An Ode to the Phoenix Heir
By: Fehize

[*-*-*-*]

Days - no, weeks, or was it already more than two months? - seemed to melt by.

Every single day there would be Fire Nation people going to the quarry and digging out chunks and slabs of ice. The one's not filled with the capabilities of catching on fire were hauled out, chiseled with flame and knife into ornate and strange-looking embellishes, and placed into whatever building that slab was slated to be. What was different was the small group - noticeable all the same - of Water Tribe craftsmen working along side the red-clad men and women. It wasn't just there, by the quarry - the major source for work in the 'city' of Corona. No, there were also the locals in the food lines, making hearty meals. A few blue parka clothed citizens could be noticed stacking ice into the shapes of buildings. Other once-people of the ex-Southern Water Tribe were busy away, fortifying the new wall of ice that was to protect their home. Look in even closer to the side, and one could see a tall yellow eyed woman teaching a group of small tanned skinned children the magic of letters and numbers.

You could even hear both red and blue mingle and ask how the others were doing.

To Zuko, looking down upon his city from the ice blue balcony of the 'Governor's Manor' wrapped in his own set of red and gold tipped clothing, a sense of accomplishment was to be had. To be honest, the manor wasn't all that large or grandiose. It was a simple building, constructed with translusive pillars and clear ice for windows. Technically, it was the proposed market building, but for now, it was his headquarters.

Even Zuko had limits as to how long he stayed aboard his ship.

Still, looking down from the third story left for quite a sight. He had heard stories about the glacial beauty of the Northern Water Tribe [a pity they were enemies] from Uncle Iroh, and to bring that to Corona was... fitting.

So it might not be exactly the same - there was a lot of Fire Nation inspired architecture - but the point was still there. It may have taken some time for the locals to get used to not glaring at the black flame banners hanging from every lamppost, but they were getting used to be living as Fire Nation citizens.

As Zuko had thought, as his parents had emphasized, the world would turn out better underneath the flag of the country of the flame. He recalled walking down - or should he say 'sneaking around'? - the icy roads at the twilight hours, and eavesdropping on the locals.

"I still don't trust them all the way," one would say.

"Little Jikka has learned 100 kanji letters, can you believe that?" came the happy note of another.

"It's so strange. They are the Fire Nation, but we have roads, jobs; money... I almost feel like saying 'what's not to hate'?" A quick pause from another, "If only our husbands and sons were here."

"The Prince isn't that bad," was another offhand note. "Not as good as Sokka or Chief, of course, but..."

They weren't always flattering, nor laden with insults. More like a mix of the two - which was better than the first week upon arriving upon these glacial shores. A smile could be seen upon Zuko's facial features at that point. Yes, it was a leap ahead towards progression, something he fully believed in. It was truly a masterpiece.

He wondered what his father would say.

Oh, there were oodles of letters - personal and rhetoric - exchanged between them, but seeing his dad's face? He missed him, despite being already almost an adult. Zuko also missed his mother, with her kind smiles and useful words.

He missed everyone. Even Lo and Li.

"Are you just going to sit by the open air and think, Prince Volcano?" came out a joking response from the background.

Golden eyes took a turn to see the blue clad, tanned teen in the room. A metal boomerang [called, what else?, Boomerang] strapped to his back and a pony tail tight on his skull. While the weapon was now made of Fire Nation iron, everything else on his body was pure 'local'. Who else could it be but Sokka? "Musing is a better word," paltry added Zuko, arching an eye.

To say they were 'friends' would be stretching it. It was more like they were both aware of the benefits of working together. Whereas Zuko was, without a doubt, the ruler and owner of the land on paper, Sokka had the hearts and minds of the new Fire Nation citizens for now. Still, it was a bit nice having the ability to talk to someone who was pretty much his age that wasn't Ty Lee.

Not that Ty Lee was a bad person to talk to... sometimes. She was Zuko's friend.

"Uh, huh. 'Musing'," Sokka emphasized. "Perhaps I should call you Prince Moody Volcano instead?"

