Chapter 13: Arrival at the Abbey

Zuko had dealt with his injury well enough; he'd removed the barbed arrow with a heated blade, cleaned the wound, and cauterised it. It wasn't the first time he'd been forced to take such measures, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. He'd had to abandon his plans of bounty hunting and headed further north towards the Abbey.

It had been one of his safe places for about a year, ever since he'd helped the nuns by chasing off some bandits that had been bothering them. He'd even managed to get some of their stuff back; some money and a heavy candlestick that was plated in gold.

Despite his good relationship with the nuns, he did try to avoid their other guests; a selection of weary travellers along with a collection of the sickly and the injured. Best they not see him and decide to attack the dangerous Fire Nation stranger. The nuns were kind to him and he had no desire to bring trouble to their door; even if they did get a little preachy at times and try to palm off their strong-smelling perfume on him.

That being said, he couldn't help but be intrigued by the Water Tribesman with the severe burns. From his attire he guessed that the man was from the South Pole; Zuko had read that the Southerners tended to favour lighter blues than the Northern Tribe, not to mention the fact that the Northerners tended to be a lot more insular. Zuko had interacted with Tribesmen from the South Pole before, but he didn't think he'd ever even seen someone from the North.

The man made him think of Sokka and Katara. He could still see their faces in his mind; the fear, the anger, the hate, and the loss. He hadn't hurt them personally but, in Katara's eyes, he might as well have. Even Sokka fell more towards his sister's hate and distrust than he did Aang's welcoming nature.

Zuko sighed, and went back to watching the Tribesman; he'd made his way onto the Abbey's tiled roof and was enjoying the midday sun. The Water Tribe warrior had clearly had the same idea, though he stuck to ground level.

Something made the man look up though and he met Zuko's gaze. Zuko froze but then nodded to the man.

He called, "Good afternoon."

The Water Tribesman nodded back. "Afternoon. What are you doing up there?"

Zuko gestured to the sun and the sky. "Just… enjoying the weather?"

The man nodded. He said slowly, "Okay." Then, "You're a guest of the nuns then?"

Zuko noticed that the man's hand had drifted to a whale-bone machete that hung at his hip.

He nodded. "I am, yes. I arrived a few days ago. Yourself?"

He knew the answer, but asked anyway. The man said, "I am as well. They're-they're treating me for some burns I got."

Zuko nodded. "Fire Nation?"

The man nodded. He asked, "What happened to your eye? If you don't mind the question."

Zuko felt his lip curl slightly but he just said, "Fire Nation."

The Water Tribesman nodded. Then he said, "I am Bato of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zuko nodded back. "I'm Lee."

Bato waited a moment. "Who are your people, Lee?"

Zuko shrugged his uninjured shoulder. "I don't have any. It's just me."

Bato's eyes went sad. "A shame, for one so young."

Zuko nodded but said nothing. Bato said, "If the nuns ask, I'm going down to the water. I ought to check out what happened to my boat."

Zuko nodded again. "I'll let them know."

He watched the Water Tribe warrior leave.

Zuko had intended on descending from the roof and returning to his room as night began to fall, but the late afternoon sun had lulled him into a gentle slumber. A slumber that was disturbed by the sound of Bato's return.

He heard the rumble of the man's voice and assumed he was talking to one of the nuns. Perhaps Mother Superior was scolding him for staying out so long?

That assumption was shattered at the sounds of familiar voices.

He heard Katara say, "It's so good to see you again, Bato."

Sokka agreed with her. "Yeah, it's been way too long."

Zuko rolled over and peered over the edge of the roof. He watched as Sokka, Katara and Aang followed Bato towards his room. The Firebender sighed quietly and let his head drop and crack against the tiles.

He'd been hoping to avoid the Avatar's group. Preferably forever. It wasn't even that he disliked the group; it had just been awkward between them since Katara 'outed' him as Fire Nation, and then it had just become so much worse since the incident with Zhao and the pirates. Better for everyone involved if Zuko just disappeared and they went their separate ways.

Fate, however, apparently had a different plan in mind. It was not the first time that Zuko had suspected that the Spirits that controlled fate and destiny had a very cruel sense of irony. They seemed to enjoy tormenting him, as well; he didn't like to take it personally, but at this point it was starting to feel personal.

Zuko sighed again and listened to their voices disappear in the direction of Bato's room. Only when the courtyard had fallen silent did he carefully lower himself down, trying to be gentle with his still wounded shoulder.

He had to go past Bato's room to reach his own, and he couldn't help but pause outside the door. He closed his eye and listened.

Bato's voice drifted through the wood of the door. "I'm actually awaiting a letter from your father with details of a rendezvous point. How would you kids like to come with me and see your dad?"

Sokka and Katara both loudly agreed. That's when he heard Aang stutter out an excuse about getting some air. Zuko's eye widened and darted around a nearby corner.

He peered around and watched as the Airbending monk left Bato's room, a forlorn expression clouding his usually cheerful face.

Zuko frowned, watching him leave.

It had been Zuko's intention to rise early the next morning and depart, thus avoiding the Avatar and his group. That plan fell apart when he encountered Sokka on his way out of the bathroom.

The Water Tribe boy paused, a slack-jawed expression on his face. "Lee?"

Zuko also paused. Then he gave a little wave. "Hi, Sokka."

Sokka seemed to take a minute to properly waking up, even going so far as to rub his eyes vigorously, before replying, "Ugh, what are you doing here?"

Zuko shrugged his shoulder, wincing when he did it unthinkingly with the injured one.

With a slight hiss he said, "Just resting up, you know. It's a good place for travellers to get some sleep without spending money at an inn. Just have to do a little work for the nuns."

