Sorry, this took longer to write than expected. A bunch of stuff has been going on recently, but I tried to write whenever I had free time.
Snowmelt
Zuko stared at them.
The Avatar and his friends stared back. Even the lemur seemed to be trying to peer into his very soul. Zuko couldn't help but squirm under the attention; it made him feel like a side-show attraction at a sketchy carnival. He just wanted the bison to land so he could find a spot far enough away from them all to sit and think in peace.
"So," the Water Tribe boy said awkwardly. "I guess we're free of Zhao for a while."
"We'd be rid of him permanently if you'd hit him harder," Zuko snapped.
"Hey, if I hadn't clubbed him on the noggin, you'd be toast by now. I still haven't gotten a 'thank you' for that."
"Thank you? If you'd listened to me sooner about going back for the Avatar, I wouldn't have been in that situation."
"Aang," the Avatar said. "My name is 'Aang.' We're all friends, here. There's no need to be formal."
"I don't care what your name is, Avatar. I am not your friend. Once I get this wound patched up, everything goes right back to the way it was."
"Why? We all helped each other out. I don't see why we can't put the whole 'attempted capture' thing behind us and be friends."
"Because we're on opposite sides, you idiot!"
"Don't yell at him," the waterbender said angrily. "It's not Aang's fault you decided to chase him."
"It's not like I have a choice in the matter, either!"
"Everyone has a choice."
Zuko ground his teeth and glared back at her.
"What does some Water Tribe peasant like you know?"
"Katara. My name is 'Katara.' My brother over there is 'Sokka.' Just because we're peasants to some high-and-mighty prince like you, that doesn't mean we don't have names."
"Peasants' names are unimportant."
Names meant familiarity. Zuko had learned over the years that it was best to keep as much distance as possible between himself and others. Other people could only be either a threat or a weakness. It was why he didn't even address his crew by their names, only their ranks or positions in the ship. Class distinctions couldn't be crossed, his father had once told him. Zuko doubted his father even knew the name of the man who served as his aide for the last ten years. Despite Fire Lord Ozai's example, Zuko kept remembering the names of people he should have ignored, from palace guards to laundry maids. If anything, Zuko had to force himself not to call people lower in status than himself by name.
He couldn't say 'Aang' or 'Katara' or 'Sokka,' because it would be an acknowledgement that they were of sufficient rank to merit respect. Even in his own head, he could not allow himself to recognize them as real people or it would hinder him from doing what needed to be done.
"I thought royals were supposed to be polite," the waterbender said with a huff. "King Bumi was fine with using our names."
"Maybe he was the odd exception," her brother said. "And even he made Aang face those deadly challenges and nearly killed us with creeping crystal."
"Nah, Bumi wouldn't have actually hurt us," said the Avatar. "He said it himself that he just found it fun to mess with us."
The three of them chatted for a while, ignoring the Fire Nation prince who listened to their yammering with rapidly straining patience. The easy, lighthearted way they could just pick up and move on from what had just happened made Zuko clench his fists. They'd barely gotten away from Zhao, the Avatar had nearly been brutally burned, and they even had the prince of the Fire Nation sitting literally within arm's reach, but they were content to act like nothing was wrong.
Why weren't they taking everything more seriously?
Zuko shook his head as the Water Tribe boy made another stupid joke. It didn't matter, anyway. Once he had his shoulder taken care of, Zuko would seize the first opportunity that opened up for him to grab the Avatar and get back to his ship. He'd have to get them to let down their guard around him, perhaps by acting weaker than he was and pretending to care what they thought of him; that's the kind of sneaky trick Azula would pull. This unexpected turn of events could be used to accomplish his goal, so long as he was patient and clever with how he handled it. Before long, he'd be back home in Caldera City.
And, then, maybe his father would finally look at him like he was actually worth something.
Katara was not going to let Zuko get under her skin.
It really seemed that he was out to cause trouble the moment they landed to make camp. His eyes rarely strayed from Aang, and Katara knew the evil, little wheels in his evil, little, firebender head were turning. Whenever he spoke to any of them, he always used that aggressive, arrogant tone and would never refer to them by their names, despite constant reminders.
She didn't know where he got off calling them "peasants," anyway. That kind of class distinction was still such a foreign concept to her. In the South Pole, everyone had to pitch in and help each other to survive, there was no divine king or elect group of nobles looking down their noses on ordinary people. No one was a peasant because no one was a ruler. Even Katara's own father might technically be the chief of the Southern Water Tribe, but that had been done as an election by the different clans when the council of elders decided that war was the only option left, and that title was only for as long as the tribe decided to keep fighting. He was a war chief and the chief of his family's clan, but he wasn't royalty and neither were Katara and Sokka.
