Chapter 19
When Trust is Broken
I had no idea how to approach the situation that I knew was soon to arrive with Bato. While he had been a minor character in the story in Katara and Sokka's life he was anything but. Bato, as second in command to Hadoka would have been like an uncle to the water tribe siblings. Someone who they would inexplicably trust. But to me he was a stranger. In some ways it was a refreshing thought, in others it was terrifying. I didn't know enough about Bato to know if he would accept me as one of the water tribe as everyone else had. I didn't know how he would react to where I had come to be in Katara and Sokka's life. Most of all, I didn't know how he would respond to me knowledge of his and Hakoda's exploits (I had heard the story of the blubber fiasco several times and it was funny). The thought of meeting someone who was so close to those I held dear was daunting. Katara, Sokka and Aang were the only people I had left, they were my family, even when they were angry or shunning me as Katara had continued to do. I had little doubt in my mind that Katara wasn't going to move on. She believed me, she had to otherwise she wouldn't have listened to me back at Aunt Wu's village but for some reason she was angry at me. I suspected that it was because I not only knew their future but I was insisting upon keeping much of it a secret. Then again no one had asked me if they won the war or how to defeat the fire lord. I wasn't surprised. Right now our goal was to find a waterbending teacher for Aang. Defeating the Fire Lord was a long ways away. Or so it seemed to them.
After a moment, I realized that the lesson Aang would learn from this was too important. When things got rough he needed to know that we would never leave him. That lesson could not be skipped over or just spoken. He would have to learn it the hard way. My heart ached at the anger he would feel for me, he might even shun me for it. I decided though that I could deal with it if it was what was needed. For the first time in a long time I looked back and thought about my family. My sadness of losing them had subsided to nothing. Telling my story had lessened my burden and allowed me to move on. I had never realized just how much freer I would feel by telling the truth as hard as it had been at the time.
The day for meeting Bato arrived sooner than I had expected. Aang had agreed to look for some food for us, scavenging was a skill that boy knew well.
"Hey look at this!" I turned from where I had been picking at bushes, looking for edible berries to see Aang holding a curved sword. I didn't recognize the weapon as Sokka didn't own one, however looking at Sokka's reverence when he picked it up, he did.
"It's a watertribe weapon." He stated, taking a careful eye to it, "See if you can find something else." I quickly abandoned the search for food and began looking about for evidence of watertribe (or fire nation) passing through. Upon closer inspection I noticed that there was ash on some trees and some patches of grass had been burnt and then worn away into dust. Sokka found the next weapon, the tip of a watertribe arrow.
"Did someone lose something?" Katara asked, wandering down from where she had been digging for edible roots. Despite that Katara had been raised in the water tribe she seemed able to pick up skills wherever she went.
"There was a battle," Sokka explained holding up the weapons and indicating the scorch marks I had noticed, "Watertribe warriors ambushed a group of fire nation soldiers." Sokka explained.
"The water tribe warriors pursued as the fire nation was forced to retreat, they went down this way..." Sokka took off in the direction he had pointed, forcing the rest of us to run behind him. I didn't' mind, it was incredible to see what a good tracker Sokka was. My memory flashed back to the day he had brought in a caribou of some sort for the tribe. Everyone was pleased and surprised. I had been in particular happy since I had recently tasted my first sea-prunes and while I had liked it because of how hungry I had been I had no doubt that this would taste good no matter what. Still, I had grown accustomed to the meal overtime. As we ran out onto a sandy bank Aang spoke.
"So what happened next?"
"I don't know." Sokka muttered, I could see the disappointment on him, "the water washed any tracks away."
"Not quite." I stated lightly, touching Sokka's shoulder and pointing. Suddenly energy coursed through my friends as they ran up to the boat. I couldn't help but admit I was curious about how it was made. Coming up I noticed that the bottom was painted over with tar. The sides were wood. I wasn't sure where the water tribe would even get enough wood for a single boat like this let alone a fleet. The edgings of the ship were made out of carved bone with intricate designs and patterns on it. The ship itself, not including the mast was only seven feet high, smaller than even Zuko's ship which was dwarfed by the other ships that the fire nation had. For once it occurred to me just how hopeless this war looked. I wondered how many men the southern watertribe had lost in the two or more years they had been gone.
