When Sokka got back home, he could not stop the breath of relief that escaped. Even though his life had been saved by Zuko, the fact that it had been put in danger was jarring. This was the first time the boy had come so close to death. Gran Gran immediately knew something was wrong and there was a warm, yet concerned look on her face as she hugged him.

He wanted to tell her what happened, but he did not want to worry her. The woman was getting older and he was not sure how much she would be able to take. The time of year did not make this any easier. So, Sokka decided to disclose a bit of information that was not distressing.

"Zuko really is my friend," he said quietly.

Gran Gran smiled, hearing the joy in his voice. She could tell that she was not going to be given any more information, but she was satisfied by what she was told. Katara was on the other side of the home, curiously watching. She had been unable to hear what Sokka said since he had been so quiet, but she knew that he was happy. That made her glad as well. Later that day, Hakoda returned home. He was warmly greeted by his mother and daughter. As Sokka approached, there was a timid look on his face which surprised the chief.

"Is something wrong, Sokka?"

"No," he assured him, fiddling with the item in his hands. "I…I actually had something I wanted to show you. It doesn't look good apparently, but I hope you'll like the idea."

Sokka moved the scroll from behind his back and showed it to the chief, explaining its purpose. As Hakoda listened, his expression changed from thoughtful to impressed.

"I love it."

"Really?" the boy asked, a wide smile appearing.

"Really. This would give us an incredible advantage against the Fire Nation." He chuckled. "I might not know how to make one of these yet, but we can learn together."

A sad look flickered in the man's eyes. He regarded both of the children with that mix of sadness and caring.

"Your m…" Hakoda trailed off, taking a breath. "I'm proud of you both for what you've been doing this year. You've stayed strong and you've stayed kind. That's more than I could have hoped for."

Even though he had not finished, the children knew he was about to mention their mother. Pushing past that to be happy at the compliment, they offered him smiles. Still, he could see the grief in their eyes and knew there was nothing he could do which would lead to its removal. The family spent the remainder of the night enjoying each other's company and the meal. When the next day came, so too came a change in the Earth Kingdom. Not far from where the siege was taking place, but in an area which had already been conquered, Lu Ten was walking.

The young man had been thinking of his father's words both about his cousin befriending someone from the Water Tribe and about how it is beneficial to learn about different cultures. He had spent his entire life in the Fire Nation. His parents had not raised him to be hateful of other people, but he also had a lot of national pride. Wondering what more he could learn, he decided to go into a marketplace.

"This is nice," he thought. "The ones in the Fire Nation are better, though." Lu Ten stopped himself and sighed. "I just arrived and I'm already showing bias. Try to be objective."

He began looking at what the market had to offer. As he did, he noticed some of the worried looks from the employees. Their hesitation was understandable. Even though he was not wearing his soldier's uniform, he was still dressed in red. They looked like they expected him to attack and from the looks of a few shelves in the back, someone already had. Lu Ten curiously approached them, but one of the workers called out to him.

"Please forgive the state of my store," he said, bowing his head. "We did not have time to make repairs."

The soldier's eyebrows furrowed. "Did this happen today?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Could you tell me who did it?"

This caused even more hesitation and he sought to ease some of these worries.

"I know it was someone from the Fire Nation. I can see the scorch marks."

The shop owner kept his head low. "I humbly request that you not make me disclose that information. They might return more angrily."

"If they do, then they'll have to deal with the consequences of their actions." Lu Ten paused, seeing how the person still seemed scared. "Were they soldiers?"

After a moment, he nodded his head. The younger man frowned, looking back at the damage.

"Do you know if it's been happening a lot to other people as well?"

"A teashop on the other side of town and the clothing store next to us experienced the same trouble."

Frown still on his face, Lu Ten began clearing away the broken and burnt wood.

"You do not have to do that, Sir."

"I know, but I want to," he insisted.

Some of the other workers joined him in moving out the pieces and cleaning up the area. When they were done, he selected a bag of rice from a remaining shelf and doubled the asking price.

"This way, you'll be able to buy the replacements."

"Thank you, Sir!" the owner said.

His other workers also profusely thanked the soldier. Lu Ten smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. He left and started returning to the base. When he got there, he got the attention of the soldiers, each one noticing an uncommon look of anger on his face.

"Is something wrong, Prince Lu Ten?"

"Yes, Captain," he answered. "I've been made aware of some soldiers who are vandalizing stores in the town."

The people started getting quiet. His frown deepened at them.

"Do you have anything to say for yourselves? If you were willing to vandalize, you should be willing to take responsibility for your actions."

Silence filled the room, then a handful of soldiers came forward. They bowed their heads in reverence.

"We were the vandalizers, Your Majesty. We apologize for what we've done."

Lu Ten's harsh look faded some. "We can conquer places, but we shouldn't mistreat the people. I went into town today and they were scared of me. The Fire Nation is great. No one should feel the need to be wary of us. If we can't expand without maintaining our honor, then we don't deserve new land."

The royal returned to his room, leaving the soldiers to think over what he had said. It seemed so strange to them, but if it was the wish of their prince, then they would have to be willing to change their thoughts. As this occurred, in the Southern Water Tribe, it was time for the boys to meet up again. When they did, both grinned happily at seeing each other.

