A/N: Hey guys ML8991 here, sorry for the delay, we've been twiddling this chapter to try and get it just right, and with so much that goes on in this chapter, we hope you can understand why. Enjoy the piece, and here's ystv with more, take it away. Ystävä here, alright so after working closely together with ML8991 in these past chapters, we decided to officially call him the co-author of this, not only beta, he's doing an awesome job in supporting me! So thank you very much for that!
Chapter 5 Bridges and Walls
The sun had already risen somewhat when Katara returned from the world of dreaming. Not to mention, she hadn't rested easy. Zuko's presence definitely made her nervous, even though the more reasonable part of her said that he was harmless right now. Somehow her instincts didn't match up with that, even though Zuko hadn't shown any violence to them since Toph brought him from the town. Therefore she was quick to get up and go check on their prisoner. He definitely was their prisoner now, his identity had chased away any doubts about that.
The Prince was still curled up between Appa's legs, it didn't look like he had moved much during the night. Nor did he look anywhere near awake, being still without so much as a murmur… Shrugging, trying to ignore her enemy sleeping mere feet away, she went on with the typical mundane morning routine after throwing a glance to Aang meditating a few meters away. The tiny bit of normalcy gave her a bit of security in such unusual circumstances.
Gathering a bit more additional firewood, since they had used up more than expected yesterday, Katara set about trying to get a fire started for washing. Water quickly went into the kettle. She remembered that there were still Zuko's clothes to be washed and thought that she might as well do it now, since she had to wait for the water to warm anyway. Quickly, she took the small, tatty pile of dirty clothes and took them down to the lakeshore. Whilst scrubbing the clothes, she thought about how the spare clothes of Sokka's he currently wore, would need to be washed again now too. She knew that some of his wounds still weeped and such, making the loose clothes he had worn grimey and unhygienic, and also unpleasant to wear for more than a day. Once more, Katara wished the group had bandages. Really, she should try and get all his wounds closed at least, then she wouldn't have to worry about these things anymore. She swished the clothes through the water, a smile tugging at her lips at her calling upon her abilities. Washing as a waterbender was, thankfully, an easy feat and she was quickly done.
Returning with the clean and dry pile, she noticed another person sitting, huddled, by the fire. It was Zuko. Great, gone were her peaceful morning hours, she mentally groaned. Why was he up already anyway? He'd looked rather asleep earlier. Eyes closed and huddled as he sat, he looked very unlike the Zuko she'd known. His meagre blanket was wrapped tightly around his shoulders as if he was cold. He was turned towards the fire. Apparently he'd heard her approach, since he looked up, eyes wide and even though he didn't move, she had the feeling he was drawing back into who knows where somehow.
Looking over at her sleeping brother, and with Toph still out cold as well, she decided she might as well take care of Zuko's wounds right now, breakfast could wait. Aang would only come over for food once she went to wake the others anyway, so there was no rush and it would be something else off her ever growing list of things to do. Zuko had returned his gaze to the fire and she stared at his sunken cheeks and hollow gaze. He really didn't look like himself, he looked plain unhealthy.
"Zuko," she called, "Is it ok if I heal you now? I'll give you your clothes back after I finished with closing the last few open wounds. Please don't run away this time." she finished lamely.
Zuko was shivering again, but much to her surprise, started removing Sokka's shirt so she'd have access to his back. She saw the infected areas clearly, amongst other, older scars that couldn't be explained by his recent ordeal, ones that she knew she wouldn't be able to heal. Quickly, she called upon her water. She held it to his back, not really taking into account that it must be freezing for him still as it had just come from down the lake. He flinched, but other than that, he didn't react, she was disturbed to note.
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She didn't waste any words on describing the process this time, she had explained it last time after all, and coupled with her not truly being a morning person, Katara didn't feel like talking much anyway… even less so now that she knew who she was healing.
Starting to draw out the infection, she let her thoughts drift. She was by no means absent-minded, she was as focused on healing as much as necessary, but that didn't keep her from going on a mental excursion, healing was tedious but rewarding work.
Where were all the wounds she'd need to close? His wrists were done, she'd seen to that yesterday, she'd need to check the rest of his arms though. There were some infected scratches on his chest as well, if she remembered right. The bruising on his belly was superficial and could wait. His feet would need attention though, as would his ankles and knees. Way too much to do in one session, she thought defeatedly.
