"Hey Suluk, you home?" Sokka tapped the ice wall impatiently. He stepped back from the door and gave Yue an unsure shrug.
Yue was standing off to the side, leaning on the wall of the house. It had been surprising how different she could make herself look. With her crown absent and the hood of her parka hiding her distinctive white hair, Yue wouldn't be recognised by anyone who didn't know her personally.
It was a mystery how she'd met him without any of her handlers tailing her, but Yue had dodged the question when he'd asked. That was fine with him, so long as she wasn't putting herself in danger doing it.
"Alright I'm coming!" Suluk shouted. He pushed the furs aside halfway then sighed when he saw who was waiting for him. "Oh, it's you. I already gave you my warning. There's not much else I can do."
"Actually there is," Sokka replied. He flipped open his notebook and held a pencil ready. "I need you to tell us about your uncle's investigation into the smuggling ring."
Suluk pinched the brim of his nose. "I'm not at the liberty of sharing details of an official investigation with civilians."
"Not even for me?" Yue chose that moment to speak up, twirling her crown around her fingers with a grin.
The Pitkurak seemed to notice Sokka's companion for the first time. He opened his mouth to retort, but whatever words he was about to say died in his throat the second he saw the crown.
"P-Princess Yue!" Suluk's mouth hung open in disbelief.
"May we come inside?" Yue gestured to the table.
Suluk pushed the furs aside quickly. "Oh of course of course! Right this was!"
He led Sokka and Yue into his house, gesturing for them to sit down at the table. The Pitkurak was unnerved, he kept shooting Sokka disbelieving looks. After all, it was not every day somebody showed up at your house with a princess in tow.
"Now, Pitkurak Suluk," Yue began, taking a seat opposite Suluk. "My friend here says you have information that could aid us in an investigation."
Sokka leaned against the wall, slightly out of Suluk's line of sight. Better to keep him unnerved, with all his attention on Yue. Officially, Suluk didn't have to share information with the princess. Yue's privileges extended only as far as Arnook allowed and aiding in law enforcement investigations was not one of them. That said, Yue had a far greater chance of getting him to talk than Sokka did.
"Of course! Anything you need!" Suluk stammered out. "What would you like to know?"
Yue folded her fingers on the table. "What exactly was the nature of your uncle's investigation?"
"About five years ago my uncle, Sunagga, suspected some of the merchants in the local markets were acting as distributors for a smuggling ring," Suluk began, with Sokka jotting down everything he said in his notebook. "They had goods that shouldn't be available. We even caught a few of them selling psychedelic drugs in the markets. It was derived from some cacti the tribes in the Si Wong desert started peddling, so they had to be getting their supply through some illegal channels. Sunagga worked on the case for a few months before the department transferred him. Let's just say he didn't like that, so he started investigating independently in his spare time before he disappeared."
"Did he ever share any of the details with you?" Yue asked.
Suluk began to fidget. "Er… not really," he stammered out, looking down at the table.
"Come on Suluk," Sokka stepped forward and leaned on the table. "He didn't say anything?"
"Fine, I'll tell you. But you have to swear not to tell anyone! Sharing case work with me wasn't exactly legal and I don't want my uncle's memory sullied."
"Of course, this stays strictly between the three of us," Yue agreed.
"Sunagga would often have me help him," Suluk admitted. "I was just a junior investigator at the time, but I'd look over his notes and he'd bounce ideas off me. That sort of thing. He had a list of merchants he strongly suspected were distributors for smugglers."
Yue and Sokka exchanged a look. 'Should we get Suluk to take us to one?' Sokka mouthed. The princess nodded and turned back to Suluk.
"If you don't mind, we'd like to interview one of these merchants."
They followed Suluk through the narrow streets of the bustling marketplace, a tide of people pressing in on them from all sides. Sokka had to squeeze himself inward just to keep up with the other two. Merchants and street vendors shouted out their prices while the shoppers conversed with their neighbours and friends. It was hard to even hear himself think.
Suluk ducked into a short alleyway mercifully free of people. He pointed over to a large shop across the street, where a fat moustached man was showing a couple an expensive-looking necklace.
"That's our guy."
"How did your uncle know he was in the smuggling business?" Sokka asked.
"When Ozai took his father's throne, the chiefdom ordered the Water Tribes to only import food products and other necessities. We didn't know if Azulon's son would respect our independence the same way his father did so we wanted to be prepared for a long siege. But this merchant, despite the restrictions, always seemed to have foreign luxury goods available."
"Maybe he just had a large stockpile?" Sokka suggested. "I don't want to start something until we're absolutely sure."
Suluk shook his head. "No, he definitely was receiving new stock. See, most other merchants have the sense to at least display less of the goods so they can maintain the illusion that they have limited supply. Every now and then they might 'find' some more in their warehouses but as long as they keep it quiet, law enforcement would overlook it. This guy, however, is an idiot. He probably moved more stock in those months than he did his entire life. Every criminal gets lazy or cocky eventually."
"How can the government turn a blind eye to criminal activity?" Yue demanded.
The Pitkurak laughed ruefully. "Who do you think buys this stuff? All of these high-society types still want their luxuries. A chief hates smuggling, until he has to buy some perfume or new jewelry to appease his wife. So long as they don't start peddling drugs or making it too obvious like that moron, the Pitkuraks don't send people like my uncle after them."
"Well that doesn't make it right."
"Oh certainly, but these wealthy families don't believe the law applies to them… present company excluded of course!" Suluk hastily corrected, remembering exactly who he was talking to.
As Suluk and Yue conversed, Sokka crouched down and peered around the corner, taking a moment to examine the store. He watched with narrowed eyes as a dishevelled man pushed through a small door in the side of the building. The merchant gave him a quick glance and returned to his customers. A few minutes later, the man emerged from the store and disappeared into the crowd, but not before leaving a sizable purse on the merchant's counter.
Very suspicious.
"I think this is our guy," Sokka stated. He nodded to Suluk. "Thank you for your help, we can take it from here."
"If you think you're getting rid of me that easily, you've got another thing coming," Suluk responded with a dour expression. "At least one of us should actually be licensed to conduct investigations."
"In that case, I've got a plan for how we can approach this. You and Yue pose as buyers," Sokka pointed to the short line of people waiting out the front of the store. "Try and keep the merchant occupied as long as you can."
"I think I can do that," Yue nodded. "I'll ask some questions about where his stock comes from. Sort of like; 'oh, a necklace from Ba Sing Se! How exotic!'" Yue's voice was now high pitched and girly. She batted her eyelashes daintily, placing a hand on Suluk's shoulder. "'Please dear, can you buy it for me?' These merchants love to tell a good story about where their jewelry comes from."
Sokka grinned. Yue was quite the actress.
"That's perfect! Take up as much of his time as possible, I've got something to check out that might give us some leverage over the merchant."