Sokka nodded. He pointed towards the bathroom behind Zuko. "I'm gonna… go. In there. Yeah."

Zuko nodded. "Right. Yes. Of course. Have fun."

He stepped to the side and let the other boy enter the bathroom. He smacked his hand against his forehead and muttered, "Have fun? Have fun? Spirits, what is wrong with me?"

He walked back to his room, even more determined to pack up and leave.

Zuko hefted his pack onto his good shoulder, made a point of thanking the Mother Superior for her hospitality, and then strode out of the Abbey quickly.

He went through the woods and down towards the beach. Bato had intimated that he had a boat there, and Zuko wasn't too proud to admit that he was curious. While he had met a couple of Water Tribesmen in the past, it had always been on land. He'd never gotten a good look at what their ships looked like.

He got to the sands and saw that the beach was empty, though there were drag marks that looked like they were made by a small boat. Well, small compared to what the Fire Nation sailed.

He cast his eye out across the water, squinting slightly against the sun. That's when he saw it, cutting between a series of jagged rocks.

Zuko couldn't help but think that it was beautiful. While Fire Nation ships were impressive, and Earth Kingdom ships were functional, the Water Tribe ship was clearly made with love and care.

The bow of the ship curved up like the elegant neck of an eagle-swan, as the aft tapered to a point, almost like tail-feathers. The sails were, naturally, the blue of the Southern Water Tribe, and the caught the wind perfectly, allowing the ship to almost glide through the water.

As the ship got closer to shore, Zuko was surprised to see that it was Sokka at the helm, and not Bato. Staring harder, Zuko saw that Bato was stood to one side, watching as Sokka, Katara, and Aang manoeuvred the ship in towards the beach.

That's when Zuko realised that he was still standing there, in plain view of the Avatar's group, with nowhere to go.

He heard Aang's voice shout, "Lee!"

He watched as the Airbender shot over the side and glided towards him, landing just a few feet in front of him. It made him take a half step back. What surprised him more, though, was the hug that followed Aang's landing. His arms wrapped around Zuko's middle.

He froze up a little. People didn't really touch him anymore. He'd occasionally shake a client's hand, or Suki would hug him sometimes, but other than that the last person to touch him with kindness was his Uncle, and before that his mother.

He hesitantly patted the Avatar's back once or twice before he began trying to extract himself from the embrace. Aang apparently decided to take pity on the Firebender and let him go.

Zuko stepped back, out of Aang's reach. He looked over to see Sokka and Katara disembarking, with Bato just behind them. Sokka's face looked neutral. Katara's looked a little stony. Bato appeared to be weighing him up.

Zuko chose to look back towards Aang's smiling face. At least the Avatar seemed pleased to see him.

The Water Tribe contingent arrived. Zuko nodded at them, trying for a smile. It felt like it became more of a grimace, but Zuko figured it was better than nothing. Sokka and Bato both returned his nod, while Katara just met his gaze for a long, unblinking moment before looking away from him.

Bato broke the silence by saying, "Sokka and Katara were just telling me that they knew you, Lee."

Zuko frowned at the emphasis on his name. The frown deepened when he noticed that the man's hand was resting on his machete.

He asked, "And what did they have to see, Bato of the Southern Water Tribe?"

"That your name isn't Lee, for starters."

Zuko shrugged. He let his hand rest on the hilt of his swords. "I like Lee." He said simply.

Bato nodded, eyes drifting towards Zuko's swords before moving back towards his face. He said, "They also tell me that you're a Firebender. And that you're a soldier."

"Former soldier. I deserted about three years ago."

Bato continued to eye him, taking in the details of his face. "You must have been young when you enlisted."

Zuko's lip curled. "I was conscripted, actually. And I was. Young, that is."

Bato raised his eyebrows. "Fire Nation soldiers are conscripted?"

Aang interrupted with, "What's it mean to be conscripted?"

Zuko stared down at the twelve-year-old. It was hard to believe that the boy was less than year younger than he was when he was sent off to war.

He replied, "It's when the Army descends on a town and says they need a certain number of soldiers. The men and women of the town are given the option of volunteering, but if numbers aren't met then the Army takes whoevers there and ships them off to fight."

Aang's face looked horrified. "That's horrible."

Zuko shrugged. "It's war. It's not supposed to be a picnic."

Katara asked, "You want us to believe that all Fire Nation soldiers are forced to fight? You're going to struggle with that."

Zuko scowled at the girl. "I never said all. Just some."

That's when Sokka said, "What's with the pack?"

"I'm leaving. Heading further north."

The boy frowned. "Why?"

Bato echoed the sentiment. "You told me you'd only arrived a few days ago. Little soon to be leaving, isn't it?"

Zuko sighed. He said, "I was… aware that you were here. I knew that there were… mixed feelings about me. I decided to leave. The nuns have been kind to me, I saw no reason to cause any problems for them."

Bato frowned at that, turning to stare at Sokka and Katara. Sokka refused to meet the man's gaze. Katara stared back unflinching.

Bato turned back to Zuko. "Well, that is pity. I was hoping to speak with you some more, but it seems that won't be possible."

Zuko frowned, a little confused. He said, "Anything important?"

Bato waved a hand. "Just shooting the breeze, you know. Couple of soldiers swapping stories, that's all."

Zuko laughed bitterly. "My war stories aren't ones that I care to share, anyway."

Bato smiled sadly at the boy. "Most soldiers feel the same, until they get talking with likeminded folk."

Zuko frowned again, but said nothing for a moment. He stared down towards the sand, breathing deeply. Then he said, "I should go. Places to be, you know."

He went to leave, only to be stopped by Aang hugging him once again. "Bye, Lee."

He nodded at the boy. "Bye, Aang."