Her thoughts wandered to the less urgent wounds, quickly going back to the peculiar injuries she had found. She looked around, all were still either asleep or meditating a distance away… in a way they were alone. She would ask about those now, she decided, and with a quiet voice so no one would overhear.
"Eehm, yesterday when I examined you…. I uh… found something I wanted to ask you about." Zuko didn't reply, but she knew he had heard her since he'd tensed up when she started. Hesitantly, she continued.
"Uh… your… ehm how should I say.. behind… er, your intestine track… injuries inside…" She felt Zuko freeze in understanding what she was asking. "... how?"
The silence around him grew heavy and stretched. Was he lost in thought again? She had asked him a question. Waiting still, she moved to the next welt on his back, feeling him flinch again. "I asked you a question?!"
Still nothing…
"Zuko?"
Slowly, she felt him break free of the frozen state he seemed to be in and twist around to look at her. He didn't dislodge her healing, he just turned enough so she caught the look in his eyes. He looked away quickly, but she had seen the uncertainty, the not quite fear, but something equally strong. And she realized: He wouldn't reply. She felt him withdraw, quite literally, even though he'd only moved back to facing the fire in front of him.
She didn't understand, but couldn't bring herself to prod further, it had been clear that he knew what she asked about, despite her awkward wording. He seemed oddly frail at that very moment, nothing like the brash and bold boy she'd fought only weeks ago at the North Pole. She focused back on healing, suddenly taking note that there was a weird tingling in her fingers, one which she had missed before, that seemed to emanate from Zuko.
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He wanted to leave, only her warning kept him in place. He felt himself shaking. The healing hurt some, though he could feel that it was making him better. Her invasive question had shaken him and he refused to acknowledge anything related to it. He focused on the pain, the slow push and pull he felt from her bending. It was unpleasant, but it served as a good distraction. He then focused on inside, feeling for the fire, feeling it resonate with the flames in front of him. He was grateful it was there… The little flame within him was already growing stronger. Growing steadier. He let the fire's presence feed it, rekindle the inner flame, caressing it, guiding it. It felt freeing.
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She surveyed his shoulders, they looked much better already, but they were still an angry red. They were peeling, and really needed some more healing in order to calm down the irritated, and in some places burned, skin. She had healed most of the blistering on his back already, his upper back had been the worst along with his shoulders. After finishing with that area, Katara moved to his face.
"I'm done with your back. Please turn around."
He seemed to snap back to reality as she released the dirty water, throwing it away. She pulled out a fresh water globe, realizing she'd need to get more to close all of his wounds. She stared at his frail looking chest, he really was too thin, bones sticking out at all the wrong places. Observantly, she went to heal those open scratches. It looked like someone had drawn blood with their nails. She could feel his breathing, actually she could feel his heart beating, too. Rather fast in fact. She looked at his face, but he didn't return the gaze. He actively kept looking away.
Upon closer inspection, it was apparent his lips were dry and split in multiple places in a way that didn't look healthy at all. It looked rather ugly and surely must hurt to move them, the few times that he had spoken to them, that is.
"I'm going to heal your lip. It looks very painful. Don't dare bite me!" Zuko looked up, clearly confused when she raised the glowing hand up to his lips. "Relax, don't press your lips together."
At least this awkward part was done quickly.
"I need to refill my waterskin. Your knees and feet are next, so please be ready when I get back."
Zuko tiredly tried to get up and moaned in agony when his legs disobeyed him and pain shot through his body. Though he'd grown accustomed to his limbs falling asleep, it didn't ever make the experience a pleasant one. He stretched his legs and then started to roll up his pant legs, carefully peeling the fabric off some wounds it had stuck to. He winced slightly at the process, revealing openly festering wounds.
He hated healing, he decided. At least she seemed to not like touching him either, and her routined movements brought some calm into the matter. He heard her come back and draw in a shocked breath when she saw his legs. Yeah, they weren't pretty... he knew. He just hoped it would be over soon.
