Chapter 19- Recover
recover (intransitive verb): to get back; to search for, find and bring back.
Tao goes through the port methodically, pushing his hood down so there were more chances of being recognized by his friends if they just so happened to be here. It was nearing noon when a familiar rich green color catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. Whipping his head around, he was shocked to see a Kyoshi Warrior about twenty feet away, in full uniform and makeup, speaking to several young women wearing the guard uniforms of the people who worked at the docks. Squinting and looking closer, the air rushes out of him when he recognizes the red-brown bob cut of their leader. Hurrying over, he calls out to her, praying she'd remember him. "Suki!"
The girl whips around at the sound of her name, blue eyes going wide with recognition and she meets him half way. "Tao? How did you get here?" she asks, looking his dirty, scrawny self over, seeming caught between worried and relieved.
"I got separated from Aang and the others. Please, please tell me you've seen them." Tao puffs, amber eyes begging as he looked down at her, nearly trembling as he waited for her answer.
"I just left them actually. They're heading into the city right now. They... they told me that you and Appa were missing. I was just getting my girls together to search the outskirts of the bay."
"Go northwest. I saw him flying overhead last night, but couldn't call him down. Wait-" straightening, eyes going wide, he reaches out on reflex, grabbing her sleeve, sure he looked manic as he gave her arm a light shake. "Toph. Toph was with them right? Is she alright?"
"Easy... she's fine. She was with them and she looked just fine. Certainly much better than you. When's the last time you had a good wash?" Suki says, nose wrinkling as she brushes his hand off her sleeve. Tao flushes a little, stepping back and clearing his throat.
"Sorry. Its been a couple weeks. I was badly hurt and spent a while walking through the desert, and then I was unconscious for several days too. I... haven't had a chance to get cleaned up."
The girl's expression softens a little, shoulders dropping and she gestures for him to follow her. "Come with me. I'm not supposed to this, but I can get you into the guards' quarters and you can use the washroom there. I think I can get you some clean clothes from the confiscated goods piles too." feeling lightheaded with relief, Tao follows her without question. She shows him into the private guard area, pointing out the men's washroom before walking away to go find him some clothes not coated in sand, dirt, and grime.
Closing himself in the room, Tao was relieved to see the basin within had clean water and what looked like some herbal soap and a couple clean scrub brushes sitting on the lip. Taking great care with his arm, he strips down to nothing, unwrapping the bandages on his injured arm, grimacing the whole time. It still hurt more than anything, but even in just a couple days he was seeing improvement. His skin wasn't as red and raw at the edges, and it was less blistered and had less pockets of puss at the edges. It was going to leave a deep, nasty scar though. Noticing a small slot in the bottom of the basin for wood to warm the water, Tao locates some firewood in a small basket against the wall and puts some in the slot, lighting it with a flick of his fingers. Giving it a few minutes to start heating the basin, he climbs in, sinking into the warming water with a sigh.
The water was almost immediately grimy as dirt and general filth comes off his body, especially once he slides down fully and ducks his head under to wet his hair. He didn't care though. It was nice to just be able to clean up. Taking the soap and coarse cloth, he washes his hair and scrubs his body nearly raw, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he even pats along his left arm to get it as clean as possible. Keeping it dipped in the warm water soothed the pain some, and once he's clean, he leans back against the back of the basin with a sigh, blinking up at the stone ceiling, feeling exhausted. But also relieved. His friends had made it into the city, and Toph was alright. Now it was jut a matter of finding them.
A light knock on the door gets his attention, and he assumes it was Suki back with clothes for him. Sitting up, he locates a plug in the basin and pulls it, standing up and carefully stepping out it, waving his right hand and extinguishing the wood underneath. Taking a towel out of a small basket, he dries his hair off and then his body, wrapping it around his waist and opening the door, seeing Suki standing there, turned away with clothes in her arms. She holds them out to him without looking, and he takes them, shutting the door. They were a typical Earth Kingdom green, pale for the most part with darker hems, a simple shirt, vest, and pants, that he quickly puts on, pulling his old boots that he had had since before the iceberg on as well, the last article of his original clothing that he still had. Looking at his arm, he sighs, opening the door and stepping out.
"I need your help. I need to put some more medicine on my arm and bandage it, but its awkward to do it by myself." he says, sounding apologetic. Suki fully looks at him and then at his arm, blue eyes going wide when she sees the injury on it, looking almost sick.
"How did that happen? That looks horrible." she gasps, gently taking his left hand and lifting it to look at the wound closer as Tao sighs.
