Chapter 5- Vitriol
vitriol (noun): bitterly abusive feeling or expression.
As Tao had come to expect, the expedition to the Crescent Island and the Fire Temple it housed was an utter disaster. That just seemed to be their luck. Everywhere they went, there was conflict. First Prince Zuko locked onto their trail and followed them, then the blockade, and when they finally reached the temple, the Fire Sages betray them, except for one, and then this arrogant, mouthy jerk with sideburns named Commander Zhao appears. Tao was half convinced they were all going to just be sent to spend the rest of their lives in a Fire Nation prison. However, they do get one stroke of luck, and thanks to the solstice, the spirit of Avatar Roku is able to take control of Aang's body and give them all a way out.
However, the former Avatar hadn't given Aang good news during their talk. Apparently, they were on quite the time crunch now in order to end the war, otherwise there might not be a world to save anymore. Sozin's Comet was returning at the end of summer, giving them approximately six months for Aang to master three elements and the Avatar State and defeat the Fire Lord. It wasn't a great situation, and Aang was openly anxious, pacing and fidgeting as they flew northeast back to the Earth Kingdom. Tao didn't know what to say to his friend, having never imagined that they'd be in a situation this dire. Thankfully, he doesn't have to say anything. Katara is able to soothe him with the promise of teaching him the few rudimentary waterbending moves that she had figured out on her own back in the South Pole. Tao wasn't expecting anything impressive, and he was right, but he was still surprised that she had managed to figure out so much just by trial, error, and stubbornness. Aang on the other hand was a natural, and it was clear that fact irritated Katara greatly. Especially when Aang effortlessly shows her up with a move she couldn't even fully pull her off, at the same time washing away all their supplies.
Thankfully for them, however, they were near a port town, so it wasn't too much of a problem to resupply with the money that King Bumi had given them back in Omashu. Aang also picks up a whistle of... some description, and Tao is able to barter taking a few minutes to help a shopkeeper move some heavy boxes in exchange for a dagger to keep on his person. He wouldn't always be able to firebend, especially if they were around Earth Kingdom soldiers or civilians. That was a fantastic way to turn him into public enemy number one, whether or not he was clearly with the Avatar. So he needed a way to defend himself without his bending. He didn't have much training with short blades, but it was what he could get for now. He much preferred things like quarterstaffs, but he didn't have fifty silver handy for even the shopkeeper's cheapest and most rudimentary one. The dagger would do.
He had just finished helping the shopkeeper move the pile of boxes and stepped to the front of the shop when a shadow passes overhead, and he looks up to see Aang flying away on his glider, Katara and Sokka clinging to his legs for dear life. Sighing, having a feeling some new disaster had befallen them, he bids farewell to the shopkeeper and heads out of the town at a jog to meet back up with them at their campsite, just in time to see Katara struggling with some new waterbending move. He was huffing and puffing a little as he comes up to Sokka, getting a quick rundown, crossing his arms and giving his head a shake. "Can't we have a peaceful stopover for once?" he remarks, to which Sokka just lets out an ironic laugh.
Katara's jealousy though, it seemed, hadn't fully subsided, and the blowup she has at Aang for his attempt to help reminded him vaguely of his mother's more fire filled moments. It must be a Water Tribe thing to have spunky women. To her credit, she realizes her mistake quickly, and apologizes, but Tao could see she was still bothered by her struggles waterbending. He takes it upon himself to go with her to gather some fruits and nuts and the like for dinner, knowing Sokka felt safer when his sister wasn't out in the wilderness alone. He's quiet for a while, still a little unsure about how Katara felt about him, but eventually he speaks up. "Aang wasn't wrong you know." he says neutrally, feeling her sharp blue eyes cut over to him from the bush she was picking berries from. "Come on, Katara, you know he was just trying to help you. But... maybe I could give you some tips too."
"You? You're a firebender though. What tips could you give about waterbending?" the girl replies, incredulous but also curious, and Tao sighs.