They nodded in agreement and pushed their way back into the bustling marketplace. As Sokka made his way through the crowd he let his hair fall loosely over his face then bent forward to mess it up. Hopefully he looked bad enough to pass for a vagrant.
As Suluk and Yue approached the merchant, Sokka made his move.
"Ah, welcome to Morlaq's Trading Emporium! Spices, jewelry, fabrics. You want it? It's yours, my friends!" The merchant announced, waving a hand over his display case. "So long as you have the coin!"
While the merchant was distracted, Sokka ducked into the side of the store. He carefully tiptoed to the back, thankful that ice didn't creak like wood.
"Oh this tiara is simply gorgeous!" Yue squealed, pointing to a golden circlet adorned with jade. "Where did you find it?"
Morlaq glanced at the item in question. "Oh, you have a keen eye indeed, young lady. This fine piece was crafted by a master jeweler in the Earth Kingdom city of Chang'an. Some of his finest work, might I add."
Sokka peered into one of the crates. Nothing but rolls of fabric. Carefully he checked the next few. None of them had what he was looking for. With a sigh, Sokka stood back up only to bang his head against a shelf, causing a loud thump to echo through the store.
Biting his tongue to stop his cry of pain, Sokka ducked behind a crate just as Morlaq turned to scan the back of his shop with critical eyes.
Yue's eyes widened and she quickly pointed at a necklace. "Oh, and what about that?"
"Another fine piece! Fire Nation, very exotic!" Morlaq didn't even really check the necklace. If Sokka had to guess, he'd say the merchant was making this all up.
"Wow, so shiny!" Yue picked up the necklace.
Morlaq's beady eyes narrowed. "Do not touch the jewelry unless you intend to buy!"
Sokka rolled out from behind his cover and glanced at a few crates stacked in the back of the store. The crates had sugar written down the side. Now, who would ever need that much sugar? Sokka pried the lid off one and found not sugar, but rows of tiny green vials. Perfect.
He whistled, drawing the attention of his two companions and the shop owner.
"Hey, what are you doing back there!" Morlaq shouted, moustache twitching in anger. He stepped out from behind the counter. Sokka ignored the merchant and tossed one of the vials over to Suluk.
Morlaq's eyes widened as the Pitkurak sniffed the liquid experimentally. Suluk's nose wrinkled and he quickly stuffed the cork back on the vial.
"Care to explain why you have cactus juice stashed in your back room?" He asked, placing the vial down on the counter.
"How is it any of your business?" Morlaq crossed his arms.
Suluk sighed and pulled out his Pitkurak seal. "I'm making it my business. Would you like to take this out back?"
The sight of the seal made Morlaq inhale sharply. He nodded and drew the curtains to his stall, leaving the oil lamps as the only lightsource in the suddenly dim room. Suluk stepped inside, pushing the merchant down onto a crate. With a wave of his hand, the ice leapt up to freeze Morlaq's legs to the ground. The shopkeep gulped as Suluk loomed over him. Yue stood by the door while Sokka fiddled with his jawblade behind him. That ought to keep the merchant on edge.
"Now things will go a lot more smoothly for you if you don't make my life difficult. Are we clear?" Suluk held his finger in front of Morlaq's nose. With no other options, the merchant nodded. "You get your stock from smugglers. Correct?"
"No, I get my stock from the traders down at the docks!" Morlaq sweats nervously.
So, he fears his suppliers? No doubt they punish disloyalty severely. Sokka grinned. This could work to his advantage.
Suluk glared daggers at the man. "Cut the crap. You have half a dozen crates of prohibited substances in your store. We can easily make you for a distributor. Now are you going to tell us what we want to know, or is my friend going to have to get violent?"
Taking the hint, Sokka placed the cool bone of his jawblade against the merchant's neck. Morlaq gulped and leaned away as the blade dug into his flesh.
"No! I had no idea those were there!" Morlaq shook his head as much as the knife at his throat would allow. "I have people restock my store each morning! They must have left some of their crates here by mistake! You should look into them!"
"We've been watching you, Morlaq. We've seen half a dozen people enter your store to purchase these substances," Yue spoke up. That was a lie, but Morlaq didn't need to know that. "You're the one they pay. What's the penalty for sale and distribution again?"
"5 years at least," Suluk replied, grinning at the merchant. "Tell me, do you have somebody to run this place for you? Because after five years in Kakkaaktuk, you won't have a store to come back to."
Morlaq held his hands up submissively. "No no no, I'll talk! Don't send me to that horrid place!"
"Smart man," Suluk grinned. "Now, my friend is going to ask you some questions. Answer truthfully, or I'll have you hauled before a court this afternoon."
He couldn't have nodded quicker.
Sokka stepped around so he was in front of the merchant. He passed the notebook and pencil to Yue and met Morlaq's eyes, daring him to lie. "I'll ask you again: do you get your supply from smugglers?"
"Yes," Morlaq answered with a defeated sigh. "I get a shipment weekly. The drugs are more of a side business."
"Talk damn it! Where do you get your shipments from?"
He cringed and turned away. "Look I'm just a small time merchant-"
"With this kind of setup?" Yue rolled her eyes. "To afford this place, you must be making a lot of sales. Small time, you say? Do I look like I was born yesterday?"
"And I don't think that's just a week's supply in those crates," Suluk added. "With that much, I say you're an intermediary. You store the cactus juice in this store, then distribute it to other vendors."
"So are you going to tell us the truth or say goodbye to this little place?" Sokka leaned closer. Morlaq couldn't meet his gaze.
"Fine! Yes, I store shipments here. They sell to me and I sell to other street vendors around the suburb."
"How about the smugglers themselves? Where do they bring the goods into the country?"
"Please, I don't know! Some scary-looking guys come here off-hours and deliver what I'm supposed to sell for the weak."
Sokka's eyebrow twitched with irritation. Morlaq was dodging every question like a true salesman. What Sokka needed to do was approach the problem differently, with a different kind of leverage. Something far more valuable to the merchant.
"You have family, don't you?" Sokka leaned closer. Just as he expected, Morlaq's pupils dilated. "Oh yes, I see it in your eyes. Tell me, what do you think will happen to them when you're dragged in chains to Kakkaaktuk? Perhaps your smuggler friends might pay them a visit? After all, you led us right to them."
Deep down, Sokka felt slightly guilty about exploiting a man's love for his family for his own benefit. That wasn't him. Yet when he spoke to the merchant, the words just flowed off his tongue. Emotional manipulation wasn't something Sokka considered himself good at...
"Oh spirits!" Morlaq cried, the blood drained from his face.
...but the results spoke for themselves.
"So you better give us something..." Sokka poked his jawblade on the merchant's nose, drawing a small trickle of blood. "Or my associates will have your face and address on every bulletin board next morning."