"Sand and blue fire don't mix very well, let's just say that. Its looking better, but it was pretty infected until recently." he murmurs. Suki thankfully doesn't press, and she takes Tao over to a bench to sit down on. He takes some of the medicine and bandages Iroh had given him out of his bag, passing them to Suki, who pulls her gloves off to work a little more easily. It doesn't hurt as much as it had before as she treats his arm and warps it off, but he was still a little out of breath from the pain by the time she's done, pulling some of the oral medicine out of his bag as well and taking it, chasing it with a couple gulps of water. "What I wouldn't give to have Katara... this is awful." he laments.
"It looks awful. I can't imagine how much pain you're in."
"Not as much as before. I think this medicine I have has a pain killer in it. I usually feel a little better within about an hour of taking it and applying new topical medicine to the wound. My biggest concern is my ability to bend with this arm. I haven't tried but once, right after I was hurt, and it felt like... well... like fire was going to come right out of my skin." he says honestly, rubbing his good hand through his damp hair, surprised at how much better he felt just being clean. "I need to find Katara so she can check my chi paths. I have a sneaking suspicion they're damaged."
Suki doesn't reply immediately, looking between his bandaged arm and his face, working the inside of her bottom lip with her teeth as she thinks. "I think I owe you an apology." she eventually says, quiet but sounding sincere.
"What? For what?" Tao replies, brow furrowing deeply, tilting his head to one side.
"For how I treated you when you were on Kyoshi Island. After I found out about your bending. I didn't have a chance to apologize before you left, after you helped save the village. So I'm doing it now. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you because of your bending."
"Oh..." Tao breathes. He hadn't expected this, and he was kind of at a loss of how to respond to it. So he settles for a shrug. "Its alright. You had every right to react the way you did. You didn't know me, you barely knew Sokka. There was no reason for you to not respond to seeing firebending, especially towards someone else, the way you did."
Suki nods, shoulders relaxing a little. "Alright, well... let's get you on a train. The sooner you can get into the city, the quicker you can find the others. They'll be delighted to see you." she says with a soft smile on her face, that Tao can't help but return.
"I can't wait to see them again too. This isn't the first time I've been separated from them, but this has been the hardest time." he hums, taking his bag and standing, resting his injured arm in the fold of his vest to support it. Suki walks with him to the train platform, wishing him luck as he boards as waves a farewell to her with a quiet but sincere thank you. He finds a seat near the front of the first car, watching out the windows as it begins sliding forward slowly, picking up speed gradually.
The ride through the outer ring was long, farmland and small hamlets rolling by far below, rolling hills and copses of trees dotted here and there. It was beautiful, he could admit that much. But when they get into the lower ring, the largest and most dense of the three residential rings of the city, the beauty quickly turns to a cold sense of hopelessness. He could barely see the streets through the tightly packed, low laying homes and apartments, and what he could see, he could tell just how crowded it was because of the refugees fleeing the war. Once the train stops at the station, Tao steps off and moves to the edge of the platform, letting out a slow breath, looking out over the seemingly endless homes, the wall for the middle ring far in the distance, and the upper ring beyond that. He knew that was where Aang and the others were going to be put, it was just a matter of reaching it.
Before he starts making his way down the stairs, he pulls his boots off, putting them in his bag. Now that he knew Toph was with them, he knew that she'd be able to sense him walking around. And if he was walking around barefoot, the theory was that she'd be able to really pick him out of a crowd. He'd take any chance that he'd be found or find them faster. Making his way down the stone steps, glad it wasn't summer yet now that he was barefoot, Tao carefully scans the streets as he walks, searching for any signs of familiar clothing, or hair, or a blue arrow. Anything. The lower ring was so vast though, he had barely made any progress, even towards the middle ring by the time the sun starts to go down. Not fancying the idea of sleeping on the streets, he remembers Zuko's promise to hang some red cloth out of the window of whatever apartment or house they wound up in, so he moves back towards the train station, starting to scan for red cloth among all the brown and black and green.
He doesn't have any luck with finding the cloth, but he does happen across a tea shop, the sign reading 'Pao's Family Tea Shop.' Tea was the best place he could look to find Iroh, so he steps inside, tired and thirsty anyway. He was oddly delighted to see familiar short black hair and a familiar scar, shoulders relaxing as he waves to Zuko. "Evening, Lee. Fancy seeing you here." he says, chuckling when he sees that Zuko was wearing an apron. Apparently, they had found jobs here.
