Chapter VI - Of Words and Wisdom

Spun threads of words and wisdom,

Can dance and soothe and rise,

Can give and take and labour,

Can fray with words and lies.

They sat by a pond in the East side of the Royal Gardens. Katara had abandoned her shoes and dangled bare feet in the water absentmindedly, a very large part of her taking comfort in the feeling of her element against her skin. It relaxed her, made tight-knit muscles malleable under the echo of the past she was facing. Kama didn't look anything like Hama had. Her hair was raggedly shorn from her imprisonment, for one, and was only just beginning to grow long enough to hang below her shoulders. But her flesh was still wizened and sallow from her years of imprisonment, and sagging cheeks encircled her quicksilver eyes.

Still, where Hama had had her moments of dark, liquid intensity, like a treacherous undercurrent below seemingly quiet water, Kama had a sense of almost studied tranquility about her. Her gaze was fever bright at times, the sheen of tears never far from the surface. But beneath that was an iron determination, as inflexible as the tides smoothing eons of rock, and from what she had heard about the woman, Katara hesitantly guessed that that determination was focused in a direction altogether different from Hama's.

Then again, Hama had been the sweet old innkeeper until she had revealed herself. She had a reason to be wary, a reason to consciously take deep breaths and try not to slip into a battle stance.

"How are you finding it here?" she asked. Light words and light conversation, like the foam made by two rivers crossing. She thought she could do that. It helped that in the presence of the older woman, her old Tribal teachings were washing over her again. Quiet respect for her elders, warmth for another member of a Tribe. She took a silent breath. Yes, she could do this.

She turned her gaze obliquely from the water in politeness, and was startled to be met with a broad, wide smile. It showed off Kama's teeth, old, tired looking things that were cramped together except in the places where some had been knocked out, leaving sorry gaps. It made that wrinkly face even more folded, and despite Katara's own unease, it made her relax a little. Gran Gran had never smiled much, but when she did, she had looked a little like this.

"I'm loving it here," Kama said, clasping her hands on her lap. Her smile grew broader, turned into a grin. "I... it is so much more than I ever expected."

Katara threw her a questioning look, her mind racing back over what Zuko had told her. The wary, suspicious, fearful part of her was splintering, not quite sure what to expect. But beneath that lay the ocean of compassion twined around her heart, and she felt it surging in response now. If this woman is for real, Katara thought, then there may be hope for proper peace after all.

She didn't want to think how much that made her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

"It is..." the old waterbender seemed to search for words, and Katara was grateful that she hadn't seemed to notice her discomfort. Then Kama abandoned her search and lifted piercing blue eyes to stare into hers.

"I never expected to be rescued, or saved," she said. "I never expected to even escape." She took a quavering breath and pushed on. "I didn't even expect to live to see the end of the war, but if I had, I was so horribly afraid..."

Katara heard the echoes of another woman, even as Kama continued to speak, her voice becoming louder, more impassioned. ... they tried to wipe us out, our entire culture... your mother!... We're the last Waterbenders of the Southern Tribe... they threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters...

"... I saw my tribe, our Tribe almost destroyed, left as a shell of what it once was. Our greatest warriors, our greatest waterbenders. The Fire Nation did that, they did it with what seemed like no effort at all! I thought, if they could destroy us, then they could destroy the world, and if the war ever stopped, it would be because they had no one left to fight..."

We have to fight these people whenever we can. Wherever they are, with any means necessary!

Katara closed her eyes, her mind swimming. The fear was back, pounding against her skull like a leopard shark, ravening away the spools of certainty she wrapped herself with. She felt the water under her and readied herself to use it as a weapon.

Just in case.

"I never expected to survive," Kama's voice was quiet again. "That didn't mean I didn't try. But I never, never expected at the end of it, that it would be the Fire Nation who would come, who would extend their hand, who would unlock my door and take the chains off for the first time."

Falteringly, Katara opened her eyes again, and looked into the glimmering sheen of old, old tears.

"I never expected they would try... try to make it better. That they felt sorry. That the war could end without either side being destroyed." The glimmer became a shine now, as the old woman looked at her. "And then they told me that a waterbender from my tribe, a Southern Tribe Waterbender, had helped to end it, had played such an important role!"