"Remember when we were going to rescue Aang from Prince Zuko's ship and you asked me why my bending looked so different from Zuko's? I said it was complicated." he says, dropping his handful of berries into her pouch as she moves over and holds it open for him. "My father was a firebending merchant who lived at the southernmost end of the Fire Nation. His trade routes included one of the more west villages of the Southern Water Tribe. My mother was a waterbender from that village." he murmurs, watching her eyes go wide in shock.
"You're half Water Tribe? But you look purely Fire Nation."
"I know. Trust me, that's a fact that I try to forget." he drawls in response, tone a little bitter. Letting out a huff, he shakes his head, focusing his emotions so they didn't spiral out of control, not wanting a repeat of what had happened to him in the Spirit World. Though he was half convinced that that incident had been exaggerated by some mischievous spirit wanting to torment him. "Firebending in the traditional katas and stances never came naturally to me. It was always too stiff, so sometimes I'd train with my mother, and it would come easier to me. Over time my bending developed into a sort of... hybrid of water and firebending stances. Defensive as well as offensive."
Looking around, he finds a vine on a tree and pulls it down while Katara digests this information, also looking around for a small stone. Weaving it in the end of the vine securely and tying it off, he looks over at her, seeing that her brow was furrowed in thought before she looks up at him. "What was your mother like?" she asks, which was not the question he expected. But, he does smile a little.
"She was kind. Gentle and loving, comforting. Everything my father wasn't. You remind me of her in a lot of ways actually. Always taking care of others, making sure those numb skulls back at camp don't get themselves in trouble, always willing to help. I try to be like my mother more every day." pausing, fingering the vine in his hands, his shoulders slump a little. "She... disappeared. When I was eight. She and my father were having a particularly... loud argument one night. Then things got quiet. The next morning, she was gone, and my father wouldn't tell me anything about what happened. After that things got... hard."
"Oh. I'm... I'm sorry. I understand what its like to lose your mother." Katara says softly, reaching up instinctively to touch the necklace that was no longer around her neck. Tao doesn't press her for an elaboration on that statement though, figuring she'd expand on it if she wanted to, which she doesn't. And he's grateful when she changes the subject. "What's the rock and vine for?" she asks with a frown.
"An attempt at demonstration." he says, letting the rock slide down a few inches from his hand before stopping it with the vine. "I'm not a great teacher but, I'll do my best. I was watching you earlier though. You're stiff and also impatient. Water doesn't move like air and fire does. It has volume and weight." swinging the rock, he spins it slowly, moving through a basic waterbending kata, using it as a stand in water stream, or as close as he could ever get to one anyway. "It moves with momentum and weight. If you watch the waves on a river or ocean, they overlap, because the weight of the individual waves needs time to shift back and forth against itself."
Katara watches him closely as he flows through the kata, moving the rock with him to demonstrate, wide eyes glued to his movements, and it was clear that she was listening attentively. "Is that why it moves so sluggishly even when I'm trying to make it move faster?"
Tao nods, finishing the kata and letting the rock drop to the end of the vine again. "I believe so. Honestly I only have a few years of memories of watching my mother, so I had to figure out a lot of it on my own too. But what she did teach me stuck. She always used to tell me that I had to flow through it, like what Aang said. Keep my joints loose. She'd say... 'its a dance, not a march.'" swinging the rock and vine again, he moves through a kata that was used to redirect water, or in his case fire, in a circle and send it back at towards one's attackers. "There's grace to it. Smooth like a gentle stream over pebbles. If you want water to move faster, you need to consider momentum, weight, and how much you're moving. It needs time to gain that speed, even if that time is only a few fractions of a second, but it can't go from stop to go in an instant like air and fire can."
Holding the rock and vine out to Katara, he swaps it with the berry pouch and steps back to let her copy what he had been doing. She flows through it fairly well, but her movements were still a little jerky. Which he supposed was fair. She was self taught and also very much an amature. But at least she doesn't whip him in the head with the rock, so he counted that as a win. She can feel the stiffness though, and it was clearly frustrating her as Tao rubs his chin in thought.
