Blue eyes met dark brown, both gazes calm and resolute. A huff of air shot from gnarled gray nostrils, blowing across the young warrior's hair. The rhino's glare flickered away from the boy's face for a moment to regard the smooth, arm-length stick in his hand, and then returned to lock eyes with him once more, the two of them resuming their staring contest.
"All you have to do is hold it in your mouth," Sokka explained patiently.
He offered up the stick, holding it in front of the gruff rhino, who merely snorted in reply.
"Come on," the boy continued to coax, grunting a bit as he forced beast's lips up just enough to shove the long, whittled branch in. That done, he backed away slowly until he was certain it would stay. With a triumphant grin, he turned to pick up another long stick from the ground, speaking as he did so. "Now, just keep holding it like that and-"
He stopped when he heard the sound of the stick hitting the earth with a soft thump, and frowned dejectedly when he looked up at the rhino chewing the sparse turf beside it. But his defeated posture didn't last long, and he snapped his fingers as a brilliant idea came to mind.
Picking up the discarded branch, he walked a short distance away to where the grass grew tall, pulled up several long strands, and started wrapping them around one end of the stick. As he drew near to the rhino with the branch, it lifted its head, sniffing the air as Sokka held the grass-wrapped end toward the passive beast.
It was all Sokka could do keep from holding his breath as he waited for the rhino to take the bait. And it was even harder not to whoop for joy when the old brute finally took it. As it was, he pumped a fist in the air before bending down to pick up the other shaft of wood.
"Okay!" Sokka chimed merrily, turning to face his 'foe' and taking a defensive stance, "now come at me!"
The long stick poking out of the rhino's mouth jiggled up and down a little as he chewed the tender foliage encasing it. When no other movement ensued, Sokka sighed and addressed the creature once more.
"You're just not going to work with me, are you?"
The only response Sokka received was a muffled grunt.
The cart lurched over a particularly large rut in the road sending its occupants swaying and bouncing slightly along with it, forcing Momo to clutch the prince's shoulder as he tried to keep his balance. Zuko reached an arm up absently to help steady the little lemur, steadfastly ignoring the ceaseless babble coming from Junjie.
He was jabbering about yet another of his wild conspiracy theories, what had to be the hundredth Zuko had heard in the last two days. He barely bothered listening anymore; they were just too bizarre to follow.
"I'm tellin' ya, the key is the komodo sausages. When someone finally figures that one out, then all th' world's problems'll be solved, an' everythin'll fall back inta place. An' it'll happen too, jus' ye wait'n see, Kurzu."
"Kuzon."
"Whas'at?"
"It's Kuzon, not Kurzu," Zuko sighed. "Or Kozan, Kanza, or Kazoo", he muttered under his breath, rattling off some of the other weird names Junjie had called him by over the last few days.
"Hey, I use'ta know a Kuzon!" chirped Junjie happily.
"So you've told me," Zuko said wearily. Junjie made that same remark every single time Zuko corrected him. At this point, he wasn't sure why he bothered anymore.
"Bit of an odd one, 'e was," the old man mused blithely.
The prince looked askance at him with a wry expression; Junjie calling someone else 'odd' was an almost laughable concept.
"Never thought I'd run inta 'nother one. These days, all th' boys er called 'Chan' an' 'Shin' an' 'Li'," he rambled. "Yer folks did right by ye on that one."
The old man turned and looked at his younger traveling companion expectantly, which Zuko had learned was his cue for a response to carry on the conversation. And he knew that Junjie would only stare at him with that freakish, eager grin until he spoke. Somewhat at a loss, the prince frowned.
"It's…" Zuko paused as he remembered how he got his alias.
Everyone was in the room at the Kazimizu Theater, going through the new clothes that had been provided to them so they could get out of their disguises. while with Jenzu wrote down the assumed names they wanted put on their forged traveling papers.
The prince had planned on staying with Li, the name he'd used in the Earth Kingdom. But then Sokka announced that as his moniker, and when Jenzu asked for the prince's false identity, he was left without any ideas.
As he was fumbling through his brain for a suitable name, Aang surprised everyone by speaking up in Zuko's stead.
"Kuzon," the Avatar stated firmly, and they turned to regard him with curiosity. But Aang's face was resolute as he reaffirmed, "His name is Kuzon."
Zuko never did get a chance to ask Aang why he'd insisted on giving away the name of his best friend from a century ago rather than using it himself. And as he sat there in the wagon now with Junjie, he could only continue to wonder.
At last, he glanced at the old man, who was still patiently waiting for Zuko say something, and then back out to the road. His brow furrowed contemplatively as he remembered Junjie's earlier comment, and when he spoke again, his voice carried a pang of truth.
"It's a family name."
Steam wafted up from the tiny deluge of amber liquid pouring from spout to cup. With practiced care, the teapot was set gently back onto its cradle over the fire, and Iroh reverently held the cup in Toph's direction as she sat down beside him.
"Try this," he offered, "and tell me what you think."
Toph took a deep, appreciative whiff of the fragrant tea before putting the cup to her lips. Taking a delicate sip, she held the drink on her tongue for a moment before swallowing it down.
"Hrm…leachy tea, lightly infused with jasmine and," she paused for a moment, considering the flavor with slight puzzlement, "lemon?"