In the end, though, people were just people. No one was inherently better than anyone else.
"Here, if you're going to be with us, could you please start the campfire?" she said to the pouty firebender. No matter what else she thought of him, she was going to at least be civil.
He quirked his one good eyebrow at her.
"You're making the firebender start the campfire?" he said.
"I'm asking you to do the job that should be easiest for you." She tried not to snap at him. The last thing she wanted was to get tempers flaring. "Everyone has to contribute in this group. Would you rather wash Sokka's dirty socks or set up the campfire?"
He grumbled under his breath, but still set to work while Katara put up the tent. As they worked, Katara kept Zuko under close observation. Her brother's sense of paranoia must have gotten to her, at last, as her instincts were screaming that Zuko was planning something and it was only a matter of time before he showed his true colors in all their angry, burning, red-and-black glory.
Eventually came time to start on dinner and Katara got out the cooking pot. She had to take her attention off of Zuko for that, so she didn't notice when he manifested himself beside her and started measuring out the rice rations.
"What are you-?"
"You said everyone has to contribute," he said.
"You already made the campfire."
"That wasn't much work." Once he was satisfied with the amount of rice, he began slicing some of the vegetables. Katara had made sure to pack the extras of what she and Aang had found in the ruins, and Aang had also gone out to forage around their current site.
"Didn't figure you'd be the type to know how to cook."
He gave a scoff.
"It's rice and vegetables," he said. "That's hardly cooking."
Katara bristled at the implied slight. She worked hard to pull together decent meals from minimal ingredients and he just dismissed her efforts so easily.
"Well, I'm sorry if our simple peasant fare doesn't measure up to your exacting standards, Your Majesty."
"'Your Highness,'" he said.
"What?"
"Princes and princesses are 'Your Highness.' Only sovereigns can be called 'Your Majesty.'"
He had the tiniest hint of a smirk cross his lips. Katara had to resist the urge to hit him upside the head with the soup ladle.
She consoled herself with the fact that he was, in fact, being helpful. She'd expected him to angrily blast out a campfire and then stomp off to sulk like a spoiled brat, but he'd willingly chosen to assist her with the food. Sokka and Aang never volunteered for cooking. Aang was good at foraging, though, which was extremely important as he knew all the safe plants to eat from having traveled so much from a young age. Katara and Sokka were not as familiar with plants, having grown up in the South Pole. Still, Aang didn't know much about cooking and was not particularly interested in learning.
Sokka was fairly self-explanatory. He'd never learned to cook because he'd figured it was women's work, like cleaning and sewing. Despite constant reminders from Katara, Gran-Gran, and the other women of their village that all skills necessary for survival should be respected, Sokka had doubled-down on his belief that "manly skills" like hunting, fishing, and fighting were superior. Even after he'd gotten some of those toxic ideas knocked out of him by Suki back on Kyoshi Island, he still hadn't quite let go of all his notions about some skills being suited for men and others for women.
So, it came as a considerable surprise that Prince Zuko, of all people, had chosen to stand up and assist in cooking.
Zuko must have sensed her continued disbelief in his cooking abilities, as she kept staring at him like she had never seen someone like him before.
"Cooking is a basic survival skill," he said, his tone a bit heated. "Just because I'm a prince doesn't mean I didn't go through standard survival training."
"I thought princes got to sit around in their palaces and order servants to cook for them."
"I'm not in the palace, right now. And I learned how to prepare field rations during summer training camp."
"Summer training camp?"
"You know, when kids get their introduction to military life. How to make a camp and navigate terrain, how to run drills and military maneuvers, things like that." At Katara's silence, he frowned. "Do you not do that in the Water Tribe?"
She explained to him that, no, Water Tribe kids just sort of grew up learning from their families how to look after themselves and each other. Traditionally, boys would mostly stay with their fathers and the other men of the clan learning hunting, fishing, and fighting, while girls stayed with their mothers and the women learning primarily domestic skills. At a certain point, though, both groups were expected to trade places for several years, so girls could learn the typically masculine skills and boys could learn typically feminine skills.
"Sokka never bothered, though," Katara added. "He somehow got it into his head that learning women's skills would make him less 'manly.'"
"That doesn't make sense," said Zuko. "Aren't cooking and sewing just life skills that everyone should know? Why would they even need to be gendered?"
