The beach seemed eerily quiet, the final sounds of the battle sliding away from Zuko, hidden behind the odd buzzing that was filling both of his ears. Hakoda pulled himself to his feet, and walked over to where Zuko was crouching and dry heaving onto the sand. He put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, pulling him to his feet, and dragged him back towards the camp. The Water Tribe men were crying out a loud victory cheer, but it seemed distant and far away to Zuko's ears. Everything seemed fuzzy and detached, like none of his senses were working properly.
Hakoda dragged him over to the campfire, and plonked him down on a thick log that served as a bench. Zuko stared directly into the dull ashes, as Hakoda said something high above his head. He tried to focus on the chief's words but the odd buzzing made everything distorted and strange. Then, there was the sharp chill of steel against his throat, and his mind snapped back into focus with a speed that nearly sent him reeling.
"You with me now?" Hakoda asked, his dagger pressed firmly against Zuko's neck. Zuko flicked his eyes up to meet the chief's, every sense trained on the blade resting dangerously close to his carotid artery.
"You were trying to run away," Hakoda told him seriously, and Zuko nodded, very reluctantly and very carefully. The sharp edge of the blade tickled against his Adam's apple. He shuddered, and tried to fight down the panic rising in his chest. "But you saved my life." The blade left his throat, and Zuko's eyes snapped to the chief's. Hakoda was staring at him as if he were some incredibly complicated puzzle. "You weren't trying to go back with them."
"Why would I want to do that?" Zuko choked out an incredulous laugh. He hunched his shoulders and folded his arms tightly around his chest, trying to hold back the tremors that threatened to rattle through him.
"Why would you indeed?" Hakoda asked quietly, stepping back and sheathing the blade. He sighed and stared down, his face inscrutable.
Zuko didn't move, but just sat watching the chief with a burning intensity. He could feel himself shaking from more than just the biting sea breeze; he hunched into himself even further, his fingernails digging sharply into his arms. Hakoda sighed again, and then moved to sit on the opposite side of the fire.
"Alright," His voice was quiet and low, like he was speaking to a spooked komodo rhino. "Alright, I'll leave it for tonight."
Zuko didn't reply, electing to stare even more intently at the ashes in the fire pit. They sat in silence for another few minutes, the roaring sound of the after-battle celebration growing around them. Finally, Hakoda cleared his throat, breaking the silence once again. "That was your first kill, wasn't it?"
Zuko flinched violently, and wrapped his arms even more tightly around himself. He didn't want to talk about this, particularly not with a man who still couldn't bring himself to trust Zuko - even after Zuko had saved his life. He didn't want to have such a personal conversation with a man who'd taken a dagger to him twice in the space of a few hours. Even his father hadn't gone after him with that kind of frequency; well, barring a couple of very specific incidents of Zuko's ill-advised, and never-again repeated, rebellion.
"No," Zuko admitted softly, after a long moment, bringing his eyes up to meet the Chief's, "it wasn't my first."
"No?" Hakoda looked alarmed, as he looked Zuko up and down from across the empty pit. "Didn't look like that to me." He graciously didn't mention that Zuko had thrown up all over the beach, but Zuko was past caring about being embarrassed about things like that. Besides, it was the truth. Zuko had killed before. Perhaps not in the conventional, stick a sword in a man's chest type of way- Zuko had to force down the urge to vomit once again, as the image of blood seeping into sand flashed into his mind- but there were more ways than that to kill a man. Take the last bowl of food when there are others starving; fight for the extra blanket, or the better pair of boots; let someone else take the beating, or the extra shift, or the punishment detail- Zuko had learnt them all. It was a much crueller kind of killing, to murder by inaction and indifference, but Zuko had mastered it, as had anyone who made it through their first few months in the camp. It was the only way they'd been able to stay alive.
Hakoda spoke again, but Zuko deliberately ignored him, staring at the ashes at his feet. He didn't want to think about what he'd done. Even as a child learning the dual Dao, swordplay had seemed more like an art form, something to perfect for perfection's sake, rather than something that could be used to hurt or harm. Zuko didn't want to think about what he'd just done, what his mother would… No, he told himself, he wasn't bringing her memory to a sordid scene like this. A woman like his mother did not belong amongst blood and the violence.
Hakoda sighed sharply, the noise startling Zuko from his thoughts, but the older man just heaved himself to his feet, and headed off towards his still-celebrating men, shaking his head. Good, Zuko thought to himself. If saving the man's life had earnt him anything, it was five fucking minutes of peace. He trained his eyes to the floor and tried to blot out the world around him, as Hakoda barked out orders to his men. Within minutes, water tribe men were rushing past him, heaving bodies and broken weaponry away from the camp. There was no need to wash away the blood or ash; the tide would do that soon enough.
As Zuko stared at his feet, flashes of the battle raced viciously across his thoughts. Too many things had happened in too short a time. There'd been that airbender boy - which, honestly, was just too terrifying a thought for Zuko to properly process - and then the battle and the soldier and the failed escape attempt and… Zuko let out a sharp, hissed breath as his mind stumbled onto a startling realisation: he'd firebended. Abysmally so, granted, but he'd done it nonetheless. Maybe it hadn't seemed like much, but his chi had reacted to the flames, and it had protected him. Zuko allowed a very small smile to dance across his lips. He doubted, of course, that he'd be able to throw any fire, but it was a sign that Agni hadn't completely forsaken him. Perhaps, with a little time and a little training, he might be able to get it back.
