Thank you very much for all of those who reviewed :) All together we made it past 80 reviews, wow!

Vanilla: Thank you very much once more, and I hope you like the new chapter as well :)

Guest: Toph's awesome, glad you like our version of her. Glad the effort put into the dream sequences is appreciated. Indeed, Sokka won't get away with this so easily. Have some Sokka introspection now.

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A/N: There's a glossary at the bottom of the chapter, should anyone feel a little lost with some plant references :) Have fun!

Edit 15.6.22: about 1.5 pages worth of content have been rewritten from scratch, to fit new ideas that will be coming later.


Chapter 13 Castanea sativa

It was lonely. Having the Gaang this kind of mad at him was horrible, and Sokka couldn't rest. He sat in his sleeping bag, staring up at the sky, the stars, the sickle of Yue. It was better than looking at the endless sand dunes, or their camp, his family. It was the first time he felt apart from them, unwelcome. It was scary. It was lonely.

It wasn't the same as them being unwelcome as a group or unwelcome for being the Avatar's friend and companion. This was another level altogether and he couldn't help but throw a glance over to Zuko. Was that how he felt?

It probably was… only that it had to be worse… or maybe not… Zuko had never been part of the group and Sokka was quite sure by now that Zuko wasn't aiming to be a part of, not even deceitfully. The other boy was a terrible liar, though Sokka hadn't wanted to admit that before.

Zuko didn't know how it was to properly be a part of their group, though he was sure he'd always felt quite apart, sitting on high above them when he'd been treated like the Prince he was back home…

It never crossed Sokka's mind that the opposite had been the case instead.

Nevertheless, he felt a twinge of sympathy, a seed of regret had been planted. Maybe even admiration, no, he didn't want to admire the prince's resilience. That kind of endurance had been his most annoying trait in hunting them. But he couldn't quite deny that the other was much better at dealing with being the outcast, uncomfortably so.

Zuko had always tiptoed around them and their mores, Sokka knew he'd never asked for forgiveness. Zuko tried to comply with their (Sokka's) demands to avoid conflict. And unlike Sokka, he hadn't tried to talk himself out of things to gain it. He'd never tried to act like he belonged. He was just there, spookily withdrawn.

Sokka knew Toph was right. In that moment of fear for his life, when he'd seen no way out, he'd reacted on impulse. It was only natural, wasn't it? That didn't make him evil!

It didn't make him right, either.

But he'd thought the rest of the group safely out of reach from Wan Shi Tong! Zuko and Toph, who'd been outside, especially so. How could he have guessed, how could he have known?

He of all of the group should've known the power a spirit could have on those unwilling.

He shuddered, briefly caught in memory. Threw another glance to the unmoving body that was tucked in between Appa's legs and then looked away again, ashamed. Maybe, probably, worried.

They hadn't been able to ask Zuko what had happened, they only knew that he'd fought and won somehow.

Did Zuko know about what Sokka had done?

A huff from Appa, he didn't want to look over there again, just to see the still, deadly still, form of Zuko. Appa's huffing wasn't that unusual, even at night, especially at night. The next noise however made him whip around. Zuko's groan, had he really heard it?

"No, Appa" Zuko croaked, sounding tired as he pulled himself from between Appa's legs and scrambled up to escape the huge sniffing nose that might reveal a wet tongue, which could be a licking threat to him at any moment. Appa grumbled and pushed his nose carefully against Zuko's shoulder, Sokka quickly straightened up as well.

"Zuko!" He whisper-shouted, remembering at once that the others were asleep.

Zuko was awake.

Finally!

Zuko's response was immediate. Hyper-alert and wide-eyed. Sokka had come to expect it by now, as past encounters had taught him slowly those past few weeks. And if he was honest, now that he was thinking about it, Zuko had been reacting to Sokka the most, and the strongest. He knew that Katara could have done it, checked up on him right now, but Sokka knew how Zuko would react to him personally. That was the reason why he knew he should not go over there to see if Zuko was alright.

Still, he needed to make sure he was alright if he wanted to regain any respect from the group, especially Toph.

When Sokka didn't move any closer, Zuko slowly relaxed and leaned back against Appa, sighing and grabbing at his head, then let his hands fall down again and picked up the items that had been tucked close to him. They'd obviously been put there so he'd find them once he woke..

Quickly, he uncorked the water skin, but he took only small, careful sips. Soon, he put it down, getting up on shaky legs. He still seemed rather disoriented, but Yue didn't provide much light to work with, so Sokka wasn't surprised. Zuko took a few steps forward.

Sokka's inquiry of "Where are you going?" made him freeze again. He carefully turned towards Sokka then.

"Taking a break." he sighed, voice rough, before turning around and disappearing in the dark.

Sokka, in the meanwhile, slipped out of his sleeping bag and took it over to Appa, sitting back down a little way down to where Zuko had his things, then he waited. Zuko took his time, but when he came back, he seemed a bit more composed. He didn't startle nearly as bad when he realized that Sokka had moved, though he sighed again when he did.

"What do you want?" he said carefully after he'd sat back down. He drank some more, then finally noticed the food bag.

"I…" but what did he want to say? "Don't you want to know how long you've been asleep? What happened in the meanwhile…?"

"We're still in the desert, I'm still alive and so seems everyone else… can't have been that long." he shrugged, nonchalantly.

"You wouldn't wake up no matter what we did." Sokka jibed.

"Well, I am awake now." Zuko dismissed him.

