn’t ask. Especially not of Iroh.

He yawned. Sokka debated the merits of taking a nap right in the library versus going back to his room and sleeping through the heat of the day. Ming would need help to prepare dinner. Iroh had missed lunch, and now his presence at dinner was in question. Sokka set down his scroll and cracked his knuckles.

Maybe a topic change would help? He shuffled over to the scrolls from Iroh’s travels. There were a few tomes on Water Tribe religion and mythology. He flipped through them occasionally enough to know what was there. He’d been trying to find information about the first waterbenders taken from the South Pole, the ones who were Gran Gran’s age. That was another question he needed to be smart about asking, but he could ask it. No one could fault him for being curious about what had happened to his people. On the other hand, it might be better to not know. They’d likely all been massacred and Sokka didn’t need to mourn for them too. They mourned the lost benders every year in the water tribe. Sokka wondered if they included his name among the taken water benders. They’d better. If he had managed to keep up the ruse here for years, they could keep it up there

“Sokka,” Iroh called softly from the door. Iroh’s hair had fallen out of its normally perfect top knot and there were deep purple bags under his eyes. Something was wrong. Sokka felt his stomach flip. “I have news. May I sit?” Sokka opened his voice to reply that it was Iroh's house, but no sound came out. All he could do was nod. The thoughts began to stack on top of each other. The Northern Water Tribe had fallen, someone had caught Katara, the Fire Nation had reason to believe the South Pole had more water benders, they were sending him back to the zoo, or the Fire Sages wanted to see him again. The list of horrors was endless.

Iroh sat down in front of him with his legs folded. His posture was perfect. Sokka forced another breath of air through his lungs.

“The Water Tribes are safe. Both of them.” Iroh led immediately. Sokka nodded. He felt a weight come off his shoulder. “It is you, I’m most concerned for.” Sokka’s heart beat against his ribs. He swallowed. “The Fire Lord, my brother, has decreed he wants a parade in celebration of his birthday.”

“Oh.” Sokka finally found his voice. He knew where this was going. Iroh didn’t need to say it. He’d been entertainment before, and now he would be again.

“He wants…” Iroh struggled to say it. Despite the situation, Sokka smiled. Ozai was predictable. Did it make the sadism any earlier to bear? No, but it certainly made it funnier.

“He wants me in the parade? Probably dressed in some mockery of water tribe ceremonial wear?” Sokka deadpanned. His stomach felt like it was about to fall out of his body. He could handle the parade. He knew how to handle it this time. He could just disconnect his mind from his body. The outfit would be harder. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be grease as facepaint again.

“I know you’ll be in it, I don’t know about the ceremonial wear, but I suspect you’re right.” Iroh’s eyes stayed on him. Sokka shifted. He curled his legs up to his chest.

“Ozai is predictable.” He whispered. What was it Ozai had said when he’d first been dragged in front of the Admiral and Ozai? We can’t have people thinking its a normal child. He’d be in some type of animal fur for sure. Hopefully not a wolf. Did they even have wolves here? His stomach began flipping. He’d been so safe recently. The only people who stared were the new guards or new staffers. And they were usually curious, not cruel.

“Sometimes,” Agreed Iroh. “Sometimes.”

“When is this gonna happen?” Sokka asked. Probably soon.

“Two days from now. I knew there were plans for celebrations but I had planned for you and Ming to safely remain out of the public eye here.” Iroh explained. Sokka shrugged.

“Out of sight, out of mind.” He parroted automatically.

“Exactly.” Added Iroh. Sokka shrugged again. He was trying to pretend this wasn’t a big deal. He’d survived the seal cage, the cage on wheels, the zoo, and being a decoration, he’d survive this too.

“This is going to be horrible.” He admitted.

“I will tell him you’re ill. Or that there was an accident, or” Iroh was reaching for any excuse. Sokka shook his head.

“Iroh I’m pretty sure the guy who had me put in a zoo isn’t going to care if I’m sick. In fact, he’d probably like it.” Iroh sighed.

“Perhaps you are right. I had hope that decency would prevail, or that one of my brother’s generals would suggest a better use of resources but it seems fear is all the more common these days.” For the first time, Iroh couldn’t meet his eyes. His fingers trembled in their usually relaxed fists. Sokka smiled.

“At least you’re back in time for dinner. Ming made roasted chicken. Shame to waste it.” He decided. He could panic about this later. He had two whole days to spin out and let his brain ruminate on the worst-case scenario. And if he knew the Fire Nation, they’d come up with something cruel beyond his wildest imagination of the worst-case scenario by the time it was over. Sokka took a long inhale and then forced the air back out through his nose.

Iroh sparred with him in wrestling matches for the rest of the night. They took a quick break for dinner, but Sokka could barely eat it. The cuffs weren’t even back out yet but he could feel their heavy iron on his wrists. The grease paint would bleed into his hair and be impossible to wash out. The tunic…what would they force him into this time?

“Again.” Iroh decided while Sokka lay on the mat. They were both breathing heavily. “We need to do this until you’re exhausted. You won’t sleep otherwise.”

“Would it really be so bad if I’m tired of this?” Sokka rolled back up onto his heels and shook his arms loose. He hopped up and down a few times to make the blood flow. Iroh was right. If he went to bed now, he’d just lie awake until sunrise wondering about how the next 48 hours would go. He was surprised he’d managed to get any food down at dinner.

“Would a warrior go into combat tired?” Iroh asked. He began circling Sokka again

“I’m not a warrior,” Sokka replied. Iroh could say whatever he wanted. At the end of the day, Sokka was riding out the war in a palace. If he were in prison, maybe then he could claim the title. Or if he were being tortured. This situation they had here where Iroh protected him and he only occasionally got roughed up didn’t count. He shifted his arms back into a fighting stance and watched Iroh.

“I disagree, young Sokka,” Iroh stated. He smiled. Iroh was baiting him, Sokka knew it.

“A warrior would have escaped a long time ago,” Sokka stated. “I haven’t.” It was a fact. He dropped to a knee and tried to swing his opposite leg under Iroh to take out his legs. The older man was far more agile than he looked and merely hopped over Sokka’s attempt. Sokka growled. His nails pressed into his palms.

“How would you have escaped?” Iroh asked. “You’ve seen the walls surrounding my home.” He swung at Sokka, but Sokka dodged effortlessly. “And even if you made it over, every guard in the city would be set on you. You look different than the average Fire Nation citizen, you wouldn’t get far.” Sokka knew it was all true. He’d come to the same conclusion that first night on Iroh’s roof. He just hated hearing it.

Iroh sent him to bed sometime after midnight, and despite exhaustion trying to pull him into unconsciousness, Sokka could only lie in the dark and dread the coming pains. He doubted they would physically hurt him. That would be counterintuitive for Ozai’s objective, but at a certain point, the humiliation associated with his position did become painful. The morning roosters brought no mercy. Iroh let him skip morning training, and Sokka hid out in the kitchens with Ming.

“You want to punch something?” She asked. He only nodded. “Good. You’re on bread kneading duty.” Kneading bread turned out to be an arm workout in disguise, but Sokka didn’t care. The parade loomed over his entire existence like a shadow. He’d be in cuffs tomorrow. Iroh couldn’t protect him tomorrow. He would be a mockery tomorrow.

“What’s their plan for tomorrow?” Sokka muttered to Iroh over dinner. His food sat untouched. Iroh glanced at his bowl.

“Guards will take you tomorrow morning. The parade will be late morning.” Iroh paused. “Try to eat something. Ming will take it personally if you don’t.”

“I’m not hungry.” Sokka shot back. He shifted his weight so he could rest an elbow on the table. Exhaustion was pulling at him again. His nerves felt like a fraying rope. He buried his head in his hands for a minute. That wasn’t fair of him. He couldn’t take this out on Iroh.

“You will be. Eat something, and then a calming tea, and then sleep.” Despite himself, Sokka obeyed.

Too soon, Iroh was pulling him from a blissfully dreamless sleep. The roosters hadn’t even crowed yet.

“Ozai’s guards will be here soon. You need to eat something before they take you.” Sokka nodded. He knew Iroh was right. But why did the bowl of rice and eggs with fresh green onions (maybe one of his all-time favorite Fire Nation meals) that Ming put in front of him make him want to throw up? His stomach pulsed.

“I’ll heat some broth.” She suggested. “That’ll rest easy in your stomach.” Sokka nodded numbly. Would they beat him today? Probably not. The Fire Nation’s favorite form of torture with him had always been mental. Sokka knew that, so why was he giving them space in his head? Sokka managed three sips before he vomited all over the floor.

“ ‘M sorry.” He choked out. Ming glanced at Iroh. Iroh glanced back. They had a conversation without saying a single word. Sokka hated it when they did that. “I’ll be fine once they have me. The waiting is just the worst part.” He explained. Iroh nodded. Ming sighed. She lowered herself so she could stare in his eyes.

“You’re only job today is to survive. If you do that, I promise I won’t be mad.” She handed him a cool cloth for his face. She’d had it ready. They knew this would happen. They knew Sokka was weak and couldn’t last without their help-

“Would movement help?” Iroh offered. Sokka shook his head. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t weak. He could survive. If all he could control today was himself, that would be ok.

“Can we meditate?” He asked. If Sokka could control his breaths, he could control his mind. It was like Ming said, that was all he had to do today. Iroh nodded and they ended up in the garden watching a soft breeze move the fire lilies.

He counted in for a count of three when Ming rang the bell signaling the arrival of Ozai’s guards and he counted out for a count of five when Iroh clasped the cuffs back on him.

“I’ll see you soon. Remember to breathe.” Iroh told the guards, but Sokka knew it wasn’t a message for the guards. The absurdity of the situation forced Sokka to swallow a laugh. Why Ozai’s elite Imperial Guards would need a reminder to breathe was beyond him.

He counted in for a count of three as two of them hoisted him up into a litter and out for a count of five as they hustled him out. They were back at the main palace. Logically, he knew that any parade would begin or end here, but it didn’t mean that he had to like it. Sokka shrunk into himself. His shoulders crept up and whatever he had managed to choke down for dinner last night threatened to reappear.

It wasn’t the same cell as last time. Sokka could be grateful for very little, but he was grateful for that. He didn’t react when one of the guards ripped the ties from his hair and it fell around his shoulders. In for a three count…

“Yeah, that’s fine. Orders were as long as it’s not a top knot or a short style we don’t need to do anything.” The first guard stated. Sokka couldn’t see either of their faces. Their armor was identical. They were the same height, they might as well have been the same person. Only their voices gave Sokka an insight into the fact that they were two different people.

Out for a five count… Sokka resisted the urge to shake his head and toss his hair back. It was too human of a movement, and he wouldn’t give that to his guards. The second one threw a bundle of blue clothes at his feet.

“Get dressed.” The man growled. Sokka held his cuffs out. Did they expect him to do this without his hands or…. “Fine. Be quick about it.” Internally, Sokka made a face. Externally, he stayed passive. It was the same damn outfit from the zoo. A basic prison tunic that had just been dyed blue. Sokka swallowed his laugh. He shrugged his shift off slowly. At least the fabric wasn’t scratchy the way it had been last time. The guards watched him as he pulled the clothes on, but they let him face the wall. He got a little privacy at least.

“Are we ok on time?” The first one asked.

“We’re fine.” The second replied. “Wrists.” He ordered Sokka. Sokka moved automatically. His brain was desperate to escape his head. The cuffs went back on and Sokka noted how tight they were. That was uncomfortable now, and in a few hours, it’d be beyond painful. He’d be back with Iroh in a few hours though. Surely this couldn’t be an all-day event.

He flinched when the guard pulled out a tin of grease paint and pulled away without thinking. It got him a slap to the face. He winced as the paint went over the sensitive skin.

“It’s supposed to have some white too. And grey.” The first chimed in.

“We don’t have grey.” The second realized. He actually sounded a little panicked. Sokka bit his tongue to hide his smirk.

“Mix the white and black.” He suggested and instantly regretted it. Why was he helping them? The guards glared at him.

“That’s not a bad idea.” The first admitted.

“Black triangle on the forehead and black around the eyes. The rest should be grey.” He added. He left out the white chin specifically. He wasn’t actually a warrior of their tribe, so he wouldn’t wear the correct markings. The guards glanced at each other. Sokka shrugged. He’d wash this off later. It stung his skin now, but it would be gone soon.

“Yeah, that’s not the point of this.” The second stated.

“Didn’t think so.” Sokka breathed out. And back in. And back out. He could tell by the way their fingers were touching his face that this was going to look ridiculous. The whole point of the warrior facepaint was to blend into the snow. Not only was there no snow here, but it just felt wrong.

“Go get the animal hide.” The second ordered the first. Ah. So there would be an animal hide. Sokka hoped it wouldn’t be a wolf. The wolf was too sacred to drag into this. The implications behind any of their warrior headpieces ending up with the Fire Nation hurt to think about. Probabaly from the first group of captured water benders... Sokka’s fingers tapped against his thigh.

“The Earth bender is ready. What’s the hold up on the water bender?” Someone yelled from down the hall. The guard froze. Sokka bit the inside of his cheek. So he wouldn’t be alone in this after all.

“Where’s the animal hide?” Someone yelled. Sokka resisted the urge to rub his forehead. He could laugh about this later. He could cry about this later. In for a count of three and out for a count of five.

“Found it!” A new voice yelled. Sokka felt something in his heart snap as they jammed a wolf’s pelt over his head and shoulders. Someone had killed this wolf. Someone had skinned it and turned it into a pelt to protect them during combat. Someone’s wife or mother or sister had whispered blessings over it for safety. Someone had worn this, and they’d probably been slaughtered by the Fire Nation. Sokka wasn’t the praying type, but he whispered the prayer of the dead anyway. The parts he could remember at least.

They clamped a collar around his neck and attached a chain to it. Sokka swallowed his disgust, and it landed in his stomach with a sickening plop. He didn’t react, didn’t fight back. In for a count of three and out for a count of five. The first guard clipped the chain (Sokka couldn’t call it a leash; he’d start crying) to his cuffs. That was good. It wouldn’t pull on his neck. Only his wrists would be in pain.

“We need to finish the other Earth benders. Stick the water bender in a holding cell.” Someone shouted. The second guard grabbed his chain and began pulling him towards the hall. Sokka felt his stomach give out. It clenched involuntarily. Anything in his stomach would have come back up. He wished he’d had some water this morning. That would have been a good call. His shoulder started shaking. Sokka thought about what he would eat for dinner once this was over. Chicken could be good? He took a shaky breath.

The guards shoved him into yet another cell. This one was closer to the door that led outside, though. He could see the sunlight on the floor around the corner. A holding cell it was then. Sokka leaned against the back wall and forced slow and steady breaths to move in and out of his body. He couldn’t control the Fire Nation; he could only control how he reacted to them. Anyway, he needed to finish the prayer for the dead. This wolf pelt had belonged to someone who had actually earned it. Sokka needed to remember them. They deserved it. If only he knew the words to the damn prayer. He closed his eyes and tried to remember. It had the added bonus of helping to calm him down. He had said the prayer with Dad when his grandfather died. He could remember that. The guards came back. Sokka focused on finishing the prayer- something about the waves bringing each soul to shore? They stuck an Earth bender in the cell across from him. At least Sokka figured he was an Earth bender. He was built like one but wore the same red prison tunic Sokka had before the zoo. The man’s hair was grown out and he looked a little scraggly. Sokka paused the prayer. Despite the heavy metal cuffs covering his entire hands, the earthbender waved at him. His smile was friendly.

“And I thought we had it bad with the ankle cuffs.” He commented. Sokka shrugged.

“We can trade if you want.”

“Hell no. Are you the water bender they kept yelling about?”

“Unless there’s a second last water bender of the South Pole,” Sokka replied. This conversation was bizarre. Scratch that; this whole situation was bizarre. Actually, the past three years were bizarre. Sokka got the feeling they were both trying to distract themselves from what was around the corner.

“Oof. I thought I recognized you from the throne room!” The man smiled. It wasn’t a real smile, but it was a sad one. “I’m Lin.”

“Sokka.” He answered. “I thought they let you guys go home?” Iroh wouldn’t have lied to him, right?

“They kept us three senior officers. We’re collateral.” The man explained. “Been rough, but we’ve got each other. You’re on your own, though.” Sokka couldn’t tell if that last part was an expression of sympathy or a blunt statement. Either way, it was a fact.

“It’s just me and my culturally accurate outfit against the Fire Nation.” Sokka deadpanned. The man threw his head back and laughed. Sokka smirked. He dropped the expression when the sound of footprints brought more guards, and one threw his cage door open.

“Give ‘em hell,” Lin stated. One guard immediately backhanded Lin, and Sokka flinched at the sound.

“Shut it. Earth idiot.” The guard hissed. Lin made a face that wasn’t one of pain. Sokka had to swallow his laughter at the insult. He’d called Katara an ice idiot once. He had been six at the time. Good to know his captors had similar insult abilities. He twisted his head to try and say goodbye to Lin, but the guards were already pulling on his chain. The man just nodded at him and squared his shoulders back. Sokka nodded back. He needed to breathe.

The courtyard was a scene of chaos. Sokka shut his eyes to avoid the sun’s glare. It had the added bonus of giving him a few extra seconds to deny what was happening. He eased one eye open after another count of five. Horses and soldiers seemed to be milling everywhere in coordinated chaos. Clouds of dust swirled around the ground.

“Where’s platoon B? We need a regiment leader.” One of the guards stated. Sokka had given up on trying to track their identities. Sokka let himself be tugged to one of the horses. The added bonus of the wolf pelt was that it blocked his peripheral vision, so already, this was better than his last Fire Nation parade.

“I’ll take him from here, boys.” He knew that voice. That was one of Iroh’s guards- Ahzu!

Sokka kept his eyes on the ground. If Ahzu was here, Iroh planned to get him through this.

“Are you sure? I think we’re supposed to…”

“Yeah, the regular rider is out sick. Crazy stomach bug. Anyway, I think we’re starting soon, so I need to get him settled here.” Ahzu waved the guards away. Sokka kept his face downturned. It made it easier to hide the urge to smile. By settling here, Ahzu meant clipping the chain to the horse’s saddle, but Sokka didn’t fault him for that. “Does the chain have enough slack?” He whispered. He needed of bothered. The whole courtyard was so chaotic that Sokka figured they could have discussed murdering Ozai and installing Iroh, but no one would have noticed. He stayed quiet anyway. Ahzu grabbed a canteen off his belt. “Sip some water. It’s going to be a long day.”Sokka took it gratefully. Ahzu even let him hold the canteen. “Listen, Sokka, people are going to yell things. They’ll probably only throw things at the Earth benders, though.” Sokka sipped the water. It tasted cloyingly sweet, but it was so cold. “Don’t react; just keep your eyes forward.”

“Where’s Ozai?” he whispered. Sokka didn’t want to be near him. The thought of Ozai seeing him like this made his skin crawl.

“He’ll be at the back of the procession. We’re towards the front. Near the Prince and the Princess. Listen, Sokka, do not engage with the crowd. Ignore them.”

“I can’t even see to the sides with this thing on,” Sokka commented. Ahzu clapped his shoulder.

“That’s good! Come on. We’re getting through the next three hours, and we’ll be back at General Iroh’s in time for dinner.” He said it with such conviction that Sokka nearly believed him.

“Mount up!” Someone screeched. Ahzu and Sokka both fliched. “We’re bringing the Earth benders out!”

“Hey, Sokka.” Ahzu squeezed his shoulders. Sokka couldn’t see his face through the stupid skeleton mask all of the Fire Benders wore. “We’re gonna get through this. You’re not alone out here.” Sokka nodded. The sun felt like it was baking the wolf pelt into his skin. “Take another sip of water, and let’s get this thing started so it can end.” Sokka obeyed. Ahzu hung his canteen back on his belt and swung himself onto the horse.

“Platoon form up.” Someone screamed. Other orders began flying. Somehow the horde broke itself out into a semi-organized column. Soldiers lined up in neat rows in front of Ahzu and behind Sokka. He glanced over his shoulders to see if he could see the Earth benders. He couldn’t see them. Two riders pulled up on either side of Ahzu.

“Sokka, start walking now. We’re moving in three, two, one…” Ahzu called. Sokka obeyed. He knew every tug on his wrists was going to feel ten times worse by the time the day was over. Ahzu was smart to let him know about it ahead of time. Sokka nodded. In for three and out for five.

Their procession filed under an archway and Sokka immediately recognized it from his first day at the palace. The courtyard had at least 100 of the Fire Sages. Their portion of the procession had to halt while the sages began walking in front. They had to walk like the soldiers and the captured benders. The sages processed to the main doors to the entire courtyard, where Sokka could hear cheers. He smirked. The Fire Sages weren’t important enough to get their own litters apparently. Sometimes, Ozai was hysterical. Someone dressed in golden armor stood at the top of the steps, and there was an imperial litter next to him. Ozai. Sokka could practically feel the man’s beady eyes on him. Sokka grit his teeth. Ozai could take many things from him, but he refused to surrender his mind to the man.

They started walking again. Sokka fixed his eyes on the square of Ahzu’s back. In for three and out for five. Sokka shut his eyes as they left the courtyard. The cheers turned to boos instantly. Just like the last time, Sokka heard cries of “Long Live the Fire Nation!” and “Glory to Fire Lord Ozai!” Sokka's stomach collapsed in on itself.

Katara is safe. He reminded himself. In for three out of five. Sokka swallowed and forced his eyes open. He was going to survive this. The wolf pelt completely blocked his peripheral vision. He barely saw the crowds in front of him, and the ones to the sides were impossible. He could hear them, though. His only real visual was Ahzu’s back, and that was a much better sight than the crowds of people screaming at him. Ahzu had said this would go for three hours. It was going to be three long hours. The chants were blending.

“Glory to the Fire Nation!”

“Ozai is eternal!”

“Death to the Earth Kingdom.” Sokka had to resist the urge not to react there. Anyone who couldn’t tell that he was a water bender when they had dressed him up like this? Well, they were the ones Sokka wanted in charge of invading the North Pole. In for three and out for five.

Sokka lost track of the number of times someone screamed about wanting eternal life for Ozai. He made it a point to mutter a curse on the man for every blessing he heard. It made for decent entertainment. The sun beat down and added weight to the wolf pelt on his shoulders. The moisture in the air weighed down his lungs. How long had he been a this? A half-hour? An hour? Time passed differently when he was in chains.

Sokka lipped his lips and tried to swallow. The heat had boiled his mouth dry and drops of sweat had rolled down his nose.

Sweat was beginning to roll down his face. Good. Maybe it would wash the grease off. Sokka flexed his shoulders and tried to wipe his face in the corner of the pelt. His eyes left the cobblestones for a moment, and he stumbled hard. Two years of having balance and core strength drilled into him by Piando proved to be enough to keep him upright, barely.

Sokka expected the crowd to cheer as the enemy of the Fire Nation tripped over his own feet, but instead, a hush seemed to fall over them. He could still hear cheers for Ozai, but they rang less loudly now. He forced himself to take another set of breaths. In for three and out for five.

Sokka stumbled again. A quiet gasp crept out of the crowd. It had to be the heat and dehydration getting him. Normally he was more surefooted. Sokka swallowed. Time was slowing down. His muscles felt like they were moving through a snowbank, a hot snowbank, but still. It had been ages since he had done that.

Ahzu’s back looked blurry. Sokka tried to blink focus back into his eyes. It took a minute. In for three, and out for five. Katara was safe and he would be safe again tonight.

Sokka bit his lip as he stumbled again. He couldn’t hear the crowd anymore. It was almost unnerving. He wondered if Zun Lo was somewhere in this procession. He thought about him sometimes.

Sometime towards what Sokka thought was the middle, his brain switched off. He knew he was hot, he knew he was sweaty, he knew his legs were beginning to have an ache and that the pelt was too heavy on his head and it weighed down his neck. He knew all of these things but it was easier to just know them rather than to feel them. Sokka licked his lips. He tasted salt.

He could still see the crowds up ahead. He was aware of their stares but couldn’t hear them anymore. Maybe the pelt was blocking them out somehow? He just wanted to pass out.

Sokka was aware the parade was over. He knew Ahzu unclipped his chain. He knew they took him back into the palace’s cell block and that Ahzu gently shrugged the pelt off him.

“I’ve called for the litter now. We’ll have you home in an hour.” He whispered. Sokka nodded but didn’t speak. Someone carried him into Iroh's house and his room. Ming wiped his face off with a cool towel and whispered that it was over. Sokka nodded. He wanted to cry, his stomach pleaded for food but his mind turned at the though of swallowing anything. All of the cool towels in the world couldn't wash the Fire Nation off of him. Worse, they let him make a mockery of his own people. The thought made his skin burn. 

He spent the next day in bed drifting between a waking nightmare and confusion punctuated by Iroh and the others drifting through to check on him. When the rooster woke him on the second day, Sokka just sat up and stretched like normal.

His muscles ached, but not obscenely. Some ginger tea could take care of the soreness. His stomach rumbled, and his legs ached for a good run. Sokka shook his shoulders loose as he walked through the halls and offered greetings to the staff he ran into.

Iroh met him at their starting point and smiled.

“Ready to warm up?” Sokka nodded.

Notes:

I saw a tiktok about Cleopatra Selene and figured Ozai would have had the same thing done to Sokka. When burnout looms and inspiration strikes, you follow the inspiration.

Chapter 10: The Fire Sages

“We’ve been summoned again,” Iroh told Sokka gently over breakfast. Sokka slowly set down his cup of tea. His arms ached. He was drilling with the swords every day, and the improvement was accompanied by a constant tiredness in his muscles. 

“Earth Kingdom? Or something else?” The answer didn’t really matter. If Ozai wanted them at the palace, they’d be at the palace. Sokka still wasn’t sure how Iroh had tricked Ozai into letting Sokka be taken away from the zoo. Part of him wanted to ask Iroh, and part of him understood this was one of the areas where Iroh couldn’t give him any answers. He took another sip of tea. 

“Something else. My brother’s letter offered no elaboration, but Ming said the servants overheard the Fire Sages inquiring about your water-bending abilities.” Sokka froze with the cup of tea halfway to his mouth.

“Well. That could be a problem.” He sighed. Sokka involuntarily reached for his wrists where the tunic sleeves would have been, but they lived underneath his pillow now, too precious and too fragile for everyday wear. Ming had offered to have one of her friends sew him a look alike but he had politely declined. Iroh nodded. 

“Remember you have no formal training, and the trauma you’ve endured would certainly alter anyone’s ability to connect with their element.” Iroh’s voice was gentle. 

“I didn’t know it worked like that,” Sokka admitted. Maybe the pointless cruelty hadn’t been so pointless. 

“It is one of the many theories my people have about bending. My grandfather had the Fire Sages begin a study of bending.” Iroh poured Sokka more tea. “Everything about how it’s passed down through the generations to how a child first shows signs of the gift. This is one of the many theories they developed. Expectations will be very low.” Sokka wondered who had been the unlucky one to have helped the Fire Nation decide that trauma affected someone’s ability to bend. Probably the first group of waterbenders that had been taken from the Southern Water Tribe. The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it. 

“Is that what happened to the first water benders taken?” Sokka asked. He thought about them more than he cared to admit. Most of them were dead, he was sure. But if any one of them was left, maybe they could escape together. Or at least help each other endure.  Iroh set down his cup. 

“For a time, yes. One of them, a woman I believe, went insane. She escaped her cell and executed most of the guards. She disappeared that night, and the remaining benders were murdered as a result.” Despite the warm air, Sokka shivered. 

“She just left the others there?” He asked. Iroh nodded. Sokka thought back to the rows of igloos at home and the way they hunted as a group. He thought about how the moms would all skin seals together and how they’d leave the kids to watch each other and how he’d called every village elder Gran Gran until he figured out who was actually his grandmother. Their community was so woven together. “How could she do that?” He muttered. 

“I am unsure.” Iroh led gently. “Maybe she wanted to spare them, maybe she made a mistake. We’ll never know.” The silence hung heavy. Sokka scowled. 

“She shouldn’t have left them. That’s not who my people are.” He whispered. The knots were coming back into his stomach. Sokka bit his lip. The random water bender seemed like an easy target for all of his problems. Were it not for her, he could have been in prison with his people. He wouldn’t have needed to carry this alone.  It wasn’t fair to hate her, but he did anyway. Iroh nodded gently.

“I’m sure she did what she thought was right. And you of all people know the pain of being taken away from your home. Try not to judge her too harshly.” Iroh offered. Sokka shrugged. There was nothing to do about it now. 

“When do we need to go?” He was going to need to make a plan about how to act like a water-bender who couldn’t bend, while actually not being able to bend. It might be fun. 

“This evening, before dinner,” Iroh answered. “Plenty of time to turn you into a water bender.” He sipped his tea and smiled.

“Hey,” Sokka replied. “I’ll have you know I’m the real-life last water bender of the Southern Water Tribe.” Even just saying it aloud was ridiculous. Iroh laughed. 

It turned out, faking being a water bender was remarkably easy. Iroh helped him practice a few jerky moves that obviously wouldn’t move any water but could fool someone into thinking that Sokka expected them to move water. 

“Move like the sea. He’s going to expect you to have been practicing behind our backs. You’ll need to look a little more skillful than you did that day at the South Pole.” Sokka dropped his form. 

“You know what happened that day?” A wave of uncertainty crashed inside him. Zun Lo had been able to figure out who the real water bender was by being there, if someone else read a report…

“Sokka, breath. I do know the identity of whom you protect. The report merely stated that you demonstrated age-appropriate bending abilities for a child without formal training.” 

“Well.” Sokka paused. “That’s what I was going for. So that’s good.” He rested his hands on his hips. Iroh set a hand on his shoulder. 

“As I have stated many times, you do have a natural gift for strategy,” The old man added. “Just pretend to be frustrated when the water won’t move. Ozai knows he inspires terror, and terror often impacts bending. Even a Master could struggle under these circumstances.” Sokka very uch doubted that, but he nodded and cracked his knuckles. 

“Let’s go fool a Fire Lord.” 

“Watch your words.” Iroh reminded him. “But yes, let us do that.”

Sokka let his mind relax a little as the litter carried them to the palace. He hated wearing the cuffs again, but he also knew they’d be off soon. His fingers fidgeted and tugged on them nervously. Why was he nervous? He could do this. He'd wave his arms, no water would move, Ozai would probably hit him, and then he'd be back at Iroh's before Ming put the leftovers away. Just another day. The Imperial Guard met them at the steps of the litter. Sokka tripped coming out of it again, and one of them hauled him up. Iroh gave him a warning look. Sokka nodded. He was in enemy territory again, and he needed to act like it. He steeled his shoulders and took a deep breath.

His bravado crumpled when they entered a set of doors and the guards led them down a series of hallways. His shoulders crumpled into themselves. Something about being here made him feel small and helpless again. Iroh sent him an encouraging nod. Sokka barely noticed. His mind rolled through each of the movements one by one. He needed to get this right. Katara’s safety could be at risk. Zuko met them outside of the throne room doors. There was a fresh bruise forming on his chin, and his bangs fell from an otherwise perfect topknot. Words tumbled out of his mouth. 

“I failed a level test this morning and now he’s angry. He’s in such a bad mood, Sokka. I’m so sorry.” Tears welled up in Zuko’s eyes. Iroh promptly stepped up to hug him. Zuko wrung out his hands. “I’m so sorry,” he kept repeating. The guards froze. No one seemed to know what to do. As the crown prince, Zuko’s authority was only second to Ozai. They couldn’t move until Zuko permitted it. Sokka took the opportunity. 

“He’s always in a bad mood for me. Don’t worry about it.” Sokka soothed. Good mood or bad, it didn’t change much. Sokka was just going to need to endure whatever Ozai had planned. His muscles mentally rolled through another one of the fake bending positions Iroh had taught him. He just wanted it over with at this point. He was sure he’d be hurt or burned or humiliated in some horrific new way and then he’d be free to cry about it back at Iroh’s place. Plus, Ming had promised his favorite style of chicken for dinner. Hopefully, he'd still be able to eat it.

“Go wait in your room,” Iroh whispered to Zuko. “I’ll see if I can come check on you later.” Zuko nodded. He mouthed one last sorry to Sokka before tearing off down a new hallway. The guards exchanged a look amongst themselves. Sokka had heard the rumors about Zukko's bending. The guards whispered about it frequently enough and Iroh asked Ming when he thought Sokka wasn't listening.

“Remember to breathe,” Iroh announced to no one in particular. Sokka forced air deep into his lungs and back out. His shoulders crept up, and he pushed them down. The guards pushed the throne room doors open.

One of the guards shoved him forward and Sokka caught himself. The throne room was almost empty, save for Ozai and a few of the old men wearing ugly red robes. Sokka put his head down so he would't stare. Did the sages think those robes looked good? It was too much red. They walked up close to the throne this time. Sokka could see the flames dancing in the moat surrounding the throne. He couldn't feel their heat, yet. Ozai didn’t look like he was in a bad mood. He almost looked bored. He was perched on the throne, not sat back into it the way he had been last time, and his head was tilted. He tapped the throne rhythmically. Sokka bit his lip. Bored was just as dangeous as creulty. 

“Fire Lord Ozai, brother.” Iroh bowed deeply, and the guards did the same. Sokka deliberately didn’t move, and one of the guards kicked the back of his knee. Sokka went down. He winced at the impact.

“Rise, brother. Tell me of your little water bender friend.” Ozai ordered. Sokka took another deep breath. In for three, out for three. One of the guards glared at him. Iroh smiled.

“A model prisoner. No escape attempts and no trouble with my staff. His bending is… severely lacking.” Two guards held Sokka down on his shoulders. He hated the feeling of their hands on his skin through his clothes. Sokka tried to jostle them off, but the sets of hands were too much.

“Elaborate,” Ozai ordered. He didn’t take his eyes off Sokka. He could feel every part of his body being evaluated. Ozai's eyes traced over every muscle and every inch of Sokka's body. Could Ozai tell he’d been training with swords? Could Ozai tell he wasn’t being starved anymore? For the first time, he was glad Iroh had never let him wear his hair the way the water tribe did. 

“The cuffs, previous confinement, and starvation have impacted muscle development. He poses so little threat that the cuffs are unneeded at this point.” Iroh’s tone was clinical. Had Sokka not spent the better part of two years living with him, he wouldn’t have known it was an act. 

"And it’s bending?” Ozai asked. Iroh laughed.

“What bending? It's underdeveloped in skill, and ultimately his raw potential remains utilized,” Iroh answered. Sokka tried to throw the guards off his shoulders as if the statement were hurtful. In reality, it was almost funny. Maybe they could laugh about this over dinner. Ozai turned to one of the Fire Sages.

“Do you find the answers...satisfactory?” He asked. There was something sadistic in his tone. Zuko had been right, he was in a bad mood, but maybe Sokka wasn’t the one who would be on the receiving end of it. The thought was a hopeful one. The Sage bowed low. 

“I am most satisfied by the work of Prince Iroh to control the water bender,” The sage began.

“I sense a but coming.” Iroh interrupted. Sokka thrashed against the guard again just for the sake of doing it. Their hands were digging into his shoulders. He hated that. 

“I do as well. Mind how you speak to my brother, the Prince.” Ozai stated. He smirked at Iroh. Iroh smirked back. The Fire Sage cleared his throat.

“Of course, Fire Lord, I just wondered if a demonstration might prove valuable for our efforts to document the development of bending. As you know, we have been unable to observe water benders for some time.” Because you murdered them. Sokka thought. He tried to land an elbow against the knee of 

“Especially one at this stage of development.” One of the other sages spoke. Sokka felt his blood run a little colder. He’d forgotten what it felt like for others to talk about him like he was some sort of project or captured animal. Iroh rolled his shoulders and didn’t glance at Sokka. Sokka took the reminder to breathe. He was Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, son of Kanna and Hakota, and brother to Katara. He was still a person, regardless of whether the fire sages recognized that or not. 

“Fine with me, as long as the Fire Lord is supportive,” Iroh stated. “I want no injuries though. My staff doesn’t have the time to nurse another burn injury on him.” Iroh folded his hands in his robe. How could he be so calm? Ozai chuckled. 

“My brother is correct, as usual. We need to keep it burn-free in case the Earth Benders require persuasion again.” Ozai agreed. Sokka thought the sound of his laughter was even more unnerving than his threats.

“I have the key to his cuffs. We can do it now and be done. I have dinner commitments.” Iroh stated. He produced the key from one of his robe pockets and held it up expectedly. Ozai nodded. 

“I see no reason to delay.”

“Well, Fire Lord, we were hoping that we could bring the water bender back to our temple for further study. You see, our tools and papers are there.” The lead sage spoke again. Ozai nodded and opened his mouth. Sokka’s stomach twisted. They were going to take him away from Iroh. It was all going to get so much worse again. There would be a new cell, another cage. Panic welled up in him. Iroh pounced. 

“Are you saying you wasted the Fire Lord’s time by not bringing your tools here?” He stated. Ozai’s expression completely changed. Sokka forced himself to take another breath. He trusted Iroh, and Iroh would handle this.

“I agree. The Fire Sages who served my father never wasted his time. And you would conduct your tests in private, so you could control the results? Don’t think I’ve forgotten how you reacted when I ascended.” The fire along Ozai’s throne glowed a threatening blue. The Fire Sage went pale.

“No, most gracious Fire Lord. We came prepared. We can witness a demonstration as you see fit.”

“We’ve already seen one pathetic attempt at bending today, what’s one more?” Ozai decided. Sokka thought back to Zuko crying in the hall and took a shaky breath. It was time. “Take its cuffs off. Guards fan out. Attack one at a time.” Ozai decided. Sokka felt the world spin a little. Iroh removed his cuffs so gently and gave his hands one last friendly squeeze before going to stand by the Fire Sages. One of the Fire Sages approached and handed Sokka a skin full of water. Sokka flexed his wrists and took it. He struggled with the cap for a minute. This was not going to go well. He grimaced as the cap finally came off and he licked his lips uncertainly. Ozai surveyed the scene. 

“Begin.” He called. One of the guards came at him from behind. Sokka threw an arm out, and the water didn’t follow. He let an expression of panic cross his face and ducked. Another guard came from the left, and the water spilled, but it might’ve looked like uncontrolled bending. He stumbled backward. 

“The movements are the same!” One of the sages cried out. Sokka glanced at him. The distraction proved costly. A guard landed a punch on his face. Sokka reeled back and tried to move with the momentum. 

“Captain, throw a fireball,” Ozai called. Sokka dodged the blast, but he felt the singe on his skin. The hits came quicker after that. There was nothing Sokka could do, water bender or not. He doubted that there was anything any bender could do to take on six experienced benders, let alone a non-bending teenager. Some of them used fire, others just went in with their fists. Sokka counted the seconds into minutes as he managed to dodge some blows, but most found their targets. He went down hard and the hits continued. His eyes closed. A foot connected with his ribs, and Sokka couldn’t suppress the yelp of pain. Sokka curled into himself and prayed Iroh would find a way to end it soon. 

“That’s enough. We’ve troubled my brother enough today.” Ozai decided. The guards back off instantly. Sokka remained in his position. His head spun. “Did you learn anything?”

The sages replied something about water-bending movement being intuitive like the waves.  Sokka clutched his ribs and wheezed. His vision was a little blurry. Iroh knelt by his side. 

“Sokka, can you hear me?” He asked gently. Sokka nodded. He blinked his eyes back into focus slowly. “Well done,” Iroh whispered. And then louder, “Can you stand?” Sokka nodded and hauled himself up. Iroh put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Ozai clasped the arms of his throne.

“Well. That was fascinating. And yet none of it explains why my son is such a bad firebender. Focus your efforts there from now on. You’re all dismissed.” Ozai stood and exited another door. Sokka exhaled. The sages all stood and blinked at each other. Most had pulled out scrolls and were writing furiously. Sokka glared at them, and the guards. They stared at him blankly. Sokka wished he had landed a hit on any of them. His ribs hurt. His back hurt. Everything hurt all over. 

“Can you walk?” Iroh asked. Sokka took a shaky step and nodded. And then he went down again. His head was spinning. Sokka coughed.

"Prince Iroh, I can have one of my men carry it for you?" Someone offered. Iroh picked Sokka up as if he weighed nothing more than a child.

"There is no need. I needed the lift practice." Iroh replied. Sokka was vaguely aware of his body moving through the halls. He coughed again, and then he wheezed. Iroh set him in the litter gently. 

“Was it good enough?” He whispered to Iroh. He clutched his ribs. Iroh touched his face.

“I believe so. I’ll ask Ming to keep an ear to the ground.” And Sokka didn't need to hear anymore. He surrendered to the half-darkness that hung at the edges of his field of vision. Sokka could feel Iroh carry him out of the litter and into his bedroom. Iroh whispered that he was safe now and that it was over. Sokka let out an involuntary whine when Ming loosened his tunic to check his ribs. "Hush, Sokka. You're safe." Sokka clutched Iroh's hand as she applied a salve to the tender spots and retied the tunic. The bruises settled in overnight, and he spent the next two days hovering between awake and unconscious. He'd come back to himself just long enough to see Iroh or Ming sitting by his bedside. On the third day, hunger kept him awake long enough to down an entire pot of chicken broth. Iroh told him the black eye was among the most purple he’d ever seen. Sokka took a certain amount of pride in that.

“I swear I’m fine. It’s just a broken rib.” He added when Ming brought him bowl after bowl of spiced chicken. She tousled his hair.

“We know. We just like to fuss over you.” She explained. Sokka smiled and ate the chicken. He slept well that night for the first time in awhile. 

“The Fire Sages were very happy with the demonstration. I doubt anything further will be needed.” Iroh told him quietly the next morning. 

“Do they think I’m a natural talent?” Sokka smirked and then winced. It hurt to laugh. Iroh gently touched his face with a sad smile.

“Had you not been locked up, surely you would have brought devastation onto the Fire Nation. Thankfully, our hospitality has evaded such a crisis.” He admitted. Sokka smirked again. He hoped Katara was out there somewhere, bringing devastation onto the Fire Nation, but he'd settle for her being alive and safe. “I’ll leave you to sleep now.” Iroh stood up to go. Something tugged in Sokka’s gut. 

“Iroh.” The man turned in the doorway. “Thank you.”

“It is the only decent thing to do,” Iroh replied. 

“Thank you anyway.” 

Zuko came over on the fourth day.  

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” He whispered. Sokka shook his head.

“No, it’s not. And look at it this way, we kind of both failed our bending exams.” Sokka thought it was one of the funniest jokes he’d ever told, and the fact that he couldn’t laugh at it caused more pain. Zuko barely smiled.

---

Zuko’s shouting woke the entire group. Sokka rolled from his bed and sprinted down the hall. Situations filtered through his head. They weren’t under attack, and Zuko seemed to be the only one affected. It had to be a nightmare. At least Zuko hadn’t set anything on fire this time. The less said about that incident, the better. Katara beat him to Zuko’s door and summoned a column of water.

“See if you can snap him out of it. I’ll hang back just in case.” She suggested. Sokka nodded. He slipped into Zuko’s room and was surprised to find the firebender already awake and curled up on the floor.

“Hey, buddy.” Sokka opened. He dropped to the floor near Zuko. “Tough nightmare?” Zuko nodded. “Want to talk about it?” Zuko shook his head. “Want to make tea and watch the sunrise?” Zuko nodded. Sokka helped him back up onto his feet. “We’re good. Going to make tea and watch the sunrise. Go back to sleep.” He called out to Katara. As he and Zuko headed down the hall, a quick glance around showed most of Team Avatar moving on the periphery, wanting to be helpful but also not wanting to crowd.

Sokka filled the teapot and Zuko used a small palmful of fire to heat it. Sokka riffled through the drawer.

“We have jasmine, black, white, green, and cherry.”

“Cherry.” Zuko decided. Sokka nodded. Zuko usually went for jasmine when it was available because it was Iroh’s favorite. Cherry tea was awful and a waste of an otherwise perfectly medicinal herb.

Neither boy spoke again until they were on the roof and the sun’s first golden rays were beginning to break through the morning’s mist. Pinks, oranges, and reds danced through the clouds and gently began to wake the world up.

“I think the best sunrises in the world are in the Fire Nation,” Sokka admitted. He glanced at Zuko.

“Glad we can offer something,” Zuko replied. His voice was hoarse again. He winced and sipped his tea.

“You offer lots. The food is weird but most of the people are cool.” Sokka grinned at Zuko. Zuko rolled his eyes.

“My sister and my father would disagree.”

“That’s two out of how many? One million?” Sokka sipped the tea and grimaced at it. Cherry was awful.

“Fine. Then the army that massacred the airbenders, invaded Ba Sing Se, and wiped out a generation of water benders under the orders of my family would disagree.” Zuko spat. He brought his legs up to his chest and rested his forehead on his knees.

“You, your mom, and your Uncle are the only reasons I’m still alive.” Sokka pointed out. It was a fact. Normally he included Zun Lo in the list of people who had kept him going in those years but Zuko wasn’t as familiar with him and it didn’t feel like the right situation to introduce him.

“We’re also the only reason you were taken from your family in the first place,” Zuko replied. He set the teacup down. Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He had just had a version of this conversation with Katara. At a certain point, the group was going to need to sit down and start processing everything they were blaming themselves for. No one would get any sleep otherwise.

“Well. I must’ve missed you guys at the South Pole that day. The only person I blame for that day is Yon Ra, and the fat admiral. I never learned his name.” Sokka hoped the joke would help with the tension. Zuko didn’t acknowledge it.

“Why are you defending us? We’re awful people who massacred innocents, plunged the world into a century of chaos, and stole you from your family.” He sounded like he was seconds away from breaking down. Sokka took a breath.

“Zuko. You’re not responsible for the actions of your father, or your grandfather, or your great-grandfather.”

“But it’s not like I did anything to help you! Iroh and my mom were brave enough, but I was too scared. I was a coward.” Sokka had known Zuko for years. And even now, Sokka had never seen him curl into himself the way he was now.

“You weren’t a coward. You were a kid.” Sokka offered gently. “Zuko you were just trying to survive.”

“So were you. I could have helped you when the Fire Lord dragged you to the palace that night, I could have refused, I could have fought back against him.” Sokka swallowed at the mention of that night. He tried to avoid thinking about it. It had been one of the catalysts for his eventual escape, but at the time he hadn’t known that. It had just been another night of confusion, humiliation, and pain. He tried a new tactic.

“Realistically, you couldn’t have done anything differently.” He stated gently. Zuko looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

“I could have.”

Chapter 11: Rooftops

Zuko and Sokka hadn’t snuck away from Iroh. Sneaking away was immature and beneath both of their stations as Crown Prince and Valued Hostage, but the boys knew Iroh was in a mood and if he found them, then they’d get dragged into a gardening project or a lecture on the history of pai sho tiles. These were valuable endeavors, but both boys felt certain they had better uses of their precious free time. Sokka’s ribs were a month into healing and he wasn't cleared for sparring yet so climbing was all they could do.

“Roof?” Sokka suggested.

“Lead the way,” Zuko replied. The boys boosted themselves up one of the chimneys and along the narrow slats. Balancing up here was difficult, but both knew they were capable of it. Sokka tried not to think about how the last time he’d been up here, more than two years ago, he’d still figured escape was possible then. Now, he had to be more realistic.

“You can see the whole city from here.” Zuko breathed. Sokka nodded.

“Yep. The palace is there,” Sokka pointed. “And you can see some of the ship masts, but not the ships themselves.”

“Do you come up here a lot?” Zuko asked. He dropped to the roof and clutched the tiles. Sokka dropped next to him.

“Once or twice. Really only in the beginning when I was trying to figure out where I was.” Sokka explained. Zuko nodded as if he understood. Sokka dug his heels into the tiles. His ribs felt fine, but the idea of injuring himself again so soon wasn’t something he was eager to carry out. Neither boy spoke for a few minutes. They just enjoyed the warm breeze and the fall sun.

“I finally passed my bending level test,” Zuko admitted. Sokka high fived him.

