CORRECTED
Ya
Who would've guessed that Franz Ferdinand's "No you girls" would be the perfect song to motivate a Sokka POV...
Zuko's totally some emo-tastic song.. take "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park for example. Kinda fitting, eh?
…
Then what's Toph's?
…
There's no excuse for the wait, besides saying that life sometimes gets in the way.
He didn't know what woke him up.
The back half of the cave where they had spent the night was still mostly dark – the weak orange glow of an early winter's sun not having risen enough to encroach fully upon the darkness – and he couldn't imagine that the faint light would be enough to wake him. No, thick and velvety shadows still crept languidly around Appa's bulky form like spiderwebs, and he wouldn't have even thought it was morning if not for the pinkish hue the shiny and clean strands of fur gave off, and the low yawn that bubbled up from below, like a sea serpent sliding up from the deep.
Muggy early-morning air weighed down against him, and he didn't fight against the lull of sleep on his heavy eyelids. Warm fur surrounded his back and sides like a nest. He'd sleep for just a few more minutes...
Then there was that sound again, so quiet he hadn't even noticed it the first time, when it had roused him from slumber.
Groggy gray eyes fluttered open slowly, and he wanted to be annoyed at whatever was keeping him up, but he was also eternally curious – why bother wasting time being angry at something when you could be finding out what exactly it was? So, with one last disappointed pat on the area of fur closest to him (probably around mid-thigh), he slowly pulled himself out of the warm cocoon.
He toed his way toward the ivy-veiled opening of the cave. Small animals and insects were known to live in caves sometimes, and even with the dim light to guide his way, he didn't want to accidentally step on one and hurt it. Another one of those sounds issued from outside the cave. It might have been the early hour's fog still swirling within his mind, but he couldn't place what the noise could be coming from. Something told him, however, that it was some sort of creature in pain, and his heart told him to try to help. His body seemed to move on its own, and his head wasn't in the state of mind to argue with it.
The long chains of ivy parted like a river under his hand. As he stood in the opening, body and mind still heavy with the peace only the start of a new day can bring, he felt that he could fully understand something Monk Gyatsu had always told him as a child. 'Believe that the sun has risen, not because you can see it, but because by it, you see everything else.'
The sun hung low and huge, rich red with the blood of the earth below its unseen feet. Aang didn't know if the sun had a spirit like the moon, but if it did, he could picture Buddha in the glowing orb. Fat with warmth, life, yet still so far away, like the gods. Black, cotton-like clouds were strewn across the horizon, the bottoms lit with the same glowing blood, as though they were dipped in the very paint of the sun's belly. Silhouettes of the scattered ruins stood sentinel against the backdrop of the new day. The monks had always taught reincarnation and the gods as existential beings – something vague and yet all-powerful – but if Aang had believed in Creation, this was what he would have imagined it would look like.
Like the Phoenix, life springing from the embers of the Earth.
His eyes eventually found Zuko much with the same sad finality as a soldier discovering that the man next to him had died.
The older teen was huddled against a large stone outcropping, one arm hugging a knee to his chest, while the other leg lay stretched out before him. The back of his wrist pressed furiously against his closed mouth. His thin shoulders quivered with each shaky inhale. A drop of something red slid down the point of his chin to drop amongst many others on the morning-damp soil.
Zuko hadn't noticed him, which was probably a blessing considering the other boy's volatile temper, and Aang knew personally just how much the ex-prince hated feeling vulnerable. Still, everything inside Aang's heart screamed at him to do something, to help, because surely there was something he could do besides just standing off to the side, watching his newest friend suffer...
Slowly, he began to approach the boy – subconsciously crouching some to appear smaller, like one would do when approaching a wild animal – and he got within an arm's distance before Zuko realized he was there.
"Don't touch me," he hissed, jerking his shoulder away from Aang's outstretched hand. Jerkily, he attempted to rise to his feet, bracing himself against the rock before him. A smeared red handprint was left behind as he pulled his hand away.
Aang hovered at Zuko's side, unable to tear his eyes away from the dark smudge left on the rock's surface. Rationally, he knew that the crimson had to come from somewhere, but his mind was on some sort of loop; all he could think was that something was wrong and no, Zuko had to be okay because they were going to check out the Sun Warriors' Temple today and he was a firebender and tough and no no no no no...
The other boy stood shaky but even, glancing out towards the slowly rising sun, and brushed away a line of red dripping from the corner of his mouth with the edge of his tatty sleeve. Overhead, a crow preened its feathers in the new dawn light.
"A–Are you—," Aang whispered, voice caught on the edges of denial and horror. He cleared his throat nervously. "Are you al—"
"I'm fine. Stop staring." He didn't look it, but Aang couldn't bring himself to argue with the bedraggled prince. Instead, he glanced out as well, toward the horizon that had just looked like Creation. Now, seeing the same dark red splattered in fat drops across the ground, he figured it looked more like The Fall.
Were it anyone else, he would've argued; his main element might've been air, the element of peace, but he could be very hard-headed when he wanted to be. Like when someone was sick or hurt. Like now. Except this was the Fire Nation's Prince, and the older teen swallowed sympathy and pity about as well as insults and degradation. It didn't matter if Aang could help him or not – Zuko simply wouldn't let him.
So he stayed, lingering at the older teen's side like a moth while Zuko brushed the dirt from the knees of his pants (where he been kneeling, shaking) and smoothed down the downy hair that stuck up in the back like he had just woken up. Or pulled on it in tearful frustration.
And as they silently picked up what was left of their camp, Aang tried to squash down the feeling that something just wasn't right.
Something just wasn't right.
