Chapter 95: A Night of Poetry
Sokka had taken to wandering Ba Sing Se at night; he stuck to just walking through the Upper Ring, mainly because the gate guards were reluctant to allow citizens to wander between the Rings after dark.
He looked up at the sky, at the Moon. At Yue. He missed her.
Sokka knew that, to some, it may seem ridiculous. He only knew for a fairly short time. Less than a month. But he missed her all the same. They'd shared a connection; one that could have grown into more, but was never allowed the chance. Hahn had posed an obstacle to that, initially, and then Zhao had ensured that they would never have the chance to be more.
He sighed lowly. All he had now were his memories of her, as well as the night sky. It made him feel closer to her, staring up at the light of the Moon. It was like she was smiling down on Sokka. He liked that thought.
Absentmindedly, he drew his boomerang and ran his thumb along it, checking for damage. Idly, he tossed it up into the air and caught it again. The boomerang was almost an extension of himself; he'd heard Zuko comment something similar about his Dao swords, that it was a good sign with a weapon. If it didn't feel comfortable in your hand, then you probably shouldn't take it into battle. You had to be able to rely on it; your life depended on it, after all.
It had taken some time for him to feel truly comfortable around the other boy. In his heart of hearts he knew that that was mostly to do with himself and had very little to do with the Firebender. Sure the Firebending and the whole royalty thing had been difficult to swallow, but he'd felt… challenged? Threatened? By Zuko's skill with his swords. Sokka was the weapons guy, along with the idea guy and the sarcasm and meat guy. He knew his place in the Avatar's group and it had felt like Zuko was upsetting that balance.
Sokka had quickly come to realise how truly ridiculous that was. Sure, Zuko was good with his swords, and he was okay at Firebending (in fact, Sokka had noted that Zuko's Firebending seemed to be getting better and better after every lesson with Iroh), but the former Prince was not a strategist, at least not like Sokka was. The older boy could plan out his own lines of attack perfectly well, and Zuko knew a great deal about the Fire Nation and how it worked, but the information just didn't come together in his mind like it did with Sokka. Plus, the guy couldn't tell a joke to save his life. It made Sokka feel more comfortable in his own skin.
He was walking past a building with its windows flung wide open when he heard voices within. He paused.
"What's this?" He muttered to himself, stepping closer.
Sokka peered inside.
Katara was not worried about Sokka. She was… concerned. That was it. He'd been spending a lot of evenings by himself, wandering around the Upper Ring. He said he was just clearing his head, but it made her worry about what he needed to clear up.
She was stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot of soup.
Aang was up in his room, taking a nap after a long and gruelling Earthbending lesson. Toph, likewise, was sleeping, though it wasn't from fatigue, more from a general desire to lounge around.
Zuko was sat at the kitchen table, taking a polishing cloth to his armour. Katara had noticed that he did so fairly religiously, just like he did with sharpening his swords and dagger.
She said, "Do you think Sokka's okay?"
Zuko paused in his work and looked over at her. That was another she'd noted; when he spoke to her, he tried to give her his full attention. The thought produced a pleasant warmth in her stomach that she was decidedly ignoring.
He replied, "Why? Has he said something?"
Katara shook her head. "No, not really. It's just…"
She stopped speaking, suddenly feeling a little ridiculous. Zuko prompted, "Just what?"
She shook her head again. "I'm probably overreacting. Forget I said anything."
Zuko stood up and walked closer, leaning against the counter next to her. He said, "Go on."
She sighed and put down the spoon she was using to stir the soup. She wiped her hands on a cloth.
"He's seemed, I don't know, distant? Like with these walks he keeps taking. He's been like it since… the North Pole."
Zuko's face darkened a little. He said quietly, "That's understandable. A lot happened."
That was putting it mildly, Katara thought. She nodded. "I know. I just worry. What with everything that happened with Yue and then running into Suki again and them going their separate ways…"
Zuko sighed. Katara felt a little bad; she knew that Zuko himself had dealt with a lot at the North Pole, as well as having to say goodbye to Suki.
She decided to press in that direction. "Are you okay?"
He raised his eyebrow at her. "Me? Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"
Katara shrugged. "Like you said, a lot happened at the Pole. Not just with Yue. Same with Suki; she's been your friend a long time and you had to say goodbye to her again."
Zuko mirrored her shrug. "I've got used to saying goodbye to Suki; it sucks but it is what it is, you know. As for the North Pole…"
He nodded to himself. He continued, "You're right, a lot happened. Everything with Zhao…"
He sighed and looked away from her. It left her looking at the left side of his face; she could see the edges of his scar where his hair fell away, the shrivelled stump of his ear made visible.
She commented, "There seemed… I don't know. History. With Zhao, I mean."
Zuko shrugged again, still not meeting her gaze. "There was some, I suppose. I knew him a little, when I was a kid. He was there, when I got this."
He gestured to his face.
She frowned. "Wait, what?"
Zuko looked up at her. "He was in the crowd, during the Agni Kai."
Katara shook her head, a glare on her face. "You said there was a crowd, when you told us, but… You actually knew people there? People you knew stood and watched as the Fire Lord…"
She couldn't finish the sentence. Zuko had been mutilated by his own father. It was almost too horrible to put into words.
He nodded, staring towards his shoes. "I knew a lot of the people in the crowd. They were all high ranking members of my father's court; Generals, Admirals, War Ministers. My sister was there with her friends. My Uncle was there."
Katara's glare deepened. "Iroh was there? And he did nothing?"
The anger was clear in her voice. He looked up at her and said sternly, "Don't you dare talk to him about this."
She shot back, "Why shouldn't I? He stood back and watched while you got hurt."
