"Would you like another fish?" Suki asked.
Wen took the small platter from her, "Oh, sure! Thanks," she said cheerfully, sliding one onto her plate. She made a yummy noise and dug in. It was around seven o'clock and everyone was gathered around a breakfast table save for the owners of two empty seats. Katara was already hard at work in the hospital, and since the day he arrived Wen had saved a space for Zuko at the table just to her right, but a week and a half later the spot had yet to be filled.
Toph dumped a bowl of rice into her mouth. "How's the hunt?" She asked, looking pointedly at Sokka.
"Actually, we have a lead." He said, swallowing, "An anonymous source came out with some new information. We're planning another covert mission, now."
"You got a team in mind?"
"Ty Lee is on a boat now from Kyoshi Island," he said.
"I'll be joining her," Suki asserted.
Sokka ground his teeth, "Apparently," he muttered. "We have one more spot we need to fill, but otherwise, that's it."
Wen stuck a roll in her mouth, a little disappointed.
Toph nodded.
"So what's on your agenda for today?" Aang asked Nanuk and Wen, stretching his shoulders, "More studies?"
Nanuk nodded, "The math is going unexpectedly well, but there's still a bit left to do." He said with a tiny smirk.
"Actually," Everyone at the table looked up. Fire Lord Zuko approached the head of the table in a white, sleeveless dress shirt and his loose red pants. He had a soft apprehensive look on his face, and his golden eyes were fixed on Wen with a glowing hopefulness. "I was wondering if I could have her-just for today." he added quickly.
Nanuk stood up and tipped his head, "By all means. I have some business in town I need to see to, anyways. Be back in time for dinner," He closed casually.
"Good luck!" Wen called after him, waving. He threw up a hand as he closed the door behind him.
"I, uh...hear you could use a few fire bending lessons," Zuko suggested, taking the empty seat. Toph smiled quietly.
"I-yes!-If you don't mind...!" She stammered excitedly, her face turning red.
"What? Did you run out of boxes? I can get you some more-OW!" Sokka yelped, jumping out of his seat. A little pointed rock cone stuck out from the cushion and quickly sunk into the floor. "Just a joke!" Toph scowled, but everyone else laughed.
"Fish?" Wen asked, holding the platter out to Zuko. He took a few and smiled brightly.
Katara inhaled and exhaled deeply, feeling the qi flow through her chakras and build in her limbs. Slowly she drew water around her hands and placed them to Katil's temples...
Katil, kodachi in hand, skipped down the dusty road through a small, Fire Nation village. The streets were full of modest people laughing and chatting. Soldiers in pairs strolled back towards the center of the town, leading excited kids her age in groups of two or three. They were all fire benders that she recognized from school. She tried to pay them no mind and picked up speed-
"Kazue!"
The little girl stopped, "Oh, hi Ms. Yuan," she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Ms. Yuan was an older woman with a soft, wrinkled face and salt and pepper black hair. She ran a fruit stand with her husband-they sold really good papaya. Their son was Nobuo's age, but he had recently be promoted to lieutenant. They had thrown a party for him two weeks before.
"Are you not going to the recruitment rally?" The old woman asked with a kind smile.
"No, I'm not a bender," Katil lied.
"Oh, but your brother was so talented...I just thought-"
"That's okay, Ms. Yuan," she said, reaching into her pocket, "can I buy some papaya?" she asked, handing her the money.
Ms. Yuan chuckled, "Oh, of course! Sometimes I forget just how much your mother loves that papaya!" She pulled three off of her stand. Katil held out a small basket and Ms. Yuan gently dropped them inside along with the other groceries.
"Eugh," Katara mumbled with a disapproving frown.
"Thanks!" Katil called as she skipped away. The sun was starting to set over their little village. As soon as it fell under the horizon, she would be safe for another year. The scenery quickly became more rural as the market faded and the farm lands began. She and her family lived in a small farm in an even smaller cottage, but she could still see her house on the horizon-
"AAAAH!" Katil screamed, dropping her swords and casting a shield of flames. The armadillo lion that had attacked her reared back, then as the flames dispersed, down for the chops that had fallen out of her basket and scuttled back into the brush. Katil's breath came back to her suddenly and her heart was beating a million times per minute. She looked around quickly, but saw no one there. "Whoof..." she sighed, quickly gathering what remained of her purchases and running back home.
"Kazue, you're back! How was the trip!" Her frighteningly thin mother asked as the little girl tore into the house. Katil dropped the broken baskets and bruised fruits at the counter by her mother.