At the beginning, when that 'volcano' nickname first came about, some of the sailors and soldiers didn't take too kindly to that. Even the Crown Prince had an opinion on that. However, in what is now apparent typical Sokka fashion...

The warrior didn't give a damn.

Eventually, it lead up towards something Zuko could respect the once-Water Tribe warrior for. Behinds those eyes was a cunning brain and the stubbornness to not back down. Sokka was grudgingly eager to help him plan improvements for the village, but only up to a point not past his 'moral compass'. Collaboration with the sailors wasn't all that bad, but ports and piers big enough for Fire Nation war vessels was a no go - not that Zuko honestly believed otherwise.

It's why he had military civil engineers amongst his troops.

"SOOOOoooo," the tanned teen began, trailing off a bit while overlooking his village as well. It was strange, in hindsight: a Fire Nation Prince and a Water Tribe Chief's son sharing common land. The sun was beginning to reach the pinnacle of the day, with the promises of it being not-as-cold compared to last week. "I still think the name Southern Water Tribe, or at LEAST Port Sokka the Great, would have been better."

The Crown Prince almost snorted, before remembering that princes should never snort.

He did it anyways.

"How is your sister?" Zuko began instead. It was better to start on topics that he knew Sokka held dear to his heart; namely his sibling, the village, or his father. To be honest, the tanned teen was probably no longer eager to jump into the fray like his father currently was, if only because it would leave the village 'unprotected'. The Hier of the Fire Nation also took note that of all the locals, Katara was the one who took it the hardest.

A potential, if small, threat to stability.

"She's... adapting. We are all adapting."

Zuko tried to place himself in his new people's shoes. Honestly. It was just so difficult to imagine seeing the capital city covered in Earth Kingdom green, nevertheless Water Tribe blue. He doubted the people of the earth would be so kind to him and his family and his nation as he was to the citizens of Corona.

"There is good everywhere you look. Some just harder than others," Uncle Iroh once told him, with those sad eyes as Zuko was about to board the ship towards his first adventure. "You are not... your father, wanting to burn the world together in a black flame forge. You are a better man, and I pray for an enlightening journey." Odd words, but then again, even since Uncle Iroh had returned to the palace from his defeat, he had been a changed man, whose smiles and wise words basically shone only on Zuko. Even then, he had difficulty understanding them.

He brought his hand to rub his temples a bit in thought. "Sokka, you are not here just to chat, though. I might as well skip ahead before you do. Why did you decide to come up here? You know as well as I do that you like to relay what you call messages through Ty Lee."

Zuko had to remind himself to reward that acrobat with a pet lemur as a gift for befriending what could have been the center of any possible resistance. He would have hated to have ordered his men to cut down women and old men to maintain order. She had been begging for that animal ever since they had skirted past the ruins of the Southern Air Temple at least once every two weeks, and hard work should be given results.

The tanned warrior frowned, then kicked the edge of the mahogany table, shaking the golden knickknacks that stood for troop positions on Zuko's war map. Technically, it was unwise to show such things to an enemy, but with Zuko trying to prove that he saw the once Southern Water Tribe as his people, he decided to leave it in the open.

Besides, any information that could be gleaned off such a map would be long since old by the time a letter would be sneaked to the enemy.

"I... was just thinking about the Earth Kingdom," Sokka grumbled. "Not that I embrace our Fiery New Overlords, or anything. But with you making the South no longer so... INVISIBLE, I'm sure some Earth dude will eventually decide to come stop your new demon ice-"

"Clathrate hydrates."

"ARG, you always have that habit of cutting me off!" joking snapped the warrior, before going back into a serious, thinking face. "Look, I'm sure you have already thought of this before, but if you haven't... The Earth Kingdom wouldn't be all that happy a new big bad Fire Nation base is trying to be started at their nose tips. And I dunno about you, but I think they won't just come in and be all 'who are not Fire Nation' before they attack. With a wall like that with so many freaking FIRE NATION BANNERS all over it, they might just kill us all inside!"

