Chapter 15 – Jade

Sokka squatted to scribble in the dirt beside Zuko while the three watched. The latter had drawn an extremely detailed map of the area, far more accurate than the maps provided to them by the Earth Kingdom military, from memory with a stick and a stretch of soil. North by river from Taku was a large, heavily fortified Fire stronghold called Pohuai. Katara shuddered to think if it had been up to her, she would have led their group right past it to their certain doom. Upon explanation Sokka came to agree that they should go to Yu Dao after all. South of them lay the Mo Ce Sea banked by frequent activity of Fire Nation vessels and docks where a guard was always stationed. He concluded by saying Zhao would have gone to the stronghold after to check with them if they'd seen travelers in the area and regroup, which meant they had some time to spare while figuring out their next step.

Katara knelt beside the bison, once again curing him of burns. The two firebenders had done a fair job of shielding them, but Aang was still a novice, and the attack had been overwhelming for just the pair of them. A thin waterfall dropped to a lin from a higher face of the mountain above them, and from the pool she could draw as much clean, fresh water as needed.

They checked their luggage and drew out passable outfits. Katara set aside her blue dress to change into Earth colors. Aang took up a hat and the makeup again, and Sokka chastised, "You should have kept your hair. Your cultural heritage will mean jack and nothing if the ashmakers roast you into extinction because they see a bald monk hopping around with blue arrows pasted all over him." Additionally he was forced into long sleeves and, underneath, arm braces which looped around his middle fingers to completely conceal his arm and hand markings. He was sweating already and moved into the shade. "Seriously, your monks just had to go and scribble all over you, 'Hey, Avatar Aang here, look at me with my bright blue stripes and gleaming bald dome!'"

"Leave him alone, Sokka," Katara said. "We never thought we would have to leave Ba Sing Se so early. It would have been fine there."

"All I'm saying is we're toting around the most wanted teenager in the entire world and he couldn't possibly have come to us any more conspicuous."

Suki had been, meanwhile, putting quick basting stitches to an eyepatch for their other visually distinctive friend. She helped fit it over his left eye and made a few adjustments. It covered most of his scar, but not all, and not his damaged ear. Sokka commented, "Grow your hair out, too, Zuko."

"I think he already is," Suki replied. Since they'd met he had abandoned the phoenix tail and had gone from a short crop to a loose summer cut. In another month or two his hair would be able to cover the scarred ear well enough.

"I'd rather be able to see. That eye isn't useless to me. Katara, can't I use the makeup?"

"Sorry, it's just too much area to cover, and the skin is deformed by the scar tissue. The eye shape would give you away even if not for the color of the mark."

He gave up and let Suki outfit him. "What about your necklace?"

"I can't wear it in Yu Dao."

They finished changing and resumed walking. Zuko led them along a backwoods path to approach the city, down a gentle slope at the other side of the mountains and through a quiet forest. His guard walked ahead some distance to give them advance warning should anyone approach so they could hide Appa. The summer forest had grown in with brilliant greenery, and the forest was maintained and thin from being regularly cleared every few decades for lumber and then replanted, and the pattern formed by this made the trees feel curated like a city park. Fruit and nuts were in season and the lemur was having the time of his life flitting around. Aang had been right, and he was a great foraging partner with an acute nose for edibles to help them find meals. They would reach the city by evening, though Appa would have to remain nearby hidden in the forest. The city was nearby the coast and they could feel the sea breeze sweeping through the foliage.

"They had an almost perfect encirclement on us," said Zuko. "Those lights near the mineshafts were scouts. They used the mines to keep a forward force concealed while completing the surroundment."

"Sokka, what if Dad tries to go to Taku and doesn't realize?"

"They won't stick around long if we aren't there. Dad will be fine. He probably went back to Chameleon Bay, anyway."

"Where should we go after this?"

"We'll gather information in the city and decide from there."

The sun glinted in their eyes by the time the walls of the city were in sight. It was named Island of Jade and the green tiled rooftops gave the name justice. Aang and Suki took the bison off to find a place for him while they three examined the city. It was in peace with no obvious contingent of Fire troops at garrison. Being a colony, it was not a military establishment but an economic one, and was older than the war itself. The main road led to its front gate, framed with a gabled tower above, but a side gate faced the forest at the other end. "Which entrance?"

"The main. It's where most travelers come by," replied Zuko. "We don't want to draw attention."

"Will you pass okay?" she asked quietly. "I heard what your sister said, after all."