"Maybe before you do any practicing or training, you should try stretching to limber up your body. Just a few minutes' worth is all you should need. Plus it'll help your flexibility, and in turn help your bending."
"Maybe. Its so frustrating though. It took me so long to figure out the moves I showed Aang but I showed him once and he had it down like an expert." Katara puffs, letting the rock drop and frowning, unhappy with the jealous thoughts she was having but not able to help it.
"Consider this. Aang is the Avatar. He's had... hundreds of past lives. Much of his past lives' skills may have been transferred to him. Plus, I highly doubt he'll do well with something like earthbending. Besides it being air's natural opposite, the bending styles for it are also the total opposite of Aang's personality. He's airbender from head to toe in the way he thinks and acts." Tao says with a chuckle, shaking his head. "What I mean to say is, don't let it get to you. It was just you and penguins out there in the South Pole, figuring out a skill the spirits blessed you with by yourself. You don't have the advantage of the latent knowledge of past lives. So that you were able to figure out as much as you did is amazing. Really."
"You're just trying to make me feel better."
"When have I ever wasted breath saying things that don't need to be said?" raising an eyebrow, Tao smirks at Katara and then nods to the vine and rock. "Hold onto that. When we're not near bodies of water or you don't have any on you, you can use that to practice and at least get an idea of how your katas work. Even if you're not physically feeling the weight of the water when you're bending it, having that will help you visualize it better."
Katara manages a grateful smile at him, wrapping the vine up and putting it and the rock in her pack on her hip. "Thanks, Tao, really. You're a good friend." she says, taking Tao off guard as she turns to continue gathering things for dinner. It takes him a few moments to move again, but somehow he felt lighter. It was good to know what Katara thought of him for sure. She was the only one of their little group who he had been unsure about until now. They were silent for a long time before Katara speaks up again, voice quiet. "My mom's name was Kaya. What was your mom's name?"
Tao blinks a few times, having not expected that question of all things. But, despite himself, he smiles a sad, nostalgic smile and hums. "Her name was Sakari."
oOo
Prince Zuko was becoming a menace. Once again, here he was, showing up wherever Aang was, desperate to capture him and return him to the Fire Nation, for reasons Tao couldn't fathom. It wasn't like they had ever stopped to have a conversation. Every encounter began and ended in conflict. But Zuko seemed... angry. Frustrated. And his scar bothered Tao and made his own itch. It almost looked like the remnants of a hand print. Like a slap, not unlike the ugly slash of Tao's own scar, or like someone had caressed his face, a false comfort, and then set it on fire. It seemed like Tao's scar bothered Zuko too, because the whole time he was standing beside Aang and Sokka, tied up while Katara was tied to a tree, and the prince was arguing with the pirates that had captured them about scrolls and Avatars, his eyes kept drifting over to Tao, and specifically to his scar before snapping back to the pirate Captain.
The battle on the shore of the river isn't too long, though the amount of flying blades and fire was a little harrowing. They're able to break away and commandeer the pirates' ship though, Katara and Aang working together to get it back into the water with some bending. The relief doesn't last long though, and soon the fight is back on with the pirates boarding from Zuko's smaller coal fired boat. For not the first time, Tao was half convinced they were going to die as they careen over a waterfall, free falling as he clung to Sokka's wrist, and Aang to Sokka and Katara's. Luckily, it seemed the whistle Aang had bought was a bison whistle, because Appa was able to catch them before they landed in the water below and got crushed by the falling boats. Slumping back against the back of the saddle, letting out a sigh of relief, Tao smirks as Sokka presents Katara and Aang with the waterbending scroll that he had swiped back in the fray, letting his shoulders relax. At least in the air they were safe from all the chaos and conflict on the ground.