Zuko blinks a few times, making his way over as Tao sits at a table, passing him a small menu of tea and snack food. "Evening. Any luck finding your friends?" he asks quietly. Tao shakes his head, scanning the menu, really feeling exhaustion set in now that he was stationary. "I'm sorry. The offer to stay with Uncle and I still stands. You can start looking again in the morning."
"Thank you. That means more than you know. Honestly, when I couldn't find your cloth, I was starting to worry I'd have to sleep on the streets." Tao hums, looking up and passing the menu back to Zuko. "I'll have the honey-ginger tea, please." nodding, the scarred teen walks away to go put his order in, leaving Tao alone with his thoughts. Staying another night with Zuko and Iroh wasn't the worst of the options at his disposal by any means. Though continually being put back into close proximity with Zuko was doing nothing for the state of his emotions. Especially with this new sense of vulnerability and openness that Zuko had been showing him the last couple days. What had changed? Was it from taking care of Tao while he was injured? Or was it from when they had taken care of Iroh? A combination? He didn't know, part of him didn't want to know. But he did know that if he chased these feelings too much, he was probably going to end up getting hurt. He didn't know what Zuko was going to do the next time he was face to face with Aang, what he would choose to do. And if he chose to continue to go against Aang, that was going to hurt. It would hurt a lot, especially now, owing the prince so much.
Zuko comes back after about ten minutes with a small tray in his hand, setting it down. It had a pot with his ordered tea on it, as well as a couple cups, and a small plate of rice balls. When Tao looks at him questioning, he takes a seat at the table across from him. "The food is on the house." he says, pouring some tea into both of the cups, taking one for himself. "And I'm taking a break. We're about to close the shop up for the night anyway." he continues, sipping on the tea, seeming like he was trying to seem dismissive.
"I guess I'll linger until then. Better than getting lost in this maze of a city again. I don't think I even made it half way to the middle ring wall. Its going to take an eternity to find my friends."
"Hm..." Zuko simply hums for a moment, before tilting his head. "Why are you barefoot? And where did you get these clothes?"
"Oh- I did run into someone I knew at the station. One of the warriors from Kyoshi Island. She and the other warriors have been helping out with the refugees at both stations. She helped me get cleaned up and got me some fresh clothes. As for why I'm barefoot... Toph, Aang's earthbending teacher, can sense vibrations with her earthbending. She can pick out people she knows in a crowd, and the theory is that if she's in the area, she'll be able to feel me better if my shoes aren't in the way."
"Good theory. That's an interesting power." Zuko replies, which Tao only nods to, really not knowing enough about it to say more. They sit sipping on their tea, Tao eating the rice balls that he had also been brought, for about half an hour. As the shop is closing, Tao gives Zuko enough money to cover the tea, which he takes to put away, taking the tray with him.
A few minutes later, he and Iroh step out of the back, their aprons folded over their arms, and Iroh smiles widely when he sees Tao. "It is good to see you, Tao. I'm sorry you haven't had any luck finding your friends." he says, eyes soft with empathy, and Tao feels himself flush under the unfamiliar attention from an adult.
"Its ok. I'll find them eventually. I'm just grateful to the two of you for opening your home to me until I do."
"Of course. Now, let's get going. It is getting quite late." Iroh responds. Tao stands, taking his bag and following the two of them out. He pauses when he thinks he sees something move in the shadow of an alley, frowning some, but when nothing moves again, he shakes his head and hurries to catch up with the two other firebenders. The apartment they were staying in wasn't that far from the tea shop, but it was down a street and facing a courtyard that Tao hadn't looked down. He makes sure to memorize where it was so he could find it again the next day if he had to. The inside was simple but comfortable, with minimal furniture and decoration, but enough that they had everything they needed.
Iroh makes them a pot of tea, and they sit up quietly talking for a while before the older man turns in for the night. "I guess I'll sleep out here. Wouldn't want to take up space in your room. I'm sure you'll revel in the privacy after so long on the road hm?" he says to Zuko, lightly teasing him.
"It'll be nice. But you're not staying out here. You can share my room. Uncle gets up early, and you still need to rest with your arm being so hurt." Zuko replies, tone rather firm as he leveled a look at Tao, who can only blink at him for a few moments.
"You-... are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. What's the big deal?" the other teen huffs in response, crossing his arms, one foot tapping a little.
"Nothing. I don't think so anyway. Its just... after what I've said, and what you've heard, I didn't think you'd want to be that... close."
