Hakoda stood at the hull of the ship, staring out into the icy tundra as the afternoon sun drifted closer to the horizon. It felt good, being in familiar waters, they probably weren't even a two day sail away from the southern water tribe.
He walked back along the main dock. The men were all doing their respective work, trying to look disinterested, but Hakoda could not be fooled. He saw their eager glances, heard the happy whispers. All of his men were thrilled to be near home again after a long two year absence. Hakoda himself was positively brimming with excitement. Katara was fourteen now, and Sokka's sixteenth birthday was fast approaching. He couldn't wait to see his son and daughter again, no doubt they'd grown. He'd be there to take Sokka ice dodging.
That thought made him smile. Hakoda's own father had died before he had gotten the chance to take his son ice dodging. Bato's father, Palo, had been the one to take him.
"Glaciers and rapids!" Nunka called, pointing ahead of the vessel. Hakoda looked out in front. Sure enough, thick spears of ice jutted out of the sea, corroded near the bottom where fast moving water had ran against it diligently.
"Bato!" Hakoda called, gripping a flank rope and pulling it to the left, "Pull right! Kwan, open the sails! Nunka, help him!"
The ship jerked left and right as they guided it through the ice, and Rou almost got thrown over the edge. A large piece of ice stuck off the side of a glacier in front of them, causing the boat to steer dangerously to one side, and throw a wave of ice cold water onto Hakoda's face and down the front of his parka. It took some effort, but after a long several minutes the ship steered into clear, still waters.
Hakoda pulled the rope taut again, holding it in place against the wind. He would need to do so until it died down, "Good work." He said, "We should hit land within a few hours."
Hakoda fidgeted as he stood up straight. The ice water running along his chest and down into his trousers, soaking into his skin and making him shiver. His brown hair, firm after many hours in the cold weather, stuck to his forehead in thick, stiff strands. Rou saw the convulsion of discomfort and took the rope from his hands.
"You should go change. You'll catch cold in those wet clothes."
Hakoda nodded, releasing the sail hold, "I'll be back in a few minutes." He looked across the deck. There were chunks of ice scattered about it, from one had stuck over the boats edge, and had to be knocked off in order to avoid damage to the ship. The deck was soaked, and if it didn't get dried off they would all be sleeping on soggy seal skins, "Start cleaning up this deck. I want it dry as possible before sundown."
A murmur of agreement wafted across the deck, and Hakoda turned and dropped beneath. He closed the door to his cabin and began to peel off his wet clothing, grimacing as it made sucking sounds against his skin. He stripped off everything but his underwear and stockings, being as them and his boots were the only things that hadn't gotten soaked, and began to quickly tug on a new set of clothing. He left his wet clothes along the dry railing to air out, before returning to the deck to help with the cleaning.
OoOoOoO
Hakoda took his dinner in his cabin instead of with the rest of the men, and he ate his food rather noisily as he attempted to review his maps. He couldn't though, and after his fifth attempt he gave up entirely. He took his bowl to the wash basin and had slipped beneath the covers of his cot.
They were so close to home that he could practically smell the fire as it burned slow and warm within the tent. He could feel the thick snow crunching beneath his feet and hear the light scratchy voice of his mother. But most of all, he could hear both Katara and Sokka's laughter as they chased penguins. He remembered the day he left too.
Sokka had taken it well, and even tried to go too.
"I'm coming with you."
Katara however, had been less at ease.
"Don't touch me! How can you just leave? It's not fair, I hate you! I hate you and I hope you never come back!"
Hakoda closed his eyes at that memory. That long suffering painful memory. Those words had echoed in his mind for weeks after they left, months even. He knew how hurt she had been, he had seen it plain on her chubby, youthful face. It was the same hurt he had felt the day his father's body had been brought to shores by the men. It wasn't a physical pain, unless you counted the automatic constricting of the chest, it was purely emotional.
It had not taken long for Hakoda to recover from his father's death, since they weren't particularly close, but Katara….. It was not that Hakoda was dead. He was very much alive, battle worn and blood sick, yes, but alive, that was what pained her. She felt abandoned, and alone.