"I'll be fine. There are plenty enough people with burn scars," he said, and smoothed a finger over the eyepatch to ensure it was still concealing the majority. "Our military saw to that."

The pair returned sans bison, who had been secluded in a good area with plenty of food and water nearby. They entered just before sunset and lost the colors of it behind the high walls, which cast the city to early darkness. With plenty of money in reserve they found an inn and took a large suite, screened in half for privacy. Dinner was brought in for them and, with only half a night's sleep previously, they fell to early bed. She missed the ease they'd had in Taku, without any worry of eyes upon them, able to train as they liked, but that had to wait. In a bowl on the table they placed the last of the gathered apples and, over the next day, they disappeared one by one.

Expecting a hostile atmosphere, she found the opposite. The city was quiet and bright, the streets were swept clean and paved in light-colored stone, and people garmented in both Fire and Earth styles walked side by side. For Aang that was not unusual, as he'd seen the previous era, but the siblings and Suki had known Fire only as the enemy. Katara passed a couple on the road with a Fire husband married to an Earth woman, and she couldn't have said what to call their children but happy. The city gained its income from the blacksmithing trade it was famous for, and the mountains in the region supplied the ores necessary so that, with minimal trade arbitrage and customs, they could craft anything and keep higher margins of profit, then export the goods easily with the coast only a few miles away. Founded by the Fire Nation, they had marked out the perfect location for a city specializing in the industry.

The lovers were off on a date, while Aang had gone to look, not touch, at a firebending dojo nearby. Katara went with Zuko into the city to catch the news, as he knew what to listen for. She'd always stayed clear of the colonies and felt the same awkward ignorance as she had when first arriving on the continent shores after leaving home, and remained self-conscious of her inherited 'country bumpkin' mannerisms, while reluctant to make eye contact and show her foreign eyecolor. It was Zuko who fit in there and guided her. They sat down for lunch and he made an order for them both. He had an appetizer brought of noodles in a ground-meat sauce with green onion and offered it to her, saying that it was authentic Fire cuisine. Two spice components lit her tongue up: one red chili with smoky heat, and the other a numbing pink peppercorn she'd never had before. She reached for the water while he had no problem with the spice level. "It's an acquired taste."

"My entire tongue is numb and tingly. How can you eat that?"

"Here, the rest is less spicy. Drink this." He offered a clear-white beverage to her. "Coconut water will stop the burn more so than plain water." It did.

They had a private table at an untrafficked corner of the cafe. He had left his dao swords at the hotel and she could not even carry a waterskin there, but the city felt strangely safe, and perhaps he'd been right that it was best to hide in plain sight. Across the street was a grocery market with loud, heavy foot traffic, and whatever the two said would not be heard over it. "It's nice here. I hadn't expected that," she said. "The two nations blended together so seamlessly. Half the families are mixed. Aang has spoken about wanting to restore balance, to have four distinct nations again, but looking around I don't see how they can any longer be separated. That would rip these families apart. Yu Dao is under rule of the Fire Nation, but it seems so peaceful."

"The Fire Nation isn't some monolithic villain," he said with some annoyance. "There are a lot of peaceful, happy towns there. I understand what your view must be, but they provide well for their own citizens. To begin with they developed a strong military tradition to ensure the safety and protection of their own citizens from piracy and bandits and other threats. Imperial ambition only came later."

"What is the Fire Nation like, then?"

"Well, it's a big country, but there is hardly any crime. You've said you had a hard time avoiding bandits while traveling the Earth Kingdom, but in the Fire Nation that would be unheard of. I suppose the worst issue they have is pollution from the factories. A lot of resources had to be dedicated to supplying the military. Originally we had civilian industry and engineering, and pioneered technologies earlier than any other nation. That includes civil engineering, so that would be city design, things like bridges and architecture. Connected with that, education standards have always been strict. Children are not obligated to attend school in the Earth Kingdom, but in the Fire Nation they are so compelled." His words were loving and prideful, and she wondered what it was costing him to travel with them under a state of banishment from the home he held in such dear regard. "There are festivals, too, especially in summer. You would enjoy them."

"We didn't have enough people in the South, but the North Pole still has traditional Water festivals to celebrate our connection with the spirits."

"Fire festivals are mostly to restore people's mood during the hot summers. There aren't many traditions involving spirits."

"Have you ever met a spirit?"

"No, have you?"

"I think so, once. It wasn't a pleasant experience. The spirit was angered, I think, because its village had been abandoned and there was no one left to give it offerings. I imagine there are a lot of places like that now."

