All usual disclaimers apply. Still no Kataang. Still T for Toph (and Zuko's foul speech). I feel like I have been missing Sokka's voice lately.


The Western Air Temple… Morning…

Zuko and Aang sat side by side on a balcony facing towards the rising sun. Despite his eyes being closed, Zuko could feel Agni's light over the world, Agni's warmth on him, Agni's power coursing through his veins. He would breathe in and consider his troubles. His betrayal of Uncle, his past actions, his issues with Katara. Then he would breathe out and let the worries go. With his following breath, he considered the changes he had made. His change of heart and sides, his determination to teach the Avatar, his desire to change the world. On his breath out, he focused on solidifying these changes. With his next breath, he considered his new friends; Sokka, the Blue Wolf, Toph, the World's Greatest Earthbender, Suki, Commander of Kyoshi Warriors, Aang, The Last Airbender. With his exhale, he focused on solidifying his relationships with them. His next breath brought some of his other new acquaintances: Hakoda, the Grey Wolf, Teo, The Duke, and Haru and the hardships they had been through. With his exhale, he thought of how their lives will be better. His next inhale brought his current largest challenge: Katara, Last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. Before he could exhale, a large snore drew him from his meditation.

His eyes snapped open into the bright light. The whiteness of the Western Air Temple contrasted against the stone of the canyon and the greenness of the foliage at the top. He looked over to his left and saw his young charge fast asleep. His arrowed head was bowed; chin to chest.

Zuko cleared his throat loudly, shocking the Airbender awake.

"Where's the Mathlord? Why is fruit pie? Who…", the young Avatar spluttered.

"Aang, I understand that it is early, but these meditations are important to your learning. Firebending at its heart is about control, discipline, and emotion. As you well know. Sleeping is not helping", he admonished his student.

"I know, Sifu Hotman. I am just under a lot of pressure lately", the Avatar replied lamely.

Zuko restrained himself from a brisk facepalm. Measuredly, he replied, "I know that. We all know that. But the Fatherlord is not going to go easy on you. The fire nation, if you haven't noticed, does wake up early. They will not wait for you to wake up and get breakfast. You need to get your butt into go mode. Now." He hadn't realized that his frustrations had led to him raising his voice. The young Avatar looked downcast and refused to meet his gaze. Leveling off again, Zuko apologized, "I'm sorry, Aang. I shouldn't have yelled. We are all under a lot of pressure. And each of us deal with it differently."

The Avatar replied, "I am sorry as well. I need to be more vigilant in my training. Shall we continue?"

Zuko shook his head in the negative. It was time to move to firebending practice. "I think we should go through some forms now."

The duo relocated to a courtyard of the Western Air Temple for better bending practice. Ever eager, the avatar practically begged him to move to the advanced forms. Zuko chuckled, recalling a similar, yet less friendly, interaction with his Uncle. He replied, "In good time. But you have to walk before you can run."

They worked side by side moving through the basic set of forms. Slowly and carefully, they released fire and moved through the forms. The sun steadily rose through as the morning progressed. Both boys were so engrossed in their practice that they failed to notice the growing crowd around them.

The first to arrive was Hakoda. The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe was interested in the display, to see firebending up close without fear. To watch the son of the Fire Lord and the Last Airbender move gracefully through forms that Hakoda had never seen before.

Soon after, Suki arrived. Sitting beside Hakoda, she took the time to appreciate the physicality that came with firebending. She spent time comparing his bending to his swordplay. In some ways they are the same, in other ways they were as different as could be. What was odd to her was the difference in what she remembered of firebending. The way the two in front of her wielded flames was different from what she could recall from her previous firebender encounters.

Katara arrived later in the morning with water for the Avatar. When she offered it to him, the Avatar looked to Zuko for approval.

He told Aang, "You can have a break after you finish the rising firebird kick form. Now, Again."

Katara shot him a dirty look as the Avatar again leapt into the stance. He was mostly good, but his footwork still needed help. Zuko assumed it was his airbending heritage that disadvantaged the Avatar from sturdy stances.

