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Chapter 18 Coming in from the Cold
It was pitch black and Bato awoke up to wind howling and pulling at the tent flaps. Usually, he, as Hakoda's Second in Command, would be sleeping in the main tent, same as Hakoda, however, since their guests were Hakoda's kids and their friends, they had temporarily rearranged sleeping quarters for the time being, which meant Bato had to be moved into another tent to make place for Sokka and Aang. Originally, the girls had stayed there as well, but with the war meetings taking place there, they also had been relocated, much to their displeasure. As Bato's current tent-mate was out on night patrol, Bato was alone. He wasn't quite used to it and it reminded him of the time where the fleet had left him behind so he could recover from his burns at the abbey.
He got up with a shiver. There were advantages to not sharing a tent, like not having to step over sleeping people as he pulled on his coat. He wasn't looking forward to going outside, but his bladder wouldn't want to wait, and he didn't want to let it rob him of any sleep.
Outside, the rain was beating down, He quickly stepped outdoors to get things done, no point in getting soaked. He almost felt bad for putting Kinignik on night-guard shift so regularly. At least the patrol got to be on the move, have a change of scenery through the various shades of the same dark, whereas Kinignik had the pleasure of staring beyond the fire onto a person-shaped lump all night long. Well, someone had to do it. Bato raised a hand in greeting. The other was a dark silhouette in front of the main tent, illuminated only by a fighting campfire in the clearing. Visibility was crap on nights like this. The light it provided barely reached the edges of the tents and the logs surrounding it drew large pits of darkness across the centre.
He turned to the edge of the camp, towards their latrine. As he walked along the tent line, he was startled by a movement illuminated by the weak flames, recognizing one lump that was close to the fire as actually Zuko, rather than a log. Of course, he'd known him to be out in the open, he just hadn't expected him to be this close to the fire. Why was he even surprised? The boy was a firebender, any bender thrived close to their source. Though, he'd stayed away from it last night… to be fair, Bato mused, it hadn't been cold and rainy yesterday.
He looked closer as he walked past, seeing the body twisting, turning to face him, though still lying low. The boy was definitely awake. Bato passed him, eventually reaching the latrines and doing his business.
When he got back, the Prince was sitting up, adding wood to the fire that indeed was in danger of dying in the driving rain. Bato stepped closer, crossing some logs to observe what the Prince was doing. The boy paused, but he didn't turn around, instead, he threw a glance to Kinignik, who kept his eyes trained on him. Then he reached for another log from under the tarp they'd thrown over the wood to keep it somewhat dry. His movements were sluggish, fingers clawing at the wood, lacking coordination and indicating numbness.
The Prince himself had no tarp to hide under. As far as Bato knew, he didn't even have a proper coat. The Prince wasn't shivering, Bato didn't know if that was a firebender-thing, but couldn't help but worry that it may not be. The wind was strong and of the cold sort, a normal person should have been shivering, especially when dressed as the Prince was. Uncoordinated, sluggish movements were just as bad a sign. Bato couldn't see if the Prince's lips were blue, but he saw his clenched jaw.
"Prince Zuko, can you stretch out your fingers?" The prince was slow to react, already taking a while just to hold up his hands. His fingers were curled, and they jerked as the Prince tried to get them to obey. His dark hair was plastered flat against his forehead and neck.
Bato was going to regret this one way or another, but the Prince had to get out of the rain.
"Get up," he ordered.
The Prince could still flinch, but he didn't move. Bato stepped around him, close to the fire that still wasn't doing well, even in those short moments it had started to gutter and die. He bent down to grab the Prince's arm, but the Prince twisted away.
"Nnno!" The voice was quiet but desperate.
"Prince Zuko, you need to get out of the rain."
"Leav' mme 'llone." Even his speech was slightly slurred. Not good. The eyes staring at him widened with fear.
Kinignik who had observed the whole thing was coming over. "What's the matter, Bato?"
"He's hypothermic. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"He's a firebender, he asked to be allowed to sleep next to the fire, and he only moved to add wood now and then. He didn't ask for anything else, I thought he was fine."
"You were watching him the entire time, you know the signs of hypothermia. You know he worked all day, you know he wasn't sleeping, you know he has no cover."
"And I should have provided him with one? This is the perfect weather to sneak off. A tarp may have just given him the necessary cover to mask his movements."
"We'll talk about this in the morning. I'm taking him to the tent. Do your job." he said, then turned back to the boy still cowering in the wet sand.
"Prince Zuko, give me your hand." He held out a hand to pull him up. He'd seen the reflexive movement towards his swords the first time Zuko had evaded him, he'd also noticed that Zuko didn't scramble backwards, he twisted to the side. Grabbing the boy would end in a fight, a desperate, potentially ugly one, not something Bato needed right now. "You need to get out of the rain, give me your hand or get up by yourself."
"Nnot 'llowed. Chief's rules." The boy mumbled.
"I'll talk to the Chief, now come on." his voice was harsh against the slapping rain.
It still took a solid minute until the boy finally moved, moved each limb as if to check that he still could, and pried off the water-sodden blanket that had become tangled between his legs. He didn't take the offered hand, but rose in a slow scramble before just standing in the freezing wind until Bato grabbed his arm, gently leading him away. Zuko had flinched, but either he'd understood that Bato was helping him, or he'd given up the fight. Bato couldn't really tell.
The next problem they ran into was when Bato ordered him to undress in front of the tent. Zuko stared at him in distrust and only moved to try after Bato repeatedly told him that Zuko needed to get into dry clothes to get warm. Furthermore, his shirt stuck to his skin in a way that made it a struggle to get it off, even when one wasn't sluggish from hypothermia. And that fight was nothing to Zuko's unwillingness to remove his trousers. Bato had his suspicions as to why, but this had to be done.
"You're not getting into the tent with those on." Bato stepped into the tent, immediately hanging up his coat in the small space in front of the sleeping area. He grabbed for his pack of clothes, pulling out some one of his spares. Holding it out so Zuko could see in the dim light. "Come on, you can put them on as soon as you're in here."
The sight of dry clothes finally seemed to do the trick.
Before the Prince stepped in, he took a breath and breathed fire, a small flame that startled the shit out of Bato, but was essentially harmless, then he picked up his swords again and slipped inside. He put the swords down just inside the tent and tried to rip the undershirt out of Bato's hands, not caring that he was still super damp. Bato instead held out a piece of cloth for drying, before offering up the shirt, politely looking away to offer the boy as much privacy as he could in the cramped space.