Sokka wanted to talk, to ask if Zuko was alright, he wanted to know if Zuko knew that it was his fault that Zuko had ended up with Wan Shi Tong. Sokka wanted to never hear the answer. How could the Owl not have told him?!

"What?!" The word cut through Sokka's internal monologue, and he realized at once that he'd been staring at Zuko.

"I…" he didn't know what to say. If he really was honest, he felt guilty. How could he admit this to Zuko, an enemy?

"If you got nothing to say, then please leave me be."

"Uhm, are you okay?" Sokka finally rushed to say before he could overthink the decision to do so again.

"Fine." snapped Zuko.

"Wait, that's all you gonna say?"

"What do you want me to say?" said Zuko, finally turning to look at Sokka, noticeably aggravated.

"Uhm, how about the truth, we all were really worried."

"I'm fine." Zuko bit out. "And I don't owe you an explanation." he snarled.

Katara turned in her sleep, reminding them that there were still people asleep. The resulting silence was awkward, but Sokka didn't know what to reply. His eyes kept returning to Zuko, who did seem to give it his best to ignore Sokka. He seemed to be deep in thought. If Sokka was honest, he was kind of glad, because he really didn't know what to say. Zuko was right.

Eventually, it felt like an eternity, but probably wasn't all that long, the sky began to brighten and Zuko exhaled quietly, sitting straighter. Zuko was anticipating the sun, that much was obvious. But he wasn't firebending, probably still trying to avoid making a tense situation any worse.

Sokka swallowed, guilt building up once more. "I'm sorry." he blurted out.

Zuko whipped around, staring at him incredulously, then at once staring away.

"You traded my life for yours, Wan Shi Tong said so," he stated, monotonously.

"Yeah,... I'm sorry, I didn't… think, er, uh, expect… uh, think he could do that." Sokka stumbled over his words.

"I don't care. It happened, let's move on…" he said tiredly. "but Sokka, I can't trust you with my life. I understand why you did it, but I won't let you risk my life again."

His words cut like a knife and Zuko returned his gaze straight at Sokka.

"From now on, I will take measures to protect myself; I don't care what you think. I won't let myself be restrained anymore, I won't let myself be locked up. I will practice firebending and I will practice sword forms." his voice brooked no argument; This was the Prince speaking, not the Zuko that had been around their camp.

Sokka looked away, uncomfortable at Zuko's new determination. He felt disarmed.

"I owe Toph my life, she saved me, and I'm not going to throw it away." a tone of wistful fondness had entered his voice.

Zuko opened his palms and let a small, yellow, flame spring to life, as he focused on that. The sky was pretty bright by now and the sun would probably rise soon.

"My obligation is to her, and to a lesser degree to your sister for healing me, and to the Avatar for allowing me here. it's not to you."

"Uh… okay…" Sokka felt a little helpless, a little overwhelmed. Zuko hadn't shown much self-determination since Toph had rescued him. This was new, and in a way it was old. The Zuko they had known had been nothing but determined. Yet, this new-found determination had a different spin to it.

They went back to silence, watching the sunrise together, waiting for the others to wake up. A new day had begun.

00000

"Zuko, you're awake!"

Katara's voice roused the others from their sleep in seconds. She was also quick to demand a physical check-up, at which Zuko repeated to her that he was fine, swatting her fussy hands away in jest, and stated that he deemed it unnecessary, though he didn't deny her.

After Katara had determined him as, indeed, fine, and everyone had gotten up, they sat in a circle.

"It's good to have you back." Toph happily boxed him in the arm, though Zuko evaded on time and reduced it to only a glancing blow. It didn't seem to hurt, and Zuko's lips twitched up in amusement.

Aang smiled at Zuko, wishing him a good morning, and Momo sprang from Aang's shoulder into Zuko's lap, probably on the hunt for crumbs from Zuko's food bag. Zuko petted the animal's back and Momo stretched himself, purred and promptly made himself comfortable.

Sokka shifted uncomfortably because both animals liked Zuko and the Tribe always claimed that animal instincts were far better when it came to danger, whereas a human's instincts often were clouded by judgement.

Sokka however also recognized that possible danger coming from other humans was much more difficult to detect. Animals were simpler, natural disasters happened and a hunter that meant them harm better stay against the wind and out of sight. Humans could manipulate however, their intentions were layered and their goal was usually to their own gain.

"When did you wake up?" Aang asked right then.

"Uh, before dawn." Zuko answered awkwardly

"huh, any cool dreams?" Aang continued to prod.

"I'd rather not talk about dreams." Zuko said tersely.

"So what happened?" Toph then asked, a curious mix of interest and mischief on her face.

"Can we not talk about this?"

"Aang, Toph, leave him be." Katara rebuffed the pair.

Wordlessly, they shrugged and moved away, and started packing. Now that everyone was awake, it made no sense to wait with moving on. Everyone wanted to get out of the sand.

Zuko still looked pretty tired, but he was staying awake and everyone was relieved. Katara insisted on healing some of the scrapes he'd gotten during the fight, now that there was nothing else to do, and Zuko couldn't bring himself to deny her once more, though he didn't know how to feel about her doing this for him. When she retreated to her corner as they took off, Toph shuffled closer, only to promptly lean against him. Zuko shot her a bewildered look. Toph's expression was content and Zuko, not knowing what to do, slowly relaxed.

"I wish the sand hadn't blurred my vision when you fought."

Zuko only sighed.

"You knew, right? That if they recognized you any sooner…"

He made a noncommittal sound of agreement. "We need Appa."