A hand tentatively wandered out from under the covers, up to tug on a tangled tuft of dark brown hair.
Well, that's a relief. Toph's a scary person...
Shaking the last remnants of the dream out of his mind, Sokka sat up slowly, letting the silk sheets pool around his waist. He fisted the cool material in his hand, fine fibers crinkling beneath his grip.
Did I really fall asleep in here?
Long, tan legs swung over the side of the narrow bed, coming to rest lightly on the cold stone floor. With Zuko still gone, the room lost that carefree warmth and became what it really was – four walls, a room originally intended as a prison to house the newest member of their gaang. Or, at least that's what Katara had deemed it.
But it was a new day, and the sun was slowly creeping up through the crack under the doorway, lighting up a sliver of the room in place of the many candles Zuko usually kept lit whenever the tanned boy visited. Everything was silent.
So why am I awake?? Damn Zuko and his annoying habits, rubbing off on me...
He finally got to his feet with a wide yawn some time later (after inadvertently falling back asleep) , allowing his shirt to slide up his abdomen as he stretched his arms. Normally, Katara had quick retort about 'decency' or 'modesty' ready, but this was their – or in this case, his – den of solitude; a man-cave, if you will. Silly womanish ideals of right and wrong meant little here.
"Meat-head! Where are you?!"
Apparently the rest of the world didn't get the memo.
Sokka contemplated hiding for a moment, before giving into defeat and plopping indignantly back onto the squishy mattress. The pint-sized earthbender could seek out his heartbeat like a hungry mongooselion, and he hoped she wouldn't devour him as brutally if he made the hunt as simple as possible.
The door flew open with a loud bang and plume of unsettled dust, and for a moment, Sokka wished he had hid anyway.
Toph stalked over to where he lay, half sprawled against the bed while his back rested firmly against the stone wall for support. Her head was down-cast, and fists shaking slightly. He didn't know what he did to piss her off that badly, but the images of his earlier dream came scampering back with a vengeance.
Please, don't yank out all my hair...!
Suddenly, she tilted her head back, letting out a cackling laugh that startled him back against the wall even further. "Oh man, I can't believe you actually slept in here! You should see your face right now," her giggling tapered off as she leaned one arm against the wall beside the narrow bed, "completely hot, like... like a volcano!"
"I'm not embarrassed," he denied loudly, feeling his face heat up despite his claim. "And it wasn't like I meant to fall asleep in here... like I said, this is the comfiest bed. Maybe I should switch it out with mine while Zuko's gone or something..."
The shorter girl wasn't biting.
"You keep pulling these crap excuses with me and a comfy bed will be the least of your worries." A chunk of the wall came away with her hand, and she tossed the now round hunk of stone between her two hands like a ball. A heavy ball. One that would hurt a lot on contact with someone's head.
Sokka did not want that ball to make contact with his.
"Look," the girl-cum-executioner sighed, letting the stone menace drop into the ground seamlessly, "I don't know what your deal is with Sparky, but you need to figure it the hell out. Did you know the reason he didn't wake you when they were leaving is because he didn't think you'd want to have to get up early for him. He figured you wouldn't care either way." He gaped, open-mouthed at the girl who was glaring somewhere over his left shoulder. "Obviously you did, but that leaves the question – why didn't he think you would?"
Sokka sat silently, unsure of what the younger girl expected him to say. It was obvious she expected something, but he knew from experience that whether he knew what it was or not, she'd tell him regardless.
"Oh?" she asked sarcastically, cupping a hand mockingly around her ear and leaning in what she assumed was his direction. She was off by about fifteen degrees, but it didn't lessen the impact any – she didn't need to be able to see him to brutalize him with her element. "Haven't you two talked about whatever it is that's going on between you?"
"Toph!" he hissed, mortified. What did a thirteen year old know about lust?? "There's nothing going on – and even if there was, which there isn't! - it wouldn't be any of your business."
Even as her eyes remained blank, her grin took on a wicked curve that sunk to the bottom of his stomach like a cold weight. "Here I thought you two might've had a fight... but I'm starting to think something else is going on..." stone shackles encircled his chest to the wall, and he suddenly felt like a convict about to face the firing squad. "So what is it that Nuts-for-brains isn't saying?"
One floor down, a series of muffled cursing sounded, and Sokka was surprised at the type of words his sister was capable of using when she didn't think anyone was listening. She always seemed so much for the better good, but then again – she always did have quite a temper.
"Sokka!" her voice demanded, sounding like a chorus of angels to the boy with the annoyed earthbender leering over him.
"Should probably let me go," he suggested hopefully, trying to sound more convincing than he could probably pull off; his arms were going numb under the cold stone, and with his psuedo-rescuer gone on a crazy firebending trip for an undetermined amount of time, he didn't like where this was going. "We don't want to make Katara mad, after all."
Toph snorted, squeezing him sharply with a clench of her hand before allowing the restraints to fall to the bed in crumbly pieces that would be poking Zuko in his sleep for weeks before he would be able to get them out of the sheets. "You don't want to make me mad," she corrected, waltzing on over to Zuko's bag, that leaned inconspicuously against the far wall. "I'm not afraid to fight dirty."
He tried, really, but he just couldn't let the opportunity go. "Dirty... get it? Because you can bend dirt?!" He slapped his leg with a laughing snort. "You're a riot, really."
"And you're an idiot. Congrats."
She seemed to have found whatever she was looking for, and walked out with a small jar, muttering something about being prepared.
"Sokka!" Katara screamed again, sounding more aggravated than she had the first time.
