Suki sat down next to Katara and pulled her knees to her chest, craning her head around at the group.
"Okay, I'm going to need you to start at the beginning and work your way up to spirit hunting." She said and Sokka snorted a laugh.
"There's a man named Noren who lives in the village. He told us about the forest. Apparently, there's a spirit here that visits once a season and can make people forget their past. His wife came out the valley about a decade ago. He thinks if we find the spirit, she will tell us what happened to my mother." Zuko clarified and Suki nodded.
"How do we find the spirit?" She asked.
"Well, uhm, she visits one of the lakes in the forest."
"One of?"
"There are four."
"Again, how do we find her?" Zuko went quiet and began to twist his fingers.
"Well…" He started and then drifted. Katara and Sokka smacked their foreheads simultaneously. Suki groaned and rubbed her eyes.
"Look, it's not that I don't have complete faith in you," Sokka said and put his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "But how are we supposed to do spirit things without the Avatar?"
"Other people have." Zuko shot back. Then he sighed. "Let's take Dawa up and scope things out." Sokka groaned and leaned heavily on Zuko.
"But I want to eat." He whined. Zuko put his arm around Sokka's back and then patted his face.
"We'll eat first and then take a quick ride."
The group sat around the fire and dealt with dinner as quickly as possible. Zuko told them more about their visit to Hira'a and marvelled aloud at the familial intimacy he witness at Noren's hut. Suki commiserated with Sokka and Katara, commenting on how once a girl was fully initiated into the Kyoshi Warriors, they left their families.
Katara sat back as they all talked. Sokka and Suki were animated, discussing what Kyoshi was like when not being set on fire. Zuko took the jibe goodnaturedly, but Katara was more reserved.
Would they ever let him alone about his past?
After dinner was cleared, they packed up Dawa. Surely they would return after a quick scouting mission, but Sokka didn't want to leave everything out.
So in the dying light, they struggled to move bundles and bags onto Dawa's saddle. It was lucky, Katara noted, that the fur of the Air Bison was so dense; it allowed them to be saddled almost constantly without threat of damaging the flesh.
"Yip yip Dawa." Katara said once everyone, including the still dazed Azula, had settled onto the saddle. Dawa rose smoothly and they soon crested the canopy of the forest. The valley was named true, and Katara could note in the gathering twilight where the landscape dipped and swelled. By her nature, Katara could feel the water all around her. It was held in pods, stored in leaves or roots. She felt then, easily, the deep reserves that betokened a larger body of water.
"There." She said and pointed off to the left. The moon glimmered in its reflection upon the water.
"So there's one." Zuko remarked as he leaned against the edge.
"I'm going to take her higher." Katara said and gently flicked the reins. Dawa ascended smoothly and swirled a thin layer of clouds in her wake. As they pulled away from the canopy, Suki cried out.
"I see them!" She said and Katara glanced over. She pulled Dawa into a wide bank and they started in a curve around the valley. The lakes were small, but Katara could tell that they ran deep. They were arranged in a diamond and she marveled at the symmetry of them.
"I don't see a spirit Zuko." Sokka said.
"She might not have been here yet." Zuko replied.
"Or she's left already." Sokka countered. Katara heard Suki slap his arm.
"No, he's right." Zuko admitted dejectedly.
"Zuko-" Suki started and then stopped abruptly. "THERE!" She suddenly yelled and Katara jumped. She looked and saw what Suki had seen.
A large, blue wolf that glowed in the moonlight.
"That is definitely a spirit." Sokka said and Katara could tell from his voice that he shuddered. After Hei Bai, Sokka had a certain recalcitrance about the Spirit World and its denizens.
"But is it the spirit of this valley?" Zuko wondered.
"Well, at the very least, we can follow it." Katara said and pulled Dawa around to follow the faint afterglow of the racing spirit. She kept Dawa high enough that they were able to stay with the spirit as it ran a lap around the lakes. At each one, it would take some time to examine the area. After checking all four, it ran back to the northern lake, circled it, and disappeared.
"Katara, set her down there." Zuko said and Katara clicked her tongue as she steered Dawa. They descended rapidly, Dawa feeling confident in the clearing around the lake to make the landing.
Once they touched down, Zuko propelled himself over the edge of the saddle. Katara sucked in a breath, feeling her heart stop. Dawa was smaller than Appa, but her height was still significant. She looked over and saw Zuko start walking toward the treeline, a flame in his hand. Katara shook her head and made her way back to the saddle.
"Well there goes Mr. Hot Pants." Sokka muttered as he tossed over a ladder.