“That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, but I’m still barely keeping pace with Azula and she’s years younger than me.” Zuko picked at his nails and didn’t look at Sokka.

“Obviously I don’t know a lot about fire bending,” Sokka led, “But most of this will come in its own time.” He quoted his mom. She had never had to have conversations with him about bending but they’d had more than a few conversations about his hunting technique and making friends. Both boys were silent again. Zuko’s fingers danced through a few bending forms.

“Do you ever think about your mom?” Zuko asked suddenly. Sokka shifted his weight. "It's just that, mine used to say the same thing."

“Yeah.” Sokka began picking at his own nails. “I try not to think about her too much.” Home could be thought about in abstract concepts. The Southern Lights dancing in the sky and reflecting in the ice on the ground, warm bowls of soup, and frozen cheeks- these images could exist in his heart without excess pain. But if he thought about his dad teaching him to fish, or his mom snuggling him in warm furs on cold nights- that prompted the need to get out of his head. Zuko glanced down at his fingers.

“Same. It makes me miss her more.” He admitted. Sokka and Zuko sat quietly again. Neither boy could make eye contact with the other. Zuko glanced over at Sokka when he thought the water bender wasn't moving. Sokka opened his mouth and then closed it. His voice came out, shaky and scared.

“I can’t really remember what she looks like. Iroh says that’s ok but-” Sokka’s voice caught in his throat. Zuko nodded.

“I can remember her perfume, or how I'd sit in her lap on high holidays, but that’s it.” A silence settled over the roof again. The smell of dinner cooking was beginning to drift over, and the air had the heavy warmth of summer. “I’m really sorry you’re here, and I’m also really glad you’re here.” Zuko didn’t look at Sokka, but he did squeeze his shoulder.

“Me too.” Admitted Sokka as he squeezed back. “Me too.”

Once Sokka was cleared to start fighting again, he and Zuko wasted no time. They dragged mats from Iroh’s training room into the garden and spent hours grappling and occasionally adding in swords. Iroh said that all attention was on the Fire Nation’s campaign with the Fire Isles and they’d likely keep their attention away from the Northern Water Tribe for a while. As sorry as Sokka felt for the innocents in the Fire Isles, he was glad his cousins in the North would have more time to prepare defenses. They had a huge wall, he hoped they would use it.

He grew another inch. His hair grew out to a normal Fire Nation length. Sokka had to fight the urge to run his fingers through it. The water quality was different than at home, and his hair had become silky instead of scraggly like his dad’s. Iroh helped him tie it into a top knot each morning. It felt so wrong. He begged Iroh to let him chop if off, but Iroh couldn't let him do it.

Sokka had to wonder if his mom would recognize him if she saw him now. New hair, new clothes, taller and more lean, he wouldn’t of been surprised if she were mad at him for losing what made him Water Tribe. Or maybe she’d just be happy he was still alive. It was impossible to say. He asked Iroh about it one night while the two of them quietly played pai sho in front of the hearth.

“What makes you Water Tribe and me Fire Nation?” Iroh had replied.

"Blue is my color, and red is yours?" Sokka guessed. Iroh gave him a look.

"You haven't worn blue in quite some time, and yet you are still a member of the Southern Water Tribe. Try again."

“I was born there, you were born here?” He actually wasn’t sure. It was the same discourse between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. Yes, both were tribes of water benders who grew up in harsh environments and relied on the community to survive, but the similarities ended there.

“Many things have changed for you, Sokka, but your birthplace has not. You always are with your people in that way.” Iroh offered. Sokka nodded. It was a nice thought, but they were just pretty words to make him feel better. Community and kinship made the Southern Water Tribe, and the Sokka was far, far away from that community.

Fall turned into another winter. Not that it was any colder, but the air lacked the summer’s heaviness. Sokka found it easier to breathe in more ways than one. Iroh told him the Fire Sages were satisfied, Ozai was occupied with other matters, and the royal court found other gossips to occupy their time. Sokka was old news. He was perfectly happy with that.

Zuko struggled with another bending level test. This one involved some level of backflips and Zuko kept trying to muscle his way through it. Iroh told him he’d continue to struggle until he could bend from the breath. Zuko yelled he didn’t understand what that meant, and then stormed off. Sokka sipped his tea. The Fire Nation could never be home, and he would never feel safe here. But strangely, he knew how he fit into life here, and he caught himself thinking about home less and less.

Chapter 12: Ozai

Iroh studied the scroll for a moment before handing it back to the man in the red armor. Sokka tried to avoid staring at him, but he watched Sokka with such an intense glare that the only course of action seemed to be staring back.

“Prince Iroh, with all due respect, shouldn’t it be wearing cuffs? Or some kind of restraints?” The guard asked. Iroh scoffed.

“Do you mean to demean your Prince by calling him so old and feeble he cannot control an untrained child?” There were daggers Sokka had never heard before in Iroh’s words. He bit the inside of his cheek so he wouldn’t smirk.

“No, your Highness, of course not, I only meant that the water benders are tricky and often have some secret plan.” The guard quickly backtracked. Sokka kept the smile off of his face.

“I can assure you as your prince, I am capable of controlling any plots this child is able to construct,” Iroh replied. “I will write my reply to the Fire Lord and you shall take it.” Silence hung over the room like a threat. The only sound was Iroh’s brush scratching the paper. The guard kept his eyes on Sokka, but he wasn’t glaring anymore. It was more of a suspicious assessment. Iroh handed the scroll back and waved his hands at the guard. “You’re dismissed.” He stated plainly. Sokka resisted the urge to smirk at the man as he turned to go.

Iroh watched him depart through the window before turning to Sokka.

“The Earth Kingdom is sending another delegation. We will both attend tomorrow. The good news is that the goal of this event is to convince them to surrender, so you should be treated fairly well.” Iroh’s voice was steady and to the point. Sokka felt something knot in his stomach again.

“That was the goal last time too, right?” He tried not to think about what had happened to the first delegation. Iroh said they had been imprisoned and eventually allowed to go home but he wasn’t sure. And once the Earth Kingdom fell, the full brunt of the Fire Nation’s war efforts would shift to the holdouts in the Northern Water tribe. They’d last longer than the Southern Water tribe had, but they couldn’t hold out forever.

“It was. It’s believed that they’re ready to surrender now though.” Sokka felt the familiar twist in his gut of knots forming. Iroh's home was a sanctuary where Ozai couldn't get him, but everytime he was dragged out, terrible things happened.

“I’m scared.” He whispered. Iroh smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Fear can be a powerful ally when we use it correctly. Let us use it.” Iroh commented. “Come, we’ll drill some exercises.” The swords offered no respite to Sokka today. His form was sloppy, and he imagined the face of Ozai on each dummy. Sokka overperformed each movement. His mind felt disconnected from his muscles. Iroh found flaws in his technique with every movement. Finally, Iroh decided lunch would be a better use of time. Sokka pushed the rice around his bowl at lunch, and Iroh frowned at him.

“Meditation time.”

“I hate meditation,” Sokka complained.

“All the more reason to do it,” Iroh replied. Sokka didn’t feel like fighting him. Iroh’s version of meditation meant performing basic bending moves in the garden while thinking about every breath and muscle. Sokka didn’t actually mind all that. He really just hated the repetitive slowness of it, especially when he'd rather stew alone about what was coming. “Quiet your mind,” Iroh instructed as they completed another movement.

“How?” Sokka bit back.

“Each movement should flow to the next. Each breath should be independent of each other. Your mind should be in every muscle.” Only Sokka’s deep respect for Iroh prevented him from rolling his eyes.

“My mind is thinking about tomorrow.” Sokka bit back. What new humiliations would Ozai drum up this time? Wold it be physical or emotional? or both? He'd be in chains again, that much was certain.

“Be where your feet are. Your feet are in the garden, and Ozai is not here.” Iroh’s voice was gentle, but Sokka wasn’t in the mood.

“That’s easy for you to say. He’s not going to hurt you.” Sokka flopped to the ground. Iroh paused and looked at him.

“You’re not wrong. Tea?”

“Sure.” Iroh summoned one of the servants and they appeared with a tea set almost instantly. Iroh poured him a cup and slipped him a cookie. Sokka nodded his thanks. He sipped it uncertainly. Green wasn’t his favorite of all the teas Iroh had ever given him, but it was still good. “I’m sorry for complaining, I know he’s your brother, but he’s also awful.” Iroh smiled.

“Watch your words. There are ears everywhere here, and speaking against the Royal Family can mean losing your tongue.” Iroh offered. Sokka nodded. He tended to forget that. “Your fear is rational, but your record of surviving my people so far is exceptional.”

“Only because I’ve had help.” Sokka thought of Zun Lo, Ursa, and now Iroh. He would have been long dead without them. That was if the Fire Nation would let him die... Sokka stopped that line of thinking immediately. It would do him no good. He was going to make it home someday.

“Help is good. We all need it.” Iroh replied. “But, you’ll be happy to know the Minister of War wants your hair worn in a water tribe style tomorrow. We’ll fix it up once we’re done here.” Sokka's shoulders slumped.

“Every time they do something to my hair, I end up getting burned or locked in a cage.” He groaned. He wanted to sound blase and unaffected about this, but there was real fear in his voice. Sokka looked at Iroh, and Iroh took a deep breath.

“Sokka, breathe, they have no reason to hurt you.”

“Never stopped them before.” The knots reformed in his stomach and Sokka started to feel like a helpless kid again. Like he was 11 years old in a seal cage, or the zoo, or-

“Sokka.” Iroh stopped his spiraling. “Let’s fix your hair. You’ve waited long enough to be able to wear it in a water tribe style. No sense in delaying that any longer.” Sokka nodded. He hoped he still knew how to style it.

It turns out, he didn’t. Sokka chopped his hair off in uneven layers and pulled the bob back into a wolf’s tail. He made a face at himself in the mirror. It was possible he was bringing dishonor on his people by being seen in public like this.

“It doesn’t look right.” He murmured to Iroh. Iroh nodded.

“Let me try.” He tugged on the wolf’s tail gently until it lay flat against his hair. It helped, but the bigger issue was the texture of Sokka's hair had fundamentally changed in his years of living in the Fire Nation. “Should the layers be even?” Sokka shook his head. There were supposed to be curls that added volume to the tail itself and those were never even. Iroh picked up the shears. His hands were so gentle, like mom’s would have been. He pulled at the rawhide strip holding Sokka's hair up until it rested on the crown of his head. That looked right, or as right as it could. “Whatever happens, just breathe and survive.” A nervous grin spilled across Sokka’s face.

“Thought you said everything would be fine?”

“It will be. You should take the opportunity to focus on breathing exercise practice.” Iroh suggested. Sokka fought back a laugh. He glanced at himself in the mirror, and wondered if his mother would recognize him. Sure he had the wolf’s tail now, but his cheeks had filled in and one look at his muscles proved he had never hunted for his food. Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder. “Bravery, Sokka. You do it all the time. Tomorrow will be no different.”

Sokka didn’t sleep that night. He just sat up shaking until his body physically couldn’t hold itself together anymore. What did Ozai have in store for him? What else could they do to him? They could take him from Iroh and shove him back in the zoo. They could stick him back in some dark cell where he'd never see the sunlight again. They could beat him for entertainment or smack him just because. Maybe it would be another one of the parades. Was that why Ozai had requested his hair be tied back up? So they could paint his face again and put him in some mockery of water tribe clothes. The thought caused Sokka to nearly vomit. He wrapped his arms around himself. If he was going to vomit, he wouldn't do it inside. Silently, he crept from his room and to the garden. Sokka focused on breathing. As much as he and Zuko complained about Iroh’s breathing exercises, he knew they were effective at calming his body. Iroh joined him soon after. They didn't speak. The sun came up slowly, and it was a beautiful day. Sokka could smell baking bread from the kitchens and the morning dew glistened on the flowers.

"Let's try some drills," Iroh suggested. Sokka nodded. It felt like his brain was disconnected from his body. Movements that used to feel like gliding were jerky and slow. Time began to pass around him in breaths. Sokka watched himself practice with swords from above. He knew Iroh was watching him with worry, and there was nothing to be done about it.

He starred at lunch, and couldn’t physically bring himself to eat it. Ming asked him if he could sip some broth or noodles. He just shook his head. He could feel hungry once he knew he was safe, but until then, there would be nothing in his stomach but numb terror.

Ming brought him a new prison uniform and he put it on without complaining. She asked what he wanted for dinner that night once he was back. Sokka just shook his head. The thought of food seemed too much to handle. Ming rubbed his back and promised he would be back soon.

Iroh wrapped layers of cloth around his wrists as protection from the cuffs and clicked the cuffs back into place.

“No face paint this time at least.” He told Iroh as they climbed into the carriage. Iroh nodded.

“The power of optimism can sustain us through the darkest times.” He replied. Sokka closed his eyes and rested his head against Iroh. Iroh didn’t comment, just pulled the boy in close.

He wasn't allowed to be near Iroh this time. His brain iced over in terror as two soldiers tugged him away from Iroh and towards Ozai's throne. They ran a length of chain through the cuffs and connected him to the golden dias. Iroh kept catching his eye and taking exaggerated breaths. Sokka figured that was a reminder for him to breathe. And if it wasn’t, he’d interpret it that way anyway.

Someone announced Ozai, and Sokka felt his heart stop beating. Ozai ignored him as he settled into the throne and suddenly gripped Sokka's tether tightly. One hand squeezed his cheek.

"You've filled in. I knew my brother would be too soft on you." He whispered. Sokka flinched away from his hot breath. Ozai released his hand and let Sokka drop, momentarily forgotten. 

"Bring in the delegation. Let's see what the mud benders have for us this time." His line got a laugh out of everyone. The Earth benders arrived, and Sokka pressed his spine against the throne. Ozai said something about second chances and the lead delegate made some witty retort that Sokka missed. He felt his breath even out. This was bearable. He could do this. His humiliation was a sideshow here, not the main event. Sokka forced a few more deep breaths and glanced over at Iroh. He made another subtle deep breath motion and Sokka did the same. Iroh smiled at him and nodded. Sokka fidgeted against the cuffs and prayed this would all be over soon. The chain connected to each cuff and Ozai’s throne gave him enough room to move, but he hated the fact that they existed in the first place. It was humiliating to sit at Ozai’s feet like he was some decoration, and it was even worse to realize that’s all he was.

Whoever the Earth Kingdom had sent to negotiate for the return of the Fire Islands and the end of the siege of Ba Sing Se, they weren’t doing very well. Sokka had stopped focusing on the negotiation fairly quickly. Zuko stood next to Iroh, and Sokka could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek. Unlike Iroh, Zuko wouldn’t even look over at him.

“As I was saying, withdraw your forces from Ba Sing Se and return what you call the Fire Islands and we shall offer you something in return.” The man was saying. Sokka could practically hear Ozai smiling behind him.

“You’re in no position to make demands,” Ozai said. His tone was annoyingly calm, and Sokka knew he was right. Unless the Earth Kingdom had something valuable, they’d never get the Fire Nation away. “You’ve been summoned here to discuss the terms of your surrender.” Sokka subtly shifted his weight to take some of the pressure off his knees. Iroh sent him a warning look. Sokka sent one back. Ozai could take a lot of things from him, but even he couldn’t expect someone to silently kneel by his side for hours.

“But we have something you surely want.” The man replied. “The body of your nephew, Prince Lu Ten.” Sokka glanced at Iroh in confusion, as did everyone else in the room. There was a nephew? Iroh had a son? It was like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. People whispered among themselves without taking their eyes off the main proceedings. Iroh had gone pale.

“What makes you think I want his body back?” Ozai replied. He jerked at the chain holding Sokka, and Sokka nearly stumbled. He swallowed the whimper that desperately wanted to escape his mouth. “He fell in service of the Fire Nation, and we will always remember his sacrifice, but we will not compromise on the destiny I was born for.” The Earth Kingdom man’s mouth hung open. He glanced at one of the other men with him and they seemed to exchange looks. All around the throne room, people stared at Iroh with sympathy. His knuckles were white around Zuko’s shoulders.

“Fire Lord Ozai, surely you want the body of your nephew back? The son of your elder brother?” The man tried again. “We offer you peace in return for Lu Ten’s bones.” Sokka looked at Iroh. Iroh had a son? His face was unreadable, but he clutched Zuko tightly.

“You were summoned here to discuss your surrender. If that will not be happening, then perhaps we shall discuss if the Earth Kingdom will go the same way as the Air Nomads or the Water Benders.” Ozai jerked the chain that held Sokka up and grabbed his wolf’s tail for effect. Sokka couldn’t suppress the whimper this time. So that was why Ozai had permitted him to wear a water tribe hairstyle. The earthbenders stared at Sokka, and he felt his stomach tighten into knots. He glanced over to Iroh, who took another exaggerated breath. Sokka nodded and tried to clear his mind. This could last for another hour at most, and then he could leave with Iroh. Ming had promised him they’d cook whatever he wanted for dinner. The promise reminded him of the one his mom had made two years ago. Sokka took a deep breath and tried not to think about that.

Sokka could feel the Earth Bender’s eyes on him, but they seemed more focused on the chains than him. Ozai might’ve forgotten that the purpose of this meeting was to convince them to surrender. If Sokka were in the delegation, he wouldn’t have even thought about surrendering now. The thought made Sokka want to laugh, but he knew Ozai wouldn’t enjoy that. He forced himself to take another breath and tried to gauge where the delegation’s feelings were. The one to the left had kind brown eyes that reminded Sokka of his mom. The man met his eyes and offered him a subtle smile. Sokka would have returned it if he thought he could get away with it. Most of the men had broad shoulders the same way Dad and Iroh did, and they seemed to feel sorry about the whole situation. Sokka supposed they were also doing the mental calculation of what would happen to the Earth Benders if they continued to resist. He hoped they would.

“Then it would seem we are at an impasse.” One of the Earth benders replied.

“Perhaps some time in our cells will encourage you.” Ozai decided. The delegate’s eyes flickered between Sokka and Ozai and then landed on Ozai.

“Perhaps.” He finished. The earthbenders glanced at each other and shifted their weight. Sokka wondered if if knew they were taking their last few breaths of free air. Had he known when he took his last breath of free air? He had. But that hadn’t made it any easier. Or maybe it had, Sokka honestly couldn’t remember.

“Guards,” Ozai called. Soldiers began moving off the wall and encircling the benders. Ozai dropped Sokka and he shifted away just as far as the chains would let him. Sokka curled around himself and prepared to watch the Earth benders be overwhelmed.

“Stop.” The earth bender who had smiled at Sokka earlier spoke again. The others glanced at him. “We are a delegation of peace. We represent the Earth Kingdom with honor. We’ll go quietly.”

“Fascinating,” Ozai replied. He waved his hand, and the guards ushered the delegation out the back. Silence hung in the air. Sokka looked for Zuko or Iroh in the crowd, but he couldn’t find either of them. He took a deep breath. This couldn’t go on much longer. “Any other business for the court?” Ozai asked one of the fire sages. Sokka didn’t catch the man’s reply. He looked for Iroh again. He could see Princess Azula, and Zuko had reappeared, but no Iroh. Sokka could feel his legs beginning to ache. “Well then. Let’s have some entertainment. Prince Zuko?” Ozai called. Sokka winced. There was a note of glee in Ozai’s voice and the entire court pivoted to where Zuko and Azula stood. The smaller girl shoved him forward.

“Ah. Yes, Firelord Ozai. Father. I’m here.” Zuko stammered. Sokka could tell he was trying to make his voice sound deeper. He hoped Ozai wouldn’t hurt Zuko, or make him fight Azula again. Iroh could put a stop to it, maybe, where was he?

“My son, Prince Zuko, has finally passed his intermediate fire bending exam. He’ll move onto the advanced movements now.” Ozai announced. The crowd applauded politely and Zuko smiled. His eyes flickered quickly over to Sokka, and Sokka sent him a small smile. He didn’t remember Zuko talking about any of his exams, but he was still excited for his friend. “And Princess Azula, step forward darling.” Azula bounced up next to Zuko and bowed deeply to her father.

“Present, Father.”

“My daughter Azula has passed her intermediate fire bending exam in record time, a true prodigy!” This got more applause from the crowd. Sokka didn’t applaud on principle, and Azula didn’t look at him at all. That was fine with Sokka. He watched Zuko shift his weight uncertainly, and a knot formed in Sokka’s stomach. Where was Ozai going with this?

“We also have the last waterbender of the Southern Water tribe.” Sokka felt his blood turn cold. Ozai grabbed Sokka by his arm and hauled him up. Sokka had put on weight in his time with Iroh, but Ozai still lifted him effortlessly. He placed his free hand on the chain that connected Sokka to the throne and it glowed white hot. The chain melted to liquid, and Sokka’s stomach turned. This was not good. “So what better way to showcase the talents of my children than a little duel.” He threw Sokka from the throne and onto the floor where the delegation had just stood. Zuko rushed forward, but Azula held her brother back. Sokka forced himself to take a deep breath. Iroh had promised him that he would do everything he could to keep him safe. Iroh always kept his promises.

“You honor us, father.” Azula began. “Shall we duel to first blood?” Sokka scrambled up onto his knees and looked back at Ozai. Now it clicked why he’d been dressed in a prison tunic and a water tribe hairstyle. Ozai still didn’t want anyone to think he was a kid. Ozai needed the last Water Bender of the Southern tribe to be a threat he had beaten, not a kidnapped teenager who desperately wanted to go home. And he’d take either his family’s igloo or home with Iroh at this point. Sokka took a deep breath and formulated a plan. Zuko wouldn’t try to hurt him, but Azula would want to make this last. Neither were great options.

“He doesn’t have any water to bend, this isn’t a fair fight, there’s no honor in it.” Zuko called. He caught himself. “Oh. Um. Following your will Father, is the greatest honor, but there would be more honor if he were armed.” Sokka resisted the urge to make a face. Water wouldn’t help him here, but a weapon might. But, Zuko didn’t know that. Sokka scanned the crowd again and prayed that Iroh would come back.

“There’s plenty of water around,” Ozai replied. He smiled at Zuko, and Sokka knew that while he was the one about to be beaten, Zuko was suffering too. Sokka looked around as if he were looking for the water to bend, in reality, he was hoping that Iroh would appear.

“So first blood?” Azula clarified again. Zuko glared at her. Sokka looked at the crowd gathered in the throne room and wondered if any of them saw anything wrong with children fighting each other for entertainment value. If anyone did, they didn’t acknowledge it.

“Until loss of consciousness,” Ozai answered. He smiled. Zuko looked Sokka in the eye for the first time that day. Sokka nodded at him. Both boys looked around again. Sokka had a feeling they were both looking for Iroh. Ozai sat back on his throne. “Begin.” He called.

Azula didn’t linger. She pounced from her position and bent a whip of fire towards Sokka. He reacted and rolled the other way. Sokka came up on his knee and rose again quickly. If Ozai wanted this to end with someone unconscious, he’d need to be smart about it. Azula would likely hurt him before knocking him out, so Zuko was preferable. He just needs to get Zuko to do it and commit. Zuko watched from the periphery, and Sokka nodded at him. Zuko gave him a look and completed two simple bending moves toward him. They were easy to dodge. It occurred to Sokka that he should try to at least look like he was water-bending, but the logistics of that seemed beyond him.

Azula kept up her attacks. From their lunch conversations, Sokka knew that she was an advanced bender and lacked the hesitation that seemed to plague Zuko. She was toying with him, it was like she was showing off in front of her dad. Sokka kept dodging and rolling. Zuko hovered.

“You gotta hit me.” Sokka hissed at him through clenched teeth, just quiet enough for him to hear. Zuko half-heartedly threw a fist of fire after Sokka.

“Come on water bender, can’t you at least try an offensive move?” Azula sang. She was smiling; she was genuinely enjoying this. Her next kick singed Sokka. He took a breath. Zuko shook his head.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He whispered as he made a fake grab for Sokka. Sokka lingered just enough for Zuko to nearly make contact.

“It’s either you knock me out or she does.” He jerked his head. The Fire Lord wanted a spectacle, he would get a spectacle. Suffice it to say, that Sokka and Zuko did not want a spectacle.

“ZuZu, get back, I want to try a scalding move.” She commented. Zuko did the opposite. He grabbed at Sokka until he was in a loose headlock.

“You gotta escape at least one hold,” Zuko muttered.

“What?” Sokka kicked at Zuko’s legs and brought them both down to the floor. Floor grapples were Sokka's strongest area. He'd spent the first few years of his life wrestling everyone at home, and his friends used to organize tournaments at when the adults weren't looking. Azula and Zuko had much better training than him, but even they couldn't fight scrappy the way he could. Azula stopped to catch her breath. The crowd gasped.

“For your honor.” That didn’t give Sokka any answers.

“He bit me!” Zuko shouted. He wrenched his arms away from Sokka. Sokka rolled away and got to his feet slowly. The longest he and Zuko had ever wrestled was a little over a minute. They were well past that now.

“I did not.” He whispered. Zuko glared at him. He looked like he was about to jump on Sokka again, but Azula moved first. She yanked Zuko back and sent a column of fire at Sokka. His clothes singed and Sokka winced.

“It’s a knock-out fight Azula, fire isn’t as helpful here,” Zuko commented. Azula rolled her eyes.

“Are you having trouble with your fire?” She eyed her brother, and Sokka was momentarily forgotten. He scanned the crowd again. Where was Iroh? Could he even stop this?

Azula took the opportunity. She kicked her legs out and took Sokka down. The fall hummed through his bones. Sokka flipped to try to crawl away, but Azula was too quick. She sent rays of fire just above Sokka’s head, effectively cutting off his path. He grit his teeth.

“Azula.” Sokka could hear Zuko saying something. Azula towered over him. He brought an arm up to swat at her but she knocked it away easily. Sokka grimaced and hoped it would be over soon. Azula switched to hand combat. Sokka blocked two of her hits but the third landed right in his side.

Something terrifying occurred to Sokka. What if he didn’t wake up back with Iroh? What if this was all a ploy to get him back to the zoo, or somewhere even worse? The thought caused him to take a decent swing at Azula. Zuko hovered frozen on the side. His hands twitched.

Azula was ready. She grabbed his extended arm and brought his neck into the crock of her elbow. Sokka wondered what his father would say if he could see him lose to a smaller girl. She began to squeeze. Sokka blinked. The world was becoming fuzzy. He could still see Zuko panicking, he could see Ozai leaning forward, but he couldn’t see anyone beyond that. His eyes watered. Darkness began closing in.

“Just pass out already.” Azula barked. And then she added quietly, “You can fake it.” Sokka took the hint. He shut his eyes and went limp as if he were a leopard seal. Azula didn’t let up.

“Firelord, he’s unconscious!” Someone called.

“The victorious Prince and Princess!” Someone else called. Ozai announced the spar was over. Azula began loosening her grip, but it was too late. The last thing Sokka heard was Zuko whispering that he should be set down gently.

Notes:

Ozai continues to lead the competition for worst father of the year.

Edit: 08/22/24- i am so freaking close to having this story wrapped up. Expect an update by september

Chapter 13: The Cells (again)

Notes:

Slight content warning: Zuko processes his trauma, but he's got some internal victim blaming going on.

Sokka blinked as the world came back into focus. It was dark. Iroh’s house was never dark. There were always lamps up. He swallowed, and his breath got stuck in his throat. The palace. The cuffs. The fight with Zuko and Azula. Where was he?

He tried to move his arms to stand up. He was still wearing the cuffs. That wasn’t good. Sokka rocked back up onto his knees. It wasn’t the same cell they had kept him in when he first came to the palace. That one had been bigger, or maybe he had just been smaller. The size of the cell didn’t matter, all that mattered was that he was back in one. He rolled his shoulders and forced air deep into his lungs. He needed information.

Sokka lifted himself up and leaned against the bars. His hair fell in front of his face. Instinctively, he tossed his head to try to move it. Despite the situation, he smirked. The Fire Nation was cruel, but they weren’t creative. He knew their playbook, and he’d already survived it.
It wasn’t a big cell at all. Roughly the size of an igloo in the South Pole. He swallowed and mentally pulled himself away from the idea of home. Those thoughts would only make the ache in his stomach worse and the pains in his shoulder more pronounced. He took another deep breath.

“Hello?” He called. There was no response. Sokka bit his lip. Maybe Iroh would come? No, Iroh would come. Sokka trusted him. He slid down against the wall and forced himself to take another deep breath. He had survived everything the Fire Nation had put him through so far. He would survive this too. There was nothing else to do but wait for Iroh. Sokka tried to shift his legs up to his chest, but the cuffs made it hard. It had been easier when he was smaller.

His stomach rumbled. Another avenue of a different kind of home opened in Sokka’s mind. He tried not to think about Ming and the dinner she had promised him. Gran Gran had promised him dinner too. He rested his head on his knees and forced himself to breathe. The coolness of the stones made it easy to ground himself. He had survived this before, he would survive it again. His eyes fluttered shut, and something from his stomach began to paw at his chest.

The breaths turned minutes, and he knew eventually they would turn into hours. He was helpless. The years with Iroh had been an illusion. He wasn’t a warrior, he wasn’t his dad. He was still a pathetic prisoner in a pathetic cell and he couldn’t even land a hit on Azula. He was pathetic, and-

“Stop.” He whispered. Sokka swallowed again. He needed to control his mind. His body could survive anything the Fire Nation threw at him, but his mind was where the battles tended to be lost. Sokka forced himself to exhale. He wanted to cry, but exhaustion got to him first.

“Can’t bully myself if I’m asleep.” He whispered again to no one. The absurdity caused him to snicker. Zuko would have thought that was hilarious. He rested his forehead on his knees and tried to meditate. Deep breaths in, and long breaths out.

Sokka’s forehead slipped from his knees, and he let sleep take him out.
Guards filtered through occasionally when Sokka was awake. He asked what was going on every time, but he never got an answer. His stomach began making noises past grumbling and he tried not to think about food. It was impossible to measure time passing without meals. Sokka tried not to think about that too much. Iroh would find him, he was sure of it.

The sound of a baton clanging on the bars woke him. A guard pushed a small bowl of rice through the bars. Sokka jolted up.

“Please, how long are they going to keep me here?” He asked. His hair fell back in front of his face. Desperation bit at the edge of his words. Sokka didn’t bother to hide it. The guard gave him a look.

“Why would I talk to you?” He replied. The man walked away before Sokka could say something witty in reply. He frowned. The captivity was starting to weigh on him if he couldn’t even formulate comebacks, let alone articulate them. Sokka scrambled closer to the bars. He forced himself to sit before the bowl of rice and study it before he devoured it. He needed to make it last. Iroh would come for him. Ming had promised to make him fish once he was back, or had that been Gran Gran? Maybe Iroh and Zuko were avoiding him for his safety. Maybe they would come later.

Another sleep and rice bowl passed. Maybe Iroh had decided he didn’t want the fake waterbender anymore. Maybe he had enlisted Zuko to burn down what remained of the Southern Water Tribe. Unlikely, but maybe.

Another sleep passed. Anger bubbled beneath Sokka’s skin. How could Iroh just leave him here? And not even visit? At least Ursa came to see him in the zoo. And Zuko? Zuko hadn’t even shown up once. There was enough variety in his guard rota for Sokka to know that his location wasn’t exactly a secret. Another rice bowl.

Zuko and Katara mocked him in his dreams. Iroh watched it all silently. Ozai burned Gran Gran and Ming. His dad only shook his head at Sokka, and his mother ripped his tunic sleeves. Sokka wanted to scream. How long was he going to be alone? He got three more rice bowls and three waking sleeps before the guards finally came for him.

He didn’t bother to ask where the guards were taking him. He’d find out when they got there. He didn’t fight back either. There was no point. They always won in the end.

The guards led him past the throne room. At least they were letting him walk this time. He hated getting dragged. It put so much pressure on his shoulders. Sokka bit his lip. That had been his guess for the most likely destination. The halls were empty of people. Even the servants seemed to be scarce. They passed one of the exits, down a new hall Sokka didn’t recognize, and outside into the moonlight. There was a litter waiting. Sokka felt his stomach drop and a rush of cool air passed over his skin. Ozai. Sokka’s heart skipped, and he forced himself to take another breath. Iroh stood next to Ozai and took a half step forward when he saw Sokka. His eyes were watchful as the guards dropped Sokka to his knees. Something cracked, and Sokka winced. Iroh nodded at Sokka, just enough to acknowledge him, but not enough to draw Ozai’s attention. In that instant, Sokka forgot that he was mad at Iroh for leaving him so long and just took the little comfort it offered. Iroh would have come sooner if he could have. Surely he would have come.

The air felt heavy with moisture, and Sokka almost missed the coolness of his cell. Sokka forced himself to take a breath, he was breathing fresh air again and Zuko was… La, what had happened to Zuko? Bandages were layered over his entire left face. Sokka started, and Zuko gazed into the empty space next to his face. His friend was unnaturally pale, and the eye that Sokka could see was unfocused. Sokka could tell his breath was ragged. Ozai was the first to break the silence.

“Bring me the Avatar. I’ll restore your honor, and your place at court.” Sokka’s breath caught in his throat. Ozai wasn’t talking to him. He wasn’t even looking at him. The Fire Lord was staring right at Zuko. Despite the heat, Sokka shuddered at his tone. Ozai smiled. “Fail, and you are dead to us.” He didn’t wait for a reply. He just spun and headed for the door. The guards followed him. Iroh watched them go and rushed to Sokka.

“Sokka, I am so sorry for what you have suffered again.” Iroh dropped and wrapped his arms around him. Sokka felt tears well up in his eyes. Anger bubbled and dissipated under Sokka’s skin. He rested his forehead on Iroh’s shoulder and breathed in the scent of jasmine and myrrh. “Are you hurt? We need to go before he changes his mind.”

“I’m ok.” Iroh pulled Sokka to his feet and Sokka winced again. Zuko nodded at him, and then he winced too. “What broke?”

“Knee? Maybe” Sokka replied. He gently tried to apply some pressure to his left foot. Stabbing pains jumped up through his body and an involuntary hiss escaped him. He clutched Iroh. “What’s going on?”

“We will explain everything later, but let us leave now.” Iroh decided. He gently lifted Sokka up and herded Zuko towards the litter. Sokka glanced at Zuko.

“What’s wrong with Zuko’s eye?” Sokka asked.

“Later.” Iroh and Zuko replied at the same moment. Iroh set him down gently and straightened his knee. “We’ll get this taken care of.” Zuko pulled one of the curtains back and gazed at the palace as the litter began rolling. Sokka thought he saw a tear run down the unbandaged side of Zuko’s face, but he wasn’t sure. Iroh kept one hand on Zuko’s shoulder and another on Sokka’s shoulder. Zuko let the curtain drop and slumped back into his seat. Sokka tried to blink through the pain. Iroh glanced at him, and then to his knee. Iroh moved his hand from Sokka’s shoulder and cupped the side of his face. The question of pain level hung in the air unasked. Sokka shrugged and pushed his body into Iroh’s side. It had been so long since he had actual people around him. Iroh pulled him closer and turned his attention to Zuko.

“Prince Zuko, it’s going to be alright…” Iroh began.

“How can you say that right now?” Zuko whimpered.

“Because I am very old and I have seen many things. And it has always worked out alright.” Iroh’s voice was so steady. Zuko fidgeted.

“He didn’t even let me explain. You know I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Zuko’s voice climbed higher.

“I do know that. You will be an excellent Fire Lord someday.” Iroh soothed. Zuko huffed and turned away.

The litter moved slowly, and Sokka was barely aware of where they were or what time it was. The pain in his knee radiated outwards, and all Sokka could do was clench his teeth. He could hear the soft patter of rain on the fabric roof. His hands fidgeted in his cuffs. Zuko stayed in the corner. Sokka could tell they were riding downhill, but he couldn’t remember any of the rides to Iroh’s house ever taking this long.

The litter rolled to a stop. Sokka felt his stomach lurch again. Zuko tumbled out of the litter first and Iroh helped Sokka. Every move of his knee caused twists of pain. Sokka bit his lip. It was dark, and a soft rain was falling.

He recognized the harbor instantly, but the ship... Sokka’s body realized it before his mind did. The way the flag curled in the wind, the angle of the sides, the way the bridge looked from the ground…he knew that ship. His heart began to thunder. His lungs began to suck air in and out rapidly. Was this some kind of trap? Zuko turned to glance at Sokka.

“Oh.” He whispered. Sokka shook his shoulders out and involuntarily reached for his wrists where his old tunic sleeves would have been. Iroh squeezed his shoulders.

“Sokka, you’re going home,” Iroh murmured. “Persevere just a little bit more.” Sokka wilted back into Iroh’s arms and let himself be carried into the underbelly of the ship. Zuko led them through a mess of hallways and corridors. They seemed to be the only ones around. Neither Zuko nor Iroh looked back over their shoulder as they wove their path.

“We’re sharing a room. Hope that’s ok.” Zuko stated. He opened another door and led them into a bedroom looking area. There were two bedrolls arranged on the walls, and ornate red tapestries hung. Sokka nodded.

“I’ll get us underway. You both need sleep.” Iroh helped Sokka to bed. Sokka wanted to reply that he wasn’t tired, but the days of incessant worrying had caught up to him. “Cuffs.” Iroh gently reminded him. The man produced a key from one of his pockets, and Sokka could move his wrists for the first time in a week. He nearly cried in relief. Iroh pressed the tunic sleeves into his hands, and Sokka let out an involuntary sob. Zuko looked away in an attempt to preserve his privacy, but Iroh held him tightly. “I truly am so sorry for all you have endured.” He whispered. Sokka nodded. His fingers traced his mother’s embroidery, and something in him clicked back into place. He might actually get to see her again. Where was this ship going? Iroh had said he was going home. Questions began swirling through his mind.

Iroh pressed his palm to Sokka’s forehead and frowned. “I’ll send over some tea. It will help with the pain. Zuko, do not leave this room.” Zuko nodded and flopped down on the bed next to Sokka’s. “I’ll be back shortly.”

Silence hung in the air again. Zuko bolted upright.

“You must have questions.” He stated.

“What gave you that idea?” Sokka hissed. “Sorry. I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just…” He gestured at the world around him. Zuko shrugged.

“That’s fair.” He picked his nails for a minute and then glanced at Sokka. “After the guards took you away, I went to find Uncle because I knew he was the only one the Fire Lord would listen to. I couldn’t find him, and I didn’t want you in the cells so I asked my dad to let you go back to Iroh’s house with some guards.” Zuko’s voice was so blase. Sokka bit the inside of his lip. “He said he’d consider it if I fought Azula and won.”

“Oh.” Sokka breathed. That was why he had spent ages in the cell. Zuko never won against Azula. Honestly, he was lucky to even be out now.

“Yeah, well. I won, for once.” Zuko’s voice cracked.

“Nice.” Sokka offered. Zuko gave him a look.

“Anyway. Dad- the Fire Lord said I could sit in on a council meeting as an extra reward. I found Uncle Iroh there. Ozai wanted to use you as bait for the Northern Water Tribe. He’s convinced they have the Avatar there. The sages said that all signs actually point to the North so we’ve been wasting our time in the South.” He looked at Sokka a little sheepishly. Sokka tried to blink and process.

“Definitely no water benders left in the South Pole.” He agreed. He thought of Katara and how she was doing. There was no way she was the Avatar, right? She was just Katara. Zuko only shrugged.

“Uncle Iroh said that using you as bait wasn’t a good call. He said we needed to be more strategic since the Northern Water Tribe is so well defended.” Sokka nodded. “My dad agreed, and said that we should send a ship to attack the North Pole and see what the benders are capable of from a distance.” Sokka thought back to the Northern Water Tribes’ walls and defenses. His cousins in the North never would have fallen the way Wolf Clan had. They still had benders and every advantage.

“One fire nation ship against the Northern Tribe would be decimation.” He said gently. “They’d all die.”

“I know!” Zuko yelled. He balled his fists and brought them up to his face. “That’s what I told him!”

“And then what happened?” Sokka asked. They still had no answers for the bandages on Zuko’s face, and blood was beginning to seep through the top layer.

“He said that any boy who questioned his father was unfit to be Crown Prince. He burned me in front of everyone and said my honor was gone until I could bring him the Avatar!” Zuko finally broke down into sobs. Sokka shifted so that their shoulders touched, and gently rubbed Zuko’s back. The fire nation’s concept of honor still confused him. How burning innocent people could be honorable but questioning a military plan wasn't still beyond him. He hoped a part of him never understood.

“So we’re going to the Northern Water Tribe to find the Avatar?” Sokka asked. How did he fit into this? Zuko took a breath and shook his head. He picked at his nails again, and couldn't make eye contact with Sokka.

“I realized when my dad was making Azula and I fought you, you’re not a bad person.”

“Thanks?” Sokka commented. This was an abrupt topic shift. Zuko shook his head.

“No. You’re a good person, and my dad wanted us to hurt you. I could understand why he wanted to keep you locked up, but he shouldn’t have hurt you.” He explained. He shrank into himself like he was feeling a little guilty. Sokka shrugged. Their friendship had always had a little guilt baked into it. The circumstances made it unavoidable.

“And that changed something?” He asked.

“Yeah. When he made Azula and I fight, I always believed that I deserved it. It was a lesson I was supposed to learn. How many times did Uncle Iroh tell us that fire bending comes from the breath?”

“A lot.” Sokka’s mind churned.

“Exactly. I thought the fights were punishment so that I would learn something. But you shouldn’t have been punished, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Oh.” Sokka furrowed his brow.

“I should have been more respectful to my father. I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn like that, so he was right to reprimand me, but the plan would have gotten our men killed, so my honor isn’t actually impeached.” Zuko elaborated. Sokka nodded along as if he were following the conversation. “So Uncle and I came up with a plan. We’ll capture the avatar and help you escape in the process. I think we’ll tell the Fire Lord you died so he won’t get too mad.”

“Zuko, this is…” A couple of words rolled through Sokka’s head. He wanted to be home more than anything, but this seemed…poorly planned. It was the type of scheme Sokka and Zuko would have assembled when they were much younger. A knock at the door startled both boys, and Iroh re-entered carrying tea and herb bags.

“So, we’re headed for the Northern Water Tribe?” Sokka asked. It wasn’t home, but it was close enough. He could steal a lifeboat. Or jump over the side and swim for it. Then he'd risk drowning if the Northern Tribe couldn't help him. Iroh nodded. He glanced at Zuko.

“What? I filled him in on everything.” Zuko exclaimed. Iroh passed a cup of tea up to Sokka.

“Yes, we’re headed for the Northern Water Tribe. There are no water benders remaining in the South Pole, so the Avatar must be in the North.” Iroh looked at Sokka, and Sokka sipped the tea. The herbs dulled the pain, and Sokka let his thoughts solidify. Was it possible that Katara was the Avatar? No, it couldn’t be. The avatar could bend four elements and Katara barely had one. Sokka sipped the tea again.

“The other admiral on board, Zhou, may expect you to provide strategic information about the Northern Tribe.” Iroh led gently.

“How can I?” I’ve never been there and I’ve spent the past," He paused to count. Was it three years? Basically four now? "Almost four years in the Fire Nation.” Sokka gulped his mouthful of tea and winced as it painfully slid down his throat. He didn't want to think about how that time needed to be better spent.

“You’ll need to lie. Tell him once Zuko is back in power, he has promised to free you in exchange for your cooperation. Zuko and I will have limited power to protect you until it’s time to enact the escape plan.” Iroh explained. There was a rasp in his voice that Sokka had never heard before. Sokka frowned.

“You guys are the Royal Family. You’ve got all the power everywhere.” Sokka pointed out. Iroh smiled sadly.

“I’m considered superfluous now that there are two heirs.” Iroh offered. “And-”

“And I’ve been publicly banished until I regain my honor,” Zuko explained. “Don’t worry Uncle, I’m processing it very well.” He smirked at Sokka, and Sokka found himself smirking back. The boys clinked their tea cups together.

“Well, yes.” Iroh sighed and sat back on his heels. He ran a hand through his hair for a moment and then motioned to Sokka that he should lift his pants leg. Sokka tucked up the prison uniform until his purple and yellow knee was visible. Iroh probed it gently, but the slightest touch made Sokka want to vomit.

“It’s not broken.” Iroh decided. “Just a very serious bruise. You’re on bed rest for the next several days, at minimum. And you,” Iroh pivoted to Zuko, "Will need to see the ship healer about that burn. It is beyond my capabilities. But for now, bed, both of you. I don’t know this crew well, and until I do, neither of you are to leave this room without me, understood?”

“Yes Uncle,” Zuko replied. Sokka couldn’t bring himself to voice agreement. It was a nicer cell, with better company, but it was still a cell. Iroh caught his gaze.

“Soon Sokka, soon.” He whispered. Sokka nodded. Iroh pulled the door shut behind him. Sokka listened for the sound of a lock turning, sealing him away from the ocean or the sunshine but none came.

They kept a very predictable routine those first few days on the ship. The healer came to see both of them, and Iroh hovered the entire time. He brought them each other the day’s meals and they spent most of them chatting about the weather (that neither boy had seen), the seas (again, neither boy had left the cabin), and the crew (Iroh was beginning to trust them but he needed to be sure). No one seemed to want to broach the major topics.

By the second day of their limited confinement, Zuko was crawling up the walls. He threw a ball in the air and tried to get Sokka to join him.

“You would not have lasted 20 minutes in a Fire Nation cell.” He replied.

“Good thing I never ended up in one then,” Zuko replied instantly. He immediately looked to Sokka with an apology on his face. “I didn’t mean…” Sokka smirked.

“I’m wounded and now I’m not speaking to you until at least dinner.” He put a mock haughtiness in his voice and rolled over to face the wall. Despite the fact that his knee was healing nicely, he barely got out of bed unless he needed to. His brain was exhausted. The deprivation of the cell had taken a toll, and his mind was overloaded with trying to figure out the best information to give Zhao so his people wouldn't actually suffer.

“No please, I'm so bored already!” Zuko begged. Sokka laughed.

“You’re not truly bored until you’re doing handstands.” He offered. He ran a finger over the tunic sleeves and smiled. The thought that he could potentially, actually see his mother again, was addictive. It had stopped being some intangible idea he buoyed himself within the zoo or the cages, it could happen. Dad might be mad that it took him so long to escape, but he’d get over it and he could see Katara again. Gran Gran was probably dead, but Sokka hoped there was a chance she was still alive. The sound of Zuko dropping his ball snapped him back to reality and he watched Zuko pose near the wall. He inverted and rested his feet against the wall. Sokka only rolled his eyes.
By the third day, Iroh said he trusted the crew enough for them to leave the cabin but not to separate from each other. The air on deck had a chill in it, and Sokka felt a lightness in his muscles that he hadn’t felt in years. Zuko insisted they had free reign of the ship, but Sokka limited his existence to the deck and the room he shared with Zuko. A part of him whispered he should go see if the old seal cage was there, or if Zun Lo was still around but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Zuko seemed oblivious to his mental battle, but Sokka also knew Zuko had plenty of his own mental battles. Neither of them felt like burdening the other with it. They spoke in their usual language. Sparring, wrestling, as soon as they both felt strong enough for it, swords. Zuko’s bandage came off sometime around the second week.

“We match now.” Sokka offered a wave from one of his scarred wrists. The flesh had grown back purple, but he barely felt it anymore.

“I’m still much better looking.” Zuko deadpanned.

Publically, it went without saying that Sokka needed to lose their duels far more than he won. The crew was watching, even if they pretended not to. Privately, Sokka had Zuko on his heels every time they fought. As much as he denied it, the scarring had altered Zuko’s visibility and he was going to need to find a way to compensate. Zuko just grit his teeth and practiced his basic movements.

“Why don’t I need to wear the cuffs when we’re out and around the ship?” Sokka quietly asked over dinner one night. “I’m glad, but why?” Iroh swallowed a spoonful of rice and looked to Zuko first. Zuko shrugged.

“Most Fire Bender skills plateau when we’re teenagers. It’s why we start training so young.” He answered. “You haven’t learned any water bending, so they don’t think you could ever be a real threat.” He popped another bite of chicken. Iroh frowned.