"You would have done it anyway, though."

"I guess."

"So, what did the douche bird want with you?"

Zuko shifted awkwardly. "Revenge."

"On who? You?"

"No, on my family and the consequences of their choices."

"He wanted what? He wanted you to pay for what the Fire Lords did?" Aang piped in from the front. Sokka, switch with me, please!"

"It's not that simple, but essentially, yeah."

"But that's… what they did is not your fault." Aang endorsed while Sokka tiredly climbed onto Appa's head.

"Don't act like you've never heard of searching for a scapegoatrilla. People do it all the time, not surprised that the Spirit World works the same way. It's not that far off anyway: A Fire Lord is responsible for leading the Fire Nation. The position is hereditary, so yes, as I was the next in line, I would have been the one to be held accountable eventually."

"Huh, reminds me of Chin the Great and Kyoshi." Aang shuddered. "So glad she showed up." then he shuddered even more as he realised that that would never be an option for Zuko. "I get it."

"No, you don't." Zuko disagreed. "Even if the war ends, and the Fire Lord is put in chains, it won't be enough. Fire Lord Sozin and his successors' decisions have had far worse repercussions on the world as well as my people. They made the other nations hate my people. Prison isn't enough for what my nation has done.

"The Fire Nation teaches that we spread prosperity by colonising the world. But that's not what the Fire Nation has been doing. The purpose of the colonisation that my great-grandfather mandated was to gain resources. Under my grandfather, it became about power and greed, it's not about sharing. And anyone who opposes gets cut down. Anyone.", he said with ringing finality, before levelling a morose gaze to Aang.

"Aang, I've been to the Air Temples, all of them, early in my search. What happened to all your people, I'm sorry, it was not right. I tried to put your people to rest, but by the time I got to the fourth temple, I was worn out, emotionally and physically. I'm sorry. The Air Nomads were peaceful. Fire Lord Sozin lied to his people. There was no army, there were just skulls."

Zuko bowed his head in respect and when he looked back up, Aang's eyes simmered with tears.

"You… laid them to rest?"

"I did what I could, but I was only thirteen and had just been exiled. I followed Fire Nation traditions as I knew next to nothing about the Air Nomads and their traditions back then, the Fire Nation having eradicated any and all records of your people after Sozin's massacre, and any records in your libraries were ashes by the time I was there. I just couldn't leave them, your people and their work, like that. I'm sorry that I could not do more." his voice toneless, but holding the weight of one hundred years.

"I… uh… thank you. Really. I appreciate it." Aang softly said, holding back tears.

Feeling he had done enough, he moved to the water tribe siblings: "Sokka, Katara, I'm sorry about what happened to the Southern Water Tribe, too. From the meagre records that my grandfather allowed, the Southern Water Tribe were a proud and noble state. We wrought fire and ash onto a nation that couldn't expect such retribution for merely existing. I cannot undo it, the crimes committed against your people are irreversible, but I'm sorry anyway."

The water sibling's heads whipped back to Zuko on the words he'd spoken. Sokka had certainly not seen this apology coming, and Katara seemed moved by it, too. It made Sokka even more sour. He didn't trust it. Why was Zuko doing this? Why now?

"Toph, I guess you weren't directly affected, but I know the colonisation of the Western coast has brought your nation into this war longer than any other and has caused tensions for longer than record allows. As well as this, the siege of Ba Sing Se was very hard on the Earth Kingdom, I never realised how much effort it would have taken just to hold such a city under siege, but I imagine you must, being of a merchant family, and being constricted by the effects it brought. I think my uncle regrets it a lot..."

"Right, your uncle…" Toph mumbled.

"Where does all this Fire Nation introspection come from, so sudden-" Sokka, who was still steering, quickly shut up when the others sent glares at him.

Zuko answered anyway. "My path had always been set out for me. Fed by expectations, propaganda, and ignorance. My task during my banishment was to bring back the Avatar, which was why I hunted you Aang, a 12 year old... I just wanted to go home, I always have… But now my home has announced me a traitor, I can't do anything about that. Even if I brought the Avatar now, my father, Fire Lord Ozai, might not accept me back. I'm starting to think that the Fire Lord never meant for me to return anyway. It is time I chose my own path, not a path decided for me.

"I won't abandon my people and I want this war to end, but the title 'Crown Prince' doesn't belong to me anymore. So, now I'm just Zuko of Karudera; I'll figure out how to go from there. I won't give up. I'll keep surviving, as I have for the past five years. That being said, as long as I am travelling within your group, I will help keep you safe, but I care for my people, so I will not make a move against them. My people will need to be ruled, but I cannot go against my family."

It was quiet when he finished and Zuko looked up to see various expressions of shock in Gaang's faces.

"Uh, I need some time to process this," Katara said, turning away, and silence ruled once more. Zuko didn't mind, the speech had worn him out. Instead, he focused on tracking the sun and their course, Toph's breathing next to him, Katara's confused, somewhat distrustful glances, and Aang's air-playing.

Half an hour later, when he checked up on the course again, he felt it tilting a bit to the right. A few minutes later, even more so.

"Aren't we supposed to fly northeast?" he asked. Aang quickly threw a glance to Sokka, who in fact was tilting to the right as well. Aang jumped up and nimbly stepped onto Appa's head, grabbing Sokka's shoulder while calling his name.

Sokka flinched a mile high.

