In the next couple of months, there was a noticeable pattern of more Fire Nation nobles arriving. The entire center of the tribe was overrun with them, pushing all of the tribesmen to the outskirts. Interaction was low–nearly nonexistent. The nobles did not want to lower themselves to get to know the residents, and the people of the tribe would have had no interest in getting to know them even if they were permitted to be in the same areas. In fact, some of the warriors liked the separation. Less eyes were on them. The soldiers and nobles only looked down on them when they looked at them at all. This allowed for them to train with less worry about being seen. Still, Hakoda was no fool and positioned guards to watch in case someone was ever coming.
Their hand-to-combat was unmatched. If any of the soldiers got in range for a fight, they would lose. Yet, that was the problem. Why would the soldiers get close enough for a fight without fire? As things were, they still had the advantage. The warriors could see lightning flashing when no storm was in the sky. They knew the elder prince and princess were responsible. More than that, they knew that it would be used on them as soon as they proved to be dangerous. The spirited people would be slain and the helpless ones would be left since it did not matter if they lived. That was assuming that any of them even survived the ordeal. Hakoda wondered if he needed to work faster or wait longer. He wished there was a simple answer to his query, but he had nothing…only instinct. The same instinct that did not tell him when Kya needed him or that Sokka had been speaking with someone in the Fire Nation. He hoped that his mother and Katara were actually doing fine, but he was beginning to doubt if he knew that either.
The chief's thoughts were interrupted when the guard made a quiet noise that sounded like a polar bear dog. It was the agreed upon signal. Someone was coming. Quickly, the people stopped their training and began working on building more homes since the ones in the middle of the land had been relocated. This physical labor explained their faces which were glistening with sweat. There was nothing rebellious about building homes. Hakoda pointed to his right.
"A little further over," he said, playing along with the ruse.
Obeying the instructions, several warriors moved the roof, eyeing as a soldier headed their way. Hakoda turned to the firebender with a harshness barely concealed in his eyes.
"Were we making too much noise?"
He was not answered. Instead, the soldier walked over to the people, staring at them skeptically. After a couple silent minutes, the invader stopped in front of a young family.
"You and those two over there," the soldier stated.
Hakoda approached the group, an eyebrow raised. "What?"
"I'm taking the man and the women over there."
"For what purposes?"
"One of the noble families is running low on food, so they need a hunter. You can't expect nobles to know how to hunt game." The soldier smirked at the scowl threatening to appear on the chief's face. "As for those two, since your women can't do much else unlike those in our nation, they'll cook and clean for another family." He shrugged nonchalantly. "If they knew how to fight, then they could have hunted with him."
Hakoda saw the worried looks on the faces of the three and tried to remain calm. "How long do you need them?"
"I'm not the one to ask for that. I was just asked to collect three people. The families will know how long. They'll stay with them of course. We wouldn't want to worry about them stealing anything and bringing it back here when they return. As far I know, this might very well be permanent."
The chief's expression became unreadable. Moving on, the soldier gestured to be followed by the people and left. They looked at their leader sadly, then went with the firebender. Silence came to the tribe as soon as they left.
"Our time is running out," the man thought. "If we wait too much longer, we won't be able to train because we'll all be separated."
"Chief," Bato said, noticing the pensive expression on the other man's face. "We'll be ready soon."
His tone was so certain that the chief was appreciative. Hakoda needed to hear that conviction. He wished he had more of his own, but for the time being, sharing Bato's was enough. Not too far away, Sokka was watching. Though he was not part of the training, they lacked enough space to hide it from other members of the tribe, so he was an engaged audience member, secretly mimicking what they had done. When he saw their people walking behind the soldier, he glared down the bender. He did not feel discouraged, though. During these months, the boy had been tirelessly working on his scrolls and ideas. His war balloons could and would work. All he needed was the material. That was the problem, but it did not mean that he could not come up with other inventions and it especially did not mean that he could not make the most of the time he spent away from the others.
On the way to the shipwreck, he would get as close to the settlements as possible. That admiral had a temper and an ego to match. This much had been clear to Sokka, but even that day, he was witnessing just to what extent. Hidden within the snow, he heard the man speaking with his subordinates in a tone which sounded nearly identical to the one he used with the Water Tribe.
"If they have an issue, Lee," he said, "I suggest you tend to it. I would have thought you'd at least have the wherewithal to do that. I suppose I was wrong."
"I don't mind, but it was a complaint and I don't want to bring it to the prince unless it's necessary."
"Cowardice isn't tolerated, so unless you want a reminder of what happens when it's shown, you should speak with him."
"Aren't you supposed to? You're over everything."
"I'm supposed to handle matters here, not trivial concerns. If you have an issue with that, bring that to the prince's attention also."
Sokka scoffed at the man. "Coward," he thought. "He's just as scared as the other one is. The prince is just a guy, but everyone's so scared of him. It's people like them who let him get away with doing whatever he wants."
Still, he liked what he heard. If Zhao was that unpleasant with everyone, then it might be easy to single him out in a battle. Most likely, the others would not even come to his aid. Firebenders who were alone were much easier to deal with than an entire fleet. If Sokka had his perfect battle, they would take out each soldier individually, starting with the admiral. Therefore, these times before his training with Zuko were important and informative, but so was the training. Sokka finished going to the shipwreck and found his friend there with a troubled expression.
"I saw some of the people being led back to start work," he divulged.
"Yeah. Are the nobles normally mean?"
"Not normally, but I'll check in with them to see how everyone's doing. I might not be able to do a lot, but I could probably get some of the shorter tempered ones to calm down if I worry them about my uncle finding out since he's gotten rid of so many corrupt soldiers. He's really been pushing the idea of showing the nation's positive side, so he wouldn't want to hear about mistreatment."