His smile slipped slowly away as reality slammed back into him with its usual brutality. Of course, even if Agni's blessing did extend to giving him full use of his chi, he still wouldn't have any control over it; he barely remembered the lessons of his youth. The most recent exposure that he'd had to firebending had been the low level stuff that the guards at the camp had been able to do and he doubted if he'd even be able to remember much more than that. There were plenty of advanced moves that he hadn't even got around to learning, back in the palace. Who knew how much he didn't know? With Agni knew how much training and effort, he might be able to get a campfire going, or heat up his food, or not be at risk of his life next time someone got a little bit flame-happy in the vicinity of a huge fucking mound of fuel, but Zuko wasn't holding out hope for much more than that.
He sighed quietly to himself, and tried to force his thoughts to something more useful- like what the chief would want to do with him, now that he'd actively tried to run away. Zuko didn't know if he wanted to wait around to see what punishment Hakoda would dish out for the escape attempt, particularly if a blade to the throat was the reward for saving his life. Wondering if he might find another opportunity to make a run for it in the aftermath of the battle, Zuko forced his eyes up for a quick reconnoitre of the camp; his heart sank at what he saw.
He didn't know how long it had been since the chief had finally left him, but the night was drawing in, and the moon shone brightly in the sky. The camp was busy and the men alert and still on-edge from the battle. Three men stood watch at the edges of the camp, as the others hurried back and forth, spiriting away any remaining traces of the slaughter. Nearby, a small group of warriors were standing around a small pile of the remaining bloodied bodies. Zuko didn't want to watch, but he found that he couldn't look away as the men dragged the corpses onto the sandbanks (where the water was at its deepest) weighed them down with canvas bags full of sand, and tossed them into the bay. He stared blankly as the dark water splashed up and body after body sunk to the depths. The man he'd killed would be among them, one amongst countless others left nameless and without proper funeral rights at the bottom of the ocean. Zuko shivered, and tore his eyes away.
Out to sea, one Fire Nation ship remained anchored just next to the headland. It was flying Fire Nation colours, but Zuko knew that it was clearly manned by the Water Tribe. It would be a bit of a coup to add a Fire Nation boat to their fleet, but he suspected they'd hand it over to the Earth Kingdom army; the flimsy-looking Water Tribe ships had seemed much quicker and agile. Zuko shook his head, and forced himself to look away from the bay and the ghastly ghost-ship. It was strange how tranquil the sea looked as it glistened in the moonlight, how peaceful the waves sounded as they washed hypnotically against the shore. Such gentle beauty concealed so many bodies, and washed over so much pain and anguish.
As soon as the morbid clean-up was done, the camp fell into full celebration. Thankfully, most of the men seemed content to leave him alone- something for which Zuko was infinitely grateful. He didn't think that he could bear it if anyone came over to gloat about the Fire Nation defeat. The men were drinking heavily and singing loudly, saluting their victory. Someone took up a beat on the side of a wooden crate, and soon all the men were drinking and dancing, stumbling round and laughing drunkenly as they tried to move their feet in intricate patterns. Zuko frowned at the ugliness of it all. It was not his first brush with the ghoulish ceremonies of triumphant slaughterers. As a child, he had sat in full regalia at a good many celebratory banquets, listening to some weathered General or Admiral recounting the glorious deeds of the Fire Nation and the bravery of her soldiers. The elaborate feasts and stately dances had been nothing more than a civilised veneer for an ugly truth, though; there was no glory in the senseless slaughter of battle, only blood and death. The water tribe celebrations were much more spontaneous and unvarnished, but they served the same purpose. Zuko turned his face away; he still thought it distasteful to try and hide horror and violence behind noise and light and music. He didn't want to be there, sat in the camp, amongst the increasingly raucous celebration. He just wanted to be somewhere quiet, somewhere safe, where no one would bother him and he could just quietly get on with his life.
Someone lugged a load of wood towards the fire pit, and Zuko flinched back, but the warrior just gave him a wide, slightly mocking grin. The man lifted up a small flask and drizzled a strong smelling liquid all over the kindling. A quick strike of metal on flint, and the fire caught with a whoosh that Zuko felt in his very bones. The strong smell of burning kerosene cut through the air, and Zuko turned his face away. Agni, it stank. It was also quite a dangerous way to set a fire, and the skin on the back of Zuko's neck began to prickle. He didn't want to be around the warriors if they were already getting a little reckless.
More and more men streamed over towards the fire, attracted like insects to the bright light. It was enough for Zuko to call time. Drunken older men did not usually mean good things, in Zuko's experience, particularly not in large, testosterone-filled groups. Zuko slunk away through the growing crowd, and quietly slipped into his tent. A few moments later, he felt another rush of energy and a chorus of too-loud laughter. Zuko peered out to see a few of the men pouring alcohol straight onto the fire and he immediately ducked back into his tent, with a low curse. At least they were on the beach, he reminded his pounding heart; the sand would stop the fire spreading too far, if it got out of hand.
He sat in the dark, watching the shadows dance across the canvas, and wondering what to do. No one was posted outside. Either Hakoda had suddenly decided he was safe, or they were all too drunk to care that he might escape in the night. Part of him considered doing just that, but even as the idea festered in his brain, he couldn't bring himself to go back out amongst the men. The loud and drunken celebrating was a warning bell, sounding ominously of a potential threat that Zuko didn't feel up to facing. He was too tired, and he didn't want to attract any attention. He would wait until it quietened down a bit, and then he would make a run for it. Zuko lay awake all night, tossing and turning, waiting for the best opportunity to get away, but none presented itself. The men were up long past the break of dawn, their songs carrying on well into the night, and there were men still talking outside his tent even as the sun began to rise in the sky.