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She hadn't expected it to look quite this bad, suddenly she was glad to only have looked at his wrists at night where she felt, rather than saw, the wound and its healing. Both his knees were torn open and bloody, she'd felt that it was bad already when she had scanned him, but it looked even worse in the flesh. The ankles were chafed raw, though not quite as bad as his wrists had been, and well his feet… He'd been standing on them barefoot in an unforgiving environment, that was sure. She had no clue how he could walk on them... she had felt multiple splinters and such. Maybe he was just lucky that they hadn't hit a nerve. Only when she took one foot into her lap, ignoring his quiet hissing when she made him stretch his leg, she finally saw the thick layer of calluses he had on his soles. They had clearly been there before the fiasco on the market square.
She still drew out the splinters, even though knitting the skin back together on his ankles and knees had left her exhausted. At least now it was done. None of the wounds should be causing infections to worry about. She sighed and got up… time to move on with the day…
"Here are your clothes… go change somewhere I can't see."
As he quietly got up and left, she started preparing food for breakfast.
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He returned with firewood in his arms. Not a whole lot, but the gesture surprised her. She hadn't expected him to do anything to help them, to her it would have been more likely for him to run off, now that they knew who he was. Well, she wouldn't say no to a bit more firewood, she had other things to worry about. Namely, waking up the two lazy bones. Food would be done in a few minutes, so they better be up by then. Zuko had settled down next to the fire again, she noticed as she called out:
"Sokka, Toph, time to get up!"
Toph moved, Sokka didn't. Quickly, she went over to shake him awake. Toph was already sitting up, which Katara had hoped to be the case, as they really had gotten to sleep in today. It was a funny sight, Toph's hair was in a phenomenal state of disarray.
"So-kka" She grabbed his shoulders to gently shake him, he however simply turned away, always the same with him.
"How about a quick morning shower Sokka, you up for it?" She asked sweetly.
"Sleeping, maybe later sis." The slurred way spoke volumes on how awake he actually was.
"Fine, I didn't say you'd have to be up, that part was your choice." She let the icy cold water she'd been holding drop into Sokka's unexpecting face. The reaction was rather immediate.
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A few minutes later, they all were sitting around the fire, and Sokka, water steadily dripping off his face, was in a rather sour mood. Unfortunately for Zuko, he appeared to be Sokka's target to let off some steam.
Katara had been filling the bowls and handing them out when Sokka made his move.
"Thank you Katara!" Aang said enthusiastically, and the others agreed, murmuring. Frowning, Katara realized that this had included their newest addition to the group.
"So…" Sokka opened his mouth in a mocking tone. "How is His Royal Highness feeling today?"
Zuko merely looked up, unwilling to participate in this conversation, before focussing back on his meal. This had not been the kind of response Sokka had expected.
"Hey, I asked a question! You think you're too important to answer me? That's so silly. It makes me laugh… Seriously, think about it… You were just hanging there, left there, they didn't treat your wounds… You weren't even guarded. That's how important you were. Really, it's hilarious."
Zuko looked up again, but he averted his gaze quickly when their eyes met.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
"Sokka, knock it off and leave him be." Toph's voice carried her annoyance well enough. Aang agreed quietly.
"What? He could at least say something. But no, he has to act all high and mighty and ignore me!"
"And what should he say? You're looking for a fight.. do it with someone who will actually fight back!"
"So now you're on his side? You have no clue how he treated us, Toph."
"And now you want payback? Then Sokka, you are no better than you think he was, so shut up!" Toph said, her words brokering no argument.
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Katara observed how Zuko drifted off to sleep as soon as they had taken off into the air. She decided that this might indeed be a good time to get some more rest herself, the healing process had exhausted her too, after all.
At noon she felt rested once again… Zuko did not seem to be. He was easy to wake up, actually he pretty much startled awake as soon as someone touched him. He didn't appear to be overly aware of the happenings around him though. She decided now would be a good time for lunch, so she gave out the rations so they would not need to land.
"Hey Jerkface, hand me the meat, would you?!" Well, there came Sokka. Peaceful time - goodbye…
Katara was surprised, when Zuko actually straightened up to grab the meat package and handed it to Sokka without a word. Sokka seemed surprised, too. Katara realized belatedly, he had not made any eye contact throughout the whole meal.
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Zuko heard Toph approach, he once again lay curled in his corner while they were flying. He only unfurled though, when he felt her sink down next to him.