Something stirred in Katara's stomach when he said that. She'd never met someone who saw things that way.
"Hey, is lunch ready, yet?" Sokka called out. He approached and sniffed at the soup, his face falling. "Aw, vegetable soup, again? Can't we have something with meat in it?"
"You're supposed to be Mr. Big-Manly-Man-Hunter-Guy," said Katara, her tone a bit harsher than she intended. "If you want meat, you need to hunt it for yourself. Besides, you know Aang's a vegetarian."
Zuko looked surprised to hear that. Katara supposed he probably expected airbenders to feast on the flesh of newborn babies or something, considering his insane misunderstanding of Water Tribe eating habits.
Katara quickly ladled out portions of the soup to everyone and things went right back to being awkward and quiet as they all sat there eating. No one was sure what to say after everything that had happened. Still, Aang had yet to give up on his "make Zuko our friend" plan, which Katara refused to believe would ever amount to anything, and started bombarding Zuko with questions about the Fire Nation.
"Is Black Sand Beach still the hotspot it was when I last went there?"
"What's the latest dessert to come out of Kirachu Island?"
"Is Phoenix Flight still the most popular dance move?"
"Wait, what do you mean there's no dancing in the Fire Nation? You guys had the hottest moves of anyone!"
Zuko was clearly not used to being around high-energy people. He was a far cry from the angry, fire-blasting maniac that had chased them all the way from the South Pole. Now, he twitched and winced and overall looked like he wished he could be anywhere other than in the direct line-of-fire of Aang's friendship barrage.
Katara couldn't resist snickering at his plight.
That didn't mean she had let down her guard, though. As the day crept into evening and they all decided to rest early so they could find a town with a proper physician, Katara continued to keep a watchful eye on Zuko. Sokka was clearly doing the same, never once leaving the firebender's side when he was within grabbing distance of Aang. In fact, Sokka was even more worried than he let on.
"Listen," he said to Katara after having pulled her aside. "We both know Zuko's going to try pull the old snatch-and-grab on Aang, sooner or later."
"So, what should we do?"
"We take turns standing watch. It's probably safer to do that, anyway, with Zhao out for blood. You never know where he might have people searching for us."
Katara nodded and agreed to take first watch. She doubted Sokka would be able to keep awake if he didn't get a few hours of sleep beforehand. Besides, he was the one who had suffered the worst from whatever illness it was they had back at the ruins, so he needed more rest.
Their plan was easier said than done, however.
The evening routine had gone as normally as it always did. Aang curled up on Appa's tail while Sokka and Katara went into the tent. The plan was for Katara to wait until Zuko went to sleep in order to take up her post for the first watch. Unfortunately, Zuko did not seem to be at all interested in even pretending to sleep.
Katara watched him for over an hour, but he only continued to sit at the campfire. His back ramrod straight and his gaze lost in the flames.
Finally, it got to be too much for Katara and she saw no other option except to go and sit with him. He glanced over as she approached. He was further surprised when she draped a spare blanket around his shoulders.
"I thought you might be cold," she said in answer to his questioning look.
"…Thanks," he said, so softly that Katara almost thought she'd imagined it.
"You should be getting some rest."
"So should you."
"I…I couldn't get comfortable. It feels like there's too much going on."
"Are you uncomfortable about that, or the fact that you have a firebender in your camp?"
Katara started trying to stammer out denials, but she had never been good at lying. Zuko just quirked his good eyebrow at her, yet again.
"You and your brother were not exactly being subtle. And it's only understandable that you don't trust the enemy. You'd be stupid if you didn't try to keep an eye on me."
"So," Katara said, rubbing her neck and feeling very wrong-footed, "you really saw through us that easily?"
"I doubt that either of you has a deceptive bone in your bodies. You're too open about what you're thinking."
Katara frowned but couldn't deny it. Whenever she tried to lie or trick someone, it made her feel itchy under her skin and the words never came out quite right.
"It's not entirely a bad thing," Zuko added, having clearly noticed she wasn't happy. "I mean, it's kind of…well, nice. I'm not used to people being honest. Well, unless they're angry sailors. Those guys never hide what they think."
They sat in silence for a while, just watching the campfire slowly dwindled before their eyes.
"So, why are you still awake?" Katara said after a while.
Zuko gave a tired sigh.
"I've been away from my ship for two days, at this point," he said. "I don't know what my crew will get up to in my absence. They're probably having a party to celebrate, for all I know."
"You'll be back with them, soon," said Katara, not entirely sure why she felt the sudden urge to reassure him. "We just need to get the rest of that arrow out of your shoulder."