At some point, the adrenaline must have worn off and Zuko must have passed out into a deep sleep, because the next thing he knew, he was startled awake, and light was blazing in from the thin gap at the entrance to his tent. A loud, panicked, and very familiar voice called out from the middle of the camp.
"Dad!"
It was Sokka.
"Dad, we need you help!"
Zuko rushed over to the tent flap and peered out into the camp, as the Water Tribe men began to stumble groggily from their own tents, bleary eyed and miserable-looking. Sokka was standing in the middle of the camp, holding the young airbender boy in his arms, the huge, furry, flying monster at his back. Two girls stood alongside him; the taller one was dressed in water tribe blue and she bore a startling resemblance to Sokka. Zuko assumed that she must be the sister, Katara, that Sokka had been so concerned about the day before. The other girl was tiny, so small, in fact, that she looked barely old enough to be away from her parents unsupervised. Her feet were bare and her clothes simple, but she carried herself with a poise that spoke of higher breeding. The children were towered over by a tall, gangly man and another strange creature that looked a little like an Armadillo Bear, only without the shell. The man was peering about himself curiously, the only one of the group that didn't seem particularly panicked.
"What is it?" Hakoda came rushing in from the far side of the camp, dragging one arm through the sleeve of his shirt. "What's happened? Are you okay, is Katara-" He cut himself off as he came to a stop in front of his children. He took in the both of them together, and some strange emotion flashed across his face. Stepping forwards, he opened his arms for a hug, looking shocked when the girl in blue stepped away from him.
"Aang's hurt," she said curtly, her face angled away, as she refused to look at her father. "He was shot by lightning. I managed to heal him a bit with spirit water, but he's really hurt. He's not waking up."
Hakoda didn't seem to have heard anything past the word 'lightning'.
"What do you mean? Lightning? What in the name of Tui and La happened?"
There were bedding rolls lying about on the beach, where the men had crashed after the night's drinking, none of them having been bothered to put the rest of the tents back up after the battle. Sokka kicked a few rocks out of his way, and gently lay the boy down on one of the blankets, his father trailing agitatedly behind him.
"He was shot down, it hit the middle of his back-" Sokka stepped back, as the warrior's sometimes-medic, Sesi, rushed forwards, kneeling down alongside the boy. "Katara's tried healing him, but…"
Katara knelt down alongside the man and the two of them exchanged hurried whispers. Finally, Sesi rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, rocking back onto his knees to declare that the boy was not in any immediate danger. The children slumped with relief.
"What's going on?" Hakoda demanded, turning to Sokka. "Are you okay? Who did this? Were you followed?" The questions tumbled from his lips with startling intensity and focus for a man only minutes from his bed.
Sokka ran a hand over his bedraggled-looking wolf-tail, and brushed a few stray strands of hair from his eyes. He let out a deep sigh, and turned to his father, when a low moan whimpered out from the injured boy. Sokka spun around immediately, eyes bright and alarmed, as his sister leant over the boy. With a wave of her hand, she drew some water from a pouch at her hip. Zuko started at the sight of her bending; he hadn't thought there were any waterbenders left amongst the Southern Water Tribe. She swirled the water between her palms, and then laid her hands gently against the boy's back. The water glowed a bright blue as she swept her hands in slow arcs over the wound. The boy twitched and then sighed gently, his body relaxing as she healed him.
Zuko had never heard of anyone being able to heal with bending, and he was absolutely fascinated. He stared at the strange, flowing movements of her hands, as the glow passed again and again over the boy's back. It was incredible, and utterly hypnotic. After a few minutes, she sat back on her heels and swept the back of her hand across her forehead, looking exhausted.
"That's all I can do for him right now," she told the other children quietly, as they huddled around her. "He needs rest."
"He's going to be okay, though…right?" Sokka asked, his voice tremulous and his eyes bright.
"Twinkletoes?" The shorter girl scoffed. "He'll be fine. He's tougher than he looks."
"That's right," Katara agreed; her eyes were tired, but smiling. "He just needs time to rest and heal."
"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Hakoda interrupted them, his face still quite green, but his eyes alert. He had been remarkably patient whilst Katara worked, looking almost as awestruck by the healing as Zuko felt.
A loud gasp cut through the air, before Sokka could reply, and the assembled group all spun around to see the last of the new arrivals, the thin man, smiling excitedly at one of the more intricately tied nets. He held it aloft, beaming at his weird pet all the while, and exclaiming his joy at the craftsmanship. The strange bear sat on the sand and howled in reply.
"Who is that?" Hakoda muttered to his son.
"That's the Earth King," Sokka replied in an arch whisper. Father and son shared a long look, before Sokka shrugged. "He has a pet bear." They watched for a few moments as the apparent sovereign of the Earth Kingdom as he rushed about the camp, looking fascinated by everything he saw.
"What happened in Ba Sing Se? Hakoda asked, turning back to the injured boy. Sokka's face darkened.
"You might want to sit down," Sokka said, slumping to the floor, his back against the monstrous flying beast, as the other children followed suit.
The men gathered around, blocking Sokka from Zuko's view, as the young man began to tell his tribe all about a secret earth bending force called the Dai Li and a plot to overthrow the Earth King, of fake Kyoshi Warriors and a Fire Nation coup. Zuko felt a mounting sense of dread, which he could sense was shared by the Water Tribe men. Had the last bastion of the Earth Kingdom resistance really fallen to a bit of simple trickery and dress-up? Sokka kept pushing through the story, with a few chipped in comments from his sister and the other girl, but his voice stuttered when he got to the part about some crystal caves. Katara took over; taking a deep breath, she hurriedly told them of a terrible battle against the Fire Nation Princess, her friends, and the Dai Li- a battle where the Fire Nation Princess had fired lightning at the airbender.
