Chapter 5: Son of Kya
With utmost eagerness, Sokka loaded spare supplies, snacks, and a small ice box of food and milk into the carriage he had reserved. He cast a brief look at the sky; it appeared somewhat clear at the moment, but he could trace out the violent storm that was slowly brewing. According to the monorail schedule he'd obtained in his preparation, the rail was to stop at ten total terminals upon entering Ba Sing Se. The stop at Gansu fell within Terminal Six and was scheduled for seven hours past midday, which was around the time the storm was going to manifest, increasing the possibility of a delay. He decided to take an ox-horse carriage up to Terminal Three in Ahrai instead. The plan was that they would ride back to Gansu directly without stopping anywhere and reach the city at least a half-hour before the storm. It would spare Yue from having to wait an hour at each subsequent stop and thwart the risk of getting trapped in the storm.
And besides, this was the only other way for him to see her more quickly. A flutter bloomed in his heart at the possibility of catching up to her during the ride home. Truthfully, he didn't want to wait another moment; he was itching to jump into the carriage and let the coachman take him away from the hellish city chaos, take him to see her.
I'll just say I got stuff to do, he told himself, irritably reminded of the Spirit-damned meeting with the Hounds. Fuck it.
"I organized all the food and groceries and milk cans into the ice boxes."
Sokka looked up, eyeing Sensu, who approached the steps of Wang Fire Metalworks with his parents trailing behind. The young Earth Kingdomer, having found out numerous details from his parents, was now more aware of the reason behind Sokka's excitement and had opted to help him out. The trio had taken great interest in sorting everything out at the small dwelling and making it a comfortable living space.
"Everything else is ready, too. Mama and baby should be good to go," Sela added. "Gansu double-checked the furniture; everything's great. I had her wardrobe and the newborn items arranged for her convenience. For good measure, I boiled six bottles and filled them up. She should be able to just come home, feed the baby, eat, and sleep off the stress."
"Sela and I will visit after she has had the time to get settled," Gansu said. "We can talk more about the teaching opportunity next week or so. Fen wrote earlier saying she won't be back for two weeks; your friend needs to use this time to get all the rest she can. If there's anything she needs, or if she needs any help with the baby or with babysitting, she can ask Sela at any time. Our doors are always open."
"Thank you all so much for your help," Sokka smiled.
"This is nothing compared to what you do for us," Gansu smoothed out Sokka's new tunic, "You're like our own, Wang, you know that."
"Also, I'll be happy to manage the shop for the morning shift tomorrow if you're okay with it, Wang," Sensu offered. "It'll probably be late by the time you two get back, and I know the storm's gonna be a beast tonight. Plus, it's your friend's first time in the lower ring. You should take the time to make sure she's comfortable here." Watching the softness unfold further on his face, "She's close to you after all."
Sokka's smile widened like that of a giddy child, "You know, the plan was to just keep the shop closed tomorrow, but this sounds great! Thanks so much, man!"
"Excuse me," boomed a voice, "I need to see Wang Fire quickly. It's an urgent matter…" an older tribesman who was just then approaching the shop from behind Gansu and his family trailed off, staring at Sokka. The tiny sparks of peace flickering in Sokka's gaze were snuffed out yet again by the Hound presence that was gawking at Sokka's trimmed appearance and stiffened demeanor.
"The shop is closed until further notice, sir," Sensu told the older tribesman, noting the dead look that had suddenly overtaken Sokka. He didn't inquire further, however, with Sokka's rather uncomfortable declaration of the older man being a friend. And with that, Sensu and his parents bid Sokka a good day and left to give him and the visitor privacy.
"The shop is closed?" the older tribesman switched his dialect to the Water Tribe tongue.
"I've got stuff to do, Bato. I won't be sticking around."
Staring at Sokka's sudden upkeep of his appearance and the carriage that was waiting, "Snake-Bloods?"
"No, I need to run an errand for Lady Fen."
Sniffing the air, "Is that cologne? It's been years."
"I don't know of any rule that says you can't wear cologne."
"It's not about rules. It's just that…well, you look like you're going to meet a pretty woman."