A moment later, he made his way back to the saddle, tiredly sinking down in his corner and laying down as best as he could. Soon he drifted off, the night's sleeplessness finally catching up with him. After a while, Toph rearranged herself and laid her head on Zuko's thigh as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Her legs were arranged so that one foot was hanging over the railing and she wiggled her toes in the wind, the carefree action showing her inherent comfort around Zuko, her growing contentment in the saddle clear.

Toph seemed to enjoy herself, though the increasing restlessness suggested that she was bored. She, again, was idly playing with her rock.

Zuko noticed only after a while that his hand had found its way into her hair, running through. Looking back at the pair, Katara looked at him strangely for it. Sokka was asleep and his feet were touching Zuko's legs now. Zuko, for once, felt unbothered by the proximity.

00000

Zuko had seemed honest, sincere. Katara didn't know what to think of it. Never had she expected anyone of the Fire Nation to apologize for what had happened to their tribe. Least of all the Prince that had hunted them and the Avatar for the better part of the past year. Yet, Zuko had somehow done it, and it had indeed come over as sincere. It had hit her hard, and she felt the need to get her defences up and reject his words. Yet, she didn't have the heart to.

Zuko had laid himself bare, his insecurities, the uncertainty of his fate. He didn't agree with the way of his people. But he wasn't willing to betray the Fire Lord and switch sides, even though he felt it likely that the Fire Lord, his father, had long since abandoned him. He didn't know where to go, what to do. There was no going back and apparently no moving forward.

Zuko looked tired, worn out, yet, he seemed changed. Whatever had happened in the library, whatever had caused that long and unnatural sleep, it had changed him, was changing him. He seemed softer, kinder, more human than the shell of a man they found in the market, or the angry boy who razed their home and chased them around the world before that.

She observed how he caressed Toph's hair, absentmindedly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. There were a lot of things she'd never expected of Zuko that he'd done though, ever since Toph brought him into their group… Maybe he wasn't changing so much after all. It made her wonder how all those pieces fit into the picture. The proud Prince they'd known for hunting them; the cowed captive; the man-boy who wordlessly collected firewood and sewed his own clothing. The brother who'd told her to give his water ration to Toph; who offered to piggyback Toph, even though he was exhausted, too.

If she was honest with herself, he'd been this way ever since Toph had rescued him and it made her wonder who Zuko really was at the core. Which parts were a consequence of what had happened to him, and which were the ones underneath?

00000

At noon, they landed for a much-needed break as the saddle proved cramping for their weary legs. They also took the occasion to eat something. Sokka protested strongly against the wake-up, but Katara did not show him any mercy. They stretched out and welcomed the reprieve, Zuko went through some bending moves, though without the flames. Katara and Toph followed his example, and in the end, even Sokka practised some of the moves he learned on Kyoshi.

Zuko, who had paused his practice and moved on to stretching, was critically watching him by that time. The flaws stood out to him like a sore thumb. The stance was just a tad too narrow, foot rotated too much there, and his back bent where it should have been straight. He laughed a little internally, who was he to critique when he was always the one who straggled behind. But he was curious, as he wondered where he'd seen the fighting style before.

Katara eventually ushered them back to Appa and that's when he saw them in the saddle, the food bags had just stood in front of them. Bundled and secured were some blades. His eyes however went right to the dao, the one he'd taken from the sandbenders to fight. He sank down in front of the bundled weapons, picking the knots apart that held them there. With familiar motions, he slipped the two blades next to each other to unite the handle back into one after he'd pulled them out.

"Whoever thought to bring them, thank you!" Zuko said loud enough to be heard.

"What are you doing?" Katara said at once with a sharp tone.

"Yeah, that's my sword!" Sokka added quickly. "You're not…"

"The dao's mine. You don't need it and I doubt you can use it anyway."

"You're a bender… benders don't use swords!"

"I almost got captured by sandbenders because they recognised me. If I want to keep people from targeting me for being Fire Nation, I need something else than bending to keep me safe. I'm not going unarmed again."

"You're our captive, captives don't get weapons." Sokka protested.

"Sokka!" Toph said in warning, but Zuko already took word again.

"Remind me again how I ended up with Wan Shi Tong." Zuko hissed.

"I think Zuko has a point." Aang said right then.

"Can you even handle one blade?" Zuko questioned, he had rebound the ropes securing the collection of weapons to the sandbender's cache and was now holding the dao in his hand.

"What do you mean?"

"What's the point of you having two blades if you can't even wield one? You'd just hurt yourself in the end and protect no one."

"It's one sword!"

Zuko took a deep breath, swallowing his annoyance and the need to snap, then shifted the dao in his hands, smoothly letting the two parts glide apart and into a safe, comfortable grip. He raised his eyebrow, looking at Sokka.

"Zuko" Katara called out, trying to diffuse a possibly explosive situation before it got out of hand. "I get your point, but what Sokka says is true, benders don't normally learn to fight with other weapons. Do you actually have the skill or do you just want them so you're armed?"

"I'm decent enough."

"What? You're seriously saying that Fire Nation benders learn weapon combat as well? As if firebending wasn't enough…Or is that a royal thing? Ugh, don't tell me your sister…" Sokka fell quiet, not knowing how to form his thoughts into words.

"Yeah, not really. My sister tried it for all of one day, and declared weapons as beneath a firebender. The nobility and other powerful firebenders seem to share her opinion, following the royal example. But learning to fight is integral to our society and culture. Weaponry is the honorable alternative for non-benders."

"But you are a bender!" Aang exclaimed, confused.

"Yeah," Zuko said flatly.

"Wait, so you are telling us that–" Sokka started out.