"Suki, Chang, can you stay here with Azula?" Katara asked as she watched Sokka descend. Suki pulled a face but Chang nodded.
"We will abide Lady Katara." Chang said. Katara cast a glance over at Azula and, seeing the princess still in her stupor, moved to the ladder.
She jumped down at the end and walked over to where Zuko and Sokka stood.
"What do you think?" Zuko asked no one in particular. He held his hand up and the flame illuminated a sign nailed to a gnarled tree.
"The Wolf will proceed, heralded by false masks, Mother of Faces." Sokka read aloud. "What does that mean?"
"Well we already saw the wolf." Zuko said and turned to look at the rest of the woods, his small flame illuminating a seemingly miniscule amount in the face of the deepening shadows.
"But if masks are already fake faces, what is a false mask?" Sokka asked.
"Okay. What about those?" Katara pointed to the shadows. The light caught and shimmered in some nearby reflection. Eyes and mouths glowed back at them. Grimaces, smiles, and frowns shifted in the light. Zuko increased the size of the flame and they saw animals skitter away.
"They had faces on their bodies." Sokka said, sounding slightly disgusted.
"It must mean she's close." Zuko replied and pulled back the flame. There were fewer faces now, but they still watched them. "We'll camp on Dawa tonight and wait for her." With that, Zuko turned and walked back to Dawa.
"Is he being weird to you?" Sokka suddenly asked as they both watched Zuko walk away. Katara glanced over at the sign, but was unable to read the characters in the dark.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, one minute he'll be all relaxed, and the next he'll be threatening to dump Azula off the side of Dawa mid-flight." Sokka explained and Katara made a noncommittal noise.
"It's just not like him." He continued.
"And you would know." Katara said and shoved him lightly.
"Yeah, I would." Sokka went quiet for a moment. "When he was with Mai, he was frustrated almost always." Katara held her tongue and let him talk. She had forgotten that for all her brother's visiting he would have seen Zuko with Mai. She found that she was not above hearing gossip.
"Zuko's always been kind of prickly." Katara pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's been getting worse over the years. He was always a pessimist, but now he's super paranoid. I think it's made him cruel. And I think he's trying to put up a good front, but it's getting harder for him to rein it in so he lapses."
"You think he's pretending?" Katara asked with a frown. Sokka shook his head, more in thought than in disagreement with her.
"I don't know. Maybe he's just trying to straddle an issue and it's tearing him apart. Unfortunately, when Zuko is being pulled in two, he tends to lash out."
"Wow, you guys are in love." Katara said, half joking. Sokka just looked serious.
"Zuko is my blood brother Katara. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for him, or forgive him for." Sokka paused and grinned over at Katara, putting his arm around her and jostled. "But don't worry, you're still my favorite." Katara shoved him, harder this time, and Sokka laughed.
"I better be your favorite, seeing as how I am your actual sibling." Katara shot back, also smiling. They walked back to Dawa and climbed up the ladder.
"Zuko says we're in the right place." Suki said as Katara hoisted herself into the saddle.
"From the little information we have about the whole thing, I would think that's our best bet." Sokka said.
"I am touched by your confidence in me." Zuko remarked. Sokka replied with a jaw cracking yawn. Katara held a hand up to her mouth as she stifled one of her own.
"Look, I am not enjoying this spirit hunt." Sokka sat back and crossed his arms. "And why is she called Mother of Faces?"
"I want to know who put the sign up." Suki said, and they turned to her. "I mean, obviously there is some local knowledge about this spirit. So why didn't Noren tell you about it?"
"Yeah, who is this Noren guy?" Sokka added and Zuko shrugged. He didn't answer right away but pulled out a torch. He lit it and jammed it into one of the holds that ran along the edge of the saddle.
"He's the theater director I guess." Zuko answered.
"Doesn't seem like a stable job for someone in a village that size." Sokka said.
"Zuko thinks he's maybe a guide in the forest." Katara added.
"So if he makes his money by guiding people to the spirit, why didn't he help you?" Sokka questioned.
"I think," Zuko stopped short and looked at Azula. She, with surprising clarity, stared back. Zuko cleared his throat and faced the group. "I think he's hiding my mother." Katara continued to watch Azula and saw the other woman narrow her eyes before turning away.
"Why though? He's married, so it's not like he's invested." Sokka mused.
"He seems like a native of the village, but I think he's using a false name." Zuko said.
"And for someone who seems so popular, it's weird that he lives on the back end of the village." Katara tacked on.
"Maybe he used to live in Hira'a and left?" Suki interjected.