“And yet, there is no evidence to say that our bending skills ever plateau, much less as children.” He replied.

“Azula definitely won’t plateau. And they say Fire Lord Ozai didn’t either.” Zuko admitted quietly. His fingers danced through one of the fire-bending movements that Sokka had seen him practice every morning.

“You will not plateau. Your bending will continue to grow and change as you do. Both of you.” Iroh added. Sokka took a bite of chicken. So that was why he’d been largely left alone. A sad truth, but something he was grateful for regardless. Zuko took another bite of chicken.

The air got colder. Sokka nearly cried when he was able to see his breath one morning. The Northern Tribe was family, they’d protect him if he could get to them. But he was riding a warship to them, and he had no idea how that would end. The thought occurred to him in the waking hours when Zuko was still sleeping and he was just getting up. If his salvation would lead to the defeat of the Northern Tribe, then he couldn’t take it. His people needed to live.

“How long did it take you to get used to people staring?” Zuko asked as they circled each other with swords crossed sometime in the third week. Sokka let one eye observe the small crowd of deck workers who all conveniently had tasks in the area while keeping an eye on Zuko’s blade.

“I never really did.” Sokka thought back to the Earth Kingdom’s first audience or the zoo or the cages. “It helps to assume not all of it is mean. Some are just curious.”

“How do you know which is which?” Zuko asked seriously. Soka snorted.

“You’ll figure it out real quick.” He replied.

“Admiral on deck!” Someone shouted. The surrounding men snapped into salutes and a man Sokka had never met before strode into the clearing. Iroh was two steps behind him, so Sokka knew nothing too extreme could happen. Zuko didn’t drop his sword but he did step out of the dueling circle.

“Prince Zuko, it is an honor to have you aboard my flagship. I would say the same to your companion, though I believe he already knows this ship.” Zuko frowned and took a half step in front of Sokka.

“It’s a good ship, Admiral Zhao, the honor is all mine.” Zuko replied. His top knot flailed in the wind. So this was Admiral Zhao. He had the same ugly facial hair as the other Admirals that Sokka remembered, but unlike the palace military officers, who had let their bodies relax in the luxury of Capitol city life, Zhao had not. He had the same physical build as Ozai, and Sokka prayed that he would never need to duel the man.

“...Perfect for some reconnaissance in the North Pole. How much time until our arrival?” Sokka snapped back to the conversation and noted the topic change. Iroh met his gaze, and gave him a slight nod. Sokka braced.

“That’s actually what I came to inquire with your charge about.” Zhou stepped forward. “We’ll need some local knowledge before proceeding any further. And I need to ascertain if the source is trustworthy.” He smiled, and it was the same sadistic smile that Sokka knew meant trouble whenever anyone from the Fire Nation made it.

“I have told you many times Zhao, the boy harbors no secret love for the Northern Water Tribe.” Iroh weighed in. Sokka stepped out from behind Zuko.

“He’s right.” Sokka lied through his teeth. “And my best shot at actually leaving your country someday is if I help you capture the avatar.” He explained. The lie rolled off his mouth easily. Zhao nodded.

“So you say, so you say.” Zhao looked him up and down again. Sokka felt his spine curl inward as if he were a kid again facing the first fat admiral. “And when it comes time, I hope you will contribute to the war efforts.”

“For the eternal glory of the Fire Lord and his nation, we both will.” Zuko stepped in. His fingers clenched around the sword he was holding. Sokka breathed and silently tried to urge Zuko to do the same. The Prince was staring at the Admiral, with his eyes practically burning over.

“Zhao! Are we playing Pai Sho or not? I have you in check, and I can assure you neither of these boys have the answers for how to get out of it.” Iroh called.

“We’ll begin the strategy meetings for observing the water benders in the morning. I expect you both to be there.” Zhao finished. He spun and walked off after Iroh.

“What did he mean when he said you were back on this ship?” Zuko asked quietly. Sokka looked around at the group of deckhands who were pretending not to eavesdrop.

“Not here. Let’s go.” He decided. When they got back to their room, Sokka told Zuko everything. Well, not the part that he wasn’t a water bender, that could hurt Katara. And not the part about seeing Ursa in the zoo, because that could hurt Zuko. And not the part about Zun Lo, because that could hurt Zun Lo. But he offered the rest of it up in long parade of horrors and humiliations. Zuko silently listened, and when Sokka finally finished he only had one question,

“Want to go burn a seal cage?” Sparks danced across his fingers. Sokka smiled.

Notes:

So I am in the process of restructuring our first few chapters because they continue to feel rushed to me. Also, I realized timeline wise, Sokka should have been with the Fire Nation for at least five years before they left for the Pole. My goal is to have this story complete within the next month.

Chapter 14: Spirit Energy

“How did you even fit in this thing?” Zuko kicked the seal cage in the ship’s hold. An expression of horror broke across his face. “They could have just put you in a cell.”

“Not sure.” Sokka didn’t really hear the question. He crossed his arms to try and shake the damp air off himself. It was impossible. The cold crept back down into his bones. It wasn’t the cold that Sokka remembered from his youth. That was an external cold and warm soup. It was a cold wind and warm hugs. This was cold air that grabbed his lungs and weighed them down. Sokka shuddered. Every hair on the back of his neck was raised. The wind blew through the opening to the deck leaving a whistling sound. It sounded like it was taunting him. Asking him why he’d come back here, why he’d lead the Fire Nation to the Northern Tribe so easily, and pointing out every potential disaster along the way.

The ship's hold looked identical to the way it had three years ago. The air still tasted wet. Sokka took a deep breath in. The air was cold in his lungs again. It filled every part of himself and spilled into his veins. Sokka exhaled. He was the closest he’d been to home in years, and he was back at the beginning of it all. Stuff had been moved around, but the ship’s hold was the same. He could see piles of crates stacked along one wall. Did Zun Lo sit on one of those the first few times he visited? No, he had usually sat on the floor and shared his rice treats. Had it always been this damp down here? Not a chance. Sokka involuntarily reached for his throat to remind himself that there was no collar shackled around it. His throat wasn’t dry, he wasn’t in chains. Zuko put a hand on each of Sokka’s shoulders.

“Hey, you survived. It’s over. Let’s take a breath together.” He suggested. Sokka nodded. The smell of old metal mixing with damp wood stung his nose. The seal cage sat dilapidated in one corner. It seemed impossibly small now. Had he fit in that? Something that pathetic had caused him so much pain?

“Let’s just get out of here.” He replied. Zuko grinned. He summoned a small ball of fire in his palm and held it against the cage. He looked back to Sokka. There was a sudden seriousness in his eyes.

“It’ll never hurt you again. I promise.” The flames approached the wooden sides. Zuko’s face was frozen with concentration. His chest rose and fell steadily in time with his flame’s flickers.

“We should do this on deck.” Both boys stated at the same time.

“I’ll carry it,” Zuko said automatically. “You don’t need to touch that thing.” He grappled with the length of the cage. It wasn’t heavy, just bulky. Sokka nodded. He bit his lip as Zuko tried to drag the cage up the ladder stairs to the deck. After three attempts, they agreed the cage was too big to get up the stairs, so they settled for taking it apart by hand. Zuko’s hand hovered over the wooden supports. “If I use a little fire, could you put it out if it got too intense?” Sokka shook his head. Zuko nodded. “I’ll just be careful then.” Zuko’s fire was low and controlled, a far cry from the sprouts he had barely managed when Sokka first met him.

“You’re improving,” Sokka noted. Zuko shrugged.

“It’s gotten easier now that I’m not constantly comparing myself to Azula. And Uncle’s a good teacher.” He admitted. Sokka opened his mouth to reply, but the ship’s bells began ringing. Sokka looked to Zuko.

“That’s not good.” He noted. Without speaking, the boys stamped out the flames and piled the smashed remains in the corner. Zuko raced back up the stairs first, and Sokka was right behind him. The deck was a scene of chaos. Men in uniform clustered around and the groups all seemed to be fascinated with something over the retreating horizon.

“What’s going on,” Zuko demanded from the nearest man. He shifted.

“Your Highness, there’s some sort of spirit energy originating from the South Pole. Look.” Sokka felt his blood run cold again. Why was it always the South Pole? He handed his telescope over to Zuko. Zuko grimaced when he saw it. He handed the telescope over to Sokka, and Sokka’s lungs grew heavy. He couldn’t see home, they were too far for that. But he could trace the column of energy down over the horizon to where he knew Mom would be making a fish stew or Gran Gran would be watching the kid's penguin sled.

“There’s only one settlement remaining in the South Pole,” Zuko slowly explained for Sokka’s benefit. Sokka could feel the soldiers shifting their attention to him as the realization dawned.

“I know.” He replied.

“We’ll find a way to make the plans work,” Zuko whispered. And then he shouted, “Where’s my Uncle? We need to turn the ship.” Sokka swallowed the anxiety that threatened to spill out of him. He was going home, but he was riding a warship. The whispers swelled through the halls as Sokka and Zuko headed for the bridge.

“I thought he was the last one?”

“Maybe another one was just born?”

“Maybe the avatar is there now?”

Sokka forced his mind to turn on. This could mean a lot of things. Not all of them were disastrous. Most of them were, but not all. He needed more information. He needed to make a plan, and he couldn’t do that without Iroh.

With every step, Sokka internally prayed to a god he no longer truly believed in. Please let Katara be far away, please let Katara be far away, please let Katara be far away. Sokka swallowed again. If Katara got caught now, all of this had been for nothing. The cages had been for nothing, the burns, the taking of beatings, and the swallowing of words- pointless. He forced himself to breathe.

Sokka pressed against the bridge wall and prayed no one would notice him. Zhao shouted orders into a chute that would carry his voice down to the men in the boilers. Zuko’s hair swung as he pivoted and tried to keep up with the reports coming in from every corner. The men seemed overwhelmed. Someone called out calculations with the magnitude and size of the spirit column. Sokka caught more than a few whispering that they thought this would be a wild firegoose chase. Zuko heard it too, and furrowed his brow. Only Iroh appeared calm. His arms were neatly folded into his tunic sleeves, and he joined Sokka on the wall. Sokka glanced at him, and he nodded.

“Perhaps you should go wait in your quarters. I’m sure your insight will be needed soon.” Iroh advised him. Sokka shook his head.

“I need to be here.” He whispered. There was too much happening, and if the fate of his people would be decided on this bridge, then he felt the responsibility to at least observe it. He couldn’t meet Iroh’s eyes. Iroh nodded.

“Very well. Let’s see how this unfolds.” Iroh fell silent again as they watched the chaos. Sokka began running through situations in his mind. Katara wasn’t the avatar. That felt obvious. He knew it in his bones the same way he knew he missed his family. So where was the spirit energy coming from? Had the avatar come back to save their tribe? That felt more likely.

The avatar was a fierce warrior. Surely he would be able to mount defenses for the Southern Tribe. Their ranks were depleted, but enough warriors had remained when Sokka had been taken that surely the avatar could work with them. Maybe this would all work out. Something inside him hissed that he was on the ship that the avatar would be repelling but he could make that work. He could survive one last hurdle to home. A quick swim in the icy water and he’d be back in Wolf’s Cove. Or he could steal a boat, the possibilities were endless. He watched Zuko and Iroh and tried to think about how he could protect them too. Iroh would be able to help, he was sure of it.

“Prince Iroh,” Zhao called. His arms were crossed over his chest and Sokka shuddered. A silence settled over the bridge. Iroh smiled at Zhao.

“Yes, Admiral?”

“I’ll have the water bender confined to quarters until we know what we’re dealing with. It’s knowledge just became first hand.” Zhao commented. He smiled. Something clicked into place inside of Sokka. He had seen that smile 1,000 times since he’d first been dragged onto this ship. He knew what he was in for. Sokka squared his shoulders, and a knot tightened in his stomach. “I won’t lose any tactical advantage to sentimentality.”

“Understood.” Iroh grabbed Sokka’s shoulder. “I’ll see him confined and then return. Come Sokka.” Sokka knew not to protest based on the tone of Iroh’s voice. They stepped out of the bridge and down the hall. “This changes the plan, but not a lot,” Iroh whispered as he opened the door to the room the boys shared.

“I can’t give them information about my people. I won’t.” Sokka stated. His hands formed into fists. There was an ice in his voice that hadn’t been there yesterday. The Southern Water tribe deemed a boy a man and worthy of the title of Warrior when he protected his people. For most of them, that meant protecting the tribe from starvation through hunting or fishing. But for Sokka, he had earned it one day years ago and he was earning it again now. If he couldn’t save himself, then he would save Katara. Protecting her had been the goal since the beginning.

“And I would never expect you to.” Iroh sat down and rubbed his temple for a moment. He looked up. “We’ll need to stop somewhere to obtain provisions. Kyoshi Island is most likely based on the new course. You’ll need to escape there. Wait a moon or two, and then make your way back to your tribe.” Iroh’s voice sounded confident. Sokka shook his head.

“How?” He asked. He had no money, no bending, and only some sword-fighting skills to speak of.

“The Earth Kingdom hates the Fire Nation. Tell them what you have endured at our hands and they will make a way for you.” Iroh nodded. “This is our best option.”

“And what will you do when you go to the South Pole?” Sokka asked. His hands were still frozen as fists.

“I will delay, both until we reach Kyoshi Island and afterward.” Iroh stated. “We’ll give whatever was the source of that energy as much time as possible. Sokka, I hate to ask this-”

“Then don’t” Sokka whispered. He knew what Iroh needed to ask. The identity of the real water bender. He’d lasted so long. If he could only fool everyone just a little bit longer.

“Sokka, the water bender you’ve been protecting, is there any chance they are the avatar?” Iroh asked. Sokka’s shoulders slumped. He shook his head.

“No. She- I mean the bender, barely bent water when I last saw her- I mean them.” He glanced up at Iroh. The old man nodded again.

“That’s not uncommon for a young avatar. Especially one born into your situation.” Iroh explained gently. Sokka felt his blood run cold.

“Are you saying the avatar’s been there this entire time?” He asked.

“It’s possible.” Iroh sat back and stroked his beard for a moment.

“If the bender really is,” Sokka took a breath “the person I’ve been protecting this whole time, then I can’t run away once we reach Kyoshi. I need to stay so I can keep her safe.” Sokka’s mind began running through plans again. Katara couldn’t be the avatar. She just couldn’t. Could she? If the spirits were going to bring the avatar back as a water bender, surely they’d send them to the Northern Tribe. The Southern Tribe had no protection. Katara would have been defenseless and without a teacher. Unless that had been the spirit’s plan from the beginning…Gran Gran used to say that the spirits were spirited. They were tricky and had their own ways. Sokka bit his lip. Iroh nodded again.

“I understand.” He paused. “We should keep this between us for now. I have faith in Zuko to do what is right when the time comes, but he will need to walk that path alone.” Sokka nodded. He felt his breath even out.

“I’m telling you, It’s not the water bender though. I just know.” Sokka tried again. Iroh smiled.

“I trust your instincts. Let’s see how it unfolds.”

Notes:

Currently high on cold medicine so I apologize for any typos. I hope they enhance the reading experience.

Chapter 15: Reunion

On the way to the North Pole, the cold air had tasted like home in Sokka’s lungs. It felt cleaner like it could carry him further somehow. But as they turned for Sokka’s actual home, the cold turned to knives in his lungs. Every breath inhaled him a traitor and every exhale called him a failure. His father’s reflection stared back at him in the morning when he washed his face.

“I knew they would change you.” He whispered. “I didn’t think they would turn you into one of them.”

“They didn’t” Sokka whispered aloud. Zuko glanced over at him. He shook his head. They didn’t change me. Sokka stared at his hair in the mirror. The topknot was a far cry from the wolf’s tail style he should have been wearing. And the way his shoulders had filled in, and the muscles along his arms. Well, maybe they had changed him. But only a little.

Sleep offered no respite. Katara and his mother visited his dreams and demanded action from him to protect the tribe. Even Bato and some of Dad’s friends passed through.

“A warrior would stop this.” Some version of Bato hissed at him one night in a new nightmare. Sokka just buried his head in his hands and trudged on. There was nothing to be done about it. Iroh had promised a plan, and he trusted Iroh. Even Zuko seemed to be going through his storm.

The Prince withdrew into himself and almost entirely stopped talking to Sokka. He moved far more gingerly during their sparring sessions and always seemed to be sporting a new injury that Sokka certainly hadn’t given him. Zuko’s meetings with Zhao got longer, and more frequent. He’d have dinner with Sokka and Iroh like they always did, and then he’d pretend to go to bed, and then an hour later he’d slip from his bedroll and disappear. Every time Sokka asked about it, Zuko swore that Sokka was wrong. Bruises appeared on Zukko’s arms and legs. He could cover them with his robes when Iroh wasn’t looking, but it was harder to hide from Sokka. As Sokka had long ago discovered, keeping a secret in proximity was impossible.

“Are you ok?” Sokka asked quietly one night when Zuko came back into the room limping. He left the lights off. It was easier for both boys to pretend they were fine that way. Zuko didn't reply for a minute.

“Zhao’s a good teacher.” He explained. “He lets me try bending moves Uncle doesn’t.” Sokka nodded. That made sense. “Anyway, we’ve got another day and then we hit Kyoshi Island. They want you at the briefing tomorrow.” Sokka shut his eyes. He’d had weeks to prepare something. He’d had weeks to make his peace with this, but he hadn’t. The southern tribe was hazy in his mind's eye. He could remember the concepts. He knew baked fish was one of his favorite meals, especially when Gran Gran made it, but what was special about it? How did his father dress for a summer hunt versus a fishing trip? The details were gone. Was it even home anymore? Sokka brought his fists to his head. Yes. Yes, it was home. It had to be. It wasn’t like he had made the choice to leave. But hadn’t he? It was him or Katara and he'd chosen himself as the tribute. Zuko and Sokka pretended not to hear each other tossing and turning until the ship's first bell brought a sort of relief.

The refueling island appeared in the distance. Every passing hour made it bigger and the pounding in Sokka’s head louder. Zuko glanced at him quietly over breakfast. Sokka stared at his rice, but his stomach pitched anytime his hand moved closer to it.

“I’m headed over early,” Zuko muttered. “It’ll be fine. I’ll see you there.” And Sokka was left alone. Iroh came for him soon after. He radiated calmness, and Sokka flocked to him as if he were fresh out of the zoo again.

“Zhao is in a mood today,” Iroh advised as they walked to the bridge. His voice dropped low. “You might consider some of your more antagonistic tendencies and lean into them. It will be helpful for the next stage.” Sokka nearly stopped dead in his tracks.

“Do you have a plan?” He asked. Iroh smiled.

“There’s always a plan, young Sokka. Always.” He draped an arm around Sokka’s shoulder and squeezed it. Involuntarily, Sokka let his head knock back against Iroh’s shoulder before he snapped it back up. They were still in public.

The briefing was huge. At least 40 men gathered on the bridge in tiered seating. They passed tea and biscuits around like it was just any other day. Iroh pulled Sokka up against the wall and sent him an affirming glance like Sokka wasn’t about to be asked to betray his entire culture. His stomach clenched, and there was something ringing behind his ear. It was all he could focus on. He thought he saw his father standing behind Zhao next to Zuko at one point. His father frowned at him. Sokka’s stomach flipped. The ringing was still there. Iroh stood beside Sokka silently watching it all. Sokka wanted to tell Iroh he was worried about Zuko and that Zhao was letting him practice dangerous moves but the words stuck in his throat. Sokka swallowed. Antagonistic tendencies, and lean into them? What did that even mean? Sokka wasn’t antagonistic, if anything he was a model prisoner. Zhao called them all to attention and started talking about something. The ringing in Sokka’s ears got louder.

“The plan is simple,” Zhao explained. “Iroh, Prince Zuko, and I will meet with the leadership for tea. Whatever remains of their leadership anyway- while a strike team gathers the supplies.”

“Are golden fire coins acceptable currency here?” Someone asked from the back. Ripples of laughter went through the hall. The asker put his hand down in confusion.

“Boy,” Zhao replied. “You’re a Fire Bender in His Excellency’s Imperial Navy. You pay with whatever you want. I suggest fire.” Laughter filled the hall. Iroh remained silent, and Sokka followed suit. Those poor people on the island...they had no idea what was coming. Zuko laughed along, though one glance at Iroh made him stop. Zhao frowned when he saw Zuko stop laughing.

“Back to the important matters. Once we’re resupplied, we’ll enter the striking distance of the southern water tribe.” Sokka resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He supposed a fishing boat could drift past their waters to Kyoshi island, but he’d never heard of it happening. Not since before the first raids at least. “So, water bender, what can you tell us about these waters?” Sokka frowned. Was this the conversation that had been giving him nightmares for weeks? This wasn’t antagonism, this was a punchline setup. He glanced at Iroh out of the corner of his eye. The man’s mouth was slightly upturned. He wanted Sokka to do it. This was the plan. The ringing vanished, and Sokka felt his shoulders relax.

“Well. Firebender. It’s water and there are tides.” Sokka delivered the line. He smirked, and something in his spine felt right. His dad had fought with the traditional weapons of their tribe, but Sokka didn’t have those. Sokka had a killer sense of humor that had seen him through the worst of times, and it’d see him through this too. Silence hung over the crowd, and then another ripple of laughter broke through the firebenders. Zhao smiled.

“I hope that was worth it.” He said. Sokka shrugged. Zhao backhanded him hard across the face, and the laughter vanished instantly. Sokka stumbled. “Throw it in the fucking hold. I don’t need to deal with this.” He waved over two of the soldiers, and they grabbed Sokka’s arms. Iroh tilted his head just forward enough for it to be a nod. Sokka smiled and tasted blood.

It wasn’t a seal cage in the hold this time. However, that did sit broken in the corner, sad and dilapidated. This was an adult-sized cage, and by the smell of the timber, it was freshly built. Sokka frowned. Someone had been busy. Probably Zhao. But had Zuko known? He couldn’t of, Zuko wouldn’t have done that. Sokka took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. Iroh had a plan. He was sure of it, and the fact that he was in here, back in the cell, had to be part of it. Iroh would never have left him back here otherwise. Sokka forced himself to take three deep breaths. There was nothing to do, so Sokka returned to his age-old habit of lying on the floor and trying to make faces out of the grooves in the wood. The Fire Prince Appeared an hour later wearing a formal set of armor.

“You shouldn’t have antagonized him! What were you thinking?” Zuko asked. “You’re lucky he only hit you.” Sokka sat up slowly and shrugged. Movement really was so much easier without the cuffs.

“I couldn’t betray my people.” He admitted. Zuko shook his head.

“Well, now you can’t protect them at all.” He slapped the bars of the cage in frustration. Sokka winced, and Zuko instantly looked apologetic. “I have to go. We’re assembling the first landing party soon.” Zuko jammed a helmet onto his head and began storming off. “I’ll come see you when we’re back.” He called over his shoulder.

“Fine by me,” Sokka replied. He laid back down. Was this part of Iroh’s plan? Had he accounted for this? He didn’t need to wonder long. Less than a minute passed before Iroh appeared dragging a sack.

“Sokka, wake up. We don’t have a lot of time.” He dropped the sack and pulled out a key. Sokka bolted up.

“What’s the plan?” Sokka asked. He knew better than to doubt Iroh. The old man smiled and turned the key in the locks on Sokka’s cage.

“It’s a simple one, but I have faith in your ability to improvise.” He admitted. Iroh stepped into the cage and shuddered. “Zhao had this built quickly. I’m not even sure where the lumbar came from.” Sokka shook his head.

“Iroh. plan.” He reminded.

“I told you, it’s a simple one,” Iroh replied. He opened the sack and dragged out a set of fire nation armor. “Wait until I’m gone to put it on.” He instructed. There was a set of plain black underclothes too. They looked warm. Sokka nodded. “We’ll go ashore in 30 minutes. The landing party will follow a quarter of an hour later. Put the armor off, and walk off the ship. By that point, our benders and the Kyoshi warriors will be so engaged in battle that you’ll slip away unnoticed. Sokka shook his head.

“That’ll never work.” Sokka’s voice slipped higher.

“Yes, it will. It’s how I used to sneak out of the palace when I was your age. Get far enough away, ditch the armor, and then lay low.” Sokka nodded. He needed to trust Iroh. Iroh had never led him wrong. “There are knives for your boots too. And a full coin pouch.” Iroh handed them over slowly. Sokka nodded and cataloged them in his mind. He was escaping. This was finally happening.

“Sokka, whatever you hear, whatever you see, do not look back. Just run.”

“But Zuko-“

“I will protect Zuko. He is my responsibility. As are you, so when you have the opportunity, run and don’t look back.” Sokka nodded. He swallowed. Iroh pulled him into a hug. Sokka’s breaths grew heavy. He was lying to Zuko, he was abandoning him to Zhao. Flashes of the past came and went with each breath. Three years of swordplay and Pai sho and throwing things at each other and- Sokka forced himself to take a breath. Why was this hard? He was finally escaping. He had been dreaming of this, this chance for years.

“Iroh.” He tried to say thank you, but the words were caught in his throat, behind a lump that wouldn’t move.

“Sokka.” Iroh pulled back from the hug for a moment. There were tears in his eyes. “Watching you grow up, has been among my greatest joys.” Sokka blinked and he felt hot water spill down the front of his face. Iroh used his thumbs to wipe them away.

“I’m still alive because of you.” Sokka hiccuped. He swallowed again. “My sister is too.” Sokka finally said it aloud. Iroh smiled.

“Someday I would love to meet her. Though under very different circumstances.” Iroh admitted. A laugh escaped Sokka. A real one.

“Can you tell Zuko I’m sorry?” Sokka asked. Iroh nodded. “And tell Ming I’ll miss her. And Piando. And all of them.” Sokka swallowed hard.

“Of course.” Iroh squeezed his shoulder. And Sokka went back in for another hug. If it all happened the way Iroh thought it would, this would be the last time he’d ever speak with the man.

“And that I think he’ll be a great Fire Lord someday if that’s what he wants. And I hope he catches the avatar.” He spoke into Iroh’s armor. Iroh pressed his cheek to the top of Sokka’s head.

“Very kind of you to say Sokka. One last thing,” He pulled out the tunic sleeves from his own. He must’ve swung by their cabin. Sokka smiled, and let Iroh tie them around his wrists. Iroh hugged him one last time.

“We will see each other again, in this life, or in another form.” He promised. Sokka nodded, and Iroh stepped away. “I’ll leave the cage door unlocked.” He added.

“That would be helpful, yes,” Sokka noted. Iroh smiled.

“Until we meet again, Sokka of the water tribe.” He bowed. Sokka returned the gesture.

“Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation, thank you for your hospitality.” He smiled, Iroh laughed and then turned to go.

“Wait an hour, but no longer. And if it comes to a fight, don’t lose.” Sokka nodded. And Iroh was gone.

Sokka took a shakey breath. He stripped off the Fire Nation tunic slowly. It wouldn’t be the best outfit for blending once he ditched the armor. Instead, he slipped on a set of basic black underclothes. He’d look out of place everywhere, but it wouldn’t immediately reveal his origins. The armor was next. Sokka lifted the chest plates up and clicked them into the place. He tugged on arm guards. It fit the same way the training set did back at Iroh’s house. He’d probably never see that place again. He tucked the knives into his boots and counted the money in the pouch. He had time to kill. The first landing party would need time to go ashore. There was more than enough money to see Sokka through the future.

His fingers flexed in and out of fists and he felt his stomach do another flip. In an hour he’d either be free or in a new set of chains. It could go either way. The last piece of it all was the helmet. The white faceplate started back at him like it was mocking him. It began with white skull faceplates, and it would end with white skull faceplates. It began in the ship’s hold, and it would end in the ship’s hold. Sokka counted to sixty and took another breath. he counted to thirty. His knees felt weak. Sokka wasn’t sure how long he kept his eyes closed. Every breath seemed longer than the next. Involuntarily, his eyes opened.

His stomach whispered it was time. Sokka slammed his eyes shut again and pulled the helmet on. He blinked them open slowly. It wasn’t as bad as he had feared. He could breathe. He could see. He could make it work.

The trembling stopped as he stepped out the cage and into the hold. No going back now. The world appeared through two slits in the helmet for his eyes. He’d need to take the helmet off if he got into an actual fight, his visibility was horrible otherwise.

Out of the hold. The only sounds echoing through the halls were distant footsteps and Sokkas boots on the ground. The quiet felt reassuring. Granted it was because almost everyone else was already ashore terrorizing innocent villagers but that was a problem for the next stage.
Sokka let another breath roll through his body. He walked confidently. After all. He was, like Zhao said, in His Excellency’s Imperial Navy. Sokka fought the urge to cackle.
He passed another man in the corridor. Fear whispered up Sokkas spine, but the soldier didn’t even do a double take. The duo exchanged head nods, and Sokka kept walking. A smile spilled over his face. If he could fool one, he could fool them all. Sokka of the Water Tribe was busting out of here.

Onto the deck. He stepped out into the sunshine and surveyed Kyoshi Island. It was a scene of chaos. Under different circumstances, the island would have been beautiful. The air was chilled but not cold. Firebenders and women wearing ornate headdresses were swapping blows. People were screaming.

All Sokka had to do was casually stroll down the ship's gangway plank. His fingers brushed along the rail as he went. Three years of his life. Gone. Stolen. Zun Lo. Ursa. Iroh. Ming. Piando. The one guard who would set the rice inside his cell instead of just dumping it. Other people had kept him alive. Sokka felt the earth crunch beneath him, and his first thought was one of gratitude to the people who had made his life worth living over the three years. His second was that he needed to move.

Sokka ran down a side street and yanked the helmet off. He pitched it over his shoulder and sent the shoulder pads the same way. The Fire Nation had come through here. Burn scars streaked across houses and smaller fires dotted the roofs. They had done the same thing to his village. He could keep the chest plate until he was further from all of this.

“Going somewhere?” A female voice called. A girl in a green and gold dress dropped from the sky. Her face was painted white and red stripes pointed away from her eyes. She waved golden fans as if they were knives, and Sokka could tell she was not someone to pick a fight with. Sher jerked her head back towards the town's center. “Fight’s this way.” Sokka skidded to a stop.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m actually not with them.” He replied. She smiled.

“So you’re a deserter. That’s actually worse. You lack integrity.” She commented. Sokka smiled.

“Close. Try escaping prisoner.” Shock passed over the girl’s face, and she settled deeper into a fighting stance.

“Why should I believe you?” She asked.

“Why not?” Sokka replied. “Plus, I feel like I'm fairly low on your list of priorities now.” As he spoke, an explosion went up behind him. The screams started again. The girl jerked towards the fire but she didn’t move her feet.

“You’re really not here for…him?” She asked. “Or the girl?”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Sokka replied. The sound of a child screaming cut through the air. Now the girl did move, and something in Sokka made him follow. One of the buildings was on fire, and a small girl in braids was sobbing on the ground outside of it. He knees were bloody, and part of her face was burned.

“Ty, what’s wrong, where’s your mom?” The girl asked. The little girl had brown hair. If his skin were any darker, she’d be identical to Katara. Sokka felt his heart rip. “Hold her.” The older girl handed Ty over, and Sokka clutched her. She buried her face into Sokka's shoulder and wailed. The older girl charged into the burning building and dragged out a burned woman. She knelt and felt for a pulse. “She’s gone...Ty, look over there, ok?” Sokka felt his throat swell. He rubbed the younger girl's back in the only comforting gesture he could think of.

“I’ll get her out of here…” He was beginning to offer when firebenders swarmed.

“It’s the fucking water bender!” One of them screamed. “Get Zhao.”

“What? Water bender?” The older girl whirled on him. Sokka grabbed a long knife from his boot and tried to keep Ty pointed away from the firebenders. One flipped and sent a column of fire towards them.

“Long story.” He replied. The girl waved her fans and sent the firebender’s fire right back at them. Sokka clutched his knife.

“Are you Sokka?” She asked.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Sokka nearly dropped Ty in surprise. The girl grabbed his shoulders and the two began moving away from the corpses. Part of Sokka hoped the firebenders would be ok, and part of him hoped they wouldn’t.

“My name’s Suki. I know your sister.” She led.

“Katara?” Sokka’s mouth hung open. Another firebender spotted them and began yelling. Suki threw the ground underneath him up, and he flew.

“Yes. Also a long story.” She explained. “We need to go. Take Ty, I know where your sister is. She’s close.” The ship’s horn blew. Three short blasts. Sokka wracked his brain. Three short bursts, that was code for something. Suki glanced at Sokka. “That mean anything good?” An all-hands call.

“They’re calling the rest of their soldiers,” Sokka explained. But something was different about the three short verses and the three long ones. What was it? His body froze. They had come here looking for someone, and whoever it was had been found. “Are you hiding someone? They’ve just been found.”

“The avatar is here. Your sister is with him.” She answered. Sokka blinked. Of all of the situations that had kept him awake the past month, this wasn't one of them.

“I…didn’t see that coming,” Sokka admitted. Suki shrugged.

“Put Ty down, we need to go fight.” Sokka set the girl down. Suki knelt at eye level with the girl she was still crying. The burns on her face looked painful. She needed to see a healer as soon as possible.

“Ty, you’ve been so brave. I need you to do a job for me. I know you’re the fastest runner on the island, can you prove it by running to Hightorpe Cave?” The girl nodded. The tears were still on her face, but she puffed her chest out.

“I’m so fast.” She replied.

“Good! Stay there until I come to get you.” Suki instructed. The girl nodded again. “Go now.” She turned and began sprinting off. Suki watched her go for a heartbeat. “Come on.” She began heading for the town center. Sokka shook his head.

“Two fighters will not make a difference. And I’m not actually a waterbender, so it’d be more like 1.5 fighters.” He noted. They needed a better option. “If we made a distraction instead, we can spilt up their forces, and give your people a chance.”

“Good call.” Suki tucked two pieces of hair behind her ears. Sokka nodded.
“Do you have fireworks? Anything that can cause some chaos?” Fireworks would work. Maybe sheep? Maybe some other animal? Fireworks would be the easiest to control though.

“Actually we do. By the shore.” Sukki smiled, and her eyes met Sokka's. Under different circumstances, she'd of been cute. Well, maybe she was cute now. Sokka felt his stomach turn but in a good way this time.

“Good, let’s go blow some up.” Sokka nodded. They sprinted. Something inside of Sokka screamed that he was going the wrong way, but he couldn’t listen. If Katara got killed now, this was all for nothing. Sokka and Suki each grabbed an armful of the fireworks.

“We’ll have made our last stand at the statue of Kyoshi. That’s where they’ll be.” She explained. Sokka bopped his head.

“Is there a roof we can shoot the fireworks off of?” He asked. Suki grinned.

Every second that passed Katara was in danger. Sokka was well aware, and it made climbing the roof, which desperately needed to be a focused activity, turn into a frantic climb. Suki bounded up effortlessly and Sokka was reminded why he hated benders.

He peaked over the edge of the roof and winced. Katara was unmistakable. She wore the long blue dress of the Southern Water Tribe, and Sokka thanked La that there were 20 more women in the green dresses standing in between her and Zhao. A bald kid in orange stood next to her. The Fire Nation line was two deep, and Sokka knew they had the numbers advantage. It was only a matter of time before the women were overwhelmed.

“The avatar?” He asked. Suki nodded. “He’s younger than us. Isn’t he supposed to be like, old?” Suki shrugged.

“I saw him air bend myself.” She offered. Sokka shrugged. Behind the Fire Nation line, Zhao stood with his arms crossed. He and Zuko both wore full sets of armor, but Iroh wore nothing more than the robes Sokka had seen him in every day for three years.

“The old guy and the prince aren’t your issues. It’s the admiral we need to get.” Sokka offered. Suki scoffed.

“You sure? Because prince set my house on fire when he realized the avatar was here.”

“He’s going through some stuff.” Sokka replied. He propped a firework up and aimed it just behind the Fire Nation’s line. No one would get hurt, but it would cause enough chaos to let Katara escape. He lit a match and sent it flying. He glanced toward Katara as he moved. For once, he was extremely lucky. She was looking at his rooftop. A recognition crossed her face.

The impact was instant. The firebender’s line broke, and the Kyoshi warriors pushed forward. Smoke filled the air. Suki sent the next one just short of Zhao. Iroh pulled Zuko back. His helmet flew off, and one of his lips was bloodied. Sokka and Suki ducked behind the roof line as Sokka heard familiar voices scream. He’d been spotted.

“Sokka?” Zuko shouted.

“Sokka?” Katara screamed.

“You need to go.” Suki decided. “Your sister and Aang have an escape plan. Go with them.” Sokka nodded. He wanted to say goodbye to Zuko, he wanted to apologize and say he wished it could be different but he shook his head. “Go now. Run along the back street. You can meet them on their way to the forest.”

“Thanks.”

“Keep that avatar alive. That’s all the thanks I want.” She replied. Suki propped up another firework. “Go, what are you waiting for?” She asked. Sokka moved. The stones met his feet when he landed and the sounds of fighting got louder. Sokka felt the earth shift as he ran. His heart beat a little faster. It’d been a while since he’d sprinted.

And there she was. Taller than when they’d last met, and still shorter than him. Hair up in their traditional braid.

“Katara!”

“Sokka!” They collided with each other, and Sokka felt her arms around him. His face was wet again. She was so tall. When did she get so tall?

“Heard you’ve got an escape plan?” He asked. “Can I hitch a ride?” She smiled. The avatar nodded.
“Happy to have you. I’m Aang.” And they ran.

Notes:

Home stretch folks! Thank you for your patience!

Obligatory note about this not really being proofread. For lack of a better term, I was abducted by the fervor to write while on a bus ride and this poured out. So any mistake belongs to the muse, and not me. (Do shout out if you see something though, as I'd like to fix it)

Chapter 16: Adjustment

Notes:

On a scale of readability, this chapter is low. I'll edit it along the way, but overall I felt there needed to be some sort of adjustment period for Sokka.

“So. How’d you end up with the Avatar?” Sokka asked. The flying bison (Sokka had learned its name was Appa and it shed everywhere) had settled down for the night and the group was making camp. Katara shrugged. She still wore the Southern Tribe’s parka of an unmarried woman, but Sokka could see their mother’s engagement necklace around her neck. Was mom? No, she was fine. Gran Gran was too. Dad and the other warriors had been away from Wolf’s Cove for almost a year though. Keeping Wolf’s Cove running had all fallen on Katara, Mom, and a few of the other women. They were fishing, hunting, cooking, and keeping watch for the black soot mixed into snow that would signal the return of the Fire Nation ships, so the Water Tribe Family unit was gone. The thought occurred to him and immediately disgusted him. Who was he to pass judgment on how his people had survived three and a half years? Suddenly Sokka felt very aware that he was still wearing Fire Nation armor and had nothing to wear other than his base layer. It wasn’t cold, but a shiver passed over him anyway.

“I was out near the fishing spot one day and trying to bend when I accidentally moved some icebergs. Aang popped up.”

“I was frozen in an iceberg.” The kid added like it was a normal thing to say. Maybe it was an avatar thing? Sokka nodded. He blinked in disbelief. This was the guy who everyone said would save them from the Fire Nation. He was 12, bald, and wearing a jumpsuit. Not that Sokka had anything against jumpsuits, he just found them incredibly awkward. Katara knelt to begin making a fire and glanced at Sokka with an expression of horror on her face.

“Are you comfortable with me making a fire? I don’t know really what you’ve been through all these years and-”

“Yeah make the fire.” Sokka nodded. Fire was fire. Life without was an endless parade of cold food and darkness. His stomach twisted at the thought of her question. Did Katara think he was weak? He wasn’t weak! Just because he hadn’t been around all of these years to hunt or fish didn’t make him any less of a man. He still had time to earn the title of a warrior of their tribe. She nodded and then glanced back down at the flint. A few sparks later and there was a small blaze going. Aang directed a puff of air towards the fire and fed it a little more. Sokka relaxed as the warmth hit his face and the yellow glow washed over their campsite. “So what’s the plan? You have to have one?”

“Well,” Katara began. “We have a concept of a plan.” Aang nodded along with her.

“We visited the fire sage’s temple to connect with one of my past lives there. They said I must master the other three elements before Sozin’s Comet comes in this summer.”

“What’s Sozin’s Comet?” Sokka asked. He knew Fire Lord Sozin, were they the same Sozin?

“It’ll give all of the Firebenders super bending this summer,” Aang explained. “It only comes every 100 years and…” He didn’t finish the statement. He didn’t need to do so. Sokka put the rest of it together. 100 years ago, the firebenders had invaded the Air Temples and massacred their entire culture. The avatar was thought to have died with them, but here he was. 100 years later, and still a 12-year-old Airbender. The Fire Nation had been kidnapping innocent waterbenders for nothing. Well, not for nothing. It still would have been wrong if they had the Avatar among them. Sokka rubbed his forehead and tried to suppress the headache that was forming. This had been a long 48 hours.

“So we have until Sozin’s Comet to teach you three elements and kill the Fire Lord.” He clarified. He sat back on his heels.

“Pretty much,” Katara explained. Aang shook his head.

“I won’t kill. Air Benders don’t kill.” A headache was beginning to form in Sokka's head.

“You do realize the firebenders wiped out most of your people, right?” Sokka clarified again. “You may not have a choice.” Katara bit her lip.

“Maybe we cross that bridge when we get there.” She decided. Sokka nodded. He could bring Aang around. The kid was young and impressionable. Ozai needed to die. He knew that in his bones. Iroh or Zuko could be Fire Lord. They’d be great at it.

“In any case, we need to move for the North Pole” He decided. Sokka was glad to have found them. They’d be wandering were it not for him. He could make this work. They’d take down the Fire Nation. “Have you started learning any water bending?” He looked at his sister and back to the avatar. Aang grinned at the same moment Katara shook her head.

“Yeah!” He stated.

“We tried.” She added. Sokka nodded. Water had to be the first. He knew that from rainy afternoons of reading old scrolls at Iroh’s house. Katara glanced from Sokka to Aang. She added a handful of sticks to the fire. “But Sokka, can I ask, how are you here?”

“Long story?” Sokka replied. He shifted his weight and leaned into the warmth of the fire. He still hadn’t decided how much he wanted to tell Katara about the past few years. He wasn’t ashamed. He wasn’t. He had endured three and half years of enemy captivity and then escaped. That was a noble thing. But explaining Iroh and Zuko felt different. Yeah, Iroh was technically his jailer but Sokka also knew without a doubt that he’d of been dead without Iroh’s protection. And Zuko? The son of the man the Sokka very much wanted dead, and part of Sokka wondered if Zuko would help them do it. Katara narrowed her eyes. The water in her blue eyes was stormy.

“Why were those Fire Benders calling for you as we ran?” Katara asked. Her posture was relaxed, but Sokka saw through it instantly. It was the same tone their mother had used when she already knew he had stolen sweets from her secret stash, but she was asking to confirm anyway. He understood why she was asking. The situation was too coincidental to not be a sneak attack plan. Honestly, if he were a plant from Zuko, that would have been a great plan. He should have suggested that one at the briefing. Sokka swallowed. He needed to answer Katara.

“The older one, Iroh, he’s the Fire Lord’s brother. He’s the one who helped me escape. And the younger one is Zuko, the Fire Lord’s son. Really funny guy, but his dad banished him until he comes home with the Avatar, also known as Aang.” He nodded at Aang. Katara’s lips were frozen open in shock. Sokka chooses to not say anymore. That was enough. He clamped his mouth.

“The Fire Lord’s son? And the Fire Lord’s brother are after us?” Aang asked. Sokka nodded.

“Yeah. And Zuko is determined to get you. Which is why we need to make good time and get to the North. They’re a lot better resourced than we are right now.” Katara bit her lip. She glanced at her hands in her lap. The storm was gone from her eyes.

“When was the last time you ate?” She asked. Sokka noted the topic change. He actually was a little hungry. The adrenaline of the day had worn off. “We can go into town and grab more food tomorrow before we leave.” Sokka mentally ran the calculation of one flying bison against a Fire Nation warship. Appa was faster and more nimble, and the warship was vulnerable to supply delays just like they were. They could beat the ship depending on how hard Zhao pushed the crew.

“I can help. Iroh gave me a small fortune before I left.” He explained.

“Good. We’ve been relying on alternate methods to get food and that’s not been going well.” Katara added.

“Alternate like?” Sokka asked. He had a feeling he knew the answer. They’d need to stop that. Police reports would leave a trail that could track them.

“Not stealing.” Katara clarified. Sokka nodded. She had always been smart. He needed to trust her.

“I do gymnastics on the street and people give us money,” Aang added. Sokka’s mouth hung open. That was even worse. They really needed to stop that. He rubbed his face with his palm. They could make this work. The only thing they needed to do was get to the Northern Tribe, get a water-bending master for Aang, get an earth-bending master, and then maybe Iroh could teach Aang fire-bending. Katara could learn healing while they were in the North too. Healers were always good to have around. It wasn’t a bad plan, but it wasn’t a good one either. Sokka bit his lip. His fingers danced along his knives. He forced an exhale and sighed.

Omashu. It all unfolded so quickly. Katara had grown, that much was obvious. Sokka nearly died when she got herself arrested to free the Earthbenders, but there was a part of him that felt nothing but pride. She used some of their Iroh money to buy a bolt of blue cloth.

“You’ve been in red for long enough.” She decided. Sokka nodded. He actually really liked the black underclothes the Fire Nation soldiers wore, so he took to wearing the blue tunic over them. It was a strange combination, but no stranger than how he had spent the past few years. Katara put hours of effort into recreating their mother’s embroidery in the sleeves. Sokka insisted it wasn’t that big of a deal, but Katara insisted. Sokka caught her eyes on him at all hours. She would trip over herself to help him with bags or supply sacks or anything. If the nightmares made sleep impossible, she’d brew a tea. Sokka accepted her help without too much protest. He needed to rebuild a relationship with her. The last time they’d seen each other, she’d been tossed into a snowbank and he'd, nope. Not finishing that thought.

Katara made the tea in a very different way than Iroh did. He preferred the Fire Nation way, but he couldn’t tell Katara that. It was the opposite of his first few days in the Fire Nation. He ate and thought about Zuko. He sipped tea and thought about Iroh. He thought about Ming, Piando, the cooks, and the guards, and… Sokka had to stop himself from spiraling. He made it a point to drill with the knives every morning. Piando had trained him on swords, but he could still work the knives. It wasn’t hard. It wasn’t easy either, but it wasn’t hard.

“I think you’re really brave,” Aang confessed to him one night as the two sat up on watch. “You couldn’t have been more than a kid when you figured out how to protect your sister.” Sokka's eyes went wide, and he sipped his tea. La, he missed Iroh.

“Wasn’t another option.” He replied softly. Something twisted in Sokka’s gut. He frowned. That hadn’t happened in a while. Aang shrugged. He fidgeted with something in his lap for a moment.

“Maybe. But it takes courage to stay yourself while you’re away from home that long.” Aang answered. The Airbender looked down at his hands. Oh. A wave of guilt crashed over Sokka. Of course, the kid was struggling. He’d gone on a ride on his magical flying bison, woke up 100 years later and his people were all dead. Anyone would struggle, especially a kid. What would Iroh say?

“Aang I don’t think the Air Benders would be mad if you ate meat. You’d like it. It’s tasty.” He suggested. The joke fell flat. Aang rubbed his eyes.

“Maybe…” Aang began. Sokka leaned forward so he knelt before Aang at eye level the way Zun Lo had that one time.

“No. I take it back. Look, Aang. All you can do is your best, ok? Your people would understand if you needed to compromise on some things, or they’d be proud of you for keeping what you can alive. Either way, they’d understand.” Sokka didn’t look over at the sleeping Katara. Aang’s people would be proud of him for surviving. They were gone, and he was here. They couldn’t critique him even if they wanted to. Maybe the Northern Tribe would feel differently about him. He wasn't sure.