The feeling that had been rising, swallowing her up, immediately turned into another one. Katara blushed and put her head down, staring resolutely back at the water. The sea was calm inside her now. "I followed along most of the time," she chuckled. "It's really Aang, the Avatar, who did it all." Even with the way they had parted, she felt a warm rush of pride flow through her throat with the words as she said them. "Aang was amazing. And Zuko. You'd never guess where he started, but he saved my life in the end. And oh, Sokka... I don't think we could have survived without him, And Toph, there's no way we could have survived without her. And Appa and Momo and Dad and General Iroh, and oh, there were so many others..."

Kama cut her off gently. "You don't fool me one bit, Miss Katara," she said, the sparkle in her eyes softening her words. "He told me what you did when I asked. Not everything, because I don't think he knew everything, but he knew enough."

She had a very strong suspicion that she knew exactly who Kama was talking about, but that didn't stop her from playing obtuse. "He?"

The older woman inclined her head with a small smile. "Why, the Fire Lord."

Katara blinked for a moment. And then she shook her head. What on earth did Zuko tell her, to make her look at me like that? She pushed away the warm, confused feeling and told herself she'd examine it later. "I'm sure he was exaggerating."

"No."

The old woman's voice was not quiet anymore, and now it carried steel. Katara was startled enough to glance sharply back at her, and met a look of stubborn determination. She had to stifle the first snort of laughter that came instinctively to her throat. Oh, she knew that look. She should, she had seen it on Sokka often enough.

"No," Kama repeated firmly. "There is no need to be humble, child. Not about such an incredible achievement. You held them together throughout it all, the Fire Lord told me that. And you did so much on your own too - you brought back the Avatar, you saved him so many times from others and himself. You saved an entire village of Earthbenders, you even defeated the Fire Lord Azula on the day of the comet! You, a Southern Tribe Waterbender, with no one to teach you about your ability when you were growing, grew to become such a master that you helped to shape the world."

Her trained instinct, the one drilled in by tribal customs, was to continue to deny it, to belittle it, to be humble like a good girl. But then, Katara had always had another instinct. Her own. And when it was all said like that, with Kama's eyes shining, she suddenly knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of her own speeches. And before she knew it, what she had seen in the Spirit World combined with the experiences over the last few days, the last year, and this woman's shining eyes, and the hope inside her leaped and found a new target.

Herself.

I really have to talk to Zuko, she thought absentmindedly, about what exactly he told Kama. But that was only one part of her mind. The rest of it straightened her back, lifted her chin, and told her it was all right to feel pride.

"Thank you," she said, and she meant it.

The old waterbender subsided, the battle won, but she still shook her head in disbelief. "No, thank you," Kama laughed, her eyes haunted by a lifting mist. "It wasn't real for me until they told me of you. You have to understand, I was locked away for so long with no news, and the last vision of my tribe was it falling to the might of the Fire Nation. To know that it was still strong enough to produce you, and then what you became..."

The last shreds of suspicion melted away. Hama had never talked like this. Had never looked at her with eyes that mirrored her own. "Katara Watertribe... you gave me hope."

And that was all the impetus she needed. Katara reached forwards, arms bared from the weight of the past, and hugged the old woman beside her.

"You give me hope," she whispered fiercely into the curve of Kama's neck. She could feel the pulse throbbing just below the surface, fluttering strong and sure. She could feel bone, yes, but there was what she was sure was muscle and flesh already beginning to grow, the seedlings of recovery, the acorns of Hei Bai's forest. "After I met Hama, I felt so... betrayed. I felt like..."

She felt Kama jerk underneath her, and immediately let her go. The old waterbender sucked in a breath. "Hama?"

And just like that, the old shields sprang up. "Did... didn't anyone tell you?"

Kama blinked, slowly, weighing words and putting them together. "Yes. Your brother, as a matter of fact."

There was a slow, awkward quiet after that, like dirty snow floes drifting in a lake. Katara felt the ice bleeding through her, and suddenly just wanted to get out.

She pulled her feet from the water, bending them dry with a flick of her wrist, and reclaimed her shoes. She felt startled eyes fall on her at her abruptness, but she didn't turn to meet them. "Sorry," she said lamely, clumsily. The current of wind she'd winged when verbally dancing at Zuko's Court Dinner seemed to have dropped to a sluggish sigh, and it dropped uncomfortably around her as she stood. "I forgot I have to help Z- the Fire Lord with something today. It... it was nice meeting you."