"Is this dad's ship?" Katara asked both with excitement and worry. Excitement because if it was her father's ship then he would be nearby, worry because that meant that he might be injured or even dead.
"No, but it's one of his fleet." Sokka explained. I didn't know how he knew that but I didn't question it as a sudden sad look passed over him.
"It's almost dinner, let's rest here for the night." I suggested lightly. Sokka nodded.
We made out camp several feet away from the boat. Just in case high tide was higher than we suspected. Sokka figured by the way the boat was stranded that the tide wouldn't go high enough to pull it out to sea. However, at least three feet of water could come up before the ship would feel an inclination to move. We set up a good-sized fire, both to keep the chill of the seaside away and to give us a good distance of sight. We were slightly worried that with a battle occurring nearby, even if it was a few days old at least like Sokka thought, there might be fire nation soldiers nearby. Katara and Aang went to sleep against Appa. We had been sleeping close to him lately as the bison somehow had some sort of greenhouse effect the closer you came to his body. Even Aang who had told me that he used his bending to keep himself warm, was sleeping on the giant bison.
I woke up in the middle of the night and sat up. Sokka was poking the fire, a serious expression on his face as he gazed into the flames. I knew that expression, whatever Sokka was seeing wasn't the fire. I sat up and slipped away, taking a seat beside him.
"Do you know what happened with the battle?" He asked, not even bothering to lift his gaze from the blaze.
"A little," I answered slowly, "they really didn't go into it too much."
"How much do you know?"
"No more than you will one day, probably less. My knowledge isn't perfect. There are a lot of things I don't know." I took my turn at staring into the fire.
"I worry about them, all the time." He told me, "I don't usually tell anyone but I'm scared. I'm scared that my dad is gone and I'll never see him again, I'm scared that this mission might fail and we might lose this war and I'm scared..." he trailed off and then looked at me, "that there will be nothing I can do about it. That I'll lose everything and I would have done nothing." I didn't even question myself, I spun and pulled him into a tight hug.
"That won't happen, even without me that didn't happen. I'll do everything in my power to make sure that as few people are hurt as I can manage." Sokka smiled in a pained way so I told him the only thing I could think of that would ease his mind.
"You're dad's fine. He's alive and thriving and by the end of spring you should have met him again." I told him. Sokka looked up at me, then smiled.
"Thank you." I nodded then told him something that I had been thinking of.
"I don't know if I'll be able to tell you guys everything I know, I'm scared too, scared that someone would act on my knowledge and that I'll be wrong or that... they'll do something rash that no one can fix. I'm scared that it would throw the world into chaos." Sokka nodded and leaned into me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and behind my back. After a second I did the same as we shared in each others We stayed that way for a little while, just comforting each other before I added something else.
"I don't think Katara's ever going to forgive me."
"Sokka?" I jumped, suddenly aware of the fact that we were no longer alone. My fan was halfway out when I realized that the person behind us was dressed in blue and wearing bandages. I didn't even need to see his face to know who it was. Bato.
"Bato?" Sokka asked, his voice raising in surprise as Bato stepped into the light. I righted myself and quickly took in his appearance. Bato was a tall man, almost if not six-foot tall. He was muscular with the typical water tribe complexion and unlike Sokka, Aang, Katara and I he had the true Asian eyes.
"Bato?" Katara asked, looking up and rubbing her eyes from where she had been disturbed.
"Who the what now?" Aang muttered as he sat up.
"Sokka, Katara." The two watertribe siblings both sprang up from where they were sitting (or laying in Katara's case) and ran to hug Bato.
"Look at how much you've grown." Bato stated with a warm smile.
"Is dad here?" Katara blurted out, blue eyes wide and excited. Bato shook his head.