That was until a couple days later when they were deep in a red forest and Sokka insists that they walked. Instinct or some fluff like that. Tao wasn't sold on the idea of walking for twenty miles a day. It wasn't safe, never mind that it would make their trip to the Northern Water Tribe even longer. Though he was half convinced they had been going in the wrong direction in their haste to get away from any sources of water that Zuko could follow them through and track them.
"Honestly, Sokka, I'd rather deal with Zuko than with random roving packs of Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko is at least predictable. This is a terrible idea." Tao gripes after they had been walking for a couple hours, having long since thrown the pack that he had been carrying up into Appa's saddle. He didn't know why the others hadn't. It wasn't like they had left Appa behind, he could still carry their stuff.
"I'd rather not deal with either. But for right now, my instincts tell me that this is the safest thing we... can..." Sokka trails off as he steps through a line of brush and right into a rather large camp full of Fire Nation soldiers, who all stop their evening meals to turn and stare at them. And they may have just let them all leave with some questioning if Sokka hadn't panicked and gone to take off. They were clearly outnumbered and likely outmatched in the fight that follows, but Tao is quickly glad that he hadn't firebent yet as a group of blade and weapon wielding teens and children drop out of the trees above them, joining the fray and either chasing away or taking out the rest of the soldiers.
Tao was inspecting a couple of dropped weapons to see if they were something he could potentially use in place of his short dagger, which he needed to clean now, when he looks up, eyes catching on the apparent leader of their mysterious assistants. And then his breath catches. The teen was lithe, tan, handsome, with wild brown hair and an air of confidence and leadership that was almost visible in the air around him. Tao was charmed immediately, and apparently so was Katara. An immediate infatuation. The teen introduces himself as Jet, and goes through the introductions of his Freedom Fighters who apparently controlled this part of the forest. Swallowing and giving himself a mental shake, Tao tears his eyes away from Jet and focuses on his inspections of the various spears and polearms that had been dropped by the fleeing soldiers while the Freedom Fighters took an inventory of the camp. Footsteps make him look up though, and he stands up straight when he sees that Jet had approached him, a soft smirk on his face as he looked Tao up and down. "You're pretty skilled with that dagger." he remarks, making Tao swallow stiffly so he could speak without his voice cracking.
"Uh, thanks. I don't think so though. I only got it because I could barter labor for it." he says, shaking his head, ears feeling warm and he wills himself to calm down. "I prefer longer weapons, but none of these are what I was briefly trained on back in- b-back home. I'm the most familiar with bō or quarterstaffs." he barely catches himself, getting a cold feeling up his spine that revealing his true origins around here was not a good idea. Not that it was a good idea anywhere in the Earth Kingdom.
"Really. Well, if you come with us back to our hideout, maybe we could hook you up with something like that. We've got all kinds of weapons we've taken from the Fire Nation there." Jet says, resting one hand on his hip and shifting his weight, tilting his head. Tao can only nod, and he watches Jet's deep, dark eyes travel down to his scar, making him self conscious. "How did that happen?" the other teen asks, and Tao looks away, shoulders slumping a little.
"I... I don't like to talk about it. There's a lot about my past I don't like to talk about." he says. And it was true. It was hard to talk about with people he was familiar and comfortable with, never mind someone he had literally just met.
"I can respect that. We all have hard pasts here. All of us have been effected by the Fire Nation in some terrible, personal way. And from the looks of it, that's an old burn, so I'd say you've had your own terrible run ins with firebenders too." Jet hums calmly, and Tao just nods. It was true, after all.
Jet takes that as a good time to walk away and go talk to Katara and Aang, and Sokka stalks up beside Tao, crossing his arms and scowling at him. "What was all that about? I've never seen that look on your face before." the Water Tribe teen grouses, eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Tao can feel his face start to burn, which in turn makes Sokka's eyes pop wide open. "Wait- do you like Jet? I didn't think you were like... that." he says, not quite sure how to phrase the accusation, but also clearly in shock.