Zuko actually rolls his eyes at this, looking away, turning his scarred side towards Tao, maybe to hide his true expression since that side of his face didn't move quite as well. "Please. There's been nothing specific said to me about how you feel. Just assumptions and vague statements."
"But even those vague things don't bother you." Tao states more than asks, lifting his voice just a little since Zuko's bad side was towards him. Zuko huffs, sounding impatient, but now there was no mistaking the flush to his face, even on the scarred side.
"No. Why would they? I told you, we're not in the Fire Nation."
"Well no. But you've also been pretty clear that we're still technically enemies."
"Maybe we are. But you're also a guest. And Uncle will scold me if I let you sleep out here. So are you coming or what?" the prince says impatiently, frowning fully at Tao before turning and stalking towards the room that he had claimed. Tao was stunned for a moment but quickly follows, carrying his bag with him so he could look after his arm. Zuko had already set up his futon and blanket on the floor in a corner, and before Tao can pick the opposite wall, his bedroll is taken from his hands and Zuko unrolls it next to his futon. When Tao gives him a bewildered look, he just shrugs, looking away as he smooths it out. "Its still getting cold at night. We don't have a campfire to sleep by to keep warm, and you don't need to be getting sick. Sleeping next to me is as close as you can get to a fire."
"Uh... o-ok. If you're sure." Tao stammers, his own face feeling rather hot, and he couldn't help but feel awkward too. He was convinced, fully convinced, at this point, that some spirit had attached itself to him that was just loving messing with him. Whether it was tormenting him with memories, putting him in situations that got him injured, or torturing him with his emotions and this cursed crush he was determined to not acknowledge towards Zuko, it was always something. This wasn't helping matters.
"Of course I'm sure. Now sit down so I can look after your arm." Zuko replies shortly, taking Tao's bag and digging through it for the bandages and medicine, walking away to get a bucket of clean water. Tao sits down heavily, so, so bewildered at this whole situation. This... aggressive caring? What was going on? As Zuko comes back and sits down across from him, unwrapping his arm and starting to carefully wash it, Tao can't help but think back to the first time they had been in this situation. Zuko's gentle, warm fingers tending to a serious injury that Tao had picked up, meticulous and careful, not missing a single inch of the wound. He can't help but chuckle a little, which prompts the other teen to look up at him with a frown. "What?"
"Nothing. Just... thinking about the last time this happened. Me, seriously hurt, and you, playing nurse. So much has happened between then and now- ah-" sucking in a breath between his teeth as pain smarts through his arm when Zuko rubs the cloth over a particularly tender spot, Tao lets out a small sigh, making his shoulders relax.
"A lot has happened, you're right. A lot has changed." Zuko murmurs, gold eyes flicking up to Tao's and then back to his arm. Setting the cloth aside, he takes the medicine and starts lightly rubbing it on the spiral burn. "This is looking a lot better than it did when you first fainted in the flower shop."
"I don't think 'faint' is the best word for what happened. 'Collapse' would be better." Tao snorts, rolling his eyes.
"At least you don't smell like a walking corpse anymore." Zuko replies, a shudder going through him. He couldn't imagine what he had looked like from an outside perspective. He knew he was miserable in his own skin, so he was sure he had looked so, so rough in Zuko's eyes. "You've changed a lot too, since the last time we did this. You seem more... steady. Not as jumpy."
Tao hums, sighing through his nose at this, thinking quietly for several minutes. "Yeah... I think I have changed some since then. Healed a little, found new things to focus on. Gotten stronger. Though this injury is a huge setback, and I doubt firebending training will be very easy in the middle of a huge Earth Kingdom city swarming with guards. They and the refugees here might not appreciate it very much."
"I would just focus on getting your physical strength back first, before you try to bend. Especially with this arm. Its going to need pretty extensive physical therapy and strengthening. The scar tissue will make it hard." Zuko says quietly, gentle fingers finally reaching the end of the spiral of burns. Wiping his hand off, he takes the roll of bandages and wraps Tao's arm up in it, frowning a little. "I'll ask Uncle if he can buy some more medicine and bandages for you. If you can't find your waterbender in the next couple days, you'll run out."
"Her name is Katara."
"I know. I know all their names, Tao. Not using them is just... easier." Zuko states, shocking Tao with the honesty. And the use of his name. He was pretty sure he had only heard Zuko say it a couple times. The treacherous part of his mind liked how it sounded on his lips, and he's quick to squash it. Though maybe not as quick as he usually was. "I'm still not sure what I'm going to do moving forward. If I start using all of their names, it will just be more difficult to... I guess choose."