And although the dream prototype of many Earth Kingdom women was a dark, "exotic" tribesman, Bato didn't necessarily think any woman would want the said tribesman if nearly his entire chest and back were covered in horrendous whip scars. Sokka didn't care for it as he had been withdrawn from the world anyway, but based on his appearance now, he didn't seem at all withdrawn. He appeared in this moment like a hope-starved man with a spark of life radiating in his gaze. A look of stark defensiveness guarded that spark as if it would be snatched from him permanently. "Have you ever seen me do something like that?"
"No, but…" Bato sighed, "If you can't restrain yourself, I know of a few, uh…procurers…"
Angrily, "I need to pick up Fen's new employee and guide her to the bakery. Fen harassed me to tidy myself up so I won't scare her off. I'm not looking to indulge."
"Okay, okay, relax. Just so you know, there's a meeting—"
"I think a useless meeting can wait."
An incredulous look crossed the older man's face. Since when was anything more important to Sokka than Hound matters? At least, that was the assumption. "But you never miss out on any meeting, useless or not." Raising his eyebrows, "And this meeting isn't going to be useless, I assure you; it's the most important one we will have as of yet, and all important members are required to be there. Everyone's counting on you to be there, too."
Sokka tried not to make his frustration too obvious, "Let's keep it short, then."
"You'll be in charge of that. I won't be able to make it to this meeting. I received reports on Snake-Blood activity in Minsar, and I need to go immediately if I don't want my cover blown." Bato reached into his pocket to pull out a scroll canister. He handed the same to Sokka, "This here," emphasizing the scroll, "is crucial information. I stole it off of a Snake-Blood's desk nearest to mine, and I can't keep it on me right now."
"What's this?"
"We've been trying to get a hold of the Red Fang for so long now, and we finally have a breakthrough. We've been doing extensive research in the past months and gathered information on Hahn's private life, but now we have a lead who may be of significant interest to our cause."
"No one told me about this research," Sokka raised his eyebrows.
"It was just in the spur of the moment—"
"That happened to span several months?"
Clearing his throat, "Anyhow, we have information related to Hahn's wife."
"Which one? He had quite a few."
"The fourth and most recent. The lady died after delivering a baby girl, but the lady's sister is alive and has the child with her. They are being hunted by the Snake-Bloods as we speak."
The scroll currently in Sokka's hands, Bato further explained, was prepared solely for Snake-Blood eyes and investigations. The facts Bato was now sputtering were what he gathered by word of mouth, but the scroll had to contain information related to Hahn's sister-in-law.
"That woman has to have some kind of information about him. She'd been trapped in the same household as him for several months; surely she has to have knowledge about his activity. Once we find her, we can get the information we need and finally launch an official attack on the Red Fang. Maybe even get him to come to our location by saying we have her in our custody—"
"What the hell, Bato?" Sokka snapped. "You know my policy. I'm not putting innocent people in danger even for an advantage—"
"I know you don't like this, but…" Deciding against saying what he originally planned, "Pakku has been on my tail requesting this information. I only retrieved this information because that man did his research in Makapu and found out about the sister-in-law. She's supposedly coming to Gansu by monorail. We could meet her as early as tonight."
Sokka widened his eyes, feeling a fierce throb in his chest. Tonight? Monorail? That, too, a tribeswoman with an infant? "W-What…what does she…what does she look like…?"
"I don't know. None of the general members know."
Indeed, none of the newest Snake-Blood members— including the Hound sleeper agents like Bato, Pakku, Long Feng, and Fong— had any information regarding Hahn's sister-in-law or what she looked like. They knew she was in existence even before her supposed escape, but she was kept locked away with her sister in Hahn's personal estate, away from prying eyes.
"Hahn and some of his handpicked men had attempted to force themselves on her several times. She put up quite a fight to protect herself and her sister. Now Hahn and those same men are in charge of finding her as they're the only Snake-Bloods who have ever seen her. And the frustrating part of this is that they're refusing to have her image or any information about her go public, even within the entire Snake-Blood circle. They're afraid that if the Hounds got a hold of her, the Hounds would surely help her and use her to track the Red Fang. That's why his minions are organizing an attack at Terminal Six on the Gansu-Ibbein border."
"T-T-Terminal Six?!" Sokka spasmed.
"That's just what I've been hearing. It's a small group, apparently, and Hahn chose to not be personally involved in this risk, so it's not as big of a threat. But I need you to convey this information to the others so they can be prepared for an attack. I wish I had the time and opportunity to join you, but I can't."