The two girls were always lording their ability to bend over him. While Aang seemed to view his bending as a ball-and-chain and Zuko only seemed to use his whenever they were fighting, neither girl had any problems pointing out the benefits of their element.
Sometimes it really got on his nerves.
With the obligatory groan of having to do whatever his younger sister wanted, Sokka pushed himself off the bed, trotting down the hall and the stairs beyond with only the thought of the Katara-imposed starvation that would incur should he not obey her.
"Since our resident firebender is out probably betraying Aang's location to the Fire Nation..." the mushroom bruised slightly as Katara's grip tightened around its stalk. "Make a fire for us, 'k Sokka?"
"Sure, no problem." Sokka lumbered his way over to the fire pit in the center of the room, ignoring Toph, who perched herself on one of the benches with a sack of berries and a wicked grin on her face. The little jar from earlier sat on the bench beside her. "What's that stuff for, anyway?"
"It's glue so I can finally shut your mouth," she taunted sarcastically, placing Froggy in her lap when the badgerfrog leapt up to watch the show as well. With Zuko gone, the animal had followed the girl around all morning. Normally it would've been playing with Momo, but the flying lemur had been moderately depressed since Aang left on Appa the day before.
In the next ten minutes, Sokka learned three things. One- having a firebender handy to bend your fires for you was a godsend, and two- when you finally managed to catch a spark after countless tries, it's best to not keep holding the stick that's on fire.
Third- Zuko was useful for more than just firebending, even if he wasn't in the room at the time.
"Knew we'd need this," Toph commented cheerfully, screwing the lid back on the jar of burn cream after Sokka slathered it generously on the small pink mark at the end of his finger. "But I was kinda hoping for more fwoom and less ffffsht." Her arms swung out widely with her imitation of what could've been a much more disastrous fiery event, coming back in to show the pathetic sizzle his fire had been in actuality.
"I got the fire going, didn't I? That's more than you two can say," he grumbled, wrapping a small white strip of cotton around the 'wound' to keep it clean until it managed to heal all the way.
His sister just snorted, too busy with cutting up the ingredients for their breakfast to bother voicing what she thought of his 'talent', but Toph scowled, leaning back against the chair she had earthbended.
"Oh yeah, look at me. I'm Sokka the macho he-man super warrior. I rub two sticks to make fiiiire. Ooh, grunt."
"You're just jealous of my skill." Punctuated with a flex of his growing arm muscles, he almost looked intimidating.
But only almost.
Katara set down the large cooking knife with a huff, turning towards her brother with her hands on her hips. "Okay, hardhead, thanks for the fire, but I think we've got it under control now. Just go... somewhere where your unique skills will be more handy." And with that she shooed him out of the room with a hand towel.
It's not right, he thought to himself as he wandered back up the stairs to Zuko's room, that they've got the power to move rocks or swish water around, and think it makes them any better than the rest of us. Aang could airbend. Zuko could firebend. Hell, even Momo could fly, which was practically airbending. Okay, better than me. Still... it'd be nice to cut them down to size – show them that it's the brains that really get the job done...
An idea began forming, and the day was beginning to look a little brighter.
It'd be nice to get revenge, even if it was only on that annoying brat, Toph.
Maybe this was just the God's revenge on him.
It wasn't as if he didn't deserve it, what with all the villages he had burnt down, homes destroyed, lives torn apart in his quest. He was capturing the Avatar – the bridge between the world of the Gods and humans, their own little messenger. Of course they'd be furious. He'd seen people killed for less, just in the military, and this was the Gods he was talking about. Still, if the Gods were punishing him, he couldn't see why they wouldn't just smite him and get it over with.
This form of death was really starting to get annoying.
He took another lurching step down the steep and grassy hillside, trying to follow the rocky trail that was almost indistinguishable between his blurry-at-the-edges vision and the thousand-odd years of overgrowth. It wasn't much, but the slight weight of the pack on his back kept threatening to topple him over. Twice now Aang had had to fling out an arm to catch him, lest he tumble all the way down the path to the ruins down below.
And that was a long way to fall.
The view from the trail wasn't bad, though. The Sun Warriors' Temple, they had discovered, was surrounded by heavily-forested mountains, leading down to the golden metropolis in the center. Fluffy cumulus clouds dotted the sky here and there, and provided decent shade in bursts along the narrow trail, yet still managing to effectively catch the whole of the ruins in the sun's gleaming rays. The stone used to build up the temple and its surrounding area were all of a faint gold color, and in the bright sun it reminded Zuko of a story Uncle had told him as a child – of a hidden city made entirely of gold, alive with dragons and wearing primitive clothing that had both disturbed and amused the young boy.
Even with the sun hidden (at this point in the windy trail) behind a cloud shaped remotely like a rabbit, the humidity was intense. In front of him, Aang tugged fruitlessly at the front of his flowing orange monk shirt, where a darker stain was growing larger by the hour. Zuko, too felt the annoyance at the sweltering heat, the prickle of hot sweat sliding down around the back of his knees under the form-fitting Fire Nation boots, but he did his best to ignore it, as he had been taught was the princely thing to do.
But then a drop of sweat fell from his limp bangs onto his cheek, and he brushed it away with a frustrated groan. He liked how his hair could hide his scar well enough in a crowd, but at least he had never had to deal with sweaty bangs with his old traditional Fire Nation hairstyle. He did have to watch out for sunburns though...
He glanced down to Aang, who was steadily making his way down the trail in front of him, bald head turning a slight pink under the burning sun. Ouch. No, he definitely didn't miss that...
"So remind me again why we couldn't just take your flying beast down to the temple?"