"What do you want?" There was no use pretending to be asleep, this girl knew better, he could tell.
"Zuko, right?"
Zuko merly mumbled in confirmation, not really feeling up for this.
"How are you holding up?"
"Leave me alone"
Toph chuckled lightly at that, then said: "I hate flying, makes me really feel blind, you know."
"So what?" This conversation was irritating, Zuko decided.
"So I am bored out of my mind."
He groaned. "I'm not entertaining you!"
"Yes you are! Very much so."
"Leave me alone." He turned to face away from her.
"Your range of vocabulary always astonishes me, Sparky"
He didn't reply to that. They were both quiet for a while, the silence surprisingly companionable for Zuko, he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. These times always passed too quickly anyway. He stared down onto the landscape below.
"What do you see?"
"Earth."
"Oh come on Sparky, you're being no fun."
"No" Zuko turned back to face the middle of the saddle, feeling the cool breeze brush over him. He tugged his blanket tighter. Toph was calmly sitting next to him. It was a whole while until she spoke again.
"Hey Sparky… they told me you've got a scar, may I 'see' it?"
"No!" he shuddered out defensively. Toph didn't press to try figure out why, she simply stayed next to him, saying nothing more at the moment.
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They landed sometime late in the afternoon in order to set up camp whilst there was still light. They had landed in a valley surrounded by high, rocky, cliffs. There was a waterfall and a pool, which would be handy for bathing and washing, and there was lots of plant life around it… a bit further though, the plant life didn't seem to rely on the pool for water, looking well adjusted to the rather dry conditions of the rest of the area. Katara was surprised, she had never seen plant life survive without water. Toph lay in the dirt the moment she got off Appa, looking like she was embracing it. Zuko just stood there, looking kind of lost, observing the others as they set up camp. He had discarded the blanket momentarily, probably taking in the natural warmth the sunlight provided. He seemed more awake now, Katara observed on the sidelines while she was busy unpacking. She didn't notice when Zuko walked away.
"Hey, where's Zuko?" Sokka's voice carried over as he rounded the corner, firewood in his arms.
"Ah, he's taking a leak over there somewhere." Toph called over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on him." Katara quickly came to when she realized with a start that Zuko wasn't where she had seen him, she hadn't even heard him go away, dang he was quiet. Oh well, least Toph knew where he was. She started up the fire with Sokka's wood while Sokka went off once more to see if he could catch something to eat.
When someone dropped an arm full of branches next to her, she expected that Aang had returned with his share of firewood and was therefore quite startled to find Zuko there. He really was light on his feet, much like Aang, she again hadn't heard him come at all, it was a little unnerving to think that the Prince could seemingly appear from nowhere.
"Oh… thank you" she said, before standing up to head to the pool.
"You're welcome." He quickly stepped away, his form moving into the evenings growing shadows.
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When Katara returned with some water for cooking, Zuko had returned to sit by the fire, poking at it with a spare stick. Toph was there too, having finished her share of the camp duties for the moment. Zuko's eyes tracked her movements as she set up the tripod and hung the pot between. He had stopped his probing, but he still held the stick loosely. As she watched, she saw the embers at the end of the stick pulsate slowly. Observing him closer, she noticed the rhythm was matching his breathing.
So he was bending it. She was surprised at the subtlety, the care he showed while doing it. Thinking about it, he had probably also been bending the fire before, apparently without any of them noticing it. It surprised her… She'd only seen him do flashy moves before the North Pole, using his bending to attack them, never for this. She realized that they never had told him anything as to what to do or not… Sokka would probably not like the idea of him bending, and while she wasn't fond of it either, she could see that he clearly suspected them not to allow him to bend, searching for a way to sneak it by. And he was doing a really good job at it too, he was actively trying not to antagonize them. Not knowing what to do with that information, she continued her work, cutting the vegetables into small pieces and adding them to the pot's contents.
Aang returned, bringing some more wood. Sokka took longer, but he had apparently managed to catch a rabbit which he proudly presented to Katara. Sokka skinned it and prepared the meat, then handed it over… She thanked him as she put it into the stew after putting a vegetarian portion for Aang aside.