"But why come back? And, again, why hide Zuko's mom?" Sokka replied. Suki shrugged her shoulders and Katara sighed. They were all quiet, and Katara watched as Sokka rubbed his chin in thought.
Her brother would constantly turn over a problem in his head when he didn't get it.
"Brother." Katara whispered. Zuko, hearing her say something, turned to her. Katara put out her hand, flapping it before settling it like a wing on his shoulder. "What if Ikem had a brother?" Zuko blinked in surprise.
"Who's Ikem?" Sokka asked. Before Zuko could answer, Azula erupted in hysterical laughter. Zuko ignored her, but Katara saw him square his shoulders.
"He was engaged to my mother before she left the village." Zuko answered.
"So he has a reason to be secretive." Suki said.
"Yeah, but why give Zuko any information at all? Why not deny knowing anything?" Sokka countered.
"Maybe because he wants Zuko to be reunited with his mother?" Suki replied.
"Then he should've told him everything." Sokka said.
"I have no idea what his motive is!" Suki exclaimed.
"Ursa told him to tell us nothing so the spirit would kill us when we screwed up." Azula suddenly stated from her spot.
"We just have to meet the spirit with respect. If she gives a boon to the ones who look for her, I doubt she'd kill us out of hand." Zuko replied evenly.
"Unless she's an awful spirit, like Koh." Sokka muttered and Katara shivered. Aang had all told them about his dealings with Koh the Face Stealer. She hoped she would never have to deal with such a cold, vengeful entity. Not even Aang knew why Koh did what he did.
"Let's just get some sleep. We'll take shifts again and wait to see when she shows up." Zuko said.
"Same as last night?" Sokka asked, punctuating his question with another yawn.
"Yeah." Zuko replied, but he sounded distracted.
"Then I'm getting some sleep." Sokka said and pulled out a bedroll. He quickly nestled himself into a curve of the saddle and pulled a blanket over him. Suki, shaking her head, passed out the other bedrolls. They all reclined, even Zuko and Katara, and soon the others were asleep.
Katara leaned into Zuko and they overlapped their blankets. Zuko braced her head with his arm and they looked up at the stars.
"So what do you think?" Katara asked.
"About what?"
"Do you think Noren is Ikem's brother?"
"It's a possibility." Zuko kept his gaze up at the sky and Katara stayed quiet. She could feel, under her cheek, Zuko twitching like a fly stung horse.
"Nervous?" She murmured. Zuko chuckled lightly and tightened his grip on her.
"A little yeah."
"When we find her, you know she's going to be with Ikem."
"Yeah." His voice was soft and caught on the edge of some other emotion. Zuko swallowed hard and rubbed his hand up and down Katara's arm.
"How do you feel?" She asked.
"Awful." Zuko laughed again, sharper, and pushed back his hair. "I feel like my heart is being ripped apart."
"Explains how you've been acting." Katara said. Zuko lowered his hand and eyed her.
"With Azula you mean?"
"Yeah." Zuko nodded and looked at the sky again.
"I'm, taking a lot out on her. I just." Zuko trailed off and shut his mouth.
"She never came back." Katara said and Zuko nodded. The torch, still burning, had been placed in a hold close to their side of the saddle, and Katara examined Zuko's face. His muscles were pulled tight and she could see one jump in his jaw.
"Ozai was defeated. I'm friends with the Avatar. Why didn't she come to see me?" He said. Katara didn't know what to say so she stayed silent.
"Maybe because she doesn't love us and left us to rot." Katara jumped at the voice and pushed herself away from Zuko. Azula crawled into the range of torchlight and laughed softly.
"You are in love with her." She said, her voice dripping with disgust.
"Where's Chang?" Zuko asked as he stood. Azula tilted her head sharply and grinned wildly up at him.
"Asleep. No one ever notices when crazy people just grab at leaves." Azula said. Katara scrambled to her feet as Zuko growled, the flame of the torch rising. Katara made it to Chang's sleeping form and checked on her, as Zuko grabbed Azula by the wrist and hauled her upright.
"I didn't think you dealt in poisons Azula." Zuko hissed.
"True, it's more cowardly than attacking head on," Azula sighed out. "But I wanted to talk big brother." Zuko shifted his grip to hold her by her upper arms and shook her.
"Why are you like this?" He demanded. Katara, finding that Chang was still breathing, checked on Sokka and Suki.
Azula had drugged them all.
"I am not going to let a traitorous bastard take the throne." Azula said as she straightened. "It is my destiny!"
"You have no right to the throne Azula."
"And you have no claim!"