Sokka stood there, with his arms in a high stance due to waving around because of his conclusions. In response, Zuko tapped the table with his fingers for a moment, trying to make his words sound out in ways that could have Sokka see his way; see CORONA'S way. "You're right. The Earth Kingdom have attacked colonies before and didn't care about if you were a colonized citizen or a non-colonized citizen. Anyone inside a conquered city was nothing but, and I quote, 'Fire Nation disease'. Scores of people have died on both sides when the Fire Lord's army and navy went forwards to protect those places."

Father did the same thing to rebellions, too, but since Corona was quiet, and Zuko didn't want that to insult Sokka, those words went unsaid.

"So you're pretty much telling me that we are going to get attacked. By the Earth Kingdom. The Southern Water Tribe's ally. Like... eventually!?"

A quick nod of the head. "Without a doubt."

Sokka blew up - a little - throwing up the papers in the air. "PFT, hell, Prince Volcano! That wasn't part of the agreement! For crying out loud, the ice wall isn't even DONE, and it's not like as if we have any Master Water Benders to move or fix it! It's all done by hand!"

The agreement was not an official one, of course. It was a silent, non verbal one: no Fire Nation would hurt the local populace, and Sokka would try his hardest not to reap and sow dissent. "No, but if you think I'll let those dirt peasants attack my people, you are clearly in the wrong," Zuko voiced out, stern. "I have been planning something to prevent such an attack in the first place. A preemptive attack."

The teen blanched a bit, muttering, "A 'preemptive'?"

The Prince nodded. "Yes. Granted, I'll discuss more with you later when it will come to pass."

"Discuss what? I thought I was the one to come to you cause I needed YOUR information, NOT the other way around! "

Zuko was not one to gamble, but his gut said that in order to have a sense of unity, he can't parade with ONLY Fire Nation people in his midst. Did not Uncle Iroh mention that having a collective of opinions was the better route around? Granted, Zuko still would have a final say in anything, being the Crown Prince, but... "All you need to know for now is that in about a month, I would-" well, he can't say 'love' because they were not friends, "-be gracious to have an adviser from the south help me in matters further north." It was a plan he was only beginning to put into motion, of course, and did carry a bit of a risk.

Sokka was pretty smart, and he got the message. "You want ME... to go with YOU... to the north? For some reason I don't think it's going to be exchanging recipes for tea. Oh, and you know what, the answer is a flat out 'NO' before you think otherwise!"

The Crown Prince shrugged in his red robes lined with gold, as the sun cast a dazzling array upon the ice floor, sending rainbows all around the walls. "You have until next month to change your mind. Besides, royal advisers get paid handsomely." Which, Zuko was sure he would.

"That aside," the Prince continued, not wanting to upset Sokka by pushing that button too long, "Ty Lee is waiting outside the door, scowling that you are late for your afternoon spars and moving picture Friday."

A feminine grumble of 'how does he always know I am here?' could be distantly heard.

[*-*-*-*]

Katara, who was actually starting to smile and laugh again after the conquest, was scowling for the first time in a week. Her hands were on her hips, with one of her fists clenching an iron ladle that she was using to cook fresh chicken soup. [Ironic, really, that she detested making anything dealing with the Fire Nation, but ended up loving their kitchen ware.] "He said he wanted to take you north? That's rather a generic label for almost anywhere, considering we are the South Pole."

Sokka, who was sitting down, scratching his back sheepishly, nodded, "Yeah, he wants me to be some kind of 'royal adviser', which sounds like a bunch of hoohaa to me."

His sister was adapting to her new situation - to ALL of the Southern Water Tribe's situation. Although, she was still not even talking to the Fire Nation people out of her own will, she was no longer as angry as a polar bear-lion when Sokka returned from his escapades with Prince Fire Pants and his - dare he say it - best friend, Ty Lee.

She still kinda hated them. Just a little less. Sokka pretended not to notice the looks of almost pleasure Katara would have when she saw the children learn an actual education.

"Sounds like he's planning something. As usual." She stirred the pot a bit, before looking up at Sokka with a glint in her eyes. "I'd say you'd accept it. Next week if able."