Sokka stepped a couple of meters away to practice with his boomerang after that. Katara took note how Zuko's eyes seemed to track him as he left to train. She'd never expected Zuko to be this quiet… She realized he'd barely said anything the whole day. The only real conversation had happened when Toph had gone to bother him.
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Zuko observed the Water Tribe boy as he repeatedly threw and caught his weapon, unconsciously imagining how he'd have to move in order to recreate the technique. He never had had the chance to observe so thoroughly how these kids fought, and in any case, it would be good to study it while he could. Though he didn't see the tribesman as much of a threat skillswise, he knew the tool was a formidable weapon, and Sokka was a master at wielding it, he mused, as his head throbbed in the ghost of memory.
"Hey Aang, let's start your earthbending lessons tomorrow morning, it seems here is a good place to start, don't you think?"
"That would be great. And we can easily practice waterbending here, too. Katara, wanna train a bit tonight?"
"Sure, that's a good idea. Let's practice the octopus stance!"
"Sounds good to me!" Aang said with surprising enthusiasm. Zuko turned back to watch Sokka, when the conversation merged into less interesting subjects. The boy had stopped throwing his boomerang and now seemed to go through some fighting stances… Zuko wondered where he'd seen the moves before… Sokka had clearly learned them well, but without a teacher to correct him, he could see how the stance easily deteriorated and became faulty. He could already see it happening. He surely would always be better than he'd been when Zuko had first met him… but it was clear that he'd have a hard time to get better the way he was training now…
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As Katara and Aang returned from their successful training, they could hear voices carrying on the wind.
"Hey Jerkface, so how'd you end up there?" Sokka asked. Katara and Aang soon found out that the rest of the group were sitting around the campfire, and Sokka was wandering around Zuko, as if to try and suss him out. Zuko didn't reply… he was staring into the fire, appearing calm. Sokka took another step forward. "Earthbenders caught you? Your fire not strong enough to keep them off?"
"Sokka, stop it." Toph said from her corner leaning over into Zuko's space. Sokka ignored her.
Katara stepped closer, Aang quickly following. Sokka hadn't noticed them yet…
"I asked you a question!"
Zuko kept on intently staring into the fire, ignoring Sokka. Katara could now see his eyes, the typical soft gold had hardened into something cold and harsh, shut off from both world and body.
"Also, why didn't you firebend when I asked you to, yesterday?"
Toph grabbed Zuko's arm, feeling him itch to jump up.
"No fire today either? Did you lose it or something?"
By now Zuko was visibly shaking despite Toph's best efforts to calm him. Sokka continued on regardless, seemingly unaware of what he was about to unleash.
Katara held Aang back, just as he was about to rush in… She shook her head. They could almost hear the tension crackling in the air and she was surprised the firepit still seemed untouched by Zuko… it looked completely normal, too normal...
"You're right, I wouldn't want you to go around shooting fire even if you could. Your nation are all murderers. It cost me Yue, it cost me my mom. It caused my dad to go away to fight in the war, leaving me and Katara to lead a tribe of what, thirty women? Because your nation decimated us, we had nothing. All they had to defend them was me." Sokka, by this point, was shouting, ignoring the exiled Prince until it was too late.
"You want to see fire? I'll give you fire!" roared Zuko, his voice rising in volume as he pushed himself off the ground. The firepit soared with him, raising a good twenty feet into the air, and for one second, it seemed his tactic had worked, Sokka's mouth stopped working as he gazed in fear, until blue turned as cold as ice and his hands closed on the taller boy's tunic in a vice-like grip.
Katara and the others stared wide eyed as the boy in Sokka's grip grew rigid, and then limp, all fire gone out in him like someone had doused him with cold water and cut his joints one by one.
They were suddenly cast into darkness as the fire died with him. Zuko had been thrown to the ground. He didn't try getting up, just laid there unmoving, flaccid, passive. Sokka moved, taut, aggressive. He quickly landed a decisive kick to the fallen boy's unprotected gut, making Zuko groan in pain.
"Sokka stop it!"
Katara was yelling, too, but Sokka didn't stop. He lifted his foot, and placed it heavily on Zuko's shoulder, pressing him down until he wasn't lying on his side anymore, but on his back, breathing harshly against the pressure applied to his chest and shoulder.