Aang glanced back, slowing down to catch his words, but continued to keep walking, somehow not tripping over the scraggly roots that were such a nuisance to Zuko. "Appa's got a lot of fur," he explained apologetically, pausing to wipe at his forehead with an errant hand, "and it's too hot out here for him. Besides, he flew us all the way here yesterday, so I think he deserves the break."
Zuko nodded, not having the energy to bother vocalizing his assent. Personally, he thought the animal had had more than enough hours of rest, but since the idea hadn't come to him until just now, he was forced to admit that it would take more effort to climb back up the trail just to get to where the beast lay. They were already over halfway down as it was...
The rest of the hike was just about as thrilling, and besides the occasional slip down a few feet whenever one of their legs missed a step, or had to haul their procession for a minute to untangle some article of clothing from the brambles, Zuko couldn't describe it as anything more than "exhausting." As he crumpled against the crumbling stone steps of a monolithic temple – which had been dwarfed by the larger of the buildings from the top of the hillside – he almost suggested they stop for a while to sleep, eat, Aang practice earthbending, anything that wouldn't require Zuko move or even sit up from where his back was sprawled awkwardly across three low and flat steps in the shade.
Yes, it was rather uncomfortable.
No, he did not want to get up to try to find a more comfortable position. His legs were minutes from falling off already, and he'd very much like to keep them attached, thank you very much.
But then Aang just had to give him the look – that innocent, wide-eyed expression that, despite it's resemblance to a newborn koalacalf Zuko had never liked – and press his cool palm gently against Zuko's flushed forehead. Zuko feebly attempted to swat the offending limb away, but the other boy was insistent, brushing away the aggravated groans as easily as the halfhearted hands. Eventually Zuko had no choice but to allow the younger teen to do whatever he wanted to, or face the wrath of the boy whom Zuko was finding had a mothering streak to rival Katara's (towards the rest of the Gaang, of course). He knew he'd feel hot – hell, he was a firebender, for Agni's sake – and snorted knowingly when the shorter boy let his hand drop from his forehead with a frown.
"How are you cold in this heat?"
Wait, back up a second... what?
The feather-light touch to his pale arm dragged his crawling mind back into the situation, and he followed Aang's stormy eyes to the little bumps that covered nearly every inch of visible skin. A shiver rolled down his spine that, despite his best efforts, still sent little twitches along the exposed skin of his forearms. Have I been cold this whole time? How hadn't I noticed? He gave his head a shake to clear away the fog that had settled with the slight break, and pulled his arms away from the airbender's light grip. While he wanted the Avatar to trust him, he still couldn't say honestly that he completely trusted the younger boy with all of himself. He didn't care if that made him a hypocrite.
"It's just the clouds tricking my body into thinking it's colder than it is," he explained away the beavergoose-pimples, confident that with Aang's lack of proper knowledge about firebending, he wouldn't know enough to be able to call him on his lie. It was true that in places like the Poles – where the sun was constantly hidden amongst the white abyss of the sky – firebenders could become misaligned with their element and suddenly believe it to be night or much colder than it actually was. But he could still see the sun, albeit only its outline through the sheer veil of cotton-fluff clouds. These sorts of problems really shouldn't have been happening. With one last deep breath, Zuko hauled himself to his feet, disguising the wave of vertigo with sun-squinted eyes, and turned back to the concerned boy. "We've wasted enough time lying around. You're up for continuing on now, right?" Because of course Aang was the reason for our wait...
"Ready when you are, Sifu Hotman!"
Zuko snorted at the annoying nickname that had just stuck, but followed Aang's barely-there skipping steps around the edge of the stone behemoth. Every few bricks, one would stick out maybe an inch further than the rest, and he let his fingers slide through the powdery-thick dust and dirt that had accumulated over the last thousand or so years of disuse. Granted, he doubted that the outside of the Fire Nation palace looked much better, but maybe, with Azula as future heir to the throne...
Azula always had run a tight ship. The palace wouldn't have a speck of dust after the first hour; their mother's garden would be the first to go. She would see to the deaths of the turtle-ducks personally.
Overhead, the clouds crept further over the noonday sun.
The courtyard beyond was lavish and luscious. A sparkling fountain rose up in the shape of a crackling flame, remarkably well-preserved considering the time it had sat untouched. Clear water gushed up from each of the red-painted tips, and the flowing water gave the illusion that the flame itself was flickering behind the safety of it's opposite element. Before it sat a wide pool, sunk low in the ground and ensconced in a flat ledge of red and orange tile in triangular patterns. A row of tall palms lined either side of the courtyard.
While Aang had yelled happily, discarded his outer clothes with the disregard of a small child, and leapt headfirst into the pool, Zuko wandered the perimeter, ever on edge. The younger boy could think he was paranoid if he felt like it, but the old bruises along his side and chest were fading from a pale green to a sick yellow, and Zuko didn't want to experience those anxious gray eyes on him again that day. Besides, there was a lot someone could learn from their environment, as Uncle had always told him.
Not that he had ever listened before.
White nestled amongst overgrown ferns and ivy caught his eye, and as he brushed aside a wide palm frond to get a better look, he surprised himself when he could actually name the flower. White jasmine. Delicate, aromatic, and made the best tea – when strained correctly. Tucking a few flowers into a pouch in their bag, he froze. No way, he denied, I am not turning into Uncle.
He made to empty out the pouch, but paused as the flowers tipped precariously towards the dry ground.
What's done is done. They won't grow if I dump them out... and Katara might not murder me in my sleep if I come back bearing a peace offering...
"Hey Zuko," the other boy cheered from the pool, somewhere behind him, "there's koi in here! How do you think they get their food?"