"Fine!" She said quickly before sprinting up the stairs to the attic. She jumped into her rickety bed and burrowed under the blanket, crying as quietly as she could.
"Kazue?" asked a deep, man's voice. "Kazue? Did something happen?" he asked, sitting on the bed. Katil broke out of the blanket and crawled into his arms.
"Dad! Daddy I was so scared-this armadillo lion attacked me out of nowhere-!"
"Are you hurt?" He asked urgently, checking over her tiny body. The man was thick built and strong with a heavy beard, but his face looked withered, stressed, and tired.
"No-no-I'm fine, but..."
"But what?"
"GUO!" Katil's father looked towards the door. Katil's mother appeared in the doorway a moment later, "Guo...!" she started, breathing heavily. Her face was stricken with terror.
"Hachi-"
"Guo, the conscription officer is outside. They're looking for Kazue!"
"What? WHY?!" he demanded.
"Someone saw her fire bend-they're demanding she join the army!"
Guo's eyes, full of anger and shock, snapped back to Katil, "Kazue, you didn't..."
"I was so scared, Dad!" She pleaded. Gup hugged his daughter tight.
"Guo..." Hachi nearly whispered, her voice choked up in sobs, "...what do we do?"
He stroked his crying daughter's hair slowly and methodically, grinding his teeth in thought. "We have to give her to them," he finally said. Now it was Katil's eyes that snapped up to his, but hers were begging for mercy.
"Guo, no!" Hachi yelled, dropping to her knees in front of her husband, "I can't lose another child-!"
"HACHI!" Guo bellowed, standing up to tower over his hysterical wife. "Pull yourself together," he snapped, pulling Katil off of the bed and marching her towards the door, "I'll handle this."
The conscription officer was a short, sour looking man with a skinny, stringy beard and tiny, beady black eyes. A deep scowl highlighted his wrinkles. He was speaking to two soldiers as Guo and Katil emerged from the house. "Is this Kazue?" he asked, turning around. Katil gasped and stifled a cry.
"Yes," Guo stated solemnly.
The officer nodded his head, and one of the two guards stepped forward and snatched her away. "DAD!" Katil screamed, but his usually warm, grey eyes were focused squarely on the officer. "DAD HELP ME PLEASE!" She begged just as the officer struck her over the head, and she blacked out...
Katil's eyes blinked open. She was in a dark, dusty room-
"AAUGH!" Katara screamed. A bright, white light blinded Katara's mental perception and a piercing screech paralyzed her. Her body was thrown off of the bed and hard against the opposite wall with a hard thud.
"Katara? Katara are you okay?" An acolyte asked, bursting into the room. Katara was breathing hard, and one of her hair loops had fallen out. The acolyte took her hand and helped her up, "You need to be more careful..." he advised, gingerly placing a hand on Katara's belly.
She brushed him off, "I'm fine, thank you. Please," she said. He bowed and left the room. Katara sighed and sat back down on the bed. Katil was looking much better than when she had arrived. All of her wounds and diseases, inside and out, were healed and she was a much healthier weight, but she was still staring up at the ceiling, as though trying to find a way out. Katara caressed the woman's cheek. It was wet. "Why are you trying to hide this from me? Is this the key?" She whispered.
Suddenly, Katil took a sharp breath. "No...!" she suddenly wheezed.
"Katil!" Katara exclaimed, "You can speak!"
"You can't..." she begged, "N...no one...can..."
"No one can what?" Katara asked urgently.
"...know...!"
"Oh, no-Katil-I know this memory is awful, but if I don't see it, I can't help you!"
"N-no..."
"I can't help you..." she took a deep, uncertain breath, "...or Wen."
Suddenly, Katil's glazed eyes popped open with life, "Wen!" she shouted past blurry coughs, "Wen..." she turned to Katara, "...you know...my daughter?" she asked, her eyes welling up with tears.
Katara smiled, tears suddenly running down her face, too, "Yes! Yes, I know her!"
"How is she?" Katil asked, "Is she okay?"
"Yes!" Katara exclaimed, "She's beautiful and healthy and happy,"
Katil settled back into the bed, a peaceful smile on her face, "Thank the spirits..." she whispered.
"But," Katara began, placing a hand on Katil's, "she needs a mother,"
Katil's smile fell, but she wasn't blank. She was sad-so, so sad.
"She needs you, Katil."