Aang was halfway through when Zuko interrupted him, "Again. Keep your feet grounded! Root your stance!"

The avatar lept to begin again. Katara shot a glare at Zuko. "Cut him a break already. He has been with you all morning. He needs to have time to decompress and work with less violent elements."

Taking his eyes off of the Avatar, he turned to face Katara, "Oh, so he should spend more time on water, is it? He seems pretty good at that. I don't know if you haven't noticed, but the Fatherlord isn't going to be bending a puddle at him. The Avatar needs to know how to defend himself from fire. How to attack with fire. How to be a firebender. It is his destiny."

Katara set the glasses of water on the ground and marched directly in front of Zuko. Her face was contorted in anger as she raised her hands wide. Water from the glasses, the fountain, and possibly even from the air swirled around her hands.

Dropping back into a defensive stance, he balled his hands into fists and dropped into a ready stance; hands in front of his body. The atmosphere thickened as they stared at each other. Despite his instincts telling him to light a fire, he resisted in hopes that it would keep her from attacking.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hakoda and Suki both get up and walk towards the stand off. They were almost within arms reach of the duo when Toph emerged from the doorway.

The earthbender made no waste of time voicing her opinion, "Could you two keep it down. Some of us are still trying to sleep! I honestly don't know how Snoozles is still down. First it was Sparky and Floaty, arguing about meditation. Then Soured Sweetness got involved. And I honestly have to agree with Sparky here. Twinkles still needs to do some serious work with his earthbending as well. We've had much less time with him than you have. And Sparky, don't apologize for being difficult with him. He needs some good pushing around every now and then. Now if you two want to go angst it out, go find a room somewhere else, OK?"

He looked over at Katara, who was just as shaken by the unexpected beatdown. He had no desire to say anything following that tirade, so he remained silent. Katara must have agreed, for she spoke not either. Suki and Hakoda turned back to watch the Avatar.

"Sifu Hotman! Was that good enough? Can I have my break with Katara now?", the Avatar asked.

Zuko, not wanting to piss Katara off any further replied, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead." at the same time Toph replied, "I don't know if your footwork was solid enough. You aren't forming enough of a base."

Aang let out a cheer and thanked Zuko.

Everyone other than Aang looked over at Toph. She just stood there staring off at nothing. Eventually she broke the silence, "What? I don't think he was good enough. Plus, I want to listen to him blather on to Sour Queen here about as much as I want to listen to Sour Queen and his Royal Sparkyness have another little spat."

With that, she turned on her heel and vanished back into the building and out of sight.

"That was weird", Hakoda said to himself aloud.

"You'll get used to it", Suki assured him.

As Toph disappeared, Zuko considered the little earth bender's words. Something sat funny with him, but he just couldn't tell what.


The Western Air Temple … Lunch Time…

Sokka woke to the sound of Toph's yelling. Yawning, he stretched his arms and legs. He was still in his bedroll, on the floor. Most of the others immediately claimed a bed when they had arrived all those days ago. He had tried early on to sleep on the bed, but it just didn't feel right. He was more comfortable on the cold hard ground in his roll. Judging by the light streaming into the room, it was still too early to be doing anything. Until the sun had passed its zenith and began decent, it was sleeping time.

He lay back down, hoping to catch a couple more hours of sleep. Unfortunately for him, he just turned in his sleeping roll. Despite his best efforts to return to blissful unconsciousness, his mind insisted on churning. He thought of their little group, and just how exposed they really were. They were basically sitting turtle-ducks. For the fire nation to pick them off would be like catching salmon-trout in a barrel.

The architecture on Western Air Temple was obviously not designed for combat. The pacifistic nature of the Air Nomads was clear in their Westernmost home. Only the inaccessible geography made it difficult to assault. Equal feelings of sadness for the massacred and curiosity as to how the fire nation breached all four remote temples against geography without one hundred years of technology. The planning must have been elaborate and extensive.