But Sokka was too far gone from reality to pay attention to anything else, chanting the details within him like a mantra. Monorail, Terminal Six, tribeswoman, newborn. Monorail, Terminal Six, tribeswoman, newborn…
"It's imperative that you give this information to Pakku," Bato stressed. "I don't know what all is in this scroll; I just grabbed it off of a higher-up Snake-Blood's desk. Whether we can act on it or not, we'll think about it later, and you can always voice your objections. But one thing's certain: Hahn cannot know that we know about her, and nothing should happen to her as she's our only lead thus far. It will make the task all the more difficult if anything happens to her."
"So you wouldn't have given a shit about her if she didn't have the information?" he glared, the octaves of his voice rising, "Is that it?"
"I don't have time for this Sokka, I need to go."
As Bato ran off, a furious Sokka burst inside his shop and threw the canister lid aside, unfurling and sieving through the papers in the privacy of the empty space. Out slipped a thin document with written information bearing several names here and there: Ichen Bank of Ba Sing Se, Yunnan Bank of Gaoling, Taqqiq Industries, Hahn Petuwaq, Umaani Taqqiq-Petuwaq…
Umaani. Umaani was Yue's sister. Yue never went a day without mentioning her.
Sokka felt his stomach drop as he skimmed back over the document, turning to the next parchment. To confirm his horror, a slip of paper labeled four hundred seventy-one fell out, bearing the names Yue and Ummi Taqqiq on its face. Instructions were written at the bottom of the copy.
Yue Taqqiq. Long white hair, light blue eyes, fair tribal complexion, no identifying marks on face. Wanted alive. Can be seen with a newborn girl, appearance unknown. Baby wanted dead or alive.
"I've never seen him so put together," A Kyoshi Warrior donning a long brown braid and a bubbly grin clasped her hands together, "I wonder how he'll look!"
"Ty Lee, that's enough. You heard Master Piandao," frowned another Kyoshi Warrior. Dappled sunlight peeked into the Women's Center and lit up the warrior's short auburn hair and the gold badge on her arm that indicated her status as the leader of the group, "Don't say anything about it to Sokka. Don't make any comments, don't flirt around—"
"But there's gotta be a reason for him to be so groomed up." Ty Lee nudged at her friend, "Maybe he met someone new."
The friend said nothing, only frowning as she finished the final touches to her war paint.
"I'm just teasing you, Suki," Ty Lee smiled, taking a seat beside her.
"I'm not offended," came the reply. "Why should I be? My life doesn't revolve around him."
"It sure doesn't," crossing her arms and bearing a knowing look, "But you still have feelings for him."
"This is a very important meeting. This isn't the time for another one of your heart-to-hearts." But Suki couldn't look her friend in the eye, knowing she was right.
It was no secret among the Kyoshi Warriors that Suki had long been attracted to Sokka. Initially skeptical of men and commitment and thinking she would have no problems navigating the Hound impositions that disallowed attachments and relationships, Suki had joined the Hounds' cause to not necessarily aid the Grand Wolf but to bring about peace and stability in parts of the Earth Kingdom negatively impacted by Snake-Blood atrocities. Upon the Grand Wolf's passing, Suki found herself hurled to Gansu with her warriors to work alongside the Grand Wolf's son.
The first two years proved to be nothing but bloodshed, most of which was left in the hands of the Grand Wolf's son, who had taken on a different name to hide his identity as the most prized target. With his efforts, Gansu gradually began to become more habitable. The perpetual rage in the young Night Wolf's glare eventually subsided, transitioning into increased muted grief over time. He became more and more moved by the plight of the innocent and the vulnerable, especially disadvantaged women in the wake of trafficking and domestic and sexual violence and abuse. In one of the earliest conversations Suki had with the Night Wolf, she learned that this young man's original name was Sokka, that he was a top university student, a masterful inventor and craftsman, and essentially still a boy perpetually in search of his mother in a cruel world.
"You and your warriors are so capable, so powerful…and it makes me very happy to see that," Sokka had told her one day, a pleasant softness in his grieving eyes, "I wonder how things would've been if my mom knew how to defend herself. If our tribe hadn't been so quick to judge our women for entering into combat." Flares of anger had shot through his bloodshot eyes, "Maybe then, she would've slapped some sense into my dad before he executed his utter brilliance of a plan to join a gang."