Tao huffs, face flushing and he frowns at Sokka. "Hey- I can appreciate beauty in any form it takes. Girl or boy. And Jet just happens to be charming." he says, looking away quickly as Sokka's scowl returns.
"Yeah... charming. That's a word for it." he huffs, suspicion clear in his voice as he looks over where Jet was talking to Katara, but Tao can only focus on the soft smile and look on the boy's face at something Katara says.
Soon they're in the Freedom Fighter hideout, high in the trees. It was platform after platform of tents and cabins and tree houses, connected with rope bridges and zip lines, which Aang was particularly enjoying. Jet has Smellerbee show Tao to where their weapon store was and let him peruse their collection, where he eventually picks out a better, and bigger, dagger to keep on his hip, and a six foot quarterstaff made out of a light metal with leather wrapping in the middle and metal studs in three rows on either end of it. Feeling more comfortable with a useful weapon in his hand for when he couldn't bend, he follows Smellerbee back to what appeared to be a main platform where it seemed a feast was being put together to celebrate their victory against the soldiers.
Jet gives a rousing speech, but something in the way he talks about the Fire Nation in particular rubs Tao the wrong way. There was true, pure hate in his voice. It was understandable, and he didn't hold it against Jet, but it did set him on edge as his eyes travel to the vicious hook blades that Jet had set beside the place he had been sitting. Tao got the distinct feeling Jet would gut him with those if he found out he was a firebender, and he probably wouldn't even blink. However, even with those misgivings, Tao can't help the way his heart thumps as the other comes and sits down between him and Katara, seeming at least aware of the pretty obvious crush the younger waterbender had on him. Whether he noticed Tao's own internal wrestling, it was unclear, and Tao preferred it that way. It wasn't like they were going to be staying long, and even if they were, he couldn't keep his origins a secret forever.
As the small feast winds down, Tao excuses himself, not very comfortable around large gatherings of strangers, and needing a few minutes alone to center his mind after the fight earlier in the day. Violence made his stomach turn, every blow against his body reminded him of his father. Finding an upper platform, washed silver in the moonlight, he leans against the railing and looks out over the forest and the hidden camp, wondering about the pasts of the children who lived here. He jolts a little when footsteps thump on the walkway to his right, standing up straight when he sees that it was Jet, holding his hands up to show Tao he meant no harm. "You're a jumpy one." the other teen remarks, a soft smirk gracing his features, and Tao swallows and looks away back over the forest.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that I am. I've always had to be on edge my whole life. Make sure I kept myself in line, didn't make any mistakes. I'd give... anything for the way I grew up to be different." he murmurs, crossing his arms as Jet comes to a stop beside them. A silence stretches between them for a long time, and Tao's heart crawls up into his throat, hammering hard, the longer Jet stands there, standing taller than him, seeming as casual as could be with his weight leaned back, a hand on his hip as he surveyed his camp.
"Sounds like you really had it rough. But, you're traveling with the Avatar now, so you can leave all those memories and hard times behind. You can make a difference against the Fire Nation with him." Jet eventually says, dark eyes glancing over at Tao, who lets out a dry, humorless laugh.
"Yeah, I guess." looking over at Jet, grappling with his emotions, reminding himself that they weren't staying here and there was no use getting his hopes up, despite the physical attraction he felt towards the other teen, Tao sighs. "I knew Aang before he knew that he was the Avatar."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean there's a reason the Avatar disappeared for a century. I won't get into the details, but I was frozen with him for that time period. Things are... so different now." he murmurs, half wondering if, having said that, Jet might be more understanding if he revealed his origins. He doubted it, so he kept his mouth shut.
"That's... a lot to take in. It sounds overwhelming, to wake up one day and so much time has passed." Jet hums, to which Tao nods. The silence stretching between them was more comfortable now, a cool spring breeze blowing between them, and Tao almost steps closer for warmth. Almost. "How did you meet Aang then?"