She had almost nerved herself to leave it like that, when the old woman's voice came back.

"I am nothing like Hama."

She froze.

Kama continued. "Hama was my sister's best friend, like another sister to us. But she left without us that night. Whether it was because she thought we were dead, or she was just too bent on vengeance and didn't want to slow down to find us, I don't know. But Water Tribe don't leave their own behind, they don't lie to each other, and they treasure the old ways over revenge."

Katara felt an unwilling flinch surge up through her spine.

"I don't know much, but from what I've heard it sounds as if you never learned the Southern Tribe ways of Waterbending, because there were none of us left..."

That was enough for her to spin around, to shatter the stillness into movement. "I'm sorry," she said, honesty lifting the curtain and showing everything there, the ambivalence, the disgust, the scars. "But the last time a Southern Tribe Waterbender offered to teach me those ways, she taught me to bloodbend to hurt people. She made me afraid of myself, and it took a trip to the Spirit World to get over that. So thanks, but no thanks."

She almost fell over in surprise when she saw the old woman lift a single strand of water from the pond, and then stream it over her wizened arm, like a pulsing point.

"How about bloodbending for healing?" Kama asked quietly, her eyes lost in the water.

Mai resisted the temptation to slam the prison door shut. Instead, she turned her back on the man and glided out, every graceful step emphasising her noble blood and her cultured Fire Nation lineage. She wasn't sure if the cretin had gotten the point, but it made her feel better when the guard accompanying her finally pushed down the latch with a definite click.

"Where to next, my lady?"

She let no emotion flicker across her face. "In a moment," she said at last. "I need to gather my thoughts."

And she did.

Hiroki had been one of the identified ringleaders at the first demonstration, the one where an assassin with a poison dart had been lying in wait for Zuko. She had demanded information from his guards before entering, and had learnt enough to know he wasn't even a minor noble, just a seemingly disgruntled merchant who had decided to help stir up trouble. Yet he'd acted as if he were ranks above her. Even worse, although she had pessimistically expected it, he'd argued that he didn't know a thing and was just another good citizen fighting for the honour of the Fire Nation and how dare they lock him up for so long without charges?

It hadn't helped that the way he had insouciantly goaded her with innuendo had left her teeth grinding soundlessly in her head. Perhaps it was also her fault, though. She had slept poorly, and woken to find herself staring at the ceiling again less than four hours after she first closed her eyes. Her mouth thinned in frustration, she might have even shredded the sheets had Ty Lee not slept on, oblivious.

Then, when she had been taken to the Palace, she'd learnt that Katara had decided to visit the Southern Water Tribe prisoner of war, and so she would be beginning her investigations alone. Oddly enough, that had made her brood the entire walk to the Royal Prison on how different Court Dinners were from actual government politics, and how just because Katara had thrived with one didn't mean she could survive the other.

Mai pursed her lips, searching for her equilibrium. It was a state she was finding it more and more difficult to get into. Things had been so much easier when she hadn't cared, when she'd been just the Governor's daughter, when she had followed Azula.

But then, things have been so much more interesting since I've decided to make my own choices and become myself.

Mai acknowledged the thought and filed it away as the guards shifted uncomfortably around her. She could dwell more on the way things had changed later. As it stood, if Hiroki was the prime example of those who had been arrested, she wasn't surprised that Sheng and his men hadn't managed to get anything useful out of them.

She was about to move on when the guards at the front door stirred, and then another contingent entered, flanked closely around a very familiar figure. Mai kept her face schooled, but inwardly she felt the sharp warning of sunlight on a flying dagger.

Well, well. Think of the devil.

"Lady Mai," General Sheng stopped in front of her and bowed. She returned the bow as befitted one player meeting an equal, not the ex-Governor's daughter greeting a General, noticing with interest that when he straightened there was no surprise on his face. "Minister Sheng."

The emphasis was deliberate, and she watched the crow's feet around his hawkish gaze tighten. His tone stayed careful and courteous, however. "I was informed that you would be accompanying my investigations today, my lady." He paused for a moment, sweeping the corridor. "You and, well, Lady Katara."

Mai blinked slowly, naturally, but inside her thoughts were churning. We told no-one that Katara and I were planning to conduct investigations into the prisoners. And I made no mention of Katara to the guards outside the Tower this morning. The only people who knew were...