Suki was taken by the drive behind all that he did: to seek justice for his mother. To prevent others from losing their loved ones the way he did. To hang onto the ethics his mother had taught him even with his imposed duty of eradicating dangerous Snake-Bloods.
"You haven't thought about expanding all of this beyond the Kyoshi Warriors?" Sokka had asked the Kyoshi leader, "Maybe push your initiation requirements away and give other people the same privileges that you have?"
The Women's Center had eventually sprung from this particular conversation. Originally an institution that was willing to teach free self-defense classes to defenseless women in a high-crime area, the center expanded to suit other needs of women and vulnerable groups who were abandoned in the wake of violence, poverty, and abuse. The Kyoshi Warriors were still heavily dedicated to the Hound mission, but the Women's Center was a way for them to properly utilize the currency stolen from the hands of Snake-Blood corpses and give back to the community. And in the process of securing this kind of balance between social service and Hound duties, Suki realized that she had fallen for the Night Wolf.
She never explicitly told him of her feelings, but there was no need to. The man may have known and may not have cared, for he seldom interacted with anyone more than necessary. Beyond asking her to oversee what a disadvantaged lady would need or which medical services a poor old man would be seeking or what support benefits an orphaned child would receive, he spoke very little. He was always closed off in the room at the back of his shop, responding when spoken to but never initiating conversations. Piandao was the only person he interacted with most comfortably.
Suki wondered many times if she had the ability to soften the Night Wolf's heart. She was aware of the impact his mother's loss had on him. She was aware of the tension he had with his father in the past. She was aware of his longing to see his sister and her family at least once in the near future. And she had asked many a time if he had ever had his heart broken before.
But his replies had always been a blink at the most and deathly silence in the least, and any further endeavor of hers to bring him out of his shell went unreciprocated or was obstructed by the restrictions imposed upon them— the very restrictions she hadn't feared when she first joined.
"It's not your job to fix or heal him, Suki," Ty Lee always told her. "If the guy doesn't want to love or be loved, let him go. You can't possibly be his therapist every day. Besides, we're not allowed to form attachments. Even within the circle."
It was easy for Ty Lee to say. Her lovers thus far had all been casual, the flings never lasting beyond two weeks' worth of attraction and bodily satisfaction. Suki herself had a few flings here and there; the young woman still had needs to fulfill, after all, and coping with sexual rejection surprisingly did not come easy to her. And yet, she couldn't be nearly as casual; she would spend particularly lonely nights in the embraces of other men, unable to keep herself from pining for the young tribesman.
It was driving her insane.
"Just let go of him already," Ty Lee whispered to her friend, her voice dropping low to accommodate the quick gathering of senior Hounds. "There's nothing you can do for a man who doesn't want to be loved."
Sokka's eventual entrance made heads turn, challenging Suki's attempts at maintaining distance. Every other assembled Hounds— Bumi, Jeong Jeong, Pakku, Suki, Ty Lee, and the other Kyoshi Warriors— gawked at Sokka's changed appearance despite Piandao's recommendations against doing so. No one addressed their observations explicitly, but their stares were enough.
"I take it back, Suki, that guy's a real cutie," Ty Lee refused to blink.
The tribesman was clearly keeping himself from fuming, however, as he entered the room, surprising them all with his clenched fists and unbridled rage.
"You can all stare at me later," he boomed, kicking aside a stool that was in the way and slapping a scroll onto the table, "Now does anyone care to tell me about the research being conducted behind my back and what the hell is happening here?"
Pakku frowned, "Let's wait until Bato gets here, and we'll—"
"He's occupied with something else, and he's not the one demanding answers here, dammit!" And as Pakku was reaching for the scroll, Sokka grabbed the parchment, hissing, "Not a soul breathes on this scroll until they can give me a proper justification for going after an innocent woman and a days-old baby!"
"We're not 'after' anyone," Jeong Jeong began more calmly, "We want to make sure she's protected—"
"Cut the yakshit!" he howled, "You should all be ASHAMED of yourselves for targeting innocent people!"
"Now now, 'target' is a strong word," Bumi attempted to reassure him, "No one is targeting them, Sokka. No one here wants anything bad to happen to them—"
"Well no one's thinking about what will happen to them, are they? No one's thinking about the ethics of this, are they?!"