She left unspoken the fact that he would soon be right back to his evil scheme to capture Aang. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, nonetheless.
"And how are you going to explain to a physician that I have a Yuyan arrow in me?" he said, his grumpy tone resurfacing.
"There are lots of people hurt by the Fire Nation every day. I doubt anyone would think twice about an injury like that."
Zuko winced slightly, as if the thought of the Fire Nation hurting people was something he hadn't considered.
"What?" Katara said sharply. "Did it somehow escape your notice that the Fire Nation has been causing untold destruction and misery on countless innocent people."
He had the absolute audacity to look offended.
"The Fire Nation is just trying to make a better world for everyone," he said. "My great-grandfather only started the war because he had no choice."
"Everyone has a choice," Katara snapped back. She'd already brought this point up before, but he couldn't get it through that hard head of his. "Even you chose to chase after Aang."
"I have to capture the Avatar. I can't go home without him."
"Why, because your royal pride would suffer if you can't hand Aang over to the Fire Lord? You can't bring yourself to turn around and go home, despite it being the easiest option?"
"No, because I literally can't go home without him. My father made it clear that I could only have my banishment revoked if I capture the Avatar."
Katara froze and blinked in surprise. Zuko huffed and turned away.
"I knew you wouldn't understand," he said. "You can run back to the South Pole whenever you want and your family will be happy to welcome you back. I have to earn that privilege."
She felt a pang in her heart at such an admission, but Katara was not going to let him off so easily. She didn't know what he'd done to get banished, and his situation sounded horrific, but no matter how tragic Zuko's motivations, he could not be allowed to succeed. Aang absolutely could not fall into the clutches of the Fire Nation. It would only spell disaster.
"That's still not an excuse for trying to capture Aang," she said. "He's the only chance the world has for peace, but I guess you don't care about what happens to anyone else. You're the Fire Lord's son, after all. I'm sure even he wouldn't make you chase the Avatar forever. And if you did manage to catch Aang, the war will only get worse and even more people will be hurt by the Fire Nation."
"You don't know what you're talking about," he said.
"I don't?" Katara almost hissed the words from how angry she was. "How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through. Me, personally." She reached a hand to her throat, missing the familiar weight of her mother's necklace. Her eyes stung with tears. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me."
She hated the Fire Nation. Zuko really was just like the rest of them. Even if he had a reason to catch Aang, he could easily brush aside the suffering of others as a consequence. Mere collateral damage in his pursuit of some obviously nonsensical form of 'redemption.' He didn't care that her family had been ripped apart. He didn't care about how many other families went through the same. He probably didn't even care that Aang was only a child who never asked to be the Avatar, in the first place. Monsters never care about the people they hurt…
"I'm sorry." His voice was so soft, almost timid, and filled with regret that Katara couldn't help but turn to meet his gaze. "That's something we have in common."
"Is Prince Zuko indisposed, General Iroh?"
"He has not been well, recently," Iroh replied smoothly, not allowing his concern for his missing nephew to show.
Admiral Zhao took a sip of tea as the two sat across from each other. The man had turned up very suddenly that evening. Iroh, suspecting something was deeply wrong, put on the gracious host routine and immediately invited him in for a drink. Not the good blends, though. He wouldn't waste those on someone like Zhao.
"Such a pity. I don't suppose you and your nephew have heard about the latest news?"
"All we have heard is that you have been promoted. My congratulations on the appointment."
"Well, I'm afraid recent events have not been as fortuitous as that. I had the great fortune of having captured the Avatar the other day."
"I should have thought that would be cause for celebration. Did the Avatar give you any great trouble?"
"Not at first. However, in the course of the night, Pohuai Stronghold was besieged and the Avatar was able to escape."
"Earth Kingdom sabotage?"
"Sadly, nothing so mundane. The ringleader of the operation was a masked swordsman of considerable skill. The soldiers have taken to calling him the 'Blue Spirit.' He and his Water Tribe allies later routed an attempt to recapture the Avatar earlier this morning."
"That is, indeed, surprising, Admiral. I did not think the Water Tribes had sufficient numbers to be a credible threat against a major fortification."
"I have reason to suspect they had inside assistance."
"A spy?"
"A traitor."
The word hung in the air like a bad omen.
"Do you know who this traitor is?"
"I have my suspicions," said Zhao. "As yet, though, I have no proof. But I do believe we will catch the culprit soon enough. He was badly injured when I last encountered him and there's no telling what might happen."