"That would be great!"
In better moods, the two began training. Zuko noticed how much better the Water Tribe boy was getting with the machete. He was proud of him as a student. The prince had no doubt that the others in the tribe were also getting better. He was glad about that as well. They would need their skills. Zuko was just unsure when exactly they would be most needed. After nearly an hour had passed, he stopped, frowning a little.
"I can't stay for too long this time," he revealed.
"How come?"
"My father is having some of the military leaders, my sister, and me go to a war meeting. Since he wants me there, I doubt any sensitive information will be in it, but I can still tell you what I find out."
"What'll you be doing the whole time?"
"Listening. He won't want me saying anything. I don't know what I'd say anyway."
"Good luck with it. Hopefully, it'll go quickly."
"Thanks," Zuko said, waving as he began heading back to the ship.
The royal family stayed on the vessel. Ozai told the subjects it was because he wanted to make sure everyone was provided for first, but Zuko and Azula knew the real reason was that he never planned on them staying there permanently. The settlements were for the nobles. Royalty only left the Fire Nation to conquer. Staying there was beneath them. Azula agreed, but Zuko was just glad that they were not planning on moving since it meant that the people would not be in danger of the older prince's fury. As bad as the soldiers were, they were better. They were also fearful. Zuko could see it in their eyes as they entered the war room. They gathered and found their seats, remaining there until Ozai and Azula entered. When they did, the people rose to their feet.
A smile crossed Ozai's face, seeing the respect mixed with fear in their bows. The fear was the best part. He could get used to that. Moving to the head of the table, he addressed the group.
"I've summoned you all here because of a potential threat to what we are doing," he explained. "The Avatar."
There was an audible gasp.
"The Avatar?" Zhao asked, appalled.
"Yes, my grandfather wiped out the airbenders and the waterbenders of this savage land are believed to be dead, but we have been unable to invade the Northern Water Tribe. If the Avatar is an earthbender, he would have been found already when lands were conquered. That would leave several cities and kingdoms remaining, and if he were in Ba Sing Se, he would have already attacked the soldiers. So, the Avatar is either in the Northern Water Tribe, hiding with the other cowards who have avoided this war, or he is here among the elderly."
The group paused, unsure what to say. This irritated Azula whose eyes were murderous.
"None of you have anything to say about that?" she questioned. "Your prince is telling you of one of the only ways the empire could be ruined and you aren't coming up with ideas for how to eliminate this threat?"
Zhao stood from his seat. "I can put together a fleet to sneak into the Northern Water Tribe. If he's there, we'll find and capture him for you so that he doesn't get reborn."
Ozai considered this. "If you find him, no failure will be tolerated regarding his capture."
"No failure will occur, my prince."
The man looked at the others, seeing their hesitation. "Then, since no one else is courageous enough to try to defend our nation, this meeting is adjourned."
Bowing again, the people began to leave. As they did, Ozai approached Zuko. The boy shrunk as he did, bowing also.
"If you found the Avatar while in the tribe, I would view your capture of him as making amends for your crimes against the nation. I might even deem you worthy of this family."
Zuko ventured to raise his head and saw the look in his father's eyes. He could not tell if he meant his words or not, but the smile on his face was cruel–like he was dangling a string of hope in front of his eyes. In reality, it would become intangible as soon as the boy reached out his hand to grab.
"Will you try to make your nation proud?"
"Yes," the young prince answered.
Ozai did not believe him, but he had said all he wanted and turned to leave the war room with his daughter as Zuko kept thinking of his words. By this time, it was nearly evening and Hakoda had returned to his home. When he did, Sokka was there and had a thoughtful look on his face. It seemed like he wanted to say something.
"Dad," he started to say, "there's something I should tell you."
"All right. Is everything okay?"
"As much as it can be." Sokka paused, taking a breath. "I might find out some information soon about the Fire Nation and the way I'll know is…because I've been talking with someone from there."
The chief sighed slightly. "I know."
"You do?" The boy's heart sank. "I'm really bad at keeping secrets, I guess."
"It's not that you are. I wish that you hadn't, but I found out a few months ago when I was worried about where you were."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to know if you'd ever tell me willingly."
Sokka's eyes lowered. "Oh, sorry I waited so long. Are you mad?"
"I was concerned at first and I won't say that I'm not still, but I've accepted that the firebenders are invading our home more and more each day. I wouldn't be able to stop you from talking to them no matter what I did."
"He's really not bad, though. He's my friend."
"Sokka," the man said, voice chastising. "You don't mean that."
"I do. When I said that I almost got burned, it was 'almost' because he helped me."
This caused the father's frown to fade. Sokka saw this and smiled.
"See? That shocked me too. He said there's a war meeting today and that he'd let me know if anything useful was said."
"Why would he betray his own nation?"
"Because he knows what they're doing isn't right. He told me the firelord dismissed several soldiers for hurting people. I know that I technically can't prove if that happened or not, but I know he's experienced the cruelty of the Fire Nation too."
Sokka paused, visually scanning the man's face. He appeared so conflicted. It was not an expression he normally saw on his father.
"And since you'll probably find this out eventually too, I should just let you know he's the son of the younger prince."
Hakoda's eyes widened, but Sokka kept talking before he could comment.
"I know! I know that makes it more dangerous, but his family isn't like ours. His dad's as evil to him as he is to everybody else. He even lost his mom because of the Fire Nation too."
Hakoda became quiet, taking in what he had heard.
"Just be careful," he said. "Family ties can be stronger than you expect. Even if he doesn't get along with them, when that's put to the test, his alignment might change."
Sokka just glumly nodded and began working on more strategy ideas. He did not expect Hakoda to believe this was a good idea, but he would prove him wrong. Even when it came down to it, he was sure the prince would know to which side he needed to be loyal.