"Lemongrass," Iroh corrected with a tone of pride at his pupil's perception. "It's rather abundant in this area, and I thought it might add an interesting twist."
"It does," she agreed before taking another sip, "and it's really good."
Iroh smiled happily and poured a cup for himself, glancing up briefly as Aang and Katara walked into the camp.
"Ah, there you are," he exclaimed cheerfully. "Would you two like some tea?"
"Actually, we were looking for Sokka," Katara declined politely. "Toph, do you have any idea where he went?"
"Yeah, he's just over that hill," she replied, pointing toward where she could feel his vibrations against the soil.
The two nodded at their friend in appreciation and headed off in the direction she had indicated. But as they crested the rise of the hill, they stopped. There below them was Sokka, staring down the length of a wooden stick at the ragged old rhino that pulled their cart.
This, in itself, would have been a strange enough sight to behold, but the fact that the beast was also wielding a stick (in its mouth) was too bizarre for words. But it got even weirder when Sokka started weaving and moving about, swinging his branch for all he was worth.
The two teens looked at each in bewilderment for a moment before turning their attention back to their friend just in time to see him charge toward the rhino, stick swirling madly. Katara suppressed a gasp, startled at this new insanity her brother seemed to be displaying.
With yells and shouts of fury, he dodged and swerved in ridiculously exaggerated moves, apparently trying to avoid the completely immobile stick pinned between the animal's teeth. All the while, the old rhino seemed thoroughly unconcerned, gazing placidly at the foolish boy as he finished with a grand flourish.
At this point, the rhino spat the stick out of its mouth, smacking Sokka square in the forehead and sending him to the ground with a thud. His opponent thus defeated, the tired brute presented his backside to the fallen warrior and slowly ambled away.
With a disgusted sigh, Sokka hauled himself to his feet, brushing off his clothes as Aang and Katara approached.
"Sokka," began his sister hesitantly, "what were you doing?"
"Training," he grumbled, examining his makeshift wooden weapon.
"With…a rhino?" asked Aang skeptically.
"Hey, it's not like I have anyone else to practice against," snapped the warrior. "At least, not now," he finished quietly, sinking down to the ground in a cross-legged position and tossing away the stick.
"Oh, that's right," murmured Katara in sudden realization, settling down next to her brother, "Zuko was going to show you how to use his swords, wasn't he?"
"Yeah," Sokka confirmed softly.
"Well, Aang and I can help you train if you want," offered his sister.
"It's not just that," admitted Sokka slowly.
"Then what is it?"
Sokka glanced at her uncertainly, as if contemplating a response, but before he could give it, Aang spoke up.
"You miss him too, don't you?"
For a moment, Sokka looked like he was about to deny the Avatar's theory, but seeing Aang's earnest face, he knew he couldn't hide the truth. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and rested his chin on them.
"You know, if someone had told me two months ago that I would miss having the prince of the Fire Nation around, I'd have told them they were out of their minds," he marveled quietly. "But who'd have thought he'd be so…normal?" He let out a small sigh before continuing. "I guess I just got used to being around a regular guy."
"Hey, what about me?" protested Aang indignantly, "I'm a regular guy!"
"I mean a guy who eats meat," Sokka expanded dolefully, "and appreciates sharp, pointy things."
"Oh," conceded the air bender meekly. "Well, if it's any consolation, I miss having him as a teacher too." Seeing the questioning glances of his friends, he added quickly, "Don't get me wrong, Iroh is great and all, it just that…well, he never lets me try the really hard stuff the way Zuko does."
"I've noticed you make fewer mistakes when Zuko is training you," Katara admitted helpfully, and Aang nodded thoughtfully in return. A brief silence ensued as the three contemplated their missing companion.
"The eclipse is only two weeks away," mused Sokka unhappily, "and what good am I going to be when it gets here? You guys have your bending and me…I've got nothing."
"That's not true!" insisted Aang optimistically, "You've got your boomerang, and you are the idea guy."
"And what good is that going to do me when I get into close combat? Even if I had some real weapons, I'm nowhere near as skilled with them as you guys are with your bending." Sokka sighed again, his shoulders slumping. "It's just so ironic that, in all this time we've been traveling, trying to save the world, Zuko was the first real sparring partner I've had. And now that he's not here, I feel like the odd man out again."
The two benders looked at each other helplessly, neither of them sure what they could do or say. Finally, Katara placed a hand on her brother's shoulder.
"Why don't you come into town with me," she suggested kindly, "a little shopping is sure to cheer you up."
"Thanks, Katara," he replied with wistful gratitude, "but I don't think even a shopping trip will help this time."
"Oh, okay" she said, deflated. Standing up and starting to walk away, she called out slyly, "I guess I'll just have to try and find those komodo sausages Iroh mentioned some other time. I never know how to tell which ones are best."
Just as she had expected, Sokka perked up at the prospect of meat, and she smiled to herself when she heard him get to his feet and follow after her.
"On second thought, I think a little trip to the market is just the thing."
Watching them go, Aang only grinned and shook his head.
Author's note: For those of you that caught it and wondered; yes I got the name 'Kurzu' from the wonderful fan-story 'Ozai's Vengeance' written by Fandomme and its use here is just my personal little nod to one of her excellent original characters.
And I apologize if the Sokka/rhino bit seemed a little redundant. It was originally intened for the first chapter, but it got too long so I moved it here.