The assembled members were caught off guard by how expressive Sokka was about something in a long time. That, too, expressive about this. Piandao, who had his own suspicions, decided to let the conversation play out, observing the raw emotion in the young tribesman's eyes. This anger of his was slightly different from the anger that fueled his need to defend vulnerable people. There was something more here at play; Sokka was personally invested in this. Whatever it was…for whatever reason…
"You need to understand the context of the situation here," Pakku insisted with greater patience than he was capable of exhibiting, "We may have been doing our research without informing you, but this is all crucial information."
Bumi jumped in and narrated as concisely as he could the tragedy behind Hahn's fourth wife. The woman was the oldest daughter of a highly successful businessman hailing from somewhere in the Northern Water Tribe. That woman had unfortunately been given her hand in marriage to the Red Fang. Her father had no knowledge of Hahn's background as a Snake-Blood leader, and he certainly was not aware of Hahn's previous marriages and subsequent murders of his former wives. The Red Fang's mission behind his marriages to wealthy women was access to assets that would fund the Snake-Bloods; thus, he had drained this family, too, completely of its assets. He was naturally abusive to his wife and took advantage of the situation, silencing his father-in-law when the man found out the truth many years later.
"He kept his wife, her younger sister, and their father completely hidden from public eye. He restricted them from seeing anyone or reaching out for legal help."
And little by little, Sokka kept breaking apart. Years of yearning, of demanding an answer to why she never once reached out to him… only to learn that she had been trapped in the clutches of his worst enemy. He did his best to hide his burning tears, masking his affections with a scowl aimed at the senior Hounds. One by one, they took turns explaining how Hahn's father-in-law, who had passed almost a year ago, had previously hidden a bit of his money in a trust fund for his daughters. After he found out who Hahn really was, he supposedly secretly transferred the operations of that trust to Gaoling, which was then subsequently transferred to the upper ring of Ba Sing Se based on requests for increased security measures.
"A large portion of those assets, Hahn had previously possessed by blackmailing the sisters, but there's still some left, listing the beneficiaries as any child or children Hahn's wife would have," Jeong Jeong said. "Hahn's wife and her sister eventually ended up escaping that household. There's also information that the wife delivered a baby girl in an abbey in the Earth Kingdom two days ago. Her sister is now on the run with the baby. There are financial benefits that come with that child, and the Red Fang isn't going to stop until he finds them."
"Legally, the transfer of assets to him is not directly possible until the child herself reaches sixteen or the child's mother transfers the assets over to him," Pakku added. "The mother is obviously dead, and Hahn is clearly not waiting around for sixteen more years. The only person who can transfer the remaining funds right now is the baby's aunt, but that's only if the child is permanently out of the picture."
"There's been different kinds of talk on what Hahn will do about this. He doesn't care about his own blood, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he kills the child. And if he ever decides he doesn't want to kill the child, he will definitely threaten to murder the child to make that woman do whatever he wants. Even if it means making her falsely testify to legal authorities that the kid is her biological kid and is legally unfit to receive the funds."
"Does she have a husband? Is she seeing anyone?" Bumi asked, curious. "Who would she be seeing if she was trapped all this time?"
"From what I've gathered, if it comes down to sparing the child, Hahn plans to make her say that she whored herself out to some tribesman she apparently knew in university or something like that."
Some tribesman she apparently knew in university. Sokka widened his eyes.
"And he plans to say she willingly stayed indoors all this time so the community wouldn't spit in her face for being a mother out of wedlock. But whether Hahn will spare the kid or not, apparently he has a thing for the woman, and he'll make sure she won't fight back this time."
Pure horror kept unfolding on Sokka's face as Pakku repeatedly rammed the same point home over and over: if they tracked the woman and that child down, both of them will be useful to them one way or another.
"If we get a hold of this woman, we may be able to figure out where Hahn is in a heartbeat. Possibly learn from her everything that he's been doing. What he looks like, things of that sort," Pakku said. "And she is clearly one of his prized targets, probably right next to you on his list. And that will ultimately be good for us because the enemy of an enemy is our friend." Once again looking at the scroll that was nearly being crushed in Sokka's hand, "There is no greater way to draw the attention of a saber tiger than with raw meat. That's when we strike. I know she might not like to be involved in this, but this is critical—"
"If you know that she doesn't want to be involved with this, then BACK THE FUCK OFF!" Sokka roared, at him with incredulous rage, racked with a pain resembling that of someone suffocating his lungs and twisting his aching heart. Everyone continued staring at him, unsure of what to make of his, again, highly invested behavior. Piandao's firm hold tightened on his pupil's shoulder.
