A shoutout to Er1sCha0s, thank you so much for reviewing not only here but also on Ao3, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well :) You certainly made our day!

Readers Caution: Cultural practices depicted may prove brazen, or otherwise disturbing to some readers. TW in the notes at the end of the chapter.

Teaser:
And now she realised how ridiculous her response to his reaction had been. "It will be alright."

But … maybe it would be.


Chapter 28 O tym, jak wyszło szydło z worka

There were so many people at the dock, all of them waiting to board the ferry, bustling about. Zuko was just standing there. There was someone loudly and repeatedly calling out that only those with tickets would be allowed to board. Some people were shuffling away dejectedly. Others were facing the ferry, looking grim. It made Zuko nervous to be this close to people, and he was glad to have his things tied to his back, even if it was a hassle to walk around with it. The wait dragged on and he was nervous.

There was a commotion next to him, a woman screamed and Zuko snapped around to see what was going on.

Two men were tugging at a pack of belongings.

"Help, help, he's trying to steal our things!" The woman called out, hand pointing at the thug, her other hand on a very pregnant belly.

Zuko stepped in, making sure the guy would not get away until the guards came to collect him.

"Thank you so so much!" the woman said after the thief had been led away by the guards, who had arrived quickly. She was almost crying, and her husband was holding her tight.

"No problem," Zuko replied.

"You saved us, our passports and tickets were in there, everything we have. I'm Than, and this is my wife Ying." replied the husband.

"Pleasure to meet you I'm" Zuko offered. "... Oktai." he introduced himself with a nod, glad for the distraction. This was the first time travelling alone again and he couldn't help but worry. His face was covered though, his cover story holding up so far.

The couple stayed close to him as they waited. Conversation quickly died off between them and Zuko. Instead, they were now quietly murmuring amongst themselves and Zuko was keeping more of an eye out, not really fancying any more muggers.

A gasp from Ying drew his attention back to the couple. By now they'd been waiting here for a long while. Something sounded off about the gasp, so he turned to them. The woman looked panicked as she looked at her husband. "I think my waters just broke. What are we going to do? They won't let me on the ferry like this, but we need to get into Ba Sing Se."

Zuko gulped.

"Please help us. They can't know," she whispered.

"Uh, ehm, what does that mean, your waters broke? Your waterskin?"

"Noo," she whispered. "The baby's coming."

Zuko felt himself go pale, this was so out of his comfort zone. "You mean, right now?"

"It will probably take a while, I don't have contractions yet, but yes, it could come in the next few hours."

Zuko didn't know what to say.

Ying took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Is anything showing?" she asked her husband and, when he shook his head, she relaxed a tiny bit. "Hand me the luggage?"

"What do you need?" Zuko said, nervous.

"I just need some cloth to make sure the water doesn't show. All we need is to get on and be able to stay on the ferry until it has left the bay. I have some in here somewhere."

For the next few minutes, Than and Zuko held a blanket around Ying to ensure that Ying was shielded from view, as she did what she needed to do in private. Zuko didn't even want to know, he was embarrassed enough as it was.

Soon thereafter, thankfully, their group was called to board the ferry. Zuko let the couple go on in front of him, and breathed out a sigh of relief when they were let through. He held out his passport and ticket and, to his surprise, was waved through without a hitch, for once. The ease of it all disarmed him slightly, but he had no time to think more as the mass of people pushed him forward.

They eventually found a somewhat secluded spot and Zuko's glare sent anyone away from settling too close. Ying sat down and sighed.

It took almost another hour until they undocked and Zuko could see in Ying's face that she was worried. Every now and again, her face would scrunch up a bit and Zuko wondered if she was in pain, but he didn't dare to ask.

The sun was barely above the horizon when the ship started moving. In contrast to the rush to board, the ship's atmosphere felt subdued. Everyone was pretty much minding their own business, each in their own circles. The travellers that had gotten this far were tired and weary, relief at boarding safely replacing the fear of being turned away. For once, a sense of ease was a good thing.

Zuko looked back at the bay, watching the people crowded at the docks growing ever smaller, until he saw them no more. His attention was then shifted as he watched the rock cliffs passing by, he noticed a few birds capturing the morning breeze that caught them in its gentle grasp. The waves picked up too, rocking the ferry gently. The movements felt second nature to Zuko. That didn't seem to be the case for Than however, who was soon hurrying over to the railing, dry retching, nor Ying, who was looking a little green as well.

"When's the last time you ate and drank?"

"Yesterday evening." Than croaked out, wiping his mouth as he returned from the railing.

Zuko rummaged through his bags to find his waterskin and his pack of preserved food. Seal jerky wasn't ideal, but he also had some hard tack the Water Tribe had given them.

"Here, eat something, both of you."

"I don't think I should be eating anything right now, I feel like throwing up."

"It will help, trust me, I used to live on a ship."

Reluctantly, the couple took the hardtack and started chewing, thankfully not too curious to how a Sand Nomad used to live on a ship. Zuko gave them the water afterwards. They were already starting to look a little better. Zuko however felt restless, he'd almost slipped up then, he would have to be careful with what he said to avoid any unneeded suspicions.

00000

The Gaang saw off the ferry Zuko took, just in case something went awry, but when it thankfully didn't, they decided to make their leave as well. Speculations about the travel time had Sokka and Suki realise that it might take them longer to get to the city than expected, and if they flew across the lake, they may not have a decent place to rest at noon. The new plan was to fly along the Eastern coastline, as that seemed to be less distance, take a break around noon, and then fly onwards across the lake to the city walls.

Trying to leave with Appa led to even more trouble with the staff of Full Moon Bay, much to the group's chagrin. The animal pen workers loudly made a fuss about taking animals into the city, refusing to open the gate for Appa, until Toph finally had enough, forcefully bending the guy out of the way. Aang saddled Appa as soon as he stepped outside, and Katara went to open Momo's cage. So what if she had frozen and broken the lock, it had been wrong to lock Momo in in the first place, she reasoned internally as Momo crooned under her affections.

At least the second guard that had been assigned to accompany them to Ba Sing Se was quiet, and seemed calm. Now that they finally had everything they could sorted out, and every member of the Gaang retrieved, they all climbed into the saddle to be off. Aang happily called out "Yip, Yip.", more than ready to leave this place behind. With a happy grumble, Appa set off, and they were away, calling out a not too sincere apology as they did so to the pen managers.

00000

It took another five hours until Ying started breathing as if in pain.

"The contractions, they're starting."

Zuko rushed over to Than who already was at his wife's side, concern on his face.

Zuko enquired "Uhm, do you need to lay down, I have a sleeping bag."

"Thank you, uh, what's your name again? Did you say?" Ying breathed out carefully controlled.

Zuko reluctantly straightened and shook his head. "Oktai."

"You are very kind. I'll let you know when I need it, for the moment, we do have our blankets. And yes, I think I'll lay down a bit. Good idea."

Zuko observed the couple, worried. Ying did seem to be in pain at the moment, but she didn't say much. Was this normal? Zuko didn't feel comfortable, he didn't know anything much about childbirth. Soon reason took hold again and eventually won out and he got up, eager for something to do on the numbing voyage.

"We need another woman, a healer. I'll go look for someone who can help with the birthing. You stay here with your wife." he had slipped into an authoritative tone of voice and winced as soon as he realised.

He walked away, keeping an eye out for any middle-aged women who might be able to help. People, however, turned away from him, worried. Someone spat some unkind words about Sand Nomads his way, but he didn't let that deter him, it wasn't like being Fire Nation without his new identity had landed him good opinions before, during the early days of his banishment.

He was looking for families and mothers with children, but people were afraid of him. More than once, a husband stood threateningly in his way, barring his way to his young family. The first three wouldn't even listen. The fourth said she couldn't see blood. Whispers were going through the crowds now.

Eventually, an elderly woman who had sat nearby as he asked around got up and approached him:

"I can help. I helped deliver many children back in my village. Please help me carry my things and lead me to the mother-to-be."

Zuko sighed in relief and quickly picked up the pack the woman handed him. "Does this family have a tent?" Zuko just shook his head. She turned around to her family. "I'll be a while. Hand this young man our tent, we'll need it."

Zuko led the matronly woman back to Ying and Than. As they made their way back, she was asking questions about what had happened so far and what their names were and Zuko quickly caught her up along the way. When they arrived, she knelt in front of the sitting couple to meet them at eye height.

"Alright, Ying, I'm Lǎoniáng and I'm here to help you deliver your baby, but I think it'll be better to do this with a bit more privacy, so I brought my family's tent. I need you to move so Oktai and Than can put up the tent."she said soothingly.