"Azula?" Zuko whispered to himself. He had always known that his sister was a little unhinged; hell, he thought the same thing about himself, if perhaps his particular streak of crazy was a little different. It would be laughable to expect them to be normal, raised by a father like theirs, but he had never imagined her to be capable of so much pain and cruelty. To generate lightning took absolute calm and control over mind and emotion; Azula had struck to kill the boy with complete indifference. Zuko swallowed down the lump in his throat. Three years was a long time, she wasn't a child anymore, and neither was he. It shouldn't pain him so much that she'd become their father's perfect successor.
The camp fell into silence as Katara finished explaining the escape on the giant furry beast, which apparently had a name: Appa. Zuko sat back on his haunches as he peered out from behind the tent flap. He regarded the injured boy, trying to figure him out. Judging by Hakoda's reaction the day before, Zuko had assumed that the boy was supposed to be a secret and an important secret, at that, if Hakoda had been willing to murder a prisoner in cold blood to keep it. But, judging by Katara's story, Azula had known he was an airbender when she'd fought him, it would have been impossible not to, seeing as his sister had apparently shot the boy straight out of the air. But that didn't make sense! Who was keeping the boy a secret from whom, and why?
He gritted his teeth in frustration, and his clenched fists flashed hot and bright. It was enough to startle him, and he glanced down at his palms, actually surprised not to see steam rising from them. His few moments of distraction had cost him, and when he looked up, the thin man (who Zuko struggled to believe was the supreme, if usurped, sovereign of the Earth Kingdom) sidled over, and shook hands with Hakoda.
"I'm indebted to your children, and their friends," the Earth King said with a smile. "Without them, I'd be imprisoned in my own palace or worse, and the Avatar would surely be dead."
"The Avatar?" Zuko hadn't realised he'd spoken aloud, until half the camp were staring at him. The Earth King's head turned to look at the airbender boy lying prone by his feet. He had no subtlety whatsoever. Hakoda sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. His eyes were rimmed red, and he kept squinting up at the sun. There was something amusing in the ludicrousness of the situation, although Zuko was too much in shock to really process the fact. He waited a long moment to see if anyone laughed, if someone was going to jump out and reveal the whole thing to be a huge, if unfunny, joke, but no one did. Fuck. If that meant what Zuko thought, then the boy lying injured on the beach was the Avatar. The living, breathing Avatar- which was just impossible! He'd have to be over a hundred years old, and the boy didn't look a day over twelve! Hakoda's face grew even more drawn, and Zuko gulped loudly. This changed everything. The Avatar was alive, or at least mostly so. And perhaps not even for very long. It was like something out of a bad joke. A banished Prince, the Avatar and the Earth King meet in a Water Tribe camp… Zuko had to swallow back a slightly hysterical laugh.
One of the warriors moved forwards and pulled Zuko from the tent. He stood on slightly shaky legs, staring openly at the unconscious boy. The camp was quiet around them, no one quite sure what to do, before the short girl cleared her throat and spat loudly on the ground.
"Who's the new kid?"
"That's the Fire Lord's son," Hakoda told them all grimly, watching Zuko through narrowed eyes. "Sokka, we should probably move this conversation to the main tent. Katara-" His daughter turned her back to him before he was able to finish his order. Zuko flinched. That was a level of disrespect he would never have dared to show his own father. Hell, half the time, growing up, he'd been fucking terrified to even breathe too loudly in his father's presence. But Hakoda just let out a deep sigh, and ran a hand over his face. He still looked slightly green, and Zuko felt a shameful thrill of satisfaction that the man was still suffering for the night before.
A few of the men followed Hakoda and Sokka into the main tent. Bato was, to Zuko's shocked surprise, among them. He moved behind them with a slow, dragging limp. Katara watched his progression with a deep frown on her face, looking between her water bag and the unconscious kid (Avatar!) lying on the floor. Zuko watched Bato closely, but the man didn't even look his way. Zuko would have to be careful, if the older man held a grudge for that injury, Zuko could find a knife in his back in the middle of the night, regardless of whether Hakoda wanted him alive.
The departing men left a low buzz of chatter in their wake. Zuko sank to his knees and sat on the cool sand outside his tent. Katara had turned her back very firmly on him and was fluttering about the unconscious boy like a mother pig-chicken. It was a little disconcerting. Zuko didn't think he'd ever seen anyone fuss so much over another's injuries. But, then again, this was, apparently, the Avatar, and he was supremely important to their cause. A few of the men fixed Zuko with stern glares as they saw where his attention was focused, but Zuko just fixed his jaw and glared right back at them. He had killed a man to save their chief only the night before, there was no way in hell that he was letting them dictate who, or what, he could look at.
The boy moaned again, and shifted slightly, revealing more of the gruesome wound. The burn on Zuko's own cheek prickled in sympathy. He shook his head and let out a low, slightly panicked breath. "The Avatar?" he whispered to himself, trying to force down the rising hysteria, as the thought truly began to sink in. This was worse than learning the boy was an airbender. To know that he was the avatar too? That just didn't make sense. How could he be alive, and why wasn't he well over a hundred by now? Or had there been a whole cycle of avatars in the last century and no one had noticed? That just seemed impossible. Unless maybe they had, maybe the Fire Nation had been fighting against him all along, and the Royal Family had kept it hushed up. But that seemed ridiculous. But how the hell could the avatar be over a hundred and still not look a day over twelve and where the hell had he been for the last century? Zuko shook his head and tried to calm his racing thoughts.