"that I was a late flame, and my sister a firebending prodigy," Zuko cut him off. "She surpassed me in terms of skills in no time. So yeah, my firebending was considered subpar."

"Subpar at firebending? You? Seriously? Sure as hell didn't seem that way when you were trying to shoot us down from the sky and all."

"It wasn't as if I had put firebending aside when I started on the sword. I worked hard on both. The sword might have come to me more easily, but that isn't enough to get good. You have to immerse yourself in what you're trying to learn. It has to become part of you, an extension of yourself."

"Man, you must have sucked at firebending for them to give you an alternative, then." Sokka exclaimed, earning dirty looks from the group and a handful of sand thrown by Toph.

"Those weren't the reasons why my mum arranged lessons for me," Zuko responded, keeping his voice neutral.

"Why then? And your mum, seriously?" Sokka asked, dusting himself off of the sand.

"I liked swords, my mum encouraged that anyway she could." Now a touch of defensiveness started bleeding into his voice. "And it's good supplemental training to firebending. Why am I even telling you this?" he shook his head in dismissal.

"Can we get back on track please?" Toph reminded them. "Too bad there's still sand, I really want to see you and the dao properly!"

Sokka finally perked up. "Yeah, show us at least that you are capable, instead of just demanding claim on my spoils."

"Fine." Zuko said, muttering something to himself as he did so. Jumping back down into the sand and moving into a stance, blades as one. He breathed, then moved. Within rapid movements, one blade once more became two. He gracefully flew through a few more forms, twirling, slashing, stabbing, the two blades working as defence and offence in an alternating pattern. He seemed perfectly in sync with the blades, always knowing where they were and how far they'd reach, and every step, every weight shift was balanced and stable. There was no doubt that Zuko knew what he was doing, a prodigy was at work here.

Sokka's eyes had gone big, but when Zuko stilled, the corner of his lips tugged down into an unwilling scowl, looking away as he crossed his arms. Zuko didn't look at him as he reunited the blades and stepped up to climb back into the saddle.

"Sokka, where are the whetstones? The blades are dull." Zuko said, trying to be considerate to the dejected look on Sokka's face. After all, Zuko knew that they were Sokka's whetstones, having seen him taking care of his boomerang as an almost daily ritual. Sokka made a show of looking for them as they began to collect up their things from their noon camp.

Aang yip yip-ed and they were taking off again. Toph grumbled about still not having seen much of anything as they settled down. Sokka grumbled too, as he shifted unwillingly, but settled down after Katara sent a sharp glare in his direction.

Finally, Sokka rummaged through his pocket, bringing forth his two whetstones, a rough and a finer one. When Zuko moved to grab them, Sokka said, "I want them back" in a warning tone. Zuko just took them and got to work. For the next half hour or so, the steady sound of stone against blade served as a time measurement, which was quite calming as they moved through the air.

Sokka observed the process, still feeling quite apart, begrudgingly impressed the prince had the pose to do it as they flew. Katara was not looking at him, and Toph sent him glares on a regular basis. Zuko had definitely done this a lot, his moves were routined, and the angle he held the stone against the blade good. Why had Zuko learned sword fighting when he had firebending? Wasn't firebending good enough for him? Did he really have to be good at non-bender arts, too? He missed training together with Suki.

Finally, he turned away, curling into himself to try to get some more sleep, no one wanted to talk with him anyway. He was restless and lonely.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the hand on his shoulder was Zuko's, returning the whetstones with a simple "Thanks."

Sokka grumbled a 'you're welcome', sat up and turned back away to stare out over the desert, towards where they were flying. They were quiet for the most part. Toph was talking to Zuko now and then, giggling at his grumbled responses. Katara told him to secure the swords. Zuko did as asked and promised her that he'd create a sheath as soon as he had the material to do so. No one dared to ask about Zuko's coma again.

00000

Aang meanwhile was busy scouting out the area ahead, trying to find the beginnings of green vegetation in the late afternoon, looking for any bodies of water from above. The landscape turned gradually more verdant, and then they saw what looked like a creek, but by that point, the first trees were definitely visible from a distance and they decided to seek cover within them instead.

They found a good spot next to another small river between the outskirts of the trees and the first thing upon getting off that Toph did was lay in the dirt and praise its integrity. Katara went to the river together with Aang, ostensibly to practice waterbending. Sokka just took out his sleeping bag and rolled it out on the ground. No one said anything when Zuko took his swords and went into the trees without a word. He returned half an hour later, holding a dry log in his hand. He also handed Katara a handful of roots, before picking up his clothing bundle and heading down to the stream and out of sight.

Katara briefly wondered if he'd return. His bundle of clothing and the swords were all he had. Yet she doubted that he'd leave now. He still looked exhausted. Instead, she roused Sokka and sent him searching for kindling for the fire together with Toph, who had to be reminded that there were dangerous brother-swallowing cracks in the ground out there before she agreed to go.

It took a while, but when Zuko came back, he had wet hair and was freshly dressed. He had his old set of clothes over his shoulder, the log and swords in his hands. Walking over to the saddle, he put down his things and started laying out his clothes, which Katara now realized with mild surprise, were wet from washing. The next moment, steam rose from Zuko's body, reminding her of when he'd done similarly in their fight at the spirit oasis in the North Pole.

It was weird to see such a domestic, non-aggressive, display of firebending. Soon after, Toph and Sokka came back with a pile of twigs and boughs. Zuko wordlessly stood up and waited until Sokka had set it up, Sokka was already turning around for the flint stone when Zuko spoke up.

