I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of Nickelodeon and the creation of Michael DiMartino and Brian Konietzko.
I know the chapter is short, the notes have a better explanation.
Enjoy!
"No Druk, you can't eat the Cat-Gator. Look for some birds."
Shrugging his shoulders, Druk nonetheless jumps to the air in search of some food. He might be gone for a while.
"So what are we looking for again? Cause I'm having a hard time seeing in this mud, and I don't want to hear that we wasted a trip here."
Zuko opened his mouth to answer, but he closed it when he realized he didn't have one.
"Um, I know I'm supposed to find a way to reconnect with Vaatu, but I... don't actually know how to do that."
Toph stomped in the mud and her eyes bugged out. "What?! You're telling that I'm standing in a swamp for nothing?"
"Well, the thing is..."
"I have Swamp Water in my Toes! Do you have any idea how that feels?"
"Well, you don't wear shoes, so..."
"Both of you. Please. We cannot find the answers we seek so long as we continue to bicker with one another."
Zuko looked to his Uncle. What do you suggest?"
Iroh rubbed his beard. "Perhaps... meditation. Yes, that could help.
Uncle seemed a little... distracted. Like he had something on his mind. Actually, he had been like that ever since they entered the swamp.
"Are you ok Uncle?"
"I am fine nephew. I do believe meditation could help us. Relaxing your mind in a place as spiritually empowered as this could help you to reconnect with Vaatu. If he is hidden within your mind, you may be able to find him by clearing it."
Zuko wasn't sure if meditating under a wet tree was going to help. But he also didn't have any other ideas. And Uncle tended to be right.
"We can try that."
Toph snorted.
"If you two want to sit in place and do nothing for a few hours, that's on you. I'm going to go look around."
Iroh looked concerned. "Are you certain that is wise? This swamp is vast, and the chances of losing yourself are quite high."
"You're sitting on dirt, aren't you? It may be squishy, but I can make you well enough. I'll find you."
Iroh was going to respond, but Toph went off without a word. That left only Iroh and Zuko, with Druk deciding to lay down for a nap next to his human.
"I suppose we should begin. Do you know what you need to do nephew?"
"Um, relax my breath, steady my chest, and..."
"Cleat your mind. That is important. Do not allow any clutter within your thoughts to cloud your perception. Doing so would defeat the point of meditation."
"I understand uncle."
Nodding, the two of them took in and released deep breaths.
Toph was just a little peeved off. She came with the two Fire Nation losers because they promised her an adventure. Something to get away from her boring life.
Instead, she was stuck in a muddy swamp while the other two decided that sitting in one place and doing nothing was a good use of time. A waste of time more like it. All this swamp had was weird bugs, muddy earth, and humidity.
She hated it already.
The worst part of al lof this was how hard it was to see. The ground was mostly muddy, so her vision was kinda... gooey? Was that the right word? Maybe.
It mas more like... everything was in its natural shape. It looked the way it was supposed to. It's that it kept changing. It was contorted, bent in a way it should be. She knew what a person's hand looked like. It wasn't supposed to look that chunky.
Chunky? Is that the right word?
Toph's musings were cut short when she felt something. Something in the distance. Her seismic sense was showing her more of the human-shaped globs. They were all walking about in the distance.
"There are people that actually live out here?" Toph thought that was almost impressive. Sure, living in a swamp sounded terrible to her, but that was because she could barely see straight and she hated the temperature. But if other people could figure out how to do it, then good for them.
Wait...
If there were people in the swamp, then maybe she could mess around with them. It sounded more fun than sitting next to Zuko and uncle for a couple of hours doing nothing. At least with other people, she could try doing something else.
If they liked fighting, she could fight them. If they didn't like fighting, she could fight them anyway for fun. And if they had food, she would take some. At least they might have something interesting to offer.
Her mind made up, Toph set out to find the people of the swamp.
South Pole
"Katara, I need to speak with you for a moment."
"Alright, Gran Gran. I'll join you guys in a second."
The group continued preparing their canoe as Katara went to speak with her grandmother.
"What is it?"
"The four of you will be stopping at the North Pole for Aang to learn waterbending. There are some things you should know before you go."
Katara frowned. "What's wrong? Will it be dangerous?"
"Not dangerous in the sense that you must be thinking of. But there are reasons that I left the North years ago."
Kanna sighed. Better to get this over with quickly. "I know you want to go to the North to learn waterbending. You should know right now that they won't teach you."
Katara's eyes widened. "What?! Why not?"
"It is because you are a girl. Women are not allowed to learn fighting in the North. Along with a great many other things."
"That's stupid! Why would they do that?"
"Sexism mostly," Kanna said simply. "Sure, they try to justify it. "Women are inferior to men. A woman's place is in the home, not the battlefield. A fighting woman is a dead woman." Nonsense like that."
Katara looked down, downtrodden. "What am I supposed to do? I want to learn how to fight with waterbending. I need to if I want to help Aang and the others."
"Do you want my advice?"
"I would love that."