As Zuko took deep breaths, the other young girl suddenly turned towards him, and cocked her head questioningly. They stared at each other for few seconds, before she started to make her way over to Zuko. As she neared the tent, Zuko could see that both her eyes were glazed over with a thin film. She was blind. Something that felt worryingly close to sympathy panged deep in his chest. He thought she'd veer away at the last minute, but instead she kept on a straight path directly towards him. It was almost as if she knew exactly where he was. It was a little unnerving.
It didn't get any better when she waltzed straight up to his tent and plonked herself down on the sand beside him. Her gaze was fixed blankly over his left shoulder, but her focus was very clearly on him. His mouth went very dry and he reminded himself to take deep, calming breaths. This was not, he told himself firmly, any weirder than finding out airbenders existed, or that the Avatar might actually be alive, or any of the other unbelievable things that had happened to him in the past few days. It was entirely possible she had some sight, like he did in his left eye. There was no reason for the hairs on the back of his neck to be stood so firmly to attention.
"So you're the guy Sokka wouldn't shut up about yesterday?" She asked, finally, after she'd studied him for a few, long seconds.
Zuko started slightly. "Um…I mean, I really… don't know." Had Sokka been talking about him? He hadn't thought they'd had enough conversation for him to make an expression, but then again, Zuko supposed, how many banished, presumed-dead ex-Prince's did a boy from the Southern Water Tribe come across on a daily basis? Particularly ones with hideous, repulsive facial scars? Perhaps Zuko had made an impression, after all.
The girl hummed thoughtfully to herself, before nodding decisively. "I'm Toph," she said loudly, sticking out a hand for Zuko to shake. Dirt was ingrained in the lines of her palm, and her nails were encrusted with mud and torn into jagged lines. Zuko reached out and shook the proffered hand firmly. He was hardly one to judge; his own palms were no better. There were dark, pitted marks where coal dust had stained his callouses, and thin lines of black where dirt and dust had trespassed into many of the shallow cuts and blisters he'd earnt over the years. No matter how many times he washed, they wouldn't disappear; they'd been healed into his skin.
"Zuko," he replied gruffly. Her handshake was like a vice, and he shook his hand out the minute she released him.
"So…you're the Fire Lord's kid?" She asked, with a quirk of an eyebrow. She didn't seem hostile, but Zuko knew better than to judge by appearances. He eyed her warily, and then let out a stuttering sigh.
"Yes."
"Sokka said you wanna see him taken down?" She asked again, her voice challenging.
Zuko looked away, feeling her sightless gaze burning into him.
"Yes."
She watched him silently, and then let out a low whistle.
"You're telling the truth."
Zuko let out a bitter laugh. "Yes," he all but hissed. "Not that anyone else believes me." His voice sounded hoarse, and it cracked in the middle. It was stupid. He shouldn't be getting so upset about that fact. But, it was just unfair. He'd killed a man for Hakoda only the night before, and he'd been rewarded with continued hostility. He still didn't know what the chief had planned for him, especially now he knew the identity of the Avatar. Hakoda had almost put a knife through his heart just for knowing that the boy was an airbender, Zuko didn't want to think what this latest revelation would earn him. He shivered, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry.
Toph looked up at him in concern.
"You're heart's beating really, really fast," she noted. "What's wrong with you?"
"How can you know that?" Zuko asked, as he tried to take deep breaths and not panic any more than he was already.
"I can sense your heartbeat through my earthbending," she told him quietly. "That's how I knew you weren't lying. People's heartbeats always speed up when they lie. Well most people, anyway."
"You can sense my heartbeat?" Zuko let out a choked bark of laughter. "So that's how you knew where I was?"
"Well yeah, I can feel the vibrations in the Earth. It's how I see." She frowned slightly, kicking at the sand with her foot. "Sand is weird, though, it makes things fuzzy."
"You can see with your Earthbending?" Zuko asked in awe. He didn't know that humans were able to do that. "Like a badgermole?"
"Yes," Toph replied in surprise. "How did you know they could do that?"
"I read about them once," he said defensively.
"The Fire Nation has books on Earth Kingdom animals?"
"Animals? No!" Zuko chuckled wryly. "The history of Earthbending? Yes. They're quite big on 'knowing your enemy.'"
"Ah." Somehow Toph found that fact a little less than reassuring. Zuko kicked himself. He was not very good at talking to people, and he always managed to say the wrong thing when he tried.
"Yep." Zuko flushed and rubbed at the back of his neck as an awkward silence fell between them. He'd clearly messed up a perfectly friendly conversation by saying something weird again. He looked up at the ceiling of the tent, begging Agni for inspiration.
"So any idea what they're talking about in there?" Toph asked suddenly, nodding in the direction of the main tent that the chief and his advisors had disappeared into.
Zuko snorted and let out a startled laugh. "They're not letting me anywhere near their war plans if they can help it."
"Why not?" She asked curiously.
"People don't usually tell their prisoners all about their plans- particularly not people they think are their enemies."
"In my experience," Toph remarked with a thoughtful look on her face, "they actually kinda do."
Zuko didn't know what to say to that.
"But you're not their prisoner, are you?" Toph asked tentatively. "Sokka said his dad rescued you from prison."
Zuko just hummed noncommittally. He thought it prudent to keep quiet about the technicalities of the whole thing. If Sokka really thought that his father was keeping Zuko fed and watered out of the goodness of his heart, then Zuko was not going to challenge those delusions, and if Hakoda wanted to go around pretending that Zuko were some kind of honoured guest, in front of the children, then Zuko was not going to complain.