Katil swallowed a large lump, and then, shakily, she lifted Katara's hand, and placed it on her head, "Quick," she whispered, "before I disappear,"
Zuko and Wen walked along the property together making small talk for the most part on their way to the lagoon. It was the only place Aang would let them practice, seeing as Wen was so new to it and he didn't want any of the relics burnt to a crisp.
"Can I ask you a question?" Zuko said as they started down the slope.
"Only if I can ask you one!" Wen replied with a grin.
Zuko chuckled, "A-alright, well..." he began, "I just wanted to know...when you found out that I was your father...what did you think?" he asked. "Were you happy or disappointed or-"
"Surprised?" Wen said tentatively. "I always assumed my parents would be Earth Kingdom, seeing as I've lived there my whole life. I mean, obviously I got my firebending from somewhere, but I definitely didn't guess that my dad would be the Fire Lord! Honestly, I'm just glad that I found out who you were! I'd be just as happy if you were some marauding, raping, pillaging, thieving-"
"I get it," Zuko stopped her with an exasperated chuckle.
"Sorry-Nanuk says I can get a little over excited." She shrugged with a small smile.
"Well, good. Maybe I can learn from you." He admitted.
"What do you mean?" Wen asked, slipping off her shoes before hopping on to the sand.
"Palace life is...a little stuffy,"
"I guess?" Wen laughed.
"Sorry-I don't mean to sound proud."
Wen just shook her head. "My turn!" She exclaimed. "Wh-"
"We only have so many hours of sunlight," Zuko interrupted, "Let's start this now before it gets dark."
Wen nodded, "Aye aye, Cap'm!"
Zuko cocked an eyebrow.
"Sorry..."
They both smiled.
"Let's see your best fire blast." Zuko said, taking a seat on the sand.
Wen nodded. She bent her knees and bounced on them a little bit. Zuko frowned. Then she reeled back like she was going to try and throw a ball across the bay and threw herself forward, "HIIIYAAAH!" she screamed, punching out her left arm. A tiny, wimpy, blip of fire fizzled out of her fist before she lost her balance, tripped over her own feet and face planted in the sand.
Zuko winced. "Toph wasn't kidding," he mumbled.
Wen shrugged, pushing herself up onto her knees and brushing the sand off of her face, "Not a lot of fire bending teachers in Old Earth Kingdom territory,"
"Apparently," Zuko clucked as she got back on to her feet. He sighed and stood up with her. "Alright, lesson one..."
Wen beamed.
When Nanuk walked through Republic City with a casual quickness, both hands in his pockets, never making eye contact with a soul. He seemed to know these streets like the back of his hand, even though he'd only walked through the city a few times. The sun was on its way down the western sky and it gave his dark skin a pinkish hue. On his way, he stopped by a small cart selling jewelry. He bought a gold bracelet for Wen, then was back on his way. As he got closer to the outskirts, the well kept streets suddenly turned to pot: the roads were cracked and covered in litter, homeless vagabonds wandered aimlessly, crude graffiti tattooed the walls of functional and abandoned buildings alike. Nanuk took a sharp right down a narrow alley and slipped into a dilapidated apartment complex through a rusted metal door. It was dark inside, but Nanuk got around as though it were as bright as day. Up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, around a corner...finally he came to another door, and without hesitating he turned the knob.
Captain Yeh and two other men stood talking in front of a desk, the sun behind them casting dark shadows on their faces.
"Ah, Nanuk. Good to see you," Yeh welcomed, holding his previous conversation at bay. "What is our current situation?"
"Everything is going according to plan."
"THE TOPH IS BACK!" Toph yelled, bursting out of the hospital. She shot herself into the air and dove into the ground, surfacing with a rocky flourish, "WOOHOO! AWW YEAH! BACK IN BUSINESS-"
"TOPH!" Aang yelled, nearly tackling her.
"Hey-what's the deal, Twinkle Toes? Can't a girl get excited anymore?" She snapped.
"Not when Wen and Zuko are practicing!" he said, dragging her over to the cliff.
"Okay-I get that this is a big deal, but aren't we putting a little too much importance on it? I can walk again-!"
"Toph-shh!" Sokka told her, wrapping a tight arm around her shoulders, "She's actually doing it!"
Down on the beach, after almost four hours of working at it, the two fire benders were artfully weaving large, healthy flames through the air, over their heads and out over the bay.
"She's improving so quickly!" Suki gasped.
"Well, she's got a good teacher," Toph smirked.
"And good stock," Aang reminded, "I'm not surprised at all that she's got so much talent."