Tears poured from Morlaq's eyes. "Please, have mercy! You can't tell them!"
"Then talk. We want to hear everything."
"Naujaat! I heard some of the smugglers talking about Naujaat! That's where the ships arrive!" Morlaq cried, now reduced to a whimpering mess.
Whatever guilt Sokka felt vanished in an instant. Morlaq had been lying to them. Sokka may have used unsavory tactics to get him to talk, but it was more important that he talked at all. The feelings of a lying drug peddler were not something he should concern himself with. Not when a spy was threatening the security of the Northern Water Tribe.
"Now was that so hard?" Suluk asked, giving the merchant a pat on the face. He hauled a crate of cactus juice onto his shoulder. "We'll be taking this as evidence. If your information turns out to be unreliable, rest assured that we'll have every Pitkurak in the city tearing this place apart. Understood?"
"Yes, yes!" Morlaq wailed.
Suluk unfroze the merchant's legs, letting him fall to the ground in a heap. The trio made their way to the door. Just as they were about to exist, Sokka turned back to the snivelling man.
"One more question: Have these smugglers ever traded in information?"
"I don't know! Now leave me alone!"
Sokka nodded. It was a long shot after all. There was still nothing linking these smugglers to the death of his mother. But he had another lead. All he had to do now was find Naujaat.
Sokka helped Suluk lower the crate down onto the ice. Who knew psychedelic drugs could weigh so much? At least they had the blackmail needed to keep the merchant silent. With a heavy sigh, Sokka wiped his face down with his sleeve.
"So… has anybody ever heard of Naujaat?" Sokka asked, glancing between his two companions.
"I think I've heard of it, but I can't remember where..." Yue trailed off. "Suluk, do you have a map I could borrow?"
Suluk nodded and rummaged around his desk. "Sure, just give me a second... here!"
He rolled a bound scroll out over the desk. It was weathered, but still legible. Locations were marked down in block letters, next to small dots scattered all over the North Pole. Yue trailed her finger across the parchment, scanning through the names.
"Here it is," Yue tapped the map. Sokka and Suluk leaned over her shoulder. Naujaat was nothing but a small scribble under Agna Qel'a. Had Yue not pointed it out, Sokka would have missed it entirely.
It would take the better part of a week for a message to travel from a Fire Nation outpost near the North Pole to a naval base in the south via messenger hawk, then a few days to muster a force and send it to the Southern Water Tribe. For a spy to send a message in time, they'd have to reach Naujaat in less than two weeks.
"How long would it take to reach that town by land?" Sokka asked.
"A week, if they had a fast enough sled," Yue answered.
"So the spy had enough time to send their message!"
Suluk's eyes snapped up to look at the duo. "I'm sorry, did you say a spy? What exactly are you two investigating?"
Sokka and Yue shared a look. Could he afford to trust another person with their mission? As if reading his mind, the princess nodded slowly. He sighed. Yue was right. Suluk had already proven himself useful. He'd risked his life to warn Sokka at the docks and without him, they wouldn't even have this lead.
"Okay, Suluk. I think you have the right to know," Sokka began. "We have reason to believe that there is a spy operating in this city selling state secrets to the Fire Nation through a network of smugglers."
"That's what you were doing at the docks? Tui's mercy..." Suluk took a few steps back and sat down on the desk, resting his head in his hand.
Yue held his shoulder to steady him. "So now you know why we needed your help. This could be one of the biggest threats to the Northern Water Tribe in decades. The spy already had Sokka's mother killed. Who knows what else they could've told the Fire Nation?"
"It gets worse," Suluk jerked his shoulder out of Yue's hold. "You know my uncle was investigating the smugglers. As I said, the department transferred him just as he was making progress."
Sokka felt numb. The pieces came together to paint a horrible picture.
"The one question I could never answer was why?" Suluk whispered into nothing. "Sunagga suspected the smugglers had some Pitkuraks on their payroll and that they transferred him to save their hides. But if what you said is true…"
"It would mean the spy has the city law enforcement in their pocket," Sokka finished for him. Yue gasped.
"Exactly."
The air felt cold, even though the fire was still burning bright. This conspiracy ran deeper than Sokka ever could've fathomed, yet his instincts told him they weren't even near the bottom of it yet. Damn it all, he just felt so useless. It would be better if he just gave up. How was he supposed to protect Katara and Aang, solve a mystery and fight an entire army of criminal thugs all alone?
A warm hand rested on his back. Sokka turned, coming face to face with a pair of sky-blue eyes. Yue gave him a soft smile of encouragement. Well, maybe not entirely alone, Sokka thought. He had friends to watch his back.
"So… what do we do?" Yue broke the silence.
No matter what, Sokka couldn't give up. These spies were a threat to his sister, this tribe and the world itself. Giving up was unacceptable.
"We continue on our path," He spoke clearly, meeting each of their eyes with a steady and determined gaze. "We know where they bring their payments into the country and I bet they send their information out of the same port. That should be our next target. We sneak into the town and see what we can find."
"I'll come with you. I can be pretty good at sneaking around," Yue offered. Sokka raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "What? Do you know how many times I've had to evade handlers and Kuivuka's little shit of a son?"
"That's a colourful vocabulary for a princess," Suluk commented.
Yue rolled her eyes. "You haven't met him."
"Ok then. So Yue is with me," Sokka nodded. He made a mental list of some things to pack. Rope was a necessity. Food rations, just in case. And maybe… oh yes. That would work just nicely.
"Meanwhile, I'll see if I can find the guys who transferred my uncle and any known associates," Suluk offered. "That way we know who to steer clear of and who we could investigate."
"Excellent idea. I'm going to need some time to prepare for the infiltration. Is four days enough for you?" Sokka asked. Suluk paused and nodded.
Having a plan in place was a weight off Sokka's shoulders. Though the odds seemed insurmountable, he felt like he had a way to crack this spy ring. Between the three of them, Sokka genuinely believed there was a chance they could pull this off.
Yue meanwhile was studying Sokka closely. When he noticed, she gave him a mirthful smile. "So… nice hairstyle."
Sokka quickly felt his hair, realising it was still unbounded and messy. He flushed red, much to Yue's amusement.
"I'm not kidding. You should let your hair down more often."
Yue giggled, seeing his blush get a few shades redder.
"Can you run me through exactly what you're doing again?"
Katara trailed after Sokka with her arms crossed, glaring into the back of his head. Sokka tried to ignore her, focusing instead on securing a bundle of food rations to Appa's saddle. Daylight was running out and there was still so much to do. The small bags of grenades had yet to be secured and they were absolutely critical for Sokka's plan to have a chance of working. Aang was nearby, blissfully ignoring the siblings in favour of scratching under Appa's chin. The sky bison gave the Avatar an appreciative lick.
"I'm going on a trip with Yue," Sokka pulled on a rope to tie the bundle down.