Iroh had to use every ounce of his self-control not to give away his growing sense of panic. Zhao had all-but outright accused Zuko of treason and made it plainly clear he intended to kill the boy. If Iroh was as brash and hotheaded as he had been twenty years ago, he would have already started blasting fireballs at Zhao and demanding he not lay so much as a finger on Zuko. Thankfully, Iroh had long ago learned to control those reckless impulses and, instead, chose to play up his 'clueless old fool' act.
"Well, I certainly wish you the best of luck," he said with a bland smile, hiding the furious snarl of the dragon that lay curled deep inside his heart. It rarely reared its head anymore, but threats to Zuko always made it restless and eager to strike.
"My thanks, General Iroh." He paused. "You might also be interested to know that I have a great many plans brewing. I was wondering if you would be generous enough to lend me your military expertise."
"I am happy to assist in any way I can."
"The most important matter concerns the issue of the Northern Water Tribe."
"I see. I would caution against launching raids on the Northern Water Tribe, especially at this time of the year."
"Oh, this is no mere raid, General Iroh. Lately, the Fire Lord has had begun to speculate on the north's supposed neutrality, and he has not been well-pleased."
Iroh bit his tongue to keep from blurting out that his brother was rarely pleased about anything, save for if it involved acts of cruelty and violence. Zhao took his silence as a cue to continue.
"In the last two years, there have been numerous incidents of Water Tribe raiders attacking ships and supply lines. Ransacking outposts and sabotaging industrial sites."
"Is it certain they are from the Northern Water Tribe?"
"I hardly think the Southerners would be capable of such feats. For all their primitive ways and barbaric customs, the Northerners possess a great and powerful civilization. The Southern Water Tribe is little more than illiterate savages living in huts. This latest attack on Pohuai Stronghold is the last bit of proof I need to present my argument for a formal invasion."
"You are confident you will succeed, then?"
"Most assuredly. General Iroh, I wish for your military counsel, as I believe this will be a campaign of unrivaled magnitude in all of Fire Nation history. One that will ensure the final eradication of the Water Tribes. And I will have the great honor of leading the way to victory."
Something about that set Iroh's skin crawling. There was an unhinged, manic glint in Zhao's eyes that indicated there was a much more sinister goal than even the brutality and horror of a genocide. Iroh had no inkling as to what that goal might be, but he was sure of one thing: Zhao had to be stopped.
Iroh took another slow, thoughtful sip of his tea.
"I am sure you will get everything you deserve, Admiral."
"I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't realize…"
"It's all right," said Zuko. "You couldn't have known."
"I guess I never really considered that people from the Fire Nation have lost loved ones, too."
"I don't blame you."
"Do you mind me asking what happened?"
"Honestly, I don't know much, myself. She just vanished in the night. No one would tell me what happened. My father…"
He curled in on himself, then.
"I think my father did something to her. I asked many times, but he punished me and anyone else who so much as mentioned her in his presence, after that."
Without realizing it, Katara found herself reaching out. Zuko flinched when her hand rested lightly on his back. It seemed he was also not used to gentle touches, but, slowly, his tension ebbed away.
"I think the worst part isn't her absence, but the fact that I just don't know the truth. I've tried to imagine the best scenarios. Perhaps she was sick of the palace and all of us, so she ran off to elope with some childhood sweetheart and have a normal family. Maybe she became a wandering musician or a playwright. Maybe she opened an art pavilion or became a field medic. She was so incredible that she could have done anything she set her mind to."
He closed his eyes, his expression filled with pain and longing.
"But, in the end, the worst possible answers always creep back in and won't go away."
Katara had seen Zuko cry before. She'd said some harsh words to him when he was high off the detoxing medicine and he'd promptly burst into tears. This was different. It was as if there was a deep, festering illness buried under his skin that had suddenly been ripped open and exposed. It amazed her that he felt comfortable enough with her that he actually showed this side of himself. Despite herself, Katara found that the icy barrier she'd put up to keep a safe and secure distance between them was starting to melt from the heat his pain exuded.
"You must think I'm pathetic," he said. He was angry again, though Katara sensed it wasn't directed at her.
"I don't think that, at all," she replied. "I feel the loss of my mother every day. It's been six, almost seven years since she was killed, but the pain never really leaves. Whenever I try to move on or forget, something will happen and I remember my mother won't be there to see it."
She smiled sadly at the embers that had once been a roaring campfire.