Never had soup been splattered onto the wall so fast from Sokka's mouth than right then and there! In fact, he was SO surprised, he even dropped the piece of sweet, sweet meat from his fingers. "A-ACCEPT it!? B-but-? Are you serious-?!"

"Think about it, Sokka. No one has been outside the Southern Water Tribe since before the invasion, except for the Fire Nation. Not a single letter has been sent to dad about what had happened. He might not even know that the village was...! Well, you know." His sister began to pace around, with her voice getting higher pitched in excitement, sorta of like how he gets when he was thinking of awesome plans. "You'll be able to escape once you hit land!"

"I can't just LEAVE you sis! And what about the VILLAGE!?"

"Then just say your stipulation would be having me tag along and make him swear on his honor he won't order any pain or punishment.," she added, with a sense of happiness on her face. Darn, just when Sokka was hoping she could be happy with their new existence.

Still, what she said was making some sense. Even if their dad knew the village was conquered, how was he to know that his children were still alive?

It still didn't get the feeling away from him that the Southern Water Tribe would never return. Unless the Avatar magicked himself into their cold waters. Why not make it a flying potato while Sokka was dreaming.

Nevertheless... sometimes Sokka had the dark thought that the people of 'Corona' were indeed better off than before the war's existence. Certainly they were better off than just a few years before. Did he really want the Fire Nation to go away and-?

What was Sokka THINKING!? Of course he wanted the Southern Water Tribe to rise back, have his dad back, and kick Fire Nation butt!

Just not Prince Volcano's, Ty Lee's, the Fire Nation female sailor who he helped teach to fish in cold water, or the Captain who helped out Sokka when Katara had a bad cold with something aside from herbal remedies called medicine, or the non Fire Bender teenager cook from the ship who could make a mean steak and was really funny to hang with, or-

His blue eyes took in his surroundings, as if seeing his area of residence for the first time. There were something the Fire Nation called 'books' on the table, which were also brought in as a thank you from the Prince for something he did earlier. There was the Fire Nation cooking supplies gifted to Sokka [technically Katara] from Ty Lee for her birthday. On their beds were wool blankets supplied from the Fire Nation ex-Earth Kingdom colonies. Resting happily against the door frame - no longer a cloth flap in order to keep in the warmth - was his Fire Nation made Boomerang, glinting in the firelight. Hell, in fact, they weren't even living in an IGLOO anymore. Instead, a sensible ice and snow brick house was around him, crafted in Fire Nation architectural style.

Damn, if I stay here any longer, I WILL turn into a Fire Nation citizen through in and out... Sokka thought in horror. Maybe in another two months I would be rising with the dawn, crying out 'Glory to the Black Flame' or some crap like that!?

He shuddered, thinking that. Of course, Katara didn't notice that, thinking his shake was her brother agreeing to their escape-and-reclaim-the-Southern-Water-Tribe plan. Sokka closed his eyes, swallowing, before giving his sister a carefree smile, with judgement on a knife's edge.

In typical Sokka fashion.

"Sure, Katara. Let's go find dad. It's not like I can ignore a request from our wonderful Prince Volcano."

But he couldn't make the words 'and reclaim our village' come out of his mouth.

[*-*-*-*]

The plot is now moving forwards, beginning to inch its way away from our little town/city of Corona, potentially 'forever'. As we can see, Sokka is in a dilemma, Zuko is planning [and still hard as nails to write], Katara is scheming, and Ty Lee just wants to be friends.

People have mentioned that Katara is... rather cannon. I know her hate to the Fire Nation runs deep, so I try not to write her too much for now, mainly cause I don't want to reader to hate her. I mean, *I* don't hate Katara. I just like Zuko more, jaja!

Except some ACTION in the next chapter or so! A block of action, actually. You might guess what if you could read my kinda subtle foreshadowing of these past two chapters. Ohoho. I was just setting up a plot device.

And what about Aang, you ask? I'm going to be honest - I don't even know myself! Seriously. I literally write this story on the fly.

WOOO, INDECISION!

Don't forget to RnR~ I'm pushing this chapter out cause I don't want large gaps in between chapters again. xD