Pakku shot a wide-eyed glare at the young warrior, "You need to CONTROL YOURSELF! What the hell is wrong with you?! As the leader, you should be elated that we finally have a clue, not scream like a hyena-monkey—!"
"And you should at least stop and think about how ethical this is!" Sokka kicked his chair back and obliterating the back door, causing everyone else to scramble to their feet in alarm and incredulity, "Using innocent people as bait is unacceptable!"
"Nothing will happen! No one said they'll be put in danger!"
"We'll provide them safety, but you have to understand that this woman has witnessed all of Hahn's antics, Sokka," Jeong Jeong said. "They were living in the same house for several years. She more likely than not knows a thing or two about his transactions—"
"SO WHAT?!"
"What do you mean 'so what'?!" Pakku yelled even as everyone else tried calming him down, "This is valuable information! And Hahn's not even gonna do anything! She'll be surrounded by the best of our Hounds, damn you—!"
"But it will NEVER justify you wanting to FLAUNT her and the child in front of a sexual predator and serial killer, you ABSOLUTE PIECE OF YAKSHIT!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, flipping the table in front of them in the haze of his vibrating fury. The force of his blow caused the table to crack at the edge, "You don't think for a second that you're GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATING him and his army of lunatics?! How in the hell do you call yourself an intelligible human being capable of making decisions?!"
"If you keep your morals aside for a few days, we will have the Red Fang in our grip in a very short time! The task will be made easy—!"
"I thought you all dedicated your entire fucking lives to this! I know I certainly did!" he glowered in utter bitterness, "But that doesn't seem to matter anymore now that there's a shortcut?!"
"Sokka, you need to calm down!" Suki commanded, "What is wrong with you today? Just take a deep breath! Master Piandao, don't just stand there, please!"
The swordsman placed a hand on his pupil's shoulder, "Sokka, calm down, son. Just have a seat—"
"If she wants no part in this, her wishes must and will be respected," Sokka's octaves dropped but his tone no less dangerous, "We chose to pursue Hahn, and she's choosing to get away from him. All of you need to keep this in the back of your minds before making dumb decisions."
"Oh my Spirits, Sokka, no one said we're throwing them both directly into Hahn's jaws! Well just be luring him with her!" Pakku insisted. "Surely that woman would want to see the Snake-Bloods obliterated for everything they did to her family! Surely she'll cooperate!"
"Well you don't fucking know that!" came a death glare, "I doubt she would be waiting for some noble sage by the name of Pakku to give her an opportunity for revenge." Turning to the rest of the group, "You should all be ashamed of yourselves. As of today, the little faith I had in this group is dead. You're not hesitating to lure Hahn here with her. What's the guarantee that you won't send her directly to him if it means you can grab him in your clutches?"
"Sokka," Suki began, "I know what you're going through. I can understand. And I'm making a warrior's promise to you that I won't let anything happen to that woman or that child. But you need to recognize that we need to lure the Red Fang here with something of his interest. It's a hard decision to make, and I hate that we have no other choice…but think about it. If it really comes down to leaving her out of this and tracking down the Red Fang, he's just going to make things harder for more people if he's not subdued."
Shaking his head after a moment of incredulity, "It's strange I'm hearing this from you, Suki. I expected you to put your noble ideals into practice."
Frowning, "What are you implying? That I don't care—?"
"Yeah, you really don't!" he huffed. "She clearly would not want to be involved in this, and her preference should be respected—!"
"She never said that to you, did she? She doesn't even know who you are! And yet you act like you've known her your entire life!" Suki burst. "I don't understand why you're so concerned about this. Just because she would be terrified doesn't mean she wouldn't want justice. Justice is something we can give her, Sokka. Isn't that what you're in this for? Justice? Who are you to deny that woman and her baby justice?"
"I'm not denying anything to them! I just don't want them in danger. And there are other ways for justice to be sought than dragging her into the middle of this or using her as bait! She's lived in hell for so long. The least she would expect is to not go back. What those two need right now is warmth, home, rest. Peace." Glaring back at Pakku, "Violence isn't always the answer for everyone like it is for people like you. And if you want to call yourself a respectable man, you need to honor the fact that she wouldn't want to associate with Hahn or his hooligans. Even if she wants their downfall. And even if she's willing to associate with us, if this is her definition of justice, and if this is something she truly wants and needs…even then, her justice should be restored in a way where she's not put on the spot."