Sokka kneeled down, whispering in the Prince's ear: "Not so tough now, are you, Jerkbender?" Having pinned the taller, yet defenceless, teen under his knees now, he raised another fist, and brought it down hard, into Zuko's face, connecting squarely with his nose.
Instantly, blood marred the Prince's face, providing Sokka a grim sense of satisfaction. He had no time to reach up and land another blow however, because water snaked around him, pulling him away. Sokka screamed in rage to which Katara responded with dropping water over him, she looked furious.
"Sokka, just what was that?" Katara yelled, staring at her brother less than pleased.
"Katara, calm down, yeah just calm down… Let's discuss…" Sokka gulped as he saw how mad Katara was, the icy flint of his eyes moving to hers.
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Toph rushed to Zuko's side as soon as she had somewhat recovered from the shock, desperately trying to make sense of what had just transpired. Zuko had returned to lying on his side, curled inwards. He was retching roughly through the mouth, but nothing came out. Toph could sense liquid drop onto the earth, around where she figured was below his face. Drops left a distinct shape in the dust.
"Sparky?" Zuko didn't move…. She felt Aang gently land next to her.
"Zuko, are you okay?" He gently asked, skirting around the edge, almost hovering.
Zuko's heart was beating rapidly and Toph wondered if the liquid that kept dripping down were tears or blood. Whatever it was, it was falling quickly. The smell of salt and metal was in the air.
"Hey Twinkle Toes, think you can clean up Sparky, he don't feel so good?" Toph said, her voice wavering, clearly worried.
"Well, I can try? What do you think is wrong with him?"
"Aside from acting really weird? I think Sokka hit him in the face, I'm not sure, but he might be bleeding bad, lot of stuff on the floor… hard to get a fix on it Twinkles."
Aang leaned forward, trying to get a better look at Zuko's face. The moon didn't provide all too much light however and Zuko had drawn his hands close to his face, almost as if he were trying to hide. Still hesitating, Aang reached out, pulling back just as quickly, when Zuko's violently flinched away. The boy moved to curl up even more, closing himself up completely.
"He doesn't want me to see!"
"You barely tried. and your touch is really light sometimes… it's tickles."
"Toph, I don't think that is the issue. I think he's scared."
"Well, we can't just do nothing!"
Aang shifted next to her uncomfortably, but then decisively reached forward again.
"Alright, I'll try…. Zuko, Can you hear me? Are you bleeding?"
Still no response.
"Zuko, I need to check your face."
His fingers touched Zuko's wrists gently, trying to pull them down carefully, ignoring another wince. Zuko tensed, and his breathing quickened, and he certainly didn't let his hands be pulled down, but stubbornly tried to hold them where they were. Aang abruptly let go.
"It looks dark, I think it is blood." Aang whispered, aghast at the gore. Toph perked her ears, hearing whispers from the boy laying on the ground before them. Then Zuko coughed once again, before returning to breathing harshly through his mouth a moment later.
"Sparky?" Toph grabbed his shoulder gingerly, ignoring Aang who was apparently searching for something. A moment later, he returned and grabbed Zuko's hand again, pressing a piece of cloth into the Prince's slack fingers, leading them back to the source of bleeding. He tried to get Zuko to press it against his face, but failed as Zuko squirmed, groaning in protest at the invasive action. Toph felt his heart rate spike again.
"Twinkle toes, this isn't working, I think he is panicking, his breathing's all off, we need to get Katara over here."
Aang knew it was bad when Toph called Katara by name, so he rushed over.
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"... clearly not trustworthy. He bent the fire in my face."
"I don't care… just look at him. He's…"
Aang's reluctant nature had not had much effect to stop the argument from continuing.
"Katara, could you come over, please?" Toph's voice carried over, causing the siblings to still. Katara took a moment to collect herself, Toph had called her by name? What had happened, for Toph to be this distressed? She got up, ignoring her brother's protests for the moment, and knelt down next to Toph, finally taking in the scene in front of her properly.
Zuko's condition still hadn't changed from when Sokka had left him on the floor, she noted. For all of Toph's and Aang's limited efforts, he was still in a bad state.
