The Serpent's Pass
The next day, Sokka and Zuko were stood over one of Sokka's maps.
"We just left the desert," Sokka said, while pointing at the map, "So we must be about here."
Zuko nodded his agreement. Sokka traced a path up the map while he spoke.
"It looks like the only way to get to Ba Sing Se is across this sliver of land," said Sokka, "Called The Serpent's Pass."
"That shouldn't take us more than a few days. It'll be easier now we're out of the desert," Zuko commented. He looked up to see where the sun was, "We can make a good start today."
A jagged line of rock towered in front of them. A thin path cut through it, showing the only possible way over.
"This is the Serpent's Pass?" Sokka asked in disbelief, "I expected it to be more windy, like a serpent. I guess they misnamed it."
"I think that's the least of our worries," Zuko said, looking at one of the wooden pillars, "It says: Abandon Hope."
"Is it some sort of warning?" Sokka asked, moving over the read the writing.
"I'm not sure," answered Zuko, looking at the rest of the pillar, "That's all it says."
"I'm sure we can take whatever challenges it throws at us," Sokka said confidently, "We've been through worse."
Zuko said nothing and began walking. Sokka followed close behind.
"I've been attacked by you, stolen by a spirit monster, attacked by pirates and you, lived through that storm," Sokka said, counting on his fingers, "Attacked by you and that crazy lady with the sniffing monster, attacked by the Fire Nation, attacked by you..."
"Ok," snapped Zuko, interrupting him, "I get the picture."
"Hey," Sokka said easily, "I'm just saying, whatever's down this thing, we can take it."
"Did I ever tell you about the time I caught an eelsquid?" Sokka asked as Zuko set up a fire.
It was late evening. The two had managed to find a bit of the pass which looked far more stable than the rest and decided to set up camp there.
"No," said Zuko slowly, looking confusedly at Sokka.
"Well once, back in the Southern Water Tribe," Sokka began, making himself comfortable, "I was out fishing with my dad and I caught one. Wriggly, slimy, suckery thing, but it stopped moving once I got it out of the water. My dad warned me to keep an eye on it, because eelsquids can be tricky and play dead. I didn't know what he meant, but then it sprang to life and grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go. I was lucky it's mouth was still caught up in my fishing line or it would've bit me too. It took ages to get it off. You're supposed to do it with fire, but we didn't have any kindling with us, so my dad had to cut it off. I had these ring marks on my arm for weeks, and it didn't even taste any good."
Sokka finished his tale with a smile, which faded as he caught Zuko's look of utter disbelief.
"Why did you tell me that?" the Firebender asked.
"Haven't you ever shared stories around a campfire before?" Sokka questioned, "It's just a bit of fun, lighten up."
"I'm going to sleep," said Zuko, laying down and turning his back to the fire and Sokka.
"Fine," said Sokka, laying down too, "I just thought it would be interesting to hear some Fire Nation stories."
Zuko said nothing. Sokka closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.
Sokka rounded a corner and almost walked straight into Zuko who had stopped dead. Sokka looked around the Firebender to see the path in front of them sink below the water and reemerge a few hundred yards away.
"Can you swim?" Sokka asked Zuko.
"Yes," replied Zuko, "But we'll have to be careful with the food and maps."
Sokka tied his bag high on his back, Zuko followed suit, and the two made their way to the water's edge and began to swim steadily across. Everything was going well until a large shadow began circling below them.
"I think we need to swim faster," Sokka called over, picking up his pace.
A huge, green dorsal fin burst from the water in front of him, causing him to tread water to avoid swimming straight into it. Zuko caught up as the fin sank back underwater. The two of them gave each other a worried glance and started swimming as fast as they could toward the other side. It wasn't fast enough, as a colossal green sea serpent shot out of the water in front of them. It stared down at Sokka and Zuko, a predatory gleam in its eyes.
"I think I just worked out why it's called the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka yelled across to Zuko.
"Get to land!" Zuko yelled back, swimming as fast as he could.
The serpent considered the two of them, then decided to go after Sokka. It snaked its head toward him and narrowly missed as Sokka furiously backpaddled. Sokka started swimming again, praying that the serpent would leave him alone. The serpent gave a loud roar and Sokka turned his head to see it dive for him again. A gout of flame shot over his head and hit the serpent in the mouth. It reared back in pain. Sokka cast around for Zuko and saw the Firebender reemerge from the water several feet away.
The serpent gave another screech and dived back underwater. Sokka swam for it again, and managed to make it to the desired land without the serpent appearing again. Zuko was waiting, dripping and panting from the swim.
"Thanks," Sokka gasped.
Before Zuko could formulate a response, the serpent shot out of the water again with a deafening roar. Zuko dived out of the way as its tail hit the ground where he had been a second before.
"Run!" Sokka shouted.
He legged it up the path, Zuko hot on his heels. The serpent followed them, swimming parallel to the path. It kept bashing into the rock, making running very difficult for the two of them.
"Why can't you Firebend at it again?" Sokka shouted over his shoulder.
"And make it angrier?" Zuko yelled back.
