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The Duke strikes back!

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Subject has acquired a new stalker. The Duke! Ever since Subject let the Duke play with sharp knives while preparing the Seaprunes, The Duke has taken to following him around. Four times I have come across a hiding place to find the Duke already there.

Boo.

I know it is incredibly immature, but when I saw the Duke in my pillar hiding space I felt a wave of irritation for his small self. I was stalking Subject first! The Duke needs to find his own Subject. I have decided to take the high road and have discouraged the Duke from stalking. I have told him it is not safe to watch the firebending/swordfighting practice from a hiding spot, because the boys don't know he is there and he could be accidentally hurt by one of Aang's rogue fireblasts.

The Duke completely misunderstood me and has gone and directly asked Subject if he can watch them train and if Subject can also teach him how to fight. Subject was very taken aback by this direct request but has agreed. Because Subject is an idiot. You do not give a child like the Duke a sharp implement to wave about!

Idiot!

I have, once again, taken the Duke aside to tell him that it is not safe for him to wave about sharp implements. The Duke is adamant that Subject said it was okay and would teach him. The Duke then put an abrupt stop to our conversation by asking me why I didn't ask Subject to teach me whatever I wanted to know from him. I was most surprised. The Duke had also noticed me watching Subject and had assumed that I also wanted to learn Firebending. Or Dao swords. I was quite stunned that the Duke noticed me also following Subject and I will try to be much more subtle in the future. The Duke told me it was okay to ask Subject things directly.

Ah youth. Male youth.

There are many things I cannot ask Subject about directly, but the Duke being a seven-year-old male favors the direct approach in all things. He, in fact, asked Subject quiet directly what happened to his face. Subject replied that it got burned in a very flat voice.

Right now, Subject is experimenting with leaving Aang to his own devices regarding firebending. He is trying a more laid back teaching style than his usual approach, which is to be constantly and forever breathing down Aang's neck about technique and form and concentration during lessons. His hope is that Aang will take some initiative for his own bending. He has shown Aang something called the Crouching Dragon and Aang is meant to practice it until he has perfected it. I have a feeling this experiment will be unsuccessful, but I have not told Subject this. He'll find out on his own. Aang needed gentle encouragement and constant supervision when I was training him. He does not learn well on his own.

Now I cannot seem to find Subject to berate him regarding the Duke. I l hate to admit it, but I am now looking for the Duke to see if he knows where Subject has gone.

-!-

Some time later….

-!-

Found Subject! He was in the orchard.

As per usual, we have had a small argument. I merely wanted to impress upon Subject the foolishness of encouraging the Duke to wave around sharp implements. Subject said that if the Duke wanted to learn how to fight, Subject was willing to teach him. I ranted a bit about Subject's general idiocy and the fact that he already had his hands full training Aang and sparring with Sokka and when would he get to time to make sure that the Duke didn't accidentally…you know… stab himself.

Subject claimed that he wasn't that much of an idiot (I beg to differ) and of course he wasn't just going to hand over his Dao blades to the Duke. He was in the orchard because he was looking for some sticks to give the Duke, which would be the right length for him to practice and pretend with.

He'd already spoken to Sokka and Sokka was in agreement with him that if the Duke wanted to learn how to fight, he should be able to. They both thought the best thing to do would be to give the Duke two blunt wooden swords and let him watch their sparring and copy them. Subject had found one stick that was the right length already and Sokka was carving it into more of a swordy-shape, because Sokka is the better carver than subject and that is saying something. Subject's carving skills must be similar to his decision making skills- absolutely terrible. Subject was now looking for a second stick.

Oh boys!

Is it always about whacking things with swords?

I mean really. What is with the swords?

I don't know if I have ever felt the urge to whack something with a stick in my life. Except for Sokka, and Subject and maybe Toph once or twice. But then, it would have been with the righteous stick of commonsense! Because all three of them often have terrible lapses in commonsense. I could not hit Aang with the commonsense stick because he would just make a sad panda face at me and I would feel like the worst person in the world.

Note to self: Would this work? Could I just get a stick and write commonsense on it and periodically whack some commonsense into Subject?

I am unsurprised that Sokka would agree with Subject in this matter. He was forever trying to teach the toddlers back home how to fight and defend themselves. I always thought it was a most ridiculous and unsuccessful endeavor. I mean, they were really little kids. What were they going to learn of fighting? They shouldn't even be learning how to fight at that age. At that age, all that most children should have to worry about is if they are forced to eat their broccoli, not if their fighting stance is correct. I re-iterated this point to Subject but he did not agree with me.

Subject thinks it would be great if kids only had to worry about broccoli, but that wasn't reality for us. Duke had lost his parents very young and had felt powerless to stop it. Subject thinks it is horrible when kids feel powerless and defenseless. There was something in the way he said that. It is bothering me. Anyway Subject thought that learning some self defense would be good for the Duke. Subject thinks that you are never too young to start learning things, especially how to defend yourself. Subject thinks it will make the Duke feel safer, if he knows a few sword moves.