Deciding that it was worthless to keep pursuing sleep in this state, Sokka stood and found his least dirty set of clothing. It wasn't too bad. Katara was just oversensitive. He could get at least two more days out of it. Especially since Zuko had gotten all serious about doing chores. He was a serious fellow when it came to a lot of things. He kept his room very organized, everything in its proper place. He rose early and meditated daily. He rigorously maintained his Dao, which was wicked cool of a weapon. Apparently, he also had a bug about everyone and their assigned duties. When they had gotten back from the Boiling Rock, Zuko had just started getting on everyone's backs.

He headed out to where the cooking fire was. With any luck Katara was already working on lunch. When he got there, he found a different member of his family. Dad was standing, looking up to the sky. Sokka ran over, calling out, "Hey Dad. How are you?"

Dad turned to face him, smiling through tears and reaching out. He enveloped Sokka into a manly bear hug. When they broke apart, he said, "I am doing ok, son. It has just been a lot these last few days.

Sokka let the tension drop out of his shoulders and replied, "I understand that. It has. I just want it all to be over, but it feels like we are no closer to victory than we were back when I was still back home. The Fire Nation continues to city and town unchecked."

"I do too, son. But hope is not lost yet. We still have something that the Fire Lord does not", dad said.

"The Avatar?", Sokka answered excitedly.

"Well, him too", dad admitted.

"We also have Zuko, though it seems the Fire Lord didn't want him…", he replied trying to answer his dad's earlier statement.

"Partially. We have proof that not all the Fire Nation is for keeping up the war. Zuko is proof. There have to be others out there. They will be our hope. Our chance to win. With the fall of Ba Sing Se and the Exile of the Earth King, the remaining independent Earth Kingdom provinces are all struggling to hold out. Fortunately, the Fire Nation has left the South Pole relatively alone. Back before the invasion, I sent emissaries to the North Pole, but they declined to fight. The Fire Nation is overstretching its boundaries.", dad explained.

"Oh, I see. At the current rate of expansion, the Fire Nation can't expect to hold all that land!", he replied.

"Yes, and the common people of the Fire Nation must be tired of the war", dad continued.

"Yes, but the war is the only thing they have ever known", Sokka replied confused.

"True, but they have never been given an option. With Zuko and the Avatar, we could give them that choice", his dad replied.

"But how will that help us defeat the Fire Lord?", he asked, not fully understanding yet.

"It won't directly. But it will buy time. The news of Zuko and Aang could be used to rally inner support of the local fire nation citizens. It will revive the spirits of the occupied territories. It will encourage the remaining independent areas to fight even harder. For as long as hope remains, we can always regroup, replan, and regain lost ground", his dad explained.

"You know, I was thinking earlier", Sokka started before losing confidence.

"Yes?", his dad replied.

"It's probably stupid. Never mind", he said.

"No, I want to hear what it is", his dad insisted.

"Ok. So I was thinking about the original fire nation attack against this very location. And if one hundred years ago they were able to assault a full population center full of Airbenders, they most certainly will be able to wipe us out in a heartbeat. We are an Avatar in Training, one Master Waterbender, one Master Earthbender, one Master Firebender, three skilled warriors, one moderate Earthbender and a pair of kids. It would take less than a company of mixed benders and non-benders to wipe us out", he explained.

"You make a very good point. We probably need to move soon. The longer we stay here, the more likely it is that someone will find us. But where would we go? It's not like we could just go into town and move in", his dad queried back.

"Actually, we have done it before. Blend into fire nation society. Aang accidentally went to school and Katara and I had to rescue him. Funny story, actually. I will have to tell you some time. But with Zuko's knowledge of the local areas, I'm sure we could travel undetected", he explained.

"We will have to discuss it with the group. I am sure they can add some insight as well. Now you should go help Katara prep for lunch", his dad asked.

Sokka looked up at his dad, and for a moment he lost control of his face. He dad smiled and said, "I would have thought that between your experience with the Zuko, the Fire Nation, Katara, and that lovely lady you rescued alongside me that you wouldn't make that face when asked to help". Before he could open his mouth to reply, his dad continued, "Who do you think made all the food, cleaned all the dishes and clothing while we were on the sea?"

With that, Hakoda turned and went back to looking up at the sun.