"Don't rub the skin, just dab at it." Bato said into the dark.
Zuko grunted, he worked fast, though clumsy. Bato finally took pity, handing him the linen under-shirt and some trousers, the boy shrugged them on just as quickly, then Bato grabbed his hand and put it on his sleeping bag's opening. Plenty of warmth was still trapped in there, this boy needed it right now.
"Get in."
Zuko did so with an awkward scramble that reminded Bato of a birds first flight.
Bato leaned over Zuko to reach his emergency stash of sweets. This wasn't what he'd had in mind when stocking up, but sacrifices had to be made. He unwrapped one and reached for Zuko's hands, which were tucked close to the boy's face.
"Here, eat this."
The boy clumsily wrapped his hand around the sweet, and took a bite, not quite able to hold back a whine later as the fruity flavour assaulted his senses. Bato knew, some people found his sweets too sweet, apparently, the Prince of the Fire Nation as well. It made Bato a bit annoyed that his priced possession wasn't even appreciated, but the boy needed a bit of quick energy, and he didn't have any warm, sweet beverages at the ready, so they had to make do with what was available. Luckily, the boy continued to eat despite the initial groan of seeming dislike, and Bato waited until he was swallowing down a piece before speaking again.
"Now listen. You need to get warm, and there's really no other good way than sharing body heat, I'll hug you around your torso, I won't touch you anywhere else. Alright?"
The boy tensed as Bato slipped in, considering what Bato was about to do, this would be the part most likely to blow up in his face. He really wasn't looking to alienate the boy further. Luckily the boy was trapped in the sleeping bag, he just hoped that once he was coherent again, he'd forgive him for doing this. The Prince's hands weakly clawed at the arms holding his torso against the warm body behind him, breaths coming fast and shallow, but he soon gave up the fight while Bato felt the warmth slowly seep out of himself. At last, the breathing calmed down a bit as they both just lay there, unmoving.
The boy wasn't asleep, his breathing hadn't shifted into a sleeping rhythm, rather did it seem deliberately controlled. The boy's hands also remained tightly wrapped around the wrists and hands against his chest. Bato had no doubt that those were a warning, rather than the boy holding on to a lifeline. If distrust kept the boy awake for now, then Bato was fine with that, sleep wouldn't do the boy any favours until his body was able to warm itself again. Still, he was glad when the shivering finally started.
Bato waited until the worst of it had passed before deciding that it had to be enough to kick-start warming up. After that, he slipped into the sleeping bag of his tent mate.
It was pitch black in the tent, the boy was still awake and tense. He had further curled in on himself, away from him, and Bato could hear him control his breathing. Bato decided that he would most easily get the boy to relax if he himself drifted off to sleep, and he'd probably wake up if the Prince tried to climb over, so the boy couldn't really get away. Sleep was good for the nerves, Bato was sure they'd both need plenty over the next few days.
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When Zuko became aware again, he felt as warm as if he'd spent the rainy night in between some of Appa's legs, though the way his body was positioned was way more comfortable than it tended to be when he slept close to Appa. However, he felt a deep, dull ache in his scar that told him of cold and stormy weather and reminded him how much he'd been neglecting treating his scar, ever since separating with his uncle. It was dry and aching, itchy and flaky, especially with the dramatic change from desert to coast. He'd been able to sneak some fat for it now and then, while travelling with the Gaang, but he hadn't dared to ask for it, and anyway, they only had any when Sokka had a successful hunt. Their time in the desert had not been kind to his scar either. At least, he felt warm at the moment, that was a huge improvement to the vague memories of last night.
He opened his eyes to a face full of unfamiliar fur in near darkness, and tried to remember how he'd gotten here, within what was probably a tent… Right, someone had gotten him out of the rain. For a few minutes he just lay there, unmoving, enjoying the feeling of being warm, while ignoring the ache on his face, and listening in on the regular breathing of someone sleeping next to him, dully surprised at himself for not jolting.
He felt the moment the sun hit their tent as much as he saw the fabric lighten up slightly. He quietly sighed. The memories of last night were fuzzy. He remembered staying close to the fire to preserve energy as the wind continued to suck all warmth from his wet clothes. He'd been tired, his fire-breath exhausting as the rain drained him at a quicker rate than he could keep up with. Staying close to the fire had only done so much, as the rain worked hard to douse those flames as well. And his guard, Kinignik, had offered no assistance beyond the initial permission to stay there.
Someone had gotten him out of the rain. He vaguely remembered the man giving Kinignik a dressing down and ordering Zuko around. Zuko had only realised that he was hypothermic once the man had checked for his dexterity. He hadn't recognized the signs, even though he'd been trained and had dealt with the cold plenty. There were so many components that probably played into it, it wasn't surprising that the combination of everything had clouded his judgement. It just showed him how lacking energy reserves were these days.
The man hadn't taken no for an answer, but this was entirely different. The man had made sure he got out of the rain and warmed up. Zuko knew how dangerous hypothermia was, firebenders were not immune, they just had more options for a while until they ran out of energy. He'd gladly take a panic attack over death. He needed to get over those panic attacks anyway, they were a dangerous weakness. He already had too many of those.
The man wasn't hugging him anymore. Zuko vaguely remembered him retreat at some point, he'd heard rustling, then just breathing. He'd been hyper aware and had only relaxed as it evened out in apparent sleep. He hadn't expected to drift off too, uncomfortable in such close proximity, but apparently, exhaustion had eventually caught up with him after all.
His body felt so relaxed, wrapped into this warm cocoon of a sleeping bag. He didn't want to move, but he had to go to the loo. Which, besides the struggle of convincing himself to move, presented another problem, the man was still sleeping next to him. Zuko doubted that stepping over the man and leaving the tent would be taken kindly. He waited, turned, got more restless as time passed.
He busied himself trying to figure out how hypothermia had snuck up to him. Were his energy levels still that low? His flimsy blanket had never provided much warmth, and yeah, rain like this got through to the bones, but he hadn't expected himself to be this weak against it. Was that still part of the aftermath of starvation and healing from torture… Or was it those days in the desert, not enough water, fighting in the glaring sun like that, then fighting against a spirit; Falling into what the others had called a coma. It had been a spirit sickness, Zuko was sure of it. Or maybe it really just was the fact that he'd barely slept since they got here, the situation too triggering to let his guard down, and rain and clothes, well, he knew leaving them on had been stupid in the rain, but… he pulled his thoughts back to the present.