"Learn what you can first," Kanna said simply. When Katara frowned, she continued. "I left the North after I had already gained an education. I knew enough about money and travel to get myself over here. I would suggest that you learn whatever you can about waterbending before you leave. Once you do, apply it to other skills and learn to fight. They won't teach you to defend yourself, so you'll have to learn to do it on your own."
Katara tried to smile, but a lot of her plans had just been upended.
Kanna placed her hand on Katara's shoulder. "Don't be too upset dear. I know this might not be what you wished for. But we are people of the Water Tribe. We know how to adapt. And I just know you'll be fine."
Smiling, Katara hugged her Gran Gran one last time. She then went to check on the rest of the group.
She was not surprised to see Sokka already arguing with Gyatso and Aang.
"Are you two serious? Do you really expect me to survive without meat?"
"Sokka, we're going to be stopping at different points. You can buy yourself a snack there."
"A snack? A snack?!" Sokka's eyes were bulging. "Don't even joke like that Aang. Meat is no joke. It is the meaning of life itself! You can't degrade it to a simple Snack!"
Gyatso resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Though he did mentally prepare a few practical jokes for later use.
"Meat is hardly a necessity Sokka. And we have plenty of food to keep us fed until we reach our first stop."
"And where is that, Master Gyatso?"
Gyatso smiled at Katara, who had just rejoined them. Aang did as well.
"There is a small island off the shore of the Earth Kingdom. It has remained neutral since the beginning of the war. We have sent word ahead, and they are willing to help us."
"Ok, quick question," Sokka interrupted. "I know we're taking the boat to that island. But how are we supposed to move on from there?"
Gyatso smirked at the boy.
"Tell me Sokka. Have you ever heard of the Sky Bison?"
Zuko did what his Uncle told him. Or at least, he was trying to.
He was having trouble with the whole "empty your mind" part. The only reason he came was that he wanted to see what was wrong with Vaatu. He needed to know why he was being silent all of a sudden.
There was also the problem of the Ostrich-Horses. They were fine at the moment, but it might not be best for them to stay in the Swamp with them. They didn't have much feed left, and there most likely wasn't anything edible for them in the swamp. There was also the danger of predators and competition for any food that was here.
There were also future problems to consider. Zuko knew that Iroh said he would take care of it, but there were some things that would not leave Zuko's mind.
There was the issue of Fire Lord. If Iroh took the throne, it might not be as easy to change the Fire Nation as they hoped. Iroh used to be the Dragon of the West, the scourge of the Earth Kingdom. The man who laid siege to Ba Sing Se for almost two years. Would anyone be willing to work with him?
There was also the problem of the current Fire Lord. Ozai couldn't keep the throne. Iroh, Vaatu, and everyone else made that clear. He wasn't a good fit. But what would they do with him after removing him from power? If they could.
Imprisoning him would be close to impossible. He was too powerful of a Firebender. Even Iroh was intimidated by him. There was also Azula, who would no doubt do everything in her power to protect Ozai. She was daddy's little girl after all.
The best way to deal with Ozai would probably be to...
"You are distracted Nephew."
Zuko's eyes shot open when he heard his uncle's voice. He looked to see the man looking at him with a concerned expression.
"Your mind is burdened. What is it?"
Zuko took a moment before answering.
"I was just... thinking about the future. What to do when this is over. I don't think it's going to be easy."
Iroh sighed. "I am happy that you are putting thought into it. And you are right, the future will not be easy. But that is not the issue of today. Today, you must focus on reconnecting with Vaatu."
"How do I do that?"
Iroh took a moment to stroke his beard. Then his eyes widened.
"Your spirit fire."
"Huh? What?"
"Zuko, how were you able to create the Spirit Fire necessary to hatch Druk?"
The dragon's head lifted at the sound of its name. He went back to sleep after a pet on his head.
Zuko had to think back. It seemed so long ago.
"I- had to think about myself. I had to realize who I was in that moment, and not think about anything else."
"Exactly. The same thought process can be applied to meditation. Do not think of the past or future. Focus on the present, and on the goal of inner reflection."
Zuko decided to give it a shot. He was able to create Spirit Fire in the past. This shouldn't be too much harder.
Closing his eyes and steadying his breath, Zuko tried to clear his mind. He tried to clear his mind of all unnecessary distractions. He didn't think about the uncertain future. He didn't think about his unhappy past. He focused solely on the present. He was sitting in a swamp, next to a growing dragon, trying to make contact with the spirit inside of him.
It sounded ridiculous, but it was his mission.
Zuko didn't feel anything at first. He didn't know if it was working. He opened his eyes to try and check.
That was when he realized that he was no longer in the swamp. He was sitting in an empty black field. There was literally nothing around him for miles.
And in the distance, he could see a large black figure. And it was yelling.
"Hypocrisy! She is no spirit of order! All she represents is hypocrisy!"
Huh?
Zuko is about to have his conversation with Vaatu. Toph has to deal with some weird Swamp people. And the Gaang is about to set off on their journey.
As for why this update is so short, there is an unfortunate reason for that. I am going back to school this week (online classes), and I might be too busy to keep up with the regular updates that I try to go for. I wanted to leave you guys with something before I potentially become less active. But just to make up for that, I promise that the next chapter will be longer than this one.
Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.
Bye!