I do not own Avatar.
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I.
I.
I.
The sun floated up above the plains, and a boy with scruffy black hair perched himself on a wall of packed snow, and proceeded to scan the skyline for any approaching beings, shivering and huffing to fight the biting cold. His bright eyes scanned every hill of the horizon, only to reveal white.
No one ever purposely journeyed to the South Pole, for what existed besides feeble igloos and penguins? No one, not even Zuko wanted to live in this dumpy land.
Brought up below the gray skies (nearly always covered by clouds) and the frigid air of the South, Zuko found it hard to have anything other than a bleak outlook on the world and it's inhabitants. The penguins had long ceased to entertain him with their antics- their bumbling curiosity and incessant squawking only met with a turned cheek of indifference.
Dull stares always occupied Zuko's face; or so the rest of the small peasant town thought. 'Is that frown of his frozen on? Hey- maybe we can chip it off with that pick!' Or, 'Look, there goes Zuko again. I wish that boy 'd smile now and then! If it ain't that blank face then it's a glare fit to pierce the skin of a walrus-whale!' These whispers (or, extremely loud exclamations by some) didn't pass unnoticed by Zuko's ear; he took each phrase in and let it simmer his temper before blowing his top at a six year old who asked him to do Waterbending tricks. He'd gotten quite a lecture and punishment for that incident. However many (with good reason) believe the young boy got the worst of the affair, because he was confronted by an angry Zuko.
A lonely bird flapped it's wings shakily in the air before landing next to Zuko on the wall, and eyeing him curiously. With a bright black eye, the speckled gull stared at Zuko, perhaps wishing for a small fish. The 'kinder' people of the town often tossed a minnow to the rare birds, before capturing them and stewing a delicious supper. Zuko didn't lower himself to their level, but continued his watch on the horizon.
This was a fool's job, a joke. His existence: the very same.
Yes, he was decidedly an insignificant, dirty peasant with no world-changing future. He'd awake each day, briefly wallow in self pity over his dead uncle and mother, do the necessary chores, practice bending, eat and sleep.
He lived for himself, and himself alone. He'd learned not to rely on love from and for others to survive. To be self-sufficient, and to protect and care only about himself made life possible.
What was the point of loving others if it brought unimaginable suffering? To sever all emotional ties meant complete satisfaction, and a carefree existence. Zuko consoled himself with living alone, and loving no one. Living and fighting for himself was the only way to survive, for only the weak depended on others; as his father once said.
He had chosen this mindset three years ago, at only 14.
"Zuko, your watch is over." Piko, a fellow Tribe member called.
Zuko pushed himself up off the wall with his gloved hands, stretching out the kinks in his back delicately before tramping off through the snow, eyes bleary and watering. The watch tower lay only a stone's throw from his modest igloo, and with a few crunchy paces he reached the door of his hand built shelter.
He bent over stiffly and clambered into the tight space, occupied only by the necessities; including a bed, cooking area and numerous fur pelts.
Another wasted morning keeping watch. When will they learn that there's nothing to watch for! I could have been training! His eyebrows creased in annoyance while he shuffled around the bare room, searching for more blankets.
As if I have an endless amount of time on my hands, they make me waste the entire morning on watch! They can watch the fucking horizon themselves if it's so worrisome. Idiots. They do not know how to run a town properly. These Elders need to bring their rules up to speed with the times.
Well, they'll have to find someone else to do the morning watch when I leave. Shivering, he began to prepare a small breakfast.
What a dump this town is. You'd think, with us being WATERBENDERS and all, that we'd be able to make a half decent city of well sculpted buildings!
Comfortably leaning on wolf-skin pillows, he devoured the penguin's eggs and minnows. It wasn't much, but enough to sustain his hunger, and keep him going till lunch.
After pulling on another layer of seal skins, Zuko went in search of the Waterbending scroll his grandmother gave him. He found it beneath the bed, and after taking a glance at the stances, he again left the thin warmth of his igloo to train.
His life was Waterbending. He had purposely made it that way to fill the cracks and gaps in his life; but bending can help heal only so much. At some point, there is no remedy for an unwilling soul such as Zuko's; and although he lived for himself, one thing burned within him: revenge. It was, perhaps, his only passion. This is why Zuko trained so hard, to one day make sure the Fire Nation saw what a Water peasant could do to avenge his family.
His union with The Clan would make his cruel intentions a reality.
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