Katara placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's not the answer I want. Why are you going on a trip and where are you going?"
Sokka paused to think. He didn't like lying to Katara, but if he told her the truth she'd only request to come along. Probably with Aang. This was unacceptable. He'd sooner eat pufferfish than put his sister in harm's way and Aang was far too important. Sokka, on the other hand, was not.
"...Princess Yue is taking me to visit a family home about a day's flight from the capital. I may be there for a few days."
Katara raised an eyebrow and picked up a grenade from a nearby crate. "And what kind of home is expecting you to bring explosives?"
"The kind I'm planning on impressing a girl at," He shot back, a faint red colouring his cheeks.
Even though the lie was necessary to keep Katara safe, it didn't make it any less embarrassing for him. Because it was definitely a lie. Yue might have been intelligent and stunningly beautiful, but it didn't mean Sokka had a crush on her! There was the small matter of her being engaged to someone else he had to consider.
To his despair, Katara believed him.
"Ohhh, Sokka's in loovveee!" She sang with a mocking glint in her eye.
Aang peared over Appa's head, a lopsided grin on his face. "Do you want to make smoochy faces with the princess?"
"You're one to talk," Sokka grumbled.
The Air Nomad's crush on Katara could not be any more obvious if he carved her name into his glider. Sokka still wasn't sure how he felt about that. Even though he had no problem admitting he was protective of Katara, it wasn't like he could get in her way if she wanted to pursue a relationship with Aang. It was just one of the many things in life he had no power over.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Yue asked, standing at the end of the courtyard with a soft smile on her face. Sokka went pale. How much had she heard?
"Nope, I'm almost done! Just need to load a few more things and we can leave."
Yue had a heavy-looking backpack slung over her shoulders and was dressed in a dark grey warrior's parka. Instead of her usual looping style, her hair was done up in a simple utilitarian bun. She even had a short spear strapped to her back, much to Sokka's surprise. Not a lot of noble ladies could pull off the warrior look, but Yue certainly managed. And Sokka couldn't help but stare.
Katara looked between the duo and gave Sokka a knowing grin which he stubbornly ignored. Meanwhile, the crate of grenades had caught Yue's attention.
"Sokka, what is this thing?" Yue picked up one of the ceramic balls and held it up to her face.
This called for a demonstration!
"Wait there and I'll show you!"
Sokka picked up a metre-long length of bone. It was forked at one end and had a slight curve down the middle. A leather pouch was wrapped between the forked end, just wide enough for holding the grenades. After a long discussion with Katara, he'd decided on the name 'bone lever'. Her idea for a name was better than Sokka's.
What kind of name was 'super-awesome staff of explosions' anyway?
"These are some things I made that should come in handy later," Sokka held the grenade aloft like a stage performer and was rewarded by a giggle from the princess. He fit the grenade snuggly in the pouch on the bone lever, leaving the detonator out.
"You may want to stand back," Katara whispered to Yue. Her eyes widened and she stepped back hurriedly. Aang had covered his ears and Momo flew off out of sight. Appa meanwhile continued munching on seaweed, completely unfazed by what was happening.
Sokka took a wide stance, holding the bone lever loosely in one hand. "I stand like this and step forward, bringing the bone lever up and over me for additional leverage." He walked through the movements slowly, explaining each step to his small audience. "Now, for real this time."
He stuffed a detonator into the grenade. With a tremendous heave, Sokka pushed his body weight through his weapon. The grenade flew out of it's pouch, sailing across the sky before landing in the ice over a hundred metres away. Unlike his first grenades, this one exploded in an intense fireball, leaving behind a roaring inferno surrounded by tiny flames.
Yue's eyes widened. "Sweet La, what was that?"
"That was a grenade," Sokka allowed himself a proud grin. Katara gave him an encouraging round of applause while Aang refused to look at the blaze. "The Fire Nation uses metal ones in their army, but I figured out how to make a good substitute. This type in particular is called the hot-fiery ball of-"
Katara sighed. "Incendiary grenade."
"Incendiary grenade," Sokka hastily corrected. Why were the names Katara came up with always so much better? "I realised I couldn't get any black powder here, so I tried using other substances. One time I tried whale oil but it didn't really give much of a bang, but it set things on fire. I thought that might be useful at some point."
"I can see why," Yue nodded slowly, a smile working its way onto her face. "I'll very much enjoy seeing them in action."
Sokka flushed red at the praise. He ignored Katara's smug look and gestured to the sky bison.
"Well I wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting."
Yue couldn't get enough of it. She leant as far out from the saddle as she could, watching in wonder as the ground passed by beneath them. Even the knowledge of what they had set out to do couldn't dispel the childlike joy of soaring through the sky.
"Wow, I can't believe you do this every day!"
Sokka leaned back on the saddle. "Yeah, we pretty much live here."
"Is it always this cold in the sky?" Yue scooted close to him.
A red blush appeared on Sokka's face. He glanced at her and for a moment was lost in those sky-blue eyes. Did Yue always have those tiny dimples? As he studied every detail of her face, Sokka unknowingly found himself closing the distance separating them. Or was it Yue who was leaning towards him? It didn't matter, because soon only a few centimetres of cold air remained between them. Yet despite the otherworldly pull dragging him towards her, Sokka turned away.
"Yeah… it's often cold up here."
Why? Why had he turned away? It was time to stop lying to himself, he liked Yue more than he probably should. So why couldn't he allow himself to be happy?
"I can see that," Yue turned away with a huff.
It couldn't be because she was engaged. Yue had made it pretty clear she loathed the person she'd been arranged to marry. Was he afraid it could interfere with the mission? That would be a sensible reason, but it didn't strike true. Being around the princess made him feel happier than he'd felt in a long time. Yet when he tried to picture a life with her, all he could see was Yue alone. Without him.
Maybe that was it.
Hours ticked by before Yue broke the awkward silence.
"So… you and your sister. You seem close."
He let Appa's reins slip through his fingers and laid on his back.
"You could say that. When our mum died and our father left to fight the war, that was the hardest time of my life. We each had to take on a lot of responsibility, both to our tribe and each other. It wasn't easy, but I could always rely on Katara to look out for me."
"Wow Sokka. That's…" Yue trailed off. "You are both lucky to have each other. I wish I had a sibling."
"I don't think I could've done it without her. There were a lot of times I just felt so useless, but she was always there."
"There is no way you ever deserved to feel useless," Yue scoffed. "You want to know what useless is? My responsibility to this tribe amounts to smiling and waving for twenty years then getting married off to some spoilt noble spawn," she jabbed his chest hard. "So don't ever feel like you're useless."
"You can't blame yourself. You're clearly a very talented lady, it's not your fault this tribe wastes your talent on 'spoiled noble spawn'."
"Would you believe me if I told you Hahn, the mini-Kuivuka, was my best option?"