Who had saved him? He wanted to know, didn't want to find out whom he owed now. Turning to his back, he stared up at the tent's ceiling. He needed to know, turned his head. The man slept turned away from him, his face obscured by his hair, not even caring that he'd turned his back to an enemy.
Zuko slowly sat up. The movement only worsening the ache on the scarred side of his face. His mouth was dry and he was hungry. He tried leaning over to catch a glimpse of the man's identity, but when the man sighed, he quickly drew back. Man, he just wanted to get it over with. Carefully, he freed a hand from the fur-lining and nudged the man's shoulder.
The man groaned and slowly turned to his back, hair slipping from the face and revealing Bato, the man who'd questioned him about the scar that first night.
The man grunted again as he, too, sat up, turning around so that he could look at Zuko.
"How are you feeling?" he inquired.
"Fine…" Zuko said, then reluctantly kept on going. "Thank you… for, uh, getting me out of the rain and warmed up."
"You're welcome. I take it you woke me up for a reason?"
"Yeah." Zuko bashfully rubbed his neck, only now looking down at the clothes he was wearing. "I need to visit the latrines. Where are my clothes?"
Bato's undergarments were way too big for his thin stature
"They're outside, I haven't had a chance to hang them up to dry yet."
"I can dry them now, if I may."
Bato sighed and got up. He was curious as to how the boy intended to accomplish this; he wouldn't allow the boy to get back into his own clothes if they were still damp.
The Prince opened the latch, and luckily the rain had eased into a faint drizzle for now. The boy leaned out of the tent to grab the water-sodden clothes. He kept leaning forward so as to not get the inside of the tent wet as he strategically wrung them out, then held the fabric between his palms until the water steamed out of it. Apparently, firebenders did have ways to dry clothes quickly.
"Thank you for the clothes," he said as he shrugged off the undershirt, linen, as he noticed now, and handed it back to Bato, then turned his back to him to get dressed. In the morning light, Bato finally saw the scars littered across the boy's back before they disappeared below fabric once more.
Katara had told him about the whip-marks and other scars, but her words hadn't quite conveyed just how gruesome some of those scars looked. Though, of course, none compared with the one on his face.
Bato shrugged on his coat and shoes as Zuko waited just outside the tent, then they were on their way to the latrines. Bato observed how the boy repeatedly touched the scarred side of his face, as if in pain, but he didn't say anything, yet. Once they had done their business, Bato decided to ask. The scar did look neglected, and Bato had the distinct feeling that Prince Zuko didn't dare to ask for things, for whatever reason.
"Is your scar bothering you?" Bato's own scar tended to act up in this weather as well. It had to be worse for the boy, with the scar right on his face, with no way to protect it from exposure.
Zuko reluctantly looked up and nodded. "A bit."
The boy seemed reluctant to ask for anything to treat the old injury with, so Bato took the first step. "What do you need?"
"Uhm, a wet rag would be helpful, and ointment, or animal fat, if you don't want to w–"
"I can get you a rag and ointment." Bato interrupted, he didn't like the direction of the Prince's words, though he did understand why the boy thought this way. But they weren't savages that withheld such easy basic medical treatment from their not quite prisoner; not quite guest.
He led Zuko through the camp, handing him a clean rag, as well as a small bottle of the requested ointment from the infirmary. Crossing it off from the inventory list before he left. "There's a bucket full of fresh rainwater, are you going to warm it with firebending?"
The boy nodded, dunking the rag, winding it out a bit and holding it in his hands just a moment before putting it over his eye and silently sighing.
"Thank you!" the boy quietly said.
"You're welcome."
Bato waited while the Prince was just standing there, holding the rag to his face. In the meanwhile, Bato thought about what needed to be addressed next, he'd have to talk to Hakoda about how to proceed with the boy pretty soon, they couldn't expect their guest risk freezing to death out in the open once again.
When Zuko finally lifted the rag from his face again, he requested time to meditate in the morning sun. As the camp would wake up properly in an hour, Bato saw no problem with it as long as the rain didn't get worse. He made his way to their supply tent to see if there were any spare coats. The boy would need one if this rainy weather kept up.
From afar, he saw the Prince's silhouette sitting there, one hand still pressing the rag against his face, the other cradling a tiny flame.
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On his first morning round, Hakoda heard about the Prince's chilly night from Bato and agreed that they needed to get the Prince to take care of himself properly, to at least communicate his basic needs so that something could be done. And then there was the underlying tension to confront his son.
Though Hakoda didn't doubt Bato's words, he preferred to get his own view on the situation before confronting anyone. This was why he invited the Avatar's group as a whole to eat breakfast together. The Prince probably had taken the invitation as an order, but that was just fine with Hakoda. He'd heard that the Prince hadn't eaten breakfast the day before, so that was two fish with one spear.
Sokka was quiet, which Hakoda knew was highly untypical for his son, he only spoke up for requests to be handed one thing or another. Even Zuko talked more than his son, though that had more to do with Toph who made sure to engage him in conversation, even if it was just between the two of them. Zuko occasionally even snorted at the sass that the blind earthbender spouted, and once or twice shot something back. He warily kept an eye out for her 'affectionate' punches, though.
He also seemed to make sure that Toph got plenty of the food that she liked. It reminded Hakoda of siblinghood, and Toph was certainly enjoying it. Hakoda wondered how much this behaviour had to do with her being the one that had gotten him out of captivity.
He was less pleased to see Bato's words be true, as Katara did not include Sokka in any conversation. Toph also either ignored him, or sent some barbed comment after him. Aang kinda just was all over the place, seemingly oblivious to the finer dynamics of the group. Interestingly, Zuko was acting civil towards Sokka, often being the one acting upon Sokka's words and handing him the requested items on his side of the circle.
Sokka only once addressed Zuko personally for an item particularly close to him. In response, Katara's eyes had narrowed, Toph's head had shot around, and she levelled him a displeased frown. Aang just looked uncomfortable at all of it. Zuko pointedly ignored all those reactions and handed Sokka what he'd wanted. Sokka had settled for more general statements after that.
It was painful to watch for Hakoda, and he didn't quite understand what was going on. After the meal, Bato, who'd also eaten with them, took Zuko with him to get him a chore assigned.
"Sokka, Katara, mind joining me in the main tent?" Hakoda requested, keeping things calm.
He didn't need prying eyes for this.
His kids followed him, and soon they all got comfortably seated on the laid-out furs. Hakoda turned to look at Sokka, gaze serious.