"Who were those guests you said came by yesterday?" Sokka asked.

"They're some friends of my sister's from the Fire Nation. They're sort of my friends too, but they normally spend more time with her."

"Are they going to move here?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that my father just wanted them to come by so that they would tell their parents and start spreading the word."

"And if they say that the Southern Water Tribe is as great as it is, should we be expecting new neighbors?"

"It's a good possibility."

Sokka sighed. "I guess we'll deal with that when it comes. Ready to start training?" He pulled out the machete. "I'm bringing this with me everywhere I go now."

This got the prince to chuckle. "That's probably for the best. What's also for the best is that we work on more defensive and offensive techniques."

The two began practicing as Sokka deflected fire blasts. They were gradually coming in faster and faster, but he understood why. It had already been proven that danger could be lurking in any corner. He had to be ready. He could not leave his loved ones behind. They could not have another death in the family so soon. The thoughts started to trouble him and Zuko took notice.

"What happened?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You look…depressed. You normally don't."

Sokka shrugged, not really wanting to talk about the issue. "It's just a rough day."

He paused, sighing at the inquisitive yet sympathetic expression on the other individual's face. Sokka had told Gran Gran that they were friends and had said so sincerely. Friends could talk about difficult topics like that. Maybe they could as well.

"It's the anniversary of when our mom got killed," he revealed.

It almost physically hurt him to say. He tried not to think of it too often. Katara usually did and would seem to be in such low spirits, so he felt the need to overcompensate and be strong for them both. Glancing up at Zuko just made him feel worse. The firebender had an empathetic expression on his face.

"I'm really sorry. I know that doesn't make it less of a sore subject."

"It doesn't, but I still appreciate it." He was unable to keep all the bitterness out of his voice. "Fire Nation soldiers killed her when they were here the last time. That's why I attacked you when we first met. I thought you were all going to try to kill us again." He frowned and tightened his grip on the machete. "My dad and I weren't able to get there in time. He saw her first, but my sister saw who did it."

Sokka's breath caught in his chest. It felt so fresh.

"It's the first anniversary. I thought it would hurt less after a year, but it stings as much as it did then."

Another pause came as Zuko sadly regarded the other boy. "What was she like?"

Faintly, a smile crossed Sokka's face in remembrance. "She was nice and an even better cook than Gran Gran for most things. She was smart too and always said my drawings weren't terrible. That didn't mean that she wouldn't try to slyly make suggestions for making them better, though." The smile took on a look of pride. "She was also really brave. When we found out about more places being attacked and knew we could be next, she never seemed scared. Not even once. She was courageous until the very end."

With that, the smile fell. He wished the end had not happened.

"My mom's gone too," Zuko revealed quietly.

"I'm sorry. What happened?"

The firebender frowned at the snow. "My father."

"He killed her?" Sokka asked, eyes widening.

"Indirectly. She was an herbalist, so he forced her to poison my grandfather. I never heard him say it, but I know she wouldn't have done that on her own. She valued life too much. As soon as it was discovered how he passed away, she was executed for treason."

The Water Tribe boy sighed. "No offense, but I really don't get the Fire Nation. It even kills its own people like it's nothing. I guess I shouldn't expect it to treat other people with any type of mercy."

"It'll change," Zuko said, not sure if he was trying to make a promise or convince himself. "My uncle and cousin won't lead like my grandfather did or his father before him. People won't get killed unjustly anymore. It's just not who they are. They wouldn't be okay with that."

"I hope you're right." He paused, considering something. "What was your mom's name?"

"Ursa. What was yours?"

"Kya."

"I wonder what it would have been like if they met. Maybe they would have been friends. Mom wasn't born into nobility, so she was a lot less stuck up than some of the others you'll meet."

A small smile appeared on Sokka's face. "That's fun to imagine. Mom didn't have an issue with everyone from the Fire Nation. I think they might have gotten along. I try to honor her memory by keeping the family alive and safe."

"She'd probably be proud."

"I bet that if yours knew you wanted there to be peace with the nations, she would be too."

The two spoke a bit more of their mothers. They still missed them a lot, but being able to talk about them made it hurt less. Sokka did not want to talk about Kya in front of his family since it would only cause them sadness and Zuko did not want to talk of Ursa in front of his family since it would only cause aggression. This seemed like yet another way their friendship could help one another. For that, they were grateful.

As the boys talked and trained, Ozai stood in his quarters. He had different soldiers in there with him this time. They wished that they could have worn their helmets to conceal their expressions, but the prince wanted to look into their eyes.

"Iroh is a softhearted fool," he said. "He never should have taken Father's place."

"But he does have the birthright, Sire."

"Something he earned solely by being born on an earlier date," the prince snapped. "He's not what the Fire Nation needs. He conquers and doesn't kill. He hardly even conquers. That pointless siege has been ongoing for months. In practically the same time, my grandfather killed all of the Air Nomads and my father killed or captured the last of the waterbenders. Yet, my brother," he spat the word venomously, "has shown no success for any of his efforts. He's wasting resources and lives when the earthbenders attack."

The soldiers had not considered that and glanced between each other.

"He is still the firelord. We have no power to sway his mind."

"No, you don't. We have no power to change anything he does," Ozai said, a cruel smile spreading. "So, we just need a new firelord."