The Comet, the Fire Sages. The days were slow, but the weeks felt fast. Occasionally, they caught sight of a Fire Nation Imperial Clipper Ship chasing them, and an angry boy standing on it's bow. Sokka had trouble sleeping those nights. The end goal was the Northern Tribe. They desperately needed a Waterbending Master for Katara and Aang, and the Northern Tribe's wall still protected their benders and their culture. The air turned cold again, and it tasted like freedom in Sokka’s lungs. No one threatened to hit him if he looked at the wrong person. No one stared at him. The frog incident.

"Is there a water tribe spirit with a blue face and a white mustache?" Aang asked. Sokka shrugged and curled up in his sleeping bag. He didn't know the answer, and he didn't care enough to hear Katara's reply. His head was still pounding, but it was starting to feel better.

"Maybe." Katara replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well to get the frogs, I had to battle him. And he let me escape once he knew they were medicine for you two. So I figured..."

"Water tribe in need, water tribe spirit." Katara finished. "Yeah I guess that makes sense." Sokka went back to sleep.

Sokka got to have a sister again. She dumped water on his head when they argued. He breathed free air again. But for every dinner they shared, every laugh they swapped, and every moment of peace Sokka felt, he remembered someone was chasing them. Zuko was on their trail, and would never let go. Sokka had his sister back, but he had lost his brother.

Chapter 17: The North

The quiet simmer of fear that Sokka held over facing his people in the North ratched up to a full-blown boil by the time they had arrived in the North. He shouldn’t have worried. The Captain of their royal guards embraced him the second they realized who he was, and offered him a full set of their winter gear. Captain Taraq didn’t ask many questions of Sokka, and Sokka was grateful for that. He knew his experience with the Fire Nation provided the tribe with a strategic advantage over their adversaries, and he understood that it was his place to give it, but no one pressed him on it yet. Sokka took the offered parka gratefully and wore it every day. His Fire Nation armor sat in a sack beneath the sleeping rolls on Appa, but the black underlayer was too good not to use in everyday life.

Sokka took to drilling with the palace guards every day while Katara and Aang were learning water bending (at first Katara had only yelled at Pakku that she should be able to learn bending, but he relented after a while). The guards reminded of Ahzu or some of the nicer guards from Iroh's house. Everything was a competition with them. Who could wrestle the best? Who could climb the ice wall the fastest? Their force relied on non-benders as much as it relied on the water benders.  He didn't patrol with the guards or do actual work, but they included him in their training. Sokka never missed a session. 

That was how he met Yue. La, she was beautiful. Tall, long white hair, and crystal blue eyes. Sokka had never seen another girl like her. She was funny too! They started hanging out whenever they could. Usually, it was just her showing him around different parts of the city. She knew all the good tea spots and bakeries. Mostly though, they just talked. She didn’t stare at the scars on his wrists, and he stopped wearing his gloves when he was around her. It was so easy to be honest with her about the past few years. He always made sure to put them back on before he saw Katara again though. He wasn’t ready for her to know about those yet.

That was actually the entire problem here. Weeks of layering wraps under his gloves and never taking them off, weeks of cooking with the wrappings on, and then he’d gotten lazy about it in the North Pole once they’d given him a parka. He’d been so busy trying to hit Aang in the head with one of his gloves that he’d forgotten to cover one of his wrists and the scars he’d so carefully kept hidden from Katara were revealed.

Katara went all sad-eyed about it when she saw the scars and begged him to let her heal him. He told Yue about it one of the mornings when they were killing time on the ice wall.

“She feels guilty. Let her try to heal the scars and that’ll be an opportunity to connect.” Yue suggested. Sokka nodded. She was right, she usually was, but he was hesitant to let Katara try. For one, she’d probably fail and that meant that they’d have a sad and guilty Katara to contend with. And Sokka honestly wasn’t sure if he wanted to lose the scars. They were a part of his body the same way his muscles were. It was just a fact of his life. He’d been captured by the Fire Nation as a child, he’d been beaten and burned, he’d escaped. But Yue had insisted and he wanted to stay on her good side almost as much as he wanted to stay on Katara’s good side.

Katara and Sokka sat next to one of the healing springs in the North Pole. Sokka shucked off his parka at the door and the siblings sat in silence for a minute.

“Katara, I’m sure you’re a great healer,” He began.

“And waterbender. Master Pakku says I’m one of the best he’s ever seen.” Katara bragged. Sokka nodded. He was proud, he really was.

“Yes. Exactly. But this is three-year-old scar tissue at this point.” He hinted. He tried to give her an out, emphasizing the scar tissue. The skin was healed. There was nothing to fix.

“Just let me try.”

“Fine.” Sokka tugged his gloves off and looked down at his wrists. The ugly purple skin snaked its way across each wrist and onto his left hand. He barely noticed them anymore. It wasn’t a conversation topic when they were out around the capitol. The gloves covered his hands, so no one saw them. He took them off to sparr with the tribe’s warriors, and none of them had anything to say about it. They’d been much more interested in his knives and wrestling abilities.
Yue was the only person outside of Katara to comment on them. But Yue, Yue was different. She was the only white-haired person in the entire tribe (even of the elders) so she understood it.

Katara directed tiny spirals of water towards his wrists. Her posture was relaxed, but every muscle was tensed in concentration. Sokka just breathed in the sight of her working. She was doing it, she was becoming a bender and keeping their tradition alive. He smiled. It had all been worth it. Sokka jolted forward the second the cold water touched him. The water felt like cold metal, exactly where the cuffs used to sit. His heart stopped. Why was he in cuffs again? Sokka gasped. Katara pulled back.

“What? Sokka are you ok? Did something hurt? What’s wrong?”

“Um, nothing.” He grabbed his wrist wrappings. “I just remembered. I need to go. I’ll see you soon.” Sokka ran for the door to the Moon Garden. He clutched the parka to his chest along with the wrist wrappings and took random lefts and rights as they appeared. Shame pulled at his face. He was safe now. No one was going to hurt him here. He knew that so why did he freak out in front of Katara?

Sokka found their apartment and slid to the ground with the door bolted behind him. He gasped and let air flow through his lungs again. His hands grappled with the fabric of his tunic sleeves and his collar. There were no chains on him. Nothing was there, so why was it so hard to breathe? Sokka grappled with the tunic for another minute fore just deciding it needed to come off entirely. The cold didn’t even touch his skin as he stood in the empty room.

“Uh. Sokka.” Damn. The kid was here. “Whatcha doing?”

“Aang. Hi.” Sokka suddenly felt the cold on his skin again. He grabbed for his parka.

“You want to talk about it?” Aang asked. The Airbender had a friendly smile on his face.

“Nope.” Sokka nodded. Air moved through his lungs at a normal pace again. He began heading for his room. He needed to hide for a little bit.

“Want to meditate?” Aang suggested. Sokka froze. That could be a good call.

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

The boys sat side by side silently. Aang’s version of mediation involved sitting still, but that had never been the way Iroh and Sokka did it. The Fire Bending method was more of a core stabilization exercise coupled with a body stretch. Sokka closed his eyes and mentally scrolled through each muscle group. If Aang noticed him standing up and moving into a stretch, he didn’t comment. Sokka’s arms and shoulders were sore, but it was the good kind of sore. He could move air through his lungs again. He touched each wrist gently and nodded to himself. No one had put chains on him. There was no collar around his neck. Sokka focused on connecting with each minute tendon through his body. Nothing hurt per se, he was just sore from all of the sparring. He was fine. He was completely safe. Aang opened his eyes.

“Wait, you do it differently than I do.”

“I do it the Fire Nation way, I don’t think the water tribes have a practice of meditation,” Sokka explained. Aang rose to his feet.

“Walk me through your movements. This looks cool.” So Sokka did. He slowed down so Aang could match his movements, but unsurprisingly, the avatar was a natural at it. Sokka focused on his own body and its movements. The meditation cleared away every thought except Katara. Something gnawed in his stomach. He needed to find her and explain. It wasn’t her fault he had panicked. The Fire Nation had held him for three and a half years! That was going to take more than a month or two to recover from. He wasn’t weak for still needing time. Sokka rubbed his shoulders.

“I’ll see you later. I need to find Katara.” Sokka offered slowly. Aang nodded.

“She’s trying really hard. I know you are too.” He offered. Sokka tugged at his fingernails for a minute.

“Yeah. I know.”

In the end, the children of the chief of the Southern Water Tribe ended up eating dinner together quietly in their apartment that night. Aang had insisted he needed to perform some air-bender meditation ritual alone in the gardens. It was an excuse and not a good one. An uncomfortable silence hung over their food. Sokka shifted his weight. Katara passed him the tea. He needed to explain that it wasn’t her fault, that he wasn’t mad, that they would be fine. But how did he even have that conversation? How did he explain that he was still weak in a way that he had been since that day in the South Pole and that wasn’t on her and that he was sure she was a great healer (phenomenal in fact) but that he couldn’t wipe away the past?

“Pass the salt fish?” Katara asked. Sokka handed it over.

“Katara I-” Sokka swallowed. Why was this so hard?

“You don’t need to explain.” She replied. She speared a piece of fish with her spoon and popped it in her mouth.

“But I want to,” Sokka whispered. Katara glanced at him. “When the water touched me…I panicked and I couldn’t remember where I was and…” Katara’s face softened.

“Oh. Sokka. I’m so sorry.” She leaned closer to him, but she didn’t move from her spot.

“No, I’m sorry! You keep being nice and supportive and-” Sokka tried to explain. Katara’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Please let me try and heal your hands. Or we can get one of the elders to try if me doing it is too painful.” She was begging now. Almost in tears. Why did she care so much about this?

“Katara, it’s scar tissue. It’s already healed.” Sokka interrupted.

“Let me try and fix it!” Katara replied. Her voice rose an octave. “Please, this is all my fault.”

“How is it your fault?” Sokka asked. He was confused. Fundamentally, the fault here rested with the fault of the Fire Nation soldiers who had burned him. Maybe they could extrapolate and say it was Yon Rha’s fault for taking him in the first place. They could even blame Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin for starting the stupid war. But Katara was blameless here.

“I’m so sorry.” She sobbed. Tears rolled freely down her face. “This is all my fault.” Sokka sat frozen. He needed to do something, his sister was crying, but what could he do? He barely understood why she was crying in the first place.

“Katara,” Sokka moved mechanically. He put his arms around her. Was this the first time they had hugged since he’d been back? Yikes. She sobbed into his shoulder. “None of this is your fault.”

“How do you not hate me?” She asked.

“Why would I hate you?” Sokka furrowed his brow. He wished Iroh were here for advice. The man always knew what to say. Maybe he could ask Yue later? Sokka just rubbed her back. Maybe she’d had a tough day with bending? That had to be it. Even Zuko’s mood was so dependent on how his lessons were going. Pakku was probably being an ass again. “You’re such a great waterbender Katara.” He led. Katara sniffled. Her tears slowed. Sokka kept rubbing her back and exhaled silently. He must’ve guessed right.

Whatever fix Sokka had been hoping for failed to appear in the days after their dinner table conversation. Katara dropped the idea of him seeing a healer, and he made an effort to watch her perform some bending sequences when she was warming up every morning. They were siblings, raised in the same tribe, but Sokka could tell they were speaking two different languages. He cursed silently. He could fix this, he had to fix this.

“I think it’s helping?” Sokka and Yue were on top of the wall admiring the sunset. Sokka gazed out across the ocean. No Fire Nation ships yet. They had more time, but soot mingling with the fresh snow was inevitable. Sokka wondered how it would feel to see that again. What had he thought the first time? When the soot had come down on them in the hour before the ship had appeared over the horizon. The adults had panicked. He thought back to his dad hugging him and saying it would all be fine. Mom had picked up Katara and suggested they go look at the drying fish. Bato told him it would be over soon. Gran Gran…Gran Gran had promised baked fish for dinner as soon as they were gone. He wondered if they’d eaten that baked fish. He shook his head to clear the thoughts. This wasn’t helpful right now.

“You need to have an actual conversation with her.” Yue chided.

“I did!”

“No, Sokka. Whatever the issue is here, I doubt that it’s her bending. Everyone is saying she’s a generational talent. It’s something else.”

“She kept telling me she was sorry. Why would she feel sorry towards me?” Sokka dropped to the ground. Yue gave him a look. Ming used to give him an identical one.

“Sokka.” She stated gently.

“What? It’s not her fault that Fire Nation took me. It’s not her fault I got burned. Why would she feel guilty over that?” Sokka answered his own question as she looked at him. Because she’s your sister. Because they would have taken her had you not done anything. Sokka shook his head. “That still doesn’t mean she should feel guilty though. If they had taken her instead, Aang would still be in that iceberg and we’d be going to war without the avatar.” She needed to be in the South Pole. I didn’t. Yue sat down next to him.

“You need to tell her these things. Not me.” She said it with a kind smile on her face. Sokka rolled his eyes.

“How am I supposed to tell her that? She keeps looking at me like I’m made of ice and going to shatter at one wrong word.”

“Healing takes time. Especially the type you two need to do.” She explained. Sokka exhaled. The sun was beginning to dip below the water. Vibrant pinks and reds scattered across the ice in a gradient that bled into blues on the ice. Sokka stared at it for a minute. It was pretty. Not as pretty as the view from Iroh’s roof, but still pretty.

The crunch of heavy boots on snow approaching from behind them caused Sokka to pivot outwards and grab his knives. Every muscle tensed, but Captain Taraq waved.

“Good reaction time Sokka.” He began. Sokka stood up out of his ready position. “Glad I found you two. We’ve received new intelligence that needs to be shared. Please follow me to the briefing room. Sokka, we’ll need your insight.” And this was it. Sokka took a breath and hoped he was at peace with the last three and a half years. Or at least, at peace enough to protect the Northern Tribe from what was coming for them.

Katara and Aang were already there. Sokka could feel every eye on him as they entered. He supposed that was fair. The guardsman presenting cleared his throat.

“We received word from our spies that a flagship containing Admiral Zhao of the Fire Nation and Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation is inbound. They’ll be at our wall with a considerable armada in a matter of days.” Sokka bit the inside of his lip. Not unexpected. Appa wasn’t exactly subtle, and it’s not like their goal of finding a water-bending master was a secret. But one question tugged at his mind.

“There should be a second Prince. Prince Zuko, he’s Ozai’s son.” Sokka explained. No one asked for clarification on how he knew this. The guardsman shook his head.

“Our intelligence says the younger Prince was killed days ago in a small explosion at the Kludon Harbor.” He replied. Sokka staggered. Katara reached for him, but he pushed her arms away. There was no way Zuko was dead. Sokka would have known.

“That’s impossible. Check again.” Sokka stated. Zuko. Not Zuko. Sokka’s stomach rolled. The idiot was too stubborn to die. He’d never die without honor. The others stared at him. No it couldn’t be.

Sokka’s brain stopped processing sound. He could still see the guard speaking, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. Yue grabbed him. She mouthed something and dragged him outside.
The cold air forced his body to reset. Sokka gasped.

“There’s no way Zuko is dead. This is some sort of plot.”

“Maybe,” Yue replied. “But that would involve several layers of deceit from the Fire Nation. Subterfuge isn’t usually their style.”

“Zuko would! This is so his style! I be he and Iroh planned it together.” Sokka theorized. That had to be it. Iroh knew Zhao was trouble. He knew he was a terrible influence on Zuko. So, he made a plan to get rid of that influence. They’d attack the Northern Tribe. Zhao and Iroh would lead a Fire Nation-style full frontal assault on the city, exactly like they did to the Southern Tribe and Ba Sing Se, and Zuko would sneak in and get Aang. That was the only possible explanation. How could they not see it? Taraq stepped out after them.

“I take it you were close to the Prince?” His voice lacked any judgment. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact.

“He’s a good person. Just a little confused right now.” Sokka replied. “He’s not dead. And even if he is, his ghost will help with the invasion.” Taraq made a face.

“Well then. We’d better prepare. What can you tell us about Zhao and Iroh?” His voice was so kind. Sokka almost wished he’d yell or demand answers. Sokka smiled. It was time to cash in on three years of knowledge.

“We’d better go back in.” He offered. Taraq smiled and held the curtain open.

“Lead the way, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe."

Notes:

Thank you so much for the comments and kudos! They truly make my day

Chapter 18

Sokka and Yue sat on the big wall silently. The sun was beginning to show over the ocean, and reds and pinks danced in the reflections of the water. Neither of them had been able to sleep. He could see the fire nation’s navy closing in. One flagship, likely carrying Iroh and Zhao, and two smaller frigates, like the one that had taken him from home all those years ago. Actually, one of those was probably the same ship. Sokka rested his hands on his knives and mentally rolled through some fighting moves. Soot mixed in with the falling snow, and Sokka closed his eyes as it touched the ground in front of him.

“Why are they even here?” Yue asked. She couldn’t look at the ships. “What did we ever do to them?”

“We exist. That’s their reason.” Sokka answered. “They think they have a mandate from the spirits about sharing Fire Nation prosperity and their war is how they do that.”

“How awful.”

“Yep.” Sokka could taste the soot mixing in with the snow. Gran Gran promised baked fish. Mom held Katara. Dad stroked his hair. No. Sokka shook his head to clear those thoughts. He needed to be in the here and now. He exhaled slowly. Taraq appeared behind them.

“Princess Yue, let’s get you up to the spirit garden.” He stated softly. “Sokka, I think you should join the other warriors.” Sokka nodded. He needed to find Katara. If this brought up uncomfortable memories for him, it was probably doing the same for her. “Are you sure I can’t stick a Wolf pelt on you? You’ve earned it.” Sokka shook his head.

“No. Your armor and trust are more than enough. Thanks.” Maybe someday Sokka would wear a wolf pelt, but he needed to actually earn it first. Now, it would be a sympathy pelt. Taraq nodded.

The walk through the city was stunningly loud. People were everywhere. The children were being taken to the safe rooms, the warriors were reporting to their posts, the healers were checking their stores. The whole city hummed with purpose. It was such a stark contrast to that day in the South Pole. The ash had started falling and it was like a funeral had been announced. But the Northern tribe was optimistic. People waved at Yue or called greetings to Sokka and Taraq.

“Their troops will likely head straight for the spirit garden,” Taraq explained as they walked. “If we lose La, we lose bending itself.” He continued. Yue glanced at the sky. She bit her lip.

“Do they know that?” Sokka asked. There was no way that could be real. Bending was a spiritual gift but the spirits themselves were debatably real. Idiot, Sokka chided himself. You’re friends with the avatar. He was the literal spirit guy.

“Probably.” Taraq sighed. They wove their way through the palace and to the library where barricades were being erected. Aang and Katara were already there.

“We can ice over this door once we’re inside. Even the best fire bender would have trouble getting through it quickly.” Katara offered. Sokka wanted to ask her how she knew what good fire benders were like, but he didn’t want to wreck her confidence. Aang grinned.

“Yeah!” The kid was masking his nerves behind a layer of bravado.

A rumble shook the ground. Yue grabbed onto Sokka to steady herself. Taraq made a face and stepped away over to some of the other guards. They whispered casually, but Sokka could tell it was an illusion to keep the kids calm. Whoever the kids were.

“What was that?” Yue asked. Sokka shook his head.

“No idea. Aang or Katara, can you guys, like, ask the ice, what that was?” He suggested. Katara made a face.

“That’s not how water bending works.” She replied.

“That’s not even how air bending works,” Aang added. Sokka rolled his eyes.

“Excuse me for trying to build on a tactical advantage.” He set his arms out in front of him and stretched. He needed to stay calm, plus his knee was sore again. The others were looking for his signals that everything was going to be fine. Another jolt shook the walls surrounding them.

“What happens if the Northern Tribe falls?” Yue asked. Her fingers were interwoven so tightly they had turned white. Aang and Katara both looked at Sokka.

“Then I get put back in a cage, and frankly, I don’t fit anymore so we gotta win this one,” Sokka stated. He stood up. “Look, we’re going to be fine. We have almost every tactical advantage here.”

“But sunrise is here,” Katara whispered. “And most water benders struggle to do their best bending then.” And the firebenders will be at their peak… she didn’t need to finish the sentiment. Sokka shrugged.

“We can slice this any way we want.” He offered. “We have some advantages, and so do they. But the guards all trained on swords and spears, so even if we all suddenly lost the ability to bend, we’d still have a shot.”

“I never thought about it like that,” Yue admitted. Sokka smiled.

“Us normal people gotta find a way to stay competitive.” Another rumble shook the ice. Yue shuddered.

“I can go into the avatar state and try to figure out what it is?” Aang suggested. Sokka paused. Aang was probably their best fighter if it came to that, so he wasn’t a huge fan of losing the kid to the avatar state. But they also needed to know what the booming sound was. Sokka wracked his brain. What did the Fire Nation have that could make a sound like that? Nothing came to mind. He bit his lip and nodded.

“Go for it I guess.” Aang nodded happily.

“Yay. I love meditation. I’ll be up in the garden.” Aang scurried away like everything was normal and thousands of firebenders weren’t about to scale the ice wall. Another rumble, this one much louder shook the walls. One of the guards came sprinting into the library.

“Positions. The fire benders have made landfall.” He called. Yue nodded. Her breath quickened. Katara bit her lip.

“Hey, guys, it’s gonna be fine,” Sokka stated. He didn’t believe it either, but he needed to say it anyway. “Katara, this isn’t gonna be like last time.” His sister nodded.

“We should get up to the garden.” She mumbled. She turned for the stairs, but Sokka grabbed her first. He pulled her into a hug.

“It’s going to be different this time.” Sokka wasn’t sure if he was telling her or him. She nodded. Katara pulled out of the hug.

“We’ll be ready if they make it this far.” She manipulated the water around her into two large knives like Sokka carried. He smiled at her. Katara grinned. There was something maniacal in her face. A rumble shook the ground.

“Go now,” Taraq ordered. Katara nodded. Her hands were shaking. She dropped the water she’d been holding up and grabbed Sokka in a hug one more time.

“I love you.” She whimpered. Sokka held her close.

“If you think the tribe is going to fall,” He whispered, “Get Aang, and Yue and run. Don’t wait for me.” Taraq pretended not to hear him. Or maybe he did, and he just didn’t care.

“Sokka no.” She pulled away from the hug. “We’ll find another way. It won’t happen like that. It’ll be fine.”

“You’re exactly right.” He offered. “It’s all going to work out. But just in case it doesn’t, I love you.” Katara nodded.

“I love you too. Go.” Katara turned and headed for the stairs. She iced the door closed behind her.

“They’ll be fine,” Taraq commented. He looked down at Sokka. “How are you feeling? You’re young to be fighting with the warriors, but you’re too young for any of what you’ve been through.” Sokka shrugged.

“We’ll keep them out, we need to.” He glanced out the window overlooking the city. Bells rang all over the city, warning that the wall had been breached. The red of the firebender’s uniforms stood out against the blue ice that formed the city. Sokka bit his lip. They were moving quickly. The front line was pushing straight forward to the palace. The auxilary sides were moving slower, but they’d cover the entire city soon. Any bravado that Sokka had managed to muster fell away with the realization that in all likelihood he’d be in chains again by the next sunrise. He grabbed his knives for comfort. Taraq placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Your father would be so proud of you,” he offered. “You’re not even in my lineage and I’m proud of you.” Sokka laughed. He could feel some tears building up in his eyes. The smell of burning cloth and flame was beginning to drift towards them. Sokka wiped his nose.

“All I did was survive.” He replied. Taraq shook his head.

“That’s more than enough. Let’s do it again, ok?” Sokka nodded. Some tears leaked over.

“I don’t want them to take me alive again,” Sokka admitted. He hated saying it out loud, but it was true. The seal cage. The zoo. The parade. The fire sages. It all stacked up in his mind. “I don’t think I’ll survive it again.”

“Hey.” Taraq knelt before him. “Take a breath with me. You’re Water Tribe. Whatever is coming, I promise you, we will stand with you.” Sokka nodded. He took some shaky breaths. Taraq clasped his shoulder. “Let’s go motivate our troops, ok?” Sokka nodded again. Taraq led him down the hall and past the formations of guards assembling through the palace. The quiet hum of purpose was gone. Reality had set in.

The rest of the Water Tribe warriors had amassed in the courtyard. Sokka could see wolf pelts, bear pelts, and elk pelts on most of the men. Even the women were wearing pelts and ready to take care of the wounded. Facepaint was passed around freely. Taraq frowned when Sokka refused it.

The door separating the palace courtyard from the rest of the city began to shake and smoke. Sokka took a deep breath. It was time.

“Northerners!” Taraq shouted. They answered him in a resounding cry. “Today we fight for the survival of water bending!” They screamed again. Sokka found himself joining in. “Stand with me now, defend our homeland, and repel these invaders!” Taraq raised his spear. The warriors screeched in unison. “If they want to kill you, you kill them first.” The gates of the courtyard began to shake. Flames were rising over the walls. Taraq pointed his spear at the door and the warriors fell into formations with no further communication needed. Sokka’s stomach twisted. He gripped his knives. At least Katara was far from here…

The explosion almost knocked Sokka off his feet. A line of six firebenders lept through what remained of the door. The warriors screamed and surged at them. The fire benders held them off with rows of fire. Ice and fire collided, and the steam rose above the battlefield with the smoke. Sokka took a breath. He clutched his knife. There were so many of them. Taraq turned to him.

“I want you to go reinforce the warriors in the library. You can do the most good there. If it looks like the tribe is going to fall, get Yue, the koi fish, the avatar, your sister, and go. You will not wear chains again.” Sokka nodded. He didn’t turn and run from the battlefield because that would be unbecoming of a warrior. He did conduct a fast-paced tactical withdrawal.

“Move it Southie.”

“Get to your post, we need you.” Warriors shouted words at him in the hall as he passed. Sokka fought the smile off his face. The Northerns could be assholes, but they had their own ways of showing care.

The warriors in the library gave him narrow grins and nods of acknowledgment. The mood was tense. They had a few moments of peace before the boards over the windows exploded. Soldiers tried to scale the wall and enter through the window using ropes. Sokka and the others just dumped water on them before slicing them.

“This is kinda fun.” Someone muttered.

“Not for long,” Sokka replied. The rumble shook the entire building again. What was that? Another set of ropes landed in the window. They couldn’t cut them fast enough. Four firebenders leapt in. The warriors dove for cover. Sokka didn’t. He positioned himself so any fire directed at him wouldn’t touch Katara’s ice door. Sokka pulled his long knives off his belt. Despite the situation, he smiled. Iroh and Piando had drilled him for this exact situation. The numbers were more than he was used to, but he could make this work.

“Hey, you guys should try and shoot me!” He called. The firebenders shouted and sent a wave of burning heat at him. Sokka exhaled and brought his knives together. Toes, turn, elbows out… he coached himself through the movements. Spin and give it back…

The iron in his knives sustained the heat and resent it right back at the soldiers. Sokka wondered if they recognized him yet. They tried again. Sokka responded in turn. More came in through the windows, very poor timing on their part. The firebenders screamed. There was a part of Sokka that pitied them, having fire shot at you was horrifying, and having your own fire redirected at you was the stuff of nightmares. That said, maybe it would do them some good to experience the same nightmares they’d been inflicting on everyone for decades now. The water benders used the break to reform their lines.

“Push forward!” Sokka screamed. They surged together like the crest of a wave. Sokka bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. The fire bender’s first line collapsed, and their second one struggled to get a cohesive blast out for Sokka to even break. They stopped coming through the window. A minute turned into two turned into three and four. The last firebender hit the ground. Sokka put his hands on his knees.

The door to the library began to shake.

“How did they get past the courtyard so quick?” Someone asked.

“They probably went through another window. Everyone in the courtyard is fine.” Sokka decided. Taraq couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t.

“Let’s get it boys.” Someone stated. The door blew open, and burning warmth washed over Sokka. He dove behind a table to protect himself from the flames building up. They hit the door to the moon garden instead. The first layer of ice melted. It gave the waterbenders something to play with though. They sent it right at the soldiers. Sokka took the opportunity and crept back up. Someone landed a spear in the chest of their lead man. They pushed into the firebenders, and the fighting went hand to hand. Sokka kicked and flipped like he was dueling Zuko, but it was oh-so different. His skin burned. Someone had landed a burn on his arm. He grit his teeth.

The sound of a girl screaming cut above everything. Sokka felt his heart stop. Yue! Katara! The screaming kept going. Why were they yelling?

“Sokka go,” Someone called. “We can finish this.” Sokka didn’t hesitate. He pitched himself out of the lines of combat and stood before the ice door. The fire pounded his back and socorched his skin. Three well-placed slashes and he was through. Sokka scrambled back up the stairs. He fell forward and pushed himself back up. He knew his back hurt, but the pain wasn’t registering. Katara, Katara please be ok Katara…

He found his sister unconscious on the ground, Yue was out cold too, and Aang was gone. Panic swallowed Sokka for a minute, and then he came back to himself. He knelt by Katara’s body and clutched her shoulders.

“Katara please wake up, please wake up.” He murmured. Thank the spirits his sister stirred. She licked her lips.

“The one with the scar…Zuko…you were right…he took Aang.” She coughed. Slowly, her eyes opened. Sokka nodded. His brain began to whirl. He needed a plan. Katara grunted in pain, and sat up clutching her head.

“He’s strong. We can’t take him alone.” She whimpered. She rubbed her forehead and grimaced. Sokka smiled.

“Who? Zuko? He’s got his weaknesses like everyone. Let’s get him.”

“How?” She asked. Something caught Sokka’s eye near where Aang had been meditating. A small white carving of Appa. A bison whistle. Aang was a genius.

“Let’s get Aang back.” Sokka decided. He nodded to himself. “Zuko’s gotta learn that his honor has no relation to Aang whatsoever.” He’d get that message through to Zuko or die trying.

“What?” Katara asked. She rose to her knees, and Sokka helped her up.

“Nothing, just thinking aloud. Call, Appa. I’m going to grab Yue.” She was still out cold. They couldn’t leave her here, she’d be defenseless. They'd just need to take her with them. Yue was shockingly light. It was like she barely weighed anything at all. Appa landed in the garden. He groaned loudly.

“I know buddy, let’s go get Aang.” Sokka promised. He looked over his shoulder at the fish. Taraq had said to take them if it came down to it, but how? He’d just need to figure it out later. They weren’t abandoning the tribe yet.

“You speak bison?” Katara asked. She leaped onboard easily and summoned water arms to lift Yue. Sokka scrambled into the rider’s seat. Katara threw their extra tarp over Yue’s body.

“Just the vocabulary. I’m afraid the grammar is too difficult for me.” He smirked at her.

“Why are you so weird?” She asked with a smile. She dropped into the rider’s seat next to him.

“I’m your brother, what does that make you?” He brought the reigns up, and Appa took off. Katara didn’t answer the question.

“We’ll need to go low. Zuko’s wearing all white to blend in with the storms.” Katara advised. She didn’t add that neither sibling wore their parkas. They’d need to move quickly if they wanted to get this done without dying.

“Did he have snow gear on?” Sokka asked.

“No, and he was soaking wet.” She explained.

“Idiot,” Sokka commented. Unless Zuko had figured out that breath-warming trick Iroh was always trying to get him to learn, they were all in danger of freezing to death. Typical Zuko.

“Idiot or not, he’s got Aang.” She weighed in. Sokka shrugged.

“He’s really nice once you get to know him.” Katara shook her head. Sokka supposed that was fair. She didn’t know Zuko like he did.

“There!” How Katara had seen that, Sokka had no idea. But he could see a black top knot carrying a kid clad in orange and red through the snowstorm.

“Drop me in,” Katara ordered. Sokka nodded. She stood and placed her hand on Sokka’s head for balance. With 10 meters to the ground, she jumped and landed right on Zuko. He went down hard. Katara rolled out her momentum and came up gracefully. The Fire Prince climbed to his feet and smirked.

“Here for a rematch?” He asked. Katara made a grab for Aang, but Zuko tossed the avatar into a snow band. Sokka landed Appa and slid off.

“Zuko!” He called.

“Sokka?” Zuko asked. Zuko’s face was covered in wrappings, but Sokka could see weeks of half-healed bruises and cuts on his face. His shoulders rode up to his head.

“Zuko!” Sokka sprinted for him. “I heard you were dead. Don’t scare me like that.”

“Didn’t know you cared.” The Fire Bender drew himself into an opening position. Katara did the same. Sokka skidded to a stop in between them. He left his knives in their scabbards. They’d do him no good here.

“I care a lot Zuko,” He stated softly. Zuko shook his head.

“No, if you really cared, you’d let me take the avatar so I could go home.” He stated. “You got to go home, why can’t I?” Sokka decided now wasn’t the time to explain that he was from the Southern tribe and they were in the North.

“We can’t let you do that,” Katara added.

“Then I’ll eliminate you. The same way I eliminate anyone who stands in between me and my destiny.” Zuko called.

“Zuko capturing the Avatar is not your destiny.” Sokka tried. It was the wrong thing to say. Zuko screamed and threw balls of fire at him. Sokka dodged each one easily. Anger was fueling Zuko, and anger was a difficult fuel source for any firebender.

“How could you leave without saying goodbye?” Zuko shouted. “I’m glad you escaped and I helped Uncle cover your trail but how could you?” There was an unmistakable level of hurt in Zuko’s voice.

“Zuko, I’m sorry.” Sokka began.

“Everyone leaves!” Zuko shouted. Katara made a face. Sokka held a fist behind his back to try to get her to stand down. Everyone here had great reasons to be angry, but they had to find a more productive way to have this conversation. Katara bent the snowbank and pulled Aang’s unconscious body free. His eyes glowed blue and he slumped forward. Zuko’s good eye went from Katara to Sokka and back to Katara. Sokka stepped in front of her protectivly.

“Zuko, this is my sister, Katara. Katara this is my best friend, Zuko.”

“Sister?” He asked. “Since when did you have a sister?” Sokka knew he couldn’t respond to that. “So, are both of you water benders? They missed one?” Zuko sounded genuinely confused. Sokka shook his head.

“No. Zuko, I’m not a water bender.” Sokka’s voice was so calm as he shattered the lie he’d lived with for years. Zuko’s jaw dropped open.

“But all of the reports! How did you fool the Fire Sages?”

“Core strength and luck,” Sokka replied honestly. Zuko looked between the two of them.

“So you lied to me, for years, about everything.” Zuko clarified. He dropped his hands from the opening stance.

“Well…not intentionally.” Sokka tried to explain. Zuko screamed and sent a wall of fire at the siblings.

“Ok. You had your chance. My turn.” Katara stepped in front of Sokka and met Zuko’s fire with a wall of ice. Zuko shrieked and bent something white hot at them. Katara just buried him in the snow. “Grab Aang. I got Mr. Angry.” She stated. She made it three steps before doubling over in pain. “Something’s wrong.” She clutched her stomach.

“Katara, what?” Sokka asked. His sister squeezed her eyes together. She tilted her head to the side and frowned.

“My connection to the spirits.… it's just gone.” She opened her eyes again. “We need to get back to the spirit garden now.”

“Guys…” Aang called. He sat up clutching his head. Katara darted to his side.

“Hey, we’re here.”

“Some guy named Zhao just killed La.” Sokka shook his head. He should have known Zhao would be involved.

“Fucker. Ok. Let’s go people.” Loading the unconscious Zuko was not as easy as it had been with Yue. By some miracle, Aang still had some waterbending. It didn’t make any sense, but Sokka wasn’t the most educated on the spirits so he’d just roll with it.

The storm intensified. The sun had completely disappeared, and Sokka couldn’t tell where the light was coming from. Sokka draped another tarp over Zuko so he wouldn’t freeze. Why was he soaking wet? Katara watched him silently. Her fingers danced through bending movements as she tried to move the snowfall out of their way. Moves she had mastered months ago seemed to exhaust her. The wind whipped Sokka’s wolf’s tail around, and the ice sliced at his eyes.

Aang set them down back in the moon garden. Somehow, Iroh was already there. He was tending to a bleeding Taraq beneath the tree. The man’s face was burned, as was a majority of his chest. His eyes were focused on something beyond them, and his breath was shallow.

“Zuko’s safe. He’s just unconscious.” Sokka called out instantly. Iroh’s shoulders sagged in relief. Aang helped unload the two unconscious teens from Appa’s passenger area. Iroh watched as Sokka set Zuko down gently, and then Sokka hugged the man. Iroh held him for a moment, and Sokka breathed in the smell of jasmine and myrh. Katara’s eyes were narrowed as she watched, but she didn’t say anything. Zuko groaned and then rolled over. Yue just slumbered peacefully.

“Zhao killed the light spirit. I failed to stop him.” Iroh stated. Taraq grunted.

“Stupid man. You prioritized my life over the fish and now nothing is holding Lo back.” He groaned and clutched at one of the burns. Sokka knelt next to him and gently lifted his hands off of it. It needed air if it was going to heal. He squeezed Taraq’s hand, and Taraq squeezed it back.

“We can try to heal La? And you. Where is she?” Katara asked. Taraq raised a finger of his other hand and pointed at the dead fish lying meters away by the water’s edge. Sokka blinked.

“There are dark spirits roaming the city now. They’ll kill us all.” Taraq added. “It’s only a matter of time.” He set his hand down slowly. There was a trickle of blood running from his mouth. Sokka grabbed at some of the snow and forced it into a fall disc shape. Iroh helped him press it against the worst of the burns. Taraq hissed in relief.

Sokka sat back on his heels. They shouldn’t have gone after Aang, but there’d been no other option. The avatar or the spirits, this plan had been flawed from the start. This was all his fault.

“We still need to try.” Katara tried to summon water to her hands as if she were healing, but she couldn’t get the forms to solidify. It fell to the ground with a pathetic splash. She growled and tried again. The water dropped again. Iroh looked at Sokka then to Katara and then back to Sokka. There was an inquisitive look on his face. Sokka nodded, and Iroh smiled.

“Let’s be solutions-oriented here. Aang, you’re the avatar, how do we revive a spirit?” Sokka tried.

“Uhhhh. I don’t think we can. We need to pour the spirit’s life force back into its original container.” He gestured at the dead koi fish lying next to the moon lake. The sounds of screams and pleas for help coming from the city quieted the group for a minute. Sokka spared a little sympathy for the Fire Benders, the warriors had likely all observed the spirits emerging and known to run. Lo was at work, and the results would be devastating.

“That’s the source of all water bending?” The dead fish? Sokka didn’t add that last part out fo respect, but he wanted to. Sokka looked at Taraq. The man had closed his eyes. His breathing was slowing down. “Who decided that?” He asked

“Lo and La.” Yue answered from behind them. She was still sitting down underneath the trees. Her skin was unnaturally pale and her eyes were glazed over. She rose slowly, her robes billowing out around her like a waterfall. Sokka was stunned into silence for a minute, so was everyone else. She turned to Iroh. “Take the Fire Prince and go. Lo’s attacks are about to stop, and I can’t guarantee your safety once my people emerge from hiding.” What was she doing? Yue turned to Katara. “Be ready, you’ll have your full bending back in a moment. You can save Taraq, but only if you act quickly.”

“Yue what are you doing?” Sokka asked. Yue smiled at him as she headed for the water’s edge.

“Same thing you did three years ago.” A look of horror crossed Katara’s face and Sokka knew there was one on his too. She nodded at Iroh. “You’ll know when to go.” Katara and Sokka rushed for Yue, but the Northern Princess froze their feet in place. She still had her full bending abilities. How could she still have her full bending abilities? She began to turn her arms in a motion. Sokka recognized it as a moon dance, but it summoned clouds. Thick fog began to rise up from the water.

“Yue!” Sokka screamed. Katara did the same.

“Iroh.” How did Yue know Iroh? By name? “Go now.” She called. Iroh hugged Sokka tightly.

“You of all people understand what she’s doing. Don’t cheapen her sacrifice.” He ordered. He pressed their foreheads together. Sokka nodded numbly. “Thank you for saving Zuko. I’ll buy you time as you look for an earthbender.” What was going on? Iroh and Zuko vanished.

Suddenly the moon was in the sky. Katara was screaming, Sokka thought he might’ve been screaming too. He couldn’t see Aang. The fog rose around Yue as she waded into the water, she turned and looked over her shoulder.

“It’ll be ok.” She whispered. How could he hear her? Sokka screamed as it all clicked into place, his legs gave out, and he crumbled.

And then it all went quiet. It was just Sokka and Yue standing…they were in the South Pole! Snow fell softly around them, and the moonlight reflected off the ice. The stars were exactly where he remembered them. There was the lookout tower he had built with his friends! There was his igloo. There was the dock for the fishing boats. He was wearing a Southern Style parka. Sokka was home! He pitched his head back and spun around. Yue smiled.

“Did you think I would leave without saying goodbye?” She laughed. Sokka dropped his joy instantly.

“Yue I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. We should’ve brought the fish with us when we went after Zuko.” The words tumbled from his mouth. Yue shook her head.

“Fish need water, idiot. Your sky bision wouldn’t of been able to help with that.” She smirked. How was she so calm? Sokka felt tears rolling down his face.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered. She smiled and took his hands.

“How you’re feeling right now is exactly how Katara’s been feeling. This is neither of your faults.” Oh. Sokka nodded. Yue squeezed his hands.

“I will always be with you.” And then she was gone.

Notes:

Y'all are too good to me in the comments. Every kudos, bookmark notes, and comment truly lifts me up and fills my soul so thank you

Chapter 19: The Wolf Pelt

Sokka blinked the world back into focus. Soft blues and greens dotted the ceiling. The sound of water gently flowing tickled something in his brain. He grimaced as he tried to sit up. Someone had draped a wolf pelt over him. He frowned. Nothing about his actions merited a wolf pelt. They’d won, but it had been a pyhric victory.

“Sokka.” Katara grabbed his hand. They were in one of the healing rooms. Aang sat on the bed next to him.

“What happened?” He gasped out. Yue? Taraq? Iroh? What had happened?

“Yue became the moon spirit.” Katara explained gently. “It saved her life when she was a baby, and...”

“It was enough to restore balance and save us.” Aang finished. Sokka fell back onto his pillows. He wanted to cry. He needed to cry. Yue was gone, or maybe she wasn't? Sokka wasn't the biggest believer in spirits.

“Did Iroh and Zuko?” He couldn’t finish the question. The thought was too horrible to conceptualize.

“They’re fine,” Katara led. “We think. They weren’t among the bodies we recovered. Lo’s forces broke most of the Fire Nation’s momentum.”

“One of them ate Zhao though,” Aang added. A dark look crossed the kid’s face. “He didn’t taste very good.”

“Why do you know that?” Sokka asked. A twinge of sympathy registered in Sokka’s heart for Zhao, and then he remembered the layers of cuts and bruises over Zuko’s face. Iroh would never have allowed any firebender to train to the point of failure like that; only Zhao would have permitted it. He shuddered. Rest In pieces Zhao, you’ll not be missed. Aang smiled.

“I talked to Lo and La. Yue says she’s happy and safe. She’ll light the way for the rest of our travels.”

“That’s cool.” Sokka muttered. That made no sense. His back hurt. Had he taken any burns there? He couldn’t remember. “Is Taraq?”

“He’s fine. I was able to heal him in time.” Katara explained. “He said to come see him when you’re feeling better, and that the wolf pelt is yours.”

“I didn’t earn it though,” Sokka replied. Katara shrugged.

“He’d said you’d say that. He said to tell you you were wrong.” She offered with a grin. Sokka rolled his eyes. A heavy silence hung over the group for a minute. Katara squeezed his hand and smiled. “Hey, we’re gonna be ok.” Sokka squeezed her hand back. Aang moved to sit on Sokka’s bed and placed a hand on each sibling’s shoulder. He smiled. The group pulled into a hug for a moment.

“Yeah. We are.” And for the first time, Sokka genuinely believed it.

It took another day of rest before Sokka was able to leave his bed comfortably. He left the wolf pelt in the healing hall. It wasn’t his. Warriors earned pelts for meritorious actions on the battlefield; Sokka had cried on his first battlefield. That didn’t count. Katara and Aang were busy with the preparations for the next leg of their journey.

“We are bringing so much Water Tribe food with us.” Katara had decided. “And you and Aang are learning to cook.” Sokka agreed. Ming had taught him the basics, but Katara was so much better than him at it. He was ready to get moving again. They had to find an earth-bending master for Aang. Iroh had promised to buy them time, but even he wouldn’t have too much luck there. Ozai would be furious after their loss in the North Pole. Sokka shuddered as he thought about the poor messenger who would deliver the casualty report from the battle. The water tribe has lost warriors, but the Fire Nation’s ranks had been devastated. Aside from losing Admiral Zhao, Iroh and Zuko were the only senior officers who made it out. Sokka hoped none of them had suffered too much. Sure some were assholes like Zhao, but surely some of them had been men like Zun Lo or Ahzu- just good men drafted to share the prosperity of the Fire Nation. After some inner turmoil, Sokka said the prayer of the dead for any of the good men who’d died attacking the North Pole. He didn’t know their names, so it was quick, but it wouldn’t have felt right to leave them out.

Taraq stood next to him as they recited the prayer of the dead for their fallen. Katara stood on the other side with Aang. She held Sokka's hand when they named Yue. Sokka let himself cry a few tears, and Taraq rubbed his back. 

Sokka still wore the healing hall robes a few days later as he wandered through the palace looking for the guard training room. He was mostly healed, but he needed to spar someone. Wrestling calmed him the same way meditation centered Aang. It was hard to feel guilty, or anything for that matter, when you focused only on your opponent and the match. Taraq smiled when he walked in. The others cheered. The captain of the guards pulled him aside.

“I wish they wouldn’t applaud me. It’s my fault Yue is dead.” He whispered. Taraq shook his head.

“It is not.” He replied softly. Sokka shrugged. He understood Katara now, in a way he hadn’t before. The way the layers of guilt wrapped around the inevitable in his brain made it impossible to enjoy anything else. He knew why Yue had done what she’d done, and they were all still alive because of it, but that didn’t make it any easier. Taraq smiled./p>

“What is your fault, though, is that your hair looks ridiculous. Let us fix it for you before you leave.” Sokka smiled back.

“Yeah, I guess I’d better lose the Fire Nation style.” His hair wasn’t actually Fire Nation style. He’d been trying to do a wolf’s tail since he’d been free, but it just wasn’t working. It was either too long, too short, or too soft. He couldn’t figure it out, and he hadn’t wanted to ask.

“Hey boys, the Southie needs a haircut!” Taraq shouted. The others cheered. Someone dragged him over to a stool. Supplies appeared out of nowhere. They had planned this. Northern assholes.

“Your father would have taught you this had you come of age in the South Pole,” Taraq explained. “We can show you the basics until you get to see him again.” Sokka smiled and tugged out the rawhide strip that held his attempt at a wolf’s tail up. His hair puffed out in a small cloud around his head. The layers were choppy and uneven. He'd hacked them in chunks on his third or fourth night free.

“Let’s do it.” He decided. It was surprisingly easy now that his hair had its natural texture again. He’d been close; he just hadn’t realized that he needed to fluff the layers. It seemed like a very un-warrior-like step for the main warrior hairstyle.

“You look awesome.” Someone stated once Taraq had finished.

“So good."

“South Pole girls will be tripping over themselves.” One of the guards from the library agreed.

“And the North Pole girls.” Someone else added. Sokka smiled.

“Girls in general.” Another replied. Taraq fought back a laugh. 

“Good. Our priorities are straight." He straightened up. "Anyway, we also have something for you.”

“And if you refuse, we’ll be offended.” Another guard chimed in. Taraq pulled the wolf pelt out of his bag. Sokka made a face. Why was everyone so obsessed with this?

“Sokka, of Wolf’s Cove, son of Hakota and Kya, grandson of Kanna, please accept this Wolf Pelt from the warriors of the North in recognition of our deep respect for your contributions during the siege by the Fire Nation.” He began. “And for your courageous actions of preserving water bending in the South Pole.” They all looked so excited. Sokka glanced around. He couldn’t disappoint them. He didn’t deserve the pelt.

“I cried on the battlefield.” He admitted. “That’s like the opposite of meritorious actions.” Taraq shook his head.

“Most people cry on their first battlefield. That’s normal.” He explained. The man smiled.