Zuko was super glad that he had been tasked with setting up the Gaang's tent quite a few times. So he knew, at least somewhat, what he was doing. This one had a different structural system which thankfully didn't rely on tent pegs to keep upright, as that would have been difficult on the ships decking. They then spread out the blankets on the ground to pad it a little, the wood being an unforgiving surface.

They had built the tent right next to the wall of the upper deck, so Ying would have something to lean on if she wanted or needed to, just to make sure she would have the option, as neither of them knew how this all worked. After they had finished, the two women went inside, Ying leaning on Lǎoniáng, grateful for the support as she walked gingerly.

Than and Zuko stayed outside, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear what went on inside, and not knowing what was happening freaked Zuko out a little bit. Than was looking rather nervous, too.

"So, I think your baby's head is pointing down, that's good." Lǎoniáng calmly reassured Ying, then. "Let me check down there. Lift up your skirts, please…." She called out to the men outside, "Can one of you get me a bowl of water?"

Quickly, Zuko scrambled for his bowl and poured water in and because of his haste, he almost spilled the liquid inside when he picked the bowl back up. He looked pointedly away as he held it inside of the tent. "Here." and felt it get taken with a muffled thank you.

There was shuffling and noise, and then: "So, you've still got some ways to go, I suggest you take walks across the deck for now, and we'll check again a little later, okay?"

The tent flap opened and Ying came out.

"Than, take your wife and walk with her please, movement helps."

"You,.. " Lǎoniáng pointed at Zuko. "Can you go find out when meals will be served?"

"Sure…" Zuko got up, holding his luggage close. He really should leave it behind, Than would be here, sitting right next to it, after all, but some part of his mind just wouldn't let it go. "I'll be back."

Noon was just around the corner, he realised. The sky was quite clear, just a little streak of cloud here and there; the day had become perfect for sailing. He briefly considered looking to see if he could spot Appa overhead, but urgency called. Wasting no more time, Zuko went to look for food. There was an unpleasant smell permeating the air around the kitchen, which filled Zuko with dread. When he finally found someone informed, a fat sailor with a mulish expression, he was told that the passengers could get food in about one and a half to two hours; news which were given with a sour look.

Than was still walking with his wife when he got back, she certainly looked vulnerable in her state. Time stretched on and Zuko started wondering why taking walks would help, he still saw how Ying stilled every so often, obviously waiting out the pain of each contraction. The midwife did not seem alarmed though, she just called Than and Ying back every half an hour or so, so she could check up on Ying in the privacy of the tent.

Zuko both dreaded and was glad when the time to get food came, his gladness to be able to get away was just a tad stronger and he kind of felt guilty for it. Nothing happening had to be a bad sign, right? He didn't want to think about it and just trust the midwife, but it was kind of hard.

Zuko went up to get their servings of food together with Than. Lǎoniáng stayed with Ying. Zuko stood in line first, and held out his bowl. The food did not look appealing, and the smell in the air wasn't either. It reminded him of bad times. Zuko poked at the food with his chopsticks, pulling out an undefinable lump of something from the watery broth. The food smelled spoiled to his nose, and that filled him with anger, it was too familiar, having had many recent experiences with those types of smells.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Food, now get moving, you're holding up the line."

"This smells spoiled." Zuko took a bite and spat it right back out. "It tastes spoiled…. This is not edible. Is this a joke? If you feed this to people, they're going to be sick."

"Well, that's all we have to offer. Take it or leave it."

Zuko grimly returned the bowl and stomped away. Than shakily declined the bowl and followed him.

"This is crazy!" Zuko muttered, if they served the crew that same garbage, they'd have a mutiny at hand. "There's something fishy about this."

Than hurried up to walk next to him. "We'll be fine, it's okay."

Zuko squinted his eyes. "It's not okay, everyone here paid five silver to be here. This is ridiculous."

When they returned, Zuko just shook his head at Ying. "You're not going to eat what they offer. Hardtack is better than that, and you can have some seal jerky if you like as well."

In the meanwhile, sitting down and ignoring his hunger, he busied himself plotting. There had to be better food on this ship, and as soon as this birth was done, he'd track it down.

00000

The flight stretched for hours. They didn't talk about anything consequential as an unknown person was sitting right there with them. They had agreed that Sokka would use alone time with Suki to fill her in and request the aid of her warriors for the war effort. So when it was time to land, eat lunch, and stretch their legs, Sokka asked Suki to join him on a walk after Toph had nodded towards him that the coast was clear in their vicinity.

He stopped when he was reasonably out of earshot. "Suki, so, as you already know, we did meet our Dad and his fleet. What we haven't mentioned yet, because we didn't have enough privacy, is that we made war plans while there. Big-scale ones. We came into possession of Fire Nation secrets, specifically when they will be vulnerable, and how Caldera City is protected. So we are in the process of devising a strategy on how to attack their capital. What we now need is people. I cannot divulge too much information yet, because we're trying to keep everything on a need-to-know basis, but I wanted to ask you if you, and your Warriors, would be willing to join us for this."

"I'd have to talk to them and we'd have to decide together, but I imagine we would be willing to join, this is a bit vague even for a need-to-know basis though."

"Well, I cannot tell you what exactly it includes, but we got extensive information on the Fire Nation's defences for one, and also tips on how to hinder the military in the days leading up to the attack. We also have maps of where what is and where the Fire Lord will be at the time of the attack and we know his royal escape route. In Ba Sing Se, hopefully we can get the Earth King to listen and help us too. We also know of a Mechanist who is sympathetic to the war effort based in the Northern Air Temple. If you could meet with him, and pass on the details, that would be great."

"That all sounds too good to be true, are you sure your source is reliable?"

"Very."

"How do you know?"

"I cannot tell you, I'm sorry. It's part of the deal my dad made. I'll write down the bits and pieces that you'll need to pass on though, don't worry. Just be sure to find a messenger hawk quick, don't want the Fire Nation getting you. Better safe than sorry." Sokka knew better than to even mention anything that would sprinkle even the tiniest bit of doubt.

"I'll have to think about this."

"That's fair." he shrugged.

They sat there, relaxed, and stared out into the water. It bemused Suki a little bit because they hadn't done much else while on the Bison. Well, they also had been keeping track on the shoreline, but it really had just been staring out at the world passing by below them for the most part. They were closer to the water now, and there just was something very calming about the waves. It reminded her of home.

She wasn't quite sure where Sokka stood, he had told her about the girl he'd fallen in love with, and that she had turned into the moon. After that conversation, he seemed more relaxed around her and he did seem to enjoy her company. He was funny as always, a bit of an idiot at times, but Suki didn't mind. It worked well with his charm. He may be an idiot, but she was quickly finding he was her idiot.

He had held on quite well to his easy going nature, but it was clear that the last few months had made him grow up and harden. He'd adapted to war, he was even making war plans now. He had shifted his determination to impress her towards fighting the war. He had more strategic awareness, he was more cautious.

He may still not be great in physical combat yet, but he had the makings of a leader.

This conversation they'd had just now showed that to her even more so. She knew he trusted her, but he was calling the shots not to tell her because it could put the overall operation in jeopardy. It was hard to be on the receiving end of it, but she knew how tough something like that could be, and she was proud of him.

"I'm glad you are here," Sokka said, grasping her hand firmly, and then was quiet, looking at the waterline on the horizon. It was hard to believe this was just a lake.

"I am, too. I did think of you all many times in the past few months, I had been pretty sure you made it to the Northern Earth Kingdom, and then we heard about the Invasion of the North, but word got quiet after that, and even before, I was never quite sure what was true if I heard something."

"Yeah, our travels were quite crazy. Feel free to ask for me to verify what you heard."

"One thing I heard was that you pissed off some Pirates."

"Oh yeah, Katara stole their prized Waterbending scroll. It was a whole lot of drama."

"There was also something about a flooding in Gaipan that the Avatar was involved in."

"Yeah, there were these Freedom Fighters, a bunch of kids really, and their idolised leader, Jet, only that they were so single-mindedly focused on destroying anyone Fire Nation, they were willing to flood an entire village of civilians."

"Wow, that sounds terrifying."

"What about the Zhangs and Gan Jins, did you really stop them in that stupid feud?"

"Oh yeah, Aang managed to weasel out something that made those guys get along somehow. Though I still shudder at the memory of those Canyon Crawlers."

"Why did I not hear anything about you since the North?"

"We were trying to stay under the radar ever since our run-in with Princess Azula."

"Azula?"

"Oh yeah, Zuko's little sister, she's nasty business. Even he fears her, I think."

"What happened to Zuko anyway? You didn't mention him at all after the North Pole…"

"Uh… yeah, right. Ehm, I'm not sure? His sister showed up and we've been a lot more careful since. Dunno where Zuko is these days." Sokka sounded a tad off.