Zuko turned back toward the pool, noticing for the first time that there were indeed three large red and orange fish occupying the shallow depths. They were almost indistinguishable from the tile koi decorating the floor of the pool, and he wouldn't have seen them if they weren't swimming around in agitation from the airbender in their home. He frowned, trying to recall what Uncle had told him about koi. "Fish are pretty self-reliant. They'll eat any bug that lands on the water. I thought they weren't brought to the Fire Nation until about four hundred years ago, though... apparently some traders thought they'd catch a high price if sold to the palace. We had a few imported from the water tribe for our pond when I was young." One with a large yellow spot on its back flicked its tail, splashing some water in Aang's direction. "What do you think they're doing here?"
Aang shrugged, shoulders rising briefly out of the water where he was crouching before sinking back beneath the surface. He created and rode a small waterbended wave over to where Zuko sat on the tiled edges, feet dipped ankle-deep in the crisp cool water. The chill still permeated his arms and around his neck, but it felt good to kick off his boots and rest sore feet. With the slightest wave of the hand, the airbender-turned-waterbender sent the wave crashing against the side of the pool, leaping up to sit next to the firebender (who hadn't appreciated being splashed across the legs by the unexpected wave).
"Could someone have brought them here recently? I mean, a lot of these plants look kinda new, like they weren't planted that long ago." Zuko's eyes followed Aang's sweeping arm, noting that the younger boy was more observant than he looked. The dirt around several of the small palms was darker than the rest, as though it hadn't been dried out by the hot Fire Nation sun like the others.
But why would there be freshly planted plants and imported koi fish in a supposedly abandoned land?
"Aang may have abandoned you to go check out some stupid firebender place with Zuko, but I haven't given up on you, buddy."
Momo peered up at Sokka blankly, holding the nut he had given him between both clawed little hands.
"Now, all you have to do, is wait for the signal, then do what we've been practicing, okay?"
This time the little creature tilted his head to the side, and Sokka figured that that was the best answer he'd receive from the flying lemur. Quite frankly, he was surprised that it had listened so well thus far. Usually once the nuts ran out, Momo ran out too.
Footsteps plodded down the hall, and Sokka knew Toph had to be looking for him; he hadn't seen her go into the all day echo chamber yet, and the only reason she would is if it were to look for him.
'Looking' being the general term in the equation.
"Okay, Momo," he whispered, creeping over to the hole-covered side of the room, motioning for Momo to do the same with the holes around the doorway entrance, "Now's the moment of truth. She thinks she's better than us, so here's our chance to prove her wrong. Be stealthy like a ninja, buddy."
The door flew open with a loud bang, and Sokka was proud of his furry little friend for not making any noise at the outburst. Toph stood in the doorway, hand on her hip and had an eyebrow raised suspiciously.
"You're not in Princess' room for once – surprise..."
"Well," he said airily, running his hand along the inside edge of the nearest hole nervously, "I guess I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?"
From behind Toph, Momo peeked his head out of the hole, the end of the skinny rope clutched tightly in his teeth. The animal looked to Sokka for confirmation.
"Now!" he hissed, throwing his arms up in the air in what Momo was vigorously trained as 'the signal'.
"Whaaa–umph!"
Momo had done exactly what he had been trained to do – fly out of the hole with the rope in his mouth, fly in circles around and between Toph's legs, then fly towards Sokka to pull the rope tight. Toph, for her part, did exactly what Sokka had expected of her.
Unfortunately, he hadn't expected that she'd be able to free herself from the tangling rope so quickly.
"Uh..." Sokka could only watch helplessly as Toph pushed herself to her feet, blank eyes glaring holes and the rope fraying in her tight grip. "Well, you see..."
The infuriated girl stomped once, and every escape route he had planned on using closed up in an instant.
Oh shit...
The pool had been fun, and he had enjoyed seeing the koi fish (too bad they weren't big enough to ride yet), but Aang supposed that he liked exploring the long-abandoned Sun Warrior ruins almost as much.
It seemed weird though, that so much of the place seemed to work like new, given that it hadn't been occupied since long before he had frozen himself a hundred years ago. He remembered the way cobwebs had hung from every corner of the Air Temples they had visited. Shouldn't there be any more here?
Whatever battle had been raging between the sun and the sky seemed to have passed – finally – and lit up the underside of the path-lining and covered willows like hundreds of tiny green paper lanterns. Soft sunlight crept between the leaves to cast lacy patterns across the old cobble-stoned trail from the open courtyard to the main temple. Zuko had suggested they try there first, seeing as it was the main place of worship (or housing, or bingo hall), and he hadn't had any reason to disagree. Big buildings usually weren't built without a purpose in mind, but they could only hope that that purpose had something to do with the original art of firebending. But they learned from dragons, so Aang was pretty confident that they'd find something that survived the Sun Warrior's extinction.
Everything else had.
Before them, the pathway opened up to the giant front sloping side of the Warrior's main temple. Ivy trailed partway up both sides, with a sprinkling of tiny purple flowers that caught the light and cast violet auras here and there on the golden brick. Aang spun around, a comment regarding evil firebenders and pretty flowers on his lips, but let it die when his eyes caught the heavy way his partner was breathing. Zuko's face was scrunched up in a slight grimace of pain, and the heel of his palm dropped from where it had pressed against the center of his chest. The older boy didn't seem to notice his audience, and Aang didn't want to make things awkward again – like that morning – so he turned back around, walking the distance to the temple's front doors silently.
His excitement shot back up upon reaching them.
