Chapter 7- Circumspect
circumspect (adjective): heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent.
Come the following morning, Tao is expecting to go through the same cycle as before of someone coming down to bring him food and change the dressing on his wound. Vaguely, he wondered how long Zuko planned to hold onto him, especially knowing that Tao wouldn't tell him Aang's plans or how to best corner him to capture him. He hoped that his words from the night before, his humanizing of Aang, got through to the prince and really made him think about what he was doing. And why. When the door at the top of the stairs opens, but doesn't shut oddly enough, he sits up and watches as Iroh steps into the small bay with food and fresh bandages in his hands. So, Tao tolerates the same routine of eating while his wound was cleaned and bandages were changed, accepting the tea that Iroh also offers him, which had become normal as well.
What he doesn't expect, is after they sit quietly together and drink their tea for a while, that Iroh speaks. "Why don't you come to the upper deck with me, young master Tao? You haven't gotten any sunlight in several days, which is not good for a firebender." he hums, glancing over at Tao, who blinks a couple times, caught off guard by this. That was a lot of freedom for a prisoner, and Iroh had made no mention of going up in shackles.
"Will your dear nephew approve of that?" he asks, downing the rest of his tea and passing the small cup back to the elder man, who smiles a little, not seeming intimidated by the idea of facing Zuko's wrath.
"Oh I highly doubt it. But it is cruel to keep a firebender away from Agni's light for so long. Come. You are strong enough to climb the steps now. I will show you the way." Iroh says, standing and gathering his things, moving out of the cell and waiting for Tao to follow. Which he does, wanting to get out of this dark hole as quickly as possible now that the opportunity had been presented. He squints when he reaches the upper deck and is suddenly in the mid-morning sunlight, immediately feeling better as warmth beats down on his bare, bandaged torso. His chi coils inside him like a snake, or a dragon, pleased with the natural light after only having lamplight for so long. Rubbing at his eyes, he stretches a little and takes in a deep breath of the fresh air of the open sea. He couldn't see any land from where the ship was, but he honestly didn't care right now. He was just thankful for the opportunity to stretch out fully.
"Do you mind if I run through some forms?" Tao asks, looking over at Iroh, who nods with a smile, folding his hands inside the long sleeves of his robe. Moving more into the center of the deck, Tao takes in a breath and starts flowing through some of the more simple katas that he knew, his body flowing and moving with all the grace of a waterbender, but instead of shifting and pulling water around him as he moved, he produced bright blue flames. And in between the waterbender like forms, he slotted firebender forms smoothly and naturally. He could feel Iroh's eyes on him, but he didn't care, enjoying making use of the open space to get his chi flowing. He goes through several different forms for about ten minutes before ending in a finishing stance, letting out a slow breath and letting his chi settle.
"You move much like a waterbender." Iroh remarks, rubbing his beard. "I've spent much of the last decade studying other forms of bending, however this is the first time that I have seen a firebender employ so much of other bending forms into their katas. Prince Zuko could benefit greatly from learning from you."
Tao snorts at this, stretching his arms above his head. "Too bad he and I are on opposite sides of this conflict. It wouldn't exactly do myself or my friends any favors to help him get stronger."
"What if you did not need to be on opposite sides of this conflict?"
"What, like betray my friends?" Tao huffs, frowning at the elder man, who shakes his head and waves one hand.
"No, no. I would never ask you to betray the young Avatar or your other friends. I am simply saying that my nephew has a great destiny ahead of him, and that you may be part of it. And the Avatar, though perhaps not in the way you may initially think. It is too early to tell right now, however. My nephew has a lot of growth and healing that he must go through before he reaches the end of the road." Iroh hums, seeming like he knew much, much more than he was letting on. Tao doesn't press him, not seeing how it was any of his business. These people were supposed to be his enemies. He was conflicted though, a little. They treated him well, and they were Fire Nation. Even after a hundred years, their dress and mannerisms were familiar to him, and it was nice to be around people he could relate to, especially on a bending level. He wouldn't ever leave Aang to be with this crew, especially while they still chased after his friend, but privately at least he could admit that once he was finally out of here, he would miss it a little. The food especially. Nothing Katara ever cooked had any sort of spice in it ever, and Tao hadn't realized how much he had missed the pleasant burn on his tongue. Maybe he could talk to her about that.