Without a proper retort, Sokka hung his head and went in search of his sister. Maybe it would do him some good to learn how to cook. In case he ever needed to know.


The Western Air Temple… Food Storage Room…

Katara was pleasantly surprised to see that they had enough food for a few days now. Fruits and vegetables had been foraged, and dad had even managed to hunt a medium deer-moose. They were finally going to have enough food for a proper meal.

She was in a good mood, despite her altercation withThe Face of Evil this morning. He may have brought back Dad and Suki, but that wasn't enough for her. He is still planning something, and she was going to be ready for when he struck.

Her introspective food prep was interrupted by her brother. He walked in quietly, head down. Usually his appearance meant he was going to try to steal some early food. Unlike normal, he just stood at the doorway.

"What do you want?", she asked.

He mumbled something in reply that she couldn't hear.

"Look, Sokka, if you aren't here to help, then go somewhere else. This isn't the theatre", she retorted.

"Umm, actually, I am here to help. Dad sent me", he replied loud enough for her to hear this time.

"That's great. Finally some help other than him", she replied, "You can chop those vegetables." She motioned over to the pile of celery-leek that was still unwashed and needed chopping.

She heard him grumble, but he did go over and start washing. She could see by the look on his face, he was thinking of something. The silence was broken only by the sounds of cleaning and cutting the meat and vegetables.

Finally he broke the silence, "Who do you mean by him?"

"Who do you think?", she retorted.

He set his knife down and mocked deep thought by stroking his imaginary beard. "Hmm. It isn't Teo or The Duke. Too short. Not Dad because you would just say Dad. Not Aang, because he won't eat meat."

She replied, "Exactly. And it's annoying!"

"How is it annoying to you?!", he replied.

She snorted, "Did you really just ask me that?"

He defended, "Well, Zuko is one of the reasons I'm down here. Thanks, Dad."

"I can't even begin to try to follow your logic…", she grumbled, returning to cleaning the meat.

"He seems to think that because I have been traveling with you and Suki and Zuko I should have learned how to cook? I'm just as confused as you. But at least it good to have dad back", he replied.

"At least we can both agree on that. And by Tui, he is right, you should learn how to do this. What if I'm not always around? Huh. Did you ever think of that?", she countered.

"I suppose you have a point", he conceded. Trying to turn the conversation he continued, "So, Dad seems to be getting along well with everyone?"

She finished gutting dinner and began to chop it down to smaller, more cookable pieces. "Yeah. The boys seems really drawn to him. It must be the storytelling. He was so good when we were young.

The both stopped and reminisced for a moment.

"Do you recall the one about sailing to the edge of the world", he asked.

She did. It was one of Sokka's favorites. "It's been so long I can hardly remember how it goes", she admitted.

"I'm sure he can tell it again. And now we all have stories to tell as well!", in his excitement he began chopping more aggressively.

"What did those vegetables ever do to you?", she laughed.

"Ha. I guess I got caught up in the excitement of having stories", he admitted.

"You can take those up to the pot. It should be full of water. Take the spark rocks and start the fire", she waved towards the rocks.

"You got it, sis!", he called, vegetables wrapped in his hands. He turned and left without grabbing the spark rock.

'He'll be back', she chuckled to herself.

Much to her surprise, he did not come back for the fire starter. Finishing her prep, she brought the meat up to the pot.

In the courtyard, she found almost everyone going about their activities. Sokka and Toph were in a corner with their backs to her, laughing and snickering. He was over with The Duke and Haru, moving his arms as if telling a and Teo were soaring high above the roof.

Noting the roaring fire under the pot, she called out to her brother, "How did you get this started?"

Without looking over towards her, he replied, "Zuko did it", as if it was the most obvious thing he had ever heard.

"You let Him near our food! What if he poisoned it. Or he burns it. Or takes extra for himself!", she raised her voice to a near shriek.

Both The Duke and Haru backed away from him at the sound of her voice. Sokka and he turned to face her. Toph continued to sit with her back facing Katara.

Sokka was first to speak, "Look, I don't know what your big deal is anymore, but leave him alone. He helped me start the fire. He has been a big help around here. You just refuse to admit it."