"They've been talking for a while," Toph commented idly, after another awkward silence.
"What?"
"Sokka and his dad. They've been talking for a while."
"Not really…" It hadn't been more than half an hour or so, from Zuko's judging of Agni's position in the sky. His father's war councils had sometimes lasted days at a time and he doubted that things were all that different on the other side of the war. It would, however, be prudent for the chief to hurry along the plans a bit. If Ba Sing Se really was under Fire Nation control, then half the Fire Navy would be sailing up the river within the day, ferrying provisions and additional men to help support the occupation. He glared at the main tent, as if his displeasure alone would encourage them to get a move on.
"Sokka's usually quicker than this."
"What?"
"When he makes the plans. He's usually quicker."
Zuko turned to her, almost raising his good eyebrow, before he remembered that she wouldn't be able to see it.
"So Sokka's your strategist?" She nodded, and leaned back against the canvas of the tent, resting her arms behind her head. She was the picture of casualness, as if she wasn't discussing the strategy of the Avatar's travelling companions with a potential enemy. It was a little unnerving how relaxed she seemed about the whole thing.
Out of the corner of his good eye, Zuko noticed Katara tense, as she leant back from her charge to better listen in to their conversation. That was interesting; at least one member of the group seemed to have a healthy level of distrust for strangers. Keeping his eye focused on Katara's back, Zuko pressed a little further.
"So you're not involved in the plans at all?"
"Meh, Sokka knows what he's doing. He's the brains of this operation. I'm the brawn."
"You're travelling with the Avatar, and you expect me to believe you're the brawn." Zuko looked her up and down. Her handshake had been particularly strong, and she was, apparently, a powerful Earthbender, but the Avatar was the Avatar. Katara rose to her feet and started stalking towards them.
"I'm the Earth Rumble Champion and the greatest Earthbender in the world. I'm training the Avatar. You think I'm not strong enough?"
Zuko shook his head no, and then remembered she couldn't see him. "No, I'm sure you are," he quickly stuttered out. He had no idea what the Earth Rumble was, but he didn't want to piss off its champion. "It's just…"
"Toph!" Katara hissed sharply, planting her feet a yard or so in front of them, hands on her hips and expression stern. "What are you doing? He's from the Fire Nation."
"So?"
"You could be putting us all in danger- putting Aang in danger!" Her voice was tight with anger and fear.
"Relax Sugar Queen, Zuko's not like that." Toph, however, was the picture of casual indifference.
"So now he's Zuko to you! He's the Fire Lord's son!"
Zuko kept his eyes firmly focused on Katara's hands and on the flask of water at her hip. If she went for him with her bending, he wouldn't stand a chance.
"It's not like he's a threat, your dad wouldn't keep him here if he was." Toph all but yawned as she spoke.
Zuko wisely did not comment on the ridiculousness of that statement. Hakoda did think he was a threat, and that was precisely why he wasn't going to be allowed free anytime soon.
"My dad doesn't know Aang like we do, he just sees him as the Avatar, he doesn't realise that he's just a kid that needs to be protected."
"If Chief Hakoda thought I was a threat to the Avatar," Zuko cut in -speaking as steadily as he could as he tried to shake off the memory of a knife pressed against his throat- "then he would have killed me before he left me this close to him with so little supervision." Zuko nodded at the few warriors milling about the camp. They were keeping an eye on the teenagers, but it was obvious that most of them were still only half-aware, suffering from their exploits the night before. It was the one thought that he was clinging onto; the chief wouldn't have left within a hundred yards of the avatar and alive, if he thought Zuko could do any immediate damage. Still, Zuko said the words to reassure himself as much as Katara. He did not like how close he was coming to knowing just too much to be allowed to live.
Katara let out a noise like an angry cat-owl, glaring down at him furiously. "My dad doesn't kill people!" She hissed and drew herself up to her full height. "My people aren't murderers, like you Firebenders!"
Zuko snorted, the thought of the countless corpses resting just out to sea lying heavy at the back of his mind. How naïve were these children? They were at war. Did they honestly think that the chief of the Southern Water Tribe had coasted through the last few years of all out slaughter without ever having taken a life? It was sickening, Zuko thought, and more than a little insulting. Something bitter and vicious and caustic rose in his chest.
"Where do you think that came from then?" Zuko asked grimly, gesturing to the warship floating in the bay. "You think the Fire Navy just leave those lying around?"
"What-" Zuko cut her off before she could continue.
"There was a battle last night," he told her quietly, looking down at his hands. "The chief and the rest of the warriors took down four Fire Navy battleships. What do you think happened to their crews?" He looked up and met her gaze firmly. She looked aghast, her face pinched and horrified.
"You're a liar! How could you say something like that?" Her eyes filled with heavy tears, and she turned from them, her hair braids clicking together as she spun around and stormed back over to the Avatar's side. Her shoulders were set in a ridged line, and it was clear that she was furious. Zuko watched her leave with a sense of grim detachment; she'd started things by calling him a murderer, and he knew how to finish a fight.
"That wasn't all that smart," Toph told him with a sharp look. "Sugar Queen can hold a grudge. And she didn't want to hear all that stuff about her dad."
"I wasn't lying," he reminded her quietly.
"I know."
The silence between them felt heavier than before, and Zuko stared awkwardly at Katara's back. Her shoulders were hitching slightly, as if she were forcing down sobs. Zuko flinched and tried to ignore the painful tendrils of guilt that that were starting to claw at his chest. He hadn't been in the wrong, he told himself firmly. She'd needed to know the truth.