"One of my earliest memories is when I first learned I was a waterbender. Everyone was so excited because I was the first one the tribe had seen in decades, but no one was happier than my mother. She wanted so desperately for me to get training, she tried to convince my dad that they should take me to the North Pole to find a master. My dad thought it was too dangerous, though, and she was so upset that we couldn't have this amazing family adventure."
Katara let out a small chuckle.
"I guess I'm finally living that dream for her."
There was another lengthy pause between them before Zuko finally spoke up.
"I'll give you back the necklace."
Katara gave him a confused look and he fidgeted awkwardly.
"That necklace, you said it was your mother's back when…well, during the whole thing with the pirates. I'm sorry about using it to try and bargain for the Avatar. I didn't realize what it meant to you. But, when you guys return me to my ship, I'll make sure to give it back. No bartering, no conditions. On my honor."
She smiled at him. A warm, hopeful, genuine smile.
"Thank you."
"Don't misunderstand me, Katara," he said, turning away to scowl at some point off in the distance. "I'm only returning it because it's the decent thing to do. I don't need it to capture the Avatar, anyway."
He gave a huff, wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, and curled up on the ground.
"I'm going to sleep, now," he said. "You can stay up all night to make sure I don't run off with the Avatar, if you want, but don't bother me until the sun is up."
Katara gave another smile as a feeling strangely akin to fondness for the prickly Prince Zuko crept through her heart. Never in ten thousand years would she have ever expected to find herself in such a predicament, but there she was. All her anger, hatred, and sadness had, if not vanished, at least begun to thaw. She still didn't think he could be trusted in such a close proximity to Aang, but she had realized there was more to him than met the eye.
As she sat there waiting to wake up Sokka for his turn on the night shift, something occurred to her. Zuko had not called her "peasant" even once during their entire conversation.
He'd used her name.
Author's Note: Ah, yes, the first properly Zutara-ish chapter, at last!
I think Katara and Sokka would initially have a hard time really understanding class distinctions, like the difference between peasants and nobility. They come from a survival-focused culture where things like classism aren't particularly common (they do exist, but in different ways). In tribal societies, communities tend to share resources and treat each other more like extended family. This is why I headcanon that the Southern Water Tribe would mostly operate under the leadership of a council of elders, comprised of people over a certain age from each clan, as well as having clan-based chiefs and clan mothers who serve as their representatives. I actually feel it makes more sense for them not to have a single chief all the time, but merely elect one in times of war.
I'll address this more in later chapters, especially when they get to the Northern Water Tribe.
Also, for the SWT gender roles/gender-specific skills thing, I actually looked up Inuit, Aleut (Unangax), and other Alaskan native cultural practices for inspiration. In Inuit cultures, specifically, the gender separation isn't completely absolute and both traditionally masculine and feminine skills are respected equally. The idea of boys and girls trading places for a time to learn the other group's skills is a Yupik tradition.
Zuko strikes me as the kind of person who cannot do nothing. By that, I mean he can't just sit back and not have something to occupy his time. Him helping Katara with dinner in this chapter wasn't entirely part of his ruse to get the Gaang to trust him, he genuinely couldn't just sit there and not contribute more. Zuko simply needs to have something to do or he goes a bit crazy.
I think the Fire Nation would absolutely have some kind of military-based summer camp to train and indoctrinate kids. It's like how the Hitler Youth was promoted as an opportunity for disadvantaged city kids to learn important life skills and have a fun summer camp experience, while it was actually just a tool to radicalize children and brainwash them into the Nazi ideology.
Kirachu is an island (I assume in the Fire Nation) known for its food, especially its spicy souffles. It is not listed under the Fire Islands page on Avatar Wiki, but it is in the islands section of the Geography of the World of Avatar page.
Recommended C-drama for this chapter is "Qing Luo." It's difficult being a single mother in ancient times, especially when your precocious son is determined to prevent you from dating, but Yu Qing Luo, a miracle doctor with no memory of her past (or who her baby-daddy is), is determined to find a special someone. Due to a mix-up, she crosses paths with Ye Xiu Du, who is trying to find someone to cure his brother, resulting in Qing Luo getting involved in a rabbit-hole of conspiracies that leads her to the truth of her origins and even to the father of her son Nan Nan.
A cute, sweet romantic comedy/drama. The amnesia plotlines get a little tired, but they do serve to further the story. It's a bit tropey, but it's still a lot of fun; besides, it's unique in that the female lead is single mother, so we also get her sassy, smartass son getting into trouble. The lead couple gets off on the wrong foot and there are lots of misunderstandings, but the chemistry between the leads is really good (male lead is also one of my favorite actors).