“What isn’t normal is how you saved us in the library,” someone added. “We’d of been dead without your efforts.” Sokka felt tears welling up in his eyes. It was all too much.

“Can we please put this on you?” Taraq asked. Sokka nodded and burst into tears. No one was mad at him? No one found fault with how he'd survived in the Fire Nation? They were actually proud of him? It was all too much to hope for. Taraq draped the pelt over his shoulders and hugged him. “I’m so proud of you.” He whispered. The warriors cheered and swarmed him in the middle of a hug.

Sokka wasn’t sure where home was anymore. Yes, it would always be the South Pole, but home had also become Iroh’s dining room when they played Pai Sho; then it was anywhere he was with Katara and Aang; now it was here in the North Pole’s training room too. So Sokka cried, and just let himself be with his fellow warriors.

Notes:

Originally, i planned to post this chapter later on, but i figured with all the chaos of the holidays/finals/end of the quater people could use some escapism and if I can contribute to that I will

Chapter 20: Bato

Summary:

A water tribe boat washes ashore where the gaang is making camp.

Sokka stretched out on Appa’s back and admired the starlight. He admired the moon, too, but that would have been like calling Yue beautiful. He didn’t need to say it aloud.

They’d made camp for the night on a little beach cove. Aang was washing dishes while Katara practiced a bending movement meters away. It had been a good day. They’d been having good days for a while. Another day or two, and they’d reach the Earth Kingdom. Aang had suggested they stop back off at Kyoshi Island to see if Suki had managed to find anyone who could at least help him get the introductory movements of the earth bending down.

He’d even stopped wearing the wrist wraps. Katara still stared at his wrists sometimes, but she seemed to have made peace with his choices. He’d made peace with that choice in the seal cage roughly an hour after it had happened, but he was glad she was finally catching up.

Sokka exhaled and closed his eyes. Everything was going to be okay. The sound of a crackling fire and waves crashing on the shore told him it was safe to sleep. He was back in his water tribe clothes. His wrists felt light for the first time. A cool breeze came in off the ocean, bringing fresh air. Sokka rolled over and then bolted back up. Something in the air shifted.

“Guys, there’s a water tribe boat out there,” Katara called softly. Sokka bolted upright.

“What?” He scrambled down Appa’s sides to stand near Katara. Aang beat him there. Should he take a defensive stance? They were water tribe; he shouldn’t. But how was a Water Tribe boat this far north? It didn’t make any sense.

“It’s getting closer,” Aang whispered. Sokka’s fingers danced around his knives, and Katara glanced at him.

“It looks Southern.” She offered. Sokka shook his head. His body made the call before his mind did, and his fingers clenched around the knives.

“Could be a trap.” Defensive stance it was. He pulled a knife from its sheath. The scars on his wrists tingled.

“Let’s spring the trap then,” Katara decided. She narrowed her eyes and began a more extended series of bending moves that Sokka knew would take over the tides and pull the boat in close. Aang frowned.

“How would anyone have followed us?” He asked. Sokka blinked. Sometimes he forgot how young the kid was. Or maybe he forgot how old he was. It was hard to say.

“Zuko doesn’t give up. Ever. He’s stubborn and, worse, pretty creative for a firebender.” Sokka explained. Floating a fake water tribe boat towards him was exactly something Zuko would do. Sokka let his mind run through possible attacks and their counters. Every idea his mind suggested would have been strengthened by having Zuko at his side. He widened his stance. There was movement on the boat; someone raised their head, someone familiar. Brown scraggly hair popped over the side; Sokka knew the man; where did he know him from?

“Katara?” The man called. His sister dropped her stance.

“Bato?” Her mouth hung open. His eyes lingered on Sokka for a minute.

“It can’t be...Sokka?" Sokka nodded numbly. His fingers were frozen around his knives. Bato, the man who had held him that day at the South Pole. Bato had tried to hide his face so that he wouldn’t see his mother and father on their knees. Bato, who had lost his grip on Katara so she’d been able to bend—no, that wasn’t healthy. Sokka cut that thought off where it lay.

Bato stepped closer to Sokka and extended a hand towards his jawline. Sokka stepped back, and his hands clenched around his knives. Bato dropped his hand. Katara rushed at Bato and wrapped her arms around him, his eyes still hanging on Sokka.

“Sokka…how?”

“Long story.” He offered. Sokka swallowed. His tongue felt like cotton in his mouth. Katara pulled back.

“Come sit by the fire. We’ll tell you everything.” Katara grabbed Bato by the hand and began leading him to the fire. Aang waved.

“Hi. I’m Aang.”

“Hi. I’m Bato.” He glanced at Sokka. Katara pulled Bato down and began asking questions.

“Where’s dad? Why are you this far north?” Katara grabbed the leftovers from the evening meal and began ladling some out for Bato. Bato tugged his gloves off and smoothed out his parka. Sokka watched him take the bowl and thank Katara. Bato was essentially his uncle. Why did this feel so uncomfortable? Why couldn't his hands relax? He fidgeted in his tunic. Should he explain why he was weaning Water Tribe clothes again?

“We’ve been patrolling the fishing routes looking for any sign of Fire Nation boats or schools of fish. The food stores are running low again.” Bato sipped at the stew. His face was thinner than Sokka remembered. Strands of scraggly hair fell from his wolf’s tail like Sokka’s had when he’d been in the cell under the palace. “One boat was damaged in a storm. I tried to fix it and got blown off course. I’d been floating for a few days when I saw your fire.”

“We can help fix it,” Katara suggested automatically. Sokka and Aang nodded.

“Absolutely,” Aang added. Bato turned to Sokka,

“I don’t even know where to begin...how are you here?” He asked. Sokka rocked his shoulders down. He had nothing to hide.

“I escaped the Fire Nation a few months ago. I’ve been with Katara and Aang since then.” He left it there. Sokka could feel Bato’s eyes on him. Instinctively, his hands clenched around the knives on his belt. Bato was unarmed. Sokka wasn’t. Instantly, he hated the thought. He had earned a wolf pelt from the Northern Tribe and was prepared to be defensive against his (unarmed) dad’s best friend. What kind of warrior was he?

“I’m sure that wasn’t easy,” Bato replied. Sokka shrugged. He stretched his legs out in front of himself. He was ready for a topic change. Katara came through.

“Is dad ok? How is he?” Bato nodded.

“He misses you, both of you.” He looked at Sokka. Something in his stomach tightened. Bato cleared his throat. “So. Katara. You’ve improved your bending a lot.” Katara nodded.

“Yep! I’m a water-bending master now. I’m even teaching Aang.”

“She’s a great teacher,” Aang added. Sokka smiled and nodded.

“She’s even got healing abilities too." He added. Bato smiled.

“Then the future of the Southern Tribe is secure.” He looked over at Sokka. “Thanks to both of your efforts.” Sokka shrugged. Bato kept talking. “I’m sorry that such a burden came onto you two when you were young.” Sokka shrugged again. This wasn’t a conversation worth having.

“Well. I’m exhausted. And we have a long day of fixing the boat tomorrow, so I’m going to bed.” Sokka stood up. Bato opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Katara stood up, too.

“I’ll take the first watch.” She offered. “Aang or Sokka, do you want second?”

“I’ll take the third watch.” Bato volunteered automatically. “No sense in having any of you up when the night is at its coldest and darkest.” Sokka nodded. They usually had Aang do the pre-dawn watch as it best aligned with his mediation schedule. Plus, he didn’t get cold the way the rest of them did. Sokka was about to say something when Aang smiled.

“That’s nice of you. Thanks.” So Sokka just smiled and nodded instead.

“Katara, I can take the second. Aang, you good with dawn?”

“Absolutely.”

“Alright then. Good night, everyone.” Sokka scrambled up Appa’s side and collapsed onto his back. He stared at the moon. He could almost see Yue’s face staring down back at him. She wasn’t pleased. Sokka brought his hands up to his forehead. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t jump back into the Southern Tribe and expect everything would be exactly how it had been when he left. He was an entirely different person now. It would be silly to pretend that the three years he’d spent with the Fire Nation had no effect. Aang leaped up beside him.

“There’s always going to be an adjustment period.” He noted. He didn’t wait for Sokka to reply. “Sometimes it’s weird for me too. But every time, it gets a little easier.” Sokka laughed into his hands. The boys lay on Appa in silence. Sokka rolled over. Aang was right. He sighed. The fire crackled. Sokka shut his eyes and tried to let sleep wipe away the exhaustion of the interaction. Should he have hugged Bato? No, that would have been weird. He shouldn’t have grabbed at his swords, though. Or maybe he had been right to do so? He had to be gentle with himself. He would never work a muscle too hard, and this was kind of similar. Sokka grit his teeth. He missed Iroh and Ming. They would have known what to say. Sokka heard the soft rustle of sand that signaled Katara and Bato standing up.

“How is he?” Bato murmured. The breeze blew cold against Sokka’s skin. He froze. This was it. Katara was going to say that he was weak and he'd need to go back to the Northern Tribe when this was over because he wasn't a real Southern anymore. His heart beat loudly in his ears.

“You can ask him yourself,” Katara replied. Sokka's muscles relaxed. Katara was many things, but most of all, his sister was not a snitch. “These things take time.”

“They do,” Bato replied. “They most certainly do.”

Notes:

Bato's back!

Chapter 21: Sails

Summary:

Bato and Sokka finally talk.

Fixing the boat was easier than they thought. The sails had just been torn in a few places, and Bato knew how to fix them; they just needed supplies. Katara suggested they walk into town together to get Bato's ties for his sails while Aang mediated. Aang's quick nod meant that she had already pitched the idea to him and set it up so they could talk as Southerners. Sokka hated that his sister was smart.

Bato didn’t even wait until they were on the main road away from camp.

“Sokka, Katara tells me you’re quite good with knives now.” He led. Sokka nodded.

“I’m better with a sword, but the knives were all I could escape with.” He explained. Why was he explaining this? Bato hadn’t asked.

“It’s a wonder you escaped at all,” Bato replied. “They took generations of water benders, and none returned to us.” Bato’s tone was measured. Sokka narrowed his eyes. Was he implying that Sokka was some kind of spy? It was fair to be suspicious. Generations of water-bending masters taken over the years and the only one who made it back was the one taken as a child who wasn’t actually a bender? That was suspicious. Sokka didn’t totally blame him.

“I had help.” Sokka softly explained. “There are some good people in the Fire Nation.” He smiled at the thoughts of Zun Lo, Ming, Ursa, and Ahzu, and…really, so many people had helped him. Bato smiled.

“I’m glad to hear it. We’ve seen too much evil from them in recent years.” They kept walking. Sokka bit his lip. Why was this so hard?

“How’s dad?” Katara asked. Bato smiled.

“He misses you both. We all do. There were rumors of the avatar traveling with two water tribe members. We never thought it could be you two.” Sokka bit his lip. If the rumors had reached the water tribe boats, then the Fire Nation spies would know too. Sokka mulled the thought in his mind before he exhaled. They already had that information from Kyoshi Island. That was fine. No tactical edge was lost there. “If you’d like, you can sail with me as I return to the fleet. I know he’d love to see you.” Sokka’s brain froze. He could…see dad? Like actually seeing him and hugging him? Sokka glanced at Katara. Yes, they had a mission with Aang, but maybe they could take a detour. Katara had a similar look on her face before it vanished.

“Sozin’s comet.” She commented bitterly. Bato made a face.

“What?”

“Sozin’s comet. It’s coming this summer, and it’ll give all of the Fire Benders a boost in their bending.” She explained. “If Aang hasn’t stopped Ozai by then, the Fire Nation will be able to wipe out the Earth Kingdom entirely.”

“And then they’ll turn their attention to the Water Tribes.” Sokka continued. And with the entire might of the Fire Nation being hurled against it, the North’s wall would crack. Yue’s sacrifice would have been for nothing. It would be the complete end of water bending. Taraq would be killed or dragged off in chains, and so would every other bender. Those little kids bending snow drifts at each other when their teachers weren’t looking would end up in the zoo. Sokka couldn’t let that happen. He shook his head to clear out the thoughts of the zoo. They would defeat Ozai. They had to. Bato stopped walking. He turned to face the siblings.

“How do you know this?” Bato asked, his voice was chilling. It reminded Sokka of when ash began falling from the sky, and Dad told him that the Fire Nation ships were coming. Bato believed them, trusted them; he just needed to know where the information came from. Sokka gestured towards Katara. This was her intel, not his.

“Aang and I met some Fire Sages who used to serve Avatar Roku.” She offered. Sokka nodded.

“Ozai and the Fire Sages don’t really get along.” Sokka continued. “No one ever explained it to me, but basically, Ozai wasn’t supposed to be the Fire Lord. Something changed, and the Fire Sages who spoke against Ozai were either punished or…” He let his words trail off. Bato nodded.

“I’m glad you’re telling me this. Sokka, your knowledge of Fire Nation politics is…a considerable asset, to say the least.” Bato began walking again. Sokka could see the gears in his mind turning like they spun in Sokka’s mind. He hadn’t thought too far ahead in their plan, but getting Aang to Ozai so they could duel would be a process. Stealth would likely be their best option, depending on their resources. They’d need to enlist anyone they could find, and the Water Tribes Warriors would be first on the list.

“Thanks.” Sokka beamed. He was an asset! He had earned a Wolf Pelt from the Northern tribe, and he wasn’t weak.

They reached the market, and Sokka mentally raised his guard as they mixed with the villagers. Who watched them too closely? Who seemed like they would be a spy for the Fire Nation? Idioit, he chided himself; the Fire Nation wouldn’t put spies in some no-name village; at least, they probably wouldn’t. Rolling through the smaller villages would be much easier, offering a reward for any information about Aang. Or they could disseminate wanted posters of their group. Enough Fire Nation court artists knew what Sokka looked like that he would be easy to draw. Aang…well, the kid stood out like a sore thumb in his orange jumpsuit. Not that Sokka would ever suggest he take it off. He’d basically gone feral when his parka had been taken from him, and even the thought of losing his tunic strips had been enough to put him in a mood through the years. The kid had been through so much. The least Sokka could do was be supportive of him.

“We should stock up on rations while we’re here, too. Our perishables are running low.” Katara offered. She smirked at Sokka.

“Don’t look at me,” he replied. “I eat the jerky sticks. Aang is the one who only eats apples.”

“He eats rice, too!”

“Not in a meat broth, he doesn’t,” Sokka replied. It was one of his favorite things about Aang. He always split his meat helpings between Sokka and Katara. Well, that and the kid never asked questions that Sokka would be uncomfortable answering. Sokka glanced at the wanted posters hanging along the village’s center area. Like always, he checked for their faces. Nothing. He exhaled. Bato nodded at him.

“Smart to check, but this far South, I would be shocked if anyone were tracking you.”

“We can’t take the risk,” Sokka replied. He finished a scan of the posters and turned to Bato. The older man put a hand on his shoulder.

“I wish such a burden hadn’t come down on someone so young.” Sokka wondered what burden he was talking about. Was this more guilt from him saving Katara? Or just over the whole situation?

“But it did,” Sokka replied. “And now we move forward.” It seemed like the only appropriate thing to say. Bato blinked.

“That we do.” He squeezed Sokka’s shoulder. Sokka nodded. “Let’s get the ties. You’ll need to learn how to fix the sails on a Southern Water Tribe vessel.” Sokka groaned.

“Do I really?”

“Yes!” Bato steered him towards one of the leather smiths and began explaining something about grades of leather. The knowledge ticked in his brain. He could remember someone holding him up so he could see the knotting of the ties along the sail. Bato pointed to the grain in the leather as an indicator of quality. “Any of this sound familiar?” He asked. Mom used to scrape the hides of seals so they could make sails out of them. Sokka used to play with Katara next to her while she did it. His job had been to hold the oil jar. Sokka nodded. “Good. And even if it were all new, you’re still Water Tribe. It’s in your blood.”

“I know,” Sokka replied. Iroh had said the same thing.

Bato showed them how to thread the leather strips through whalebone needle and weave it through the sails to stitch the fabric back together. Katara was better at it than Sokka. Bato said that was normal. Katara had learned from Gran Gran and Mom and had been able to practice. Bato boosted her up into a mess of ropes to finish the job. He turned to Sokka. “How are you with spears?”

“Eh.”

“Take some of the extras from the boat. They’re similar to knives in terms of usage. You might need them.” Sokka nodded.

“Can you show me?” He asked. Spears were one of the weapons that the Southern Tribe specialized in, but the Fire Nation didn't use them. Sokka had thought about asking iroh if he could drill with a spear or a club sometime like their warriors but he also kind of knew the answer would be no. Spears and clubs were the forte of every one of the South's warriors. Bato's eyes lit up.

“I’d love to.”

As the afternoon bled into the evening, Aang and Katara watched as Bato and Sokka paced around each other, each holding a blunted spear.

“Your feet move lightly. You’re a natural.” Bato commented. He lunged forward, and Sokka dodged easily. The spear balanced like a long knife in his hand. A knife that he could only stab with and could block incoming blows with, at least. Sokka smirked. He tried to move in on Bato but the man just shifted to the side so that Sokka’s body collided with his hip. Bato released him, and Sokka backed up.

“It’s so different than swords.” He noted. “The balance, the movement, all of it.”

“Interesting,” Bato replied. He went in for another attack, and only years of footwork drills forced on him by Piando got Sokka out of it. Sokka rolled to the side and came up quickly. “You have a unique style. It’s got Southern and Northern and something else all blended together.” Sokka laughed.

“That would be Fire Nation.”

“They taught you to fight?”

“Prince Iroh did, yeah.”

“Why?” Bato let his guard down in genuine confusion. Sokka went in with a leg sweep. Bato barely jumped in time. He smiled.

“Not really sure.” He smiled at the thought of Iroh. Why had the man insisted he learn combat skills? Initially, he said it was basic self-defense skills, but they had gone beyond that quickly. Honestly who took a prisoner and gave him a knife? It wasn't just and Iroh move, Ming had been giving him knives in the kitchen as long as he'd been helping her in there. “He’s the reason I made it out, though.” Bato nodded.

“Then he is a friend of the Southern Water Tribe.”

“He is.” Sokka held many uncertainties in his mind. But he knew Iroh was a friend to the Water Tribes, both of them.

Bato stayed with them one more night before it was time to get moving again. Katara embraced him as they all stood by the boat.

“Please tell our dad you saw us. And that we’re safe and that we miss him.”

“Of course. You both just promise me to stay safe.” Sokka stepped up by Bato. Bato opened an arm to him, and Sokka let himself be pulled in. The scent of seal skin furs filled Sokka's mouth. A tear escaped his eye. Sokka pressed his forehead against Bato’s chest.

“We will,” Sokka answered. Bato clutched their heads for a moment and stared into their eyes. Brown eyes so dark that Sokka could basically see his own reflection staring back at him. Bato smiled.

“Hey, avatar, get in here.”

“Good, I was starting to feel left out,” Aang commented. He joined the huddle. The group laughed.

“I can only imagine how proud your dad is going to be once I tell him everything you’re getting up to. I know I’m proud.” He clasped Sokka's head the same way Taraq had, and then jumped back up into the boat. Bato made the motion look so effortless.

"I'll use the tides to get you out into the wind." Katara offered. "Should get you going quicker." Bato nodded.

"Spoken like a true water bender. Sokka, Aang, we'll see you soon!" He called. Sokka smiled and waved. Something pinged in his heart. This was different...and the similar to the way it had been last time. Katara took a bending stance and began to move the water. Bato watched her overtake the tides. Something passed over his face. Oh. Bato and Dad had been little kids when the last benders were taken. They'd never seen the Tribe at full strength. Sokka set his shoulders. They were on the way to fixing that. "Take care of yourselves!" Bato yelled. The waves almost drowned his voice out. Katara strained with effort. Bato grabbed one of the ropes from the mast and pulled. The boat pushed through the breaks.

"Be safe! We love you!" Katara screamed. Sokka nodded.

"Tell Dad we'll all be together again soon!" he added. Bato managed one more wave before he disappeared behind a wall of water. Katara slumped to the ground. Sokka stared over the horizen where he knew Bato would be headed. "We ready to move out?"

"I call dibs on the best sleeping spot." Katara panted. "That was so hard." Aang looked at her.

"Are you ok?" His brow scrunched up.

"Yeah. You know. Massive bending movements are a lot."

"I had no idea." Sokka declared. He let Katara lean on him as she climbed up Appa's side. She starfished out on Appa's saddle. Sokka followed her. Aang leapt up without trouble. Sokka unrolled the map and traced the line Bato would take back North to their father, and the line they needed to take to Ba Sing Se. "Ok. We're going East."

"Yip yip."

Notes:

:)

Chapter 22: The Machine

Summary:

The group gets an Earth bending teacher for aang, they find wanted posters, and meet another fire bender.

“Fuck” Sokka stared at the wanted posters hung on the town square of some Earth Kingdom region.

“What’s wrong.” Katara was by his side in an instant. There were the usual “Help us find the avatar, and we’ll reward you” propaganda posters from the Fire Nation, but the posters that drew his attention featured two familiar faces. “Oh.” Iroh and Zuko’s faces were displayed with an insane reward. “Treason? When did they commit treason?”

“Probably something in the Northern Tribe. Or Ozai just wanted to get rid of them.” Sokka replied bitterly. It wasn’t a good picture of either Zuko or Iroh. Zuko’s scar was on the wrong side, and the choppy ponytail made him look slightly unhinged. To be fair, he had been a little unhinged the last time they’d seen each other, but that wasn’t normal for Zuko. Iroh’s portrait made him look way older. The artist hadn’t captured any of his laugh lines, and there was a sternness in his gaze that Sokka never remembered seeing.

“Why would Ozai exile his heir and then offer a reward for his capture?” The new girl asked. “That’s stupid.” Sokka bit his lip. How detailed did he want to be in this answer? Aang could dance around delicate topics, and Toph had the inverse ability. Her knack for identifying painful subject matter was substantial. Maybe it was an Earth bender thing, though Sokka didn’t know many Earth benders. He figured part of it was her inability to see facial cues, and part of it was just a lack of caring.

“Ozai gave Zuko that scar, too. He’s a monster, and he’s all about causing the maximum amount of pain possible.” Sokka answered. “He’s wanted Zuko out of the succession as long as I was around. This is just a convenient excuse to do it.” Katara stared at the posters for a moment. Sokka glanced around them. No one seemed confused about why four kids were intensely discussing something near the wanted posters, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

“Let’s head back to camp.” He suggested. Katara met his eyes. She nodded.

“Good call.” They walked back quickly, and the conversation resumed the second they were hidden in the sea of pine trees.

“So, who would be hunting us now?” Katara was asking the right question. “Zuko needed Aang to restore his honor. But if his honor isn’t available anymore…” Her voice trailed off.

“Ozai has another kid. Azula. She’s psychotic, to say the least. I think he’ll send her after us.”

“Why?”

“She’s a Fire Bending prodigy, and with Zuko out of the way, she’s next in line for the throne.” Silence hung over the group for a minute in the crowded marketplace. Sokka bit his lip. His brain began running new calculations. Avoiding Zuko hadn’t been easy, but he had trusted that Iroh was steering the ship. Now, the guard rails were gone.

“They are a fucked up family,” Toph summarized. She dropped down to the ground as they arrived back at their camp. Sokka threw his head back and laughed.

“You don’t know the half of it.” He replied. Katara shifted her weight, and Sokka immediately stopped. He could make those jokes with Aang, and he suspected that he would be able to make them with Toph eventually, but they always made Katara look a little uncomfortable, which was the last thing Sokka wanted.

“How much does this change?” Katara asked. “We’re still being hunted. Aang still needs to learn Earth bending and then Fire bending. So the sister is after us instead of the brother?”

“In theory, nothing,” Sokka replied. “But Iroh could have stopped Zuko from crossing certain lines. Azula…” His voice trailed off. He recalled Azula pouting when she couldn't watch the Earth benders be arrested and tortured. Yeah, Azula would have no trouble crossing those lines.

“So we just keep moving.” Aang decided. “I can learn Earth Bending anywhere.” He gestured around to the rocks and dirt around them. Toph smirked.

“That’s our only option.” Katara agreed. Sokka sighed. It wasn’t his best plan. It relied too much on luck and the unlikely odds that Azula would be incompetent. Sokka thought back to what he knew about the Fire Princess. She was many things, but she was deadly competent at bending, and Sokka would guess that extended into other areas, too.

They got lucky for a little while. Azula proved to be every bit as relentless as Sokka feared. She and her cronies had some kind of mechanized horse that let them ride without stopping. The days bled together quickly. They traveled at night, and Katara summoned fogs to cover them. No one slept. They would land, camp, and hear the machine's whirring looming beyond the trees. Katara nearly broke down on the third day.

“How are they tracking us?” Her voice trembled, and Sokka pulled her in a hug. Deep circles had appeared under Katara’s eyes. No one had slept for more than a few hours since they’d first spotted Azula. The constant bending took it out of Katara, and Sokka knew he didn’t look much better. Toph and Sokka could take turns sleeping on Appa, but Aang and Katara had to keep the fog up. Appa kept them moving.

Aang sept them down in a small cove with rocky outcroppings. Tactically, it should be impossible for Azula to see them. She was probably using some bending magic, and they would be on the move again soon. They slept for three blissful hours before the whirring sounded again. Appa whined.

“I know you’re exhausted, buddy. Hang in there.” Aang pleaded as he rubbed the bison’s head. Sokka threw a bedroll to Aang and then boosted Toph up. He sent Katara up after her, and she pulled him in.

“Let’s just fight them,” Sokka suggested. “We’re only getting more tired.” The group looked at each other. Katara shrugged. Aang nodded.

“Love it.” Toph pitched herself off of Appa and took a fighting stance on the ground. The front door of the machine opened, and Azula stepped out. She’d grown and wore the golden headpiece of the imperial heir to the Fire Lord and a personalized armor set.
Sokka didn’t recognize the two girls with her. One wore pink, and the other wore black.

“Well. Do you surrender?” Azula asked. “We’re on a schedule here. The Fire Nation-” Toph cackled and manipulated the Earth beneath the machine to throw her up in the air. Azula merely stepped to the side. Katara flung water at her. Sokka let the benders squabble. He glanced at the other two girls. The one in black smirked.

“Didn’t recognize you without the prison jumpsuit.” She commented. Sokka laughed.

“Not really my color.” He replied. She tossed two throwing knives at him, and he dodged them easily.

“So someone did train you. The rumors were true.”

“Or you’re just not as good as you think.” He didn’t have any knives to waste on throwing them at her. Maybe she could scavenge the ones she threw at him? Katara’s shouting broke his concentration. Blue lightning shot from Azula’s hands as she whirled around. Azula could summon lightning? Since when?

The Princess haphazardly threw lightning at Toph and Katara, leaving scorch marks along the ground. Appa rose up on his hind legs and swatted at the machine. It tilted back and forth, and Sokka willed it to tip over before it before it finally stopped rocking.

“Yeah, I agree. Let’s go, buddy.” Aang called. The girl in black glanced back at Azula. Sokka smirked, an enemy distracted was an opportunity presenting itself. He dropped back and boosted Toph up into Appa’s saddle while Katara covered him. Then she used his shoulder to push herself up and pulled him in.

“Bye!” Sokka called to the girl in black. She glared. Sokka resisted the urge to wave and grabbed the handles of the saddle.

“Sokka! Come on now, your old cell misses you!” Azula shrieked from the ground. She sent a beam of fire up them, and Katara blocked it with a wall of water. The movement threw her off balance, and Sokka grabbed her so she wouldn't go flying. Appa began to speed away. “My father misses his favorite pet fire monkey!” Sokka growled. Something took over inside and he wretched one of Bato’s spears out of their place and sent it sailing at Azula. It narrowly missed her head. He cursed himself; what a waste of a spear.

“Fuck you!” Katara beamed a jet of water straight at Azula. It missed, but just barely.

“Get down!” Aang screamed. He pulled the clouds in around them, and the machine vanished. Sokka slumped down beside Katara as a sob escaped from one of them. The cloud settled on them, and mist appeared on Katara’s hair. The siblings glanced at each other.

“I’m good. You good?” He asked. He was not, in fact, good, but he would never show that to Katara. Toph was just sitting there.

“Never better.” Katara spat. She pushed herself up onto her knees. She was still doubled over and panting. Sokka bit his lip. She was in no condition to bend.

“Aang, I can steer Appa. Can you help with the cover?” Sokka suggested. Aang nodded. The kid’s body trembled.

“Sounds good.” Aang slumped to the ground near Katara, and his eyes fluttered. He made a half-hearted effort to pull the cloud around them and slumped to the ground. Sokka slid onto Appa’s head to steer, and the fur shed off in his hands. He lifted a hand slowly as the fur blew off. Oh. Oh. OH.

“I know how they’re tracking us!” Sokka shouted. “Appa’s shedding.” Aang sat right up.

“We can brush him out.” He suggested. Katara rubbed her eyes.

“What?” She gasped. Sokka navigated Appa through the air for another few minutes. They just needed to put enough space between them and the machine…but how much was enough?
He wasn’t sure. He rested his head in his hands as Appa sat down. How was the bison still going? He needed more sleep than the rest, and he was making do with much less.

Appa slumped down as they touched the ground. Aang began digging through a bag.

“We used to keep brushes here…” He pulled one out. “I knew it!” Aang tossed a brush to Sokka, and they ran it over Apps’s head. “Toph, Katara, that’ll go quicker if you help.” Katara groaned. Aang threw her his brush and pushed small puffs of air at Appa, sending the fur flying. “I can take the extra and create a fake trail. I’ll go off my glider and find you guys later.”

“Good idea.” Sokka’s entire body ached. His head was pounding. He was going to sleep for days once they were through this. Sokka ran the brush over Appa’s face, and the fur peeled off in droves. How had they missed this?

“Toph. Come on.” Katara called.

“How is my problem?” The girl replied. “He’s not my bison.” Sokka paused. What was she saying? The energy deflated from the group.

“Appa has been carrying you for weeks, and now he needs you.” Aang’s voice was rising. “We need you.” Sokka froze.

“Not my problem,” Toph called down. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and curled up in Appa’s saddle. Aang blinked. His throat trembled. Sokka put up his hands. They all needed to take a breath.

“Then I think you should go.” Aang’s voice was icy.

“Aang.” Sokka tried to step in. They needed Toph, and they were all tired. Something was up, and miscommunications were happening. If they could all just take a deep breath…

“No. Appa has been carrying us for weeks. We can nap while he flies; he can’t.” Aang waved his glider like a staff. Exhaustion that had bubbled under the surface spilled over. “It's not fair.”

“Yeah,” Katara called. She put her hands on her hips the way their mom used to do when she was mad. Sokka looked at her. This wasn’t helpful.

“Fine. I don’t want to be part of your stupid little group anyway.” Toph jumped off Appa’s back and began heading for the treeline. Sokka pressed his forehead to his palms. This was bad. This was very bad. Aang began shoving the shed fur into a sack.

“We don’t need her.”

“Don’t we?” Sokka asked. He stopped grooming Appa and rubbed the bison’s head. Appa pushed back into his touch.

“We’ll figure something out,” Aang stated. “She was probably a bad teacher anyway.” Sokka shrugged. He couldn’t argue there. Toph didn’t have the temperament for teaching. This was still happening too quickly. Aang grabbed his glider.

“I’ll find you in a day or so.” He called over his shoulder.

“Can he fly when he’s that tired?” Katara asked. Apparently, the answer was yes. The siblings watched as Aang leaped up into the sky. Sokka rubbed his forehead. Everything about this was headache-inducing. Maybe that was the sleep deprivation talking.

“Come on. We need to move.” Sokka clasped Katara’s shoulder. “We’ll find somewhere to hide out so Appa can sleep.” Katara nodded.

They slept well for the first time in days. Katara was out by the time Appa sat down in a clearing and Appa himself wasn’t far behind. The flying bison got his feet on the ground and promptly shut his eyes. Sokka couldn’t even bother sliding off Appa. He crawled back to the saddle and laid down next to Katara. The moon shone down on them, and for the first time in days, Sokka let himself exhale. There was no distant sound of whirring tracking them, and hopefully Azula would struggle given the setback. Perseverance was Zuko’s forte, not her’s. Sokka tilted his head back and studied the moon’s glow. He hoped it was shining down on Aang, too.

Notes:

do i like how this chapter turned out? Eh. But it needed to happen to keep us moving to get to the three arcs that i actually want to write and am excited about writing so

Chapter 23: Azula

“Sokka, get up. I can hear something.” Katara shook Sokka. Her voice was hushed. Sokka opened his eyes and blinked into the sunlight. It had to be late morning now. He rolled onto his stomach. Appa growled. The faint whirring of the machine could be heard over the bird chirping. Sokka grit his teeth. They’d spilt up, and so had Azula’s pack. The whirring got louder. “Run or fight?” Katara asked.

“Fight,” Sokka replied. “I have no idea how they tracked us without Appa’s fur. We won’t rest until we’ve destroyed their ride.” Katara nodded and summoned a halo of water around herself.

“Good. I thought they were annoying anyway.”

“Ironically, I don’t remember ever meeting them while I was in the Fire Nation. So I have no idea why they’re taking this so personally.” Sokka commented. He grabbed his knives. “If you distract them with water bending, I can drop in on them from above.” He slid off Appa’s side. Mentally he ran their odds. This was about to be three on two, and the element of surprise would be helpful but there wasn't much else that they could do. Katara followed, water tendrils snaking out behind her as if they were her own kind of knives.

“Good plan. Who knows? Honestly, I just want to fight them.” Katara replied. Sokka paused. Katara wasn’t usually prone to violence. “What?”

“Nothing. Let’s get them.” Sokka replied. He began scaling the nearest tree. Katara took a fighting stance in the clearing, and Appa made a similar one behind her. They didn’t need to wait long. The machine rolled out. Sokka smirked. It halted in front of Katara. The door dropped open. The small girl in pink and the tall one in black stepped out.

“Oh. The real water bender.” The one in black stated. Her voice was so deadpan. “Did Azula say she wanted this one alive?”

“They want the real and fake water benders alive.” The one in pink clarified. Sokka adjusted his grip on his knives. Katara didn’t react. Sokka was proud of her. “Avatar dead, Iroh dead, Zuko dead.” She counted off on her fingers. Sokka felt the air rush from his lungs.

Ozai had ordered Azula to kill Zuko. This was a new low....even for the Fire Nation.

“Gotta catch me first,” Katara replied. She didn’t look up to where Sokka was hidden. She pitched canons of water toward the one in pink and sidestepped the knife from the one in black. Sokka didn't have time to take a breath to steady himself; he couldn't risk losing their window. He dropped down and let the girl in black break his fall. She yelped in pain.

“Fake water bender, real knives,” Sokka commented. That was a good one-liner! The girl blinked. The one in pink charged him, and Katara slashed at her legs with water. Knife girl stabbed at Sokka’s feet, and he lept out of the way. Appa rose up on his hind legs and sent a wave of air at the group. It sent Sokka and Katara flying, but the machine finally tipped over. “Take that,” Sokka called. Appa howled and turned around.

“We should go.” Katara decided. Sokka nodded. The siblings sprinted for Appa and scaled his sides. Appa howled again. “Aang has a whistle he uses to call Appa. I think that’s how he’s reacting.” The girls were sitting up on the ground. The one with the knives was clutching her head, and the one in pick rushed over to her. Sokka frowned as Appa sped away. Did this mean Aang was in trouble? It was hard to say. Sokka clutched Appa’s saddle.

Aang, it turned out, was the trouble. Azula must’ve spilled off from her cronies because here she was, and she and Aang were throwing elements at each other like the world was ending in the ruins of an abandoned village. Gusts of wind whipped sand around Azula and sent lightning through the storms.

“We can’t go into that.” Sokka shouted to Katara. “They’ll hit us accidentally.” Katara shook her head.

“Aang needs us. You heard them; she’s going to kill him.” Sokka opened his mouth to reply. Thoughts cascaded through his head. This was a bad idea. Getting in between two fighting benders was a recipe for disaster for him, but Katara could waterbed. And if she helped Aang, that would have significantly improved his odds.

“I can’t defend myself against their bending.” He replied. “But you can.” Katara smiled. She opened the pouches of water on her belt and formed two long knives in a nod to Sokka’s weapons. “See you in a minute.” And she charged in. Ironically, Sokka wasn’t that worried about her. His sister could handle herself in a fight far better than he could. Sokka followed her from a distance. It was not close enough to become collateral, but it was close enough to watch and get to someone if Azula hit them.

“Hey,” A familiar voice called out behind him. Toph came into view. Sokka did a double take. She looked calmer and like she'd bathed. “Are you not gonna help?”

“My metal knives can’t do much about lightning," he replied. He slid the knives from his belt anyway, though.

“Wise choice, young Sokka.” He nearly dropped his knives in shock. Iroh! Sokka whirled on his heels and embraced the man. How? Why? Did any of it really matter? Iroh hugged him back, and for a second, Sokka forgot where they were. 

“How are you here?” He asked. Reality snapped back in. There was still a fight on. He pulled out of the hug. “Where’s Zuko? Is he ok? Ozai sent Azula out to kill you both.”

“That is fucked up,” Toph added. Iroh frowned. His brow furrowed.

“How do you know this?” Sokka’s stomach lurched. If this was surprising to Iroh, then Iroh wouldn’t have been able to plan for it. If Iroh couldn't plan, they were going to need to be adaptive. 

“Katara and I fought two of the girls who were with them. They said Katara and I were to be brought back alive, and you two weren’t,” Sokka explained. Iroh’s eyes opened a little wider for a minute. Sokka bit his lip.

“I am glad we ran into you.” Iroh took a breath. He paused and then nodded. “We should assist the avatar with defeating Princess Azula, and then we should part ways again. No sense in keeping all of their targets together.” Sokka nodded. He opened his mouth to reply that he wasn’t sure how much good he could do but would try when another familiar voice came yelling through the trees.

“Azula!” Zuko leaped from the clearing with trails of red-hot fire pouring from his hands. Iroh made a face. Sokka did, too. This was the sloppiest opening move he'd ever seen Zuko make. The price had lost weight. He wore a basic set of black traveling clothes stained with mud and dust. His hair had been chopped short and high like a low-born Fire Nation soldier or Earth Bender would have worn it. He landed hard, rolled, and then stood back up near Katara. He sent a blast of fire toward Azula, and she dispersed it effortlessly as he glanced over his shoulder. “Uncle? Sokka? What are you doing here.” Zuko seemed delighted to see him and then remembered their last interaction. They were technically fighting. 

“Azula’s trying to kill you and capture me,” Sokka replied. Zuko looked at Iroh. He nodded. Zuko backpedaled so that he was out of the blast zone of the warring benders; Azula had forgotten for the moment. 

“Why would father do that?” Zuko asked. He seemed genuinely confused. “Azula must’ve gone rouge. She wants me out of the line of succession.” More yelling and lightning blasts came from the quagmire behind them. 

“That cannot be the priority right now,” Iroh replied, he pointed back at the fighting. Sokka nodded. Katara yelling broke the silence. 

“Sokka, we need help here!” What would a nonbender be able to add that the avatar and a master water bender couldn't? He wasn't sure, but Sokka grabbed his knives and looked for an opening anyway. He would always protect Katara. Zuko stepped up beside him.

“We’re not cool,” he clarified, “but let’s get through this.” Sokka nodded.

“Good to be on the same side again,” He replied. Zuko rolled his eyes. Iroh smiled.

“Well, let’s subdue the princess.” He suggested. Toph pounded her fist into her hand.

“I just like fighting.” She commented before charging in. Zuko and Iroh followed.

Sokka’s lack of bending meant he needed a more strategic approach to an all-out brawl involving four different bending elements. He scaled a tall pillar and watched the chaos unfold. If he had the opportunity, he could drop down on Azula the way he had on Knife Girl.

Katara pitched waves of water. Toph sent shockwaves through the ground. Aang pushed in from the opposite side of Zuko and Iroh. It was…it was glorious. The elements blended together in ways that Sokka had never seen. Aang launched himself off Toph and pushed down on Azula from above. Zuko went low and sent fire towards her shins. No one, not even Azula, could hold out against five different benders, one of whom was the avatar, and two were masters of their disciplines.

Her lightning blasts slowed down. Iroh angled her into a corner. Katara and Zuko shot high; Toph wrangled the ground. Sokka dropped down so he could be ready to support if needed.

Azula was backed into a corner. She was breathing heavily. Her eyes narrowed. For a group that had never fought together before, they worked.

“Come on, Zuzu, help me kill the avatar, and we’ll bring the water benders back to Father. I’ll make him see reason. You’re his heir.” She offered. Zuko glanced at her. Azula couldn’t possibly know that Zuko already knew about the kill order out on him, so this was a suspicious offer to make when she was already in a corner. But Zuko’s brain didn’t work like that. There was a part of Sokka's brain that wanted to quip that Zuko's brain didn't work at all, but it wasn't the time for that. Sokka’s grips tightened on his knives. For a terrifying moment, Sokka watched Zuko’s feet shift as if he were going to change targets, and then he just didn’t.

“You’re not taking Sokka or the water bender.” He decided. Sokka nodded. “And I’m going to get Father’s approval without your help.” Sokka bit his lip and looked at Iroh. The man’s face was unreadable, but Sokka knew him well enough to know they were thinking the same thing. Zuko was physically here, but he was lost in his own way.

“Have it your way. I’ll be the better Fire Lord.” She stated. Zuko opened his mouth to reply, but he wasn’t fast enough. Azula flipped and sent a bolt of lightning straight at Iroh. Time froze. Sokka knew that Zuko screamed and dove for Iroh, and Katara did the same. His brain turned off, and he ran towards Iroh. Iroh moved automatically. His arms greeted the lightning, and Sokka saw his eyes flash blue with electricity as the lightning passed through him and out his other hand. And then he went down. Azula laughed and flipped away. Sokka and Zuko got there first.

“Uncle, please wake up, please wake up,” he begged. Sokka grabbed Iroh’s hand. His eyes flashed back to his room at Iroh’s house. Iroh had sat with him after the parade and squeezed his hand. He had done the same after the beatings and every time he’d been dragged in front of Ozai, and Iroh couldn't die here; he just couldn’t.

“Move” Katara slid in next to them and ripped Iroh’s tunic open. An ugly burn mark smoked across his chest. Sokka gasped.

“What are you doing?” Zuko tried to deck her out of the way. Sokka grabbed him from behind and pulled him back. Zuko struggled. Katara ignored them. She draped her hands in water and laid them on the burn mark. The water glowed blue and Katara knit her brow in concentration.

“She’s a healer and a good one. Let her work.” He murmered. Zuko gave a halfhearted struggle in his arms. Sokka held him a little tighter. He’d been receiving end of this before. Zuko needed to fight to feel like he was doing something, and Sokka needed to keep him out of the way. “Give her a chance.”

Toph and Aang came up behind them.

“It’s not a serious burn. The top layer of skin barely singed.” She explained. Iroh groaned. “You’re going to be fine. I can’t prevent too much scarring, but nothing vital was damaged.” She explained. Iroh gave the most minimal nods, and Zuko relaxed in his arms. Katara grabbed a layer of bandages on her belt. “Help me sit him up?” She asked Zuko. The prince nodded, and Sokka released his hold. Iroh was unconscious when they were done, and Zuko chewed his lip.

“We can make camp here tonight,” Sokka suggested. “Do you have enough food? Water?”

“We’re fine,” Zuko replied. He was still holding Iroh’s hand. His voice was hoarse. “Everything was fine before you showed up in the Capitol. Just leave.”

“That’s not fair,” Sokka replied. It wasn't. It so wasn’t. Did Zuko honestly think that he had wanted to be taken? Sokka had a great family in the South Pole. He’d been with his people, his culture; why would he ever leave that? Did Zuko think he'd liked living with Iroh? It had been better than the zoo, but a nice cage was still a cage.

“We’ll leave you some provisions,” Aang replied. “And we will respect your wishes.” Katara grabbed Sokka. Toph nodded.

“I’m back!” She declared. Sokka looked at Katara. He bit his lip. They couldn’t leave them here! Iroh was hurt, and they'd be completely exposed to the elements. And Azula wanted them dead. As much as Zuko wanted to deny it, Ozai had made his decision about who the next Fire lord would be. The younger would ellipse the elder again. Sokka opened his mouth. This was dumb. they needed to stay and help, they could-

“Great,” Katara stated. She pulled Sokka away. He looked back at Zuko crouched by Iroh’s body. Zuko didn’t look back at him.

“Glad to have you,” Aang added. He climbed up on Appa and began sorting through their food stores. He found whatever he was looking for and lept back down. He approached Zuko and Iroh slowly. “This is extra food and medical supplies. Please take it.”

“Just go!” Zuko yelled. Aang didn’t flinch. He set down the bag and began moving away.

“We will, " he replied, letting himself be led. Something inside him felt numb as they flew away. He curled his legs up against himself and rested his forehead on his knees. Memories threatened to spill over. All of those afternoons sparring with Zuko, years of surviving court together, did Zuko think that he'd wanted to leave the Water Tribe?

“Iroh will be fine,” Katara whispered as they all sat around a fire later that night. “It wasn’t a serious burn.” Aang and Toph were passed out near Appa. It was like Toph had never left. She had just slid back into their group, joined the group chores without complaining, and said she could start walking Aang through the basic poses of earth bending.

“All burns are serious,” Sokka replied. His wrists tingled. “Especially from lightning.” Something flashed in Katara’s eyes.

“Yeah, of course. I didn’t mean to say…” She backpedaled. Sokka put his head in his hands.

“No, I know. I'm sorry; it’s been a crazy long day.” He offered. She nodded. “Thank you for healing him. I really appreciate you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want to talk about Zuko or-”

“No thanks,” Sokka replied automatically. His head was swirling with the events of the day. Zuko hated him. How was the fair? Azula was on the loose, but they had proved they could beat her that day. And the girls in pink and black too. They were easier to handle as long as Azula wasn’t there.

“Ok then. I’m here if you want to talk.” She curled up in her sleep sack near the fire. “Love you, Sokka.”

“Love you, Katara.”

Notes:

Thank your for the kind comments and speculation! Y'all are so wonderful about picking up the breadcrumbs i throw out and it makes this fic to much fun to write

Chapter 24: Earth Kingdom I

Sokka set up a target behind their house in the Earth Kingdom so he could practice with the spears Bato had left him. It was his favorite way to kill time when he couldn’t sleep. Learning the spears was proving more complicated than he wanted it to be. Everything was more complicated than he wanted it to be right now. Another spear missed the target entirely. Sokka heaved a sigh and dropped to the ground. The moon blinked down above him. Sokka lay on his back and stared at it.

“Hi, Yue.” He murmured. He rested his palms against his forehead and rocked his head back. “What are we doing here?” He was too tired. His brain pushed every combination of events that had unfolded over the last month.

Suki? Suki thought he was cute. But he was a warrior! Warriors weren’t cute. However, he couldn’t dwell on that. They had an invasion to plan. The eclipse would be their only chance to take out Ozai before Sozin’s Comet. They needed to rally the Earth King to amass an army so they could join with the Water Tribe forces and end this damn war. The problem was that the Earth King was an idiot. Long Feng’s words had been “symbolic figurehead.” Well, their symbolic figurehead was an idiot. Nothing was wrong with being an idiot, but a little self-awareness was an asset for everyone. And Appa was still missing!

Aang's struggle without his bison was completely understandable. Sokka had joined him every morning for meditations, so the kid didn’t have to do it alone. There were deep bags under his eyes, and they showed no signs of improvement. Sokka knew he flew his glider all over the city every night, hoping to spot some sign of Appa. Sokka didn’t think that was the healthiest processing tool, but he wasn’t one to judge. Momo was bonded to the bison because, apparently, he was incapable of functioning without it. The lemur just lay in the sun in the central area of the house and barely moved. Sokka had to resist the urge to rub his forehead whenever he saw it. He had done better resisting despair in the zoo. With no food or water! Sokka sat up and immediately withdrew the comparison. Holding an air nomad lemur to the same standard as him wasn't fair. Maybe the lemur should have a higher standard? He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled slowly.