"Hmm, well, I'm glad he doesn't seem to be a problem any longer. I mean, I heard you ran into him again a couple of times after you left Kyoshi. Anyway, Let's change the subject."

"Sure, you could tell me another story about Full Moon Bay?"

So, Suki told him about some bemusing situations from a month ago, and somehow they got talking about travel difficulties and funny happenstances, overall it was a really good time.

After a while Suki leaned over to inspect his shirt. "You got a rip in your shirt and your hem is fraying. Better get that fixed before it unravels any more."

"Again? Aargh, Zuko fixed that shirt just last week."

Suki stared at him as if he'd grown two heads. "Zuko… fixed your … shirt?"

"Yeah… he…. Oh…"

And suddenly, though what Sokka had said by itself made absolutely no sense whatsoever, some things dawned on her. It was like being doused in ice water.

"Your informant…. Where is he?"

Sokka didn't meet her eyes, and Suki was sure she now looked positively furious.

"That was him, wasn't it?"

She thought back on the man clad in Sand Nomad clothes, distinct, uneven, Fire Nation eyes peeking out from behind a scarf that covered the rest of his face. Suki needed to move.

"Let's train, now!" She coldly said to Sokka. And she would not show him much mercy.

00000

By late afternoon, the time in between contractions had gone from every 20 minutes to 15 minutes and Lǎoniáng, Than and Zuko had regularly switched walking with Ying and helped her stay balanced with the rocking of the ship, especially when the contractions hit. It was hard to watch, the pain was evident on her face and it terrified Zuko, that this was apparently normal for childbirth. Eventually, these birth pains came in ten-minute intervals, at which point Lǎoniáng took Ying to the loo another time, then back to the tent to monitor her closely.

She demanded warm water and towels. Zuko shuddered. He had no trust left for the kitchen so he was not going to get warm water from there, and his waterskin was not as full as it had once been, but maybe, if he went away and stayed out of sight, he could warm it up. So Zuko left to get warm water.

He found a place out of sight to do the deed, carefully looking around if there were any eyes on him, but he was alone. He knelt down, shielded his hands with his body and warmed up the water in his waterskin as much as he dared to within the skin, then walked back to their little group and ordered Than to mix the water with cold one in a bowl.

After another hour, Than was also getting more and more agitated. They heard Lǎoniáng reassure Ying that it was alright to make noise while pushing, that it would help. By now, the contractions were getting longer and coming in closer intervals, and they lasted over a minute a time. One could hear Ying gasp and moan in pain. Zuko was just about to ask if Ying needed something to bite down on when the midwife spoke:

"Than?" Lǎoniáng called. "You need to get in here and hold your wife upright."

"What?" Than said, going a bit pale. "But, I'm a man. I can't be in there."

"Then find someone who can, but I need another person in here to help, preferably now."

Than, now even more nervous, looked at Zuko. "Can you go search for someone?"

Zuko winced. "I can, but they don't like the way I look it was hard to find Lǎoniáng, everyone else turned away from me. You might have more luck."

Than got up and stumbled away. Zuko now observed how people turned away from Than too. They all had realised what was going on, and Zuko wasn't sure if they were giving them privacy, or if they were afraid of them because of him, but Than did not seem to have much luck.

After a few short minutes, Than was returning, sweating buckets and all shaky. "No one wants to come help, what do I do?"

Zuko crossed his arms and looked at him sternly. "You go help your wife. She needs you."

Just then, Ying let out a moan, breathing harshly, and Than dove into the tent.

"What do I need to do, oh… there's so much blood. Ying, are you alright?"

"Than, hold your wife below the arms and just support her so she can focus on pushing."

"Ugh, alright." there was shuffling and Ying was breathing harshly, moaning, then screaming, then it was quiet again, except for Ying's harsh breathing. When the next contraction came, Ying screamed, he heard Lǎoniáng shout something and then a thump.

"Oktai, come in now." Zuko scrambled and worriedly lifted the tent flap. Ying and Than were not upright, they had fallen over and Than's arm was limply laying on his wife's belly. He had fainted.

"Come on, help Ying up and support her from behind. Zuko scrambled to do as the midwife had told him and the next few minutes passed in a blur. He pointedly did not think about what was happening, just about keeping Ying upright as the midwife had told him and stared ahead. He acutely felt when the next contraction hit as Ying tensed and her breath hitched before she started screaming.

Lǎoniáng spoke to her calmly and praised her. "I see the baby's head crowning, keep pushing, you are almost there."

Ying did her best and Zuko felt time stretch, then Ying slumped down again, getting a brief reprieve from the pain before the next one hit. It started anew with the next contraction. Pushing, breathing through, pushing again, and for a third time before the pain lessened once more.

Than had come to, but he seemed to still feel woozy and Lǎoniáng sent him outside, which he did without discussion. Zuko lost track of time.

Then, suddenly, the midwife straightened up and Ying slumped down again. Zuko, detachedly saw, how Lǎoniáng knelt there, holding a baby on one arm while she touched the little nose and pushed open its mouth, then grabbed the kid's legs, turned it over and gave it a clap on its tiny behind.

A jolt went through the babe and it started bawling and Zuko had never been so glad to hear a child scream.

The midwife turned the baby around and grabbed a towel she had readily laid out long ago. She laid the baby on top of it on the ground, checking each limb before swaddling it with practised motions and handing it over to Ying.

"You have a daughter. Hold her close and let her suckle."

Zuko quickly let go of Ying as Ying held out her arms to take the baby close. Zuko pointedly looked away and moved outside. Than was waiting, sitting with his head in his hands.

"You have a daughter," Zuko repeated to him and Than beamed as Zuko had never before seen a man beam. He stumbled over his words as he thanked Zuko and Zuko didn't know what to do with himself. Then they heard Ying moan again and Zuko filled with worry again, immediately. It had sounded painful, not as painful as before, but it hadn't been a good sound. Wasn't it over?

By the time he'd looked inside to check on the women, Lǎoniáng had her fingers full of a bloody something. She smiled at him. "Now, we're done, the afterbirth is out. It looks complete, you'll be just fine, Ying."

00000

Everyone had noticed the shifted mood between Suki and Sokka when they had returned to Appa, but neither spoke a word about what had transpired, Suki was maintaining an icy cold gaze, Sokka rubbing his arm. They flew onwards and after they had crossed the lake, they could see the line of the wall far, far away in the distance. They however decided against flying any farther. It would be better if they arrived in the city with fresh and rested minds.

Dinner was a quiet affair. As soon as they were done. Suki grabbed Sokka's hand and pulled him with her. He pulled a face, no doubt still sore from their 'training session' but he knew better than to complain.

She pulled him for a decent distance, a good bit out of earshot from their camp and possible relieving spots, before stopping and telling him to sit down.

The sky was starting to darken with the first hints of coloured clouds, capturing in streaks the rich sunset, but Suki couldn't bring herself to enjoy it at this time.

"You lied to me, to my face, about the person I've sworn to get revenge on. And you've gone as far as hiding him from me. I surmise that he is your informant, but I can't just let that sit like that, I need an explanation."

There was a harrumphing sound and they saw Toph standing there, casually. "Hello, thought I'd join you."

Suki didn't like it, but Toph seemed calm as she plopped down. Suki felt a bit cornered, but this needed to be addressed before they stood on the walls of Ba Sing Se.

"It's really complicated." Sokka offered, hesitant.

"I'd be surprised if it wasn't. The last time I saw you, you hated his guts, and he was hunting you down. And now he's apparently sharing crucial war information with you and the Water Tribe, and you think it is genuine. You are helping the very Prince of the Fire Nation to get into Ba Sing Se undetected. Tell me why!"

Suki didn't say 'or else'. She hadn't made up her mind at all about this.

"He's banished, and has been announced a traitor. He never told us how or why, and we didn't ask, but there is a reward on his head, dead or alive. Either way: Zuko really, really cares about his people. He knows the war is wrong and that his Father, the Fire Lord, is evil. And he has struck a deal with my dad in exchange for information."

"Not even half a year ago he wanted to bring Aang back to the Fire Lord, people don't just turn around like that." Suki disagreed. "How can you be so sure about this?"

Sokka swallowed, buying himself some time. "I think he started to see a way out. And realised that he could make his own choices."

"A way out from what?"

Sokka was about to speak, but Toph's hand stopped him. "Zuko has seen what the war does. He has been through horrible things, worse things that no one should go through, and has become rather disillusioned with it all, I'd say. He knows, under his Father's rule, his people, and the world as a whole, have no future. I didn't know Zuko before the North, but I know he's a terrible liar, and he was not lying about this."