Two intricately carved dragons entwined themselves up the length of the marble slab, an amber egg held snug protectively between the two bodies. It appeared to have mostly survived the years of disuse, however, one imperfection stood out starkly amongst all the beauty. A huge crack slid between the two dragon's heads. Scratches littered the area, and it almost looked like...
"Someone tried to force their way in. "Aang looked up into the tired gold eyes of the firebender, whom he had almost forgotten was there. The taller boy's fist clenched. "That would explain the new additions to the courtyard. But why go to all the trouble...?"
Zuko pulled out his twin dao blades, and with a certain reservation, plunged them into the crack and pulled apart. Whether he was expecting it to open or not, the cracked slabs remained firmly closed.
"Obviously they didn't get in, then," he sighed thankfully, wiping away the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "So how does it...?" The older boy suddenly spun around, throwing up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, and just looked.
Aang copied him.
"Uh... Zuko? What is it we're looking for?"
Either the older boy didn't hear him, or just ignored him, but he seemed to have found whatever he was looking for and dashed over to where another amber egg rested high on a narrow pedestal. "It's a celestial calendar!" he explained excitedly. "On a certain day of the year, the sun will line up with both of the markers and the door will open."
Suddenly, Aang realized that the ground they were standing on wasn't just brick, and leapt off a large tile depiction of a moon half-waned. There was a whole circle of them, representing the moon's cycle, and before both markers was a picture of the sun. Zuko seemed to come to the same conclusion, judging from the way his shoulders slumped.
"But the solstice is a month away! We can't wait that long... that's when the comet comes! If I can't learn firebending before then we're doomed!"
But Zuko didn't seem to be paying much attention to Aang's fears, and was looking out distractedly towards the tall pole. A hearty beam of sun shone through the stone to fall onto the ground in a sharp white circle off to their left, catching off Zuko's twin blades as well. A predatory look came into his golden eyes. "Maybe we can trick the markers..."
The older teen moved swiftly, angling the steel so that the reflected light shone directly into the matching stone held between the two dragon's bodies. The effect was immediate.
Both doors slid apart with a hiss of stale air, sounding like dragons themselves. Some sort of ancient engineering – that Sokka would've gladly spent hours investigating – caught on the door's heavy stone, creating a spark that set fire to a small lantern just beside the door. A chain reaction had twelve identical lanterns lit evenly around the circular room, one far behind each looming statue of old men in martial arts stances. Aang leaped away from one particularly creepy looking man, whose stone eyes seemed to follow him in the flickering light.
"Uh... Do you think we can ...skip this part of the temple?" he asked weakly, twisting forward and backward to try to keep all the marble eyes in his line of sight at once. There was no way he wanted one of those things behind him..." I'm sure creepy statues don't have anything to do with the ancient form of firebending..."
The older teen was nonplussed, walking through the sunlight streaming in through the ceiling's vent and getting right up close to inspect the detailed etching of the furrowed bushy eyebrows on the statue directly across the doorway. "We won't know unless we look... although right now I'm not sure what it is we're looking for..."
Aang took a grudging step to follow Zuko across the room, and froze.
Tile doesn't usually shift under your feet, right?
Tentatively, he lifted his foot, feeling the tile rise upward again with the decrease in weight. He glanced up again to the statue before him – standing on one foot, arms raised toward the sun – and mimicked what he saw. The tile sunk again.
Wait a minute... is this a...?
"Zuko!" Zuko turned in time to have his arm grabbed by the excited airbender. "Come dance with me!"
"What? No!"
Aang reached for his arm again, frowning when the older boy took several steps back, away from him. "Just do it, okay?"
Whatever Zuko saw in his eyes was obviously worth the embarrassment, for moments later they were standing together in front of the statue before the closed door. "When did we close those doors?" Aang discarded the thought immediately. It must've been Zuko.
They followed each step by the statues, each going in opposite directions around the room. Each step sunk two tiles, just as I thought... The last step brought them both together again at the back of the room, knuckles lightly touching as their bodies leaned inward.
Aang smiled. "See? Was it really that—"
A low rumbling filled the chamber, nearly knocking both boys off their feet. In the center, a column raised itself; as thick around as a tree and its surface laced with interwoven carved dragons. A large golden egg sat on top, held aloft by three crouching gold dragons, razor sharp tails pointed menacingly outward. Zuko was reaching out towards it.
"Uh, Zuko? I don't think you should–"
"What?" the older teen interrupted, fingers still poised to pluck the golden egg from the safety of the dragons' clutches. "It's not like they're gonna come alive and attack meeeeeeEE!"
The second the egg left the dragons' claws, a jet stream of powerful black sludge spewed out – straight into Zuko's chest – and threw him up high in the air, where he collided with the metal grated ceiling with a bang. Aang leapt up onto the nearest statue's outstretched arms, using it as high ground away from the vicious blackness that was quickly filling up the chamber floor and rising. Zuko appeared to still be stuck to the ceiling, so with a mighty wave of his staff, he flung air towards Zuko as hard as he could, trying to dislodge him. The taller boy was flipped over with a yell, but was still otherwise stuck.
Aang didn't have much time to worry about the other teen though, because the sludge was already flowing up to his toes, and if he didn't get up higher, he would be history! With the help of his airbending, he leapt up to the grate with Zuko, whose face luckily fit comfortably between the wide bars of the grate. He tried to climb over (or would it be under?) Zuko to the other side of the vent, hoping to find a latch or some way to open it, but found that he was stuck himself.
The sludge was still rising.
He could feel the gooey cold wetness press up against his back, draining around him, up towards the grate where they feverishly pressed their faces, praying for that last gulp of air.