The Earth King was an idiot. Suki was being weird. Appa was still missing. Who knew what Zuko was even on? Sokka swallowed. He didn't want to think about Zuko, right now. Mayve ever again. They’d accomplished nothing, and the clock was ticking. The thud of Aang landing from his nightly flight startled him.

“Oh. Hey, Sokka.” The kid sniffled. Sokka sat back up. The sound of someone choking back tears and hiding hyperventilations was, unfortunately, a familiar one.

“Aang. Any sign of Appa?” Sokka patted the ground next to him as an invitation to sit down. Aang dropped next to him.

“No.” Aang rubbed his forehead with his hands. Sokka put his hand on his shoulder.

“He’ll turn up. He’s strong.” Sokka soothed. Even as he said it, he regretted it. There were effective things to say when a person was suffering like this, and then there were ineffective things to say. Sokka had offered an ineffective statement. He picked at his nails uncertainly. Aang shrugged.

“I guess.” Somehow, his shoulders slumped even further. Sokka bit his lip. He’d never been on this side of the conversation before. Suddenly, Ahzu and Ming made a lot more sense. Something flipped in Sokka’s stomach and he needed to get away. He stood up.

“He’s gonna find his way back to you,” Sokka promised. Maybe some alone time would do good for the kid? It was hard to say. What would Iroh have done? Tea and meditation? It was the middle of the night. He went back inside and slipped into his bed. His fingers closed around the tunic sleeves, which he kept under his pillow. He sighed. Things were just hard right now. They wouldn’t be hard forever, but they were hard for now.

They’d either defeat Ozai or die trying. Sokka wouldn’t let himself be taken back there. He couldn’t be a….an attraction again. His fingers tightened around the fabric strips, and he pulled them out. The routine of examining the tunic sleeves was familiar enough that he could do it with his eyes closed. They’d been his only link to home for his years in the Fire Nation. The embroidery was fraying around the edge of one, but his mother’s handiwork was still unmistakable. The white dashes symbolized snow, and the black dashes made a penguin.

His stomach rolled as his brain crept towards the memories of the zoo or the cage. He only struggled with those memories when he was alone at night. The day had plenty of distractions, and the team needed him to be focused. The night had no such guard rails. Sokka bit his lip. He had better things to occupy his mind with. He had Katara again, the spears, the team, and- oh.

No wonder Aang was struggling so much. Sokka had been a mess when his parka was first taken away, and losing Appa was similar for the kid. Appa was Aang’s last friend from before the iceberg. Sokka’s stomach rolled. He should have figured that out sooner. What a terrible burden to carry alone. Plus, the kid was what- 12? Sokka knew what it meant to be a kid in unfamilar territory. His fist clenched around the tunic sleeves, and he sat back up. His feet hit the floor, and he knew what to do.

“Hey,” Sokka called softly. Aang was still out in the garden, meditating, or trying to anyway.

“Hey,” Aang whispered. His eyes were red, and he quickly wiped his nose with his sleeve.

“Ok if I sit?” Sokka asked. Aang nodded. Sokka ook a deep breath. He needed to be honest about this, but not too honest. “When, uh, when the Fire Nation first took me from the South Pole, they kept me in a seal cage the first few days.” Aang glanced at him.

“That’s terrible.” He commented.

“It was.” Sokka agreed. “But I still had my parka and the clothes my mom had made for me. It helped me feel like I wasn’t alone.”

“Well, I guess that’s good.” Aang offered. Sokka nodded. He stared straight ahead. He didn’t want to see Aang’s reaction to his following statement.

“I had to wear a prison uniform once I got to the Fire Nation. It was too big, and it itched.” Sokka felt his throat swell up. He could still feel the harsh fabric on his shoulder if he twisted a certain way. He couldn’t look at Aang.

It was one thing to be honest about this with Zuko; he’d been there for most of it, and he’d been going through his own issues. Aang was another matter, and Tui help him if Katara ever heard about any of this. Aang didn’t reply. “So they took my parka, my last connection to home, and I…I lost my mind.” Aang nodded. Aang grabbed Sokka’s shoulder. Sokka put his own hand on top of Aang’s. “One of the guards, his name was Zun Lo, he cut the sleeves off my tunic and secretly gave them to me so the cuffs wouldn’t chaff my wrists. They were the only thing that kept me sane the first few weeks there.” Sokka pulled out the strips to show Aang. They were slightly frayed, but his mother’s workmanship was still evident. Aang looked at the stitching.

“Glad you had them,” Aang replied hoarsely.

“I am, too,” Sokka admitted. “There were a few weeks where I was in a new cage, and I didn’t have them, and it was….hard. I stopped fighting, if that makes sense.” A wave of memories welled up in Sokka. The facepaint, the dehydration, the constantly being treated like an animal. He shook his head to clear his mind.

“Kind of,” Aang answered. Sokka moved on quickly.

“Anyway. Eventually, I ended up with Iroh, and he returned them to me.”

“He sounds like a good man.”

“He is. He’s one of the reasons I’m still alive.” Sokka swallowed. He hoped Iroh was still alive. Katara had said the burns weren't too bad. “Anyway, that’s my roundabout way of saying that I know how hard it is to lose your home and then lose your last connection to it.” Aang’s eyes welled with tears. He buried his head in Sokka’s shoulder. Sokka froze.

“It’s just so….painful.” Aang sniffled. “What if someone is hurting him, or what if he’s scared? Or hungry?” Tears streamed down Aang’s cheeks. Sokka put his arm around the avatar and rubbed his back. He bit his lip. He had to be honest. He had to be. Aang needed it.

“He might be both of those things, and we can do nothing about that right now.” Sokka soothed. Harsh words, but they were honest ones. There was nothing they would be able to do for Appa until he was back. A sob wracked Aang’s body. “But Aang, we need to trust that there are good people out there who will help him. Just like Katara helped you, and just like Zun Lo and Iroh helped me.” Aang nodded. “We’re going to find him, or he’ll find us first. Until then, I want you to have one of the tunic sleeves. You’re not alone out here.” Aang pulled out of the hug.

“Sokka! I can’t take your sleeve!”

“You’re not taking it. You’re borrowing it until Appa is back, and it’s going right back under my pillow.” Sokka explained. Aang smiled. He took the tunic sleeve and ran his fingers over the embroidery like Sokka had so many times before.

“Ok. Ok, I can do that.” He sniffled again and wiped his nose. “Does Katara know any of this?” Aang stood back up. Golden rays of sunshine were beginning to peek through the clouds. It was pretty, but it was nothing compared to the view from Iroh’s roof. Something panged in Sokka’s stomach. He should make some tea and watch the sunrise. He hadn’t done it in ages.

“No, and if you tell her, I’ll kill you.” He answered. Aang laughed. It wasn’t his usually joyful laugh that Sokka had come to know, but Sokka smiled. “Anyway, you feel like sleeping?”

“No,” Aang replied.

“Me neither. Let’s make tea and watch the sunrise from the roof.”

The boys sat silently,, watching the pinks and reds bleed out from the rising sun. The darkness faded for another day. Smoke trailed up from the chimneys of the Inner Ring and beyond. Sokka could smell baking bread. Another day was dawning. After a while, Katara crawled up beside theme. She had a green blanket wrapped around her shoulders and adjusted it to cover the three of them.

“We ok?” She asked softly. Sokka nodded. Aang shrugged. “Good because Toph is going to want to climb up here too, and she’s going to make it your problem.”

“Hey!” The earthbender’s voice sounded from the ground. “Either we move the love fest to the ground or Sokka carries me up.”

“Better idea!” Aang offered. He pulled a column of air up under Toph so she flew up into the air. She screeched, and Sokka grabbed her arm to pull her in. She grunted. Katara adjusted the blanket so it covered her, too.

“A little warning would have been nice.”

“But it’s less fun.” Sokka knocked his shoulder into hers.

“I’m gonna steal your knives while you sleep, water boy.” She threatened. It would have have been more effective had she not been facing the wrong direction. The sun was up, they had another day. They could still stop Ozai, find Appa, and save the world. They weren’t out of time yet. Sokka pitched his head back and laughed.

Notes:

I know its another huge time jump, but we're progressing.

Chapter 25: Iroh, again

Summary:

In the tunnels of Ba Sing Se, Sokka and Zuko make choices.

Sokka considered himself an authority on cells. The Earth Kingdom ones were decent, but the dampness cut to his bones in a way that reminded him too much of the Fire Nation. He took a steadying breath. One of several in the past few minutes since he’d come to.

To her credit, Toph had been holding him when reality blinked back into focus. It was unusually emotionally informed of her. She helped him sit up as the world stopped spinning. “I can metal bend the door wherever we’re ready.” She offered. Sokka nodded. He rested his forehead in his palm for a minute.

“Yep. Just give me a second.”

“We might not have that much time.” She replied. Sokka grimaced. She was right. The freaky Fire Benders were back, and Katara was with Azula. His sister could hold her own; he wasn’t worried about that, but he was worried about Aang. He felt like the kid was hiding something about the guru. Maybe it was nothing, though. He had to trust the kid when it came to keeping secrets; Sokka certainly kept enough of his own. He exhaled and then pushed himself up and off the ground.

“Let’s do it.” He announced. Toph bent the door off its hinges easily, and they were on the run again.

“I’m not leaving without Bosco!” The Earth King declared as they raced up the prison steps.

“Of course not,” Sokka replied. Bear and Avatar—very similar importance levels.

The bear was still in the throne room with the freaky fire girls. Neither wore their original outfits anymore, so Sokka would need to think of new nicknames for them. One was angry, and the other was flexible. Angry and flexy it was.

Toph smirked as she pulled the ground up around Flexy’s arms and legs, trapping the girl in a bridge position.

“Wait! Hey!” She craned her neck to try and see them. Sokka waved.

“Just take the damn bear.” Angry commented. She was sitting at the foot of the throne, one leg crossed over the other, and she seemed to be over the whole affair. “Azula is in the grotto facing off against your water bender and the avatar. She’d got orders to kill Zuko if he chooses to help you.”

“Mai! We can’t tell them that! We can’t tell them that Ozai wants the fake waterbender and the real one taken alive!” Flexy added. Sokka froze. The bear ambled past them.

“Why are you saying this?” He asked. Mai shrugged.

“You were friends with Zuko. We like Zuko.” Were. Past tense. Were friends. Not anymore. Sokka’s stomach flipped.

“People aren’t meant to be in cages,” Flexy stated. “Especially not people who protected their family.”

“Well. Thanks.” Sokka commented. His brain started to spin. How much did they know? Toph grabbed Sokka’s hand. “We gotta go.” Sokka let Toph pull him along. How much did they know? He glanced over his shoulder as they ran from the throne room. Angry gave him a mock salute and tried to hack Flexy free from the ground with one of her knives. That would ruin the knife and take ages. Unless that’s what she wanted? What the hell was going on? They kept running through the palace. It was too quiet. There should have been secret police, guards, or soldiers, but there was nothing. Sokka glanced at Toph, but she couldn’t look back at him. They skidded to a stop outside and summoned Appa.

“Where’s the best entrance to the grotto?” Toph called. The Earth King gestured around them.

“It’s all around under us. There’s an entrance back in the palace, but-” But that was out for obvious reasons. Toph was going to need to put a hole in the ground. He glanced at her. Could she do it? She would have to.

“Will Appa even go underground?” Sokka asked. Toph shrugged. She put her hand on the bison.

“He says he’ll do it if we need to, but he doesn’t want to.” Sokka did a double take. No way did Toph speak bison. That just couldn’t be a development in their lives.

“Ok, Toph. Can you…” She did it without any further prompting. A gaping hole opened in the ground. Big enough for them, but not Appa. Not good enough. He glanced at Toph, and she shook her head.

“This is the best I can do.”

“Ok. It’ll work then.” Sokka looked down at the hole. He could see Katara’s dark hair facing off against a legion of Earth Kingdom agents. “Ready?” Toph took his hand.

“Gonna be fun.” She commented. Toph turned the ground beneath their feet into a slide, and Sokka felt his stomach flip. He tensed his muscles as they went down. He’d need to be in a ready stance quickly. Toph put them out right behind Katara.

“Nice of you to join us,” Katara commented as Sokka pulled out his knives and settled into a fighting stance beside her. Her arms held up a wall of water between them and their opponents; she’d been practicing.

“We had to save the bear. Priorities, you know.” Toph explained. Katara rolled her eyes.

“Aang is over there.” Katara had to point with her head. Sokka nodded. He saw that the kid had made a shell of dirt around himself, and a faint blue glow came through it. “I think he’s going to try and use the Avatar State.”

“Well.” Sokka bit his lip. “Let’s hope that works. There are way too many otherwise.”

“Wrong attitude,” Toph commented. She flipped the Earth on the other side of Katara’s wall and sent the first wave of men screaming. “That’s the energy I want to see from us.”

“Where did you get an Earthbender?” A familiar voice screamed. Sokka peaked around Katara’s shield for them.

“Hi, Zuko.” He wasn’t teasing. He wasn’t; Zuko was just so easy to mess with.

“Sokka!” Zuko sent a pillar of fire at them, and it dissipated against the water instantly. Sokka smiled. His comments weren’t helpful, but they made him feel better. He shouldn’t have come down here. Now, he was at risk of being captured again, and worse; someone else could get caught trying to protect him. Sokka took a deep breath. The Earth shell around Aang crackled, and blue light began pouring through.

“Zuko, your dad sent your sister to kill you. She wants to be the heir, and you’re in her way.” Sokka yelled. Maybe he could make Zuko see reason.

“Stop lying to me! All you ever do is lie!” Zuko sent more waves of fire at them.

“Can you hold the wall up?” Sokka asked Katara quietly. She grunted in the affirmative. “Good, I can wear him out. We’ll have one less Fire Nation royal family member to stress over.” Sokka poked around the wall again. “Zuko, that’s not fair, and I think you know that.”

“You lied to me for years!” Zuko protested. More fire. Zuko wasn’t even trying to pace himself.

“Yeah, because I needed to keep my sister safe,” Sokka replied. Speaking of sisters, where was Azula? He glanced over towards Aang and saw her pacing around Aang’s shell. Ok, this could work. Aang was going to Avatar state some destruction, and then they’d use the distraction to escape. Not his best plan, but it was not his worst either. The shell cracked around Aang, and the kid began to fly up into the air. His tattoos glowed blue, and raw energy pulsed around him. The wind began to whip through the cave, blowing dirt and pebbles as projectiles.

“Hang on!” Katara shouted. She pulled the water bubble around them to offer the tiniest protection. The Earth Kingdom army broke their formations and began running. Zuko didn’t move. He screamed into the wind, and Sokka thought about the angry boy who used to climb onto Iroh’s roof with him and cried when he was unexpectedly summoned back to the palace.

“Zuko, get down!” Sokka screamed. For once in his life, Zuko listened and hit the ground. Aang separated his hands, and water from the spring began to whirl around him. The ground shook, and then everyone screamed. Sokka was aware of the world around him in pieces. Azula had sent lightning at Aang, the blast had found its target, and Aang was on the ground.

Sokka went into fight mode. He used his knives to watch Katara’s back as she grabbed the fallen Aang.

“Please be okay. Please be okay, " she whispered to his still body. Toph pulled up rock walls around them. Katara lifted Aang’s shirt and looked at the scorch marks. The smell of burned skin took Sokka back to the zoo. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now was not a good time for that.

“We need an exit plan,” Toph stated the obvious. “I can feel a cave to our right extending out that goes high enough for me to break through. We’d need a distraction to get there, though.”

“We’re really, really outnumbered,” Sokka noted. Losing Aang was terrible for the odds. He ran a hand through his hair. “Ok. Here’s the plan: I’m going to distract them, and you two will make a break for it.”

“Absolutely not.” Katara was already healing Aang. His little body lay unmoving in her lap. Tendrils of smoke swirled up from his chest. Sokka sucked air in again. It was the only way.

“I don’t like it, but you two are the bending masters. I can buy you enough time to escape and then…” He didn’t want to finish that thought. Would they put him back in the same cage? It was too hard to think about. “Aang needs you both.”

“He needs you, too!” Toph sounded kind of offended that he was even suggesting this. He didn’t want this; it was just the only way. Another blast of fire pushed the group down behind their barricade.

“Zuko!” And Sokka’s heart broke when he heard that voice. Iroh, come to save the day again. Would Sokka ever stop owing him?

“Uncle?” The blasts stopped pounding them. Toph pressed against Sokka.

“Zuko! Make your choice. The violence of your father or the courage of your mother.”

“That’s not even a choice,” Azula shouted. She hit their barricade with another lightning round, and dust flew through the air. Katara coughed and tried to cover Aang. Sokka coughed and ran their odds in his head. If Iroh could handle Azula, Zuko would hopefully want to fight Sokka. Toph could handle and soldiers that got between them and the cave. This could work. Sokka could still protect Katara. He nodded.
“We gotta do it,” Sokka muttered. He pushed himself up from the ground. Two thoughts crystallized in Sokka’s head. The first was that he was about to get captured again, but there was no other way to save the group, so it just had to be done. The second was that Iroh was making his last stand, and Sokka couldn’t let him do that alone. “Go on my signal.”

“What?” Toph held a hand on the rock wall between them and the fighting. A tear escaped her face.

“Get Aang out of here,” Sokka whispered. He grabbed Katara. There was a look of horror on her face, but somehow, he knew she understood. He grabbed her shoulders. “It’s going to be ok.” Sokka wasn’t sure who he was convincing.

“My mother was a traitor,” Zuko called out.

“She was not,” Iroh replied. Sokka felt his legs move automatically. His breath slowed down. Katara grabbed his hands and brought their foreheads close together.

“We’ll wait for you.” She whispered. A prayer, a promise, Sokka wasn’t sure. “Here and out there. You’re my brother.” Sokka nodded. Was he crying again?

“Go now.” He whispered. Sokka couldn’t look back at them. His stomach rolled as he stepped out beyond Toph’s rock wall. His fingers danced across the hem of the Water Tribe tunic that the Northerners had made him. The Fire Nation would burn it, probably in front of him. He should have taken it off. Then he’d be cold in the cell, though, which was almost as bad.

“Sokka?” Iroh sounded shocked to see him. Sokka managed a smile as he pulled the knives off his belt. “What are you doing?” Zuko seemed similarly confused. The soldiers stopped throwing rocks at them. Azula smiled.

“I just missed you and my old cell so much.” He replied.

“Foolish boy.” Iroh eased out of his fighting stance to put a hand on his shoulder. Layers of disappointment and grief stared back at Sokka in his gaze.

“Believe it or not, we have a plan,” Sokka whispered.

“Horrible plan.” Iroh squeezed his shoulder.

“I know, right?” Sokka knew he couldn’t look to see if the others were making it. If he did, he would guarantee them getting caught. He took a deep breath. Sokka glanced back at Zuko, who seemed more confused than ever. He glanced wildly between Iroh and Sokka with a wild look of hurt. Sokka bit the inside of his cheek.

“What are you waiting for?” Azula screamed.

“Zuko?” Sokka called. He extended a hand. Come on, Zuko, even if Ozai gets Aang’s body, he will never love you. Zuko shook his head.

“You’re a traitor too.” He screamed. He hurled a ball of fire at them, but Sokka sidestepped it effortlessly. Sokka shrugged. He couldn’t technically be a traitor to the Fire Nation on account of him being their prisoner and all. He settled back into a fighting stance.

“Let them come to us.” He whispered to Iroh. “Every second we can give the others will count.”

Iroh shook his head. “Please run, " he whispered. Go now. I can hold them back alone but can’t do it with you nearby.” Sokka made a face.

“Why not? You know I can redirect fire.” Sure, he couldn’t redirect the rocks, but that was a problem for later.

“Because I am the Dragon of the West, and this is not your fight.”

“What?”

“Sokka, run. Now.” Iroh sent a wave of fire at the Earth Kingdom soldiers. The smoke gave them a little cover. “There is something in motion that cannot be undone.” He grabbed Sokka’s shoulders and shoved him towards the back wall. “Sokka. Please, if not for me or your sister, then for your world.” There was a seriousness in Sokka’s gaze that Sokka had never seen before.

“Iroh. They’ll kill you!”

“They will not. Go.” He pushed Sokka again. Another blast of fire game them more smoke. “Sokka, if you have every had any respect for me you will run now.” Sokka nodded.

“Ok.” He spun on his heels and sprinted for the door. Katara had said they would wait. He needed to trust Katara. He could hear the fighting get louder behind him. Iroh was yelling. Zuko was yelling. Sokka felt something in his heart rip again.

Toph cheered when he caught up to them. “I knew Iroh wouldn’t let you do anything stupid.” She puched his shoulder and Sokka smiled sadly. Tears had streaked down Katara’s face, and Sokka hated himself for even suggesting the idea of getting himself caught. Who was he to make his sister cry?

“Can you carry, Aang?” She blurted out. “He’s heavier than he looks.” Sokka took the unconscious Avatar and squeezed his sister’s hand.

“Come on guys,” he called. “We’ll retreat and fight another day.”
It was a loss, he reflected as he flew Appa above the fallen Ba Sing Se. They’d failed by almost every measure of a mission. Iroh, their one ally in the Fire Nation and the person that Sokka had figured would teach Aang fire bending was captured and now Aang was down. Katara had glowing hands on the burn scar across his chest in Aapa’s saddle. Sokka bit the inside of his cheek. A loss in every sense, but they were still alive, and they were still together. He was still free. Sokka’s heart pounded with the realization. He was still free, but now Iroh was in chains.

Notes:

This is not my proudest chapter, and I wrote it four or five different ways before realizing that it was just going to need to roll out this way and Sokka and Katara can reflect on Zuko's words next chapter (ya know, once Katara saves Aang's life)/

But I'm excited because we're almost through the filler chapters and back at the part middle school granola wrote (prison break(s) go so hard).

Chapter 26: The First Reunion

Summary:

Sokka's reunited with part of his family.

Sokka stared at the man across from him and swallowed. It hadn’t been hard to get here. A quick letter to Bato, a reply with coordinates, and then they’d set Appa down on a stolen Fire Nation ship. In some ways, he was glad Aang was still in such a dangerous condition. It left him with no time to process what was going on.

Katara spent hours healing him daily, trying to reknit layers of skin and tissue together on Aang’s back. The effort took almost everything from her, and Sokka buried himself in caring for her. Brushing out Appa, cooking their meals, sorting supplies. The list was endless. Dark circles appeared under her eyes, and her face looked hollow. Sokka had tried to get her to eat something every chance they had, but she was usually too tired. There hadn’t been time to think about the man standing before him. No time to wonder if he’d agree with the Northern Tribe’s decision to give him a wolf pelt and no time to lie awake at night wondering if he’d disgraced their family by failing to escape. No time to dwell on the fact that Sokka barely remembered what he looked like or worse, he could only see the faintest familiar traits when he was having the nightmare again.

“Sokka.” The man whispered his name. He wasn’t wearing Water Tribe clothes. The man wore a Fire Nation soldier uniform to blend in with the stolen ship. Was he smaller than Sokka remembered? Sokka had been so young when he was taken; it was hard to say. Bato wore a similar Fire Nation uniform. Behind him, Bato was helping Katara lift Aang down Appa’s side. Toph hovered protectively by Sokka’s side.

“Dad!” Katara handed Aang over to Bato and tumbled into their father’s arms. Hakoda embraced her, and Sokka swallowed. How many nights had he dreamed about this moment? How many times had he wished his dad could be there to hold him, tug on his hair, help him learn spear throwing, take him hunting, or- Katara released from Dad’s hold. She looked back at Sokka, and something flashed across her face.

She blamed herself for not setting up a smoother introduction. Sokka couldn’t let Katara blame herself for something that wasn’t her fault.

“Dad….hi.” Why were these words so hard to say? Why wasn’t this easier? He should be happy. He was back with his dad! This should be a great day, but…..but fear rolled through his stomach, and Sokka didn’t know why.

“Sokka…” Dad’s fingers twitched at his side. He stepped forward as if he wanted to rush Sokka and then thought better of it. “You’re alive. You’re here.” Sokka nodded.

“Yeah.” He felt a tear slide down his cheek. He’d cried the day they’d taken him at the South Pole. They both had. “Yeah, I’m here.” He rushed into his dad’s arms. Hakoda hugged him and held his head. Dad kissed his forehead.

“You’re alive.” Hadkota pulled back and held his face. “You’re here.” Sokka was fully crying now. Dad was, too. His free arm pulled Katara into the hug, and for a minute, his family was the most complete it had been in years.

“I’ll take care of Aang.” Toph offered. “You guys…you guys go talk or something.”

Whatever class of ship this was, it had a smilar layout to Zhao’s. Sokka swallowed as he followed his dad through a maze of passages. He distracted himself by keeping an eye on Katara. She was pretending to be fine. They both were, but she was way more guilty of it than he was. He had too many memories of Fire Nation ships. Most were terrible, but some were kind of okay. Dad led them to a room with long tables and cooking supplies pushed against the wall.

“Sit. Are you hungry? We have stew.” Sokka was hungry. Starving. Dad filled two bowls and set them on the table. It was a thick broth with vegetables and cubes of meat. Sokka spooned the broth into his mouth. Something familiar tugged at his mind. Mom used to make a stew just like this. He could taste the water tribe seasonings. Sokka swallowed. He didn’t want to start crying again. Dad sat across from them. Sokka studied his face.

Sokka could remember the idea of him. He could remember Dad holding him, rocking him, and taking him hunting, but the man’s face was strange. Sokka didn’t remember the lines on his face or how his brown eyes seemed to peer into his soul.

The soup had a similar effect on Katara.

“I missed yarrow spice so much.” She commented. Sokka nodded.

“I couldn’t remember its name.” He took another spoonful of the stuff. It was good. A heavy silence fell back over the group. Dad watched him. Sokka took another spoonful. It was fair of him to have questions. The Northerners had questions, too. Sokka pushed to fill it. “What meat is this?”

“Chicken,” Dad replied. “I’m glad you like it.”

“How’d you get chickens out here?” Sokka asked. A wicked grin crossed Dad’s face.

“We converted part of the weapons storage area. Chickens aren’t a traditional water tribe food but…”

“But they’re delicious,” Sokka added. Meat and foods were a more straightforward conversation than where he’d been the last few years. He knew Dad must’ve had questions. It was only fair. Bato would have told him that he’d escaped, maybe about the Wolf Pelt, and maybe that his spear throwing wasn’t up to par.

“Exactly.” Dad finished. “Are either of you hurt? We have a medic…”

Katara shook her head.

“Aang is the only one we’re worried about.” She explained. “We’re both fine.” Sokka shook his head. He was fine, but Katara was very much not fine. He was amazed she was still standing.

“You’re almost at bending exhaustion,” he pointed out. Katara shrugged.

“I’ll be better now that we’re here.” She offered. She took another bite of the stew. Dad looked at her with concern and confusion all over his face. “Really! I’m fine.” Dad pressed his palms flat on the table. His eyes flickered between Sokka and Katara.

“I trust you both,” he led. “But bending exhaustion is nothing to play around with.” Sokka nodded. Maybe Katara would listen to dad more than she did to him.

“Good thing I don’t have bending exhaustion then.” Katara tossed back. Guess not. There was a new layer of venom in her voice. Sokka nodded.

“Katara, we’re both tired,” he pointed out. "When was the last time we slept more than two hours?” She was quiet. Dad glanced between them.

“You’ve done incredibly well to get Aang and yourselves safely here. Let us share the load.” He offered. That seemed to assuage Katara. She nodded.

“Happy to.”

Dad showed them a place they could crash. Katara, despite her insistence that she wasn’t tired collapsed instantly and was snoring seconds later. Sokka wasn’t so lucky. He replayed the interaction with his dad every time he tossed and turned. Sleep wasn’t coming. Sokka dragged himself up and out of bed with a groan. If he couldn’t sleep, he’d drill. He grabbed his knives and headed for the ship’s gym.

The sparring room on the Fire Nation ship was a bizarre cross of the drill room from the Northern Water Tribe and the space’s Fire Nation origin. It worked for Sokka. Hey, it was the inverse of Sokka. He smirked at the thought.

Sokka tossed his knives to the side of the room and jogged a warm-up loop around the room. Each arm circle brought him back into his body. Dynamic movements across the floor kept him centered. It was hard to overthink things when he was concentrating on holding his core in good form. Iroh would have told him that this was the point of doing exercises like this. Something tore in his heart. He frowned. Was Iroh ok somewhere? Were they starving him? Beating him? Burning him? Sokka knew it was all on the table. He brought himself back into the center and moved through another series of freehanded katas. He’d just need to break Iroh out on the Day of the Black Sun. That was it! Aang would be busy with the Fire Lord, and Sokka didn’t really want to deal with Ozai, so he’d just go bust Iroh out. It’d be fun!

Sokka nodded to himself. That’d work. He grabbed his knives and set in on another group of drills.

“Hey.” A familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Your friend Toph said I might find you here.” Dad. Sokka dropped his knives and fell out of his stance. “Your form is incredible.”

“Thanks.” Sokka nodded. “I know it’s not our traditional weapons but...”

“Sokka, the best weapon is the one that keeps you alive. If you’re good with knives, then use knives.” His dad’s voice was so understanding. “Where did you learn this?” It wasn’t an accusation or an interrogation, it was just an olive branch of a conversation.

“Fire Nation,” Sokka replied. He opened his mouth to explain Iroh, Piando, and the guards who would spar with him during their breaks, but the words wouldn’t come out, so he shut it again.

“Can you show me how you did that twist move?” Dad asked. Sokka nodded.

“Yeah!” That was one of his favorites. It was fun to do, and it always looked fabulous. Plus it was adequate for countering fire. He lowered his stance. “Basically, you start here.” Dad copied his movement, “and then you go up on your heels and spin. If you’ve got knives or any type of metal weapon, you can give a Fire Bender’s element right back to them.”

“Show it to me again?” Dad asked. Sokka nodded.

“Yeah. Like this.” He could do this one in his sleep. Iroh had made him drill it until his muscles were incapable of getting it wrong. Dad followed his movements.

“Like this?” Sokka watched him.

“Yeah, just keep your shoulders in closer together.” Sokka offered. Dad nodded.

“Amazing.” Dad paused. “Bato and I were going to mak coffee before I have watch, would you like to come?” Sokka knew an invitation to connect when he heard one.

“Sure.” He followed dad out into the hallway and down the passages.

“How’s gran gran? Have you heard anything from Mom?” The most neutral questions Sokka could think of. Dad smiled.

“They miss you. We all do.” Sokka nodded. “I wrote to them when Bato told me he’d seen you. I’m sure they’re overjoyed that you’re out in the world again.” Sokka smiled and ducked his head as they wove though another passage. Dad stopped walking. “Sokka, I…that day you were taken has haunted me.” Sokka stopped too. What could he say here?

That it was all good? That it was fine? He couldn’t comfort his dad, that wasn’t fair. He was the one who had to live it, not dad and not mom. Sokka swallowed. Something bubbled in him. Something he’d swallowed in the first cage the first time that ridiculas excuse for war paint had touched his skin. He hadn’t been able to name the grief at the time, the emotions had been too big and he’d been too starved and too sore. Dad should have made a better plan. Mom should have been ready with a better lie. Someone should have just taken Katara to a safe place to wait out the entire visit. It shouldn’t have fallen on Sokka to save the tribe. He swallowed again.

“Haunted me too for awhile.” That was the most diplomatic he could be about it.

“I’m sure.” Dad replied. The silence grew heavy again. “Sokka, I, think about that day almost every night before I fall asleep. So much went wrong.”

“Yeah.” Sokka began moving again. Words burned like hot coals beneath his skin. Yeah, so much had gone wrong. So much had gone wrong that mom had nearly been murdered, then Katara had nearly been murdered, then Sokka had been kidnapped and turned into a zoo animal for years until Iroh had gotten him out. Did dad want him to say it was ok? It wasn’t.

“Bato tells me you’ve earned a wolf pelt from the Northern Tribe. That’s quite an honor.”

“It is.”

“Tell me about it? You’re the first in 200 years to earn any recognition from them.”

“Um. Well.” What could Sokka say? He’d tried to protect Yue and Aang and hadn’t really managed to do either but somehow they’d survived and now Yue was the moon? He’d just have to be a little clever about it. “Well it’s a gray worlf and it’s little big on me but I’m hoping I grow into it.”

“I’d love to see it sometime.” Dad didn’t challenege him on it.

“Yeah sure.”

Bato waived once they were back in the dining area. “Did you tell him about the wolf pelt?” he asked. He seemed excited by it. “You’re the first in maybe 200 years to get one from them.”

“You’ll grow into it. It was smart of them to size one up.” Dad commented. “You technically should have from the Southern Tribe too. If saving your sister doesn’t qualify as an act of valor, I’m not sure what does.”

Escaping. Sokka wanted to spit back. Saving Iroh. Killing Ozai. Snapping sense into Zuko so he’d stop chasing them around. He had a lot more to do. The fight was far from over. The words boiled under his skin and Sokka took a deep breath. “Thanks, that means a lot.”

“I spent to many nights staring at the moon and praying to every spirit to keep you safe.” Dad murmered. “It felt like too much to hope for that you would escape and find your way back to us.”

Sokka bit his tounge. Had he escaped? Had any spirit kept him safe? Iroh had done all of it. And now he’d abandoned Iroh. Sokka exhaled slowly. This was too much to dish into. It was too much, too soon. He was straining the muscle before stretching it. “I’m tired. I think I’ll go back to bed.” He decided. He could just lay there until Katara was awake. She might need help with Aang or something. Yeah, that was a good plan. Dad stood up.

“Ok. Do you need me to walk you back or?”

“No thanks. I know the way. I’ve been on Fire Nation ships before.” Dad opened his mouth and then closed it again.

Notes:

Thanks for bearing with me through the last chapter. Can Toph speak flying bison? Only Toph knows, and she's not telling.

Sokka being with some of his family again means he gets to process new emotions. Yay! Poor guy.

Chapter 27

Aang finally seemed to be at the point where he wasn’t actively dying anymore, but Katara had slipped into bending exhaustion. Dad and Bato didn’t know what to do.

“Fluids, rest, and tea with sugar,” Sokka replied. He made a small fire in their kitchen area and began heating water. In his time with the Fire Nation, most of the benders Sokka had known referred to bending exhaustion as something common enough that they swapped horror stories about it. The teachers at the Royal Academy were notorious for pushing younger benders past their limits, and almost every guard at Iroh’s had a funny story about collapsing during morning drills or vomiting after an exam. Ahzu, in particular, seemed prone to it. According to the story he’d told Sokka when he was recovering from another delightful session with Ozai, he’d taken an exam and then gone on a date with a girl. He’d proceeded to vomit on her and then passed out. Suffice it to say there hadn’t been a second date.

So Sokka calmly made tea, added sugar, and woke Katara to drink it before sending her back to bed. Sokka knew she was in bad shape when she didn’t even fight with him about it. Dad hovered. He didn’t know what to do. Sokka didn’t either. If they were a normal water tribe family, Sokka would have trusted his father to protect them. But they weren’t a normal water tribe family, and Sokka had skills his father didn’t.

“She’s tough.” Toph agreed. “Let her sleep for a few hours, and she’ll be up and moving again.”
A few hours turned into a few days, but by the second one, Katara could sit up and sip broth before falling back asleep.

Toph and Sokka split their time between sparring in the training room and sitting with Aang and Katara. Their preferred method of fighting was less about practice and more about seeing who could throw the other person further across the room. The Water Tribe members didn’t understand it. Sokka was ok with that. Dad tried to get him to practice with spears or clubs or any of the weapons he would have been trained on had he not taken a detour to the Fire Nation. But the spear felt too big, and the club felt too awkward. His knives felt like a natural extension of his body at this point.

The Southerners made it a point to sit together every night after dinner while they fixed up weapons and checked the watch schedule. Sokka hated it. Everyone treated him like just some kid instead of a battle-tested warrior. Community was important, but checking the watch schedule should have been a five-minute job. The Southerners turned it into a three-hour ordeal where people talked about the day or chatted aimlessly. Sokka needed to be with Katara! He polished his knives in the meetings anyway. He couldn’t waste that much time. Dad followed him out on the second night when he left early.

“I’m going to check on Katara,” Sokka stated.

“Great,” Dad replied. “I’ll come too.”

“Sure you don’t want to watch the night watch rota get debated again for the 10th time?” Sokka challenged him. Dad shrugged.

“The nightwatch rota can be Bato’s responsibility. You and Katara are my priority right now.”

Funny way of showing it. Sokka wanted to throw back at him. Funny way of showing it. He took a long and slow breath. That attitude didn’t help Katara at all. His priority needed to be Katara. He and Dad could get along for Katara. They’d put her and Aang in beds next to each other. Toph was already there.

“You’re done early.” She commented.

“Can you even tell who we are right now?” Sokka asked. Toph shrugged.

“The ship’s metal. So I can kind of feel you through it. It feels like opening your eyes underwater, if that makes sense.”

“It does, actually,” Sokka replied. He checked Katara’s pulse. It was stronger than yesterday.
Dad nodded at him expectantly. Sokka nodded back. “Better than yesterday. She’s on the mend.” Dad checked Aang’s pulse.

“Same here,” he noted. Sokka took a deep breath. Everything would be fine. Everything would be fine. “You’ve both done a good job caring for them.”

“I’m gonna take a walk.” Toph stood up and ambled out the door. Dad blinked. Sokka swallowed his laugh. Toph was so many things. She was not subtle.

“Sokka, I’m proud of you,” Dad added. Sokka blinked. So they were doing this now. “My only regret is that so much landed on your shoulders when you were so young.” Sokka furrowed his brow.

“Would it have been better for me to be taken when I was older?” He asked. There’s no way that’s what Dad meant. No way, right?

“Sokka! No, of course not!” Dad shifted down next to him so they could sit together. “So much went wrong that day. And because your mom and I failed to protect you kids, you had to step up. And that wasn’t fair of us.” So much had gone wrong that day. Sokka had stopped replying to it in his head a while ago. At a certain point, it just became an act of cruelty to himself when he was already being subjected to them daily. The adults could have found plenty of other options. They could have seen the ships coming and sent Katara outside the village. Mom could have lied better. Bato could have held them better. Sokka shrugged.

“Nothing to do about it now.” He replied. He picked at his fingernails and swallowed. His throat felt tight. Dad bit his lip.

“I wish I could go back in time and protect you, but I can’t.” He offered. “And I’m trying to protect you now, but it’s clear that I don’t know how to do that anymore.”

“So stop trying,” Sokka spat back. Why was his voice so venomous? Why was he so angry? Dad hadn't done anything wrong, but it’s not like he’d done anything right. Sokka curled up into himself. He needed to stop being difficult. Dad probably wasn’t like Iroh like that. Sokka could have yelled at Iroh or pulled a knife on him (he’d done both), and Iroh only would have held him while he sobbed. Dad wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t possibly be asked to.

“Sokka, I will never stop trying to protect you. That’s my job as your dad.” Dad replied. “And if mom were here, she’d say the same thing.”

“No one can protect anyone,” Sokka replied. “Not as long as Ozai is alive.” Dad smiled.

“So let’s kill Ozai,” Dad suggested. Sokka pitched his head back and laughed. He hadn’t had a nightmare about the man in ages, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still terrified of him. Even Iroh was scared of him!

“I’m honestly not sure if that’s possible.”

“Why not?” A bell began ringing somewhere on the ship. Sokka looked to his dad, his eyes went wide. “That’s our contact bell. It’s another Fire Nation ship.” Dad explained. “We’ve had this happen a few times. We’ll be fine.” Sokka nodded.

“You got another uniform I can wear?” Sokka asked. Dad smiled.

“Let’s do it.”

The entire ship moved in coordinated chaos, and Sokka felt bad for disparaging his people earlier. They clearly knew how to move quickly when it counted. Someone tossed him a uniform, and he quickly tugged it on. They’d ranked him too highly, though. He was way too young to be out of the academy, much less an officer. Hopefully, no one would comment on it. What would he say if they did?

“We just need to keep them away from Katara and Aang,” Sokka explained. Toph nodded.

“I’ll lock the door from the inside. How thorough have they usually been with the inspections?”

“Not very,” Dad replied.

“If they get too close, we can trade them alcohol or start a wrestling match,” Sokka suggested. He’d heard of it being done before. People got bored at sea, even the Fire Nation. Dad nodded.

“That’s how it usually goes.” He offered. Sokka shrugged.

It turned out this wasn’t even a formalized ship inspection. Fire Nation ships did get bored with terrorizing the innocent, and they wanted to trade alcohol and swap ration packs. They all ended up in the dining area. Dad did most of the talking. Sokka only spoke when someone stared at the rank insignia on his arm; Dad froze beside him when they noticed.

“I know.” Sokka nodded. “My friend and I swapped for a prank.” He’d never heard of the Fire Nation soldiers swapping uniforms for pranks. Ahzu and Iroh’s guards would have done it if it were an option. He braced for the inevitable consequences to come.

“That’s hysterical!” The lead Fire Nation officer commented. “We should do that too.” The others nodded in agreement.

“Gotta do something out here.” Sokka agreed. “It’s just so boring.”

“Tell me about it.” One offered. “Did you all get that new set of orders about the kids on the flying bison?”

“We did.” Dad agreed. “Crazy world.”

“Do we actually think the bison can fly?” Someone was pouring drinks. Sokka bit his lip. If they took their helmets off to drink, they’d be found out. They didn’t exactly look Fire Nation.

“I’m more interested in the avatar. The orders said he’s dead?” Someone else replied.

“They did?” Sokka’s voice shot up. That was what he called a strategic advantage. He brought his voice back down. “They did. I’m surprised we weren’t all rerouted to the seal freaks.” His dad tilted his helmet at him. Sokka ignored him.

“My cousin is on His Imperial Majesty's Imperial Cruiser number 37.” One of the quieter ones spoke up. His rank insignia marked him as the youngest. “He said they got orders to head North but nothing else.’

“Iroh!” Their leader sighed. “You don’t need to use the cruiser’s full designation when talking casually.” Sokka let the gut punch hit him. Iroh.

“And OPSEC.” Sokka chided. “But let’s drink to your cousin’s safety.” Dad’s helmet tilted again, and Sokka knew he was getting serious side eye.

“Here, here.” The leader replied. Sokka left his helmet on but pitched the cup back under it. He’d just look like a new guard try-hard. They all would. He could live with that.

“And how about General Iroh! I never would have thought of him as a traitor.” The leader began to deal out a deck of cards. Sokka groaned internally. Not only was this not a topic he wanted to discuss, but there was no way his dad and Bato knew Fire Nation card games. Hopefully, they’d just follow his lead.

“He was always a little weird, though.” OPSEC cousin guy spoke again. “Maybe losing his son screwed with his head.”

“That’d do it,” Dad commented. Sokka chuckled. He picked up a card and tossed it back into the middle. Dad followed his lead.

“Nah. I think it was that Water Tribe kid.” The leader replied. Sokka shuffled his hand of cards. “Made him go soft.” Dad went still beside him. Sokka kicked him under the table. This was no time to freeze up.

“To be fair, I know some of the guys in the Southern Raiders, they all said he was the sweetest kid and never made trouble for them.” Another one commented. "And you know the Southern Raiders. They're not exactly the touchy feely type." Sokka wanted to die. This could not be happening. Plus, he’d definitely made trouble! He’d bitten someone, twice! Someone else dealt a card. Bato put a card back. Sokka nodded.

“A girl from my hometown left to work in the imperial kitchens. I met her for drinks once in the Capitol. She said she admired him.” Sokka’s heart hurt. Was he talking about Ming? Was she ok? Was any of Iroh’s staff?

“Who wouldn’t? Conniving little thing bought the real last water bender time to get trained.” The leader added. “Brilliant move from the kid.” Sokka nodded.

“How did General Iroh not figure that out? Really, that’s what I’m interested in knowing.” Sokka chimed in. His side of the table needed to contribute a little bit to the gossip and speculation. It was the Fire Nation way.

“Urg. Good question.” OPSEC guy added. “It adds a whole new layer to the fiasco at the Northern Tribe.”

“And the Prince’s original banishment.” The leader added. Sokka leaned in.

“I never heard what happened that night.” He asked. He knew exactly what had happened that night, but he needed to steer the conversation away from himself and back to the information he wanted. Plus, it was kind of fun to be gossiping again.

“I don’t think anyone knows.” The leader replied. “Not that it matters anymore. Prince Zuko is back in the line of succession.”

“Yeah, for now.” OPSEC guy chimed in again. Sokka dealt another card.

“What makes you say that? They say he killed the Avatar.” Sokka didn’t technically know that’s what they were saying, but if Zuko was back with his honor, there was only one way that had happened.

“I shouldn’t say.” OPSEC guy backtracked. Sokka nodded. That was more than fair. Being critical of the line of sucession could lose someone their tounge. They played one more round of cards. Dad and Bato occasionally joined in the conversation with comments about card plays or notes about logistics this far West.

They got the Fire Nation guys off the ship by late night. Sokka waved and told the OPSEC guy that he hoped his cousin stayed safe and that the leader got to make it back to Ming. Honestly, he and Ming had talked about a lot of stuff, and she’d never mentioned this guy so he didn’t like the guy's odds. The ships pulled apart, and Sokka exhaled. The full moon was up. Sokka tilted his head back and wished Yue a good night.

“Sokka...” Dad began. Sokka shook his head.

“For the record, I did cause trouble for the Southern Raiders. I bit a guy, like twice.” He stated.

“Even if you hadn’t, that’d be understandable.” Bato led. Sokka shrugged.

“We got some good information. I’d been wondering about Iroh and Zuko.” He commented. He missed Zuko more than he cared to admit. Not the Zuko who was back in the palace now, but the Zuko who used to plan Pai Sho strategies and spar with him. The Zuko who existed now was such an angry person. Sokka wondered if there was any part of his old friend left.

“Sokka, do you want to talk about any of this?” Dad asked. Sokka swallowed. The thing was, he did want to talk about it. He wanted to talk about Ming and how he was scared for her and Ahzu. He wanted to talk about how Iroh had protected him and cared for him like he was his own son. He wanted to talk about Zuko and how devastating it was that he'd come so far only to revert back to being desparate for some version of honor that didn't exsist. Sokka wanted to talk about all of these things, but there was no way his dad could ever understand. So instead he just shook his head.

“Nah.”

Notes:

I was kicking and screaming as I was writing this so im hoping that yall get similar feels as you read it

Chapter 28

Sokka forced himself through another set of drills. If he stopped moving, someone would try and talk to him about the Fire Nation's visit, and he didn’t want that. He really, really didn’t want that.

Arms in. Feet forward. Weight evenly distributed. Core engaged. He grit his teeth. This was an easy drill. It shouldn’t take brainpower. He could do this when he was 12 and freaking out about Ozai; he needed to be able to do it now.

“Sokka,” Dad called softly. He had a teapot and cups in his hands. Sokka let his sword arm drop. He’d known this was coming. Dad was probably going to yell at him for something. What had he ever done? Maybe it was more like what he hadn’t done. He hadn’t kept the tribe’s honor intact. Maybe that was it. Yeah, that was probably it. “I brought you some tea, want to take a break?” Sokka shifted his weight. Was this a trick question? Still, the tea smelled good. “Katara said the jasmine is your favorite?”

“She’s awake?” Sokka lurched towards the door. Dad nodded.

“She is. Still in bed, but she’ll be recovered by the end of the day.”

“Good.” Sokka breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less thing he needed to worry about. Dad sat down and set out the tea in front of him. Sokka’s stomach did flips as he dropped down too.

“You saved us again, Bato, and I wouldn’t have known how to deal with the Fire Nation soldiers wanting to trade.” Dad’s tone was diplomatic, gentle even. Sokka nodded.

“It was a lucky guess.” Sokka offered. Dad smiled.

“Give yourself some credit. You kept them talking, too. It was impressive.”

