Watched
posted August 18, 2009
To Zuko's surprise, the warriors led him back to the stretch of beach with lodges clustered along it, drawing him to the central lodge with the fierce painted monster he'd spent the night beside. They pushed his head down to force him through the narrow opening of its mouth and he blinked, adjusting his eyes to the sudden darkness.
Men and women sat before the central fire pit, some with sharp gazes and intricate jewelry that marked them as owners, others behind them with the drab clothing and sideways look that said slave clearer than words. Many them looked up at Zuko's arrival, but went back to eating and talking softly as the warriors forced him to kneel behind the man and the old woman who had presided over the slave ceremony earlier.
They regarded him with mild expressions, the man's gaze evaluating Zuko like a warrior, while the woman seemed to see through him and dismiss him in a single moment. She turned back to the cook-fire with a grunt while the man raised a hand to his chest. "Hakoda," he said, his voice deep and smooth, then pointed to Zuko, raising his eyebrow as Sokka had done, and suddenly he saw the family resemblance, the same square jaw and laughing eyes.
He turned his head, as he had before, and refused to answer. Rather than laugh, Hakoda hmm'd deep in his throat, and gestured for Zuko to sit. Zuko stared at him for a moment, then sat, the aromas rising from the cook-fire reminding him that for the moment, he had more than pride to consider. Hakoda reached for him, a knife in one hand, and Zuko forced himself not to flinch, tensing his muscles to fight back – but then the older man simply cut through the rope tied loosely around his wrists, pulling it off and tossing it into the fire.
Hakoda turned away to speak with a half-grown boy, who sprang to his feet and went to the cook-fire. He ladled food into a square wooden bowl, then scrambled back to Hakoda, holding it out to him. Hakoda laughed and waved at Zuko and the boy stared at him for a moment, fear and a touch of awe written on his face as he held out the bowl. Zuko took it carefully, staring at the boy until he flinched and looked away, and Hakoda laughed again, clapping the boy on the back affectionately.
Zuko ignored them and examined the contents of his bowl; he couldn't identify any of the pieces floating in thin broth and it smelled of the sea, but he was ravenous. He noted quickly that the others seated around the fire selected morsels from the bowl, then drank the liquid, so he steeled himself and reached for the largest chunk and bit into it hungrily.
Fish, he thought, swallowing quickly and taking another bite. Salt almost overwhelmed the flavor, but Zuko found it not unpleasant as he ate. The next morsel tasted more strongly of the sea, with a slimy texture, but he gulped it down anyway and selected another.
As he finished the broth, he heard a laugh and looked up to see Hakoda watching him. The man gestured to the boy to re-fill the bowl and Zuko handed it over with all the dignity he could muster, sitting on the floor wearing nothing but a rough loincloth and a layer of grease and paint. Hakoda laughed again, then turned at the high squeals of laugher that filled the air. Two young children threw themselves into his lap, talking excitedly, and Hakoda smiled broadly.
Zuko finished the second bowl in silence, all attention around the cook-fire on the giggling children, and for the first time since his capture, he enjoyed a moment of peace.
The peace had long fled when two warriors shoved him to his knees at the edge of a clearing not far from the beach. A stream lay at the opposite edge and tall grasses waved in the meadow, but Zuko's attention was forced to a familiar pair of feet several steps away.
The guards released his shoulders and retreated, their footsteps quickly fading, and Zuko looked up to see the woman standing over him, two young children clutching her hands. One – the larger one, a girl – regarded him with curiosity on her round face; the other, a small boy, looked quickly at Zuko before hiding his face in the woman's leg, and Zuko realized distantly that these were the children who had been so doted on by Hakoda. The woman looked down at them both, a warm expression on her face as she talked to them softly, and then all three looked at Zuko.
"You," she said, needing no gesture or touch to clarify. "Watch." She inclined her head at the two children. "Safe."
He turned his head away pointedly and she stepped forward to grab his face in both hands. He met her eyes involuntarily and as they stared at each other, Zuko remembered the previous day, when her touch had been gentle. "Slave," she said clearly, and Zuko hated that he looked away first.
She stepped back and he saw her nod as he swallowed his fury. Wait, he thought. He raised his head enough to see her hands, but refused to meet her eyes. Just wait.
She nodded in apparent satisfaction and spoke to the two children, a soft torrent of melodic words interrupted by harsh sounds. They watched him with trepidation on their small faces as the woman looked up at Zuko.
"Tahnra," she said, placing her hand on the girl's head, then patted the boy's back. "Akiak." She hugged both to her again, then released them and stood. She gently shooed them forward, then gave Zuko a meaningful look, steel behind maternal concern. "Watch," she repeated. "Guard. Safe."
The girl, Tahnra, reached him first, regarding him with curious gray eyes. On the ground as Zuko was, their eyes were at the same level and he watched as her gaze slid around his face: his mismatched eyes, the scar, short hair loose around his face. Suddenly she smiled, babbling a stream of happy words, and Zuko flinched as she climbed into his lap. The woman's soft laugh made his cheeks burn and he stared, scowling, at the ground as small hands patted his hair.