"I'll do it."

Sokka looked at him with big eyes, before getting out of the way.

"Sokka, may I borrow your hunting knife, please?" Zuko said once the spark had bred.

"Uhm, what do you need it for?" Sokka said, uncomfortable with Zuko's newly found boldness in regards to sharp pointy objects.

"I need to make a scabbard for this and it's easier with a knife at hand."

"Sokka, give him the knife, I'm sure you'll get it back."

"Why don't you give him yours?"

"Sokka! He asked for yours, and you don't need it right now." said Katara warningly, "I need mine for the cooking."

Soon, Zuko was sitting next to the fire, working on splitting his log, while Katara was boiling the roots he'd brought with some of their left-over grain. She didn't know what they were, but Zuko seemed to be confident that they were edible, and for now, that was enough, they were all hungry.

When Zuko had split the log in half, he took one dao half, and put it on the flat side of the log before tracing it with the knife. After he'd fiddled with the tracing of the lines for a bit, he started carefully applying the smallest of flames within the scratches, burning away a layer of wood to make room for the blade later. He did the opposite with the other half, burning away a layer of wood outside of the scratched outlines there, so that both sides would fit into each other, preventing them from slipping apart.

Sokka, who had also bathed, had returned in the meanwhile and was trying to ignore how fascinating it was to watch.

Once Zuko was satisfied, he then held the two log halves together to see if he could sheathe the swords, repeatedly going back to burning the wood until he was happy with the result. Then he started on the outside of both halves. First scratching the outlines, then carefully burning off the first layers.

With everyone gathered around the fire, they ate a quick dinner in the growing twilight, then Zuko went right back to working on his project. They didn't talk much. Everyone was exhausted. Katara and Aang returned once again to the stream to do some nighttime bending practice, and Toph played some more with the dirt, revelling in being able to see again, while Sokka watched on.

By now, the scabbard was already considerably flattened and somewhat taking shape. Zuko had gained confidence in the burning process and was working more quickly now. The wood slimmed until the form had become distinct. The wood itself was slightly blackened but intact.

Zuko got up and requested some leftover rags from when they had sewn his second pair of clothes. He then wrapped them around the base, middle, and top, knotting each off tightly so the two halves would be pressed against each other.

"Katara, do we have any cord I can use?"

Most of their cord was used to tie luggage down to the saddle, She shook her head.

"I'm sorry"

"Is there a way to create some?" Zuko asked, not giving up.

"Uhm, well, I guess you could cut some more of those fabric leftovers in stripes and braid them. It should hold for a while."

"Alright." He simply said, with a tactful shrug, taking the fabric and doing as she had said. She was waiting for him to ask her to show him how to braid. He didn't ask, he just went ahead and did it. The Prince of the Fire Nation knew how to braid. Huh, how curious.

Toph got up and walked over to him. "So, you're done with the burning? Can I see?"

Zuko didn't reply, just took out the blades, handing her the scabbard. She took it, and explored it with her hands.

"Pretty cool!" she said when she handed it back. Zuko's lips turned upwards slightly. He actually smiled, then just sheathed the blades and returned to braiding. When he ran out of length of one cord, he took another stripe, until he had enough to create a loop to pull over his head and shoulder. He wrapped both ends around the scabbard and held it up to check the balance. He shifted the loops until he was satisfied, then went to burn a slight dent to keep the cord in place.

It was good to see him awake and focused. He looked calm and content as he pulled the string over his head and shifted the blade into position, He drew it out, experimentally swinging it a couple of times and, with a satisfied nod, resheathed it.

Then, he went over to Sokka, handing him the knife back. "Thanks"

Sokka only grumbled and watched as Zuko retrieved his blanket and curled up against Appa, after having pulled the scabbard to his front so he could sleep more comfortably. He was holding his weapons in his arms as if afraid someone would attack him while he slept.

Sokka laid down, but he had slept half of the day away, so sleep didn't come easy. The group was still clearly mad at him, though they tried to be more or less civil about it. And Zuko got a lot of attention instead. Sokka barely wanted to admit that the crafting of the scabbard had been pretty cool. It looked kinda funny though, slightly blackened wood with the rags holding it together. He wished everything would go back to normal, but he was glad to be out of the desert.

Eventually, he must have drifted off, cause the next time he became aware, he was being shaken awake, the morning light catching in his eyes. They made a quick breakfast, then everyone took a bit of time to do some bending, or in Sokka's case, run through those few kata he'd learned from Suki once more, back at Kyoshi island before Zuko came for Aang, back when they could forget the war was on their doorstep, just for a day.

After everyone had had their exercise, they packed up, and Appa took off. Sokka, who was piloting, shouted in excitement when he realized that the blue line they were seeing at the horizon was the ocean. It would do so good to hear the sound of the rushing sea. A pang of longing for it ran through him.

They held course towards the coastline up north, eager to meet the waves. Meanwhile, Sokka was on the lookout for blue sails, an old habit he'd developed during travelling, he wasn't really expecting to see the fleet here, so he blinked twice when he thought he could actually see them, it surely was just a trick of light. The view didn't disappear, no matter how hard he rubbed his eyes. There, at the coast, the closer they got, the clearer it became.

"Katara, look!"

"Dad's fleet!" she whispered, assuring further that Sokka wasn't imagining this. "Aang, change course, let's go visit dad!"

000

Meanwhile, not so far away in the Earth Kingdom.