"Oh…" Katara threw a look over her shoulder, shouting at her brother: "Sokka, get the fire going, now!" Then she started to speak in a calm voice, to try and calm her clearly distressed patient…
She kept up the calm chatter, only taking him in with her eyes. She remembered the last time she had tried to touch him when he was like this, and knew therefore that it wouldn't help. She saw blood smeared across his face and hands. What she saw of his nose didn't look all too pretty, either. More time passed and Zuko finally started to calm.
By the time Zuko finally opened his eyes, Sokka had managed to get another fire going which cast a deceptively gentle light onto the clearing. Katara waited another moment before restarting to speak.
"Zuko? I need to take a look at your nose, will you let me?"
He stared at her distrustfully, golden eyes looking more feral than human, then he closed his eyes momentarily, tired, defeated. Katara gently held out her hand, carefully lifting his chin, turning it to see the nose from different angles. At least it didn't look broken.
"Zuko, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect my brother to do this. I'll heal it now, is that alright?" She one-handedly uncorked her waterskin, and drew out the amount needed for healing. Zuko held still. Very still. Eyes wide open. But he didn't panic again as he haltingly made one, stiff, nod. She quickly went to work and lowered both her hands as soon as she was done.
The others had watched the whole process and now slowly scrambled to their feet. "Come, let's go back." She didn't present her hand, as she knew he wouldn't take it anyway.
"...No… I think I'll go to sleep." he murmured. "Thank you" he continued, a small, hesitant smile on his face, before he winced as he pushed himself up and turned away from the group, obviously needing time alone.
"Maybe you could take a walk… if you're up to it?" She quietly called out after him. He briefly turned around, lowering his head slightly in resignation before changing course and disappearing behind some rocks a moment later.
Soon, the rest of the group had gathered around the campfire again.
"So, Sokka, how do you explain beating up a guy who didn't even fight against it?" Toph asked rather coldly.
"Says the one who just stood on the sidelines… why didn't you stop me then?" Sokka sneered, his voice a farce, as Toph felt his heartbeat going a mile a minute.
"I did, I told you to stop, anyhow how could I know he'd just freeze up. I thought he'd at least sidestep you!"
"So what!?"
"Hey Folks, let's focus. Sokka, could you explain how we ended up with this?" Katara asked.
"Well, Snoozles provoked Zuko until he exploded… giving Snoozles reason to beat him up… and that's pretty much it." Toph interjected before Sokka could say anything.
"I didn't. I simply asked him some questions."
"...'you're right, I wouldn't want you shooting fire even if you could'..." Toph imitated the phrase in a childish voice. "...that sound like a question to anyone?"
"I didn't say it like that!" Sokka shouted angrily.
"Yeh, you did... you mocked him."
"People, could we keep this peaceful?" Aang asked, but was more or less ignored.
"I don't trust him… and I had to check if he really couldn't firebend right now."
"That doesn't mean you had to make him explode to find that out! If you would have just observed a bit more closely, you might have even witnessed him do it." Katara finally responded, snapping crossly.
"Yeah Snoozles… not so perceptive, are you?!"
"Well sorry for being concerned… of course you wouldn't understand Toph… you've never been hunted by Zuko!"
"Keep it down… both of you!" Katara said, annoyed, her anger deflating. "...So, Toph, are you actually saying that Zuko didn't do anything until he exploded? I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe. Sokka wouldn't just prod and poke without reason."
"Maybe the reason was in Sokka's mind… not in Zuko's actions? And yes, that is exactly what I'm saying… all Zuko did was sit there, staring into the fire… trying to not rise to the bait, I might add."
Katara didn't reply, considering Toph's words. Everyone was quiet for a moment.
"So, what now?" Aang finally asked. The question didn't help to lift the somewhat stifling atmosphere. It took a while for anyone to reply.
"I don't trust him. I mean, right now he is who knows where, and can come and go as he pleases, even at night. How are we supposed to sleep like that." Sokka whined.
"Actually. He is just over there… sitting in the stream…" Toph outlined, pointing vaguely behind her. "And Snoozles, you can sleep under any circumstances, you're not fooling anyone."
"Hey, I resent that remark. But Katara, you must see that he isn't safe. That fire… whatever you call it, was out of control. We need to control him, if only until we can find a better solution." Sokka pleaded.