"My uncle has been to the spirit world. He always had a good opinion on spirits, but I never understood why. If they hurt you, maybe they're better off removed from our world."

"Well, it might have been my fault, actually." She took the hairpin out and laid it on the table. The jade was the same color as the tiles of the city, and it had inlaid carvings in a floral pattern with vines. "I found this in an empty house and took it with me. That's when I encountered the angry spirit."

He set his chopsticks down and stifled a laugh. "I never imagined—you, stealing. If I were that spirit I'd be too astonished to even be angry. Is this your trophy, then? Having won a match against a guardian spirit."

She redid her hair and pinned it back up. "Well, I didn't know the spirit considered it his, and anyway, I just thought it was pretty."

"It is pretty. It looks good on you. You should wear more colors than blue."

After lunch they windowshopped and listened to conversation. Zuko took particular interest in what policing existed and any gossip related to the Fire Navy. In evening she was reluctant to return to the hotel. "My brother and your guard might be having sweetie-time. I do not want to see that again."

"Well, I can't blame him."

"What? You mean, you think Suki is…?" Attractive.

"No, that's not what I meant. They make a good pair and I wouldn't come between them. But it's normal for a man to want a lover. You should cut him some slack, he's probably stressed right now. I know I didn't help that. Sorry, by the way."

She couldn't remember when it had been that she'd already forgiven him.

#

Zuko sat up in the bed and listened. The others were asleep, and he crept up and slipped to Sokka's side, tapping him on the shoulder. He took a moment to recollect himself as, despite their agreement, he'd fallen asleep, but shortly thereafter the two dipped out of the room with their gear. Outside in the moonlight behind the hotel was a small private garden the rooms overlooked with a tiny koi pond and a red-lacquered bridge over a canal feeding water to it. They had a good, clear night with a three-quarter waxing. They set their packs down and changed into dark clothing, then donned their weapons and stashed the bags under the external porch where guests could keep their shoes. Zuko had removed the eyepatch but added a hood and mask over his mouth and nose so that only a slit of his face across both eyes was visible. Sokka outfitted himself similarly but had smeared black paint under his eyes and down his nose to break up his profile.

The two took off into the back alley and slunk past quiet households. Zuko led them as he'd gotten the better understanding of the patrol routines, but Sokka's expertise in hunting and stealth was a help to cover his back. Ironically, Yu Dao was one of the few places outside his homeland where he could firebend in public without arrest, but doing so now would give away too much information about their identity if they were caught, so his dao were the better partner. The municipal office was in the next district from their hotel.

They stopped short of a wide avenue and Sokka crept up to check if they were clear. He must have been doing a thorough check including even the windows, as he knelt silently several moments, but then he waved him through and the two raced across, keeping low, and tucked into the next street to refind their bearings. The office, by day, stationed the mayor, and it was also the repository of communications between the Fire Nation and its colonies as Yu Dao was their flagship territory abroad. They darted across the garden and up to the building's base, then knelt under a window. Zuko kept watch while Sokka wriggled the window open noiselessly and climbed up, then helped him up after. The room was dark and they watched the floorboards warily for creaking risk. "Upstairs," whispered Zuko, and the two slipped out and entered the hall. One guard watched the staircase from a chair propped next to it and was currently dozing. The two crept past and up. There were no further guards, but the room they wanted was locked.

"Let me see that," whispered Sokka, and he fished two pieces of thin metal from his pocket and tinkered at the lock. In less than a minute he had cracked it and they entered, then eased the door shut behind. The room was surrounded by paper screen windows, all closed, and Zuko lit the smallest flame possible at his fingertip, which would not shine through the heavy paper in the lattice. They worked through the papers speedreading for anything relevant. Sokka pulled out a report. "Your sister. She's still being held in Ba Sing Se's prison as a high value hostage for negotiations. They haven't executed her after all."

"That's a shame. I pity her guards."

Finished the first stack, they slipped the pile back just as they'd found it and worked their way around. "Where are the military reports?"

"They might be higher confidentiality. Maybe in a cabinet," replied Zuko, and he looked around for anything red and pointy. "There." He pointed out a tall, narrow cabinet of Fire make with a small lock on its door, which Sokka took care of. Inside were a number of pigeon-holes sorting the matters and communications scrolls corded up inside. It took longer to parse through than the flat sheets, and Zuko kept one eye to the door, feeling the minutes tick by.

"Here," Sokka pulled his attention back. "From Zhao, a notice that Gao Ling has been razed to the ground. They burned everything."