Snorting, a real, happy smile stretches across Tao's lips and he leans his head back, remembering that day fondly. "Well, Aang is an Air Nomad. He used to travel when he wasn't mastering airbending at a temple. He happened to stop at my village about a year after I got this scar, saw a sad, lonely kid with no friends and decided I looked fun. He pestered me until I perked up and played with him. Honestly, I can probably thank him for saving my life. I was... in a dark place when we met. The sea was looking more and more welcoming." pausing, he takes in a breath to steady himself and then chuckles at a memory. "I actually beat him in a race. Imagine that. Me, beating an airbender in a race. To this day he insists I cheated."
Jet laughs at this as well, and Tao was glad it was dark because his face burns at the sound of it. Once again, silence, and this time, it felt warm. Tao was half sure he was imagining it, but he also enjoyed it. "Well, its a good thing the two of you are here now, in this time. And its good that Aang was able to help you out of that dark place. I don't think the world would be the same without you in it." the other teen remarks, leaving Tao speechless, doubly sure that Jet definitely didn't mean it the way he took it. All he can do is nod, and Jet takes that as a good time to bid him goodnight and head back down to the feast, leaving Tao alone with his racing heart and whirling thoughts, trying to get himself back under control.
oOo
Sokka seemed irritated still, openly not trusting Jet whatsoever, and more than ready to get a move on. He gets suckered into going on a mission the next morning though, and Tao also volunteers to go on an impulse. The next day though, he wishes he hadn't as some of Jet's true colors come out. An old man in Fire Nation red was slowly making his way down the path, minding his own business when Jet ambushes him from above, ignoring Sokka's insistence to wait, to leave him alone. Tao and Sokka exchange a wide eyed look and follow quickly, barely getting there in time to stop a brutal kick from Jet to the old man's head. "Jet stop! He's just a harmless old man." Sokka shouts, making the other teen bristle and round on the pair of them.
"How does attacking an old man help anyone Jet? He can't even fight back against you." Tao states with a scowl as Pipsqueak and Smellerbee search the old man, keeping an eye on them. They turn up a simple, small bag, holding it up triumphantly as Jet angrily chastises Sokka and shoves past him, leaving the old man on the ground without his cane. Tao and Sokka exchange a glance, and the firebender hurries into the woods where the cane had been kicked, returning it to the old man quickly as Sokka helps him to his feet, but they leave quickly afterwards, jogging to catch up to the group, but hanging well back. "I... I don't like this." Tao murmurs, brow furrowing. For as handsome as Jet was, the hate and viciousness he had just displayed was ugly. He was a wounded boy, deep down, something Tao related to. But at least Tao didn't channel his wounds into pure violence against innocents.
"I don't either. We need to get out of here." Sokka replies, shaking his head, a deep frown on his face. They return to the camp, and Sokka and Tao both find somewhere quiet to sit and think about their next step. Katara and Aang were having fun here, they wouldn't want to leave easily. And they don't, even after they're told about the attack on the old man, Katara insists on hearing Jet's side.
"You told them about the old man but didn't tell them he was Fire Nation?" Jet says when they're all gathered in his cabin together, looking cooly at Tao and Sokka, who frown right back.
"Alright but even if he was Fire Nation, he was still a harmless civilian." Sokka insists, moving forward while Tao stays in the back, golden eyes gleaming like two chips of amber rock as he stares at Jet as he pulls out a knife that definitely hadn't been on the old man. The bag that Smellerbee had taken off him hadn't been big enough for a knife that size, and they'd have spoken up about anything else they had found, especially a knife, there in the moment. It would have probably gotten the old man killed on the spot, now that Tao really thought about it. "There was no knife." Sokka insists in a huff, pushing past Aang and Katara. "I'm going back to the hut to pack. We're leaving." he states firmly, making his way out, Tao following him, wanting to get out of this tense situation.