"He seemed a plenty good enough liar to me…"

"I admit, I was quite surprised how well he was handling himself with his cover story, but believe me when I say, he was plenty suspicious, you just chose to believe him. He tugged your heartstrings…. Did you realise how much he flinched when you told him to his face that he'd regret crossing paths with you again?"

"I saw him wince, I thought it was a reaction of sympathy."

"Yeah, we interpret what we see within the context of what we think we know. You had lowered your guard, letting in the refugee that you saw in front of you, because if you had found out about him what he actually was before, you would have exposed him, and that would have been bad."

"He burned my village. He had a complete disregard for there being wooden houses. That little sob story he used as a cover story, I bet he took inspiration from my village burning. It's… ugh…"

"Do you know why he asked you about your village?"

Suki opened her mouth but then paused, thinking she wanted to jump to conclusions, that he'd done it to gloat, but that did not fit with how that 'Sand Nomad' had behaved.

Toph saved her from having to try to come up with a response, as she answered the question herself. "He wanted to know how much he fucked up. He was real worried about what consequences his thoughtless actions had had. You may not believe me, but he's very aware of how destructive fire can be. I think sometimes he's terrified by it. By his own element… Do you know why he hunted Aang?"

"Obviously to apprehend the Avatar and bring him under Fire Nation control."

"Yeah, that's the mission he's been sent on. But that's not the real why. He was banished for speaking out of turn at a war meeting. He said he criticised a ruthless sacrifice in war and his father banished him for it. He was thirteen back then, and all he wanted was to be allowed to go home."

Sokka had silently gasped too, it seemed he hadn't known either. Suki pushed onwards, not at all satisfied:

"Tough luck. That doesn't excuse his thoughtless actions in the least."

"No, it doesn't. I just want you to understand what motivated him back when you met him."

"He was an inconsiderable jerk with no awareness for those around him."

"He is a traumatised kid who idealised his home and his father, and didn't want to face the ugly truth. Namely, that his father hates him and sent him on a wild goose chase. Now, imagine, dangling the very deity he was supposed to catch in front of his eyes… Of course, he tried. Aang gave him hope to return, it was all he'd held on to. The rest of the world could burn if he could grab onto that thing he wanted the most. He was desperate."

"So, what changed? What makes you think he's not trying to get Aang anymore… and take over Ba Sing Se while he's at it? What makes you so sure he is no longer that desperate child seeking his father's approval?"

Sokka responded, laying the truth that Toph had only alluded to blunt and bare. "You didn't see what state he was in when he came with Toph said, he has been through some horrible things. He was on the brink of death when Toph freed him. Some town decided to torture him publically and starve him to death while they were at it. Let's just say, he had a lot of time to think about the state of the world. Also, did you read his wanted poster?"

"Yes, I did."

Of course, she had. And she'd heard the rumours of him being captured too, and of his subsequent disappearance, she hadn't known what to believe.

"So, what did it say?"

"That he and the Dragon of the West are traitors."

"What for?"

"Not killing off the Northern Water Tribe, I think."

"It also said they disobeyed orders to capture the Avatar. And you know for a fact that that isn't true, Zuko tried very, very hard. Where did that leave him?"

"Uh…"

"He had to flee into hostile land. He had to reconsider everything he believed in. He had lost his purpose. All he tried to do for months was to survive on a strange shore, and he came to us half-dead… I treated him horribly because I was afraid he'd turn on us once he got his energy back, so I get your venom. But as time went on, it became clear all he would do was try to stay out of our way and help around camp... He thought he owed us a life debt for saving him. That dude's honour code is fucked up, sure, but he tries to live by it." Sokka explained.

"He was raised to be a Prince, to serve his people, and when he found a way to do that, he took it, at a great risk for his own life." Toph captured the spare moment, seizing the space like a true earthbender, waiting and listening for the right moment to strike.

Sokka picked up again where Toph had left off: "He realised that the best he can do for his people is to make sure that his Father and sister do not keep in power, He has a real interest in this deal working out, which is why I think he told the truth. Also, one cannot consistently make up what he shared with us, especially not with as little prep time as he had, which was pretty much none."

"Great, the guy who burned down my village wants to become Fire Lord."

"Eeh, want is too big of a word, I think," Sokka said. "He knows the alternatives will be worse, Ozai obviously has to go, and Azula is just like him. If Zuko wants to avoid a civil war, someone will have to step into the power vacuum. The position of Fire Lord is hereditary, so that leaves him and his uncle, the Dragon of the West. And well, seeing what the Dragon of the West is known for, having him on the Throne will not help with peace negotiations with other countries."

"Fair, there is some truth to that."

"Zuko struck a deal with my father. He wants peace, he wants his people to survive, and he has a very real worry that they won't. If he survives this war and takes over, he'll need allies to survive and rebuild a likely corrupt military and make it right again. His Nation will still be hated by the other Nations, he'll have to support the rebuilding of many economies; he'll have to negotiate reparations without leading his country to ruin. He knows he's not good enough; he's putting on a strong facade of it all, but he is insecure about a lot of things. He also knows he's the only halfway decent option that will be tolerated by his own Nation. He was taught how to run a kingdom. He was taught that a King is there to serve his people and that's his goal."

"You make him sound like an altruistic idealist. Which is a recipe for a pushover."

"Oh, believe me, Zuko is everything but a pushover. Katara told me that he was ready to break off the treaty talks over my dad not being willing to promise to give a minimum ounce to respect the fire-born's death rites. He demands basic respect for himself and his people. And I think he's right." Sokka closed his statement, searchingly looking at Suki. He wondered if he'd said enough, or if he'd said too much. He knew he had to give her time to think, to let her have a chance to think, but it was hard to stay quiet. He was already second-guessing his wording and worrying about how it had been received. There were so many little thoughts he had to hold himself back from adding.

Suki was quiet for a long time. Toph did not break the silence either. Then finally Suki sighed.

"Ugh, I need time to process this." she groaned, face in her hands.

00000

Zuko hadn't realised how nervous he'd been until the baby was there and had been declared just fine. While Ying was recuperating, still in the tent, Zuko was now smelling the evening broth in the air and angrily planning.

He was hungry and disgusted at the ferry's operators. He knew why they got away with it too. This was a one-trip situation. No one really left the city this way, and people who made it this far were tired and weary. It was an expensive trip, and most people just wanted to arrive safely. They used the fact that there were no returning customers to provide abysmal services at ridiculous prices. These people had no alternative but to get to Ba Sing Se by ferry.

This couldn't be all they had on here though. He just had to find out where they kept the real food. The ferry crew seemed happy enough, they were hardly feeding them this crap.

Zuko heard Ying and Than whisper something in the tent, before Than came out with a bowl full of… it looked like the afterbirth. Zuko baulked when Than did not walk over to the side of the ship to throw it over, but rather sat down and took out a knife. Zuko observed how the man started to carve the flesh off the membrane, then cut it up into tiny pieces. He looked methodical and calm as if he was preparing food.

Eventually, he did grab the membrane, scraped clean of meat, and went over to throw that overboard. Zuko shuddered when Than took the bowl back inside to his wife.

There was no doubt in his mind now, what would be happening inside. It probably was nutritious, Zuko got that, but in the Fire Nation, this absolutely would not be done. The placenta would be burned as an offering to Agni, a way to ask the deity to bless the child and the mother. To consider eating it was absurd to his ingrained mentality. He found it repulsing, and in turn, felt ashamed, the young family were of a different cultural background, they also were hungry, and Zuko didn't want to judge. He'd learned a lot about different populations while hunting for the Avatar, different places just did find different things acceptable, it was part of life, he'd better get used to it seeing that in practice.

When Than came back out, the bowl was empty.

00000

The midwife came over to him after the sun had just come down and requested Zuko to help with dismantling the tent, as she wanted to return to her family, now that Ying had given birth. They didn't need this level of privacy anymore.

"Did you decide on a name already?" Lǎoniáng asked the young couple as they were removing all their property from inside the tent.

"She's going to be called Dōngméi. The winter plum is the first to blossom after a harsh winter."

"A beautiful name." Lǎoniáng approved. Zuko did too, it was a symbolic name, a new beginning for the family, much like Ba Sing Se would be. Ying now stood outside, the baby safely in her arms, shielded from the wind. She was smiling brightly, a matronly, healthy, glow seemed to surround her. Zuko observed them from a distance, feeling weird.

After helping Lǎoniáng with transporting her gear back to her family, he took off to put his plan into motion. Usually, he did this in the dark of night and dressed in black, but his sandbender clothing, though unusual, did not in fact draw that much attention, it was well within the range of colours that were prevalent here, and it blended in with the ship at dusk. He was good at going unnoticed. He'd had lots of practice back in the palace.