He's drawn from his internal musings when a door at the base of the command tower opens abruptly and Prince Zuko stomps out, making a line right for his uncle and their prisoner, expression twisted with aggravation. But he also seemed tired, like he hadn't gotten much sleep, if any. "Uncle! What is the prisoner doing on the deck unsecured?" he snaps, scowling at Iroh, who gets a knowing smile on his face, hands once again folded inside his sleeves, not intimidated by his nephew's blustering.
"I am simply allowing our guest time to soak in some sunlight. He has been down in the hold for several days. We can't have him getting sick." he says, and Tao half expects Zuko to start puffing smoke as he lets out an annoyed huff through his nostrils.
"He isn't our guest. He's our captive."
"He is standing right here. He also has a name." Tao states, crossing his arms, wound pulling only slightly. In a couple more days it might be ready for the stitches to come out, which he was surprised about. The wound salve was working miracles on him. "Where would I go if I tried to run? I have no idea where we are, and all I can see around us is open ocean. I've already tempted La once in the last week. I'd rather not do it again."
Zuko grits his teeth, staring daggers at the other teen, and Tao takes his silence as a chance to look him over in proper lighting. His stance was stiff, rigid even, like he was always ready to attack. Or for an attack. He was tall and lean but clearly powerful, with large, strong hands and piercing gold eyes. There was something about the slight hunch of his shoulders that spoke to Tao though. He recognized it from seeing it in himself. Tension, barely contained anxiety, fear. Anger. He didn't know the prince's story, outside of his quest to capture Aang, but he could guess from his interactions with him over the last several days. A harsh, possibly abusive father, who had probably caused the huge burn on his face, who was also the Fire Lord and the one who banished him. Why, Tao didn't know, and probably didn't want to know. A broken home, or at least a home made of broken people. Very little stability or comfort. He had mentioned a sister, but his tone hadn't been fond.
Pressing his lips together in a thin line, feeling his scar crinkle and twist a little, Tao lets out a breath and a quiet hum. "Your uncle seems to think you could benefit from learning from my fighting style. I have no intention to teach you a single thing, but I wouldn't mind sparring with another firebender." he states on a pure impulse, mentally kicking himself for it. It seems to take a lot of the fire out of Zuko though, as he stares in open shock between Tao and Iroh, not seeming to know what to say for a few moments.
"We've fought before." he eventually states.
"Fought yes. Briefly. And without any sort of meaningful showcase of either of our skills. I've been stuck with a flighty airbender, a stubborn waterbender, and a guy with a boomerang for weeks on end now. Its been ages since I've had a proper spar with a firebender, and its not exactly like we travel to many places where firebenders are widely accepted. And where they are, the Avatar isn't." Tao retorts, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. This was a terrible idea. It would give Zuko more insight into how he fought, which would make fighting the prince in the future more difficult. He'd know better how to counter Tao's unique style, know more about his weak spots and blind spots. But he also just wanted to feel normal, even if only for a few minutes. To feel like he was at home again, sparring with a friend or a neighbor.
Zuko frowns deeply at him for a long time before grunting and taking off the outer layer of his armor, apparently deciding to make it fair for Tao, who was only wearing his pants and shoes, his shirt... somewhere. Probably wherever the crew medic and Zuko had initially worked on him. But as it stood the only coverings his torso had were bandages. And he tries not to stare at Zuko as they make their way further onto the deck so Iroh didn't get caught in the crossfire. The prince was incredibly fit. He clearly trained daily, likely multiple times. This was going to be a challenge, that was for sure.
"Alright. Let's not injure each other, but I fully intend to take this spar seriously." he says, getting a simple nod from Zuko, who slips into his own firebending stance, while Tao slides into his lower more waterbending styled stance. Zuko was impatient, and a few seconds after they both were in their ready positions, the prince kicks out with one foot and a yell, fire springing from his heel and arcing towards Tao, who reaches for it, practically rolling it across the backs of his shoulders and shoots it back towards Zuko, who deflects it to the side. The prince sends a couple quick punches of fire towards Tao, who ducks one and deflects the other, slicing with an upwards facing palm, a blade of blue fire flying low at Zuko, who jumps to avoid it, and when he lands a wave of flames rolls from his feet, forcing Tao to crouch and split the wave with pressed together palms.