Perhaps Hakoda could redeem himself. Yes that was it, he would redeem himself. He would be there.
I promise, He thought to himself firmly, that I will never leave my child ever again when they are in pain.
He drifted into a deep slumber.
OoOoOoO
"Hakoda!" Someone pounded hard on Hakoda's door.
"Alright, alright!" he shouted. He groaned slightly as he pulled himself up out of bed. He shuffled over to the door and yanked it open.
"What?" Rou, who had been pounding on the door in a mad frenzy only moments before, chuckled at the sight of his bed-raggled chief, who blinked at him blearily through half lidded eyes, unaware that his boxers were hanging loosely at his waist and his tunic was shoved over his shoulder.
"We've docked. The village is within sight." That woke him up. He saw the light in Hakoda's eyes as he spoke those words.
Hakoda nodded quickly and ferociously, "Alright, give me a minute to dress myself. Start the morning chores. Don't go to the village yet, we have things to do before, unfortunately."
Rou nodded and turned and went up the steps. Hakoda heard him happily shout the orders and shook his head with a smile. He practically yanked his clothes on and walked out on the deck with his parka only half tied. His lips broke into a jaw splitting grin when he looked out over the vessel. Large snow drifts covered the land, and big sheets of ice glistened painfully bright in the mid-morning sun. It was beautiful, but the best thing of all was the small, discreet village on the horizon.
Innu, the youngest on the ship at nineteen years old, practically bounced over to his side.
"We fixed everything up!" He said brightly. Nunka came up behind and, at twenty, wore the same boyish, hopeful expression on his face.
Hakoda glanced around the deck. The ropes were knotted sloppily, the sails rolled loosely. A complete disaster compared to what it should have looked like. But he also saw the men, every single one of them was on deck, standing frozen, and looking at him in anticipation.
He nodded, "Alright men, let's go home."
A cry rang out, and everyone smiled happily, but instead of approaching the drop off, they all approached Innu. Innu shrank back, confused as to what was happening. He was lifted off the deck and into the hands of his companions. Held high above their heads, Innu flung wildly. They brought him over to the edge of the ship.
"What the-!" He began, but could not finish before he was dumped over the side, into a pile of cold snow and wet slush. Innu sat up sputtering, and scrambled away from the shoreline.
Standing on solid ground, he called, "What was that for? Some kind of sick joke?"
Hakoda threw his head back and laughed.
"Consider it a rite of passage." He shouted back. It was tradition in the water tribes to try and bring a new soldier each time the raided or went to war. And when they returned to tribe, it was a sort of initiation to throw the new recruit over the edge. Of course, no one told them that.
They all exited the boat and crunched across the fresh snow. They spread out a little, giving each other room to breathe instead of huddling together like they would have on a battle ground. But this was not battle ground, this was home.
They chatted merrily, and playfully shoved one another as they walked on, drawing closer and closer to the village. Hakoda, who had been in a deep conversation with Bato, did not notice the approaching figure.
"Hakoda." They all stopped. Hakoda turned and faced the newcomer, and once again he smiled wide with happiness.
"Mother!" He exclaimed, wrapping Kanna in a bone crushing hug. The elderly woman patted her son on the back, but showed little to no enthusiasm.
Hakoda pulled back and held her at arm's length, still smiling, but the smile left when he saw her grim expression.
"Mother….?" He questioned skeptically, "Is everything alright."
Kanna glanced among the men before she looked at Hakoda again.
"You cannot enter the village. You must return to the ship."
Murmurs broke through the crowd, and Hakoda released his mother.
Innu stepped forward, looking upset, "What do you mean we can't go to the village?"
"You must go," Kanna said more forcefully, pushing Innu on the chest for emphasis, "It is not safe here."
"Why?" asked Kesuk, stepping forward as well.
Kanna looked at them all sympathetically before speaking. Her words were enough to stop any man in his tracks.
"The spirits have cursed us." She said mournfully.
"A plague has struck the village."
I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, and I have finally found time to sit down and write it. Please leave me a review; I'm not really sure how people will react to this. Should I continue?
-PoisonBones