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Not for a second. If Kuivuka's kid is anything like his dad, I struggle to imagine anything worse."
"If only that were true," She sighed. "The other 'highly recommended' option was Yakone, Tapak's psychopath of a son. I hear he likes breaking the wings of seagulls and watching them struggle to fly. No thanks."
"Damn. I'm sorry I had to be proven wrong."
Yue laughed ruefully. "Thanks. So trust me, I understand what it's like to feel useless. Count yourself lucky that you have the drive and ability to better your homeland. I couldn't do half of the things you've done for your tribe."
"Don't sell yourself short," Sokka swung his arm around her shoulders. "You're about to infiltrate a smuggler stronghold to uncover a plot against the city itself. A stronghold we only discovered because of you. You're not useless."
"Thanks Sokka. That means a lot to me."
Silence reigned again. As Sokka guided Appa through the sky, he let his mind wander. He could understand Yue's feelings. She wanted to help her tribe just like him and struggled with feeling inadequate. Hakoda had left big boots to fill. When Sokka found himself failing in the responsibilities he'd been tasked with, it felt like he wasn't living up to Hakoda's legacy. A small part of him died every time he had to tell the children they'd be going hungry that night because he'd returned home empty-handed or when Katara cried herself to sleep when she thought nobody was listening.
Failure stung hard, but at least his failures were his own. It was a different kind of torture to know you were capable of making a difference and not being able to. No wonder Yue had chosen to help in his investigation, it must be her only way of doing something for her tribe.
Sokka studied the princess closely. She had taken to running a whetstone across her spear, so focused on her task that she didn't notice Sokka staring. Dimly Sokka wondered how the princess came to possess such a weapon. After all, the Northern Water Tribe didn't have female warriors.
A thought occurred to Sokka. "Are you any good with that short spear?"
"Not as good as I wish I was," Yue replied, not looking up from her task. "But I can hold my own."
That was a relief. The last thing Sokka wanted was to send Yue out alone with no way to defend herself if she was discovered. He watched as she pocketed the stone and held the spear aloft, giving it a few experimental swings.
"How did you learn to use it?" He asked.
"'Learn' is a strong word. As I'm sure your sister has told you, we don't exactly teach women how to use weapons up here. I was lucky to own this spear and be allowed to observe the warriors train, so I'd sneak out some nights and practice what I saw."
Satisfied with the spear's sharpness, Yue placed it by her side.
"How did you come to own that spear? It looks like a fine weapon," Sokka compliments. He wouldn't mind having a sword made like that.
"It was my brother's."
He nodded, then remembered something. "But I thought you said you didn't have any siblings?"
"I don't," Yue gave him a hard stare. "It was my brother's."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Inuk died as an infant years before I was born. Mum and Dad had… issues with childbirth, but Dad already had the spear made for him. So when I was born, he handed it down to me. It was supposed to be a kind of keepsake, but I like to think Inuk would be proud I made use of it."
"The number one thing an older brother wants for their little sisters is for them to be safe," Sokka told her. "He'd be happy for you."
Yue held the spear tightly, her eyes closing as a faint smile appeared on her face. Sokka turned away, letting the princess have a private moment.
And not a moment too soon. Far below them, a crescent of orange lights had appeared on the horizon at the edge of the icy tundra. Waves battered against the shore of the town, leaving trails of white foam on the deep blue water and rocking the ships piled into the half-moon harbour.
They had arrived at Naujaat.
Under the cover of night, Sokka and Yue peered over an icy cliff at the town far below them. Some light snowfall drifted lazily from the cloudy sky, melting in the surging waves of the ocean. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, telling Sokka the calm weather wasn't going to last the night.
Yue had been the one to spot this cliff during the aerial passes they'd made in the twilight hours, and Sokka could not ask for a more perfect vantage point to survey the site. It would keep Appa concealed from the local garrison and let Sokka study the movements of the patrols while Yue drew a map to plan their infiltration. Calligraphy lessons went a long way in creating a neat map, or at least one far neater than Sokka's dismal attempts.
Naujaat was a trading town, that much was clear. Sokka could spot half a dozen warehouses spread out across the complex. They were simple things, lacking the elegant curves of the capital's architecture in favour of ugly blocks of ice. The sloping roof was held up by rows of square ice pillars. Between them were thinner sections of ice. Parts of the roof were replaced by simple square flaps, raised to allow airflow through the building. Each hole was a metre or so across. Set between the large warehouses were smaller houses where the dockhands and guards must live.
Glowing pinpricks of orange light travelled around the town as patrols went through their routines. Hours blurred together as the two teens studied their movements. The patrols would go through their shifts and then return to the same building. It was two stories tall and unlike the rest of the town still had light shining through the windows.
"That must be the guardhouse," Sokka pointed to the building.
Yue marked it down on the map of the town. "It would make sense for any records to be kept there."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why would smugglers keep records? It's not like they need to pay taxes."
"They still need to keep inventory. How many ships and sleds they need to bring stock to and from Naujaat, the amount of space needed in the warehouses, what the merchants owe them. You don't run anything for nearly a decade without keeping logs. It's a simple fact that comes with running a successful business, legal or not. And that guardhouse is a likely spot to store them."
"In that case, I agree. We should look there first."
He turned his gaze to the docks. They were extensive, reaching around the semicircle bay like the spokes of a wagon wheel. Ship rigging groaned and furled sails flapped in the stiff night breeze. Most of the ships looked fat and slow, but scattered among the fleet of trading vessels were sleeker warships. Shields were hung up along the taffrail and Sokka could even spot ballistas set up along the deck. It was unnerving. Why did criminals maintain such an extensive navy?
But the real crowning jewel of the dockyard was a massive ship near the centre. It must have been nearly 40 metres long, boasting two rows of ballistas on either side. Unlike the other ships, this one was held aloft in a dry dock. To Sokka's surprise, the hull was reinforced by metal plating. Considering that the only ships commonly outfitted with metal were the Fire Nation's fleet, this was very strange. The sails were stowed and the flag unraised, but there was no mistaking it. This was the capital ship of the fleet.
"That's a big ship," Yue exhaled in shock.
"Their records might also be stored there," Sokka pointed down at the docks. "It's in a drydock, so it must be a semi-permanent fixture of the town. The smugglers may prefer a mobile base over a fixed building."
Sokka turned back to the ship and noticed a detail he missed. Written along the bow of the ship in fancy gold lettering was its name: Agloolik.
"If we're going to be searching two locations, I think we'll need a distraction," Sokka shuffled over to get a better look at Yue's map, "I have my grenades. How about I see if I can set fire to these two warehouses?" he pointed at the warehouses closest to their hiding spot. "I can grapple up to the roof by tying a rope to my boomerang then throw some grenades inside. Both of these warehouses are a good distance from the town, so the fire should draw away the patrols."
