Boys and Men

"Always tie a waterbender's hands behind their back. If possible, break their fingers too."

Iroh had once had a teacher, and his teacher had been an old man by the time he was twenty. Too old, Iroh had privately scoffed, and went his own way.

He once caught a waterbender, a young man who looked half scared to death. Iroh didn't have the heart to break his fingers, and didn't see the point of binding his hands behind his back. If they did that, they would have to hand-feed him everything, which was just too much work. So he tied his hands up in front, dumped him in the brig, and went to have dinner.

When he returned to interrogate the prisoner, he was forcibly reminded of two things:

One is that a soldier is always a soldier, no matter how young or scared they may be. And a soldier is always given exact instructions of what to do if captured by the enemy, especially if they carry important information.

The second is that the human body is made up of 80 water.

"Tie their hands behind their back," Iroh told Zuko, "and tie them to a tree or a pole. If possible, break their fingers. Do not show them pity, for that pity will be what kills them."

Zuko nodded, and said he understood, but when he caught a waterbender, he did not break her fingers.

He would learn, Iroh knew, and that knowledge broke his heart as nothing else ever would.