"And yet, you just used mine."
"Well, yeah. What else am I supposed to call you? Especially while you're staying here." the teen says like it was obvious. Tao just huffs a little at the contradiction Zuko had presented to him. He didn't want to use his friends' names because that would make choosing his path in the future more difficult. But he was going to address Tao by his because they were in close quarters, at least temporarily. Wouldn't that just add to the difficulty of choosing his destiny? He decides to not press, going quiet as Zuko finishes bandaging his arm, stepping away to throw out the dirty bandages and dump the bucket of water, leaving Tao alone with his treacherous thoughts. Here he was, sharing a bedroom with Zuko, sleeping on a bedroll right next to the prince's futon, close enough that if he reached out while laying down, he'd be able to touch the other. He wasn't sure exactly how much sleep he was going to get, but he didn't expect it to be much.
Sighing heavily, Tao lays back on his bedroll, pulling his injured arm to rest across his stomach, staring up at the wooden ceiling and trying to just make his mind shut up so he could get some proper rest. He kept telling himself that chasing this crush was going to do himself absolutely no good, but the more open Zuko was being with him, the more he touched him, looked after him, even protected him, the less he was believing himself. Groaning, he massages his eyelids a little, reminding himself that, banished or not, Zuko was also a prince. Tao had no right to even attempt taking this crush any further than his own mind.
He lowers his hand when Zuko comes back in the room, and thankfully, nothing beyond a simple 'goodnight' passes between them as the other teen lays down and covers himself up, his back to Tao. The darkness of the room gave a little more comfort as he stared up at the ceiling, still feeling the ghosts of warm, gentle fingers on his arm. Shaking his head against his pillow, he pulls his blanket up and over his face, shutting his eyes and trying to shut his thoughts out. At some point, he does fall asleep, and he sleeps pretty deeply, feeling secure in a building and around others that he knew could fight while he was still in a weakened state, not that he expected to get attacked in the middle of the city. When he wakes up though, he was so, so glad that Zuko seemed to be still asleep. Because during the night, he had managed to shift and shimmy himself nearly fully onto the prince's futon, only inches between them, the warmth radiating off of the other firebender more comforting to him than any campfire. Jerkin back, he scoots back and sits up, watching Zuko with wide eyes for a few moments. But his bad ear was up, the other pressed into the pillow, so he didn't seem to have heard Tao's quick shuffle.
Huffing to himself, he stands, body feeling hot, his heart pounding, and he shuffles his way into the washroom, finding that there was fresh water already in there, probably from Iroh. Splashing some on his face and rubbing cool water on his neck, he scowls at himself in the mirror, berating himself for getting so comfortable with Zuko. Even if it wasn't on purpose, even if it was in his sleep that his heat seeking nature, as a firebender, had taken over. Drying his face off, Tao moves quietly into the front room, finding Iroh already awake and tending to a pot of tea. The man smiles when he sees him, inviting him over for a cup of tea, stating that he'd be working on breakfast shortly. "Did you sleep well, Tao?" Iroh asks as Tao takes a sip of his tea, which nearly makes him inhale it. Coughing a couple times, clearing his throat, he nods.
"Yes, I did. Its nice to sleep inside a building for once. Its rare that that happens." he says, clearing his throat again, deciding to not mention that he had nearly cuddled up against Zuko.
"Good, good. I'm glad. And I am glad that my nephew didn't make you sleep in the front room."
"He did say that you would scold him if he did. I fully planned to anyway, but he insisted that I sleep in his room with him." Iroh nods, looking far too pleased for anyone's good, which confuses Tao a little. But he doesn't question it, deciding that all it meant was that Iroh was pleased that his nephew was pleased he was treating their guest well.
oOo
It had been three days that he had been staying with Iroh and Zuko in their apartment. Three days that he had been searching for his friends with no luck. Every day he chooses a different direction to search in, deciding to focus on the lower ring for now. If they were looking for him as well as Appa, they'd be checking the residential areas too, or so he assumed. He tries to pick up an odd job or two before he returns to the apartment each night, just so he can contribute to the groceries or something, but it was hard to find work with his arm still being all but useless. He had started doing some mobility exercises with his fingers on the second night. It hurt, but after even half an hour, he could move his fingers a little easier. He was a little cautious about moving his wrist too much, not wanting to open up the scabs that were healing, but he was starting to exercise at the elbow, stretching and curling his arm, starting to lift small things with it. It would be slow progress, but he was slowly getting a little stronger again. Having access to food, water, shelter, and medicine helped too, and Zuko had taken over helping with changing the bandages on the wound from Iroh. He had insisted actually.