Toph let out a long sigh and dragged herself laboriously to her feet.
"I should probably check she's alright." She looked down at Zuko and gave him a weird half-smile. "Nice talking to you Sparky." She walked over to Katara and the two of them were soon engaged in some kind of hissed argument. Zuko strained his ears to listen, but the noise of the camp and the ringing in his ear made it impossible to eavesdrop. He sighed, and gave up. He pulled himself to his feet, fully intending on finding some chore or other to earn his keep, but was quickly and curtly told to sit back down by one of the warriors. Cautiously, keeping an eye on the man's sword, Zuko planted himself back on the sand, and waited for someone to tell him to do otherwise.
The morning drew on, and Zuko found his stomach rumbling. It was strange, he noted idly, that his body had once again grown accustomed to three meals a day. There had been times back in camp, where he'd counted himself lucky if he got that many in a week. He shuddered at the memory of the gnawing emptiness that raked at his insides. That had been when he was locked up in a cell and being punished for some misdemeanour, imagined or otherwise, and the guards had wanted him desperate and obedient, but still alive to go back to work once they considered him suitably cowed. He wondered how much longer the chief would keep feeding him, now he had another five people and two beasts to cater for. Zuko knew all too well where he stood in the camp hierarchy, and it didn't bode well for him.
Around midday, when Agni was at his height in the sky and steadily baking the sand white hot to the touch, the men finally emerged from the tent, Sokka firmly at his dad's side and face surprisingly solemn. The two of them strode into the centre of camp, and stood around the campfire, waiting for the rest of the group to gather. The Earth King hurried up to join them, and gazed nervously out at the sea of faces clustering around him. Zuko was pulled to his feet by a nearby warrior, and shoved into the growing assembly. Clearly they'd suspected he might make a run for it whilst the camp was distracted. Zuko hadn't been about to, as a matter of fact, but only because the thought had already crossed his mind and deemed impossible. Two failed escape attempts in less than a day would be more than Zuko thought the chief could tolerate.
Hakoda cleared his throat, and slung a strong arm around Sokka's shoulders. Zuko flinched at the action, but Sokka only smiled up at his dad. The first part of the announcement was essentially what Zuko had expected; they were moving from the bay, it was too dangerous to stay where they were, in light of the fall of Ba Sing Se. The Fire Navy would be heading up the river in droves; if they stayed on the beach they'd be sitting turtle-ducks. All as expected.
The second part of the announcement, however, took Zuko completely by surprise.
"We're splitting up," Hakoda informed the group at large. "Aput will take our ships and lead the men to gather allies for the invasion." Zuko frowned at that, he had not heard anything about an invasion in the past few months of his captivity, and he'd been keeping his good ear open. "Luckily, we took down that Fire Nation ship last night," the chief continued, nodding to where the battleship was floating out to sea. "We were going to hand it over to the Earth Kingdom army, but seeing as the Earth Kingdom is now in Fire Nation hands, we should probably use it for ourselves."
A quick rumbling of agreement spread through the crowd, at the suggestion. The Earth King frowned, and blushed slightly at the reminder that his capital city had been completely overrun only the night before. He shifted awkwardly and coughed, taking over the next part of the speech from Hakoda.
The men fell silent as the Earth King stepped forwards. He haltingly, but with growing enthusiasm announced his desire to learn more about his kingdom. He professed his regret that his ignorance had allowed his country to fall into the hands of the enemy, and vowed that he would not be silent to the needs of his people any longer. It was an admirable speech, and Zuko would have felt some kind of respect for the man, had he not immediately declared his intention to travel incognito across the Earth Kingdom with his very conspicuous bear alongside him. It would have been laughable were it not so utterly ridiculous.
What the Earth King could possibly expect to find on his journey, Zuko really had no clue. It wasn't exactly like he could do all that much to help anyone, and he seemed painfully naïve as to the world outside of his palace walls. Zuko knew all too well just how vulnerable that would make the King. He had no doubt that the man would end up surrendering and admitting his identity to the first friendly-looking village he came across; the man looked like he had no idea how to go hungry, or how to look after himself. Would he even know how to get himself a job, let alone how to work for a living? Besides, the King was dragging that ridiculous beast along with him. Agni only knew how much that thing ate. Zuko shook his head in exasperation as the young King waved a jaunty goodbye and headed for the road, full of the excitement of a new adventure. Zuko snorted; he gave him a week, tops.
Hakoda waited until the Earth King had disappeared into the dunes, before he continued on with his instructions. The men were set to striking the camp, and they hurried to do so with the same efficiency that Zuko had come to expect of them.
He lost sight of Sokka and the others as they disappeared behind Appa-the-flying-monster's hulking frame. The camp was busy around him, and no one seemed to be paying too much attention to their prisoner; Zuko saw his chance. Moving swiftly and certainly, but not so fast as to draw anyone's attention, he slipped through the camp, heading for the dunes he had just watched the Earth King disappear into. He had almost made it to the edge of camp when something struck hard against his right ankle and he tripped, collapsing onto his hands and knees in the hot sand.
"Do I need to tie you up again?"
It was Hakoda, once again, who had thwarted his escape. Zuko pushed himself to his feet and spun around. The chief was regarding him with a slightly amused expression, one eyebrow raised in disdain. Zuko hissed in frustration, and felt his chi flare up briefly in response.
"What do I have to do for you to just let me go?" He asked bitterly.
"You're the Fire Lord's only son," Hakoda reminded him sternly. "I can't just let you go."