"Son… Bato and I noticed that something seems amiss between you and your group." Hakoda let that statement hang in the air… Sokka fidgeted, clearly hoping for more talking on Hakoda's side. Hakoda did not relent, did not give Sokka anything else to work with.
"Uhm, yeah, I've done some things I'm not proud of."
Hakoda just looked at Sokka, waiting for him to elaborate. Sokka squirmed under the attention.
"I did some things that I knew the others would disapprove of. And I put Zuko in danger."
"What did you do?" Hakoda finally asked, glancing at Katara for her reaction. She did look less than pleased with what Sokka had said so far.
"Uh, there were many things that led up to the situation. But it escalated in Wan Shi Tong's library when we split up as we were looking for a water source and I found the Fire Nation section."
"That's what you're gonna lead with?" Katara then took word. "That you angered Wan Shi Tong?"
"I'm trying to give context." Sokka defended.
"Well then, why don't you start with how you treated Zuko ever since Toph rescued him!?"
"Katara, calm down." Hakoda said.
But Katara turned to him. "Dad, why am I here?"
"You know how our tribe deals with conflict. You're here to represent the group and family, there's no need to involve more people and expose Sokka to their scrutiny without reason. You're both my children, and I have a duty to you as both father and Chief."
Hakoda turned back to Sokka. "Now Sokka, I want you to know that I love you very much, and I'm only stepping in because I feel like it will help you find peace with the group and to become a better person."
"I know dad." Sokka said quietly. "I guess Katara's right. I should start with when Zuko came to us." He looked dejected.
"Actually." Katara interrupted again. "By our tribe's customs, Zuko should be here as well, as he's the offended party."
"Katara!" Hakoda warned. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Zuko has a right to be here, this is a matter between him and Zuko more than it is with our group. The group is mostly mad at him on Zuko's behalf."
"You're not mad at him because he went to look for information on the Fire Nation instead of looking for water for the group?"
"We all got distracted in there, Aang found the Air Nomad section, I've found historical records about our tribe. I'm not mad at him for that, but what happened to Zuko there, that's a big issue for all of us."
"Hmm," Hakoda said. "Alright, Sokka?"
Sokka nodded reluctantly. "Maybe that's for the better. Zuko already talked to me about what happened from his side, but I guess that doesn't really resolve it for the rest of the group, and maybe it's better to talk about it once and for all."
"Alright." Hakoda said as he got up. He stepped out of the tent calling out orders, then they waited in silence together.
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Zuko was cleaning dishes with Tulimak drying them when another tribesman came.
"Prince Zuko, you are to come to the main tent. The Chief wants to talk to you again."
The soapy bowl slipped back into the water as Zuko apprehensively turned around.
"Why?"
"Dunno. His children are there too."
Well, that didn't help his apprehension any, but what else was he to do? He sighed, slowly walking through the sand, closely followed by this new, unknown tribesman. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to go there.
The tribesman opened the tarp, he slipped in, sleeves still rolled back.
"Sit down please." Hakoda invited in the flickering light of the same type of oil lamp that had been there every time he'd had to talk to the Chief so far. For once, it wasn't a comfort.
"Prince Zuko, you're here by request of my daughter Katara. From what I've gathered, my son, Sokka, has done something that caused a falling out between him and the Avatar's group. Apparently, this concerns you most of all."
Zuko stared at him, confused. Of course, he'd noticed the chilled behaviour of the other team members towards Sokka, but he'd never considered himself involved, really. As far as he knew, he'd resolved his issues with Sokka by talking to him before dawn, that night when he'd woken up from those visions.
"This meeting is focused on Sokka's actions, not on yours, I just want you to know that."
So this was about Chief Hakoda confronting his son about misbehaviour? Now, Zuko wanted to be here even less. He didn't want to witness a falling out between another father and son. He wanted to be the cause of it even less.
Zuko kept standing. "I already confronted Sokka with my issues with his actions, we've come to an agreement, so I really don't see why this needs to be discussed."
"The others in the group clearly don't see it cleared, disagreements like this can endanger the whole community, so yes, we do need to talk about it, even if that's just to make sure such actions don't get repeated in some form. Please sit down."
Zuko suppressed a sigh and reluctantly did so.
Hakoda turned his attention back to his son.
"Son, please explain what happened since Zuko was rescued."
Great, Zuko thought, so they weren't only going to talk about the library. It was a wonder he wasn't asking about what had gone down between him and the Gaang ever since they met.
Sokka gathered himself, having taken the time they had been waiting for Zuko to gather his own thoughts. "Uhm, I might as well start from the very beginning. We all met Zuko initially when he crashed into our village with his ship. Since then, till the siege at the North, he constantly hunted Aang, so we had multiple run-ins with him, and they usually involved fighting and fleeing. That was our previous relationship with Zuko. Zuko was strong and persistent."
Sokka paused, fidgeting slightly, before quietly continuing.
Well, Zuko thought, guess the Chief hadn't needed to ask about it, since Sokka so kindly provided the story all on his own. He groaned internally at Sokka starting from the very beginning of it all, what felt a lifetime ago.
"After the siege, we didn't see him again until I entered the market square with Toph. I didn't recognise him then, none of us did. I just knew he was Fire Nation. I… I went out of my way to hurt him. There was so much hate within me, it just all rose to the surface when the opportunity arose. I put the blame on him because it was convenient. He tried threatening us to make me go away."
Zuko had felt the consequences of such short-sighted anger too many times. He was almost surprised at Sokka's newfound insight, and he didn't feel bad for threatening them there. They'd backed him in a corner first, and he'd had no reason to put any hope or trust into Sokka, even back then. Still, he didn't like being reminded, he just wanted it to be over with.
Sokka heard Katara impatiently tapping with her finger, he avoided her gaze, opting to instead look at his lab, images of those memories rising up like bile. "What I said and did then was awful. I just took him being a prisoner at face value and punished him. The people called him a firebender and that was enough for me not to question it." Sokka kept his voice level.
Sokka had thought about a lot of things while Zuko had been unconscious, and he'd thought even more after Zuko had talked to him. He did see where he'd gone wrong. What he'd done to whom he'd just perceived as a prisoner from the Fire Nation. This wasn't even about Zuko yet. Despite that, Zuko was fiddling with a seam on his sleeve, clearly restless. Sokka saw it from the corner of his eyes and somehow, it made Sokka feel bad that Zuko was now forced to listen to him recounting all those things that he was probably just trying to forget.
"We didn't recognise Zuko until the day after Toph had rescued him when he finally washed. He hadn't given us a name, so he hadn't lied, but still… I didn't react well."