At night though, things were a little different. The second night, Tao had woken up, once again mostly in Zuko's futon, but this time, the prince was facing him. In a panic, Tao had shove himself back, falling back onto the floor loudly enough to wake him up, and also landing on his hurt arm, which hadn't helped matters at all. But, while Zuko had been grumpy about being woken up so suddenly, he had still checked over Tao's arm with minimal grumbling.
The third night was different. When the morning of the fourth day dawned, Tao woke up to a strange weight on top of him. He was still on his bedroll, having nearly swaddled himself in it so he'd stay put. For a moment he was a little freaked out, until he heard a soft snore. Blinking, he looks down and feels his heart skip a beat as his face burns when he notices that Zuko, this time, had shifted over and was laying partially on top of him, head on his shoulder, one arm slung across his chest. Heart hammering, hard enough that his left hand ached with the pulses of it, Tao dares to reach up and pat Zuko on the back to try and gently wake him up. It takes a moment, but when the prince realizes the position they were in, he sits up quickly, his own pale face flushing with color and he looks away quickly with a muttered apology, excusing himself to the washroom and exiting the room at nearly a jog.
Sitting up, Tao rubs his hands through his hair, letting out a shuddering breath, still feeling the residual heat from the other's body on his own skin, which as it fades makes him shiver. For as awkward as waking up had been, he was feeling more rested than he probably ever had, which doesn't help matters. Grabbing his shirt off the floor beside him, he stands up and pulls it on, deciding he may as well join Iroh for the morning while Zuko sorted himself out in the washroom. Neither of them say much to each other, and when the pair head out for work at the tea shop, Tao goes back to his search. He's able to hitch a ride on a merchant's cart to a little closer to the middle ring's wall, and starts looking around that area, glad to have something to focus on besides the situation from that morning and the things it was doing to his mind and heart. The warmth, the longing.
Noon comes and goes, and Tao was starting to lose hope that he'd make any more progress today than he had the days before. He stops at a stall to get himself some food, standing at a corner and watching people mill about here and there as he eats, trying to decide what his next steps were, where he'd search next. He had just finished his food and thrown the stick from the meat skewer away when he hears heavy footsteps approaching behind him. Turning, he barely has time to brace before a small, green clad figure throws itself at him, and he's wrapped up in a tight hug. So tight it squeezes the air out of him for a moment, actually.
It takes a moment for him to realize what was happening, but when he does he squeezes Toph back with his good arm tight, feeling her trembling against him. "Its so good to see you're ok, Toph. I was so worried the sandbenders had gotten you too." he breathes, voice shaking as he holds onto the tiny girl, hearing her sniffling into his shirt.
"You idiot, Sparky." she mutters into his stomach, nails digging into his back as she clutched him tight. "I thought you had been killed. I- I couldn't see with the sand- all I could hear were you and Appa fighting. Then... Then I heard you scream this- th-this horrible scream. After that it was quiet. So quiet." she finishes in nearly a whimper, and he couldn't imagine how terrified she had been. For as tough as she acted, and as tough as she was, she was still a twelve year old girl, who had heard one of her first and only friends fighting, scream bloody murder, and then go silent.
Crouching down, he takes her face in his palm, gently wiping away tears with his thumb, tears he knew she'd deny with her dying breath. He can't help the warm smile that crosses his face as she sniffles and leans into the touch, reaching up and clutching his wrist like she was trying to reassure herself that he really was there. "I was hurt badly. I'm still hurt. But I'm getting better. I'm so happy to see you. And to see that you're alright." he says gently, trying to comfort the girl as best he could. He wasn't well practiced in it though, but he hoped his tone would make up for it.
"Of course I'm alright, stupid. It'll take more than a couple sandbenders to do anything to me. I'm the greatest earthbender in the w-world." she hiccups a little at the end, her cloudy eyes filling with doubt for a moment at the assertion. "Where are you hurt?" she asks quickly, trying to push away the moment of vulnerability, though she still clutched his wrist.