Suddenly, the sludge stopped coming, and both boys were left gasping and sighing in relief.
Aang allowed himself a moment to catch his breath, before turning – figuratively, as he was currently stuck pressed up against the grate like his partner – to Zuko with as harsh a glare as he could muster. "You just had to touch the egg, didn't you?"
He couldn't see the cringe he knew would be on the other boy's face, but he could hear the immediate self-incrimination in his voice. "I didn't think it'd do this! But I didn't really think at all, did I?" A hysterical edge crept into the normally cool and calm voice, and Aang wished he could turn his head to see the look in the other boy's eyes. "What if you would've gotten hurt? What would've happened to the world then?!"
The world...?
"That's all that matters to you, isn't it?" Aang knew he was starting to sound irrational himself, but he couldn't help it. It'd been a long, rough day, and he was only thirteen years old, after all. That'd be excuse enough for anyone, even the Avatar. "You don't care about what happens to me, just what happens to the Avatar."
"Aang..." Zuko interrupted gently, but Aang wasn't having none of it.
"You're just like everyone else! You all want me to save the world for you – but what happens if I can't? What if I'm not strong enough to take on everyone? Will everyone just hate me again?" Tears were clouding his eyes and clogging his throat, but what bothered him the most was that in the hiccupping silence after his tearful breakdown, Zuko hadn't denied anything he had said.
'I wonder what Aang and Zuko are doing right now... Probably something really cool, and super fun like exploring old stuff and making fire...'
Sokka sighed, stretching out his toes a bit further.
'Come on... just a bit farther...'
Even with the stretch, Sokka's toes came a good foot or so from the bowl of stew that Katara had left, laughing, before him. Sure, she thought he probably deserved it – which he totally didn't! - but that didn't mean she had to be so... mean!
'I mean... food. Seriously. Not cool...'
He really wished he could move his arms though, because his side was starting to itch. There was nothing worse than an itch you couldn't scratch... unless of course you couldn't scratch it because you were once again trapped (upside down this time!) in stone by a little girl that you had thought you could take.
He was pretty sure that was as bad as it could get.
Also unfortunately, his would-be rescuer was still off exploring ancient civilizations with the Avatar.
It was going to be a long night...
The weirdest thing about being rescued by a previously thought extinct race of people was that despite supposedly having been tucked away in their own little world for nearly two thousand years, they were surprisingly up-to-date on current events.
Even if that current was nearly thirty years back.
Still good, all things considering.
After the nearly seven foot tall Sun Warrior Chief freed them for the most part from the vice grip of hardened black goo, the hike to the other side of the city – where their lodgings were – had been a long and awkward one. Aang had flitted ahead to walk at the Chief's side, and Zuko had allowed his tired body to slow, trailing behind a couple yards back. Large bits of rock-like something had been encrusted over the majority of his arms and torso, and had been chipped away from his legs by necessity alone. It had been obvious by the older man's glare that he hadn't liked Zuko very much, but he didn't learn the full extent until they had reached the living portion of the city.
Zuko had been pushed, hard, onto the ground where he had sprawled across the dirt in the only position his rock-manacled arms had allowed. He had desperately tried to explain that he hadn't been trying to steal their treasure, and that he only wanted to learn how to properly firebend, but the tribal member leering over him with the large sharp machete knife hadn't cared.
"Your people are the reason we have to hide. Your kind enslaved our once proud nation, warped the pure firebending ways, and killed off our dragons. Why should we treat you any differently?"
But that had been hours ago, and once the Chief had grudgingly thrown the other Sun Warrior off him, the older man had proceeded to tell them how their stay would work. Aang – and only Aang – would be allowed to hold council with their Masters the next morning, provided that he passed some test and proved himself worthy of the ancient secret. Zuko would be kept back at the village – for collateral, his war-knowledgeable mind screamed – until the Avatar returned, then they could both leave, keeping the secret of this village to themselves.
Zuko let out an aggravated puff of heated air, feeling the evening's chill begin to settle into the open patio that would serve as their temporary place of lodging, at least until the Chief came back to take Aang with him to the airbender's own room. Aang sat, legs pulled up to his chest, on an open window ledge on the other side of the patio. The distance wasn't great, but the message was clear.
Deep down, Zuko was less than sympathetic to the other boy's plight. Sure, the kid dealt with the pressure of being the Avatar, but everyone had some kind of pressure up against them. He himself was the banished prince, scarred by his own father, and not allowed home until he accomplished an impossible task. Toph was blind, yet had to contend with more power than he had ever seen, from anybody. Katara had the pressure of being the last waterbender of her tribe. Sokka had to keep everyone together, and he hadn't earned the title, Plan Guy, for no reason.
Besides, it wasn't like there weren't upsides to being the Avatar. People were always giving the Gaang free lodgings (that he had later crashed in on). Aang could bend all four elements (while he could hardly handle his own). Not to mention the little deal with the village leader and the Masters.
But Zuko wasn't jealous.
Well, maybe a little...
Still, enough was enough, and how would he hear the secret of firebending if his student was too angry with him to tell him?
"Aang," he croaked, voice hoarse already in the couple hours of disuse. "I know you probably don't want to talk–"
"I don't."
"–to me, but we're supposed to be friends now, remember?"
"We're not friends," Aang grumbled into his crossed arms. "The last time I asked if we could be friends, you threw a fireball at me. I should've taken the hint then."
Zuko sighed, exasperated. This just wasn't working... " I was a jerk. We both know that. But I've changed–"
"Well I haven't!" The stone ledge crumpled under Aang's hand, leaving finger-shaped indents in the smooth marble. "I'm still the same kid who froze himself in an iceberg to avoid having to do anything in the war. I can't handle all this – it's too much!"