Its not long though before Katara comes into the cabin telling some story about the Fire Nation burning down the forest to flush out the Freedom Fighters. Considering the destruction from Hei Bei's forest that the Fire Nation had caused, it was believable that they'd do something like that but it was just too convenient, which Sokka is quick to sniff out. It does nothing to sway Katara though, who hadn't seen the ugly side of Jet like Tao had to shake her loose from her infatuation, and she and Aang insist on staying to help stop the Fire Nation.
That night, Tao just can't sleep, nightmares and anxious thoughts keeping him awake, so he decides to meditate for a while, despite not being able to light any candles to help channel his chi more precisely. Voices and movement outside the hut gets his attention though, and Sokka's as well, who sits up. "You heard that too?" Tao whispers, to which Sokka nods, and the pair of them creep forward, frowning when they see Jet and a couple other Freedom Fighters taking a zip line down. It was incredibly suspicious, and without a word to each other, Tao and Sokka decide to follow. Tao almost wishes they hadn't when they hear Jet's plan to blow the dam and flood the town below it, wiping out everyone, including innocent families and children. It was... a horrifying plan. Cold and callous. They don't have a chance to run back to warn Aang and Katara though, as they're both grabbed from behind, blades held at their throats as their hands are yanked behind their backs. Then they're dragged out before Jet.
"Sokka, Tao, I'm so glad you've decided to join us." Jet drawls smoothly, looking between the two of them.
"We heard your plan, Jet. You're sick." Sokka growls, glaring hard at the other teen as he struggled against Pipsqueak's hands, Longshot and Smellerbee holding onto Tao, who was being still, staring daggers at Jet.
"I thought the two of you would be more understanding. You've both been hurt by the Fire Nation personally. You still bare the mark of their cruelty." walking over to Tao, Jet reaches out and traces his fingers along his scar, making him grimace hard and lean away, the entire touch making him feel disgusting and he reflexively bites at Jet's fingers, half tempted to breathe a puff of fire in his face. But that would just get him a hook blade to the throat. "I can see though that I'm not going to convince either of you, and I can't have you warning anyone. Take them for a walk. A long one." he hums, pulling his hand back from Tao's face as their hands are tied up and marched away.
They walk the rest of the night and into the morning, and it was really nothing to finally break away. The Freedom Fighters weren't trained soldiers. They were lost children working with what they had. Burning his restraints as Sokka simply slips his, they exchange a look while Smellerbee and Pipsqueak dangle in the hog-monkey traps above them. "You go try and warn the town. I'll go look for Katara and Aang." Tao says, nodding along with Sokka and they split up, running as fast as they can.
When Tao finds his friends, they were in the middle of a vicious battle with Jet, Katara watching with wide eyes as Aang and Jet leap about in the trees, Aang barely dodging getting sliced or skewered by Jet's blades, desperate to get his glider back. "Tao! Jet's going to blow the dam. Where's Sokka?" Katara gasps when she sees him.
"Going to warn the town. We found out last night." Tao puffs, eyes tracking the fight in the trees before huffing and starting to scale a nearby tree. He reaches the upper level as Aang lands on the same wider branch, and he sees Tao slip into a firebending stance, leaping up and over him, landing behind his friend as Tao punches his fist forward, a ball of blue frame erupting from the end of his curled fingers, flying at Jet, who's eyes go wide and he barely dodges as the fire whizzes by him and fizzles out.
"You're a firebender?" the teen hisses, the amount of venom and hate in his voice making Tao almost flinch, but he's able to set his jaw against it.
"Unfortunately." he growls, stepping forward and swinging his open palm in a slice, sending a blade of fire towards Jet, who uses his blades to swing under the branch and dodge it, coming back up and kicking Tao in the chest, slamming him back into the trunk as Aang leaps up and away, swinging his arms down and blasting Jet with a wave of air, making him stumble back. However, Jet was no longer focused on Aang. All of his attention was zeroed right in on Tao, and his eyes were full of nothing but pure, burning hate. Tao wasn't nearly as nimble as Aang was in the trees, but he was doing his best, keeping Jet at a distance with blasts of fire, being careful not to set fire to the entire forest in the process, and Aang does what he can to help out, still needing his glider back.