"My left arm. My fire is hot enough to turn the sand into glass. The sandbenders were trying to restrain me with their sand, and I timed a flare along my arm badly. It turned the sand wrapped around my arm into glass and burned me... really badly. It got infected when I was in the desert, nearly killed me. But... I was fortunate enough to find help. I've been in the city for four days now, looking for you guys." he explains, watching her expression morph into one of horror as he describes his injury, realizing that that had been why he had screamed the way he had when it happened. "I'll explain everything when I'm in front of everyone. I need Katara to check my chi path... I think its damaged from how deep the wound is, and how infected it got. But first, I need to go tell the people who helped me I won't be coming back to their apartment tonight."
"I'll go with you. No way am I letting you walk away from me now that I found you. Snoozles and I have been searching the lower ring for you for days, while Sweetness and Twinkle Toes have been looking for Appa."
"Alright. But I'm going to need you to keep a secret, in that case. You'll recognize who they are immediately. If the others found out about them, they'd probably flip out." Tao sighs, standing, letting Toph hold onto his hand while they head up the street to find a cart that was heading back towards the outer wall.
"I can keep secrets. Snoozles on the other hand... so its a good thing I'm the one who found you. I could sense you from two blocks away."
"Hm, glad to know that my theory about going barefoot to make my vibrations more sharp to you was right. I've been walking around these nasty streets without any shoes on for days. Its a miracle I haven't stepped on something yet." Tao snorts, shaking his head. They find a cart to take them back towards the wall, and from there, he navigates them to Pao's tea shop. He asks Toph to wait outside, just to stave off any potential confrontations with Zuko. He explains that he wouldn't be coming back that night, and he sees disappointment in Iroh's eyes, while Zuko seemed... deliberately guarded. He thanks them both profusely for their help and hospitality before taking their leave, stepping back outside. "Alright. I have a bag of things I need to get from their apartment, and then we can go find Sokka and head to wherever you guys are staying. I assume the upper ring."
"Yeah, and its awful. We're always being watched, and we've got this handler called Joo Dee who follows us everywhere. That's why we've split up, less handling that way." Toph scoffs, rolling her blind eyes, walking close beside Tao as he leads the way to the apartment. "So... you ran into Grumpy and his Uncle again huh?"
"I did. I went back to the oasis after I escaped the merchants the sandbenders sold me to. They happened to be there getting some help from an old friend of Uncle's." Tao hums, deciding to go with 'Uncle,' not sure how many in this area would potentially recognize the name 'Iroh,' considering his history with the city. "They let me stay with them until I found you guys."
"Mhmm... what was that that passed between you and Grumpy? I could feel it out here on the street."
"I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing between me and him." Tao huffs, face warming a little, especially when he sees a huge grin on Toph's face.
"I can tell you're lying, y'know. Your heart is fluttering like spider-fly wings."
"Look even if there was something, which there's not, its not like it could go anywhere. He and I are on totally opposite paths from one another. It would just end in hurt for both of us. So just... leave it. I'm certainly trying to."
"Not trying very heard from what it feels like. But whatever. Not my business who you drool after." Toph replies almost flippantly, making Tao splutter some. They stop at the apartment, where Tao gathers his bag of things and bedroll, deciding to double down and leave a thank you note for the two firebenders, and they leave, a strange sense of heartache following Tao for a couple blocks. Toph informs him that Sokka was searching around a little closer to the middle wall, so that's where they head, Tao taking the time they were riding on another merchant cart to pull his shoes on, tired of looking out for nails and glass in the paths.
They only walk a couple blocks in the shadow of the middle wall before Toph takes a sharp right, having located Sokka's footsteps, and as soon as they round a corner, Sokka spots them. His blue eyes go wide and glisten with tears when he sees Tao standing next to the tiny earthbender, and he nearly sprints up to him, wrapping him in a hug that was just as tight as Toph's, babbling incoherently into his shoulder while Tao holds onto him with his good arm. When Sokka finally steps back, he sees the bandages on his arm and his eyes go wide. "You're hurt?"
"Yeah. Its healing though. I'll explain everything once we're all together. Just don't touch that arm from the elbow down. It still hurts a lot" Tao says, smiling at his friend, who was a little more open with his tears, his tanned face streaked with them. "Its good to see you again Sokka. I'm glad that you guys got out of the library safe. Oh- I ran into Suki by the way. If I had gotten to the port even a couple hours sooner, I could have probably found all of you at once from what she said."
"She helped you?" Sokka asks, probably remembering Suki's hostility to wards him the last time they had seen each other. When Tao nods, he relaxes and lets out a gusty sigh, stepping forward and wrapping him in another tight hug, though he was a little more careful about his left side. "I'm glad. We've all been so worried. Losing Appa, and losing you, its been hard on all of us. Aang especially hasn't been himself since it happened. But we've all been pretty down."