She snorted. Him? Help? Preposterous. "As if", she snarked back. "I did all the work for how long by myself. When you left for the boiling rock, everyone stopped doing their chores and only started when you got back. I had to do all that work while you were gone!"

Haru quietly interjected, "Umm, None of us started doing anything until after Zuko and Sokka got back from the Boiling Rock."

The Duke quickly punched him in the side and said, "Why did you say that? Now she will be mad at us!"

Ignoring the last comment, she turned again to him. And you, working your way into everyone's good side. I will have you know, you will never win them over. I will protect them. This is my family. And you will. not. break. it. Understand."

She could see his face contort, likely concocting some sheep-bullshit excuse. "Look, I am not trying to steal anyone from you. I am just doing what I can do. What I should have done long before. As for the food, if you are afraid I am eating too much, then I will pass tonight", he retorted sanctimoniously.

'That dirty bastard', was all she had time to think before Toph interjected. "Sparky. You are not skipping dinner again! You need your strength too. I don't care what you say, so don't try to argue."

Zuko turned to face Toph's back, as Toph had yet to turn around. His mouth hung open, as if he was looking for words to say. Toph continued, "Look, someone has to keep his self-loathing self-sacrificing ass in line. Don't get me confused for Sweetness over there, because it is all for a greater purpose, I assure you all!"

She turned back to Zuko, enraged again, "You have been skipping meals. What, are you too good for my camp food, huh? Too princely to eat measly soup? Or have you been slowly poisoning the food? Huh?"

For a moment, she thought she had cracked him. His eyes flashed dangerously, and he took a deep breath. But then he just turned on his heel and retreated into the temple.

Toph laid on the ground, face up, and said, "Look what you did now. You've chased him off. Good job!"

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with Sokka' Space Sword.


The Western Air Temple, Dinner Time

The tension in the air had not lessened as the day passed. Sokka was itching for dinner time, not only because he was hungry, but also because he wanted to start to talk about their rendezvous plan. When it was time, everyone slowly filed into the courtyard and stood in small groups away from everyone else. Zuko was not there.

He called out, "Hey, Toph, seen Zuko?"

She replied, "No, Sokka, I have never seen Zuko."

'Damn it. Got me again', he thought. Replying, "You won't fool me next time."

"You said that the last three times", she replied.

His sister stated flatly, "Well, if he is too good to eat with us, then good riddance. Maybe he won't come back ever."

He took the bowl she offered him. As everyone gathered their bowls, they all began to eat in absolute silence. Breaking the monotony, he asked, "So, I think that we should begin thinking of a backup plan. In case the Fire Nation finds us again."

He waited for a reply. Or even an affirmation that he was speaking. It was as if no one heard him, so he asked again, "We really should come up with a plan for when they finally find us. It's not like we are super hidden. Or if we have to leave for some reason."

Toph replied, "We heard you the first time. But I think everyone should be here for that conversation."

Again the group dropped into uncomfortable silence. The darkness of the night was broken only by the soft glow of the moon. Taking his leave, Sokka stood and retreated to one of the upper balconies.


An upper balcony, the western air temple…

Hakoda could tell that Sokka's plan to make a plan was weighing on him. The look on Sokka's face was deep when Sokka left the group. Making his own excuses for leaving, Hakoda stood to go find his son.

He wandered through the temple for a while before finding a door left ajar. His son stood at the edge of the balcony, staring up at the rising moon. It was mostly full, and it hung low in the sky. This bemused Hakoda, as Sokka had never given the spirits much attention. The boy himself seemed so much older in the light of the moon. His face was long, and his hair unkempt. His shoulders sagged under the weight of his actions. But the worst was his face. Hakoda recognized the look on Sokka's face. It was a look he himself had worn after Kya was killed. It was a look that he saw on the faces of his warriors when they would return to find missing family members. It was the look that he saw in the faces of his men when they left home, knowing that they would likely never return. It was the look of deep sorrow. Of regret. Of mourning.

Walking silently out onto the balcony, he could hear that his son was talking to someone. It was quiet. Too quiet for Hakoda to hear. He rustled his feet to alert Sokka to his presence then stood next to his son.