Katara huffed at his word choice and Sokka came to a halt again. He knew it was time to get specific. It was hard to admit it out loud, but it was harder still to admit it out loud in front of Zuko, the person he'd wronged. It was so much worse though on top of this to admit it in front of his father though, his rock, his idol. He'd wanted him to be proud of his son when they finally reunited.
Zuko was just as apprehensive, waiting for Sokka to start talking again, or the Chief to prod, to force Sokka to spill…
"Son, take your time… Remember what I told you." Hakoda's gaze was concerned, his brows knitted in concern.
Sokka knew he would always feel guilty if he didn't get this cleared up. His father would love him despite his wrongdoings. This wasn't the first time he'd done something bad. His father would try to find out why he'd done so. He'd make sure that his son would know a better line of action the next time. Dad would know how to rectify this situation. Sokka struggled to get the words out.
"I blamed him for not telling us who he was. I knew he couldn't have staged any of this, he was in too bad a shape, but I overreacted. He's been a threat to us for so long… I… accused him… I hit him… he didn't fight back."
The image of Zuko, defensively curled on the ground still haunted him, he threw Zuko another glance, but the boy just sat there, lips pressed into a scowl that Sokka had come to realise was probably just his way of keeping composure.
"Physically, Zuko posed no threat when he came to us, and he refused to firebend, even to start a fire. Honestly, sometimes in the very beginning, I hoped he'd run away and be out of our hair. But he didn't. He just did what we told him to… I didn't trust it, so I kept provoking him. Of course, at some point, he reacted, and I gave him a bloody nose for it."
The story trickled out of him with great struggle. He kept halting in his retelling, the words didn't come easy; his eyes flitted around without actually taking in what he saw as he described his version of events.
"He integrated into our camp like a quiet shadow, and I knew he was learning our routines, our everything. I was afraid of how much better he'd be able to track us with that information. I was afraid of missing the moment when he'd have regained enough strength to be a danger to us again. I demanded him to be locked up overnight, and under constant supervision by one of us during the day, doing chores. I gave him a lot of crap."
Zuko understood his worries, which had been one reason why he'd never fought Sokka's words. Sokka had been the only one, really, that had shown any much concern for security, and though it had mostly been directed at him, he did appreciate that someone was, in fact, worrying about it a tiny bit instead of just living into the day as naively trusting in luck as the Avatar. He couldn't really blame Sokka for taking the one obvious threat sitting right in front of him seriously. He knew he would've done the same had one of them been in his position.
00000
Toph had Aang in a blindfold and left him with orders to find his way to the area they had practised in the day before. Aang was still way too flighty though, and Toph hoped that he'd learn to connect and try to work with the ground he'd felt. Their procession was slow, and Aang, though he really tried to get the hang of it, was impatient, as fleeting as the winds from the sea. Toph was keeping an eye on Zuko via foot to keep herself entertained. And so it happened that she noticed that someone came to get him. She didn't grow worried until she realised that they were headed straight for the main tent.
"Well, your flightiness. I changed my mind. Let's practice sand bending back at camp."
Confused, Aang pulled the blindfold off and followed Toph as she stalked back. "What's going on?"
"Zuko has just entered the main tent. I'm gonna figure out who else is in there and what they want him for." Toph sharply replied.
Aang understood Toph's worry, though he genuinely believed that Chief Hakoda knew what he was doing. They all had realised that there just were some things that didn't bode well with Zuko, regardless of anyone's intentions.
Aang was surprised when Toph waltzed right past the main tent. He'd worried that he may have to stop her from entering, but she plopped down in the sand right behind it and told him to start forming sandballs. She, instead, squatted down right next to the fabric, one ear to the tent, and carefully listened to the voices inside.
She tensed when she heard Sokka's distinct voice, the hides were muffling things a bit, but as she listened on, and caught more words, she slowly realised what was going on. A grin crept up her face, but she kept listening quietly. Aang had planted himself next to her, listening just as intrigued, a half-formed sand ball squished in his hand, held together more by the water from the rain than any actual earthbending. Listening to Sokka owning up to his mistakes made him not only feel happy. Mostly, it made him feel relieved. Relieved that the situation was finally resolving itself. And that he would no longer have to bite his tongue around Sokka.
Aang had never expected to have to deal with a somewhat prisoner in their midst. Prisoners were an alien concept to him. Even after the time with the Gaang and travelling the world, his Air Nomad teachings kept confusing him on how to handle those who had done wrong. And he'd never been prepared for Sokka's emotional backlash that Zuko's presence brought. Whether that was because of Zuko specifically, or just by being a member of the Nation that had hurt all of them so much, it was never clear. Sometimes, those feelings even overcame Aang. Zuko had hurt them, him. He had been dangerous in the past. He was the son of the man that kept the war going and he had made clear, time and time again, where his loyalties lay. Aang was not immune to festering anger, however hard he tried to capture inner calm as Gyasto had taught him, though in such situations he certainly wished he was.
But Zuko had been hurt by the war too. It was obvious that he wasn't the same. Aang had been told to stay away, and it made sense not to get too close to the person who had tried to kidnap him, pretty much ever since he'd woken up from that iceberg. It had meant that Aang had been able to push the whole matter off to be handled by the others, for the most part. He had trusted Toph to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Trusted Katara to take care of the difficult talks with him. He'd bit down on calling Sokka out too much for his behaviour, trying to keep balance and peace within the group. Sokka had started to tone down his behaviour after the library, and things had been improving.
But he never had he thought Sokka would go as far as to risk another's life in such a callous way. Things had started to fall apart once more after that.
Of course, he'd known that Zuko wasn't safe wherever he went, but Aang liked to believe they provided him with some amount of protection, despite the risks of having targets on their backs as well. Their group was strong, and they'd managed to evade capture, more or less, so far.
Aang knew very well that by travelling with them, Zuko was in danger. Aang still wasn't quite sure if Zuko had stayed with them over the course of the last few weeks because he still felt like he was a prisoner and had no choice, or if he was staying because he didn't want to risk travelling alone to get captured by other people, again. He'd never considered that they themselves would be the danger, however.
When he'd heard that Sokka had turned him over to Wan Shi Tong, Aang had felt absolutely out of his depth in how to deal with him. Toph had taken the lead finally, telling Sokka to lay off, to stay away until he properly apologized to all of them. It hadn't made it any easier for Aang. They hadn't made Sokka leave, they hadn't even outright ignored him, they'd just made sure he didn't forget, a way of dealing with issues he found foreign.