"Why not?" Zuko finally exploded and the whole camp froze, turning to look at him. He flushed bright red under all the attention, but he was far too frustrated to go quietly. "What can I possibly do to make you trust me? I fucking saved your life. That has to mean something?" He pointed at Hakoda with one slim finger, his good eye narrowed until both his eyes were fixed in a glare.
"You did," Hakoda acknowledged, "and you have my gratitude. But I still can't just let you go." The chief frowned and grabbed hold of Zuko's arm, ignoring the flinch that ran through the boy's body as he was dragged back to camp. "You want me to trust you? Then stay with us and do as you're told," the chief told him sternly. "Stop trying to run away every time we turn our backs."
Zuko stayed silent as the chief dragged him back to the rest of the men. The man's temper was hard to judge, and he had no idea if he would get a piercing look, or the edge of a blade, if he spoke up again. It was, Zuko realised, very much like living with his own father had been.
"Put him on the ship and don't take your eyes off him," Hakoda ordered one of the warriors. He ran a hand through his hair, and turned to face the rest of the gawping camp. "We need to set sail within the hour. Stop standing around, and get a move on!" Zuko strained against the arms holding him, as he tried to keep himself from being dragged onto the ship.
Hakoda spun around and fixed him with a look that could freeze fire.
"You're going on that boat, if I have to chain you up and drag you on myself, is that clear?"
Zuko glared at him defiantly. "Yes, sir," he all but spat, as the water tribesman holding him dragged him bodily from the camp and down to one of the rowboats.
Once on board the ship, Zuko found himself under the watchful eyes of two glaring water tribesmen and Sokka himself. He was furious at the chief- and at himself for getting caught again. He was certain that the spirits had it out for him; his every endeavour seemed doomed to failure. They were gathered at the stern, and Zuko had planted himself at the railing, staring firmly out to sea, his back to the hulking metal of the ship.
Countless men and women had died on this ship, only the night before. Their restless spirits haunted the waters of the bay, denied final rites that would see them properly into the spirit world. Zuko didn't want to be trapped on a ship with their ghosts, particularly when his own were already playing havoc in his mind. It had been bad enough being at sea on the wooden water tribe ships, let alone on a Fire Nation vessel; surrounded by metal and the stench of soot, the memories of that horrific voyage to the mining camp were already hammering at his nerves. If they tried to take him below deck, Zuko was sure he'd lose his mind.
"Maybe it's for the best?" Sokka offered awkwardly, moving to stand next to Zuko at the rail. "The Fire Nation are going to be all over the Earth Kingdom now. At least with us, you'll be safe."
Zuko clenched his teeth and his fists and forced himself not to react.
"Well…safer I guess…" Sokka amended, philosophically.
"Until your dad decides I'm too dangerous to keep around and he has me tossed overboard, I guess." Zuko kept his gaze out to sea, but he could see from the corner of his good eye, as Sokka flinched at the acerbic tone.
"I promise you, he won't do that," Sokka said earnestly. "I don't know what you've been through in that prison or anything… but, my dad's a good guy, you're safe with him."
"Last night he was ready to cut my throat for being a spy," Zuko growled, turning to face Sokka fully. "So don't even fucking try it."
"He what?" Sokka all but shrieked, his face paling dramatically. "Tell me that's an exaggeration!"
Zuko set his shoulders and turned out to sea, studiously ignoring Sokka's reaction. Behind him, he could hear more and more men boarding the ship. There was a great cacophony when the avatar's flying monster landed on deck, mostly from Katara, as the men carefully unloaded their precious cargo and took him down to a safe cabin within the ship. Zuko wondered if the avatar would be given the captain's quarters, or if they would go to Hakoda. Zuko hoped that they wouldn't shove him in the brig, but hope was dangerous for a person in Zuko's position.
It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the men to load the ship and stoke the engines enough to get the ship moving; they had clearly used a coal-burning steam-ship before, and they sailed it as if they had built it themselves. Zuko didn't know why he was so surprised; it wasn't as if the ships had to be powered by firebenders, just that they usually were. Within a few minutes they were skirting the edges of the bay and heading out to sea, in completely the opposite direction to the water tribe ships. A sudden thought crept up alarmingly from the back of Zuko's mind.
"What was all that about an invasion plan?" Zuko asked, turning back to Sokka "Why are we on this ship and not with your dad's fleet?" The other boy looked subdued, and let out a soft sigh before answering.
"We're taking the fight to the Fire Lord," he replied with a strange intensity. "We're sailing into Fire Nation waters, so we need a disguise."
"We're what?" Zuko hissed in disbelief. They weren't that recklessly stupid, were they? "Are you crazy? You're going to get me killed!"
"Hey this is dangerous for all of us, you know?" Sokka's tone turned a little stern as he continued. "But you might be able to help us, show us how we can take down your dad. I know you didn't exactly sign up for this, but we're not trying to be your enemies here, Zuko." His voice and his face were earnest, which just made the inexplicable feeling of betrayal that crawled up in Zuko's chest even worse. He didn't know why he'd expected something different from Sokka, why he'd thought he could trust him; he was the chief's son through and through, after all.
"Don't fucking talk to me," Zuko hissed, his hands glowing hot against the rail of the ship. He stayed there, staring out to sea long after Sokka had given up trying to talk to him and had left him to his thoughts. The ship chugged further and further away from the bay, until the cliffs were little more than a dot on the horizon. Zuko let out a ragged breath as the last glimpse of land dipped from his view. A quick glance up at the stars confirmed all that he needed to know. Sokka hadn't been lying. They were heading straight for the Fire Nation, and there wasn't a Koh-damned thing that Zuko could do about it.