Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the brainchild of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is owned by Viacom. I own none of the characters in this story. If I did, I wouldn't be posting it on a fanfiction site, after all . . . they are all lovingly used without permission. This story is written solely for my personal amusement (and posted for the amusement of others) and to keep the crazy idea from boring a hole in my head, so I can get on with my life. I make no profit from this other than peace of mind!
Forgotten Ones: Lieutenant Jee
The barber shop was busy today. In addition to the one normal barber, there were three more chairs set up with apprentices cleaning up prisoners. It seemed that his sentencing wasn't the only one to be overseen by the Firelord.
Come to think of it, Jee hadn't actually had his hair cut in months, and from the reflection staring back at him from the barber's mirror, he really did look like a shaggy wooly rhino-eel. The steel grey kind that had the toughest meat, no less. Oddly enough, he kind of liked the image.
Jee was broken from his appraisal by the jovial piping of the barber asking how he wanted his hair cut. He vaguely described his preferred haircut from his most recent days of service, the large traditional sideburns with the crew cut. It was a strange blending of tradition and rebellion, similar in tone to what Prince Zuko had done with his hair, only understandably less dramatic, now that the former lieutenant thought about it. When he'd had it cut that way the first time, he'd been leaving his home, just like the prince, at the request of General Iroh on a fool's mission.
With the war over, he wondered how his old commander was doing. Had he cut off his long topknot, his second most recognizable feature next to that awful scar, when he went into hiding? Not just being an exile, but being actively hunted by your own country had a tendency to make people do dramatic things. In Prince Zuko's case, it probably would've been a wise move.
Lost in thought, he barely realized that the barber was jabbering to him as he cut Jee's hair. Finally deciding to listen a little bit, he caught a snippet of the old man's gossip, "—Heard the messenger say he had a dragon. Can you believe that? I thought the creatures were extinct, the last one killed by the great Dragon of the West, but he found one!"
"I heard it's huge!" joined in one of the apprentices, "He can ride around on its back and steer it like a master rhino handler."
"Nah," the old barber denied, "It's a little thing, barely bigger than a messenger hawk. I heard that some people call him Dragon because of that little tyke."
"How can he be a Dragon if the dragon's still alive?"
"You talking about the Twin-tailed Dragon?" asked one of the guards who'd just walked in escorting another prisoner. Jee wished he could remember the young man's name, but the guards never talked with the prisoners much unless it was to berate them for some imagined offense. He'd heard plenty of jibing from them about being loyal to a spoiled outcast prince who didn't care a lick about anyone, but not their names.
Barbers, however, were a different story. They absolutely loved to gossip and knew everyone's names.
"Oh, you've heard about that nickname, too, Li?"
"Of course, it's all the talk in the guardhouse! Word has it that the Dragon title is for subduing a dragon, not necessarily killing it. If he actually found an egg and tamed the little thing, that'd count, wouldn't it?"
"That's hardly a measure of firebending skill, though, is it?" another apprentice joined in skeptically.
"Dunno about that . . . it'd take a powerful firebender to have a dragon call them mamma, wouldn't it?" chuckled the barber.
"So why's he called the Twin-tailed Dragon?" the first apprentice asked the guard excitedly, nearly missing his charge's ear with his scissors.
The guard, who Jee could see through the mirror had taken a position by the door now, puffed up his chest proudly, "Well, some just call him the Wild Dragon, since people say he basically came out of nowhere, but they also say he's skilled with the twin broadswords!" Jee looked down to the guard's reflection in the mirror to see that he was also carrying twin broadswords, sheathed together in the same dull leather and brass-fitted sheath. No wonder he looked proud, if some hero also used them. "He's not just the most powerful firebender in the world, but he's a master of steel as well! He can even use firebending with the swords!"
The old barber scoffed, "I've never heard of any firebender doing that. They need all their time and concentration for their bending."
"Well, it's true," the young guard looked a little put out, "My brother in the capitol says he saw him in action!"
"Who are you talking about?" Jee finally asked, confusion and curiosity getting the better of him. Despite his better judgment about listening to barbershop gossip, he'd gotten thoroughly engrossed in the conversation.
The guard looked at Jee's reflection from his position by the door, "The Firelord, of course!"