He walked towards the kitchen on their deck and casually around the structure. Surely, they cooked this awful broth here. They probably had a separate kitchen on the upper deck.

Zuko stealthily found his way up there and indeed, found a second kitchen, and a small mess room for the sailors. Zuko snuck in, his spare sash ready to make a package out of what he was going to steal. Just enough for himself and the young family. He'd broken into much more challenging places. He'd just have to make sure he'd sneak in and out without being seen here. He'd always done this without a lookout, in the past. Back then he was in better condition though.

He needn't have worried, it was almost easy and he was quite satisfied and looking forward to filling his empty belly with some decent food. When he approached, Ying had covered up herself and the baby, which was presumably drinking, or maybe just sleeping. Zuko didn't dare try to find out.

Than straightened up when he approached. "That took a long time," he stated.

"I got us some decent food."

"You… where?"

"From the people who are leeching off of refugees that pay a lot of money to be on this ship, and then provide them with crap food that will make them sick."

Than's expression turned aghast. "You…. you'll get us into trouble."

"No one saw me, and if we eat now, no one will ever know."

Ying looked up, face afraid too.

Zuko made a frustrated noise. "What they're doing is wrong, how can you not see this? This is how they get you. You're cowed, you're tired of fighting. Your hopes are set on Ba Sing Se. What is another day of going hungry… Let me tell you, those soldiers eat like kings, if they fed the sailors this crap they'd face a mutiny, but apparently it's okay to feed crap to refugees. It's disgusting. I won't be treated as something less than human, and neither should you. Eat! No one will know."

Than looked a little cowed and set down next to his wife, who was leaning against a wall. He made a hush-hush movement towards Zuko, and Zuko quickly closed their little circle before unwrapping the food.

"Thank you," Ying said quietly. And Than nodded. It was clear that they didn't approve of stealing, but they both were hungry. "Thank you for thinking of us. You helped us a lot today."

Zuko only nodded, then grabbed some food to break the ice. They were all starving.

00000

Later that evening, Ying asked Zuko if he'd like to hold Dōngméi, and reluctantly Zuko agreed. The baby felt tiny and light, fragile. There was a moment while Ying handed her to him where she started twitching, becoming upset, but once Zuko had her settled on his arm and held her close, she seemed to calm down again. Zuko stared at the tiny, tiny fingernails and fingers and just couldn't wrap his head around it. It was not at all like holding a small animal, like Momo. He'd never been around babies, he'd never held one, having been too young to hold Azula when she was a newborn. It was completely new.

Zuko channelled some gentle warmth into the arm holding Dōngméi and she further settled, eyes observing him very closely. She was calm and Zuko found himself smiling behind his scarf. He could see some kind of waxy white-ish substance on the baby and wondered if they had put some salve on it.

Ying smiled at him and just calmly stood next to him, her hat was a bit lopsided. "We're going to lay down a bit soon." she eventually murmured. "Oktai, I just wanted to thank you again for your help, quick thinking, and kindness."

"You are welcome," Zuko said.

He went to sleep tired and full of thoughts, but for once, they weren't thoughts of worry and nagging, it had been one kind of weird day.

00000

Zuko slept light, he'd lent Ying his sleeping bag for the night after he'd seen them trying to cram under their big blanket together. Ying had protested at first, but Zuko had insisted. Dōngméi did not need to be cold on her first night. Zuko was used to being cold at night. He'd survive another night like that.

Being on the ferry did remind him of his time at sea, yet it was very different. The similarities, things he had hated once upon a time, now were a light comfort. The lake was pitch black next to the boat, an abyss they were gently rocking in. The waves weren't very strong, the fair weather of the day thankfully holding.

He'd heard the baby from his corner a couple of times, but Ying was quick to shush her and probably go feed her. Zuko's sleep for the most part was undisturbed and he felt reasonably rested when the sky started to regain colour.

When the sun was about to come up, Zuko stepped away from his sleeping spot and went to the 'toilets' at the end of the ship, which really just were planks with holes in them over water. It was gross and he left as soon as he'd done the deed. He avoided the more central 'bathrooms' down in the belly of the ship. They had chamber pots, and they were just emptied in big barrels. He wasn't going down there, no thanks.

After relieving himself, he searched for a spot on the ferry where he'd have some privacy to greet the sun. Not many people were around, but he still walked to gain a bit of distance so he'd be alone, and just stood at the railing, staring at the distance to just be.

Zuko was surprised at how used he'd gotten to his face being covered up at all times, already. The wind moved it gently, a constant reminder that there was a barrier wrapped around his head, keeping people from identifying him.

He quietly meditated, feeling for the sun and everything in his vicinity, and before he knew, an hour or two had passed.

When he returned, the couple was eating something. It looked like bread. And when he asked where they'd gotten it, they replied that it had looked alright and if he wanted some too. Zuko shuddered and shook his head, busying himself with repacking his sleeping bag. He did not trust this ferry's food offerings one bit, he'd rather go hungry.

00000

Suki was up early. She used the quiet time to warm herself up and get a fire going, then did some light drills to start with before stretching. There was a lot to think about. She knew she'd been hard on Sokka. He was right, she'd have been hard-pressed not to give Zuko away, and she still felt this dread, of having left a member of the Fire Nation royal family into Ba Sing Se.

Oktai, the persona, had seemed alright, not exactly harmless; he knew how to fight, and if he hadn't been as emaciated, he might very well have had the upper hand in their tussle. He had good technique, which compensated for the lack of strength that she knew he'd once had.

He also knew how much Sokka cared about the world and how much he feared the Fire Nation. He was a natural sceptic and she knew he had a sense for strategy. Zuko had gained Sokka's trust, despite their very rocky start and history. And from what Sokka had shared, Zuko had thoroughly changed his focus and ways. Sokka had made it a point that Zuko cared about his people and wanted the war to stop.

The question was, was Suki willing to trust Sokka's instincts?

Sokka wouldn't be doing this, deceiving her, if he wasn't a hundred percent sure, and Zuko was alone. Not that he couldn't possibly do any damage, but the Gaang were his only allies, he was alone otherwise. Was it dangerous that he'd deceived her so well? Was she to blame for taking his story at face value? There had been little bits and pieces that had crossed her as weird, but nothing major, and she had wanted to believe him, he'd played her with the fact that the Gaang trusted him and she was bound to trust them.

Yet, he'd asked about her village. The very event connected to him. He could have avoided it, avoided risking her thinking about the Fire Prince and remembering him. He'd genuinely wanted to know. He'd cared about what he'd done, he regretted it. Now that she thought back to this interaction with 'Oktai' she remembered his specific inquiries. He'd…

Now she realised what it had been, it had not been a compassionate response at all. His 'I'm sorry', which had struck her as oddly grave, had been a carefully hidden apology. The Fire Prince had bowed his head, sincere and contrite. And then she'd gone threatening him; Another gesture mistaken for being compassionate on her part, his wincing. But he'd nodded, just nodded. He had accepted her venom with graciousness.

And now she realised how ridiculous her response to his reaction had been. "It will be alright."

But … maybe it would be.

00000

Ying had thrust the baby into Than's hands a few minutes ago, rushing to the loo, apparently in pain. Zuko observed it with concern. She hadn't returned, and Than was also not looking too well.

Zuko watched as time stretched and Than seemed to grow increasingly uncomfortable. Ying still wasn't back.

"Do you want to go check up on your wife?"

"I really should, but I think I need the loo first too."

"I'll watch Dōngméi."

"You really don't have to." Than protested, a polite refusal. Zuko saw the greenish tint on his face, it was better if he did not take Dōngméi to the loo, those places were unpleasant, at best.

"I don't mind."

"Thank you." He got up and immediately pulled a face, and as soon as Dōngméi was safely in Zuko's arms, he hurried away, walking a bit weirdly.

"Well, I guess it's just us for now," Zuko murmured to the little wrapped baby who had gotten a little upset at the rather abrupt change of environment. Zuko awkwardly rocked the baby on his arm and felt out of his depth. He was unreasonably nervous once more, and now that he suddenly had an arm full of baby, and was alone, he was less sure if this was a good idea. He got up to walk around, he'd seen Ying do it, so he couldn't do much wrong.

True enough, she seemed to calm down again and after fifteen minutes, Ying came back. She looked sick, her face a little green and feverish, she was staggering a bit.

"I think we got the flu. And so did lots of others. Could you watch Dōngméi a little longer? I don't want to get her sick too and I think I'll have to go to the loo again soon. I just wanted to let you know." She looked exhausted, the flu and pregnancy taking its toll on her, and Zuko worried as she sat down. She was watching them, but also holding her belly. Was something wrong with her from the birth? But that didn't explain Than.