"That look, son. I wished you would never have to wear it while I still lived and breathed. Something troubles you. More than the escape plan. Is it your girlfriend? She is wonderful for you. You have nothing to worry about", he tried to comfort.

"Well, yes, but also no. It's a lot. I just like to be out in the light of the moon. She really is beautiful, isn't she?", his son replied.

"Yes, it is beautiful tonight. I don't recall you being very spirit minded. This is new.", he joked the last part back.

"Well, I really am not. Just one spirit. Girl. Failure", Sokka replied before turning back to the Moon.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I am here for you in silence if that is all you need", he offered.

"No, I should talk to you about it. It's just one of my worst failures. I have failed repeatedly since you left. I was supposed to protect Katara and the village. How did that go. I was supposed to keep our little group safe. I failed at the invasion plan. I failed Suki and she got captured. I failed at Ba Sing Se. I just keep failing. And I failed her", he nodded back towards the moon.

Hakoda reached out a hand to place on Sokka's shoulder, "It's okay son. This world has asked a lot of you at such a young age."

"And it asked more of her. Oh, if only I had the chance, I would tear him limb from limb!", Sokka exploded.

This surprised Hakoda, not expecting anger. He continued never the less, "I see, but Suki is more than a capable warrior herself. She knew the dangers when she decided to follow the Avatar."

Sokka hung his head, "It's not Suki dad. And that's the problem."

Thoroughly, confused, Hakoda asked, "Is there another girl then?"

"There was", Sokka replied, "She's gone now. I speak to her sometimes, but we can't ever be together."

Hakoda stood silently and let Sokka continue. The more Sokka spoke, the more Sokka devolved into sniffles, then tears, then outright sobs, "It was at the Northern Water Tribe. I met this wonderful girl. She was kind and beautiful and funny and she was just grand. But she was the princess and already betrothed to that arse, I can't recall his name. But I asked her to an activity anyways because she made me happy. But then she told me we couldn't be together because of the arranged marriage. But I told her that she should be happy, and she decided she would break it off against her father's wishes. But she was special. Her hair was silvery-white. And it was because she was tied to the Moon Spirit. Do you recall the night the moon died?"

Hakoda nodded affirmatively. He recalled that night very well. They had been sailing by the moon's light, until it faded red then to darkness. They thought a storm, but the stars revealed that the moon was gone. After what felt like a dizzying eternity, it returned to the sky.

Sokka continued, "Well, that Fire Nation Asshole, Zhao, killed the moon spirit to make the waterbenders powers go away. And it worked and he killed the moon spirit. But the girl, she was gifted her life by the moon spirit, and carried the moon spirit energy within her. She gave herself up in that spirit oasis to revive the moon spirit. And since then, she has guided me silently from the sky. I miss her. I miss her voice. I was supposed to protect her. Her father specifically assigned me to keep her safe. And I failed. And now she is dead to the world. What if it happens again? To you. To Katara. To Suki. Or to our friends. I just don't know if I could take it again."

Hakoda took a moment to process the information. It was a lot. His son had grown up as much, if not more than his motherly daughter. He spoke, "Sokka, you are strong. You know why? Because you still care. You still get up every morning and do your best, despite your failures. In spite of them, even. I never had the pleasure of meeting this girl, but I am sure she watches you from above and guides you even now. And It doesn't matter if we have a plan or not. We will always have her to guide us."

Sokka looked up at him and smiled weakly, "Thanks, Dad. I'd like you to meet someone." Sokka gestured to the moon, then to his dad and back. "Yue, meet my dad, Hakoda. Dad, Yue, the moon spirit. Princess of the North."


Fire Nation Airspace… Leaving the Capitol City

Standing at the helm of her tiny requisitioned airship, Azula glared into the distance. To her left was Mai, sharpening a knife. Ty Lee was to Azula's right, flipping into and out of a handstand. The small scout ship lurched into the air.

Azula spoke aloud to her brother, wherever he may be, "It's Family Time, Zuzu. And we are coming."