Sokka then faced the entirety of the group with a fierce glower, "Even if it takes another decade and another, I'm tracking Hahn without your asinine means, and this is final. If you want to stop fighting so badly, then walk away from the group right now, and this will be your last Hound meeting. But don't even dare to try to expedite the process. There will be NO QUESTION about necessary evils and benefits and shortcuts. You will all have failed me and the group if you put even one innocent life in danger for your selfishness and convenience."
"Well I don't have it in my bones to fight another ten years for this!" Pakku retorted.
"Well I said NO!" Sokka roared. "Seriously, Pakku, I've handled all of your bullshit, but I'm NOT putting up with this one!"
"You wanna spend another ten years trying to initiate an attack on him, then?!"
"I will spend my entire life hunting for that imbecile, but I am not gonna go through with this—!"
"Except that plan wouldn't work because you're a FAILURE!" Pakku burst vehemently.
"PAKKU!" Piandao growled, "Watch your tongue when talking to my student—!"
"Oh fuck you. You're the reason he turned out like this!" he hollered. "I told this oaf since day one that to be a Hound, he needed to be heartless. But what he's been about this entire time was all heart. He has the audacity to sit here and complain that no one spilled the tea for him? Well he's a fucking embarrassment to all of us, of course we wouldn't trust him with something like this!" Seething, "The only reason he has any respect in this circle is his identity as Hakoda's blood, but the truth is, he can never compare to him. To his prowess! Might as well rename your precious pupil the Night Porcu-pig!"
"Master Pakku," Ty Lee frowned, shaking her head, "Too much. Seriously. Back off."
Pakku gathered his breath, fuming at the unmoved warrior. "The planner, the tactician, the inventor, the warrior…What do all of these even mean to you now? All of that training, all of that ability…worthless! Wasted on someone like you!"
"Pakku—!"
"Ten years of being a Hound," ignoring Piandao completely, "And six years of being the Night Wolf, and you've done nothing to track the Red Fang down. You've just been attacking your attackers and sitting around in your forge all day, drowning in your own filth. Speaking of ethics like your mother, helping every peasant down the street! And this," an incredulous huff as he gestured to Sokka's neatly trimmed appearance, "Now you're slobbering after attachments like a dog. Give me one reason to think you're not off to see a woman right now. How can you be so apathetic? So indolent? Have you forgotten the fact that the Red Fang and the Snake Bloods are the reason why you don't have your mother next to you?! Can you not get it through your thick head that the reason you haven't seen Katara and her family in years is them—?!"
"Pakku, that's enough!" Jeong Jeong snapped. "Step out. Now. Calm yourself."
But Pakku didn't leave, his scowl intact, "You have the duty to find her. You have a chance to redeem yourself. You have a chance to get your honor back, and you will the moment you bring her here. So get your ass to Terminal Six right now and do this one thing, Sokka. Your father will breathe a sigh of relief in the heavens knowing he didn't beget a coward. You will do this and you will do it this second…Unless you want to brand yourself as a traitor to the Hounds."
But Sokka was firm in his stance, shaking his head, "You're dead wrong if you ever think I'll do such a thing."
A response that continued to rattle the curiosities of everyone present. Piandao was perhaps the most concerned at the warrior's emotive insistence.
"Well just know your father is disappointed in you right now," Pakku muttered, "And just know you've failed your mother in this moment. You should be ashamed of yourself. Getting defensive over the Red Fang's seed. He killed your mother but you want to spare his child? And that riches to rags damsel. Why do you even care? Why would you care about what happens to them? Their lives are small prices to pay considering the long-term benefits of wiping out Hahn, and everyone here recognizes this except for you—AAHHHH!" "
To the shock of those present, Sokka sent his clenched fist flying against the old tribesman's cheek. Before anyone could realize what was happening, a kick from the warrior sent Pakku tumbling back against Jeong Jeong and Bumi who were standing behind him. Pakku, caught in their arms, took a long moment to orient the world around him from the dizzying blow. He held a hand over his stricken cheek and stared ahead wide-eyed, blood trickling from his lips.
"SOKKA!" Piandao held his pupil back, "What have you done?!"