"Enough!" Katara shouted and Zuko pushed Azula away. "You could have killed them." Katara said and Azula shrugged.
"So?" She said. Katara yelled and lunged, but Zuko stepped between them.
"The only reason why father married mother was to create a powerful bloodline. That means me. I am the one who is meant to be Fire Lord." Azula spat the words out and Zuko, still facing Katara, hung his head down with a sigh.
"Azula, you are literally insane." He said and finally turned. "You are unfit to serve."
"And you seek to make a half-breed your heir!" Azula broke into raucous laughter. When she calmed, her face was still crazed. "My people would prefer one mad ruler than one who is actively weakening our nation."
"What do you want Azula? We had an agreement." Zuko said, abandoning the argument.
"That changed when you went into town and met with her." Azula hissed.
"Who?" Zuko, bewildered, rubbed his face roughly with both hands. "Mother?"
"I know you're plotting with her. That's why you took the slattern."
"The what?" Katara stepped around Zuko and got within striking distance. "What did you call me?" Azula tilted her head almost to her shoulder and glared at Katara.
"Oh right, you're an ignorant peasant. Let me use a word you can understand." Azula collected herself and cleared her throat. "I called you a whore." Katara took in a sharp breath and felt a chill shiver over her body.
"You will not speak to her like that." Zuko warned and Azula rolled her eyes.
"I will do as I please. I am the princess of the Fire Nation." She retorted.
"And I am its Lord." Zuko nearly growled and advanced on his sister. Azula only raised one eyebrow and examined the nails on her left hand.
"Oh? Is that why you kept running to father?"
"What do you want Azula?" Zuko repeated. Azula tsked and gave him an impatient look.
"I told you. What is Ursa planning?"
"I don't know where she is!"
"Oh Zuzu, we both know you're lying. I know you're struggling with what's right, which is why you keep seeking father's advice. If you help me, we can end her influence once and for all." Zuko balked and he suddenly looked sick.
"What are you implying? Are you," Zuko paused, fumbling over the words. "Are you trying to kill our mother?"
"Why do you sound so surprised? You've been threatening to kill me this entire time." Azula said. "Plus, this way, we can finally be free."
"Azula, I wouldn't…"
"Oh, but you'll say it? So you'd rather I died quietly in the hospital like how you're waiting for father to wither away in prison." Azula laughed. "You just don't want to get your hands dirty."
"Azula, I am trying to fix our family."
"I heard you talking to the peasant. Mother never came back for us. Face it Zuzu, mother loved us just as much as father does." Zuko stammered and Azula shook her head slowly. "They kept us from each other. We never had a chance to be a family."
"Mother never tried to-"
"Mother only cared about you because of her boyfriend." Azula drew out the word with a mocking tone.
"We're not going to let you murder your mother." Katara said and Azula rounded on her.
"And who in the infernal blazes are you? Do you have any idea what it was like growing up with them as parents?" Azula gestured wildly to empty air. "You all were so ready to kill my father because he was such a bad guy. But my mother," Azula stopped and Katara watched as the princess started to cry. "My mother let him…" Zuko approached her slowly and slowly folded his sister into his arms. Azula howled and clung to Zuko as her body was racked with sobs.
"I'm going to find her Azula. And we'll be a proper family." Zuko whispered into Azula's hair. "I'm going to fix this." Azula suddenly shoved Zuko away and staggered back toward the edge of the saddle.
Dawa hadn't reacted, to anything.
Katara leapt over the saddle and onto Dawa's back, just as Azula produced two blades of fire.
"You can't fix this Zuzu. But I can end it." Azula said and Katara heard Zuko call out as she began to check on the Air Bison.
"Katara!" Zuko yelled.
"She drugged Dawa!" Katara said and swore.
"Katara, she's getting away!" Katara stood and watched as the twin dots of Azula's fire blades made it to the trees.
"Let her go Zuko." Katara said as she crawled back into the saddle.
"What?" Zuko had snatched up the torch and Katara held up her hands.
"Zuko, she wants to find your mother. She'll stick close to see what happens with the spirit." Katara explained and sat down with her bedding. "Besides, I need to stay here and keep an eye on them." Looking back at the trees and finding no light, Zuko sat down with a sigh.
"I don't know why she's like this." He said and replaced the torch.
"I think you do." Katara said and Zuko glared at her. Seeing her neutral expression, he relaxed and picked up his blanket.
"I'm sorry Katara. That she hurt everyone."
"We'll deal with that later." Katara replied and, sensing her mood, Zuko decided to stay quiet.