"What was he supposed to do, Katara? Anything he did would have gotten us both killed. You don't oppose the Fire Lord. You never oppose the Fire Lord."
A banner inside the room declared that they were the '5-7-5 Society'.
Sokka had no idea what that meant.
A lady stood on a small stage and began speaking. "Through all the long night, winter moon glows with bright love, sleet her silver tears."
Understanding dawned in Sokka's mind. "Ah, poetry."
Something knocked into Sokka's back and sent him tumbling through the low window and into the room.
The gathered ladies shrieked at his sudden appearance. Sokka stood quickly, looking all around.
He said, "I am so sorry. Something struck me in the rear. I just… wound up… here."
It was only halfway through his second sentence that he realised what he was doing. He decided to go with it.
The ladies laughed, and a couple of them applauded. Sokka was surprised, but pleased. His chest puffed up and he grinned.
The woman on stage shook her head. She recited, "Five, seven, then five, syllables mark a haiku. Remarkable oaf."
Sokka frowned at the word 'oaf'. He counted on his fingers as he said, "They call me Sokka, that is in the Water Tribe. I am not an oaf."
Once again, he got a few laughs and a smattering of applause.
The woman's lip curled slightly. "Tittering monkey, in the spring he climbs treetops, and thinks himself tall."
She narrowed her eyes, a smirk playing on her lips.
The gathered ladies went 'ooh'.
Sokka frowned, thinking hard. "You think you're so smart, with your fancy little words, this is not so hard."
Another 'ooh'.
"Whole seasons are spent, mastering the form, the style, none calls it easy." The words were practically spat.
Sokka smirked. "I calls it easy. Like I paddle my canoe, I'll paddle yours too."
He slapped a hand against his own backside to demonstrate, drawing a large and scandalised laugh from the crowd.
The woman replied, "There's nuts and there's fruits. In fall the clinging plum drops, always to be squashed."
She withdrew a plum from her sleeve, dropped it, and crushed it underfoot to demonstrate her point.
Sokka waved a hand. "Squish, squash, sling that slang. I'm always right back at ya, like my… boomerang!"
He brandished said weapon, grinning widely. He was starting to really enjoy this whole poetry thing.
The woman scowled and stepped down from the stage. She walked past Sokka and took her seat once more.
Sokka was a little disappointed; he was enjoying their verbal sparring. He bowed nonetheless, grinning wide.
He said, "That's right, I'm Sokka, it's pronounced with an 'okka', young ladies, I rocked ya!"
He's met by silence. He sees anger overtake the ladies' faces and is confused.
Sokka quickly ran through his haiku, counting on his fingers. The last line had six syllables, instead of five.
A guard appeared, confusing Sokka further. What kind of poetry club had an armed guard?
The man remarked, "Uh, that's one too many syllables there, bub."
He picked Sokka up by his collar and launched him back through the window he arrived by. He landed with a grunt. Sokka turned in time to see the window's shutters get slammed closed.
Sokka shook his head. He muttered to himself, "No way they'll believe this. Ah, poetry."
Silence filled the kitchen, following Zuko's angry declaration.
Katara realised that she may have crossed some sort of line without realising. She didn't back down though.
She said stubbornly, "Iroh should have done something."
Zuko shook his head scowling. "He didn't. There was nothing he could have done. I don't blame him. For anything. Uncle was the only person in the Palace to show me kindness after my mother left. He didn't have to."
Katara frowned at that statement. "There was no one else…?"
Zuko refused to meet her eye. He just said, "No."
Katara sighed. "I-I'm sorry, Zuko."
He shrugged, still not looking at her. What anger was there had faded away, there and then gone.
Zuko sighed. He finally looked up at Katara and she could see a depth of sadness in his lone eye; it almost took her breath away.
He said, "I thought he was dead, Katara. I've spent the last few years believing that the only family that loved me was dead. Mom was gone; dead or banished or just missing, I don't know, but she left me a long time ago. My dad has never cared; or, if he did, it was so long ago that I can't remember. Azula…"
He paused and then cleared his throat. "There was a time when we were close. Not like you and Sokka but… close. Then her fire turned blue. Dad started giving her 'private lessons'. She was never the same after that. What she's become, it's not her fault, but that doesn't change what has to be done. Uncle is all I have left, the only blood family I have that doesn't want me dead."
Katara didn't know when it began, but tears were streaking down her cheeks. Zuko must have noticed because he stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She fell forward into his chest and his arms came up and around her shoulders. He felt Katara's arms snake around his waist, squeezing him tight.
They stood there, in the kitchen, for a long time. The quiet of the house surrounded them; faintly Zuko thought he could hear the sound of Toph snoring upstairs.
Zuko allowed a tear to slip out of his good eye. Nothing came from the left; his tear ducts were burnt away.
Eventually they pulled apart; Katara dabbed at her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve, while Zuko just swiped at his cheek, clearing his throat.
She said quietly, "Are you okay? Really?"
Zuko smiled slightly, sadly. "We've had this conversation, Katara. In the Desert."
Katara nodded, a frown on her face. "I'm kind of hoping you're answer has changed, at least a little."
Zuko just shrugged. "In some ways, live is… better. I have you guys. I have Uncle. We're safe, for now. Well, safe from the Fire Nation; the Earth Kingdom on the other hand? Who knows? The Dai Li are up to something. And that's the problem; something's coming, I can feel it."
Katara nodded again. "I know what you mean. I was hoping it was just a little paranoia."
"Well, I have been called paranoid before, so who knows? Maybe everything will work out fine."
Sarcasm dripped from his words. It made Katara chuckle.
Before she could respond, the front door slammed open. Sokka stepped in and announced in a dramatic voice, "You will not believe what's happened to me."
Katara and Zuko exchanged glances, smiles playing across their lips.