Yue took the map back. "I'll take Appa and make my way to the guardhouse from here," She gestured to an area just north of the residential areas, set far away from the ocean. "It will be easier to sneak to the guardhouse going through all these alleyways. You'll have to go around the edge of the town after you hit the warehouses to meet back up with me on foot."
Icy wind lashed out at their eyes. As they were watching the patrols, the snow had slowly intensified into a blizzard. Sokka couldn't decide if that was a good thing. On one hand, it would conceal their approach. On the other hand, he wouldn't be able to see anything either. In this featureless waste it would be easy to get lost.
Yue seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I should take Appa to my spot now before the blizzard really sets in."
"I'll wait a few minutes, then make my approach."
"Sokka?"
A hand gripped his shoulder. Yue was fixing him with a glowing gaze, her other hand holding the short spear just under his neck. For a brief moment, a single beam of moonlight broke through the dark clouds, shining down on the couple. The air hummed with a powerful, alien presence.
"Don't die."
He gulped and nodded. "I'll try my best."
"Good," Yue gave him one final look and swung herself up onto Appa and disappeared into the storm swirl. The moonlight left with her, plunging the land into darkness.
Minutes passed in tense silence. Sokka strapped the grenades along his back and fastened the sword and bone lever to his belt. Yue had chosen dark blue parkas for this mission. It would be decent camouflage for night-time snowy environments, not that they needed it. In the gloom of the blizzard, it was hard to even pick out his own hands against the snow. The winds howled as Sokka fastened a coil of rope to his boomerang. He pulled down his snow mask to cover more of his face. Any more exposure in this weather and he'd get frostbite.
Sokka began his trudge through the thick snow. It was exhausting work, but at least the blizzard would cover his tracks. His eyes burned as frozen air sapped them of moisture, but Sokka refused to stop even as sweat froze on his brow. A strong gust of wind made him convulse with shivers. Eventually he resorted to shielding his face entirely. It wasn't like he could see much anyway.
An orange glow appeared in the gloom. Sokka crouched down, watching as a pair of patrolmen rounded the corner of the warehouse. One of them held an oil lamp and the other was clearing a path with waterbending. Lucky bastards.
He held his breath as the two patrolmen drew closer to his hiding spot. Yue's camo was good and a light coating of snow had already piled up on him, but they were barely two metres away from him. Every instinct told him to run before they could catch him, but he had to trust the camouflage.
The waterbender's eyes swept over the expanse. Sokka tensed his muscles, preparing to go for his sword if he was spotted, but the patrolman's gaze passed over him without reaction. They continued along their path, leaving Sokka to power through the last few metres of snow.
There were three openings on the roof of the first warehouse. Two facing Sokka, the other facing the town. He drew his boomerang and gave it a few experimental twirls. The rope was heavy and the winds were violent. He'd need to account for that. In his mind, the howling wind and bitter cold faded as he visualised the path his boomerang would take. It would arc upwards, then be pulled down by the rope and pushed by the wind. If he aimed correctly, the wind would carry it into the window ledge.
Sokka closed his eyes and cast his boomerang into the night. A faint clunk carried across the screeching wind currents. He tugged on the rope a few times. Satisfied it would hold, Sokka hoisted himself up and began to climb. It was slow progress, but with each pull he got a little closer. His arms ached, but soon enough he was hoisting himself up onto the roof. And not a moment too soon. Just as Sokka was pulling the rope up with him, two more patrolmen appeared on the path. He peered over the ledge cautiously, hoping they wouldn't spot any signs of his approach.
They too passed by and Sokka sighed in relief. He scrambled up the roof and rolled over onto the other side. Through the gloom, Sokka could just see the outline of the second warehouse. It looked a lot further away now that he actually had to launch a grenade at it. He hoped the few days of training with the bone lever would pay off.
Sokka loaded an incendiary grenade into his improvised grenade launcher and calculated the shot. A one metre target over a hundred metres away. A target he could barely see. Between it, turbulent winds and heavy snow. Spirits almighty.
With careful aim, he cast the grenade into the sky. It sailed through the gloom and disappeared. Time slowed to a crawl as Sokka waited in tense silence.
A bang resounded through the cold night. A few seconds later, an orange glow appeared in the window of the second warehouse and Sokka let go of the breath he was holding. He'd done it! Not wasting a moment, Sokka scrambled back over to the other side of the roof, tossing two grenades through the window as he passed. He hooked his boomerang to the window and vaulted over the edge, letting the rope slide over his glove. A few jumps and he was back on the ground. Sokka flicked the rope, releasing his boomerang for him to catch it.
Faint sounds of shouting reached his ear, but Sokka didn't wait for the patrolmen to arrive. He sprinted out into the snowy expanse, trying to put as much space between him and the warehouse as possible. He was only a hundred metres from the warehouse when half a dozen men rounded the corner. They seemed to be panicking about something.
To Sokka's despair, they began running out into the snow. He bit down on his tongue in frustration. Damn it all, had he left something behind?
If Sokka looked closer, he might have noticed the fearful faces on the men. They weren't running towards him. They were running away. He did however notice the orange glow in the windows of the first warehouse had suddenly become a lot brighter.
Realisation dawned on him. Sokka leapt into the snow, holding himself flat against the snow mere seconds before a tremendous explosion shook the ground beneath him.
The shockwave sent the other men flying like ragdolls with all the wrath of a vengeful spirit. Burning liquid splattered across the snow, catching one unlucky patrolman in the back. His screams of pain were drowned out by the howling wind, not that Sokka could have heard anything with the ringing in his ears.
It was a few minutes before Sokka finally felt safe enough to stand up again. Looking up, he realised that the large warehouse was gone. In its place, a tremendous inferno raged against the wind and snow.
"Sweet Tui, what happened over there?" Yue asked, seeing Sokka appear through the blizzard. He rolled into the small hole she'd dug and heaved a grateful sigh. Two kilometres of trekking through thick snow and Sokka's vision was starting to blur. His legs were going to be on fire come tomorrow morning.
He threw Appa an envious glare. The sky bison seemed utterly unaffected by the blizzard.
"I don't think jewelry and sugar are the only things these smugglers import," Sokka managed to say between deep breaths. The dry, freezing air scratched at his lungs, but it brough sweet relief to his aching body. "How are the patrols?"
"Thanks to you, most of them are off fighting the blaze. There are only a few patrols left. Our approach should be clear so long as that fire is raging."
It dawned on Sokka just why these smugglers had decided to build that warehouse so far from the rest of the town.
"You lead, I'll watch your back," Sokka offered. The princess nodded and leapt out of her shelter, drawing her shortspear in one fluid motion. He gave the comparatively warm shelter one last longing look before following her.