The little girl turned, speaking to her brother in a reassuring tone, but he remained frozen in place, regarding Zuko with the expression of a rabbit caught on the path. The woman laughed again, pushing him gently forward, and the boy – Akiak – stepped forward slowly. Tahnra seemed to encourage him, waving her arms so that Zuko ducked to avoid an inadvertent blow, and the boy stopped an arm's length away.
This is the son of the man I killed, he thought without emotion as Akiak stared at him with familiar blue eyes. Tahnra interrupted the moment by waving again, patting Zuko's arm and chattering as if to say "he's not scary," and the little boy tipped his head in the way that seemed to be a nod, then sat down and sucked on his finger and continued to watch Zuko warily.
"Good," the woman said with approval, then frowned at Zuko. "I watch you," she said, a threat in the tone, and he shifted uncomfortably as she turned, walking away towards a group of young women waiting beside the stream.
Zuko watched Akiak, feeling that he must look much the same as Tahnra continued to pat his hair, babbling happily. He scrubbed his arm across his forehead, hoping to remove some of the paint, and leaned back with a sigh as exhaustion replaced the energy to fight. "You wouldn't prove a challenge, anyway," he told Tahnra, voice hoarse from disuse, and she giggled.
Angry noise roused Zuko from a light sleep and he winced. He tried to pull himself into a crouch, to defend against the unknown attack, but unexpected weight impeded him. Blinking, he looked down to find two children curled up against him, then up into their mother's livid face. She continued to speak in her own tongue, a furious mutter that clearly meant "how dare you?"
Zuko shrugged, trying not to disturb the children. "Safe," he said quietly, and she paused to glare at him.
"Up," she responded, pointing, and he shook his head, gesturing to Tahnra and Akiak.
"Sleep," he said, meeting her eyes calmly as her face turned red. She hissed, then cursed – quietly, he noted – then turned on her heel and stalked back across the clearing. Zuko let himself smile briefly – however small, it was still a victory – and looked down at the children. Tahnra slept on, her arm draped across his thigh, her head pillowed awkwardly on his knee, while Akiak watched him, blue eyes wide and apprehensive.
Zuko sighed. "You would hate me if I explained," he said softly, and the boy blinked, then yawned. Despite himself, Zuko smiled again, a real smile this time. He raised a hand to gently tousle Akiak's thick brown hair, and the boy curled up and resettled himself on Zuko's lap.
Movement from across the clearing caught Zuko's eye and he looked up to see the woman moving smoothly along the plain, water following her gestures. The young women surrounding her watched, then she stood back, hands on her hips as they mimicked her. A bending form, he realized with a shiver. She's teaching a bending form.
Zuko leaned back on his elbows and watched as the woman and her students took turns moving through the form. He evaluated the action with a critical eye, noting how the slender one's motion seemed too choppy, the dainty one's too soft, the tall one's right but lacking confidence. All of the motions seemed slow, almost leisurely, and Zuko might have thought them weak until he noted the power behind the woman's motion, the way the water snapped and plunged at her direction. A master, he thought grudgingly.
As the shadows lengthened and his stomach began to protest again, the women closed their form and bowed to one another. The woman turned to stride towards him as the younger ones talked with each other, moving down the clearing and out of sight.
He forced himself not to straighten as she approached, maintaining his relaxed posture on the ground. He noted the frown on her face and readied himself for another fight, but Tahnra chose that moment to stir, raising her head sleepily and yawning hugely.
"Ama!" she shrieked and threw herself towards the woman. Her grim expression changed to a smile as the little girl crashed into her and together they laughed. Tahnra grinned up at her, talking excitedly and pointing to Zuko. The woman narrowed her eyes and watched him, but her expression this time showed speculation rather than anger. Zuko wondered what had passed between mother and daughter, but then Akiak woke with a yawn no smaller than his sister's and the woman took Tahnra's hand and walked to Zuko.
Akiak struggled to his feet to toddle towards the woman and she smiled gently as he hugged her, hiding his face against her body. Zuko felt cold for a moment, the absence of warmth allowing the chill of the late afternoon breeze to reach him, then rolled to his feet.
The woman frowned and stood herself, balancing Akiak against her hip and holding Tahnra's hand; she spoke sharply to Zuko but the words meant nothing to him. He regarded her without expression and she huffed, then turned away and walked down the path in the direction that her students had vanished.
Zuko watched her as she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, jerking her head angrily in the direction of the path. He started to shake his head in return, but his stomach growled again and he decided, grudgingly, to once again save petty resistance for a later time.
He walked towards the woman, looking resolutely at the path beyond and not her, but then Tahnra broke free of her mother and ran back to Zuko, a smear of dark blue paint on her cheek and smiling brightly as she took his hand. Zuko blinked in surprise, then returned her smile briefly as she dragged him forward. He looked up and met the woman's eyes before he realized it; her face wore the same surprise as his, and they walked together back to the village in silence save for Tahnra's happy monologue.