"Its sucked pretty bad for me too. I had no idea if any of you had gotten out of the desert alright, or if Toph had been taken by the sandbenders too. Not having answers to those worries had been awful." Tao sighs, holding onto Sokka tight until the other boy stepped back, wiping at his face. Tao rubs away some of his own tears, feeling lighter than he had in weeks now that he was reuniting with his friends. "Let's get going. I'm eager to see Aang and Katara again, and I need her to look at my arm. I have some questions about the state of it that she can hopefully answer."
oOo
Like he had guessed, the Avatar and his friends had been put in a house in the upper ring of the city, a large, well built stone house with wide open spacious rooms, surrounded by landscaped greenery. No one was back yet when they get there, which Tao figured would be a nice surprise when Aang and Katara got back, to see him sitting there, waiting for him. Which it was. He can hear the pair of them talking as they walk up to the door, and then there was about half a second between the door opening and Tao being knocked on his back, Aang on top of him, holding him tight and sobbing wretchedly into his shirt, his small, thin body trembling with each one. He holds on tight to the young airbender, feeling a lump in his own throat as Katara comes into view as well, blue eyes glistening with tears, feeling all the stress he had been under lifting away as he was back with his friends, his found family.
It takes a while, but eventually, Tao is able to sit up with Aang still clinging to him, sniffling and hiccuping, clinging to him, and he gets a hug in for Katara as well, Momo gliding in and clinging to his back with a chirp and a purr. Once everyone's emotions have calmed down, he explains everything he could, leaving out that Iroh and Zuko were in the city too, and thankfully, Toph keeps it to herself too. Katara is immediately pulling out her water skin, and once Aang shifts over, though he doesn't get out of his lap, nor does Tao make him, he undoes the bandage and shows Katara his wound. The three people who could see gasp at the sight of it, and Aang's hiccuping and sniffling in particular renews somewhat. He sighs with relief as cool water and gentle chi wrap around his arm, but he can see how troubled Katara's expression becomes. "Is my chi path damaged?" he asks, having a feeling he knew the answer.
"I... yes. It feels like it is. Its still flowing, but its not nearly as much as what's normal for you. And it feels sporadic. So... if you can still bend with this arm, it might be much weaker than your right arm, and probably very painful." she murmurs, eyes glistening a little as she heals the damage done to her friend.
"That's... what I figured. At least I still have the arm. It got so infected, the people that were taking care of me were worried they'd have to remove it." he sighs, feeling Aang's hands tighten on his shirt at the very idea. Reaching up with his good hand, holding as still as he could so Katara could concentrate, he rests his palm on the back of Aang's head, smiling at his friend. "I'm ok Aang. I'm here now. Take a breath."
"This is the second time you've been injured and taken and I couldn't do anything to save you... what kind of friend am I?" Aang mutters, openly very down on himself. Tao sighs, wrapping his arm around Aang's narrow shoulders and pulling him tight against him.
"You're the first and best friend I've ever had, that's the kind of friend you are. There was nothing you could have done, you're right. Which means you're not to blame. No one but the sandbenders are. I'm here now, we've found our way back to each other again." Tao says, hoping he was being reassuring. When Aang still looked dubious, he gives him a squeeze. "You can't be everywhere at once. You were down in the library, dealing with whatever happened in there. There was no way you could have known what was happening on the surface. Its not your fault."
The boy just sniffles, turning his face into Tao's shoulder, taking refuge in his friend's larger frame, even for as much weight as he had lost. Katara focuses on his arm for quite a while longer, beads of sweat on her forehead when she finally pulls her hands back and replaces her water in her water skin. Sokka passes her some bandages from out of Tao's bag, and she re-wraps the wound. "It'll take several more days of healing to fully heal your arm. But even then, it'll leave a bad scar."
"That's ok. I'm not worried about scars as long as I can get back to my usual strength again. At least physically. Thank you, Katara. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Well you do have a habit of getting yourself badly hurt. Maybe you should look into fighting koala-sheep instead of people next time." she replies, with a level of sarcasm that usually came from her brother. It takes him off guard for a moment before he smiles and laughs a little.
"Yeah, you're probably right. But then where would you get all your healing practice in?" he laughs, feeling some of the tension in the room dissolve as Sokka and Toph join in on the chuckling, and he even feels Aang's cheek lift against his shoulder as the boy smiles against him. It was good to be back, to be home. Now all they had to do was find Appa, and things might feel a little more like 'normal' again.