"Well done!" Zuko congratulated. Wen was doubled over and breathing hard, but she looked up at him with a huge smile. "I really am impressed-the only two people I've seen improve faster than you are Aang-but he's the Avatar so that's not fair-and my sister-but she's crazy, so she doesn't count either. You're amazing!" He congratulated.
Wen jumped up, "You really think so?!"
"Absolutely!" Zuko exclaimed, watching his daughter jump up and down. She did a one eighty, a little dance, and then saw the sky.
"Nanuk's probably back by now-I have to go tell him!" She shouted, turning back to Zuko. She ran over to him and, despite his sudden flinch, gave him a tight hug, "Thank you!" she said again, before running up the hill. Zuko just stood there. A frozen, red faced statue.
Aang and Sokka laughed out loud-
"HEY! SHUT UP!" Zuko yelled from below.
Aang and Sokka gave an apologetic wave.
"Jerks...!"
Katil's eyes blinked open. She was in a dark, dusty room with ten or twelve other kids. They were all asleep. Through a window she could see that it was nighttime. Suddenly the door to the room creaked open. Katil quickly laid on the dirt and did her best to fake sleep, but a hand wrapped tightly around her forearm and threw her onto her feet.
"Shh..." the man whispered, putting a finger to Katil's lips. He was a skinny, dirty man wearing a standard Fire Nation uniform with big, hungry eyes and long, flappy ears. He must have been in his mid twenties, early thirties. Thin, black, scraggly, sweaty hairs poked out of his upperlip. "We're going on a little field trip!" he sneered, dragging her from the room.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Don't say a word," the man said, "and everything will be okay."
He lead her out of a small building-the permanent officer's quarters just outside of town. It's where they kept all of the new recruits until transport arrived. In the near distance, Katil could see light coming from the town square. The man drug her towards it, as as soon as she could recognized the men standing by the execution block, she was thrown down behind a bush. The man squatted next to her and grabbed a wad of her hair, pulling her onto her knees.
"See that?" He asked, pointing at the cuffed man they were leading to the block.
"Dad..."
"That's right," he laughed, pushing her face back into the dirt, "They're going to kill him. Chop his head right off!" He lightly karate chopped the back of her neck.
"No...Dad..."
"Shh!" the man said again, pulling her head back up to look at him. "They've charged him with treachery, but I've heard the story. I know that it's all-your-fault!" he sang, touching her nose with every word. She choked up, shaking her head. "Deny it all you want, but he's probably going to die..." he jeered, squeezing her cheeks. "Hush up now, there's no need to cry-you can save him, you know?"
She looked up at him, "Really?" she whispered. "I can?"
He nodded, grinning from ear to ear. His teeth were thin and yellow like a beetle rat's. "Just do whatever I say, and he'll be just fine..." he whispered, pulling off his sash and sliding down his pants. His penis was bulky and stubby and hairy and reeked of sweat. Katil had never seen one before and tried to back away, but he forced her mouth open and pushed her down as far as her tiny throat would allow. Groaning, he pounded her head up and down. She choked on her own spit as tears ran down her face. She struggled to breathe but didn't fight him. Daddy...she thought...it really is all my fault...I'm so sorry, Daddy...
"Wow, it really did work out." The man suddenly said, letting up. Katil's head popped up. Her mother was there, pleading with the officer, and the executioner was putting his blade away. "Hey-did I tell you you could stop?" The man snapped, grabbing her hair again and trying to push her back down-
The officer grabbed her mother's head and snapped it viciously to the left. The woman crumpled to the ground.
"HACHI!" She could hear her father yell just as the officer sent a small burst of fire right through his throat.
"I'll teach you to ignore me!" The man growled, pushing her face into the dirt and pushing her skirt up. Katil screamed. "Shut up!" The man ordered, covering as he entered her. Blood poured down her legs with a sickening snap. Katil's body seized up and she screamed even louder as he violated her over and over again.
"STOP! PLEASE! I'M SORRY!" She screamed against his hand.
He just pummeled her harder.
And then, something clicked in Katil's head. Or, rather, snapped. He screams turned into stream of fire-
"AAAGH YOU BITCH!" The man yelled, falling back. Katil reached around and found a long stick. "I'LL KILL YOU-!" he barely got the threat out before the thin stick was through his throat, Katil, chest heaving, looming over his dying body. He coughed, spurting up blood, "All...your...fault..."
Katara pulled her hands from Katil's head. Her body was shaking, almost violently. "You never told us how you escaped..." she whispered, realization flooding in, "...this...I understand now! Katil, I'm so-" she stopped herself. Wiping her eyes, she left it to "Thank you," and the healing finally began.