General Iroh's search had been fruitless and his wandering increasingly aimless in the hopes of stumbling over a track that would lead to Zuko. It was as the boy Lì had said, he'd simply vanished without a trace. Iroh knew that Zuko was good at hiding and covering his tracks if he so wanted, but that only increased his worries now. He hoped that Lì had been right and someone had really helped him flee, and he hoped that Zuko had been sensible enough to at least not turn away from their protection until he was healthy again.

Knowing Zuko, it was all too likely that he had done just that and despite trying not to think about it, he could easily paint a picture of a huddled broken form, lying dead below some shrub where no one ever would go if they had the choice. No, he couldn't lose faith. Zuko was strong, stronger than anyone gave him credit for, even he himself.

Just as worrisome was that the Avatar's group had disappeared into thin air too. Iroh decided that that was a good sign for them, but out of habit, Zuko might have vaguely followed their tracks, if they had existed, it was one less lead to follow for Iroh. Instead, he was now on his way to the next big city, if any settlement in these parts could be called as such, where he'd hopefully find a member of the Order. Maybe they'd have some news.

The weather at this time of year was wet and cold, so he hoped to get a bed to sleep in for the night. He passed under the city's gates and quickly went into the centre to find an establishment that might hold the answers he sought. He eventually spotted some promising curtains and entered the store. Indeed, there was a Pai Sho table and when he initiated the traditional exchange of greetings, the old woman's eyes lit up. A game later, he found himself in the back, in the kitchen area, a plate in hand and an offer for a bed for later.

"Grand Lotus, what an honour to house you. What brings you here?"

"It's good to see some female members in the Earth Kingdom now, a pleasant development indeed. I'm afraid I don't bring much news, rather, I seek information, I've been wandering the past weeks and the weather has left me weary."

"We heard about your run-in with your niece and made sure the hawthorn would continue to stand free. How is your wound?"

"I had a competent healer's aid, it only hurts with the weather now. I haven't heard any news since parting with them, though."

"I heard you were searching for your nephew, is that right?"

"Yes, I was hoping that there was any news on him, too. He seems to have hidden himself well."

"Indeed he has. I've got to introduce you to someone. I think she will have some answers for you. As for your niece, it seems she's lost sight of the hawthorn and is on her way to Ba Sing Se."

000

The old lady had led him through the city and to an inconspicuous house on the row. She knocked. Another woman her age opened.

"Ninunka, it's good to see you. This traveler came to my door, looking for his companion and I remember Diptam mentioning someone who fits the description the other week or so. Also, I'm sure he can entertain you with some stories about his travels until Diptam gets home."

"Oh yes, sure, come in, come in." Ninunka stepped back to let him in and he saw a child peeking out from behind her.

She offered him tea, which he gratefully took. Soon enough, a kid named Bo was situated in his lap and he was telling stories about his travels to different places.

Dara, the older kid, spoke up a little while into it, just when he was talking about the southpole: "So you went penguin sledding, too?"

That had caught him by surprise, but Iroh quickly denied it and said he'd been too old when he'd visited that place and Ninunka mentioned some traveler guests having mentioned that activity. It was then that it dawned to Iroh who those guests had been; It also plummeted the hopes for actual news on Zuko.

Eventually, Diptam came home. It was a bubbly woman who looked delighted at having guests. Her expression got somewhat serious once it was mentioned who had brought him over, however. Ninunka took Bo up from Iroh's lap and told Diptam that they'd be out on a walk, so they would have some quiet to figure things out about said travel companion.

"Have you ever seen Lemon blossoms? Are you familiar with them? Such beauty." Iroh carefully initiated the talk.

"I have, but I prefer how artists capture the chestnut tree." she confidently responded.

"You had a group of kids as guests a while ago, didn't you?"

"Yes," she simply said.

"Did you by any chance, at any point also see a young man clouded in wilting petunia petals, but who upholds the virtues of magnolia?"

"Yes," she smiled, "he came here with that group of kids you asked me about. He assured me that they treat him alright though, so don't worry."

That had certainly been unexpected, Iroh almost swallowed up on nothing. "What do you mean?"

"I asked if the carnations his friends gave him had gone yellow, but thankfully he denied such a claim. He admitted that his family had sent him yellow ones before, although this didn't seem to bother him too much. What is he to you?"

"He is my clematis. I care about him a lot."

"Oh…" she seemed to be taken aback. "Then you are…"

"So you knew who you invited?"

"A lily," she said carefully.

"Indeed."

"He claimed to be caught in columbine's shade though, I'm glad that that doesn't seem to be the case after all."

"I tried to give him some sorrel, but he insisted that he received some butterfly weed, I think that is because he hasn't tried coriander yet. You know how kids are these days." Iroh said with sadness in his voice.

"He seems to be getting a lot of rosebays these days." she continued, her tone morose, "Rightfully so, he had said. But I have great faith in those other kids, they're a good bunch, and so is your nephew. The depths may be murky still, but the water lily is strong, and I think the group wants to start to grow some acacia."

There seemed to be a hundred questions that he wanted answers to, but he wanted to know nothing more than: "Do you know where they went?"

"Well, I suggested the flatlands near the desert to escape the bad weather."

"Sound advice. How long ago was that?"

"About four days ago, if I remember right."

"Huh, then I should hurry, thank you for your time!"

"You're welcome, take good care of yourself and your nephew, I hope you shall find syringa on your journey, it often grows where you least expect it to."

"I hope so, too."