"Salted earth policy for resisting." Zuko wondered with a pang of guilt what had happened to the fishing settlement. He scanned the page as Sokka held it unfurled, and his stomach sank further—because the Earth Kingdom had informed the Fire Nation that they held Azula in custody, but had not mentioned Zuko, his homeland had concluded he had assisted the enemy and he now held the stigma of a traitor. Sokka glanced at him, and Zuko pushed his hand to roll the notice up and return it. They rummaged through the rest. No notification existed for a battle having occurred against the Water Tribe fleet, so they supposed Hakoda was still well, but there was a posting that patrols would be increased until the Avatar and the traitor—Zuko—were found. The pair finished and relocked the cabinet, then backtracked out of the room into the hall, where he redid that lock as well.

When they approached the staircase to descend to ground level, Sokka pushed him backwards in a panic. Initially he thought the guard must have woken up, but as he listened, there were several voices speaking in frantic tones. Did we close that window? …Fuck. They shuffled back as the guard flashed a lantern into the stairwell, but his superior barked orders at him and he rushed off without entering. Sokka pointed back at the mayor's office, which Zuko replied to by crossing his arms in an 'x'. They peeked around the corner and shuffled to the other side of the hallway, and closed themselves into a random room just as two guards pounded up the stairs and turned to go towards the relocked office.

They looked around at their hiding place, a small file room musty from accumulated dust. They had one window, paned in paper, and he didn't need to open it to see the cast light of lanterns spinning along the ground below. They both checked that their masks were pulled up and prepared for the worst case scenario of forcing their way out. Heart racing, he crouched next to Sokka in the darkness under a heavy table piled with stacks of paper, straining his ears. He hoped they would leave, but ten minutes passed and they began to hear doors on the upper floor opening and closing from the guard checking each room. He was two doors down when Zuko grabbed the handle of his dao.

Explosions popped. Sokka jumped and banged his head on the table, but the sound was covered by the excitement outside. Zuko rushed out and grabbed hold of the papers before they slipped off the table from the sudden bump, then watched the door. The lantern stopped, wavered, then retreated at a fast pace. The guard took the steps down by twos. Sokka extricated himself from the hiding place under the table, rubbing his head. Zuko fixed the papers to not topple then nodded towards the door. They cautiously retook the hallway and peeked down the staircase. The guards who had been investigating had all gone to see what the explosions were, and the pair beat a hasty retreat as another series of bangs set off. Fireworks lit up the night sky over the jade rooftops.

He didn't feel secure enough to pull his mask down until they'd returned to the hotel garden, panting from their run. Sokka collapsed crosslegged on a stepping stone and began ripping his costume off. "Whoever decided to have a celebration tonight, I'm going to kiss them." He tossed the black clothing towards his bag and collapsed to his back.

Suki, having appeared behind him, bent down and pecked him on the lips. "I'm glad to hear that."

While her boyfriend had a heart attack, Zuko whispered, "Where did you come from? Was that you?"

The young woman grinned. "I wouldn't be much of a guard if I didn't know what my ward was up to, now would I? You two seemed to be in a pinch so I improvised." She turned to Sokka and flicked his nose. "Cute makeup. I see you've taken a cue from the Kyoshi Warriors after all."

"This is traditional Water Tribe warpaint, not makeup, and kiss me again, I love you."

Zuko folded his costume and stashed it in his pack, then fastened the dao swords at the bottom. "I'm going to get some sleep."

Morning came too early and they were reluctant to break the news just yet, fearing Katara would scold them for recklessness. By evening she'd been put in a good mood by her brother leaving her and Suki to have a girl's day out and they relaxed with a bottle of plum wine, which Aang had never tried. Her brother cleared his throat and began, "Zuko and I made a little discovery last night. Well, the Fire Nation seems to know he's with us, and they've got a price on his head. Which honestly is nothing new, since we all do, so hey, nothing's changed for us. The problem is they're patrolling the Mo Ce Sea."

"Zhao has a bit of a grudge against me," he joked. "The problem is he managed to find us even in a completely unoccupied city. If he has some way to track us, maybe by word of mouth from people who have seen Appa in the sky, then we won't be safe even in the wilderness. It might be best to head back to Ba Sing Se."

"We can't do that," said Katara. "We've accepted you, but the Earth King still views you as a criminal. You won't be safe there, and you certainly can't teach Aang to firebend."

"I can't think of anywhere else that would offer protection."

"I can," said Sokka. "The Northern Water Tribe."