The serpent bashed the wall again. Zuko stumbled and fell. The rocks under his hands cracked and began to break apart. Zuko scrambled along, but the rock was crumbling too fast. He was falling and...
He stopped.
He looked up in surprise. Sokka had grabbed Zuko's arm and managed to keep his footing on the treacherous ground. Sokka quickly pulled Zuko back onto the ledge.
"Now will you shoot fire at it?" Sokka panted.
Zuko motioned for Sokka to take a step back and took his Firebending stance. As the serpent made to strike the path again Zuko shot a large blast of fire at it. The serpent was knocked back. It finally looked like it had had enough and slunk off back underwater. Sokka and Zuko stared after it, not quite willing to believe their eyes.
"Is it gone?" Sokka asked in disbelief.
"I think so," said Zuko.
"Thanks for saving my life out there," Sokka said, "If you hadn't got it, it would've got me."
"That's ok," said Zuko, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably, "Uh, thanks. For grabbing me there."
"You would've done the same for me," Sokka said, "And it's not right to let a friend die like that."
Sokka patted Zuko on the shoulder and started walking down the path. Zuko followed and walked alongside Sokka with a small smile.
"You know, that might be the first time I've ever seen you smile," Sokka commented.
Zuko's smile quickly turned into a frown.
Sokka returned to their camp with a pitiful armful of twigs for the fire. He stopped as he caught sight of Zuko sat in front of the small campfire, his eyes closed and his back straight. As the Firebender took a deep breath in the campfire grew, then it shrank back down when Zuko breathed out slowly. Sokka watched it for a bit longer, before walking forward with a cough. Zuko opened his eyes and the fire stopped changing size, though he kept his body still.
"Neat trick," Sokka said, putting the twigs down nearby.
"It's meditation," Zuko responded.
"I hope it's not going to eat through the wood any faster," Sokka commented. He waved at his findings, "That's all I found."
"It's not cold," Zuko said with a shrug, finally relaxing his back.
Sokka yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Zuko opened his mouth, but shut it a second later without saying anything. Sokka was sorting through his bag when Zuko finally spoke.
"I almost set the whole palace on fire once, when meditating," Zuko said hesitantly.
Sokka almost dropped his boomerang. He turned to see Zuko looking away from him and the fire, over the sea. Realisation dawned on Sokka and he had to hide a grin.
"Really?" Sokka asked nonchalantly, "Isn't everything fireproof there?"
"Well the walls are made of stone, but there are plenty of carpets and curtains and tapestries," Zuko said, getting more into the telling the longer he spoke, "I was practicing with a candle in my room and I fell asleep without blowing it out. Fire's linked to emotion, a lot of Firebenders rely on anger," he risked a glance at Sokka, who was looking genuinely interested in his story, "I had a nightmare and the flame on the candle reacted. I woke up and half my room was on fire."
"That... wouldn't be good," Sokka said, "Well, not good for me anyway, a Firebender on the other hand..."
"I was nine," said Zuko, "I couldn't control a blaze that big, and the more scared I got, the wilder it was. I ran. Luckily the fire hadn't reached the door yet. It took me while to find someone, but I came across my uncle on a midnight walk. He followed me and put out most of the blaze. Though he left a little bit for me to do, just so I would know next time. He always had to turn everything into a lesson," Zuko finished with a small nostalgic smile.
Sokka gave a long whistle.
"How much of your room was burnt?" Sokka asked.
"Most of it," Zuko admitted, "I needed a new bed and wardrobe and the rest needed mending at least."
"I bet your parents didn't like that," Sokka commented.
"Once my mother was over the shock of me having almost burnt to death she took quite a bit of pleasure in buying a whole new set of clothes for me," Zuko said with a grimace, "My father... I think he was pleased that I managed to do that much damage in such a short amount of time more than anything else."
Something in Zuko's tone of voice stopped Sokka from questioning him further. Instead the Water Tribe boy scratched his healing wrist while he spoke.
"When I was six, I had the bright idea of filling our hut with snow," Sokka said, "Then it'd be just like a snowdrift," he caught Zuko's frown and elaborated, "Snowdrifts are really soft and you sink into them really easily. It's great to jump into one. But when you start packing snow it gets really hard, even icy if you're good at it. My dad came back to find me packing a lump of ice near the door. He made me take it all back outside and I had to sit out in the snow until he was convinced I'd learnt my lesson."
"How long did that take?" Zuko asked.
"Not long," said Sokka, "I was already pretty cold with lugging the snow around. I don't think it would've taken much longer for me to realise it was a stupid idea anyway." Sokka suddenly gave an earsplitting yawn. He smiled sheepishly, "I guess we should get some sleep."
Zuko nodded and lay down, staring up at the heavens. Sokka wriggled until he was comfortable and looked over at Zuko. He couldn't resist a small jibe.
"See, telling stories is fun," Sokka said with a grin.
"I guess," Zuko said quietly.
The two rounded a rocky corner and stopped at the sight. The outer wall of Ba Sing Se dominated the landscape. The colossal stone structure sprawled as far as the eye could see.
"Wow," Sokka said in amazement.
"We made it," Zuko said, not believing his own words.
"Yeah," said Sokka, "We did."
With renewed determination they set off toward their destination.