It struck too close to what Aang knew to be one of the harshest punishments in his own culture, one that Sokka was too young for. This kind of treatment just hadn't been done in the Air Nomad society. Yeah, as a kid and teenager, you got disciplined, assigned chores, and sometimes meditation for silent reflection. Sometimes, that meant you couldn't participate in group activities as you may have wanted to, but they would support you, make sure you knew what you had done wrong and how to act in the future. They taught you that your actions had consequences. If you broke something, they'd teach you how to fix it, if you hurt someone, they'd help you understand what had been hurtful and why. Being cast out was something you didn't talk about. The unspoken ones were precisely that, never named or given air to invoke their memory again except in inhuman reflection. Sokka had teetered far too close to that edge with the group that Aang was scared for him.
Aang had lost count of how many times he'd just been about to blurt something out. Confront Sokka, and make sure that he knew that he understood that Sokka hadn't meant for Zuko to get into a situation where he was in mortal danger. But also that taking that risk, even accidentally, was akin to taking someone's life.
00000
"One time, we went hunting together. We were quite a bit away from camp and I somehow got stuck in a crack and couldn't free myself. I expected Zuko to flee then. I didn't believe him when he said he'd go get Toph. I was an asshole to him, even right after he actually returned with her. I made fun of him, I don't even know why, I think I was just really mad that he'd left me behind alone. I thought I was never going to get out of there."
Sokka broke off again, caught up in emotion. Zuko got it, he wouldn't want to talk about feeling stuck alone somewhere, either. Leaving just had really been the only way to help Sokka at the time. Zuko hadn't really minded Sokka's derisive comments either, Agni knew he'd come to that point too in his captivity. And Sokka's comments was easy to see through, the thinly veiled attempt to keep attention away from his insecurities. That sarcasm now being absent made quite a difference, he still wasn't quite ready for the next thing mentioned, though.
"Toph forced me to apologise. I think that was the first time I really looked at him. Still, for some reason, it ended in him apologising. But I was still wary of him, I knew he still considered us to be his enemies, and I guess he's right, at least in my case."
Zuko remembered those apologies, Sokka's being about as insincere as a forced apology could get and he had pretty much taken it back as soon as he'd got out by listing all that Zuko had done wrong and that he was unforgiven… that hurt more, and it had been that one time when Zuko had finally cracked, tried to explain himself. Sokka apologised again after that, but it hadn't made much difference in his behaviour following the second, more honest apology.
"So yeah, nothing really changed. I treated him the same, he tolerated it, and I guess that further enabled my behaviour. I didn't want to look more closely. I didn't want to listen to what he said in his apology. I still felt like he was trying to deceive us all and that no one was taking the danger seriously. I was okay with being the bad guy. I even enjoyed it in some ways."
Sokka looked down into his lap again, a lump in his throat. It was true. He was only just realising it, but this was what it was.
"And then, a week or so ago, we got lost in the desert… It was my fault. Zuko even set out to ask, cause he did see the risk of it happening, but I cut him off and yeah… I used to blame him for not having spoken up afterwards despite my snubbing, but I guess I got myself to blame for that as well. He just did what I told him to… though , why didn't you speak up?"
Sokka looked over to Zuko, who unwillingly met his eyes. He hadn't expected Sokka to be this open, this introspective on what he did, to actually admit to his faults. He also had expected Hakoda to be more involved in the talk. Maybe he was just waiting until Sokka was done to sentence him, but instead, he'd looked concerned and told Sokka to take his time. Zuko didn't get it. He dreaded the end of the talk. The worst hadn't even come yet. But Sokka had asked him a question; an uncomfortable one to answer. Why hadn't he spoken up? He'd known they were headed towards the desert. He'd known the risk, and by then, he'd gotten to know their travelling habits well enough.
"You said you navigate with the sun. I know how to do it, I'm just not very practised and I was under the impression that one should have unmoving ground, which is why we did not rely on it on the ship. But you do have experience, you've been travelling successfully like this ever since leaving the South Pole… I guess I just didn't want to acknowledge how much you relied on luck. And I did not factor in my presence in the group either."
Sokka looked at him strangely. "What do you mean? Are you saying that you consider yourself unlucky?"
"Yeah." Zuko said simply.
"Ugh, that's… how can you believe in luck?"
This was where Hakoda interfered. "Sokka," he quietly said. "It's good to see you seeking answers directly, but let us stay on topic."
Zuko had frozen, despite the gentle tone. He was still waiting for the bomb to drop. This hadn't yet turned into a rebuke, nor in punishment, just a reminder of what they were here for. Zuko wondered if Sokka's sidetracking was a result of unconsciously trying to put off talking about the worst.
"Uhm, sorry, right… So yeah, we got lost in the desert. We didn't have enough water, so we were looking for ways to get some. Zuko brought the most suggestions there, too, and I may have been a bit jealous. I kept being unfair to him. I didn't want him to have freedom of movement at night, even though we were lost, and he couldn't have gone anywhere. I wasn't even that worried about him stealing Appa, if he'd wanted to, he'd have done so ages ago. I guess it was the only thing I was worried about that I could actually control. I felt we were running out of time."
He ran out of words again too, he could feel the impatient gaze of his sister on him and didn't dare look towards her. Instead, he looked over to Zuko, who just kinda looked resigned, like he'd known.
"Memories of the time we travelled through the desert are kind of blurring together now, as the days blended into one in the dry heat. But eventually, we found a solitary tower in the middle of the desert. This solitary tower turned out to be the top of Wan Shi Tong's library. I commanded Zuko stay outside with Toph. We others went in and Wan Shi Tong suddenly appeared and demanded introductions, and as soon as he had names, he seemed to know every little thing about us. It was scary."
Sokka's mouth was dry as he was recalling the first meeting with the frightening spirit.
"Aang went Avatar mode and made Wan Shi Tong give us access. We all got sidetracked from looking for water. And to be honest, I was keeping an eye out for the Fire Nation section." Sokka cast a glance towards Zuko and saw him clenching his hands, in anger or nerves, he couldn't tell.
"I found it, but it was burned to pieces. No scroll was complete, there were only bits and scraps of paper."
"Get to the point." Zuko spat, expression angrily closed off and making Sokka flinch. He was hyper-aware that Zuko had just prevented him from accidentally spilling the beans towards him. It couldn't have been a coincidence. Zuko didn't want to hear, didn't want to know.