Yue sprinted to the town, her feet barely sinking into the snow while Sokka was forced to trudge slowly behind her. Pressing herself against the wall of a house, Yue peered around the corner and saw a lone patrolman making his way up the main street. She crept around the back just as Sokka finally caught up with her.
Sokka found himself dragged into the shadow of another house. Yue silently commanded him to crouch down as the patrolman passed by. She pointed to the next alley and sprinted along the pack ice, Sokka following close behind. From alley to alley, they slowly made their way to the guardhouse. There were no more patrols, but Yue didn't relax even for a moment. Finally the duo rounded the corner and spotted their target.
"We're here," she whispered, pointing at the building before them.
It was larger up close. Rectangular and tall, with a small watchtower built into the side. Luckily for them, the watchtower was facing the harbour. A few of the windows on the first floor shone with an orange glow. They'd have to be extra careful to watch out for that. Between them, there was a good twenty metres of open space.
"I say we go through a second story window," Sokka suggested. "I've still got my boomerang and rope."
Yue nodded. "Good idea. Make sure to walk there as normally as possible. We'll draw less attention if we don't look like we're trying to not be seen."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. Her logic made sense. At a distance, they could pass for dockhands or guards, especially under the cover of the blizzard where only a silhouette could be seen. But it went against his every instinct. He followed Yue at a steady pace, resisting the urge to break into a sprint. After what felt like an eternity, they made it. Sokka tossed his boomerang up into an unoccupied window and pulled himself up then turned to help Yue.
He closed the furs behind them. It felt good to be indoors, sheltered from the blizzard. It was a pity there was no time to enjoy the feeling. Any moment a guard may walk in through that door and it would all be over.
"What exactly are we looking for?" He asked Yue. This room was lined with rows of desks. Thin sheets of leather were spread over the tables, each possessing a small unlit lamp hung up on the walls.
Yue led him out of the office. "Something like the Royal Archives. Long rows of scrolls. You check the left side of the corridor, I'll check right."
Sokka nodded. Carefully, he crept to the next door and peered inside. More desks, but no files. The next room was filled with spears, clubs and armour. An impressive collection, but not what he was looking for. Room after room was met with failure until they'd checked all the rooms along the top floor.
Damn it. The floor beneath them had people in it. This was going to make searching infinitely more risky. Unless…
An idea in his head, Sokka ripped the furs covering the window off their fasteners, letting the howling winds rush into the building. Lamps were blown off desks and the leather coverings fluttered in the breeze.
"What are you doing!" Yue hissed.
"Making it look like the blizzard blew the furs off the window. The guards on the first floor will have to come up here to search!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth did an orange glow appear in the stairwell. Sokka grabbed Yue and the two of them leapt from the window to the soft snow below. The princess got to her feet and slipped into the first story window, Sokka following after her. This room only had one long desk down the centre. A meeting room, he'd guess.
"I'll check the left again," Sokka offered. Yue nodded, the short spear gripped tightly in her hands. He could understand the sentiment, his own heart was hammering in his chest. Under the light of the lamps, he felt exposed. He could even hear some of the guards talking. If one were to step out into the hallway…
Footsteps thudded on ice. Sokka and Yue slid into a sideroom just in time to avoid the gaze of a tired-looking guard. He held his weapon loosely and clutched a mug of something warm. Each second passed by agonisingly slowly as they waited for the guard to pass. To Sokka's relief, he didn't even look his way. Another tense minute and Sokka felt safe enough to peer out into the hallway and resume his search.
Soon enough, they made it to the last room of the guardhouse. Spirits, please let the logs be here. Sokka didn't want to spend a moment longer in Naujaat. Yue pushed aside the furs and came face to face with a small stack of leather-wrapped scrolls.
"Finally," She sighed in relief. "Keep watch, I'm going to check through these."
Sokka nodded. He turned to face the fur door, just in time to see a hand push it aside. It was a guard, the same one from before. His tired eyes widened. Just as the guard was opening his mouth to raise the alarm, Sokka delivered a heavy punch to his throat.
The guard wheezed, trying to muster the breath to speak. Gripping his spear, he thrust forward but Sokka sidestepped and pulled his opponent off his balance. Yue gave a quiet shriek of surprise when the spear impaled itself on the wall only a few centimetres from her torso. Not waiting for his opponent to recover, Sokka kneed him in the chest then moved around for a chokehold. A few strangled cries escaped the man, but Sokka kept a tight hold on his neck. After a minute of silence, the guard went limp.
"Damn," Yue looked down at the cooling corpse in stunned awe.
Cold numbness overtook Sokka.He'd just killed somebody. Sure, he had killed before, but there was something different, something far more intimate about killing with your bare hands.
"Keep looking," Sokka commanded, but his mind was still replaying the moment that guard had breathed his last.
As the pile of checked scrolls grew higher, Yue's search got more frantic. It wasn't long before she had to acknowledge the horrible truth: the records they wanted weren't here.
"They aren't here, are they?" Sokka asked. The expression on Yue's face was all the answer he needed. "Maybe we should just cut out losses and escape while we still can."
It wouldn't be long before those patrolmen got the fire under control. Then they'd return and make it far harder for them to escape. Maybe it would be for the best if they escaped now. He could find the answers some other way.
Yue shook her head. "No. This is the definitive proof we need to confirm whether these smugglers are receiving Fire Nation money. We could even find the identity of the higher ups. Security will be increased after what we did today. If we leave now, we're not going to get a second chance. We head for the ship."
As usual, Yue was right. Damn it.
"Then lead the way."
The two teens crept out through the window. The Agloolik loomed before them, it's mast standing defiant against the raging winds. They made their way to the docks, dashing from cover to cover until all that remained was a long, flat pier.
In the distance, the flames of the destroyed warehouse were reduced to a faint flicker.
"We don't have the time to walk. I'll go first then give a signal to follow," Yue didn't wait for him to reply. She took off, dashing across the ice pier then crouching behind one of the pillars of the dry dock. He saw her look across the houses, then beckon him forward.
Sokka took a few breaths to steady his nerves and sprinted after her. He was halfway across when he noticed a glow appear at the crest of a hill. Dread clutched his heart. There was no way he could make it to the drydock in time without being seen, nor was there enough time to go back. Thinking quickly, Sokka leapt to the side.
Straight into the icy waters of the ocean.
COLD COLD COLD! Every cell in his body cried out in agony. The biting chill of the blizzard was nothing compared to this. His movements grew weaker as freezing water sapped his strength. Panic gripped him as the weight of his parka began to drag him down. Sokka had but a brief moment to consider how stupid this idea was.
Days later, Sokka wouldn't be able to recall more than the first few seconds in the water. His mind switched off, surrendering control of his body to instincts honed through a lifetime of survival in the frozen south. He swam forward, even as his limbs grew numb. Armstroke. Kick. Repeat. Over and over. Minutes passed by in an instant.