Katara stayed silent, but Aang spoke up "Exactly Sokka, Master Jeong Jeong said as such, fire will spread and destroy everything in its path, if one doesn't have the will to control it. If we can contain Zuko, we can contain the fire, and no one can get hurt." he concluded proudly.
Katara sighed, unsure. "If you say so." She felt conflicted, Zuko hadn't shown them any ill intent whilst in their care, yet fire had damaged so much of her life, she didn't know what to go with.
Toph almost pulled her hair out in frustration. "How can you guys not see he isn't a threat?! He won't harm you if you don't prod him Snoozles. He's like a viper-bat with no venom, keep poking at it and it is bound to snap back, but leave it be and it will leave you to yourself also."
Sokka cut in sharply: "But we need to contain him, Toph. Perhaps you could make him..." he paused, trying to find the right words, without making the others start up again "a… shelter, like what you have," he ended sheepishly.
If blind looks could kill, Sokka would be up to his neck in earth. But like rocks tumbling down a cliffside, the hostile glare receded, the waves of Toph's anger disappearing into the lake of noble indifference, thankfully diffusing the situation for now.
With that resolved, the Gaang all headed towards their respective beds, except Toph, who sat waiting for Zuko to return. No one questioned it, they were too worn out from the confrontation. Some time passed and Toph wondered if Zuko was ever going to come back, but just as her eyes were drooping, the Prince returned. His clothes were dripping wet, drops leaving a distinct shape in the dust.
"Took you long enough Sparky!" she yawned out.
"Sorry… I… needed some time to myself." Zuko started, looking anywhere but at her. He seemed cautious, his feet twitching like he was about to take flight, as if he thought he'd say something that might set her off, like Sokka before.
"Oh hush it Sparks, Snoozles had it coming, someone needed to tell him what's what. If it's any consolation, the rest of the group gave him a good telling off." Toph replied, a touch of her fiery snark burning through her weary state.
"Oh, before I forget, this is yours now," she remarked as she tiredly shoved up a loose shelter for Zuko.
"Th...Thanks Toph," he murmured, while gathering up his stuff from beside Appa before he stooped into his new shelter. As he lay down to sleep, he could hear Toph murmur something. He wanted to ask her what, but she was already retreating towards her own tent.
00000
"You're welcome, Sparky. You know,... for a Fire Prince, he ain't half bad."
A/N 21/02/21:
ML: Hey everyone, new and old, welcome to the (revised) chapter 5. Definitely good to come back to this, though thankfully it didn't need too much twiddling. Here is where we started to break down the typical threads, i.e. Katara hating on Zuko. Zuko here hasn't betrayed Katara in the same way as when most people pick up the narrative of the Gaang meeting Zuko, so it is refreshing to write Sokka, the protective pseudo tribal chief trying to protect his tribe. Unfortunately, he moves to aggression, rather than diplomacy. I felt that this is a welcome flip to the typical interactions to the way that Zuko would typically be the aggressor prior to this point in show canon. Otherwise, we begin to see the growing shades of grey for Katara. She may be angry at Zuko for what he is, but she is starting to see the human underneath, which gives us a lot to play around with. Toph/Zuko too are always fun to write, though at this point Zuko isn't much of a talker. And then Aang. Bless the poor lad, he tries to help, but he is just too innocent for the world currently, I hope that you will see him begin to evolve as we progress through the story. Next up, some important notes of the challenge the group faces having Zuko in camp, and the beginnings of understandings are made.
Ystävä: Hi from my side also. Yeah, this was definitely an interesting chapter to come back to, as it was the first chapter I officially called ML co-author. Sokka does have a bit of a tricky position in our fic, so a few more words on him from both writing as well as character perspective. Why we chose to portray Sokka as aggressive rather than diplomatic has several reasons. Sokka is 15 years old, the only non-bender, and he comes from a culture where his age and gender would put him into a position of responsibility. Coupled with the fact his father has saddled him with protecting the tribe while Hakoda is off in the war. Sokka simply sees what he is doing as looking out for the group from the 'big bad firebender'. Zuko's known for having a temper and Sokka's strategy does give him the 'results' he was looking for… on the surface.
The second reason was that we did want to show Zuko's triggers and Sokka fits the bill in more than just the way he acts.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and will let us know what you think :)