“It’s not hard. Just listening in on conversations and knowing how to follow the gossip.” He missed Ming. She’d kept him updated about all the happenings around the Capitol, and now Iroh was in jail, and she was probably two cells over from him. Ozai would assume the entire staff had been in on the plan to help him escape. He hoped they wouldn’t hurt her. She was a good woman. Dad poured him a cup of tea and passed it over to Sokka. His head ached. It was all just too much right now.

“Sokka, I…I don’t know how to be your dad right now.” Dad led. Sokka stopped sipping his tea. His headache vanished. What was this? A trap? “I understand that there are things about your time with the Fire Nation that you don’t want to talk about, and I understand that I don’t have a right to that information, but I don’t care what you had to do to survive….I care that you’re back here with us.”

“You don’t care?” Sokka asked. He blinked. There were a couple of ways to take that statement. Dad nodded.

“I care that you’re healthy and alive, and I’m so grateful to anyone who protected you when I couldn’t.” Dad’s brown eyes weren’t blinking. “It sounds like his name is Iroh?” Sokka nodded, and something welled up in his throat.

“He kept me safe.” Sokka croaked out. “And now they have him.” Iroh had protected Sokka for years, and now Sokka couldn’t do a thing to help the man. The shame burned a hole in his middle.

“Ok.” Dad nodded. “So let’s get him back.” Sokka couldn’t look his dad in the eye.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Sokka replied. His throat felt so tight.

“Says who?”

“Ozai.” Sokka whispered.

“We’re going to kill Ozai.” Dad reminded him. “Bato spread your message about the day of the Black Sun. We’ll free your friend then.” Sokka nodded. That wasn’t a terrible plan. There was another thing that bothered him about the invasion, but Dad wasn’t the person to ask about it. Sokka didn’t know if he should wear Southern Water Tribe armor when the time came but he could figure that part out himself. Worst case, he could wear the Northern Tribe’s version. There was another concern that bubbled at the base of his skull. What if he ran into Han Lo or Ahzu during the invasion? He couldn’t hurt them. He knew that. And what made them any different than the other regular Fire Nation guards who weren’t sadistic but were just trying to serve their nation? Some of them hadn’t helped him, but they’d made it possible for the others to do so.

Every time Ming Ahzu or Han Lo had helped him, there were at least a few others not reporting them or covering their tracks. Could he kill them? Would he need to? And if he brought any of this up to Dad, would they accuse him of going soft on the enemy? He had gone soft on the enemy, but only because the enemy had gone soft on him. He just needed to wait until Aang was feeling better. Aang would get it. Dad tapped the puff of his wolf’s tail.

“The Northies taught you this?”

‘Yeah.” Sokka replied.

“You can wear the Northern style, but your roots are in the South. You want me to show you the Southern style?” Dad offered. Sokka nodded. Taraq had said that Dad would show him as soon as they were back together. He’d honestly forgotten. Hair was rather low on his priority list. Sokka nodded. “Come on then.” Dad pushed himself up off the floor. Sokka followed him. Sokka tugged the tie out of his hair, and it fell out around his shoulders in choppy layers. “You’ve done well to replicate it so closely without seal blubber. I needed a bucket of the stuff to make my top layer lie flat when I was your age.”

“Thanks.” Sokka hadn’t actually put any effort or thought into that element of it.

“You and Kya have the same hair texture,” Dad commented. He tugged his own hair tie out and demonstrated how Sokka should gather it into a reverse hold. Sokka froze. Who was Kya? Why didn’t he know her? Was that Gran Gran? No, it had to be Mom. A memory of someone holding him in their family igloo while dinner cooked on the fire resurfaced. Mom let him stir the soup. Dad came back into the igloo with Katara. Yeah. Mom’s real name was Kya. How had he forgotten that? If Dad had noticed his internal panic, he hadn’t said anything. “Want me to show you again?” His hair was back up in the wolf's tail. That was fast. Sokka nodded. “It’s just a flip.” He did it one more time, slowly. Sokka still couldn’t get it. His fingers weren’t nimble enough, or he just wasn’t a Southie anymore. Dad finished it for him and reminded him it took practice. “Your granddad had to do my hair right before I went on one of my first dates with your mom. It was a whole deal.”

Sokka stared at himself in the mirror. So this is what he would look like if he’d never been taken. Well, not exactly. He still wore the Fire Nation base layer because it was just that effective at keeping out the cold, and his face had filled in differently than it would have if he were eating fish for every meal. But the hair, that’s who he could have been. The thought registered, and Sokka pushed it away. Dwelling on the past when the present needed him so desperately was a bad call. Iroh needed him, Katara needed him, Aang needed him, and Zuko needed someone. Maybe not him, but maybe Iroh could snap him out of it. There was no way to know.

He spent the rest of the day sitting near Katara’s bed and watching Aang’s chest rise and fall slowly.

“Nice hair.” She commented. Sokka nodded his thanks. He opened his mouth to reply, but she kept going. “We’re stressing Dad out.”

“What?”

“He has no idea how to parent us right now. And we have no idea how to be parented. We just need to get through it.” She stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sokka supposed it probably was evident to her. She was better with these things than he was.

“How?”

“Same way we get through everything,” Katara replied. “We’ll just keep going.” She said it with the same tone that had gotten them out of the desert earlier, and for the first time, Sokka realized that while he was glad the Fire Nation had taken him in her place, she’d have been fine. To be honest, she might’ve actually escaped. He shook his head to clear the thought. No torturing himself over the past when the present needed him. It was his new rule. So he nodded and grabbed her hand.

“We just keep going.” He agreed.

Notes:

Big brother Sokka is no match for the powers of eldest daughter Katara.

Chapter 29

Katara ladled soup into a bowl and passed it to Sokka. He mouthed his thanks. She did the same for Dad. Sokka sipped it slowly and winced. It was way too hot. He gave himself a moment to appreciate the situation. Three out of the five members of his birth family were together, and they all seemed to be getting along. It was too much to hope for. Sokkka smiled. Dad seemed to have made his peace with the fact that Sokka wasn’t going to talk about the Fire Nation and that Katara was the one who was really in charge of their family. Maybe Katara had talked to Dad? He wasn’t sure. It was nice, he reflected, to have them all back together.

Aang was up and moving soon after, and reality bit Sokka’s stomach. They couldn’t have the avatar and their army together. Too many eggs in one basket. He brought it up one night at dinner. Dad nodded.

“You’re right, but I wish there were another way.” He looked at them sadly. Sokka shrugged.

“We’ll all be together again soon.” He promised. He even believed it this time.

“Let’s just stay a few more days. Aang is feeling stronger, and the rest of us are fully recovered.” Katara suggested. Sokka nodded.

“Sounds good.”

The days passed quickly. Aang seemed upset about something, but Sokka couldn’t figure out what. They had a rare strategic win! The Fire Nation thought he was dead. They never had wins like this. The invasion would be a complete surprise.

“Yue says hi,” Aang told Sokka one morning at breakfast.

“What?” Sokka asked.

“Yue says hi.” Aang offered. The avatar continued eating as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sokka wanted to ask follow-up questions, but he didn’t. He had a feeling the explanation would deny any belief.

He spent as much time as he could practicing sparring with his dad. It was still weird, really weird, but he could tell they were both trying. Katara said that was all that mattered.

Too soon, it was time to start loading Appa up with supplies. Aang and Toph were ready, but Sokka and Katara had one more goodbye they needed to say first.

“We’ll see you in a month.” Katara lept into Dad’s arms.

“You will. Write if you need anything or…” He held out another arm to Sokka, and Sokka let himself be pulled in. Dad clutched his head. “Be smart. Look after each other. You two are my whole world.” He kissed each of their foreheads.

“Gonna be ok,” Sokka said aloud. This was so different than the last time he’d needed to say goodbye to Dad. There was less yelling this time. Less crying, too. Dad nodded.

“It will be ok. And I’ll see you soon!” Sokka wasn’t sure if he was trying to make them feel better or what. “Do whatever it takes to stay alive. We can always fight another day, but we can’t find another Sokka or Katara anywhere.” He continued. Dad grabbed Sokka’s hand and squeezed it. “Promise me. Both of you.”

“We promise,” Katara stated.

“Yeah.” Sokka led. But what was he saying? If he had the chance to kill Ozai at the cost of his own life, would he take it? Probably. Actually, yeah, he would. If he could guarantee that his life would buy safety for the rest of the world, Sokka would make that deal in a heartbeat. He’d already done it once. He looked Dad in the eye. “I promise.” Dad held his gaze. Dad knew he was lying; how could he not? However, there was also nothing he could do about it. Sokka was beyond him now. Their family had one last hug. Katara turned and scaled Appa’s side. Sokka followed. Dad stayed on the bridge of the ship until Appa disappeared into the clouds. Soka watched him go with a sharp pit in his stomach.

It wasn’t a far flight to the mainland, maybe an hour or two. No one spoke. Silence hung over the group like a burial shroud. Katara cried a little bit. Sokka crawled up to the front with Aang so she could have a moment of privacy. Sokka took deep breaths. He felt the change in the air first. It clung to his skin like a blanket, and he knew they’d want to steal Fire Nation silks and cotton as soon as possible not only to blend in but they’d need it to deal with the heat. The air felt heavy in his lungs again. Sokka closed his eyes and let the heat wash over him. He knew where they were. Maybe not exactly physically on a map, but his skin prickled with the discomfort of familiarity as Appa landed.

For a moment, everyone stood frozen. It had been months since they’d had to make camp together. Did they even remember what to do?

“Hey,” Sokka led. “We’re going to be ok.”

“Yeah we are.” Toph agreed. Aang nodded. Katara took a shaky breath. There were still tear tracks down her face. Sokka grabbed her hands. It was one of those rare moments where no one spoke, but the entire group moved in unison. The hug lasted for a few breaths. And Sokka closed his eyes to let himself be held and held in turn. It was their first time being just themselves, the team, since the fiasco in the Earth Kingdom. No one wanted to speak and break the silence that hung over them so protectively. Sokka cleared his throat.

“First order of business is we make camp. Second order of business is we steal some clothes so we can go incognito.” Sokka led.

“You want to steal random people’s clothes?” Katara clarified. Sokka nodded.

“Yes. I love being in Water Tribe Blue again, but we need to blend in. We need cotton for this climate.” He explained. Katara nodded.

“Ok then.” And just like that, they made camp again. Katara and Toph bickered over space. Aang and Sokka washed dishes while the sun set over the beach. Somehow, the heavy air felt like a blanket over him as he drifted off to sleep with the sound of the others breathing nearby. Yes, the way the air tasted in his mouth reminded him of the cage and the zo,o but it also reminded him of being at Iroh’s and the summer bonfires the guards would build. Maybe he could just focus on that.

Swiping the clothes was easier than Sokka thought it would be. He’d been prepared to mentally let himself break a little bit when he took off his Water Tribe blue and slipped back into the Fire Nation red. But Iroh was right. It was really just an outfit change and a swap of color schemes.
They kept moving. Sokka hoped that the thefts would be chalked up to the wind blowing the clothes away.

It all threatened to come crashing down when Aang got arrested by a truancy officer of all things and ended up spending a few days at a Fire Nation boarding school. Katara and Sokka had to pretend to be his parents to bust him out. Sokka spent most of the conversation waiting for armed guards to bust through secret doors and take him back to the zoo, but none came. They just lied with every word and got Aang back.

“It was kinda fun.” Aang offered later that week around the campfire. “I love our great leader Ozai and how he wiped out the air nation army, which didn’t exist.”

“Did they mention anything about Iroh? Or the line of succession?” Sokka asked. Aang shook his head.

“No. They just said the Fire Nation is here to bring prosperity to the rest of the world, and the other forms of bending are a threat to that…” Aang fell quiet. He looked to Sokka. “Does everyone here really believe that?” Sokka nodded.

“From what I’ve seen, yeah. The brainwashing goes deep.” He was silent. He thought about the soldiers they’d traded with on the ship. One of them had spoken against the Royal Family, not openly, but they had certainly used coded language. Maybe there were dissenters in the ranks. Perhaps there were more Zun Los, Ahzus, and Mings. “In the morning, we need to put as much space between us and this town as possible.” The others nodded.

Keeping a low profile proved to be a struggle for their group. This far out from the Capitol, news of the Avatar’s death had spread, but not really. There were still wanted posters for Zuko up and rewards for all of their captures. The Fire Nation kept most of their factories in these towns. The pollution was far enough away from the Capitol, so it didn’t bother anyone, and it was much easier to garrison a smaller group of soldiers.

On their third factory town, Appa mysteriously fell ill, and healing supplies began to go missing without explanation. Sokka knew only one person was to blame. He pretended to sleep one night as she got up.

“Going somewhere?” He asked. Katara went red.

“These people need help! They need a healer!”

“I’m not disputing that, but they have our wanted posters in their town square! What do you think they’ll do if they catch a water bender?”

“I’d better not get caught then.” She pushed past them.

“At least wear a disguise.” Sokka chided. Katara paused.

“That’s not a bad idea. Who are their spirits?”

“Uhhh…” Sokka thought back to his readings. The spirits had never really interested him. He’d preferred the scrolls about the old battles and lineage drama. But Ming once referred to a Painted Lady as the protector of river towns. And the town had a statue of a lady with face paint in the middle? That had to be something. “I think there’s a lady with face paint?”

“Great. I’ll make some face paint and wear a veil.” Katara spun on her heels and headed off.

They ended up blowing the factory to smithereens and then cleaning the river. The town’s mayor said they would keep it quiet. The man clearly knew who they were, but he didn't ask any follow up questions. Sokka was grateful for that, but he still made the group put distance between them and the village. Better safe than sorry.

They ended up a two-day flight away in a more provincial village. They made camp in the woods, a short walk from the center, so they could still obtain their supplies without sacrificing privacy.

“I overheard people saying that villagers have been going missing when I was buying vegetables.” Katara offered as she stirred the dinner stew.

“That’s it.” Sokka stood up. “We’re leaving. We are not staying here.”

“Sokka!” Toph commented. “It’s probably fine. Just kids playing a prank or something.”

“Fine.” He noted. “But we are keeping a low profile this time. No heroics and no drawing attention to ourselves.”

Sokka went with Katara and Aang into the village the next morning to grab supplies. Was it his imagination, or was that old lady staring at them? No, she was staring. She had the typical Fire Nation look about her, with weathered skin and gray hair piled up into a bun. There was something familiar about her. Maybe she used to work at the Palace. That would be atrocious luck.

“You’re being paranoid,” Katara promised as they began the walk back. “You’ve been through a lot here, and you’re doing a great job at keeping us safe.”

“Katara’s right.” Aang bounced alongside her. Sokka fought the urge to roll his eyes. “You’re doing great. Everything is fine.” Sokka and Katara glanced at each other. Someone saying that everything was fine usually didn’t bode well in their group. Whatever it was, they’d need to figure it out.

It was Toph’s night to cook dinner, which meant it was Sokka and Aang’s night to cook, while Toph gave instructions and then took all the credit, assigning all the blame. By this point, it had become a tradition. A crackling in the woods made Sokka drop the pan.

“Well, well, well.” The old woman from before stepped into their camp. Sokka was on his feet in seconds with his knives drawn. Katara held spirals of water up. Toph and Aang took similarly defensive stances.

“Told you so.” Sokka tossed out to Katara. He didn’t take his eyes off the old lady. She couldn’t be that much of a threat, could she?

“You did.” She replied. The old lady smiled.

“If the propaganda is to be believed,” She led. Sokka raised his swords. “I’m welcoming the Last Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe and the strategic genius who preserved our people’s heritage.” Wait. Did she say ‘our peoples’? Sokka’s arm trembled. “Sokka and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe and your companions, it is my pleasure to welcome you to my second home. My name is Hama.”

Notes:

The Hama arc is one I've written and rewritten several times. There's a lot of dynamics to unpack in the group, and Canon Hama is a gifted manipulator on top of knowing just where people's sore points are.

Chapter 30: Hama 1

Summary:

The first part of our Hama arc

Hama insisted they come stay in her house. She had enough beds for them, so it wasn’t like Sokka could complain, but he was still suspicious of the woman. He thought back to what Iroh had told him about the water bender who’d escaped and triggered the subsequent slaughter of the others. That had to have been Hama, right? But the woman who cooked breakfast for them didn’t seem capable of escaping a Fire Nation prison. Sokka barely remembered Gran Gran, but from what he could remember, Hama reminded him a lot of Gran Gran. And Sokka couldn’t imagine Gran Gran escaping a Fire Nation prison and damning the rest of their people to suffering. Hama and Gran Gran were old friends. She teared up when she realized. Katara did too.

“Sokka, come walk with me,” Hama suggested. Sokka nodded. That was a good idea. He had questions he couldn’t ask in front of the others, and he was sure she did, too. They ended up in a field of fire lilies. “I was there for the Fire Lord’s birthday parade.” She led. Sokka froze. Of all the things she could have seen…“I had aspirations of breaking you out or at least getting you something you could use to break yourself out. But the crowds were too thick.” Sokka nodded. Every muscle in his body tensed.

“There was a lot of security.” He couldn’t look at her. The sun was rising over the forests. His face felt hot.

“I think they had you in my friend’s wolf pelt. His name was Kenne.” She offered softly. Sokka nearly choked on the air. He kept memories of that day tightly wrapped up in his head. The heat and the pain had helped him disassociate for most of it, but he could remember flashes. Sweat had made the wolf pelt stick to his skin.

“I swear I fought back.” He fell to his knees in the center of the lilies. This was it. Someone who had witnessed his pain and humiliation at the hands of the Fire Nation and who knew how he hadn’t earned the Wold Pelt, and now he was going to have it all dragged out of him again and-

“Sokka…”

“I said the prayer of the dead for him, but”

“Sokka,” Hama spoke again. “You were a child. And they hurt you over and over. All you could do was survive.” Sokka shuddered, and then he felt tears running down his face.

“I swear I tried to escape. I did, but…”

“But you were beaten and starved and broken.” Hama finished. “You survived. That’s all.” Sokka nodded. Why was he still crying?

“Please don’t tell the others.” He begged. “Especially Katara. She already feels guilty enough.”

“Why would she feel guilty?” Hama seemed confused. She eased herself down to the ground beside Sokka. He swallowed and shifted his weight.

“When the Fire Nation came to our village, something went wrong, and they figured out Katara was the bender. I kicked snow so it looked like I was bending, and then they took me instead.” Hama sat in silence for a minute. A light breeze made the fire lilies dance. Birds were chirping in the distance.

“They thought your snow kicks were bending?” A mirth in her voice made her sound like Gran Gran.

“Yeah.”

“I hope they’re in charge of the war.”

“No kidding.” Sokka leaned back. The question he wanted to ask danced on his tongue. Hama had asked him a question; now he got one. It was only fair. “How did you escape?” He asked.

“I got lucky.” She replied. “They kept us in cages all the time. Not unlike what you endured in the zoo.” Sokka froze. How could she possibly know about that? “The moon’s cycle is a powerful thing. It could still sustain me. I learned how to bend the condensation off the ceiling. One day, they just began killing all of us, cage by cage.” She paused. Sokka didn’t react. So whoever it was who had initially escaped and initiated the massacre, it wasn’t Hama. “Bending sometimes improves with adrenaline. I managed to use the condensation to get the door open. I ran.” Her voice was flat. Her eyes gazed at an undefined point in the distance. “I should have gone back for the others.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Sokka immediately weighed in. “One starved and beaten water bender against how many of their soldiers? Your survival alone is enough.” She smiled and didn’t take her eyes off the distance.

“I could say the same thing to you.” He replied. She wrapped an arm around him, and Sokka stifled before resting his head on her shoulder. “At least I was an adult. You were a child.” Sokka shrugged. A whiplash hurt, regardless of your age.

Hama kept them all busy in her vegetable garden and the plots of land where she grew flowers. Like all Water Tribe elders, she had a chore list, and it would get done.

“How did you escape?” Katara asked during dinner on their second night. Hama had made pulled chicken that tasted like dried sea prunes, or at least what Sokka could remember anyway. Hama swallowed and sipped her tea.

“I got very lucky.” She stated. That was the end of the conversation. “How are your bending forms?” She changed the topic.

“Good,” Katara replied. “The Northern Tribe named me a Master.”

“A master? At your age? By the Northern tribe?” Hama sipped her tea again. “You’d be a generational talent.” Katara cocked her head and smirked. She opened her mouth.

“She is a generational talent,” Sokka stated before Katara could get another word out. Aang nodded.

“Yeah! She works hard, too, but she’s a natural.”

“We’ll see.” Hama speared a piece of meat with her fork and brought it to her mouth. Katara shifted in her seat, and something turned in Sokka’s stomach. He was missing something.

Toph roused Sokka from sleep that night. An almost full moon shone in through the window.

“Hama and Katara are outside. I think they’re fighting.” She whispered. What? Sokka roled out of bed. He’d seen stranger things, but Hama and Katara fighting, and not just training, would top the list.

“Are they fighting or just sparring?” He asked. Toph bit her lip.

“Sparring. I think.”

“Ok. Let’s just wait up for her. Intelligence gathering?” He posed. Toph nodded.

“You take the first shift.” She crawled back into bed. Sokka blinked at her. That’s not how intelligence gathering worked! Toph waved at him, and Sokka rolled his eyes.

“I saw that.” She threw over her shoulder as she pulled the blankets up.

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. You always roll your eyes.” She tossed back. Sokka rolled his eyes again.

“Fine.” He noted. Toph giggled. She punched a pillow and settled back down. Sokka counted his breaths as the minutes piled up in an hour. Katara came back in just before the sun rose. She slipped into the room silently and leaned against the doorframe.

“You ok?” Sokka sat up. Katara nodded.

“Yeah, I.” She was out of breath. “She’s a lot stronger than she looks.” Katara went straight to bed. Sokka paused.

“Did you talk to her?” He asked. Hama wouldn’t have told Katara what they had discussed earlier, would she?

“No.” Katara quickly replied and pulled the blankets over her head. “We just trained a little.” Sokka nodded. That was to be expected.

One day turned into three, and Sokka couldn’t let himself relax. Toph insisted the rocks were talking to her, and Sokka rolled his eyes. She tackled him.

“Next you’re going to say Momo is your bending teacher.” He teased. Aang grinned.

“Hey. Master Momo is an excellent teacher. I’ve learned a lot from watching how he moves.”

“Sokka eye roll in 3, 2, 1…” Toph led. Sokka rolled his eyes and then laughed.

They had time to kill before the invasion, and if they were going to lie low anywhere, doing it with the woman who had evaded Fire Nation detection for decades was the person to do it with, but his stomach turned every time he sat down. He could tell Katara was feeling off about something too. She and Hama sparred at night under the protection of the night sky and woods.

“She’s excellent,” Katara admitted quietly to Sokka while they took inventory of their supplies. “Apparently the Southern tribe has its own style, which makes sense, and I’m trying to learn it, but she’s a harsh teacher.”

“Worse than Pakku?” Sokka whispered. Katara nodded. Sokka shrugged.

“She’s just trying to be helpful.” Even as he said it, his stomach churned. “You’re the hope for keeping the style alive.” Katara bit her lip.

“I guess.” She murmured. “Something just feels off here. Every time we go on a supply run to the town, we hear about these missing villagers, and she hasn’t brought it up once?” Sokka felt his skin prickle. What was Katara implying?

“Maybe she doesn’t want us to worry?” Sokka offered. There were so many plausible explanations here.

“I don’t think that’s it.” Katara shook her head. She leaned in. “Sokka, something just feels weird here. Why has she stayed in this village the whole time? Why hasn’t she tried to go home or to the Earth Kingdom or?” Sokka stopped her there.

“Because these things get complicated, Katara!” He pushed himself up from the floor and headed for the door.

“Sokka!” She called. He couldn’t explain this to her. She wouldn’t get it. Hama would, though.
Hama offered Sokka some of the water tribe clothing she had managed to collect over the years. She told him to take whatever they wanted, but Sokka couldn’t bring himself to do it. It wasn’t his. Hama said she understood and took him out to the field of fire lilies.

“You alright?” She asked. Sokka shrugged.

“Katara doesn’t get it.” He replied. She nodded.

“Sit with me.” She lowered herself to the field of lilies. Patches of the dead flowers spiraled out around them. Weird. Must be some kind of blight. “You’re right, she doesn’t get it. She’s never had to. You did a good job protecting her.” Sokka shrugged. Something welled up in him again. He’d first fearfully admitted that thing to Iroh and that he’d hidden from Dad. The thing that Katara’s question had pawed at like it was an open wound.

“Sometimes I don’t know if I’m even really Water Tribe anymore,” Sokka whispered. “I’m definitely not Fire Nation, but something about this place…” Hama would understand. She’d stayed here for a reason.

“It’s hard, isn’t it.” She smiled. “But the good news is there are no wrong answers. No right ones, but no wrong ones either.” Sokka buried his head in his palms for a minute. The warm breeze made the lilies dance. Sokka knew puffy clouds would be rolling across a pale blue sky. He swallowed. The nice weather almost always made him think of Iroh. Was he ok? Were the guards being ok with him? He was technically a traitor to the crown; there was no way the guards were being ok with him. The breaks in his heart felt too big today.

“How do you stand living here alone?” He asked. “I could handle the pain fine. It was the isolation that always nearly got me.” Hama shrugged.

“Isolation can be protection sometimes. And sometimes, it’s not so bad. There are weeks the fire lilies bloom, and the heat isn’t too bad, then I hardly ever think of the South Pole, but then…”
Sokka nodded. Thoughts of home could always come up. Usually, doing the most unexpected things. Hama patted his shoulder. “Thankfully, I’ve found there are ways to give their own actions back to them.” Sokka tilted his head. What did that mean? “Anyway, come inside. It’s dinner time.”

“Full moon tonight,” Hama commented to Katara at dinner. “If there’s anything you’re struggling with, tonight’s the time to practice. We can go out to the woods.” Katara nodded.

“Sure. I feel ok on most of the forms, but some are harder.” Sokka smirked. He felt the same way about swordplay. He never used a reverse stance because it was hard to train and so useless in a fight. Piando had even admitted that it was really only useful when fighting water benders, and…the memory almost made him chuckle. They did the dishes. Toph and Katara giggled about something. Quiet settled over the town and over Hama’s house. It was an ordinary day. As an ordinary day as they ever had on Team Avatar.

Hama woke him around midnight.

“Come with me now,” She ordered. There was an urgency to her voice. Sokka bolted up.

“What? Is Katara ok?”

“She’s fine. I’m making her practice in the North Woods. But you and I? We get justice tonight.” Sokka blinked.

“What?”

“Sokka. One of the men who was in charge of the Southern Raiders, the man who took us from home, is here visiting his family. We have a chance at justice.” Sokka nodded. He scrambled up and followed Hama into the hall.

“What do you want to do?” He asked. Hama smiled.

“I want to hurt him. The way he hurt us.” Sokka bit his lip. “Are you in?” Water tribe or Fire Nation. Aang and Katara would have counseled against taking action here. But they didn’t get it. Hama was the only person who understood what he’d been through the past few years. Even a part of Sokka wanted to say no; surfacing now could blow their tactical advantage. But it wasn’t the part that spoke.

“Let’s do it.” Hama’s smile widened.

“Good. Grab your knives. I’ll handle the rest.”

Hama led him into a new part of the town. Smaller houses lined the streets. Sokka recognized a few of the classic Fire Nation names. Dragon Street, Cherry Blossom, Ember…they really only had a few street names that they just remixed over and over again. Somewhere down the block, a baby cried, and a light turned on. Hama pushed him into some bushes. She was surprisingly spry for an old lady.

“This is the house.” She explained. “I need you to break the lock.” Sokka pounded the pommel of his sword into the lock, and the door eased open. “Wait here.” She commanded. Hama slipped inside. Sokka frowned. This was a bad plan. Hama was gonna kill the guy alone? He wouldn’t even get to watch? Maybe he didn’t want to watch. Yeah, he definitely didn’t want to watch.

Minutes passed. Sokka counted 87 breaths, and then he gasped. A sleepwalking kid came out the door wearing pajamas. He was little, seven or eight, maybe. Of all the things to happen…but here was Hama, and she didn’t seem alarmed.

“Ready?” She asked. Sokka blinked.

His first thought was that the kid was too young to be a Southern Raider, and his second was how Hama was moving him. It was like he was sleepwalking, but his muscles trembled with effort. Hama moved behind him with light-bending motions, which Sokka had recognized from watching Katara practice.

“What?” he hissed. “Hama, we can’t kill a kid. That kid didn’t do anything to us.” Hama shook her head.

“I never said we’d kill. I said we’d make them hurt the way they hurt us. And this is the youngest son of one of the Southern Raiders. We’ll stash him under the mountain.” The kid was crying. Sokka could see his mouth trying to move in effort, but no words were coming out. His eyelids trembled like he was desperately trying to open them. His heart panged. Two thoughts clicked in Sokka’s head at the same time.

First, he thought of Iroh, who was locked in some sunless dungeon away from the nature that he loved. He hadn’t sacrificed himself so that Sokka could do the same thing to some innocent kid. Second, Katara had been right, but she was in danger now. They all were. He took a deep breath. Every move had to count from here.

“How are you doing this?” Sokka asked quietly. He needed to get behind Hama and knock her out. He needed to keep her talking. He needed to get this kid out of here. His skin crawled again.

“Bloodbending.” She replied. “It’s how I made it out of that prison.” Sokka backed up. This wasn’t natural. She stared at him and then shook her head. “If more of our brothers had learned this, more would be alive.” Sokka shook his head. He chose his next words carefully.

“Hama, the kid didn’t do anything.” It looked like the poor kid was conscious, so Sokka needed to subtly prompt Hama to let him go and get the kid to trust him.

“His father is Yon Ra!” She cried. “His father beat your parents and then stole you from your mother’s arms.” Sokka paused. He hadn’t told her any of that. The only other person who could have provided those details was Katara. Hama had been playing them against each other. Sokka had been too slow to see it. He grit his teeth. Hama started walking again. Her arm motions forced the kid to walk, and based on the way the kid grimaced, it wasn’t a pleasant sensation. Sokka focused.

“If you’re not ready for justice yet, go back to the house. I’ll come find you there.” Sokka would most certainly not be doing that. He hated Yon Ra, but he hated people who hurt others more. No, not but. He could hate both. Yon Ra had been wrong to take him, and Hama was wrong to drag this kid into her revenge. Maybe if they were taking Yon Ra…..Sokka shook his head to clear those thoughts. The kid was the priority here.

“Oh, I’m ready for justice,” he replied. He stepped up behind her and swung his sword. She dropped her bending stance and moved on him. The kid hit the ground and cried out. Sokka felt his heart freeze. His arm wouldn’t move through the air. He tried to scream or to make a new move, but his body failed. Hama smiled. She moved her fingers, and Sokka’s eyes closed.

“Idiot. You want to be Fire Nation, be Fire Nation. I’ve never heard a stupider idea.” Sokka could hear someone whimpering, but he wasn’t sure if it was him or the kid. “Now we walk.” Sokka gasped as his legs moved without him telling them to. Hama was in control. He hoped the kid had been able to use his 1.5-second distraction to escape. Not his best work.

Sokka could barely move his lungs, but he mentally took a deep breath anyway. He needed to stay calm, find a way to get them out of this, and then get back to Katara. He tried to keep track of how long they walked. There was the creak of a door. Hama had them moving again.

“Welcome to your new home.” She sneered. If Sokka could talk, he would have made a snappy retort about the company in prison being better than what she could offer. He said it in his head instead. It did give him a little bit of a thrill. He loved talking back to bad guys.

Panic swallowed him as she threw him into the wall.

“They’re children…” Someone was saying. “Please let the children go.” Hama’s laugh was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

Notes:

I know I originally said that Hama would be one chapter but it just didn't feel right otherwise (tbh im still not crazy about this chapter's flow but oh well)

Hama update soon. I wrote out the entire arc but we needed a chapter break here because our boy was knocked out (again)

The emotional manipulation was tougher to write than I expected. Katara and Sokka are very different people in this than they are in canon, so Hama can't pit them against each other the way she originally did. I thought this was a happy medium.

Chapter 31: Hama 2

Sokka groaned and tried to clutch his head. Everything hurt. Everything ached. Something stopped him. His wrist…there was something metal around it. He bolted up. Someone was holding him. Sokka automatically grasped at his wrists, and a sob wrenched his body. His chest began to rise and fall rapidly. His skin felt hot. How had someone caught him again? How could Hama have put him in chains again?

“It’s ok. You’re safe.” A female voice was saying. “We need some light.” A small palm of fire appeared in the dark. People clustered around. Shackles were around everyone’s wrists. The woman holding him had a collar around her neck. Sokka grabbed at his own neck and part of a wail made it out before he could swallow it. The metal ring felt heavy. This was low, even for Hama. “What’s your name?”

“Sokka.” It slipped out. He also didn’t see any real point in lying. “There was another kid…”

“He’s here. Still asleep.”

“Oh.” Sokka had hoped he had gotten away. The others exchanged glances.

“There’s a water spring on the far wall. You probably have a headache.” She helped him up. Sokka hated the way the chains clanged as he crawled to the wall and sipped the water pooling at its base. He shuffled himself back against one of the drywalls.

“I’m going to put out the fire. I can’t keep it going.” The man who held the flames whispered. He was old. Younger than Hama but still old. The flame disappeared, and so did everything Sokka could see.

"We don't have any food. We'd give it if we had it." Someone added. Sokka let his forehead hit his knees. It was the most comfortable pose when he was shackled like this. He bit his lip.They’d lost. He’d come so far for it all to end in another Fire Nation cell. The thought made him want to laugh and cry at the same time. “When the kid wakes up, we’ll try screaming again. They’ll send out new search parties.” That was a stupid plan. No one would be able to hear them through the rocks. His forehead jerled up from his knees.

“How did Hama get us here?” Sokka asked. The way out of a cell was usually the same as the way in. He needed to understand how they'd gotten here. What were Katara and the others up against?

“She’s a waterbender. Got some kind of witchery or blood magic.”

“Blood bending. That’s what my mother called it.” The woman who had been holding Sokka earlier spoke. “Her friend was a guard at the old Water Tribe prison. Said one night during the full moon, one of the women made a guard open her cell.”

“Sunzi, we’ve been over this. It’s not possible.”

“How’d we end up here then?” Her voice was heavy with stress. It was the kind of half sob that Sokka tried to forget about.

“Please stop shouting. You’ll wake the child.” Another woman spoke. Sokka closed his eyes and then opened them. Either way, it was still dark.

“Why does it matter if we wake the child?” Someone else asked. The tone made it clear this was a topic of frequent discussion.

“Because as long as he’s asleep, he’s safe from this,” the woman replied. Sokka smirked. If only it worked like that. He closed his eyes again. It had to be three or four in the morning. He hoped Katara was safe.

His finger tapped out a sword dance on his hand. Something to focus on instead of the suffocating dark. Left, right, and then the weight shifts back into the heels and then…wait. The screaming. Toph said she heard the rocks talking.

“You’ve tried the screaming before?” He asked.

“Yes?”

“My friend heard you.” He started tapping the rock behind him at random intervals. This was such a long shot, but he was in chains again, and someone from the Water Tribe had put him there, so long shots were his only option. Come on, Toph, come on. Figure it out.

The unconscious kid stirred, and Sokka could hear one of the adults shuffle his sleeping body. What the hell was Hama thinking? This accomplished nothing. The collar pressed into his neck, and memories of the parade threatened to spill back over. Had Hama even seen him that day, or had she just heard about it? Did it matter? He supposed it didn’t. He blocked the thoughts and kept tapping. How long had he been here?

How long would Toph need to figure this out? Was Katara ok? The questions almost paralyzed him. He gritted his teeth. He needed to protect Katara. And...he needed to get out of there and stop Hama from hurting anyone else. To hold anger against the Fire Nation was one thing; Sokka had plenty of anger. But it was another thing entirely to lock up innocent people. That's what the Fire Nation had done to them...and it had been awful. Now here he was going through the same thing again because Hama couldn't remember who the real enemy was. Urg. He kept tapping. The righteous indignation made his grief easier to carry. If Hama had put Ozai here, that would have been ok. Sokka would have happily helped with that. That would have been useful for everyone! He let his mind imagine Ozai in chains next to him. That would be hysterical. Another tap, another tap, another two quick taps. Toph would figure this out, and then Sokka would never roll his eyes at her again. And if she did it within the next hour, Sokka would even take her chore rotations too. Another tap, another tap.

 

Then, the wall exploded.

Notes:

Can't keep a good lad down,

Chapter 32: Hama 3

“Sokka?” Toph shouted.

“Here!” Sokka called back. Moonlight flooded into the cell. Sokka could see the others for the first time. There were at least 20 of them. All ages, all genders. Hama hadn’t been picky. Toph snapped his cuffs off easily, and Sokka hugged her before she could go in for the collar.

“I’m starting to think you just enjoy being captured.” She commented. Despite her words, she hugged him back. Neither said anything for a moment.

“There is something really fun about it.” He agreed. Toph was able to make quick work of all of the chains. “Thanks for coming after me.” The others eyed her suspiciously. Sokka resisted the urge to comment on it. Yes, she was obviously an Earth Bender, but she was also breaking them out of jail.

“All I did was follow your message.” She replied. “Heard your taps.” Sokka nodded. That made him feel a little better. He’d helped her save them. “Go get your police force and meet us in the woods,” Toph called to the others. “We need to stop Hama.”

She and Sokka didn’t talk as they ran through the field of lilies. He could hear yelling coming from the woods. He yanked Toph down behind a fallen tree as they got close. It was a two-on-one fight, and it should have been an easy victory for Katara and Aang. But whatever this blood-bending was, Hama knew how to use it. She sent Aang flying up meters into the air. Katara screamed and used a streak of water to catch him.

“We will do this as many times as it takes for you to learn,” Hama shouted.

“I don’t want to be like you!” Katara screamed back. Sokka could tell she had been crying. Fuck. He’d really messed this one up.

“Do we charge them?” Sokka asked. Toph shrugged.

“I don’t see another option. You think she can control all of us at once?” She smirked. Sokka grinned.

“I guess we’ll find out. Go in three, two, one.” He answered. Toph yelled as she ran ahead, throwing rocks at Hama. The woman flicked her into a nearby tree without much trouble.

“Sokka?” Hama seemed genuinely surprised to see him. Katara’s shoulders sagged in relief. Hama kept talking. “I should have known. You’re a slippery rat.”

“Could say the same thing to you.” He grabbed for his weapons but then remembered that Hama had taken them. The anger bubbled up in him again. “Actually, I can’t because you got most of our people killed.”

“What?” Katara shouted. Sokka nodded. Well, technically, the Fire Nation had killed their people out of fear that another blood-bending jailbreak would occur, but Hama had caused that fear in the first place. So, it wasn’t her fault, but it was also kind of her fault. She could have gotten the other out that night, but she’d left them. Hama glanced between the two siblings. She sent Aang flying into a tree.

“Have you told your sister about how you dishonored our people?” Hama whirled her arms, and Sokka felt his blood turn into ice. She pushed him back, and Sokka leaned in and tried to fight it. It was no good. “Wearing a wolf pelt, you didn’t earn.” She threw him into a tree. “Not escaping when you could have.” She threw him up in the air. Just low enough so he could still hear. “Befriending Fire Nation soldiers?” She tutted. “You disgraced yourself and your family.”

“Who gives a fuck?” Toph shouted. She made the Earth move. Hama stumbled.

“I agree!” Katara added. Sokka felt his shoulders unclench. Hama must be distracted. He dropped to the ground, and then his body jerked again.

Toph and Katara charged Hama simultaneously. Hama threw them both back. Sokka grit his teeth. They were never going to get anywhere like this. The sun would be up soon, and theoretically, Katara and Hama would lose their peak power. But would that mean the loss of blood bending? Katara landed next to Sokka.

“She played us.” Katara panted. She climbed back up onto her knees. “Also, whatever you had to do to survive, I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as her.” Sokka tried to process her words. He felt his stomach flip again, but this time, it was Hama causing it. She waved her arms, sending Aang and Sokka careening towards each other.

“Oh hey, Sokka.” Aang waived. “This isn't our best fight.”

“Agreed.”

“Katara, you can end this. All you need to do is blood bend!” Hama yelled.

“Never.” Katara screeched. Hama whirled her arms again, and Sokka flew up into the air. His muscles relaxed. Hama had let him go, and now he was falling. And he was falling fast. Should he scream? The ground got closer. Katara screamed and dove towards him. Sokka felt his muscles tense again, and he landed gently. Hama wasn’t in a bending stance; Katara was. She panted.

“I’m sorry.” Katara was crying. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Sokka scrambled up onto his feet. “Let’s just end this.” Katara moved through a bending sequence, and Hama’s arms wrenched behind her back.

“Good. Let it flow through you.” She coached. Katara sobbed.

“Hama, please stop talking,” Sokka begged. She’d done enough damage.

The first rays of sunlight were beginning to peek through the trees.

“They’re over here!” Shouts came from the far side of the forest. The entire town had come out. Hama sunk to her knees.

“Villains! All of you!” She accused. Sokka ignored her. He wrapped his arms around Katara. More sunlight. The moon was gone.

“You’re not like her.” He tried to guess what she needed to hear. Katara nodded. She didn’t speak. Men from the village approached Hama and clamped irons on her. Sokka flinched when he heard the metal close.

“Congratulations, Katara, you’re a blood-bender,” Hama called as they began to lead her away. Katara trembled in Sokka’s arms. Aang rushed up behind them and joined the hug. Toph did the same.

“We’re ok, guys.” Sokka voiced. “We’re ok.” One of the adults from the town stepped up to them. He was an old man hunched over. Sokka didn’t recognize him from Hama’s cell or from earlier. That surprised him. He didn’t sit with why.

“She’ll be taken to the town jail for now, but…” He looked down at Katara and then over to Aang. The avatar bit his lip. He still wore the headband, so he didn’t look too obvious, but they weren’t exactly incognito. “Thank you for everything you did to stop Hama…we had no idea she was behind the disappearances.” Sokka nodded.

“She shouldn’t have hurt innocent people.” He replied. The man shrugged. His eyes lingered on Sokka, and there was a flash of recognition. Where could Sokka know him from? He studied the old man’s face, but nothing came up.

“Our innocence is always up for interpretation.” The man replied. He sighed. “Go now. There are spies everywhere, and they’ll report back on what happened here.” Sokka nodded.

“We will.” No one spoke as they hurried back to Hama's house and threw their sleeping rolls onto Appa.

"Let's raid her kitchen!" Toph decided. Aang and Katara followed her to the ground floor. Sokka turned to follow, but something stopped him. The water tribe artifacts upstairs. He hadn't wanted any of Hama's stuff originally, but now the thought of letting those items fall back into Fire Nation's hands...Sokka couldn't do it. He grabbed a bag and began packing.

"Hey," Katara called from the doorframe. "Can I help?" Sokka nodded.

"Yeah...I don't know what we're going to do with this stuff, but..."

"I agree." Katara sat next to him and began folding. "Let's talk later tonight?" Sokka nodded.

They made camp a few hour's flight away from the town, and Sokka and Katara wandered through a new set of woods to collect firewood. It was a layered conversation. Katara felt bad, Sokka felt bad, and they both wanted to move past it. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge how easy it had been for Hama to pit them against each other. The sun set on another day, and there was nothing to do but learn from the failures and move forward.

Notes:

And that's the end of the Hama arc!! Im not super happy with how it flowed but also writing it felt like going to the dentist so im just glad its over.

Chapter 33: Nightmares and Daydreams

Summary:

A filler chapter with the adapted content of nightmares and daydreams.

“Want to talk about it?” Sokka asked Katara. Hama had hung between them like a rock the past few days.

“Not really.” She replied. And then she nodded. “But I’m glad you’re my brother.”

“I’m glad you’re my sister.” He offered. She smiled. And just like that, they were back. Sokka was almost impressed with how quickly they were able to snap back into arguing. It was like nothing had changed, but now Katara knew how to take away people’s autonomy at the full moon. Sokka thought about making the joke that they should reschedule the invasion to a full moon instead of the ellipse, but something felt too far in that. Plus, it wouldn’t have been that extreme of an advantage. Better to stick with what they had.

They had another week to kill before they needed to rendezvous with the invasion force. The mood was high. Aang was in the best bending shape of his life, Toph and Katara were also in peak form. Sokka’s knives were almost as sharp as his wit. Almost. They were all counting the days by bouncing around from town to town, never staying long enough to attract attention and only drawing attention when they had no other choice. Like this lovely volcano situation they currently found themselves in.

The volcano erupted, they saved the village. People cheered.

“Do they know who we are?” Katara asked as she handed a basket of pears to Aang to secure in their food stores. Sokka shrugged.

“Anyone who is smart enough to figure out who we are is also smart enough to know that we saved their lives, so I suspect yes, but they’ll keep it under wraps.” He offered. Toph grabbed a pear.

“Hey, I think this should be our new resupply method.” They made it to the rendezvous point four days early. Katara made dinner. Sokka promised to do the dishes. Toph said she would be on the lookout. Aang was strangely quiet. Sokka supposed that was fair.

Aang helped him with the dishes. “You ok?” Sokka asked quietly. The girls were on the other side of camp; they wouldn’t hear. Aang took a deep breath.

“I’m nervous.” He admitted. “Ozai has just brought so much evil into the world.”

“He has.” Sokka agreed. “The good news is that you don’t have to do this alone. We’ll be right beside you.”

“What if I fail and we all get captured?” Aang asked.

“Then we break out and try again. And we keep trying until he’s dead.” Sokka had already thought this part through. He was terrified of going back, but he was far more scared of Ozai getting Katara, Toph, Aang, or any of the kids from the Northern tribe. He could be as melodramatic about this as he wanted in his head, but as long as Katara was alive, he had to protect her. He had a responsibility to protect everyone in the Southern tribe; he was one of their warriors. Plus, he’d been in so many Fire Nation cages; what was one more?

“What if he kills me?” Aang whispered. “The next avatar will be born in the Water Tribe, but it’d have to be the North, right?” Sokka shrugged.

“I don’t know enough about how the Avatar Cycle works to speculate. But even if the worst happens, I promise you, someone else will pick up the fight.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. And I know Zuko and Azula well enough to know that the odds are high that Azula takes Ozai out, or worse, Ozai takes Zuko out. If someone else doesn’t get them, they’ll get themselves eventually.”

“What a sad way to live.” Aang reflected. Sokka nodded.

“Yeah. Their system seems to eat anyone who has an ounce of kindness.” They finished the dishes in silence. Sokka could tell they were both still stewing over the invasion. It was really all Sokka thought about these days. They’d outlined the rough plan via Falcon communication, but the details would need to be shared once the others arrived. Plus, they’d want to change a few significant elements just in case the Fire Nation had tracked their communications. Ursa, Iroh, and now Zuko had even lost himself in that palace. Sokka had deliberately avoided thinking about what could happen if they had to fight during the invasion. Sokka would like to believe that they’d just avoid each other, but they could very easily come to blows. Maybe he shouldn’t join the others at the palace? Perhaps he should just go break Iroh out? Yeah, that was the best option. Sokka would free Iroh, and together, they could try and get through to Zuko. They had to try.

Four days became three. Aang wasn’t sleeping. “What if he still has his bending?” he asked over dinner. Sokka shrugged.

“Then we get creative. What if he dies the second his bending is gone?” Sokka countered.

“Air nomads don’t kill.” Aang sighed. He put his head between his legs. Katara rubbed his back.

“I’ll kill him.” Toph offered. Sokka nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll step in when it’s needed.” He agreed. Aang nodded.

“I guess. Still makes me a killer, though.” His shoulders sunk, and he stared off at the horizon behind them.
“Aang, if we don’t kill him, he will keep killing other people. He needs to be stopped, and death is the only option here.” Sokka stressed.

“And what happens next?” Katara asked. “Ozai’s dead. Azula’s not any better, and neither is Zuko.” Sokka made a face. “Sorry, Sokka, I know you guys were friends, but he’s different now.” Sokka made a face. What would come after Ozai? Maybe some kind of provisional government could be established. Or they could just put Iroh in charge; he was supposed to be the Fire Lord anyway.