"No, he and the others should be halfway across the earth kingdom by now." Bato looked up and his eyes landed on Aang and I. I could see confusion in them.
"Bato," Sokka spoke, noticing the look, "This is our sister Palartok and our friend Aang." I froze and looked at Sokka, mouth wide in shock. Had he just called me his sister? Bato looked me up and down then stepped away.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both, but come, this is not the place for exchanging greetings. I'll help you pack," he smiled and turned back to look at Sokka, "and you'll tell me your story while we're at it."
While we packed up Sokka told Bato their story, starting from when they met me. I had been nervous about what Sokka would say, I shouldn't have worried. Sokka was quick to tell Bato that an earth kingdom ship was sunk which allowed me to relax some. I half-listened as Sokka told Bato our tale in intricate detail. Yet somehow he was able to complete the telling by the time our camp had been taken down. I stayed quiet and listened as Bato began telling us his story. The change of stories was so seamless I almost didn't realize when Bato began speaking.
"We discovered that the nun's of a nearby abbey were being bothered by a band of fire nation soldiers," Bato stated as we began walking back, "we decided to free the abbey. We ambushed the soldiers but during the battle one of the soldiers managed to get a direct blow to my shoulder," Bato gestured at the bandages he had wrapped around his right arm and his chest.
"I was badly burned, your father found me on the battlefield and carried me to the abbey himself. There the nun's took care of me. Unfortunately the mission couldn't be stopped for one man, the other warriors had to leave me behind." Katara and Sokka were walking side by side with Bato while Aang and I held the rear, Appa a few steps behind us. Momo landed on Aang's shoulder briefly before he flew away again.
"How many..." Sokka stumbled, his voice lowered forcing me to strain at my hearing to catch what was being said.
"Two besides me. This was our first battle where we lost anyone," Bato replied in an equally soft voice, "It was by sheer luck and the blessings of the spirits that allowed me to survive." I realized with a heavy heart that two watertribe men had been lost on this mission alone. I wondered how many had passed since they had left Bato here. As if sensing my question Bato spoke again.
"I've been here for nearly a month now but I'm glad that I was able to meet you, even if the circumstances leading to it where less then ideal." I chuckled lightly. Looking around my surroundings I suddenly recognized a stone wall and several green tiled roofs. It was the abbey. I allowed my eyes to wander around. About fifteen nuns wandered around, finishing the last of the jobs before they would turn in for the night. All the nuns were dressed in white and cream, the opposite of nuns in my world who typically wore black. I lifted my nose and breathed deeply. Strong flowery scents filled the area. I recognized a few from back home, aloe, rose, lavender, along with those that were completely foreign to me.
"Superior," Bato called his voice carried out over the abbey, across the cobbled courtyard and bouncing against the buildings. An elderly woman, dressed similarly to the rest of the nuns with only a slightly more decorative headpiece to mark her as higher, turned and smiled lightly.
"These are Hakoda's children," he gestured to Sokka and Katara, "and their companions." I nodded formally to the woman, unsure of how to act among the mother superior of this nunnery. Aang bowed formally before smiling.
"Welcome," the mother superior stated elegantly, "it is a pleasure to meet Hakoda's children, and welcome young avatar." Aang beamed. Finally he was getting some attention.
"Hi, it is an honour to be here. If-"
"What smells so good Bato?" Sokka asked, taking his own smell of the area. I already knew why it smelled so amazing here. This nunnery made perfume and cream, although the reason alluded me. Why would a nun make something that was so expensive? Did the proceeds go to some sort of charity? I doubted that they gave them out to just anyone the making of perfumes and creams was a big job and it took a long time. Even small ointments for healing that Kanna used, or creams like Katara's seaweed hand cream took days to finish, not to mention gathering or buying the materials. I couldn't imagine the amount of work that went into something as high quality as what I assumed the nuns made.
"Well maybe we should pour some on Appa, you know 'cause he stinks so bad." I winced. Appa stunk no more than a horse or any other animal. The joke made no sense. Everyone just stared at Sokka blankly, wondering what on earth he was trying to do. I had heard some of Sokka's jokes, he had some good ones every once in a while. That one didn't even qualify as a bad joke.