And with that, General Iroh stole himself away again, walked right out of the city gates as if he was nothing but a lonely traveler with a double dao to protect himself with.

Zuko's blades held the same weight, felt just as heavy as the day he'd nabbed them from Old Fu's forgery, but there was an ember of hope in his heart now. Diptam had seen him, talked to him, said he was alright. He was with the Avatar's group. Suddenly it made more sense how Zuko could have stolen himself away with no trace. He'd heard that Zuko had been their captive for a while already, so even though Iroh knew he was good at escaping, it was like with the Pohuai Stronghold, yeah Iroh knew about that; and he suspected that Zuko had relied on Aang at that time to get back out.

Whether Zuko had willingly accepted the help this time, or just been given it, Iroh was glad that he'd apparently stayed with the group. Now, though, Iroh had to figure out where to go next, he'd never catch up while they flew, maybe it would be good to get back on track for their original idea and go seek refuge in Ba Sing Se, Zuko would remember that. He hadn't asked about his appearance, fearing the answer, it would be much better to just see him with his own eyes instead of trying to needlessly worry based on a recount. Iroh's steps, as he exited the city, were lighter.


Notice: Hey guys, we're considering making a discord server for our fanfic (inspired by Zenzanightwing's server for hers). So, let us know if you are interested so we can set it up till the next update.

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Ystävä: For all of those who waited on Sokka getting what he deserves, well, he got a taste I guess, at least before the family reunion… I really had fun writing the consequences.

Zuko's parts were interesting cause I wrote some of them before ML was done with the visions. Then, to finish up on ML's chapters, I paused writing, and after that, when we were discussing how to continue, and what should be in here, we discovered that I had already included a fair amount of the important details. I was quite surprised that the ideas were still so aligned, even as months had passed.

So yeah, Now they're heading to the WT, Sokka's getting back onto old turf, and Zuko's currently trapped in the saddle. So we decided to soften that cliffy with an update on Iroh's search for Zuko. Hope you had fun decoding that conversation, ML and I definitely had fun coming up with it.

Fun detail on Petunia 'petals', I leaft it in because it sounds nice, but the crown petals of Petunia are actually fused to a single one, hehe.
Thanks as well for those who encouraged us about the OC's. Diptam has grown rather dear to me, and btw. Diptam is also a plant, Dictamnus albus. One of my favs, actually.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, theories, expectations and so on, and don't forget about telling us if you're interested in a discord server.

ML: Yeh, as Ystävä says, most of this came together as the prior chapter was in writing hell for me, those visions are a big reason why we have been slower in recent times, so apologies for that. But, as said prior, these are the pivots on which Zuko's motivations and characterisation move, so I hope we can continue to bring forward a more assured and self-confident Zuko moving forward, as he has begun to do so here in this chapter.

Moving onto Zuko's foil, Sokka. Sokka has been our minor antagonist throughout the work so far, and it is going to be challenging for him to get out this mindset. Hopefully the more tactful diplomatic approaches that being amongst kin and the tribe might make Sokka understand more how he can't protect everybody, but alas, certain mentalities will need some time to think out.

Sorry that we aren't bringing much of the rest of the Gaang into the story, as we progress towards our end 'set piece' as it were, they will begin to fill out, as we have some fun scenes planned for what's coming :).

Finally, to Iroh and Diptam. I must admit, I had forgotten a fair smidge of the conversation, so it was refreshing for me to go back and get involved in our mindsets back then, and then to layer in floriography was an added challenge, but equally great fun at the same time, and I hope it paid off for you guys.

Looking forward to showing you more of how our characters continue to evolve in the coming chapters, especially with Sokka and Katara being thrust back into the environment of home, it will be interesting how they now feel about the social dynamic after so much travelling.

As an absolute final note, we would love to have you guys's opinion on a discord server me and Ystävä have thought to make. Inspired by zenzanightwing (great fanfic writer, wholly recommend their work), it would be a great way to allow for us to quickly respond and explain our decisions to you guys in a quick and engaging way, if you want it of course, as well as just a safe and fun space to chat out about Avatar of course ;) (thanks Ystävä :P). Love all of you, thank you for your patience and encouragement, it really keeps us going to make this world the best it can be. Lots of love in these times, and onwards to when we can publish the next chapter :).

Floriography Glossary:
A word to our use of floriography: ML and I both found out about floriography separately. Nowadays its use from Victorian times is most well known. Flower/plant symbolism back then was used to send coded messages to express feelings which could not be spoken aloud in Victorian society. It was also used to symbolize allegiances.
I don't know who suggested it, but we decided it was fitting for the Order of the White Lotus. As for the meanings, ML and I used multiple sources to get all the meanings we needed and different sources sometimes give different meanings. In our glossary, we only included the meanings we intended, the first mentioned one being the primary one, sometimes there were nuances we felt worth mentioning, in that case we mentioned them too..

hawthorn = hope, protection, banishes strife, meant to overcome harshness

lemon blossoms = 1 discretion, 2 fidelity,

chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) = justice

petunia = resentment and anger - but never despair

magnolia = nobility, dignity, perseverance

yellow carnation =rejection and disdain, disappointment

clematis = filial love, love of family

lily = 1 majesty, 2 purity of heart

columbine = desertion

sorrel = parental affection

butterfly weed = 1 Let me go, 2 sad remembrance, 3 hope from sorrow

coriander = hidden worth

Rosebay (Nerium oleander) = mistrust, beware, caution

water lily = purity of heart

acacia =friendship

syringa = you shall be happy, pride