How much time he spent in that cold ocean, Sokka would never know. Two soft hands gripped him by the armpits and dragged him back onto dry land. He was lifted to his feet then guided to a staircase leading up into the Agloolik. Sokka shuffled forward, too cold to even shiver. Only when they stepped inside the quarters did Yue speak.
"What were you thinking!?"
But the words never reached his brain. Yue shook her head and left, returning a minute later with an armful of pelts. She freed him of the wet parka and draped the pelts over his body.
"Come find me when you're warm and dry. Idiot boy."
Sokka curled up into a ball. Slowly, feeling returned to his limbs. With the return of sensation came violent shivers. The muscles in his back cramped as his teeth chattered uncontrollably. If he thought his muscles ached before, it was nothing compared to now. This pain was all-encompassing, like every part of his body was being jabbed at once.
Minutes passed and slowly the shivers subsided. Sokka took a deep breath of relief. He got to his feet, though his legs threatened to give way underneath him at any moment. But when that moment never came, Sokka took a few cautious steps forward to begin his search for Yue.
The Agloolik was certainly an impressive ship. Tapestries were displayed proudly against gleaming walls of polished wood. A few lanterns were lit, but nobody was here. Down a flight of stairs there was a wooden table complete with actual chairs. These smugglers must have some budget to afford that up here. Sokka found his parka hung over one, leaving a growing puddle on the floor beneath it. He turned and finally spotted Yue in a room built off to the side of this main hall. Wooden shelves were nailed against the wall, filled with hundreds of scrolls. Yue poured over the scrolls, her back to him. He noticed she'd already stuffed some scrolls in her bag.
"Thanks for saving me."
Yue didn't look up. "Be glad I did. Next time you jump into a freezing ocean in the middle of a storm, I might just leave you."
He was surprised to hear the hurt in her voice.
"Trust me, I'm definitely regretting that now," He laughed, but Yue didn't join in. Silence reigned, until Sokka spoke up again. "So, are these scrolls what we're looking for?"
A smile graced her face. "Oh yeah. I've looked through the logs for the goods exported from Naujaat. Take a look at them, see if you can't spot anything odd."
She pointed over at a stack of three scrolls. Sokka moved to unroll one, not liking how his fingertips were now a pale white.
Cod: 54t
Whale hide: 6t
Tuna: 72t
Fish oil: 7520 bottles
That all seemed pretty normal. Water Tribe exports were limited after all. He unrolled the next one.
Cod: 54t
Whale hide: 6t
Tuna: 72t
Fish oil: 7520 bottles
The numbers were the same? It wasn't strictly impossible, but exporting the exact same amount of everything two months in a row was highly unlikely. Finally, Sokka checked the last scroll.
Cod: 54t
Whale hide: 6t
Tuna: 72t
Fish oil: 7520 bottles
"It's fake," Sokka realised. "They're just copying down the exact same export log month after month."
"Exactly. Because they aren't exporting anything!" Yue grinned, taking the scrolls back from him to stuff her bag.
It was just like Suluk said. Eventually, every criminal got lazy and overconfident. And thanks to that, Sokka and Yue had confirmed their theory.
"So the only way they could be paying for all these imports is with offshore income sources? Like, say, a regular bribe from the Fire Nation?"
"Exactly!"
This was it! Finally, definitive proof Sokka was getting somewhere. With every bit of progress made, there was always the underlying fear that he was chasing unrelated leads. Now he knew that he was on the right path.
"We have to get this back to the capital!" Sokka insisted. He grabbed his parka and squeezed out a stream of water. "Get your dad to send a division over here and shut down this whole operation!"
He ran for the exit, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Now just hold on a second. We know these smugglers are the spies, but we need to find their leader and then prove he's connected," Yue explained, fixing him with those deep sky blue eyes. "If we turn them in now, the true criminals will slink away and rebuild once this whole thing blows over."
"You're right. I'm sorry for letting my excitement get the better of me," Sokka apologised. He hung his parka back over the chair.
"Hey, I can't blame you. We finally have solid evidence that these smugglers are selling information to the Fire Nation. This is huge! I'm going to see if I can find a name. Go check those scrolls over there."
She gestured to a shelf set in the far corner of the room, next to a flag hung up proudly on the wall. He paid the flag no mind and began skimming through the scrolls, recording down anything of interest. It appeared they had recently imported a large amount of whale oiland black powder. No wonder that warehouse had burnt like a tinderbox. At one point, he even found a record for the amount of currency stored in a selection of bank accounts located in the Northern Earth Kingdom. That must be where they store the bribe money.
But none of the scrolls he'd searched through had anything on their crime boss. To his dismay, it seemed like the collection of scrolls were incomplete. There should be more information here, like in whose name those bank accounts were assigned. It made sense that the boss would have critical files brought with him when he was in Naujaat, but that didn't make it any less disappointing.
"Got anything?" He asked after a long moment.
Yue turned around. "Not much. I have a list of when this guy meets with buyers who I'm sure are the Fire Nation. If that's true, he told them about your sister a week after Hakoda left, which fits with the timeline. But besides that, there's nothing… else…"
She trailed off, catching sight of something next to him. Sokka followed her gaze to the flag he'd dismissed earlier. A golden trident, set on a deep blue background. The symbols were unfamiliar to him, but not to Yue.
"I know this flag…" She walked over and let her fingers trail across the trident insignia. Suddenly, her face went pale. "No!"
Sokka's eyes widened. "What? What is it?"
But Yue wasn't listening. "They can't have that much power. It's impossible! Why would he do this?"
"Who does the flag belong to, Yue?" Sokka asked, holding an arm out to steady her.
"This flag… it's the symbol of Chief Kuivuka's family."
AN: Alright, this is kind of embarrassing. I actually forgot to upload this chapter three weeks ago and only discovered now that I'm ready to upload another chapter. So I have both Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 ready to upload. As an apology, I'll upload both today. Over 20k words in total. I think these are my longest chapters yet.
HighQueenChickenhead: I completely agree with you. Yue is one of my favourite characters and I wanted her to play a big role in this story, including portraying her in a new light and giving her the opportunity to shine in a way that was both canon-friendly and realistic. And yeah, I wanted to also have Yue being the host of a piece of the moon be more apparent. It can happen any time and Yue does have limited control over this aura, but it's strongest during the full moon. At this time, Yue is filled with energy and thus finds sleep difficult. So yeah, she often takes to wandering around the palace. The archives has does have more than just annual income records though. It contains all kind of data on the Northern Water Tribe, which Yue likes to read because she believes it will make her a better princess if she knows how the nation operates.
Shahryar: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
Matheus Bezerra de Lima: It's cool. I'm sorry for taking such a long time to upload. And yeah, I have felt the story has dragged on a bit but hopefully this chapter puts an end to this. And thanks for the corrections, I'll go back and fix the errors.