They pause and stare at each other for a moment, and then Zuko kicks low, and combines it quickly with a punch, forcing Tao into a roll. He comes up nearly in Zuko's face, employing some of what he had learned from watching Aang spar, ducking inside Zuko's guard, getting him off balance and starting an almost dance as the prince tries to put enough distance between them to get an attack off. Tao eventually slips behind him, making Zuko spin in a circle, letting out annoyed growls and shouts as he tries to get Tao back in front of him, and actually yelping as one foot is swept out from under him by a swift kick from Tao. Zuko recovers quickly, rolling back and to the side and coming back up on one knee, punching three balls of fire towards Tao, who redirects two back at him and deflects one, following it with his own blue fireball.
A pattern emerges quickly. It was easy to get in Zuko's face and unbalance him, but the other firebender was surprisingly light on his feet and nimble. And flexible. Once he figures out what Tao was doing, its harder to get behind him, but it also keeps Zuko more on the defensive. The prince also had a predictable attack pattern, consisting of low sweeps and hard, strong punches, which Tao starts redirecting back at him more than he was generating his own flames.
Zuko eventually gets in a lucky sweep with his foot, and Tao lands clumsily as he jumped to avoid the arc of flames. The prince rushes in when he sees the opening, knocking Tao off balance and straddling him on one knee, fist held in his face as the other firebender holds his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I forfeit." he says, panting, sweating, heart hammering. But he felt alive. Sparring with someone who knew his element was always thrilling, even if it made darker thoughts swirl a little closer to the surface. He didn't feel that as much though, looking up at Zuko's intense golden eyes and expression, the sun burning near its highest point above him, making the phoenix tail of black hair sprouting out the back of his shaved head shine almost blue.
Zuko steps back, also out of breath and sweating, offering one hand to Tao, who takes it and pulls himself up with Zuko's help. They don't let go immediately, staring at each other quietly for several long heartbeats, trying to figure the other out. Two scarred boys with blazing golden-amber eyes, on two sides of a line.
They break apart when Iroh walks up to them with a rather pleased smile on his face. "Excellent form, Prince Zuko. You as well, master Tao. Whoever your master was, they did well training you." he says, and Tao knows he means it as a compliment but he can't help but instinctively feel a little stung. He chooses not to comment. It wasn't like either of them knew anything about him except that he was a friend of the Avatar. He doubted they would care about his tragic backstory, and he had already talked about it too much in the last several weeks. He was happy to forget that part of himself, even if he was still technically a prisoner.
The prince was still staring at Tao in rather uncharacteristic silence, studying him closely, jaw twitching a little as he fought some sort of internal battle. Eventually he grunts and takes a small towel that Iroh holds out to him, Tao taking the one in his other hand, wiping sweat off his face and chest. "You can eat in the dining hall with us tonight. But then you're going back to your cell." he states, tone clipped and carefully measured, before he turns and stalks away on stiff legs, gathering his discarded armor back up and heading back into the command tower, shutting the door with a bang behind him.
Tao lets out a slow breath, wiping at his face and neck, shaking his head. "He's a strange one." he remarks, to which Iroh simply laughs quietly.
oOo
Tao couldn't tell if Zuko was trying to butter him up or not. However, he was not going to turn down the practical feast that was laid out on the table in front of him. It was also just him, Zuko, and Iroh in the room, which seemed to be purposefully set up to be a more private dining area. Iroh was contently filling his plate with a little of everything, encouraging Tao to do the same. Zuko had already filled his plate by the time they had gotten up there, having remained on the deck enjoying the sunlight together for several hours, Iroh eventually also breaking out the tea set. The prince himself was oddly quiet and almost content, his usually scrunched expression relaxed as he quietly ate. It was strange to see him not angry or frustrated in some way. He looked... younger.