So that's the issue, then...
"You're right. You are the same kid." Tearful gray eyes peered up from his hiding place in his knees at the sudden change of attitude. "The same kid, but you've gone through a lot since then. Did that kid know how to earthbend?" A cautious shake of the head, no. "Could he waterbend?" And another.
"Did he have four friends that would do anything for him – fight with him, fight for him? Aang..." he rose to a kneel, pleading Aang to just listen to him, "I know that in the past I've been greedy – we've all been greedy – and have expected far too much from you. Yes, you're the only one with the power to bend all four elements, but there's no way that we're going to let you take on the whole Fire Nation by yourself. We got your back. And... I'd like the chance to right my past wrongs and really get to know you. The real you, not just Avatar Aang. So... friends?"
Across the room, Aang let his knees drop down until he was straddling the open window, back leaning wearily against the stone frame. He looked exhausted, but a small smile lit up his eyes.
"Friends."
"Avatar Aang," a low voice rumbled from the entryway across the open square, startling both boys. The Sun Warrior Chief stood tall, flanked on either side by two shorter girls, Aang's staff held firmly in one girl's hand, their travel bag in the other's. Something about the way the shorter girl's brown hair fell from her pony tail in long waves seemed off to Zuko, and mentally he tried to remember any other brunettes he had seen in the village, but then the man who had attacked him earlier entered the room, and the Chief was talking again, so he let it go. "Your room is ready for you now. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to it. Ham Ghao," he turned, addressing the other Sun Warrior man, "take Zuko to his room as well."
Ham Ghao sneered, stepping towards Zuko with a glint in his eye that promised more pain. The Chief grabbed his arm, however, and commanded in a no-nonsense way, "And don't hurt him. I understand you're upset, but there's no need to be violent."
Then they were gone, Aang walking out cheerfully with the Chief and the taller of the two girls, while Zuko was left alone with the bloodthirsty Sun Warrior and the brunette.
"'No need to be violent,' he says... I'll show him violent..." Ham Ghao muttered to himself, grabbing Zuko around the arm in what was probably a much weaker hold than the older man would've preferred. The girl smiled widely at him, flashing white teeth and dark eyes, before she spun around, leading the group out through the courtyard entryway and towards a circle of Sun Warriors leering over a small fire. Only a few of them had the traditional topknot Zuko had seen throughout the village, and those who did were seated on stone benches, the casual-haired men standing behind them like a royal guard.
The grip on his arm loosened as they got closer to the circle, and with a heavy hand, pushed him down onto a bench on the other side of the fire. He could see the eyes of the topknots over the flickering flame; gold and glinting, hardly restraining their anger – but at him?
What'd I do to make everyone so angry at me?
As if on cue, his stomach let out a low rumble, voicing its opinion on his non-existent eating schedule.
"If you would get a bowl of that soup for me please, Hammy?" Brunette-haired girl asked, giggling, batting her long eyelashes and giving a cute pout to Ham Ghao, who seemed to like the nickname as much as he liked Zuko. Whatever the deal was with them, Zuko wasn't about to ask. He knew people like her, and their kind was scary.
The man retrieved the soup regardless, scooping a large spoonful into a carved wooden bowl sitting beside the pot. He went for another, but the girl placed her hand lightly on his arm, halting him.
"I don't think he'll be able to eat even that much. This stuff tends to be more than anyone can handle."
'Like Katara's immatation sea-sponge soup. Although I doubt the Sun Warriors have ever tasted anything as disgustingly chewy as that...'
Ham Ghao returned grumbling, and shoved the soup into Zuko's hands forcibly. It was only because of the brunette's lightning fast hands that it didn't become a new – and very hot – pattern across the front of his shirt. He thanked the girl and was rewarded with a wide smile as she waited to see his reaction to the soup.
Zuko ran the spoon through the strange green liquid for a moment, feeling the way it seemed to flow away from the spoon, with a sludge-like consistency. He didn't see any chunks of anything nasty though, so with one last gulp of fresh air, took a large bite.
This is so... not actually that bad. Surprising.
The whole thing was fairly reminiscent of a kind of broccoli soup he had eaten when he was young and sick – same smooth taste, and sadly the same molding smell. But he could understand what the girl meant by not being able to handle it. Three spoonfuls in, he was already almost full, and with that the pleasant droopy feeling of lethargy that always set in with a big meal.
"What is this s-stuff?" he slurred slightly, watching their golden eyes waver through the flames. An eagle made out of the flames rose up from the fire, waving its wings, and for a moment Zuko tried to figure out who was bending it, but then it was gone again.
"Our... recipe... Secret for... years... additional..."
Ham Ghao's voice took on a wavering quality, being audible one moment, then silent the next, and Zuko fought to keep his also wavering attention on the man's mouth to try to catch everything that was being said. He never had been a good lip-reader though.
Suddenly, the world began to tip sideways, and Zuko leaned to the left to try to keep it upright. The world kept tipping though, like a ship about to capsize. He landed with a thump on his side on the ground, fingers clenching the dirt to keep from falling away. Colors spun like fire and everything was like fire, flickering and wavering, glinting then disappearing as the dark seeped into every corner, creeping along the edges of his vision. He tried to keep the brunette girl's face in his failing vision, but the colors kept sinking through the cracks like smoke. Something wasn't right though.
Why isn't her hair braided? It'd always been braided...
As the world went black and silent, one voice made it through the fog.
"Goodnight, Zuzu."
AN: ok, all done.