Why, Zuko, Katara, herself, and...

Mai easily resisted the impulse to hiss through her teeth, but it stayed at the back of her throat nevertheless. "Lady Katara will be joining us later," she said calmly, as if she had intended all along to wait for his arrival. "In the meantime, why don't you tell me some more of what you've found?"

If the guards had shifted uneasily around her before, they were standing stock still now. General Sheng, (Shen Li's father, she reminded herself), regarded her carefully with his piercing eyes, and for a moment Mai felt something akin to concern. In a political environment as virulent as the Fire Nation Court, made worse by the recent and massive shifts in direction, keeping the position of the Minister of Security required more than a few tricks up your sleeve.

Then he seemed to relax, almost as if he'd found something he'd been looking for. "I shall tell you more as we walk," Sheng said comfortably. His next words were almost casual as he smiled at her. "Indeed, I relish this opportunity to indulge my curiosity as to yourself. You have been away from Court for a long while, Lady Mai."

At his gesture, the guards began reforming around them both, trapping her into an uncomfortably close vicinity with one of the sharpest politicians in her country. With no delicate escape, Mai pretended to smile back, hoping it didn't look like she was baring her teeth.

"It would be my pleasure," she said in her monotone, and then she took his proffered arm.

Suki seemed surprised when they were ushered into an inconspicuous room off the main hall where the Council sat. Sokka winced when that surprise turned to suspicion when Arnook greeted them, flanked only by two of his trusted warriors.

"It is good to see you, Sokka," the Chief of the Northern Tribes said warmly, clasping his hand. Sokka clasped it fiercely back. When Arnook finally pulled away, however, his face was grave. "But I must say, I'm surprised that you requested to see me first in such... privacy."

He saw Suki's eyes then, and felt the guilt clash with the resentment. It wasn't as if she had made it easy for him to talk to her since her... declaration, so of course he hadn't had the chance to tell her what his message to the Waterbenders on Zuko's battle ship had been. Still, he could have pushed...

He jerked himself back to reality when he realised Arnook was waiting patiently for his answer. "I've heard about the troubles you've been having here, especially with Hahn," he explained. "I know we can't hide Zuko's big massive lunk of steel, or the fact that some type of Fire Nation ambassador is here, but I thought it best to keep a lower personal profile."

"Why?" Suki got there first, her voice as sharp as her gaze. "I would have thought that the most clever thing would be to flaunt the fact that Zuko's ambassador is a member of the Water Tribes."

Arnook's brows furrowed in confusion before Sokka could scramble up a reply. "My dear," he said, bowing his head towards her. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

Sokka was almost grateful. Introductions were easy. "Chief Arnook, this is Suki, Leader of the..."

Her words this time had a definite slicing edge to them, as deadly as her fans. "I can introduce myself, Sokka."

Sokka winced again as she drew herself up, chin jutting high and proud. He could have seen Arnook and his guards' raised eyebrows from a mile away. And yet, at the same time, he felt pride rush through his veins like ice. The knowledge that he shouldn't be feeling it, she's not mine anymore, she made that abundantly clear, lay under it, like smothered dirt.

"I am Suki, Leader of the Kyoshi Warriors in the Earth Kingdom," she declared firmly. "And I would be glad to offer my assistance in the fracas we've heard about."

Arnook blinked slowly. "Thank you," he said, clearly uncomfortable with her forthrightness. He angled slightly towards Sokka again immediately afterwards, his body language excluding her from the conversation as effectively as if he'd ordered her thrown out of the room. "Do continue."

Sokka could feel her burning eyes on him as he replied, and perhaps that was why he got straight to the point. "Given the current mood here in the city, I'd say that I could talk all I like as an ambassador and get nothing done. No. My plan is to investigate the lobby groups giving you so much trouble themselves, and to do that, they can't know who I am."

The Chief frowned thoughtfully. "I always knew that Yue had a destiny," he said quietly. "Others have no such comfort, and we lost many in the attack."