Yes, maybe, until he slices his hand open accidentally, or gets a splinter from one of those bloody wooden swords. Because when that happens there will be tears and drama. And I will have to fix it.

I could not get Subject to refuse to teach the Duke. In the end he found another stick and in my frustration with him, I grabbed it, bopped him on the head with it (but only lightly) and ran away. It is only a shame that the stick did not have commonsense written on it already.

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Some time later….

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I am watching sword training from the sidelines, rather than my usual stalking hideout, because I wanted a better view of the inevitable failure of the first lesson. Subject had to patiently explain to the Duke that he could not teach him firebending because the Duke wasn't a firebender. Besides Aang is already handful enough for Subject.

Aang has not mastered the crouching dragon on his own. Aang, in fact, spent most of the day gliding with Teo because he thought Subject wouldn't notice him slacking off. Subject noticed and was displeased.

The Duke was a bit upset about not learning firebending, because he is irrationally obsessed with Subject and wants to be like him for some strange reason. Then Sokka presented him with the glorified sticks (he had even wrapped a piece of leather around both of the ends to make handles). The Duke was then happy as a clam. The boys gave him tips on stance, grip, basic moves etc. They said if he wanted to copy Sokka's style, he was to use one stick (and possibly make a lot of yeehaaa! noises to go along with his moves), and if he was copying Subject he could use two. Of course the Duke used two the whole time! It's double the fun for the Duke. Still, to be fair, the lesson was not a complete disaster and the Duke is cheerfully practicing some of the things the boys showed him while I make dinner.

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Some time later still…

-!-

The Duke has, since his lesson, accidentally:

Knocked Toph off her feet (but only that one time because Toph was quite displeased).

Smacked Teo in the face three times.

Hit me in the boob four times while I was making dinner (he was promptly banished from the kitchen after the fourth time).

And whacked Haru at least five times, once rather forcefully in the balls. (Not sure if this was an accident, Haru had been making fun of the Duke's swords at the time.)

We are all in agreement. Giving the Duke swords and teaching him to use them was a ridiculous idea. Power to the majority! The Duke, Sokka and Subject still maintain it was a good idea and the Duke will get better at it. Aang refuses to cast a vote because he wishes to stay neutral, so as it stands, it is 4 vs 3!

Take that Subject! Majority rules!

-!-

Things I have learned about Subject:

Though I absolutely hate to admit it, and will never say it to his face, Subject may have a point about teaching kids how to defend themselves. Even if only for their own sense of security. We are at war after all.

I would love to protect all the kids from all harm. As a master waterbender now I am able to do it. But as a child I was so defenseless and I didn't know any self defense and perhaps if I had, then that day when my mother was….no I can't think about this too much. I have done the what if's before.

But perhaps Subject is not entirely wrong about children feeling safer when they know a few fighting moves. Especially if the adults in their life are absent and cannot protect them.

Subject must have felt quite powerless/defenseless at some point in his childhood, to be so adamant about this. Though this is only wild speculation and based upon the way he was talking about kids needing to know how to defend themselves. Is that how he got his scar? When he was a child? I still dare not ask.

Subject actually likes teaching people things he knows. It makes him feel useful.

Subject can be rather sweet to small, rambunctious, stick-wielding boys.

Subject and Sokka are both idiots and lacking in commonsense. But both are kind to small children.

Subject wishes Aang was more like the Duke. He shows the Duke something one time, and the Duke practices it. He shows Aang something eighteen times, and Aang goes gliding with Teo.

-!-

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An alarmingly long author's note follows:

Lovely reader, you have reached the end of the duke strikes back and I hope very much that you enjoyed it. Next I will tackle the boiling rock but I just wanted one more nice little domestic chapter bit with the Gaang before some serious shenanigans start. One of the things I wanted to explore in this chapter is one of the peripheral characters of the western air temple. Yes the darling duke. He is often overlooked, in fact I think Teo and Haru are too. Even in the show the writers didn't know what to do with them and they were just lolling about in the background.

Really, what did Teo, Haru and the Duke do at the western air temple? It's not really explored in cannon and what is not explored in cannon is the domain of fic!

Why did I focus on the Duke this chapter? I think Teo could have occupied himself with Aang and gliding and Haru could have been earthbending with Toph or trimming his mustache for all I know. The Duke on the other hand is very young and there is nobody really close to his age. I put him at about seven/eightish, but YMMV.

I wanted Katara, at one point, to have a rival stalker and to get a bit territorial. Katara, when she's discouraging the duke from stalking is not just being territorial though. She has probably had a few near misses with Aang's firebending. As to the Duke's directness – in my prac (for primary school teaching) I learned that seven year old boys ask you the most direct and often the most inappropriate questions. Bless their cotton socks.