"He is your father's mentor!" Jeong Jeong yelled.
Sokka wasn't moved by Pakku's insults necessarily as he was over the alarming implications behind the filth that came out of the man's mouth. In that moment, the warrior was no less of an incarnation of wrath. And yet, he said so quickly, so simply, "It's over."
No one in the room knew what he meant at first, but as they saw him shuffle out of Piandao's grip and head outside, uncaring of the situation with a firm determination entrenched in him, their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. As the tribesman began exiting the room, Piandao followed him. "Sokka, wait! Sokka—!"
"Don't follow me, Master—"
"TRAITOR!" Pakku boomed, prompting the raging warrior to stop, "Go! LEAVE! Don't set foot here again if you call yourself a man!"
"I'm not the traitor here," Sokka growled. "You only become a traitor if you stop protecting innocent people. And I'm surrounded by traitors at this point. Unless this is the kind of shit your Grand Wolf's loyalty and legacy involve. If that's the case, then I want no part of this."
"Don't make hasty decisions now, Sokka," Bumi began, "Just take some time to calm down—"
"I might have failed my mom, but I'm not gonna fail in being the kind of person she would want me to be. The kind of person I want to be." Gulping as he glared at Pakku, "I would rather be a horrible son to her for failing to protect and avenge her rather than take innocent lives and break other families apart like you. And I know she would want me to be this way, too."
"Sokka," Jeong Jeong frowned, alarmed, "Take a minute to cool down. We'll talk about this later—"
"There's nothing to talk about!" Sokka yelled, announcing to the alarmed group, "From now on, we might as well be on separate planes of existence." Turning back to Pakku, "But make one wrong move, pull one wrong stunt, and I'm wiping you out without a blink. And I'll be sure my ethics won't get in the way of my decision to murder your old ass."
Pakku wiped the blood off of his lips as the enraged tribesman threw the crumpled scroll at his face. And with that, Sokka saw his way out.
"Sokka! Sokka, please," Suki rushed over to him, "Sokka, you gotta understand—"
"In the very least, I expected better from someone like you…" shaking his head, a look of unadulterated disgust crossing his face, "I guess I was wrong."
"Don't look at me like I'm a despicable human being!" she said defensively. "I know it sounds horrible, but it's the truth! There are so many other vulnerable people out there that we need to protect! The world doesn't stop for that woman and that baby, alright?!"
But all attempts at convincing him were null and void, and she was surprised to see the slightest traces of tears simmering in the man's glower. "Well my world does."
He gave up on further conversation, storming out of the building. Piandao did not follow him, only stopping Suki as she attempted to go after him. Sokka's words hung in the air for a long moment, pregnant with intensity: "Well my world does."
"Don't know what's up with him today. Give him some time to cool down," Jeong Jeong called from behind them. "If he's not back by tomorrow night, I'll get Pakku to apologize."
"I'm not apologizing—!"
"Well you'll have to if you want us to have the Night Wolf!" the firebender yelled at Pakku. "You should've just kept your mouth shut!"
Pakku ignored the man and attempted to fumble through the scroll, but Ty Lee grabbed it from him, skimming over the details on the page. "It says…her name's Sedna Sunaiq. Dark hair, dark skin, tribeswoman with newborn…"
"Sedna Sunaiq?" Pakku widened his eyes, "The hell? There's a million Sednas and a billion Sunaiqs! It's like trying to find a Lee in the Earth Kingdom!"
"Is that it?" Bumi frowned, "No portrait? Nothing on how she looks like?"
"This is all the info that's in here," Ty Lee said, skimming back over the words, "This isn't a very helpful scroll."
"No wonder he was willing to give it to us," Pakku crossed his arms, "He knows we won't be catching a 'Sedna Sunaiq' anytime soon with such little information. Piandao, get over here and take a look at this. Leave that oaf to himself."
Piandao loosened his worried frown as he caught sight of a significant detail on the scroll that was handed over to him; the handwriting was familiar, strongly resembling the penmanship of his ambidextrous student's left hand.
Fueled by a greater desperation and a higher sense of determination, raided by anxiety yet feeling lighter and freer after a long, long time, Sokka approached the coachman who was waiting by the metalworks shop. "Terminal Three. Ahrai," he whispered, giving the man an extra stack of cash, "This better be the fastest ride known to humankind."