Zuko kept holding Dōngméi, who was looking at him, eyes wide at first, but eventually falling shut again as she drifted off to sleep. Zuko didn't dare transfer her to the other side, even as his arm was starting to get tired. He sat down and supported his arm with his knees.

Ying suddenly got up and ran to the railing, leaning over it in a telltale way. Throwing a glance back, she hurried away again.

"Go to the loo in the back of the ship," Zuko shouted after her and resigned himself to baby-watching duty for the day.

Dōngméi, of course, woke up from his thoughtless actions and started crying, loudly. Zuko transferred her to the other arm and got up again, suppressing a bemused groan.

00000

"I'm not happy about it, but I won't mention it to the guards in Ba Sing Se." Suki said to Sokka, as they did a quick morning walk to talk.

"Thank you," Sokka said sincerely. "And please think about the helping, I think Dad will still reach out to you, but you could also reach out to him to discuss specifics. Of course. Just please be mindful of Zuko. We don't need information trickling into Ba Sing Se and causing a manhunt."

"Hey, I decided to trust you. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, I do. I just can't help it, so much depends on him and his information."

"Let's go back to the others and deliver you to Ba Sing Se, then I'll be on my way, alright?"

00000

Dōngméi had stopped crying for a little bit but then started up again. Zuko did not know why. He knew she'd just eaten maybe half an hour ago, so he doubted that she was hungry. He took her on his shoulder and she burped a couple of times. She continued being fussy though and was turning red and making a weird face. Zuko worriedly tried to figure out what was going on when he started to smell something.

"Oh no." He whispered. And walked over to their baggage, only to see that Ying had left again. Than still wasn't back.

He grabbed the pair's pack and rummaged through for their blanket one-handed, laying it out, then laying Dōngméi on top of it. Now, how did one unwrap a baby package? Would she be cold? She was already crying. Zuko worriedly tried to find the start of the cloth Dōngméi was wrapped in. fumbling at the folds and seams. Eventually, all that was left was the nappy. Zuko peeled it open and was greeted by a sticky green substance that smelled. Alright, he could do this.

He pulled the couple's pack closer and rummaged through for another nappy. It felt wrong doing this, and he felt over his head, but he cleaned her with a bit of water and a clean part of the soiled nappy to the best of his ability, and clumsily wrapped her into a new one, he then proceeded to try to remember how that cloth had been wrapped. In the end, he gave up and just wrapped her up somehow.

Now, what to do with the soiled nappy? They didn't have that many cloths left, Zuko suspected that this was the same thing that Ying had been using for her water problem. He needed to wash this one, but he also had a child in his arms that now somehow had fallen back asleep. Maybe it would be easier to peel off the stool if it dried. He'd leave it for now.

Zuko was super glad once Than came back, though the man looked just as ill as his wife. His sleeves were wet from probably washing his arms. He confirmed that he had a splitting headache and wasn't feeling well at all. Zuko handed Dōngméi to him to organise them some clean water.

00000

The wall was now growing ever bigger. They had decided to just approach it head-on, people could come to them. Sokka suspected they had been seen, whatever was reflecting on the top of the wall, some of it was moving fast. He hedged his bets that the glinting was armour. As they got close, it got more and more apparent that there was a military force collecting at the wall, and it was facing them. They only saw it because they were flying higher than the wall was tall. It would have been completely hidden behind the battlements otherwise.

The first rock came flying out of seemingly nowhere, and Appa soared higher, avoiding the projectile. But now that they were in range, the rocks kept coming.

"Aang, fly high above out of range please, then don't cross the border. They need to see that we're not a threat." Suki called out.

Aang led Appa up until they were flying lazy circles in the air. The attacks slowly died out, as they weren't able to reach them.

When things finally did stop, Suki went to Aang who sat on the head. "Would you deliver this for me? Drop it on the wall somewhere?" She'd pulled a message pipe from her dress, as well as a little flag with the Earth Kingdom flag on it.

"I really hope they've stopped attacking, but be careful, and don't land yet, come straight back. I don't want you to get arrested first thing, they need to read this first."

"I can do that."

Aang was nimble, he dropped almost straight down before levelling out. The guards seemed a bit dumbfounded, though when they realised that Aang was flying, not just falling dead, they did start attacking him. Aang easily avoided them and dropped the message pipe on the floor of the wide wall. A little later, he had swooped back around with his glider and landed in Appa's saddle, safe and sound.

They watched from the saddle as the guards first held a wide breach around the unknown object, then as nothing happened, one guard finally walked towards it, picked it up and fumbled around with it until he unrolled the paper within.

"What is that?" Katara finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"It's a letter from Full Moon Bay, stating that we are escorting you to the Wall of Ba Sing Se as important guests."

"Oooh, thank you."

"Thank the Major of Full Moon Bay, we discussed how to best do this, it was his solution."

There was shouting going on below them now, they couldn't make out any words but then they saw the guards form neat lines, posture at ease and the guy who'd picked up the message waved at them to come.

00000

After Zuko had deemed the water the Ferry provided as safe, he'd returned with it and made sure that Than and his wife, who had returned, both drank a generous amount. The sun was glaring down at them. They still didn't look that great, but were calmer. Ying had Dōngméi in her arms at the moment, gently rocking her as she slept.

By now, it was mid-afternoon and still, the ferry was going. Zuko wondered if they'd arrive while they still had daylight or if it would be after dusk. He'd hoped he'd get a headstart on job hunting, and he also still needed a place to spend the night.

Up till now, he hadn't had any time to think about it. If he was honest, he didn't really have a plan. He knew though that he did have fairly unique skills from his princely education, so that could give him an edge against possible competition.

Zuko sighed and felt the fabric on his face flutter. He was kind of tired, and come to think of it, now that he didn't have his hands full of baby, he could move a little and do some active stretching. He'd probably feel better after it.

00000

The Gaang had been waiting in the sun on top of the Great Outer Wall, which currently felt very reminiscent of the desert, minus the sand. Toph had already been rebuked for messing with the wall twice, the stone here feeling different to what she was used to. The first time, she'd wanted to raise a structure to create some shading, but the guards wouldn't have any of it. The second time, she had just done it to annoy them. But she knew she shouldn't, so she was doing more subtle things now.

They could have sought shade within the guards' rest besides them on the wall, but Aang hadn't wanted to leave Appa alone, so they stayed up here exposed. Appa was hungry, and slowly getting a bit restless, and really, so were they.

"What is taking so long." Sokka finally asked the guard who had stayed with them. When they'd been asked to wait here, they had thought that it would be maybe a half an hour wait, tops, but it had been over an hour now.

"We've contacted the Dai Li to announce your presence, Avatar, and the city's traffic office to figure out how you can more or less legally get there. You have put us into a bit of a difficult spot. You arrived here unannounced, with unapproved papers. But you are the Avatar, and we're, to be honest, a bit at a loss of what to do."

"Yeah, in Full Moon Bay, they told us we would have to send the papers and await approval, which would take six to eight weeks. We do not have that time."

"Yeah, the Major of Full Moon Bay wrote that in his note. But you have to understand that this takes time to organise. We need to keep the city safe and if you just go flying over houses, there will be mass panic, plus our city's protectors might make a move against you. They need to consider these aspects before they just let you fly all over, and the city is big, so information takes a while to travel."

The group collectively groaned, and Suki just quietly sat next to them. It should have been them enjoying the last of their time together before she had to leave for the ferry back, but her thoughts were far away, with said ferry that would unload this evening, and let one particular person out. She trusted Sokka and the Gaang, she really did, but this was a struggle. She couldn't help but think of the various rumours that she'd heard and the possible conclusions she'd drawn from them. How wrong she'd been.

This was the guy she had told he'd regret it if they crossed paths again. And the guy had just winced and nodded. And the Gaang had said nothing. It went against her guts. It felt weird to think that she had wished this guy safe travels when seeing him off and that had felt instinctively right. The knowledge of who he really was, and how easily deceived she'd been, sat really wrong with her.

It went against her oath to protect her village. Yet, for the greater good, she had to keep quiet. The Gaang was right, he held the knowledge that might just make the difference in the war, or take them down once and for all. Then again, they had been slowly losing, that was just reality, they did need to take risks, and she wasn't the one to decide which ones to take.

00000

Than was asleep, and Ying had just fed her baby when she asked Zuko to take her once more, so she could visit the loo for another time. The couple both indeed had a slight fever, so it was better to let Than sleep in the hopes of improving his condition. It was late afternoon, and Zuko took Dōngméi to his shoulder. She had a cute hiccup, and was a bit fussy again, and Zuko awkwardly tried to rock her. After a few moments, there were some burps, one sounding a little wet, but after that, she finally calmed down. Ying took her back when she returned and eyed his shoulder curiously.