I think it's reasonable that the Duke would start to hero worship/man crush on Zuko after he showed him how to gut nasty Seaprunes and good knife safety. When Zuko showed him how to do that, it is the first one-on-one attention that anyone as shown the Duke in a while. Not because everybody is a bad person but because there are so many shenanigans going on, nobody has time for the worries of a seven-year-old. Katara, as team mum, makes sure they are all fed, getting enough sleep, brushing their teeth etc, but she doesn't have time for that one on one focus.

I think the Duke is quite used to having his big protector Pipsqueak around and would feel quite vulnerable without him. I think Pipsqueak is somehow related to the Duke, but that both the Duke's parents are no longer with us. Otherwise, why was he with Jet in the first place?

Zuko has shown him some attention and is pretty badass, and in the Duke's eyes, he is quite similar to Jet. Jet for all his faults, did look out for those kids. They're both 16 year-old boys who use two swords and have a bad, but militant attitude; to the Duke they are like omg the same person.

But more importantly I wanted to Duke to bring out a softer side in Zuko that we don't often get to see. I think Zuko has a big soft spot for kids, especially rambunctious boys who want to learn how to fight. Maybe they remind him of himself. Anyway the first time I really felt the Zuko love was in Zuko Alone, and not for all the typical reasons (though those are there too). But for the simple reason that when that kid took his swords and was messing about in that flower field with them and Zuko caught him, my first thought was "now you are going to get it kid! We're about to see another zuko-explosion and I'm going to have to drink another shot just because of you!"

But then Zuko surprised me, he was so chilled and he showed that kid some moves and it was all very sweet. Really, I do think that Zuko likes teaching people things. But I think this moment was the first moment I really saw that his big softie side was still there (just buried underneath layers and layers of Zuko-angst)

Katara vs Zuko on how young kids should be taught how to fight.

See the thing is I wanted them both to be kind of right about this. I think Katara is the ultimate nurturer and wants to protect the kids from everything. Whereas Zuko knows its possible that a kid will be on their own when the shit hits the fan and he thinks it is better to empower them to be able to fight on their own and stand up for themselves. Katara is right in that it's not a great idea to give a kid as young as the Duke a sharpened stick. But Zuko has a point too. Most of the people the Duke knows, he has lost in some way due to the war and he feels vulnerable. Knowing a few sword moves will really help his sense of self esteem and security. Of course Sokka agrees with Zuko on this matter! They are both manly warrior men after all. But in all seriousness, I think they are both realists and both realize that just because a kid doesn't know how to use a sword, doesn't mean they wont die upon one in the fog of war.

Also for Katara, their conversation gives her a little more insight into the Zuko-parfait.

As to whether the Duke learned anything from Jet and co. I honestly think he was a paired with Pipsueak and Pipsqueak would have looked after him/protected him so it wasn't seen as necessary then for him to know how to fight.

I also wanted to highlight what I think would be the main source of conflict in the Zuko -Aang teaching dynamic. Aang, bless him, is used to things coming easily to him. He had a natural talent for airbending and became a master airbender at 12 and he picked up water bending very easily (but lazed about at the North Pole too).

But as soon as it came to earth bending and it didn't come easily or naturally to him, it as all GAAAHH! THIS IS TOO HARD! Cue Aangst! I'm studying teaching at the moment and Aang just strikes as one of those kids who would need a lot of constant attention/validation when they struggle with something. And Aang would struggle with firebending.

Zuko on the other hand is so used to shit being ridiculously hard and pressing ahead anyway that he won't be as receptive to Aang's Aangst and lazy student ways. Zuko is an extremely hard worker and he is all about sucking it up and getting it done and not bitching about things being hard. I think he is doing his absolute best to teach Aang but gets a bit frustrated with Aang when Aang doesn't put in 100% effort, which would inevitably happen when Aang finds firebending a bit challenging. Also, and I think Aang is right about this, everyone needs a break every once in a while and this has been an intense year for Aang. So I don't begrudge him gliding with Teo when he thinks he's got a day off. But I don't begrudge Zuko for getting annoyed with him either.

Naturally YMMV on all of this!

If you have made it to the bottom of this authors note then I have a lot of love for you! Thanks for reading! I also have a question for you. A delightful reviewer (naturally I think all reviewers are delightful) asked how far I was going to take this fic. In all honesty, and without giving too much away, I was going to stop after the southern raiders because I feel in that episode Katara would stop viewing Zuko as 'subject' and start seeing him and her friend Zuko.

On the other hand, I have so many Ideas and I am loving writing this so far and I definitely want to do the EIP episode from Katara's p.o.v (Subject will be in trouble in that episode too-he always is) and I do think I could go all the way to Sozin's comet.

But what do you, lovely reader, think would be better? To end at the southern raiders where I can tie everything up in a nice neat bow or to take this baby to infinity and beyond (or actually just sozin's comet and maybe a little bit beyond).

Cheers!