"You have your father's wit." Bato stated deadpan. I giggled, causing Sokka to send me a glare. Shaking his head Bato gestured at us.
"Come, you can sleep with me tonight." We followed him to one of the houses, clearly meant to be a guest's place. It had the usual sliding door and was only a single room. Still, it was a good deal more spacious than anything they had back in the watertribe, seven or eight people could sleep in it comfortably. That made me think and look back. If I was back at home this place would could as a good-sized bedroom for one person or a small cabin for four while camping. Here though, this cabin could hold up to ten men without being squished.
Bato had found a use for that extra room. The floor had three pelts laid across it, along with at least one hanging on the wall. In the back he had pitched a tent made from animal hide and in the centre he had a pot of stew simmering over a small fire. The fire itself was built into a pit in the centre of the floor so that the fire wouldn't burn it down. The sides of the pit and a small area around it was laid with stone to keep any sparks that might fly from spreading.
"It looks just like home." Katara gasped, quickly running inside to inspect the place. Sokka charged in after her while Bato followed behind, shaking his head with a knowing smile. When I stepped in the first thing I felt was a wave of comfort. I liked the feeling that I was getting from this place, it reminded me of the watertribe.
Bato took a seat behind the pot and pulled out several wooden bowls and spoons while Katara took of the lid to the pot.
"No way, stewed sea-prunes?" I sighed and sat down, leaning back. I wasn't hungry right now and I was good with going another few months before I had to eat another sea-prune. While it tasted amazing when there was nothing else, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to eat it. I leaned against the wall and listened. Katara and Sokka chatted with Bato, reminiscing about old times, times that I had never been apart of. I didn't mind so much, I was happy that they could be have moments like this.
I was woken up with a hand on my shoulder. Blinking I sat up, wincing from the strain in my neck.
"How long was I out?" I asked, wincing as I rubbed the sore muscle.
"All night," Sokka replied with a smile, "we couldn't even wake you to get into your sleeping bag." I groaned and stood, stretching dramatically. My back cracked several times, causing both Sokka and I to wince. Sokka smiled and then started to walk out of the cabin when I interrupted him.
"So do you want to spar before or after breakfast?"
We ended up sparing after breakfast and afterwards Bato invited us to come down to the boat again. Of course we accepted and followed him back down the to beach. The water lapped at the tar painted bottom of the boat as we approached.
"This boat is very precious to me," Bato explained as we came up to it, "it was built by my father."
"Is this the boat you went ice dodging in?" Sokka asked excitedly.
"Yep, it even has the scar," Bato gestured at a part of the boat that was thickly covered with tar, probably to reinforce the repaired spot, I figured. Bato turned to Sokka with a grin.
"How about you Sokka? You probably have some great stories about your time ice dodging." It fell silent.
"He didn't get to go," Katara pointed out, "he was still thirteen." Bato's face became serious.
"What's ice dodging?" Aang asked. I smiled softly. Ice dodging was an important part of the culture, it marked the passage into manhood. For Sokka to have missed it must have left an emotional void. He was expected to become a man at thirteen and yet never had the chance to prove that he was worthy of being one. I couldn't imagine what that was like.
"You know what, you're going to find out." Bato replied to Aang's question.
Bato helped each of us onto the boat. He clambered on last. His way of pushing the boat off involved a long rod, when he tried to push against the ground he winced. I quickly grabbed it from his hands.
"Don't hurt yourself," I warned, "the last thing you want is to cause more injury." Bato frowned but then nodded.
"Hey Katara, Aang, give me a hand with this." I called, grabbing the pole. The two came over, Aang beaming excitedly and Katara narrowing her eyes.
"I need your guys' help," I admitted, "while I push the boat out with this pole, some waterbending would be nice." Aang grinned.