Three days became two. Sokka had a nightmare where he had to fight Zuko, or Han Lo, or Ahzu, or Ming. The thought made him vomit in the bushes. He rubbed his forehead. He needed an alternate plan. He was never going to be able to hurt any of them. That was just dry bones of it. If he had to fight Zuko, he could just knock him out. Maybe give him to Iroh or something? He could do the same thing with Han Lo or Ahzu. But he wasn't sure he could take Ming in a fight. Ming was unbeatable. The plan gave him enough comfort to close his eyes again. 

“I’m not sleeping.” Aang admitted. Sokka hugged him.

“Hey, this is going to work.”

“What if it doesn’t? I keep having this nightmare that I show up to the fight not wearing pants.” Sokka was glad he was hugging Aang so he couldn’t see the eye roll.

“Aang, I promise you, you will wear pants. Someone will stop you if you're not.” Aang nodded.

“Thanks, Sokka.”

“Anytime, buddy, want to spar?”

“Yes.”

Two days become one. Aang blasted the sack they were using as a stand-in for Ozai. He collapsed to the ground.

“Let’s take a break. I’m more worried about overtraining now.” Katara offered. Sokka nodded. He put his knives away.

“We’re going to be fine, guys. No matter what,” he led. Toph grabbed his arm and stepped to Katara’s side.

“We can do this. We’re ready. You know I would say it if we weren’t.”

“True.” Sokka agreed. Aang smiled. Katara put an arm around him and completed their circle.

“What if it all works?” Aang asked. Sokka smiled.

One became zero. Katara and Sokka stood on the cliff, watching thick fog roll in.

“Is this going to slow the invasion force down?” She asked. Sokka shook his head.

“I think this is the invasion force.” Three water tribe masts appeared through the fog. Sokka smiled.

“You ready?” he asked her.

“You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of this,” Katara replied. “We’re going to get revenge on the people who took you.” Sokka smiled.

“I’ll settle for justice.” He offered. Katara smiled.

“I will, too.”

Notes:

Remember when I thought this would be a quick "in and out" story. lol.

Hope everyone is well. The times are trying, but so are we.

Chapter 34: Day of the Black Sun

Sokka exhaled as he pressed himself into the wall outside the prison. He could hear chaos unfolding behind him. The invasion was going about as well as could be expected. Aang, Katara, and Toph were making their way to the palace to end Ozai, and Sokka had stepped away for his side mission. Dada had offered to come to help save Iroh, but Sokka knew he could handle it, and frankly, Dad was needed with the main force.

The day came back to him through flashes. He’d been prepared to have feelings about putting on the Southern Tribe’s armor and layering the Northern Tribe’s pelt on top of it. Taraq and Dad both had been watching him as he did it, but he just put them on.

“I might not wear the pelt into battle.” He had commented to Taraq. “That’s not because I think less of myself; it’s just summer in the Fire Nation, and animal skins are hot.” Taraq nodded.

“It does change visibility too.” He agreed. “I’ll tell the boys we might want to leave them on the ship.” Sokka nodded. Dad clasped his shoulder.

“All I’m hearing is that my son is a Southie.” He teased. Sokka pursed his lips and made a face. Dad pitched his head back and laughed.

Dad had given him a set of Southern Water Tribe armor. It felt weird to wear. Not bad and not wrong, just weird. The seal bones that protected his shoulders were changing his range of motion, and someone else had needed to secure the back of the chest plates for him. It was very unwarrior-like. Sokka preferred his tunic, but the seal bones would offer protection, and he was direly in need of that.

The briefing went well. Stolen maps and Sokka’s limited memories were all the intelligence they had, but it was also all they really needed. The Capitol was built into a hill, with the Imperial Palace overlooking the entire city. Katara, Aang, and Toph couldn’t miss it if they tried.

“See you soon.” Katara had shouted as he jumped off Appa’s back. She, Aang, and Toph would be pressing onward to the palace. They could handle it. He trusted her.

The prison doors were open. That wasn’t a good sign. He took a deliberate breath and then pushed into the main entry hall of the prison. The stone walls were effective at keeping the heat out. They also effectively kept the light out. It was dark here. Dark and empty. Sokka looked around. This made no sense; there should be Fire benders everywhere to guard it…shouldn’t there be?

There was yelling up ahead. Sokka could hear the clanging of swords. He charged into the hallway, and a figure in a Blue Spirit mask stared back at him above the bodies of unconscious Fire Benders. It paused.

“Sokka?” He knew that voice. The figure put away his knives.

“Zuko?”

“Why are you dressed like that?” Zuko asked. What a stupid thing to focus on! And what the hell was Zuko wearing? He’d ditched the Fire Nation armor, opting for the simple black underlayer that most of the soldiers wore. Zuko had gained weight since returning to the palace. He had layers of muscles now. Sokka was a little jealous. Could he still beat Zuko in a fight? It wasn’t that he was scrawny, but it wasn’t like being on the run, and limited caloric intake never gave him the chance to build muscle.

“It’s Water Tribe traditional armor! What are you wearing?”

“A disguise. I didn’t want to attract attention.” Zuko took a defensive stance. Sokka rolled his eyes.

“Oh! Sneaking around in all black and a mask isn’t going to attract attention?” Sokka asked. He sheathed his knives. The truce with Zuko must be back on. Figures.

“Whatever.” He could tell Zuko was rolling his eyes under the mask. He looked down at Sokka’s knives. “We all figured you would attack today.” His tone sounded…sad.

“Well, your army losing their bending gave us a window.” Sokka put his hands on his hips. This wasn’t news. The Fire Nation had known they were coming, and the invasion force had known that the Fire Nation would know.

“Not my army. Not anymore, anyway.”

“What?” Sokka was confused. Zuko shifted his weight.

“My father is an evil man.” His voice was soft behind the mask. “My Uncle is the rightful Fire Lord. I came to free him, and then I figured we’d help the Avatar kill him.” Sokka froze.

“I didn’t see this one coming.” He admitted. How many nights had he lied awake, scrolling through predictions of what might happen in his head? He’d planned to run into Ahzu, he’d planned to run into Han Lo, and he even was mentally ready for the Fire Sages to be their freaky little selves again, but Zuko defecting (again) wasn’t on the list. Sokka swallowed. “Ok.” He stepped towards Zuko. “I missed you.” The words slipped out before he could stop them.

“Same. The blue looks good on you.” He grabbed Sokka’s shoulder, and Sokka stepped away. Zuko dropped his hand. Sokka swallowed.

“Thanks. You know where Iroh is?”

“Yep. Records said this way.” Zuko led him down another hall. Sokka walked by his side. It was their first time talking in more than a year. “I’ve never been here before.”

“Same.” Sokka was actually surprised that they’d never kept him here. He touched a stone wall and then withdrew his hand. They were disgustingly damp from condensation. No wonder they’d never stashed him here. Katara was good enough that she could have gathered the water off the walls and caused some chaos. “Was this where they kept the first water benders they took?” Zuko shook his head.

“No. That place was further outside the city.” Zuko fell quiet. He lifted the mask, and Sokka saw his face for the first time in what felt like years. The scar tissue had faded, but it was just as visible as it had been when Zuko had first been burned. At least Sokka’s burns were covered by his gloves. Sokka didn’t comment any further. Hama had never been here. Why was he wasting his precious brainpower on thinking about her? “Should be this cell.” Zuko pushed the door open. “Uncle Iroh!” And the boys froze. The cell was like every other cell Sokka had been kept in during his time here. A room with bars isolating the captive against the back wall and providing the Fire Nation with the ability to come and go as they pleased. All of that was normal; what wasn’t normal was the fact that the entire back wall had been blown out. Light and clean air flooded the cell. “Uncle?”

“He broke himself out,” Sokka commented. “Impressive.”

“How? No one should be bending right now?”

“No idea, but he’s clearly a few steps ahead of us.” Sokka began heading back for the door. He’d go help at the palace. They’d be needed there. Ozai would have legions of guards ready to die for him. “He might be going to try and find you.”

“So we should head for the palace.” The boys sprinted outside, and Sokka froze, and Aang and his glider dropped in front of them. Aang waved.

“Zuko! Sokka!”

“The avatar’s alive?” Zuko sounded shocked. Sokka smiled.

“Avatar’s alive. I’m not really a water bender; you guys need better military intelligence.” The joke landed, but its circumstances were off. He looked at Aang. If Aang were here, something had gone wrong.

“We need a lot. I’m not sure I would start there.” Zuko replied.

“We found Ozai’s secret bunker. He’s not there.” Aang explained. “Toph and Katara went back to the landing zone. Is there anywhere else he might be?” He looked between Zuko and Sokka.

“He was in the bunker earlier,” Zuko explained. “We don’t have a lot of time left in the eclipse.”
Just as he spoke, horns began blowing. A look of panic crossed his face.

“What’s that for?” Sokka asked. He already knew the answer. His stomach began to twist.

“Half hour left in the eclipse. There are pods of soldiers hidden around; they’ll come out once we can bend again.” Sokka looked up the hill to where the palace glittered. Ozai was there. He glanced down the hill to the landing zone where his dad and Taraq were. Katara would be on her way there. Toph was on her way there.

“How many down by the beach?”

“Too many for your forces,” Zuko said quietly. “We need to go now. Live to fight another day.” Sokka clutched his knives. He grit his teeth.

“No. I’m staying until we kill Ozai.” Maybe he could just hide in the man’s room and get a jump on him when he went to sleep. It was so stupid it might work.

“Sokka,” Zuko’s voice was gentle. “I hate him too. But he’ll just capture you again, and Iroh won’t be here this time to protect you. He’s gone.” Sokka swallowed. He knew Zuko was right. He knew the priority had to be evacuating the invasion force so they could try again. He knew that. But he hated it. How had it all gone wrong? It had been a solid plan; Ozai being in a secret location had just thrown them off. Sokka swallowed.

Something wasn’t sitting right in his stomach. Now Zuko was on their side? He’d had dozens of chances to help them, and he was choosing now to join them. Suspicious. His fingers twitched around his knives.

“And why should I believe you?” The words spilled out before Sokka could stop them.

“Sokka.” Aang interjected.

“No, Aang. Zuko betrayed us in Ba Sing Se; he got Iroh captured, and now he’s on our side?” He spun at Zuko and shoved him. Zuko staggered back. “I bet you’re a plant from Ozai.” That was something Ozai would cook up.

“I’m not!” Zuko yelled. He stepped forward. “Look at what my own father did to me!” He pointed at the scar on his face. “He’s trying to kill me now so Azula can take my place.” Sweat dripped down Sokka’s face. He’d forgotten how hot it could get here.

“It’s all about places with you!” He shouted. “Why can’t you ever just leave people alone!” Zuko blinked.

“It’s not my fault you got kidnapped!” Zuko replied. “I’m trying to help you!”

“Guys.” Aang stepped between them. He held an open hand towards Zuko and his glider towards Sokka, as if Sokka was the problem here.

“Maybe stop trying and start doing?” Sokka spat. “Aang, come on. We need to go help the others.”

“Sokka, please.” Zuko was begging now. Sokka couldn’t bring himself to care. “I would be suspicious, too. Just get your people out of here. Azula might kill my dad, and she’ll be easier to dethrone.”

“And then you get to be Fire Lord?” Sokka was already walking to the landing zone. He spun around. “I feel sorry for you.”

“I didn’t think about you at all!” Zuko yelled. “You’re pathetic! You had to have someone help you escape.”

“That’s normal!” Sokka shouted back. “I was a kid!”

“So was I!”

“Guys.” Aang was still trying. “We need to go.” Sokka spun back and sprinted for the landing zone. Too much was running through his head. How were they going to get everyone out? Would Dad be mad at him? Aang called Appa for a lift. The girls were already there. No one spoke on the flight back. How could this have gone so wrong so quickly? Katara didn’t even wait for Appa to set down. She was over the side of the saddle and next to one of the wounded before Sokka could comment.

“It’s bad.” Sokka relayed to Taraq, Dad, and Bato. “If we believe Zuko, then we have a small army about to come down on us.” The men glanced at each other, and Sokka’s stomach fell. “No. You made a plan without telling me.” Dad smiled.

“We did.”

“A good one, too.” Taraq agreed. He smirked. He and Dad really did look alike.

“You, Katara, Aang, and Toph need to fall back to a secure location and regroup strategically. Take Appa, and go now. The rest of us will buy you time.”

“Absolutely not,” Katara declared.

“Getting captured by the Fire Nation is my thing.” Sokka agreed.

“Sokka.” Dad weighed in. “It’s my job as your dad to protect you and your sister. I couldn’t protect you years ago, but I can now.” Dad touched his shoulder, and Sokka let his hand rest there. He tried to move his lips, but no sound came out. Taraq spoke next.

“Keeping the avatar alive keeps the Fire Nation’s attention off the Tribes,” he explained. “You’re actually getting the harder job here.”

“Regroup and then figure out a new approach.” Bato agreed. “We’ll endure and then escape.” Sokka nodded. This was all his fault. If he had made a better plan…. if he hadn’t gone to save Iroh…Taraq grabbed him.

“This is not your fault.” Taraq stared into his eyes. “Your plan was good. We all signed off on it.” Sokka nodded. Dad knelt next to him. Taraq pulled away.

“Sokka, the plan worked. Aang, Katara, and Toph made it to the palace and would have taken out Ozai. He’s a coward, though, so he’s hidden somewhere.” Another horn blew. Sokka bit his lip. That had to be a five-minute warning or something like it. Dad nodded and grabbed him and Katara, pulling them into a hug.

“I’m going to worry about you,” Sokka admitted. Dad kissed his forehead.

“Now you know how I felt all those years.” Sokka let himself rest his head on Dad’s shoulder. Dad cradled Sokka’s face and pulled him closer. Would this be the last time someone hugged Dad before they stuck him in a cage? No. His brain couldn’t do that. Despite everything, he laughed.

“Really weird way to foster empathy in your kid.” Over his shoulder, he could hear Taraq organizing the remaining Water Tribe warriors and Earthbenders into a formation.

“Rookies towards the back. Come on, you know this.” He yelled. “Whoever lasts the longest gets some glory.” Dad walked them towards Appa. Sokka realized he was crying, and Katara was too. Dad boosted Toph up first, and then Sokka and Katara up after her. Aang just jumped onto Appa’s saddle.

“We’ll be fine. But you need to go now. I love you.”

“Love you, Dad!” Katara replied. She grabbed Sokka’s hand and squeezed. Sokka squeezed back. The words caught in Sokka’s throat. But Dad knew what he was going to say, somehow, Sokka just knew he did. Appa lifted up. Bato stepped beside Dad and rested a hand on his shoulder. Was Dad crying, too? Katara grabbed his hand. Sokka watched until the group was no more than a spec on the ground. One final long horn sound blew, and Sokka knew that was the end of their advantage.

Sokka fell back into the saddle. He breaths became shallow.
Memories of being taken from the South Pole swelled up. He could still feel the iron clamping on him. He could feel his tunic being ripped away. He could feel his muscles aching from the cage. Dad would be going through all of that soon. Maybe someone would tell Taraq about the first time that he’d worn a wolf pelt. Sokka vomited over Appa’s side. Katara rubbed his back.

“They’ll be ok.” She whispered.

“How do you know?”

“Same way. I knew you would find us again. I just knew.”

Notes:

Shoutout to the water tribe adults for making a secret plan and not telling sokka about it. They know their boy.

Chapter 35: Zuko

It took five days of flying to reach the Western Air Temple. Sokka spent the first few days vomiting and shaking when no one was looking, but by the time they touched down in the cavern of inverted buildings, he was mostly normal again. His stomach could keep food down and he stopped wanting to vomit every time he sipped water. It wasn't a big win, but unfortunately it was a win. 

His brain kept him moving. They needed to scavenge for supplies, devise a new plan, and save Dad and the others. It all felt like a lot. It was all a lot. He felt the guilt most at night or whenever he was eating. He could sleep safely in a decently comfortable bedroll. Dad couldn’t. He could eat something if he were hungry. Taraq couldn’t. He could drink as much water as he wanted, whenever he wanted. No way any of the prisoners were allowed to even

He volunteered to search the back corridors with Toph. They needed supplies, and Aang said the air nomads would have wanted whatever was left here to help them. It was sobering. Katara and Aang said the Southern Air Temple had been filled with the bodies of fallen airbenders, and this was a similar situation. Skeletons lay around in the rooms that Sokka and Toph checked. He told her about the first few, but after the 10th, he stopped counting.

“Can you tell how far these tunnels go back?” Sokka asked Toph. Burn scars lined the walls. She nodded.

“Pretty far,” She paused and tilted her head. Sokka froze. That was never good. “We need to go back. Something’s up.”

Sokka didn’t need further explanation. He spun on his heels and sprinted alongside Toph. The sight upon entering camp was so bizarre that Sokka had to pause. Aang and Katara battled a shirtless firebender who was at least three times bigger than any person Sokka had ever seen. Red tattoos lined his back and crept up to his bald head.

Sokka’s hands went for his knives, and he froze.

“Zuko?” He shouted. The prince was fighting alongside Katara and Aang, landing hits on the stranger.

“Hi!” Zuko shouted. “I’ll explain later!”

“Yeah. You will.” Sokka replied. He charged in.

Fighting whoever this guy was (Sokka would have given him a nickname, but there was no damn time), he was good. He could throw fireballs in three directions at once and then make them explode. Dodging took all of his efforts. Breaths crept into gasps. Sokka dodged, rolled, sliced, and leapt. No one could get. close enough to land a blow. Finally, Toph got some rocks in his eyes.

Fire guy stumbled and sent out two more fireballs. Katara was between them. Katara was between them! Sokka screamed and dove for her. Zuko got there first. He grabbed one of the balls and redirected it up in the air. Toph kicked the guy, sending him flying over the cliff.

“And stay out!” She yelled. Sokka barely registered her. Zuko was on the ground. He was gasping. He’d saved Katara. Zuko had saved Katara? Katara made it up onto her knees before taking in the situation. Sokka froze. He didn’t know who to run to. Katara was fine, but Zuko was hurt? How had this even happened? 

Katara didn’t freeze. She scrambled up and dragged herself to Zuko’s side. Sokka got moving. Katara made it to Zuko first. She ripped his tunic open and surveyed the burn. “It’s not great, also not terrible.” She explained. Water lined her hands, and a light blue glow began to emanate from the burn as she worked on it. Zuko groaned. Sokka slid next to his side. Zuko’s face was scrunched up in pain. It would be another scar for him. Sokka could sense Aang and Toph hovering on the periphery.

“Idiot.” He muttered. He grabbed Zuko’s hand and squeezed. Zuko squeezed back. His lips were mouthing something.

“Az…azula sent…” Zuko panted out. Sokka nodded.

“Azula sent the firecracker guy?” Sokka concluded.

“I…tra…tracked him here.” Zuko grit out.

“Thanks.” That felt insufficient. Zuko had effectively saved Katara. Sokka had screamed at him the last time they’d spoken and said horrible things, and Zuko had saved his sister. He swallowed.

“Did she send anyone else?” Sokka’s brain was whirring. Assuming that firecracker man hadn’t reported back before engaging them, their location was still safe. Zuko shook his head. Katara’s shoulders were steady. She used to shake a little when she did some of the more intense healings. She'd improved a lot. Katara didn’t take her eyes off the wound on Zuko’s chest. Healed burn scars littered the rest of his skin that Sokka could see. None of those had been there when they’d last sparred. Zhao maybe?

“Pass out,” she instructed. Sokka glared at her. She shook her head. “No, I’m serious, it’ll hurt less.” Zuko nodded, and then grimaced at the effort. Sweat beaded over his forehead.

“We got you,” Sokka added. “It’ll feel better when you wake up.” He looked up. “Aang, can you bring me a wet cloth?” Aang obliged, and Sokka layered it over Zuko’s forehead. Zuko exhaled softly. His muscles seemed to relax, and then his eyes fluttered closed. Katara worked silently for the next few minutes. The humid air stuck in Sokka’s throat.

“He’ll be fine,” Katara stated.  “Probably another two sessions after he wakes up, but we got really lucky.”

“So…he’s with us now?” Toph asked. Sokka shrugged. Unless this was some incredibly elaborate ruse from Zuko and Ozai, Zuko really had been telling the truth back in the Capitol.

“Toph and I can scavenge for supplies. You two stay here in case he wakes up.” Aang suggested. Sokka pivoted. That was a lot to put on him. Katara was thinking the same thing.

“Why don’t we all just chill here?” Katara offered. “We don’t know what else is coming.”

“Because we need food?” Aang replied. “Besides, you heard Zuko. This was the only guy.” He was already heading for the corridors back to the main parts of the temple.

“Aang, there are bodies back there,” Sokka called. He figured it was better to be blunt about it. Aang stopped.

“I know.” He kept walking towards the access point. Sokka slumped to the floor in exhaustion. If Aang wanted to burn himself out, let him burn himself out. He glanced at Zuko’s unconscious body, and then up to Katara. She shrugged.

“For the record, I could have dodged that.” She commented. Zuko’s chest rose and fell steadily. Sokka rolled his eyes. He grabbed his pillow and lifted Zuko’s head slightly.

“Do we need to, I don’t know, like cover the wound?” Healing was just so not his thing. Katara shook her head.

“No, it needs time to dry.”

“Oh.”

Zuko slept for the next few days. Occasionally, he bolted upright in confusion, pulling his arms back to fight or yelling something. Sokka and Katara stayed with him most of the time. They could usually get him down again. Taking care of him was a welcome distraction from the guilt eating at Sokka’s stomach. On the third day, he was awake long enough to drink a bowl of broth before passing out again. On the fourth day, he sat up like everything was normal.

“So…I can stay?” He clarified. Sokka nodded. The group hadn’t really discussed it, but there was also nothing more to really discuss. He’d been willing to die to protect Katara; that wasn’t the move of a spy. “Nice,” Zuko commented. Sokka rolled his eyes.

Zuko got stronger day by day. The bandages came off after a week. It reminded Sokka of the first few days on the ship when Iroh hadn’t let them out of the cabin and they’d both been injured. Easier times. They danced around the unspoken topics between them. Family was a loaded topic, Iroh was a loaded topic, bending, and so many of their shared memories were just straight up uncomfortable to acknowledge now. Sokka knew they would need to talk about this, but neither of them wanted to.

“You think we could make a Pai Sho board out of these rocks?” Zuko kicked some pebbles with his boots. Sokka smiled.

“Let’s do it.”

Zuko and Aang practiced firebending during the day, and everyone was drafted into the plot of the Pai Sho at night. It was good, really good. A new normal settled over the group. Katara and Zuko swapped barbs as if they had known each other for years. Sokka beat him at Pai Sho every night, and having another person to add to the cooking roster was an advantage. Granted, he was maybe worse than Toph at it, but it was still another person in the roster.

Zuko and Aang's disappearance to “discover the true source of firebending” was enough to make Katara spiral, but Toph and Sokka figured it was fine. They’d left a note, and honestly, if it came down to an Aang versus Zuko fight, it would be Aang all the way. Especially given that Zuko’s bending had been weird the past few days. Sokka had been pretending he hadn’t noticed it.

“They’ve been talking about doing it for two days now,” Toph explained. “Zuko’s fire got weaker, and Aang wanted to see the old fire temple.” She said it as if it were obvious.

“And you didn’t share this because?” Katara ran her hands through her hair and rested them at the nape of her neck, the way Dad used to. Sokka’s stomach grimmaced. Was Dad doing ok? Were they feeding him enough? Of course they weren’t. They were probably beating him, too.

“Because I wanted the three of us to have some bonding time!” Toph gave them a thumbs-up. “Besides, they told me not to tell you guys.”

Three days later, Aang and Zuko reappeared with a borderline giddy Zuko.

“I passed a bending level test on the first try!” He explained to Sokka. “Uncle Iroh was right, firebending does really come from the breath!”

“And the dragons were huge!” Aang agreed. A sudden serious look came across his face. “You guys gotta promise to keep that secret, because we weren’t supposed to brag about that part.”

“And I can do giant plumes of fire now, Sokka, it’s so cool!” Zuko added. Sokka blinked. Toph blinked. Katara smiled.

“We’re glad you’re back.”

And things were normal again. Maybe it was Zuko’s presence, maybe it was the constant thoughts of his family in prison, maybe it was the stress of wondering how they were possibly going to defeat Ozai, but whatever it was, Sokka occasionally had nightmares about his time in the Fire Nation. He kept quiet about it. Zuko picked up on it almost immediately.

“Want to spar or do you want to play pai sho?” He asked after waking up with Sokka for the third night in a row. Sokka rubbed his wrists to remind himself that there were no cuffs clamped on him. There were definitely cuffs on Dad right now, though.

“Pai sho,” Sokka replied. Sparring was more fun, but it would wake the others. And Katara could not know this was going on. Zuko nodded. If the others were aware, they didn’t acknowledge it. Zuko and Sokka were playing pai sho one night when Sokka broached the question. He shivered in the cold air. It was at least another hour until sunrise.

“Do you know what prison the others ended up in?” Sokka moved a piece automatically. His brain wasn’t in the game.

“The invasion force from the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom?” Zuko moved another piece. His strategy had gotten better since the dragons, but he always pushed too hard, too soon. Pai sho was about getting everything where it needed to be and then pushing. At least the way Iroh had taught him to play.

“Yeah. My dad was with them.” Sokka admitted softly. Zuko bit his cheek. Sokka looked away.

“I don’t know,” Zuko paused. He set a piece down. That was a solid move from him. Sokka hadn’t seen that coming. “But I know where they might be. You want to break him out?”

“Obviously,” Sokka stressed.

“Ok.” Zuko paused again. “We should invite Katara.”

“No.” Sokka wouldn’t even entertain the discussion.

“Why? She’s really good in a fight?” Zuko sounded confused.

“Because I don’t want her in a Fire Nation prison.”

“Sokka, it’s a jailbreak. That doesn’t count as being in prison.” Zuko sounded so matter-of-fact about it. Sokka shot him a look. Zuko shot him one back. “She can handle it.”

“Look. I know she can handle it, it’s just…” His voice trailed off. Katara could handle it. Sokka knew that. He also knew that he couldn’t handle having her in a Fire Nation prison with him. “I don’t like it when she knows stuff about that part of my life.”

“Oh.” Zuko paused. “I get that.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” Zuko leaned back. “So, how do you want to play this?”

“We sneak out. If she knows we’re going, she’ll want to come.” Sokka offered. But when? And how?

“So we say it’s a fishing trip.” Zuko decided.

“You think that’d work?” This wasn’t like when they were kids sneaking into the kitchen to steal extra fruit tarts. Ming always knew they were doing that. The stakes here were so much higher.

“We’d be too far gone by the time they read the note.”

“True.” Sokka leaned back. He ran a hand through his hair. Could he really do this? “What if we get caught?”

“Then we break out. You’re good at that, and we’re a good team.” Zuko reminded him. He paused again. Sokka shifted his weight. “You’re hesitating.” He commented.

“I don’t mean to hesitate. It’s just…” Sokka trailed off. What was it? Was he too scared to go try to save Dad? No. That wasn’t it.

“I think it’s rational to be hesitant,” Zuko commented. “You’ve been through a lot,”

“So have you. You’re gung ho about this.”

“Yeah, because I don’t have your history with Fire Nation prisons.” That was true.

“Am I a coward if we don’t go?” Sokka shifted his legs again so he could stretch out. The pai sho game was forgotten.

“No. It’s a strategic call. We need the best odds to defeat Ozai. You’re in those odds.” Framing it like that helped. “Plus, I might be wrong about the prison.” Sokka nodded. At a cartain point, he knew dad would forgive him for not rushing in with a rescue attempt. But could he forgive himself? And could Katara ever forgive him if she found out? They finished the rest of the game in silence.

Zuko and Sokka started sparring again with their knives and swords. They used the same rules as when they were kids. No bending, and once one person was disarmed, the other had to discard their weapon as well. It was fun. It almost distracted Sokka from the nagging feeling in his gut that he needed to go save Dad, almost.

His nightmares got worse. Memories of the zoo and the cells beneath the palace bled into his fears for his family and he couldn’t separate the two. Zuko never asked why. He just asked if Sokka wanted to fight or play pai sho. Pai sho usually won. It was quieter, and his win rate against Zuko was better.

“Hypothetically speaking, how good do your think the intel is?” The pai sho board sat abandoned between them. Zuko sighed.

“Your dad’s not a bender, right?”

“No,” Sokka confirmed.

“Ok. So it could be two or three places. First is the cells beneath the palace…” Zuko held up three fingers.

“Too risky,” Sokka replied. Zuko nodded. “Ozai’s overconfident, but not that overconfident.” An escape attempt could too easily become an assassination attempt. Why did Sokka never think of that when he was there? Because you were nine? The logical part of his brain replied. The only nine-year-old who probably could conceptualize assassination was Azula, and even that proved his point.

“I agree.” Zuko put down a finger. “The other option is the one where Iroh was held, but I think that was structurally damaged.” Sokka nodded.

“They wouldn’t reuse the one where they kept the original water benders?”

“Maybe? But they’d separate out the officers. Your dad was one of the leaders, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok. So high value non-benders and all firebenders get sent to the Boiling Rock.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“It is. It’s the only prison in the entire Fire Nation without a successful escape. It’s in an isolated part of the country, and built into an old volcano.”

“And the boiling?”

“Assuming you get to the volcano, the prison itself is on an island in the middle of a boiling lake.”

“Damn.”

“Which is why I think we need to bring Katara. She’d literally be in her element, and this is her dad, too.” Zuko pointed out. Sokka bit the inside of his cheek. Dad was Katara’s dad too.

“We’re not even sure if he’s there,” Sokka replied. “Plus, our side has four master benders and a knife guy right now. You want to risk two of the three for a rescue mission where we don’t even know if the target is there?”

“Why are you counting yourself as the knife guy when you’re clearly the only reason this group has any impulse control?” Zuko snickered. “Have you seen the wanted posters? You’re worth 50,000 gold pieces.” He kicked Sokka’s leg playfully. Sokka laughed.

“I have no context for how much that is.”

“I’m the rouge crown prince who tried to kill the Fire Lord, and I’m worth 55,000. Aang is worth 60,000.” Sokka made a face.

“Not sure if I should be flattered or concerned.”

“I would just stick with flattered.” Zuko offered.

“So we stick with the fishing trip idea.” Sokka got them back on track. Zuko nodded.

“Ok. We take our fishing trip. We can easily break into a prisoner transport ship on the way and check their logs for a reference to your dad.” Sokka nodded. He ran a hand through his hair.

“And once we have his location?” His brain sorted through their options. Break dad out, break Taraq out. What if they’d separated all of the officers? What if this were a giant waste of time?

“We break him out. Actually, let’s break everyone out if we can. That’d cause enough chaos to keep my family busy.” Sokka nodded. This was a solid plan. This could work. “When do you want to leave?”

“Tonight?” Sokka suggested. Zuko nodded.

“We could just go now. The others won’t be awake for another hour.”

“Oh, are you afraid I’ll lose my nerve?” Sokka teased. He was very much afraid he would lose his nerve. The familiar knots formed in his stomach.

“No, I’m afraid Katara or Toph will figure out what we’re doing and then follow us.” Sokka made a face.

“True. How long do you need to pack?”

“Not long.”

They decided to take the balloon Zuko had stolen from the Fire Nation army for a ride. The note they left was short.

“Say it’s the only time of year we can get some rare Fire Nation fish,” Sokka suggested. ‘They won’t know any better.”

“You’re evil,” Zuko commented as he wrote it out. He added that Aang should do 10 fire lunges every time he heard a bullfrog croak.

“You’re evil,” Sokka replied. “Kid’s going to be more muscular than Iroh.” Zuko smirked.

“I’m just very invested in the avatar developing good Firebending technique.”

“Whatever. Let’s go.” And like they had so many times before, Sokka and Zuko crept off into the dawn’s first light breaking through the clouds.

Notes:

Some notes: for our purposes, the combustion guy and this assassin are different guys.

I also really struggled with this version of Sokka and Zuko leaving Katara behind, to the point where if the arcs that I planned out for boiling rock aren't working, I might come back and include her here. Both Sokka and Zuko trust her as a bender and fighter, and them leaving her behind is more about Sokka being strategic.

Get hyped for Boiling Rock, gang. i have so many ideas and not all of them are terrible

Chapter 36: Boiling Rock 1

As far as plans went, it was actually pretty simple (and of better quality than Zuko usually came up with). Zuko forged a fake set of orders, while Sokka stole two sets of army uniforms; they then joined the new group of guard replacements headed for the prison.

Sokka kept waiting for something to go wrong. He kept waiting for someone to realize that Zuko had a scar exactly where the exiled prince did or that he didn’t look Fire Nation, and he didn’t move like one of them, but no one seemed to care. The woman running the check-in desk just stamped them in and yelled to someone behind her about wanting to go on break. Sokka forced himself to take grounding breaths as they met the new guards.

“I’m Ahzu. This is Iroh.” He introduced them. Zuko smirked at him from beneath the stolen helmet. Sokka and Zuko weren’t exactly the best names to have if they were undercover. He figured Ahzu would be equal parts horrified and honored to be a part of this. Iroh would be straight up giddy.

“Tough name to have right now.” The new guy commented. Zuko shrugged.

“Maybe I’ll redeem the name.” He smiled knowingly.

The names of the others filtered through Sokka’s brain. There was an Azulon, an Azula (he and Zuko had shared a look at meeting her), an Irohno, Ilya, and Ilida. Sokka was never going to remember all of this.

“I’m so excited.” Irohno was saying. “Our first assignment, and we get this? Our careers are going to be amazing.”

“I could be so much worse.” Sokka tried to remember that one’s name. Ilida? “My cousin got sent to one of the Navy ships as his first assignment.”

“Some of those are ok,” Zuko added. Sokka glanced at him. “It depends on the commander.”

New guard orientation was shockingly normal. Enough of the guards had burn scars on their faces that Zuko quickly removed his helmet, blending in easily. Sokka took a little more convincing. One wrong move would put him back in chains, and then the escape plan would be even more complicated. Not impossible, just more complex.

“I asked the girl who does the schedule when the Water Tribe prisoners are coming. She said it would be a few days.” Zuko explained. Sokka nodded. He glanced out at the prison yard. He and Zuko were on low-level guard duty, and the boredom was the worst of it. There were maybe a hundred people milling about in red tunics. Sokka felt his skin itch. He rubbed each wrist as a reminder that there weren’t cuffs on them. “Do you think Iroh is ok?” Zuko didn’t look at him as he asked. He stared off into the distance.

“I think so.” Sokka paused. “We would have heard by now if they had caught him.”

“Especially being here.” Zuko agreed. “And he has friends all over. He’s probably hiding out in some mansion in the countryside.” Zuko sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“Tea all day, pai sho all night,” Sokka concluded. He didn’t believe for a moment that Iroh would hide out for the rest of the war. Honestly, he was surprised the man hadn’t turned up at the gang’s hideout yet to teach Aang firebending. He’d say something weird like the spirits led him there and then make them all tea. It was a nice thought. The idea of it happening was enough to make Sokka unclench his shoulders.

“If this isn’t the time to ask, then tell me,” Zuko began. Sokka froze. “But I’ve been thinking a lot about the Northern Water Tribe.”

“What about them?” Sokka asked.

“I was unconscious for the end of it. But I feel like I remember a girl with white hair.”

“Yeah!” A smile broke across Sokka’s face. “Yue. She was nice.”

“Was?” Zuko sounded stressed. Sokka nodded.

“She turned into the moon,” Sokka replied. Zuko nodded.

“That’s rough, buddy.”

“Yeah.” Sokka paused. “Ok, my turn to ask a sensitive question.” Zuko nodded and stood up a little straighter. “Those girls that Azula hangs out with. What’s their deal?” He had been curious for a while, but bringing up the past in front of the others felt wrong. Zuko nodded.

“Mei and Ty Lee.” Zuko replied.

“I don’t think they actually like her.” Sokka leaned against the control panel of the cells, careful not to throw the switch that would set everyone free. That would be on his list of things to accomplish before they left.

“I don’t think anyone likes Azula.” Zuko weighed in. Sokka smirked.

“They let Toph and me go.” Zuko looked over at him. The helmet hid his face, but he could tell Zuko was confused. “In Ba Sing Se.” Sokka clarified. Zuko leaned against the panel, too.

“Mei knows you from the zoo.” He said quietly. “She told me about it after Ba Sing Se.”

“Oh.” Oh. oh. Sokka swallowed. This conversation was rapidly rolling towards somewhere he didn’t want it to be. “In my ranking of Fire Nation prisons, the zoo was low.”

“Fair. Any particular reason why?”

“The prison tunic was itchy, the guards were mean, and I was so thirsty all the time.” He paused and took in Zuko's casual posture. Zuko never stood like that. “You’re being cagey about Mei. Why?” Zuko shrugged. “You guys were a thing, weren’t you?” Zuko lifted his helmet off so that Sokka could see the glare he was receiving. A smile broke across Sokka’s face. Zuko dropped the helmet. “Tell me everything.”

“She’s fun!” Zuko replied. He didn't say any more, and Sokka waved a hand to indicate he wanted more details. “I’d love for you to meet her once we defeat my dad.”

“Defeating your dad, saving my dad. I’m beginning to suspect we have a dad problem.” Sokka knocked his shoulder against Zuko's the way they used to when they were younger. Zuko knocked him back.

“We have mom problems too,” Zuko added. “Don’t forget.”

“I do forget what she looks like. That’s the whole problem!” Sokka admitted. He grinned. Zuko threw his head back and laughed. Sokka followed.

“It’s not funny,” Zuko replied in between laughs. “It’s not. We will find our moms again.” He made a calming motion with his hands, then another fit of laughter took him. “We haven’t even acknowledged our sister problem yet.”

“Your sister problem.” Sokka corrected. “My sister is fine.” Katara never caused problems, ever.

“Except she did accidentally waterbend in front of Fire Nation troops, and that landed you in a zoo.” Zuko offered. Sokka made a face. He nodded. Zuko wasn’t wrong. It was an oversimplified version of the truth, but it was technically accurate.

“Ok. Fine. When I was eight, I had a sister problem.” Sokka admitted. “Are you happy now?”

“No. Now I’m bored, and we have another hour left in our shift.” Zuko rested his weight on the control panel and looked out over the prisoners. “You feeling ok?”

“Eh.” Sokka sat with the question for a moment. None of his muscles hurt. The canteen’s food was actually better than anything he, Katara, or Aang had managed to cook themselves. They were invited to the birthday party of one of the guards as soon as their shift was over. Her friends were throwing her a surprise party, and there were rumors of cake. All things considered, he was doing well. “Actually, I do think I’m fine.”

“We’re inside a Fire Nation prison, getting ready to jailbreak your dad. Frankly, I think it’s weird that you don’t have thoughts about this.” Zuko was trying to be helpful. Sokka knew that. He shrugged.

“Maybe it’ll feel different when I see him,” Sokka suggested. Seeing Dad, Taraq, or Bato in the prison red would be a moment, but he could tolerate it. The first step of any jailbreak was to end up in jail. “But for now, it just feels like another mission.”

“It is just another mission,” Zuko replied. “And when it’s over, you’ll have your dad back.”

“Exactly.” Sokka smiled.

Notes:

My default in the story is to make Sokka and Zuko have a deep chat whenever I don't know what to do plotwise.

Chapter 37: Boiling Rock 2

“You didn’t bow down when I walked by, Chit Sang!” A guard yelled. Sokka turned to Zuko. He tried to shift behind a beam so they were out of eyesight. Zuko grabbed Sokka’s wrist and prevented him from hiding.

“I hate guards,” Sokka whispered. A little shiver passed through him, and he involuntarily touched his wrists to make sure there were no cuffs on him. Zuko nodded. He opened his mouth to whisper something back.

“That’s not a prison rule.” The prisoner screamed back. Sokka wasn’t actually sure if it was a prison rule or not. It was a Fire Nation prison; anything could be a rule. Guards made up stuff all the time. The guard punched his stomach, and Chit Sang lit up a fist of fire.

“Ah! Firebending is a violation of prison rules! You’re going in the cooler!” The guard pointed to Sokka. “Help me take him in.”

“Meet back at the bunk later?” Sokka asked. Zuko nodded.

Sokka followed their little procession to a metal tube along the wall. Sokka cracked it open after the guard ordered him to. Ice crystals lined the walls. Cooler wasn’t a good word for it. That was a freezer. The guard shoved Chit Sang into it. Sokka’s wrists tingled where the cuffs used to rub.

“How long?” He asked the senior guard.

“An hour?” The guard replied. “I don’t have anything else to do today, and this one annoys me.”
Sokka nodded numbly. Had he ever annoyed his guards? At one point, the warden came by and yelled at Chit Sang through a slit in the door. Sokka wondered if that was the only source of light in there. A shiver ran through him at the thought.

The hours ticked away, and finally, they let Chit Sang out. He stumbled forward, and Sokka caught him to stop him from hitting the ground. He strained under the weight.

“Hey, rookie, just let him fall.” The guard replied. Sokka shook his head. Chit Sang heaved himself off Sokka and back up to his feet. He offered the barest nod of acknowledgement. They hauled the man back to his cell, and Sokka tried not to flinch as the door slammed closed.

“Well.” Sokka cleared his throat. “I’m off for the night. Sweet dreams!” He made for the stairs.

“Kid, you know you can hit them right?” The guard called. His arms were crossed, and suspicion bled off of him. “They won’t hit back.” This was bad. This was very bad. Sokka froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

“Yeah. I’m just taking it easy for now.” Sokka replied. He needed a good lie. What did his guards complain about? What did Ahzu use to say? “I just had a lift day in the gym, and it’s embarrassing, but my shoulder is still feeling it.” He rotated the shoulder and shrugged. The guard melted in understanding.

“Oh, we’ve all been there. Go see medical. They can give you a balm for it.” Sokka nodded.

“I will, thanks!” He couldn’t run down the stairs, but he did speed walk back to the guard bunks. It felt like his body was moving through date syrup. The dancing flames from the torches mocked him. There were wanted posters up in the common area. His poster was up there, and so was Zuko’s. How had he missed that? He threw himself into Zuko’s bed without even taking off his armor.

“Hey, no outside clothes in the bed.” Zuko pushed him off. “Why are you breathing so hard?” His voice dropped. “You ok?” Sokka nodded. His hands were shaking. “Hey. You’re ok.” Zuko grabbed his arm. “I asked around. No water tribe prisoners yet, but the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors is here.” Sokka’s eyes went wide. Suki?

“She’s here?”

“Yeah. Cell A224. Should we go see her?” Sokka nodded. Suki being here was too much to hope for. They could grab her and dad (or whoever was here) and get back to the team in a few days. He could save someone!

“Let’s do it.” Sokka decided. Zuko tugged his armor back on, and they headed out. The entire prison had settled down for the night. Sokka’s body moved normally again. “I hate it here.” He noted to Zuko.

“It’s prison. No one likes it.” Zuko agreed. “Let's get Suki and whoever ends up here from the Water Tribe and dip.”

“No need to tell me twice.” Sokka agreed. There were guards all over the A block, so Sokka and Zuko doubled back to the bunk house and decided to try again in the morning. Their next two attempts were similarly foiled. Sokka briefly caught a glimpse of her on the second floor at one point, but then his patrol partner hustled him away.

It was past dinner by the time they made it back to cell A224. He’d pocketed some rolls for her. Being in prison was terrible, being hungry was terrible, being hungry in prison was the worst. Zuko watched the door while he slid inside.

“Hi.” He breathed out. She sat up on the sleeping pallet and stared at him. Her hair was the same, but she’d lost weight. Her red prison gard hung off her frame.

“Come to gloat?” She asked. He lifted up his helmet.

“Not really my style.”

“Sokka!” She ran to him. “How are you here? Are you ok?”

“Yeah. All good. I swiped you some rolls.” He handed them over. She ignored the rolls and threw her arms around him.

“I missed you.”

“Same.” He hugged her back. Should he kiss her? No, that would be weird. Now was not the time to make things complicated. “Hang in there. We’re busting out soon.” He caught her up on everything, and she relayed the information she had. She didn’t know where the other Kyoshi warriors were; all she knew was that the food here was terrible. Sokka pushed a roll towards her. “Eat.” She held his hand and ran her finger over his knuckles. He blushed.

“I just can’t believe you’re here.” Coughing at the door startled both of them.

“Incoming,” Zuko whispered. Sokka put his helmet back on.

“What are you doing here?” A female voice asked. Sokka didn’t know the female guards well enough to ID her. Zuko stammered out some stupid answer. “Move aside. I need entry to the cell.” Sokka’s heart began beating faster.

“But it’s after lights out! The prisoner is probably asleep!” Zuko offered. Suki frowned.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” The guard replied. Sokka nodded in agreement.

“Just say you were beating me. It happens.” Suki whispered. Sokka blinked.

“I hate these guards.” He replied.

“Gear check!” Zuko shouted, and Sokka heard the sound of fire. The guard shouted for help. The door creaked open.

“Go now,” Suki whispered. Zuko’s helmet was off, and the guard wrestled with him on the ground. Her uniform identified her as one of the vice wardens. The door clanged shut. Neither of them noticed. Zuko landed a punch on her. Two more guards showed up.

“Weird place to fight.” Someone commented.

“He’s an imposter!” The vice warden screamed. “He’s one of those rebels we were warned about.”

“Oh shoot,” Sokka muttered. The guards all looked at each other. One began moving for Zuko. All along the wall, prisoners began peeking through the windows in their doors. “Wait. How do we know that you’re not the imposter?” He posed.

“That’s definitely Vice Warden Emory.” One of the other guards replied. “You’re new, so don’t worry about it.” The first grabbed Zuko and hauled him up. The second clamped cuffs on him. Sokka flinched. Zuko took a steady breath.

“Yep.” He led. “That’s right. I infiltrated your prison.” The vice warden looked around. Prying eyes peered out of every cell in the hall. Sokka’s heart beat faster.

“Take him away.” She decided. “Cell block C. I need to speak with the warden. That scar looks familiar.”

The two guards begin to lead Zuko away, and Sokka follows because this is a bad dream; it has to be a bad dream. It’s like Hama all over again, and then Zuko stops short. Sokka’s sweating under the armor and he wants to throw up because how did this even happen and this was a terrible plan, and—

“This is no one’s fault,” Zuko announced. “I’m fine with this.” Sokka bit the inside of his cheek.

“Ok?” One of the guards replied. He looked back at Sokka and his patrol partner. “I’m glad?” The other one shrugged. Sokka followed suit. The guards shoved Zuko into a cell, and Sokka noted the number.

He slunk back to his now-empty bunk. He needed to make a plan. He needed to make a plan. He stripped his armor off and let his chest rise and fall rapidly. The others clustered around his bunk. Word always spread rapidly in a place like this.

“Ahzu, did you hear that Iroh isn’t actually named Iroh?” One of them led. “There’s a rumor he was actually Prince Zuko here on a secret mission.”

“Oh. Um.” Sokka bit his lip.

“Were you there for the fight?” Another asked. “That must’ve been terrifying.”

“They should execute all traitors to the Fire Lord.”

“Iroh was nice though.”

“You idiot. His real name isn’t Iroh.” Sokka began to breathe rapidly.

“Give him room.” The guards all backed up. One of the more senior guards entered the bunkhouse. “Hi. I came to check on you guys.” She pushed through the crowd to Sokka. “Ahzu, I’m so sorry. You couldn’t have known he was a traitor.” Sokka nodded. She sat on the bed next to him. Sokka nodded again. “None of us think any less of you. Right?”

“Yeah. You’re super nice and funny!” Someone agreed. Sokka could feel tears starting to build up in his eyes. The older guard nodded. She patted his back. “Let’s all go to bed, and then we can get the updates in the morning.” Sokka nodded again. He felt numb. Zuko was in a cell, and he felt numb.

Notes:

Oh boiling rock arc why are you so difficult to write