"Uhm…" but Zuko had also interrupted Sokka's word flow, and now he was a little lost. He looked around and quickly looked away as Katara raised an eyebrow, quite unsympathetic. "I uh. Wan Shi Tong found me. He claimed that I misused his library and the trust of my friends and that I would use the knowledge for evil purposes."
Zuko snorted at that, completely unamused. He threw a quick glance at Hakoda, but the man just sat there, giving nothing away.
"I ran away. He pursued, the ground was shaking, and he was knocking things over. I think I got as far as the dome, as the halls were faintly lit up with natural light, instead of those green glowy stones, but then I stumbled and fell. The bird cackled, it cackled as I couldn't get up and scrambled, it cackled as I realised that I couldn't get away, and its gaze, it was empty, all-consuming, like the dead middle of the ocean. It kept asking what I could offer to the library and when I replied 'nothing', it asked for a life. I knew right there that he was planning to kill me or take me to the Spirit World. I've been taken there before, I couldn't, not again. I didn't want to die. He was talking about adding me to his collection, for La's sake. I just wanted to get out."
Zuko didn't feel the tension in his body rising, he was now keeping his eyes trained on Hakoda, he didn't know what he would do once judgement was spoken, there was a reason he hadn't wanted to involve other people. What Sokka had done was a serious offence, would it force the Chief's hand, would he have to face his father like Zuko had had to face his own? He was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Sokka paused to collect himself. "I told him that I didn't want to die, that I didn't want to go to the Spirit World, but it was as if talking to a wall. A laughing one. I pleaded, I told him I'd do anything. I was that desperate. Wan Shi Tong stilled at that, he stared at me with a glint in his eyes, and suddenly his beak was right at my face. I thought I was done for, but it asked 'Anything?', those eyes stared unblinking, so demanding. 'A Life for a Life' it suggested, and I couldn't refuse…"
Zuko couldn't even blame the other boy, he'd been fearing death, or being taken to the Spirit World, which he'd apparently been taken before. Zuko could understand that fear, understand the actions that had come from it. He hadn't lied when he'd told Sokka he just didn't care, and that he just wanted to move on. Now he had to listen to how Sokka figuratively set flame to his own pyre. He really hoped that Chief Hakoda would show mercy to his own son.
"I didn't know he'd take Zuko. To be honest, I didn't think much at all at that moment. I was just trying to buy myself some time. It said 'So be it' and the next I remember, I was outside, held immobile by some Desert Nomad Fighters. Wan Shi Tong must have switched us out somehow, spirit magic. I sold Zuko out, but I didn't know what would happen, who he'd take, so that makes what I've done even worse. I risked everyone's lives."
Sokka hung his shoulders, exhausted. It was done, out in the open. Now his dad knew.
It was quiet for what felt like a long while, the silence stretching out like a taut bowstring. Sokka threw a glance at his dad, barely high enough to reach his eyes. The Chief's gaze lay thoughtful on him. Sokka shifted to Zuko, who was carefully keeping an eye on Hakoda, back rigid. Sokka was apprehensive, too, but how he felt seemed incomparable to how tense Zuko seemed.
Finally, Hakoda leaned forward and harrumphed. Zuko's gasp was audible, but no one paid it any heed as Hakoda took word:
"Alright, I don't need to tell you where you went wrong, you know what you have done, but I think it's time to man up. Own up to your mistakes and properly apologise to your group. Get what you need, then get Aang and Toph here." His tone snappish.
With one swift, dismissive, movement, Hakoda got on his feet and strode to the tent flap. Sokka took one look at that icy visage, and then quickly followed him outside, giving the inside of the tent barely a second of sunshine. Zuko got up as well, relieved that he hadn't needed to decide whether to jump in to stop a father from hurting his son. With haste, he escaped the stifling atmosphere of the tent. Now that the talk had come to an end, he desperately wanted to breathe some fresh air. Katara called him back much too soon in his eyes, even though she had gotten up as well, then they waited.
Sokka was back far sooner than expected, Aang and Toph in tow. Now, Zuko drew comfort from sensing the oil lamp that was providing them with light, the alternative to being outside in the breeze. Behind them, Hakoda ducked in again as well, herding the two kids to where Zuko and Katara were now standing.
Sokka moved in front of them, and Zuko uncomfortably observed as Sokka dropped to one knee and raised his hands as if to show himself being weaponless, defenceless.
He looked at each member of the group as if to acknowledge them. Toph demonstratively crossed her arms but stayed quiet.
"So, uh. Thank you all for coming. We are gathered here today to settle a matter of wrongdoing on my part. I, Sokka of the Water Tribe, son of Chief Hakoda of the Southern Tribe, Son of High Chief Tiguaak of the Southern Tribe have wronged you all as a group, especially Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation, son of Fire Lord Ozai, son of Fire Lord Azulon." he looked at him for a moment before moving on to Toph to address in the simplest words what had essentially led to this. It really wasn't any easier to admit to it the second time today.
"Lady Toph Bei Fong, daughter of Lord Lao Bei Fong, son of Lord Lun, you demanded an explanation for my actions: I acted in fear. There's no better way to sum it up than this. Within that fear, I risked everyone in this group getting hurt, and I'm sincerely sorry."
"Zuko" Sokka now addressed the other teen, a bitter taste in his mouth as he recalled him admitting that he owed Toph his life and Sokka's thoughts ran haywire, trying to compare their situations and his standing within it.
"You have been affected most by my actions. I traded your life and forced you to face something I was too afraid to face in my stead. There's no way to undo that." Sokka swallowed, Zuko hadn't chosen to save him, unlike Toph had with Zuko. And he remembered Zuko being willing to just call it over and done with and move on, with no expectations to make amends, or a will to seek reprisal from Sokka. Furthermore, now that Sokka was in this situation, he realised that he'd seen Zuko apologise not only once, but multiple times and it popped into his mind that Zuko seemed much more practised in it for some reason, despite being a Prince.
"I've also wronged you in other ways." Sokka raised his hands to his hair, loosening his hair tie with the beads on it, and started removing all but one from the leather band. There was no way to make right what he'd forced Zuko to do to save Sokka's life, but Sokka could at the very least address the points that Zuko had made when he'd confronted Sokka about it.
"I have wronged you by demanding you to be locked up and enforcing that confinement, even when you were too injured to flee and had nowhere to go. I acted in fear of memories from the past, and that was unfair to you. That is no excuse for the way I treated you. For that, I am sincerely sorry."
"Uhm, I'm not sure if your hair is long enough yet, nor if you are even willing to wear beads in your hair, but they are a symbol for, uhm… What I'm trying to say is, I'm acknowledging you as someone who is uh, not an outcast to our group."