"I think she threw up a little on you."

Zuko eyed his shoulder, saw a little wet spot and suppressed a groan. He'd have to clean that tonight, as soon as he was in private. At least it wasn't poo.

"I'm sorry," Ying said sheepishly, but Zuko just tiredly waved his hand.

"It's not your fault, nor is it hers."

He got up and went over to the railing, looking at the wall, which was finally visible, and slowly growing bigger. He sighed, almost there.

00000

Something was going on. The late afternoon had turned to early evening and they were all tired of waiting. The head guard who had periodically checked up on them had been called down, leaving them with the rest of the guards who had been keeping an eye on them all afternoon. Toph carefully kept track of him as he met with someone in a room down below. She had always thought the walls were solid but she reasoned it made sense to have some stores and the like inside the wall. Soldiers needed to be always vigilant in case of any outsiders, but they also needed reprieves. Some things, bigger and smaller items, were exchanged, though Toph couldn't tell what they were. While the head guard had been called down a bunch of times, this had never happened, and she was right. When he got up, he brought those items with him, addressing Aang directly.

"Avatar, the arrangements have been made, you and your entourage have been granted an ambassadorial residence in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. There are a couple of rules on how to get there, however. You need to follow this flight path exactly. You can't just fly across wherever you want, no shortcuts, no detours. If you don't follow these rules, you may get shot down by earthbenders, and you might create mass panic in the streets, so this is very important."

He threw them a pointed glance and Aang nodded formally.

"Furthermore, you will attach this banner…" He held out a rolled-up fabric the size of half a blanket. "...somewhere visible on your bison, so people know you are flying on official business and have permission to travel. Usually, these banners are used to signal to the people in the streets that someone important is coming in a palanquin soon and they should make way, it should keep you safe from being shot down by people who don't know you are coming. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded. Toph rolled her eyes, huffing, "Great, rules."

"You'll be flying to the train track, let the guards from Full Moon Bay disembark, and then follow the track directly above. You'll check in at each wall. And once you're in the Upper Ring, you'll be issued a guide."

"Alright. Let's go." Aang said, excited and quite unbothered by the prospect of their every move pre-defined.

"One little question." Sokka said. "Appa will be staying with us, right?"

"I don't know. They didn't mention anything in here."

"Okay, I guess it should be fine. I just don't want a repeat from Full Moon Bay. Appa was not treated right, there. But I get that they did not have a chance to plan for an animal this big and Full Moon Bay is crowded."

"Your concern is valid. I don't know what they planned, but they do know you're coming on a sky bison. These two guards accompanying you, you will take to the wall dividing the Lower and Middle Ring."

"Urgh," Toph groaned. Just as two guards stepped forward.

Everyone knew this was the moment they had been waiting for. They would finally be able to leave the Great Wall. The moment had turned bittersweet.

"So, I guess this is goodbye, again." Suki announced, turning towards them.

"It was really nice to see you all again and to get to spend some time with you. I hope we'll see each other again soon."

"You'll meet up with my dad, and send that to the other guy, right?"

"I'll send him a letter from the wall if you make sure they let me use one of their messenger birds. That way I might hear back from them already when I get back to my warriors, and we can be on our way. As for the other guy, I will pass on that at the same time. It is a long way to get where he is after all, if I am to pop him a visit."

"Oh that's even better."

After binding the banner's pole around Appa's neck with some rope, so it would hang visible from below, they started flying along the wall. Their new companions for this leg of the journey, another set of two guards were quietly sitting in their corner. It made the saddle quite crowded, but one was looking over the edge of the saddle in wonder, while the other peppered Aang with questions, making the space just about work. They were flying along the wall, into the direction they'd been pointed to, farm fields spotting the landscape within the city, and open land on the other side. It took quite a while of flying, but then, they saw a straight line leading into the city and were advised to fly straight above it and follow. They beelined to the spot on the wall where the train track entered, so Suki could go back to the rest of her warriors. They were greeted by the guard of this section of the wall, who had apparently been informed of their coming and promptly directed where Suki could send her bird. They didn't leave until they'd made sure that the bird was airborne, but then it was time to split up properly.

00000

Ying and Than still didn't look too healthy, but they seemed stable at least now, so Dōngméi was staying with them again and Zuko left the young family to bond with each other. He had watched a little while, and how Than handled being a father made him wonder if Ozai had ever spent any time with him and Azula as babies. Somehow he couldn't imagine Ozai having any patience and interest to spend time with babies, even his own. But there were a couple of paintings that he remembered that showed them like that. The painter may have idealised the scenes he was drawing though, one never knew with court painters. And a ghost of a memory of his father grabbing him out from a tall wave passed through his memory, before he shook it away.

The barf patch on his shoulder had dried by now and left some milky-looking residue behind. He'd definitely have to wash and dry it tonight, he lamented.

After a while though, he had enough of watching the family. Dōngméi had gone to sleep again anyway, so nothing much was happening. He played with the thought of getting them another snack, as he knew, after this, they'd have to cross the Agricultural Ring and it was expansive. They must have some kind of transport across it, he thought, because they had been told that they'd be arriving within the city by tonight. The whole journey had been taking longer than Zuko had expected. He'd asked for three days to reach the library, but that may be tough. Better worry about getting food.

He'd have to do it when the sailors were busy, and they would be when getting ready to land. He'd just have to be sure that no one on land would be seeing him, might as well get into position to observe the deck, so he could take an opportunity if it presented itself.

The sailor's kitchen seemed to be popular at this time of the day, so Zuko had turned away, and observed the growing line. It was said that the Great Wall was a hundred yards tall, and it indeed would soon start to tower over them. It was boring to look at, the waves were more fascinating, but when he looked back up to see how much the wall had grown in the meantime, something very familiar grabbed his attention. Above the Great Wall, he saw a white Appa-shaped dot, seeming to fly directly above, and using the Wall as a guide. They did not see him, nor had he expected them to.

Here, on this boat, he was one of many. A nobody. The sight though stirred something old in him. The longing, feeling so close to his goal. Only, it was different now. Now, he was a nobody, and alone. He could have been with them. He longed to be with them, finally a part of the group at long last.

No more burning anger about the Avatar getting away; No frustration over having his goal just slip out of his fingers over and over. No, now, there was a wistful longing to be there with them, even if, half the time, he still felt quite alien in their midst.

00000

Sokka was still buzzing inside from the hug that Suki had given him. It felt weird, he knew he'd told Suki about Yue, hinting at not wanting to start a relationship right now, but he gotta admit, Suki was attractive. She differed from Yue, but this trip had reminded him of their time at Kyoshi Island and how much he'd come to admire Suki, both her skillset and her personality. He was grateful too that her anger at the betrayal of trusting her had abated somewhat, although her last look of him did still carry some wary concern that she tried to hide.

Now, they were flying above the train track, which was a peculiar thing. There seemed to be little weird boxes moving on top of it, and when Sokka asked about it, he earned some laughs.

"Those are Ba Sing Se's train systems. It's public transport, this one mostly transports refugees coming from Full Moon Bay into the city, but it also transports farmhands that live in the city out to the countryside."

"They commute every day? It looks pretty far."

"No, most don't. They take the train to the stops closest to the farms they'll be staying at, and then they'll go to the farms. I think they stay a few weeks or months, but most return to the city every so often to see family. The train also takes grains and fruit from the countryside into the city." One of the newer guards said, the one who had been looking over the side of Appa.

The Gaang was eagerly taking in this information, even Toph found it mildly interesting, though she already knew quite a bit of it.

They continued talking about the city, the guard also asking for a couple of their stories in return. The conversation stayed light and comfortable until another line of a wall slowly became visible, and increasing as they got closer. It seemed they were soon reaching the actual city. With that, their anticipation grew.

00000

Zuko's chance presented itself as they approached the tunnel below the Great Wall. They had opened the gates and all the sailors were in position, the kitchen had been left deserted. He had to act fast, use the brief window of time when it was unlikely that anyone on the wall would see them because they were just too far down and only tiny dots on the ferry. And then use the time when they would go under the wall, to get back down before anyone from the other side saw.

His plan, for once, went over without a hitch and he reunited with Ying, Than and Dōngméi just as they docked. He had made it within the Great Wall… It made him think of Uncle Iroh.

Had he made it this far? Was he in the city? Would Zuko even stand a chance to find him? He knew, after all, Ba Sing Se was gigantic, and the number of people living inside its walls was only increasing by the day.