"Sure! I'd love to help, all about helping!" I frowned, that behaviour was unusually perky, even for Aang. Then I remembered, the map. Aang had it, I had missed him returning (and possibly leaving) last night by falling asleep and instead of seeking him out and talking to him about it I had mock battled with Sokka. Katara just sighed.
We got the boat out with no trouble and soon enough we were in our places for ice dodging, or in this case, rock dodging. I was both terrified and excited. This was a new experience and it was one I couldn't wait to see. I had always been impressed by the ice dodging in the episode. Just like in the story Sokka was put at the tiller, Katara at one sail and Aang at the other. That left me and Bato left. Bato of course, being an adult couldn't participate but I was a fourth, an odd one out. I wasn't needed in this test. However to my surprise Bato called me up.
"Occasionally we have one or two too many boys for it to be an even three to a boat," he stated calmly, "and instead of forcing them to wait until next year or have someone who has already proven themselves go a second time we have another station." I stared at Bato in surprise. It made sense, but what sort of job was it. Both sails were controlled and as was the boat itself. What else was there.
It turned out that Bato had me set up as the metaphorical GPS for my companions. It would be my job to call out to Sokka the positions and sizes of the rocks. I had to be quick, give all the information to Sokka as he needed it so he could make the decisions. The job was perfect for me. I quickly stationed myself at the front of the ship, the prow if I was correct and instantly began calling out, telling them where the rocks were, left or right (port or starboard) and how close. Sokka in response shouted to Aang and Katara what to do while adjusting the tiller. It was hard work, my eyes were darting everywhere, Sokka was covered with sweat, Katara was gripping the rope with a determined look in her eyes and Aang was completely lost as to what direction he was supposed to go. Despite that, we somehow made it through. Sokka even pulled out the bending stunt which had scared Bato and I to no end.
Once we landed, with help from Katara and Aang once again Bato pulled out a small pot of blue paint and marked our foreheads. Sokka, the mark of the wise, Katara the mark of the brave, Aang the mark of the trusted and then it was my turn.
"You can't trust me." Or maybe not. I turned to see Aang wiping the paint away with his hand. Shoot.
"Of course we can Aang." Katara stated, looking confused. After all why couldn't we trust Aang?
"No you can't," Aang repeated before he held out the scrunched up piece of paper. My heart stopped.
"A messenger gave this to me from Bato." All hell broke lose. The second Sokka realized it was the map to his and Katara's father he began shouting at Aang, furious that the young airbender would betray us. Katara was quiet, then her glance turned to me and her eyes became steely.
"You knew." She mouthed at me. I looked away.
"Katara, Pala are you with me?" Katara turned, but I didn't. Sokka looked at me in surprise, nodded then walked off, Katara and Bato in tow. As soon as they were out of earshot Aang turned to me, his face furious.
"Why didn't you tell me!" He cried. I filched away, startled and upset by his anger.
"You could have warned me that keeping it was a bad idea! You know our future so why didn't you tell me?" He snarled. I had never seen Aang look so terrifying, even back when he went into the avatar state, it had been more sad than angry. I spun and took off running, into the woods in the opposite direction.
I stopped in a clearing and in fury screamed, kicking a small tree hard enough that it shook. I felt pain lance up my foot but I didn't care. Aang was right, I had betrayed their trust. I should have told Aang that keeping the scroll would have been bad. Instead I had wasted my time worrying about what Bato would think of me. I had broken their trust and this was my reward.
"It's a pity that you don't have anything that can make you useful, all you have is knowing the future... and reading. Do you regret that choice now?" My heart stopped. My eyes widened in shock and I slowly turned to see a familiar spirit of air standing before me.
"Lung."
A/N:
I actually got a friend to agree to draw Maddi so for those of you who want to see an image of her you could. However, while she promised me she would have it done by the end of the month, I'm now not sure when she'll get it done. Sorry about that, I'll try to harass her to get it done sooner rather than later and I'll let you know when it is up. Thank you for your patience. Also let me know what you think about this chapter. I had to split the episode up into two because of the length but I'm personally very excited. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and that it meets your expectations.
Princess Kassie Out.