Sokka held out the leather band with the single bead still on it, quietly urging Zuko to take it. Reluctantly, Zuko did. He also knew that the hair tie would probably start slipping out of the bit of hair he could pull together with his current length. It also rang a little too close to Fire Nation hairstyle symbolism, and his hair suited how he felt he was at this time. Instead, Zuko looked for a different spot to place it, wrists were out of question, he didn't want anything restrictive to touch the area of his scars.
As he checked himself over, he suddenly realised that he still was wearing his swords with the makeshift band that held the scabbard to his back. Quickly, he tied the hair tie there, making sure that the bead would be visible. Then he looked around to make sure he hadn't messed up the ritual. Sokka looked relieved through the strands of hair that now fell into his face and Hakoda shared a short nod when Zuko raised his eyes to him.
"Zuko, I have wronged you by both trying to force you to firebend and to keep you from bending as well. I realise that it is a part of you and that I tried to cut off that part of you." Sokka's voice was heavy and uncertain as he tried to describe what he guessed bending to be, but the tone regained some strength for the ritualised words that followed it: "For that, I am sincerely sorry."
Sokka now reached downward to his belt, pulling his hunting knife from its sheath, and Zuko worriedly watched it raise to his head. The Water Tribe boy grabbed a strand of hair that fell into his eyes, and severed it. Again, he held it out for Zuko to take.
Zuko swallowed. Sokka didn't need to explain this to him, and he seemed to know it. Yet, Zuko dreaded what was expected of him. He hated the smell of burnt hair. It brought back too many unhappy and unpleasant memories. But he understood what Sokka was doing, he was responding formally to Zuko's words that night, enabling them. Zuko grabbed the strand and set it on fire. Just get it over with… The hair immediately started shrivelling up, and the smell penetrated their surroundings. Zuko wanted to throw up, but choked down the urge and tried to hold back the tears that came as a physical response. Memories flashed in his mind's eye, and he carefully breathed in and out until the worst had passed.
He didn't check for their reaction this time, as he tried to keep his composure. He was pretty sure he hadn't messed up this part, anyway.
"Lastly, Zuko. I have denied you the right to protect yourself."
Zuko observed as Sokka removed his boomerang from his belt, he leaned forward on his knee and bent down to lay it on the ground in front of Zuko, hilt first. It was far enough to be out of Sokka's comfortable reach as he finally leaned back and straightened back into his half-kneeling position. Offering? Giving? His weapon?
"I've repeatedly put you in situations that made you vulnerable. You were hurt by me trying to show myself that you were out to get us when all you were trying was to survive and recover. And then, after I had done all of that, I forced you to fight a fight meant for me. For that, I am sincerely sorry."
Sokka swallowed, his dad was there, and Zuko wasn't really the bloodthirsty monster he'd believed him to be. He quietly waited for Zuko, who took a few awkward seconds to clue in, to take the weapon. He didn't look at him when he finally stood with the weapon in his hand and just spoke his final words of apology
"With these three offerings, I have expressed my sincere apology for everything I've done to you."
Zuko awkwardly stood in front of the still half-kneeling boy and stared at the unfamiliar weapon without a clue. This was Sokka's favourite weapon, and Zuko couldn't wield it, and Sokka had not wanted him touching it before. Why now? He got the message that this was Sokka allowing, encouraging him, to protect himself in the future, but Zuko already had his own weapon of choice, what was he supposed to do with this? He felt like he was missing something.
"Give it back." Katara finally urged in whispered tones.
That shook Zuko out of his reverie, and suddenly he felt like he couldn't give the weapon back fast enough to make a tactful retreat outside the tent.
Sokka hadn't moved, so Zuko finally called his name and held out the weapon hilt first for Sokka to take it back. The boy looked up in relief, the strand of freshly cut hair standing up awkwardly.
Zuko slightly bowed, then turned to go outside. He wanted out of the tent, away from the burnt hair smell. The others followed, Sokka being last.
Once outside, Hakoda called Zuko's name again, and to his bewilderment, laid a hand on his shoulder while leaning in and simply said "Thank you." The pressure on his shoulder was perhaps a tad stronger than typical.
Moving past him, Hakoda stopped a short way ahead of him, just before the opening of the tent, caught in his thoughts. Sokka had done well, owing up to all of that. That Zuko had accepted it as easily as he did also relieved him. But it worried him that his son would be willing to be so violent against an enemy. He needed guidance to govern. Although their people weren't strictly a monarchy, it was likely that Sokka would govern after him.
Hakoda knew he couldn't teach his son; their fights in this war were too different, and hoped that his son could learn true stewardship. He shook his head, as he walked out the tent into the light. With a strong voice, he intoned to the men of the Tribe: "Zuko, of the Fire Nation, has accepted the apology of Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe. The crimes Sokka has committed against him have been laid bare, and Zuko has acknowledged these trespasses against his person. Now, to business…"
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A/N 24.10.2022:
Ystävä: Hypothermia can occur in warmer climates, and being out in rain and wind without cover can cool you down to the point it becomes dangerous, and you don't have to be half starved to death for it to happen. Zuko is a firebender, yeah, but that doesn't mean he is immune, otherwise the coolers in canon wouldn't be so feared. (not that Zuko cares when he is on a mission.)
Other things that contribute and put you at risk are: lack of sleep (major in Zuko's case here), dehydration, and constant stress.
Furthermore, Zuko has just survived the desert and while there he's battled Sandbenders as well as a Spirit, and after that a Spirit Sickness. And now he's been under constant scrutiny and even more hypervigilant than before.
Thank you everyone for reading and looking forward to hearing your thoughts, take care :)
ML8991: So more things in this chapter heh. With this apology, done in the formal manner of the tribe, Sokka has managed to assuage his guilt to Toph and Zuko. Time will tell if this is enough, but it is a significant step, especially for Sokka. I think this is the time for Sokka to begin to become the character we love in canon, a goofy, smart, tactician.
The ritual side of this was important in my view, and was a difficult one to tie together, but I hope it works. Having personal sacrifice tied to his actions I think allows for symbolism to be introduced, and so it becomes not just a physical but a spiritual apology, cleansing Sokka of, if not the consequences he has done, but of the actions at least. Further, Zuko has already moved past the actions, likely as he has been through worse, so he just wants to leave it done, so Sokka and Zuko are on a neutral slate now, so I hope we get to show you how their friendship can grow in clean soil :). Looking forward to seeing you on the next one, ML.