Tao's luck doesn't last forever though, and all it takes is one stumble for him to fall back against the tree trunk, and then Jet is in front of him. With a yell, he swings one hook blade, slicing a deep gash in Tao's shoulder and into his chest before the blade lets go, making the firebender scream in pain as blood gushes out. Just as Jet was going in to stab with the dagger tips of the bottom of the blades, Aang nails him with a focused blast of air, sending him flying, and its enough to divert Jet's attention back to him while Tao sinks down onto the branch, clutching his bleeding shoulder and chest, that entire arm feeling numb, limp against his leg. Cursing, he balls up his shirt collar as much as he can and presses it against the wound, losing a lot of blood quickly, staining his new clothing with it, red rapidly creeping across the entire sleeve and then down the front.
It feels like an eternity before Aang comes back, and when Tao focuses, head feeling fuzzy, it sounded like the fighting had stopped. The airbender was much smaller than Tao, but he's able to lift him with the good arm and with some airbending, get him down into Appa's saddle below. Tao gasps and yells in pain when Sokka gives Appa the command to lift off, the lurch jerking his body. Katara and Aang get him out of the shirt, setting it aside to clean and repair later, and from the look of their expressions, the wound was pretty bad.
"This is really deep. I'm going to have to stitch it up. Sokka! Keep Appa as steady as you can!" she calls, getting her first aid supplies out, making sure to set them in a spot where they won't get blown away by the rushing wind. "Aang I'm going to have to ask you to hold him as still as possible. This is going to hurt a lot, and we don't have time for any numbing agents to take effect." Aang looks at her with wide eyes and then nods, looking unsure, but determined to do what he could to help. Katara works as quickly as she can, cleaning the deep, long gash that ran from the top of his shoulder, across his collarbone, and half way down the middle of his chest. Tao tries to hold still and not squirm or scream in pain, but his ability to control himself was fading as he got weaker with blood loss. With one last look to Aang, who nods shakily back and presses his hands to Tao's head and his uninjured shoulder, leaning his weight into it to keep him still, Katara makes the first stitch.
It seems to go on forever, and the feeling of the thread pulling through his flesh was disturbing and sickening, but he doesn't have much fight left in him, especially by the end, many stitches and much bandaging later. Aang and Katara's hands are both stained in blood, and she calls for Sokka to take them down by running water so they could get cleaned up and wash Tao's wound and his shirt. The saddle needed to be cleaned now too. At this point, Tao was barely conscious, delirious with pain and weak from bleeding so much, but even Aang knew that he had to be kept awake, so Katara is the first to go down and wash up, bringing a pot of water up with her into the saddle so Tao didn't have to be moved, and then Aang goes down to wash his hands. Sokka in the meantime steps into the saddle, sitting by Tao's head and giving him a shaky smile as the firebender sluggishly looks over at him.
"Hey buddy. We did it. I was able to get to the town in time and got everyone evacuated. Good job handling Jet with Aang. You helped delay him in giving the signal to blow the dam." the Water Tribe teen says, getting a week hum from Tao to let Sokka know he had been heard and understood. Tao would celebrate when he could think straight. He was just so tired. "Hey now, stay awake. Oh! Did I ever tell you the story about the time when Katara thought an arctic hen was a polar-bear dog?" Sokka then launches into a lengthy and rather hilarious story, much to Katara's displeasure, about Katara being scared by the shadow of an arctic hen. It was an effort to keep Tao awake a while longer, and it works. They stay long enough in the area to make sure he's stabilized and wouldn't die in his sleep, and once his shirt is washed and Katara is setting to work repairing it as they take off again to find a place a little further from Jet's forest to camp, wanting to put as much distance between the Freedom Fighters and themselves as possible, and Tao is only too happy to let the sweet embrace of sleep take him.