"Firelord Ozai found a dragon?" the former lieutenant blurted in disbelief and twisted in the barber's chair to look directly at the guard. He must have said it louder than he thought, because the entire room looked up at him. Jee heard some sniggering as the old barber turned him back around, gently but firmly and silently ordering him to stay still as he continued cutting off his shaggy grey mane.
"Of course not Ozai," the old barber supplied, "We're talking about the new Firelord. The one who opposed Ozai alongside the Avatar on the day of the comet and took Ozai's throne."
"I heard he taught the Avatar firebending himself," the first apprentice barber offered excitedly.
"Yeah, and I also heard he claims the bloodline of Avatar Roku," the second apprentice joined in again.
"I heard he was touched by the Spirit of Fire itself, and that's why he's so powerful. You can see it on his face, if you're lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him. Fire can even burst from his eyes, if he gets mad enough!" the last hair-cutting apprentice crowed from the far side of the room. This brought forth a hearty chuckle from the old barber who shook his head.
"And what a face I hear he's got," the young guard chimed in again, "half dragon, half human. The human half is so handsome it makes any lady swoon in desire, and the dragon half is so fearsome it makes any man tremble in fear."
"Speaking of making ladies swoon," the second apprentice spoke again, not looking up from the hair he was cutting, "He's apparently the most eligible bachelor in the world right now. He's got hordes of ladies fawning over him!"
"I hear he favors a rich noblewoman from the Earth Kingdom."
"Nah, he's got his eye on a waterbending princess. Marrying her will bring the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes closer together and cement the new peace. How romantic, water and fire living together in harmony," the first apprentice sighed distractedly, nearly lopping off his nervous charge's other ear.
"You're both wrong, he's had feelings for a certain Fire Nation lady for years. Plus he needs to solidify the support of the Fire Nation nobles, since he took the throne so young. Only way to do that is to marry a girl from home."
"Oh, you're one to give relationship advice."
"Better my advice than yours."
"Why don't you try telling the Firelord to his face about who he should date?"
"Maybe I will!"
"Hmm," the old barber considered, disconnected from the new topic of romance as his apprentices bickered over who the Firelord should marry, "maybe he is part dragon. No completely mortal firebender could have the wisdom or the audacity after 100 years of that war to train the Avatar unless he was touched by the spirits. Especially one so young."
"General Iroh would've," Jee heard himself mumble.
"The Dragon of the West?" the barber had heard the mumble, "I suppose he might have, but he didn't. It was our new Firelord, that part of all the stories is clear, and the Avatar's the one who put him on the throne."
Jee wondered to himself if even the Avatar had the power to put a relative nobody on the throne of the Fire Nation, even if that man claimed a bloodline as noble as an Avatar's and controlled a dragon. He would be toppling a whole dynasty! How would Prince Zuko have felt about that? He'd probably be mortified and take it out on whoever was standing closest, maybe going so far as to storm the palace itself and demand his rightful place on the throne, if he remembered that angry teen well enough.
"So what's his name?" Jee finally asked the question that'd been nagging him as soon as the change in command of the entire nation had been made obvious.
"Umm . . ." the barber started, "I don't remember. Sozin, maybe? Firelord Sozin. Yeah, that sounds right."
The first apprentice snorted, "His name's not Sozin, master. That was the name of the comet!"
"Neither of you know anything," the third apprentice on the far side of the room rolled his eyes, "Sozin's the name of the Firelord who started the war. His name was applied to it because he used the comet's power to strike the first blow. Remember your history, geez."
"Fine," the old barber huffed. He didn't appreciate being upstaged by his two apprentices, "maybe his name isn't Sozin, but I'm sure it's got a Z somewhere in there. We'll certainly hear it later today, that's for sure."
"So you know he's got a dragon for a pet, uses twin broadswords, is half dragon, a friend to the Avatar, the descendant of Avatar Roku, wise beyond his years, and spirit touched, but you don't know his name?" Jee asked the room in general.
Everyone was silent for a second and looked around at each other. It was quite comical, actually. "Well, neither do you!" the excitable first apprentice finally accused.
"I've been stuck in a cell for seven months. I think I've got an excuse."
"Ok, you're done now, Jee. What do you think?" the old barber made a last wave of his scissors and cut the discussion short before the argument could turn more heated. He didn't wait for a response as he gestured to the young guard by the door, "Go ahead and bring in the next prisoner and take Jee back to his cell or wherever you're putting people."
"Uh, sure," the guard blinked and moved to comply.