The young woman slammed her drink down and replied, "They haven't offered one iota of support to us during the entire war. Why would they start now? We'd be better off returning to Dad."

"Dad's fleet can't handle thirty enemy ships. We saw Zhao's forces in Gao Ling. If we can't turn to Ba Sing Se, then the North is the only place left."

"No. What about another Air temple?"

"Katara, they'll track us. Look, I hate the North just as much as you but we have to be practical. Besides which, the sea to the south is going to be locked down with patrols. We'd be better off heading overland and crossing to the North."

Zuko had known the North and South were cut off from each other, but it was the first that he'd heard that they were in conflict. He watched Katara struggle to come to terms with the suggestion, and she put a hand to the inner pocket of her green outfit where her necklace was stashed. Suki was lost for words, not knowing anything about Water relations, and sat with her hands on her knees uncertain what to say in a similar state as Aang. After coaxing and reassurance from her brother, Katara agreed that it was the only realistic course open to them. She turned to Zuko and said, with a sarcastic tone, "Well, I've tried your Fire cuisine. Now you get to see what the Water Tribe eats." By her smug smile he had a feeling that was more of a threat than a treat. Aang scrunched his face in preemptive revulsion, muttering something about sea prunes.

Sokka poured her another cup and waited as the agitated waterbender slowly took a flush across her face. Three unripe plums had been included in the wine, and the young man went at the bottle with chopsticks trying to pry one out, wrestling with the bottle between his knees trying not to spill. Finally he popped one out and held it up triumphantly. "Momo? Come here, Momo, I have a treat for you." Suki and Aang exchanged a look. The lemur paced over, still distrustful of him, and sniffed at the liquor-soaked fruit he held out. It was unmistakably a plum, even if diminutive having been harvested long before ripening and achieving full size, and the animal was won over and took it up despite the strange fragrance imbued by the liquor. Sokka snickered and watched as the lemur took a nibble, licked his lips, and took another more enthusiastic bite. Katara, meanwhile, snatched the bottle back and poured herself another drink, then glared at Zuko and made him finish his own cup off so she could refill it.

As the lemur chewed his strange offering, Aang, between hiccups, beckoned, "Sifu Zu—erh, Lee, if firebending relies on emotion, what happens when you're drunk?"

"It's generally frowned upon to firebend while drinking," he replied. "And don't call me that."

"But I'm supposed to call you Lee now."

"Don't call me sifu! And don't firebend. We have no idea what your reaction will be and I intend to get a full night of sleep here and not be chased out of a burning hotel by an angry innkeeper."

Katara leaned in, interested, and asked, "So, what about you, what are you like firebending drunk?"

"We wouldn't have a burning hotel—we'd have a burning city."

"I want to see, I want to see," begged Aang, while Sokka, horrified, emphasized, "No, we do not want to see. That's enough for you, young man." The lemur was sashaying around in loops on the floor, chasing his tail in slow motion, then leapt up to the top shelf of a bookcase, missed, scrambled at the edge, and fell, taking a dozen volumes and knick-knacks with him as his tail lashed around.

Katara flinched, then set the cup down to cover her ears. "That reminds me, someone was setting off fireworks last night."

Suki exchanged a look with them. "Oh, were they? I must have slept through it."

"I was having the nicest dream, you know," ranted Katara. "Momo was the king of the Earth Kingdom and he turned all the firebenders into cherry trees, and we made cherry cakes later, oh, and then it snowed and there were fish on the moon."

"That's a nice dream, Sis," said Sokka. "By the way, we should leave tomorrow." He glanced guiltily towards Zuko, then swallowed as his sister whined her objection.

"What? No, I like having a bed for once. Why can't we stay? I want to stay at least a week."

Aang, meanwhile, had begun chasing Momo around trying to stop him from crashing into everything, which caused him to crash into more things, predictably. "Shh," Suki told the airbender. "Oh, watch the vase!" A dramatic shattering sound startled the lemur, who looked back as he was flying forward, and he slammed into Sokka's head painfully. Biting his tongue, he took the lemur by the scruff and held him out for Aang to take into custody. "Oh no."

"We aren't getting that deposit back," concluded Zuko.

"Oh, that's why we have to leave," said Katara in delight. "I get it now." She laughed as Aang bagged the flying calamity up in a pillowcase and cinched it shut with a tassel taken off what had once been the vase, so that only his head and enormous ears poked out of the sack. "Momo, you are not allowed to firebend anymore."

Zuko realized he was smiling, then corrected himself. "We should probably get sleep soon. Let's just hope the bison has been better behaved than the lemur."