Zuko pushed the thought away. He wanted to see Uncle Iroh, but he was here because he needed the Gaang to succeed in getting through to the Earth King, so war plans and peace treaties could be made. That should be his main focus. He couldn't get sidetracked.

As soon as they had stepped off the ferry, they were ushered to what looked like rock wagons, earthbenders in the front and the back. People were boarding and there was a guard overseeing the process, shouting how many people still could fit in. When it was their turn, he took a look at them and shouted out 'just one more' and Zuko turned. He had planned on staying with the family for at least the train ride, but there weren't any people around them who seemed to be travelling alone like he was. He stood out like a sore thumb with his Sand Nomad clothing.

"You should go, we'll be fine," Ying said gently and grabbed his arm. He turned around and she grabbed onto him with one hand, pulling him in for a hug one-armed. Zuko felt Dōngméi stir and raised his arms to return the hug.

"Thank you so much for all that you've done for us and hopefully, we'll see each other again in the city."

Zuko nodded numbly, Than turned to him and hugged him too, also expressing his thanks in words, then it was time to board and Zuko stepped into the wagon and found himself the last seat, he felt alone and people were staring at him, so he did not feel safe getting out the food he'd nicked before their arrival, despite his hunger. Instead, he looked out of the open windows and stared at the vast landscape as they travelled with some speed. The landscape was dotted with little farm houses in between big fields and a small stack of wood every now and again. It was peaceful, he didn't look back, not wanting to see the big wall that was throwing increasingly large shadows into the evening. Down here, the sun had set because of the wall. He already felt a bit trapped.

00000

Appa had been flagged down to land on the wall above the railway. They could see the slums from here, with the brown roof tiles and dirt-stamped roads. The guards who had come with them climbed down the saddle and were replaced with another pair of guards before they continued their way into the city.

Toph had jumped down too, just to get a few minutes of reprieve from flying in the wooden saddle, and Sokka claimed to have to pee anyway. So they were all momentarily led down to the guard's lavatory within the wall.

Toph scanned the stone below her feet as far as she could sense, also picking up on the still flourishing street activity below. The structures were quite interesting, and quite a bit different than the Great Outer Wall, but even more interesting was what she felt of the city itself. While the wall was well maintained, the part of the city that she now sensed was in horrible condition. The buildings were cramped and hastily built, she could tell, and the roads were not paved. This must be a part of the slums.

When everyone had gone to the loo, the dreaded time of getting into the saddle for hopefully the last time in a long while, had come. Toph sighed, she already felt caught, but there was nothing she could do about it. The two guards that were accompanying them now were also a lot less talkative, so Toph was bored.

Katara seemed to notice this, as she scooted closer and began to tell Toph what could be seen, just as Zuko had often done for her as of late. And so Toph got to hear about brown roof tiles shifting to green, and buildings becoming bigger and more spaced out. There was more greenery as well, and a waterway that ran through the city. Finally, they approached another wall.

"This is the Upper Ring, please land on the wall once again," one of their otherwise quiet guards requested. There was a person with flags again, signalling for them where to land, and they had to show their filled-out forms of paper once more. The guard also handed over a written message, before the pair of them were excused and escorted down the wall back into what appeared to be the Middle Ring. There had been no tall wall separating the two, but Sokka had seen what looked like toll points.

Instead of guards, they now got a lady, who introduced herself as Jo Dee, their guide, as well as a guy with a guānmào hat, who said he was a member of the Dai Li, the cultural protectors of the city, and said nothing more.

Toph had an immediate dislike for both. The guy seemed to be an earthbender, but he was moving very discreetly, slinking into the shadows she felt growing in the saddle as the evening had drawn on. Jo Dee, by contrast, just plain gave her the creeps. She sounded as fake as she felt.

Their fear of them trying to separate Appa from them also seemed to turn true, as Jo Dee stated, that they'd be 'dropping off' the Sky Bison somewhere before travelling the last bit per palanquin.

Aang quickly put an end to this by throwing a glance at the houses inside the Upper Ring, and their decently sized gardens, and stated a resolute no. "Appa goes where we go. We are not separating, he can stay in the garden."

"But he'll damage the trees and the grass."

"So what?" Sokka muttered. "He'll not be locked up somewhere, out of our reach. We're going by bison and that's final."

Jo Dee threw a helpless glance at the Dai Li, who seemed to keep himself out of it. "Very well," she said. "let's go then."

Her climb into the saddle was awkward.

It was quickly getting dark now. They could still make out the multi story houses with their reddish brown roofs with yellow edges. The further in they went, the more houses also had pale yellow roofs, held in pristine condition, with no moss or dirty streaks to be seen.

Sokka had no interest in the scenery, they were here for a reason, and so, now that they seemed close to their destination, he asked the burning question:

"When can we meet with the Earth King?"

What he had not expected was to be laughed at by the creepy woman with the too-wide smile. She gave them a bullshit reply similar to the one given in Full Moon Bay. They had to request an audience, yada yada, it would take six to eight weeks. And when Sokka pressed on with the argument of the war pending. They for the first time heard a sentence that would haunt them throughout their days in this city.

"There is no War in Ba Sing Se."

They arrived just in time to still have enough daylight left to see where they were flying. Jo Dee had guided them surprisingly skillfully, not batting an eyelash at having to get used to seeing the city from above and navigating this way, and apparently totally ignorant of the tense atmosphere following her statement.

They landed in a lovely spacious garden of a big house that had sharp roof edges.

Katara shook her head. Such a big house, just staying empty, on the off chance that someone like them would come, not that she wasn't grateful, but she had seen the slums and this was in such contrast.

They were led inside and Jo Dee wished them a good night with a promise to come back tomorrow to give them a tour through the city.

"Finally, freedom. That lady gives me the creeps, not looking forward to being chaperoned by her." Toph loudly complained as soon as they were alone.

No one joined in though, as they were tired, and there was a meal waiting on the dining room table. All of them were hungry. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

00000

It was dark by the time Zuko stepped out of the wagon. Once in the streets, he took a turn at random. He'd been warned of the curfew restrictions of the Lower Ring. They had to be within the Lower Ring an hour after sundown, and in their respective homes two hours after. So he was looking for an inn for the night so he wouldn't get in trouble first thing. The streets were dark and barely lit, which made it hard to make out the barely maintained signs hanging into the streets. Furthermore, he was turned away from the first two inns, as they were full (or so they claimed).

Luckily, though the people still in the streets seemed sketchy, no one approached him, but he felt the pressure of time running out.

Finally, he found an inn, the 'Upturned Bowl', which still had a room available, and was willing to take in a Sand Nomad. Zuko sighed as he paid. It was probably an inflated price, two copper pieces, as the room was very shabby with just an old bedroll on the ground, but it would do.

He ate what he'd stolen alone and in silence, he dutifully washed out the spot on his tunic, then spread it out on the provided chair before changing into his 'night' clothes and crawling into his sleeping bag. He was exhausted, and there was much to do tomorrow.

Find a job, and a more permanent home, and get to the library. Hopefully, he'd be able to tackle all of these. In the meanwhile, the fur-lined sleeping bag and the little pouch he had always fiddled with, but still hadn't opened, provided him with a feeling of comfort and assurance, as he drifted off into a slumber far more quickly than he'd expected.
.


TW: all things related to birth and consumption of a placenta.

A/N 31.03.24:

Ystävä: Well, hello there, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter's escapades. Of course Sokka didn't watch his words enough. luckily Suki had nowhere to go at that moment and was willing to listen eventually. We had a lot of fun throwing Zuko into a situation he felt out of his depth for. Now imagine him eventually telling the Gaang how his travels were. First they have to meet though. Either way, I had a lot of fun building on the thought of wetnurse!Zuko, as ML had once put it. You have got half a chapter full of it, oops, haha. I had fun.

I also want to speak out a huge thanks to Maurysiek, who was willing to discuss how to prepare placenta for consumption, without quite knowing or asking why I needed that information, and helped me figure out how to write that scene culturally sensibly without it appearing overly gory. I think, hope, I did alright?

Thank you so much for reading and I'd love to hear all of your thoughts!

ML8991: So there we have it, we are at Ba Sing Se. No more big adventures (for) now, now we move into the intrigue and deception that is the Impertable City of Lies. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, it was an eye-opener to me for some cultural practices, and was a way we could bring in some more canon characters, but also expand our world with it.

As usual, we couldn't resist some more East Asian appropriate names, Lǎoniáng/老娘 is a colloquial term for old mother and, more befitting, an archaic/out of date term for a wet nurse or otherwise female midwife. Dōngméi was also an adaptation of the more western name of Hope. The idea was that hopeful first budding of life after a hard spring, so the name metaphorically would mean the same idea as Hope, but without the more western perspective.