Sokka felt incredulity swell in his stomach for a moment, and then he pushed it away. That certainly hadn't been the pitfall he'd expected - he'd thought he'd have to argue about his methods instead. To think that he'd have to start at square one... "The Tribes would lose a lot more if they decided to restart the War,"

"True," Arnook's weathered, tanned face was near unreadable. "But some might think that acceptable if it meant vengeance for loved ones. Some despise the Fire Nation so much they think they must be obliterated before we can truly have peace. Surely you would understand, Sokka."

Sokka caught a tremulous breath, and then expelled it out in a push. He'd wavered for a moment on ducking away, circling around, approaching the topic from a different angle, but no, he had to know where he stood before letting the North Pole crush his heart again. "How about you, Chief Arnook?" he queried lightly. "What do you think?"

He saw the warriors stiffen slightly, but Arnook took on an expression that just seemed thoughtful. Thoughtful and weary. "I have two warring halves within me," he said at last. "I am angry, but I want peace. I want to protect my Tribe from future threats, but I want to protect them from themselves. Push and pull, round and round."

Sokka felt his heart sinking, felt it scrape past his ribs and lodge down into the acid of his stomach, but the Chief wasn't done yet. With liquid eyes that he remembered, felt comfortable with, felt familiar after traveling for so long in the Fire Nation, Arnook gazed at him. "All these things battle within me, trying to find a balance, but then I look up at the Moon, at my daughter, and I know she would want peace. Destiny or not, I do not want anyone else to lose their children."

Sokka exhaled without realising it. "So you'll help me help you? Let me keep my profile low and investigate Hahn for you?"

The Chief's expression changed, fluid as water. "I'm not sure how important Hahn is in the grand scheme of things," he said quietly. "He's drawing a lot of attention and holding a lot of sway amongst the youth, yes, but it is those approaching individual Council members that we should watch. For all his stature, Hahn is just a boy."

Sokka snorted. "So's Aang. Didn't stop him from throwing a spanner in Ozai's works. If he's drawing the most attention, then he's probably legitimising and spreading the hate. That's the foundation I want to knock down."

Arnook frowned. "If your plan is to investigate him secretly, you may run into problems. Even if we don't announce you as the Fire Lord's ambassador, he is not the only one who may recognise you."

Sokka shrugged. He'd thought about that earlier, and that was why he was grateful, if only a little, for the fact that the last time he'd been here Aang and Katara had drawn a lot more attention. "That's why I need some nondescript place to stay that isn't on Zuko's ship. Oh, and maybe some clothes."

The Chief looked troubled, but he finally nodded. "I'll have Amak take you down the Eighth canal. You should be able to find an inn eventually, and maybe even not get recognised. The city's a little crowded at the moment since we have some warriors from other Tribes outside the capitol."

Something inside him relaxed a little, and Sokka finally let the familiar chill of the Poles embrace him. He grinned tightly, but truthfully. "Thanks."

The grin stayed on his face even as they slipped outside, turned calculating as he began to go over his plan again. It might have even stayed firmly lodged there until after dinner if his erstwhile girlfriend hadn't grabbed his arm as they were walking down the Council stairs.

"We need to talk," Suki hissed.

And things were suddenly both sagging and taut, relieved and dangerous, and Sokka knew for sure that the North Pole had somehow got him again.

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A/N: I am very, very sorry that it has taken me this long to get my act together and update this story. Thank you to those who have reviewed in between the space and to those who have waited. I've done a lot of thinking about this fic in between the craziness of my life, taking into account some of the great constructive criticism I've received, and I hope that this story will be better for it. I won't make promises that I can't keep, but I can say that I'm back in the game with this story again, and I'll try to update as much as possible. Thanks again to all of you, and I'd really love to hear what you think.

Also, a massive, MASSIVE thank you to whoever nominated and seconded The Alchemy of Fire - Arc I for the best Avatar fanfic category of the Universal Fanfiction Open Awards. I was completely gobsmacked when I got the email; gobsmacked, amazed and humbled. I know there are plenty of absolutely incredible authors who write for Avatar out there, and I certainly don't deserve to be grouped in the same category, but I'm delighted that some of you have enjoyed my work so much.

The first round of voting for the competition is now open to everyone to vote in until April 30th. To vote, google 'dot moon the UFO awards' and make your way from there. I'd encourage all readers to check out the other entries and then make your decision, because there are some truly beautiful fanfics on the list.

Okay, sorry to bore you with this massive message. My thanks again to everyone. This story would not be the same without you.

-Shadowhawke