"We will be docking tomorrow to resupply. You will be confined to your cell during that time." Zuko eventually remarks, to which Tao sighs, expression mildly irritated as he looks across the table at the prince. "You are our best bargaining chip against the Avatar. When I cross his trail again, I can trade your freedom for his capture. He's given himself up once before for strangers, he'll do it again for his friend."
"Yeah, and he escaped you in what, half an hour? Aang is a master escape artist. You'll never hold onto him long enough to get him back to the Fire Nation. And that's if myself and his other friends even let you walk away with him." Tao retorts, frowning at Zuko, who scowls right back, taking a decisive bite of his seasoned fish, gold eyes clashing with gold as they stared each other down. "And I told you last night, his name is Aang. You'd do well to remember that he's a person, not a trophy. You mount trophies on the wall. Or marry them. I highly doubt you plan to do either." Tao continues, the later comment making Zuko nearly choke on his food, coughing a couple times and trying to preserve what dignity he had.
"You're foul." he huffs, glaring at Tao in distaste, who shrugs casually. "Regardless, you will not be going free until I have the Avatar in chains. I won't make the same mistake I made at the Southern Water Tribe and simply tie him with rope."
"No, please, continue to detail to me the way in which you plan to take my friend prisoner." Tao says through grit teeth, hand tight around his chopsticks.
Iroh, luckily, cuts in before the tension can erupt, waving his hand, the motion grabbing Tao's attention at least, even as Zuko continues to glare at him. "Alright you two. It is not good to squabble over a meal. Mealtime is supposed to be a time of coming together, not pushing apart." he says calmly, directing a look at Zuko, who is quick to look away. "Prince Zuko, I know you were taught to be more courteous towards guests than this. Even if young master Tao is our prisoner, as you insist, you invited him to our dinner table. You and he also had a rather productive sparring match this afternoon. I like to think of some fights as a conversation. You can learn much about your opponent by how they fight, and you can learn just as much about yourself."
Zuko scoffs skeptically, scowling down at his plate and stabbing at some of the meat with his chopsticks rather than using them to pick the piece up. Silence descends over them like a thick fog, the only noise being the clinking of their plates and cups as they eat. Once they've had their fill, Iroh retires for the night, and Zuko escorts Tao back down to the lower bay, closing him back in his cell as the other teen stares at him through the bars, freezing the prince in place before Tao finally speaks. "Your father burned you too, didn't he?" he asks, looking at the ugly scar over the prince's left eye. Zuko visibly stiffens, eyes going wide and his eyes glisten a little as he holds back the automatic tears at the painful memory that gets conjured up. He covers it quickly with anger though, gritting his teeth and slamming his armored arm against the bars of the cell, making Tao flinch at not only the movement but the loud clang.
"Shut up. Its none of your business." the prince snaps, glaring at Tao, who was frozen staring at his arm, momentarily locked in place as he fought against he current of his own mind. Zuko seems to notice, because he slowly removes his arm from the bars and lowers it, but the scowl remains in place, and he doesn't apologize. He does step back though, the added room prompting Tao to suck in a sharp breath and release it in a couple harsh pants. Giving himself a shake, he rubs at his temples, wrestling for control of his own mind. He couldn't let Zuko get to him or scare him like this, and use trauma he wasn't even aware of against him. He couldn't weaken now. "I'll be down in the morning to see to your wound after we dock to resupply. It should be almost ready to have the stitches removed, as long as it didn't get aggravated today." the prince eventually growls before turning stiffly and stalking up the stairs, leaving Tao alone, the warmth of the sun just a memory on his skin.
oOo
Tao is woken abruptly when the ship suddenly slams to one side, rocking and creaking treacherously in the water, making him nearly fall out of his cot. Sitting up, clinging to the edges of the cot, he grimaces when there's a screech of metal tearing as something is wrenched away above him, and there's heavy banging in the storage bay on the level above him. Things go quiet abruptly, and no one comes down to check on him for a long time. Eventually though, Zuko slams open the door at the top of the stairs, making his way down, stalking right past Tao's cell without a word and goes over to a box. Out of it, he pulls out wrist and leg shackles and chains to connect them to each other, coming back to the cell and scowling at Tao. He pauses for a long time, appraising his prisoner before seeming to make a decision and unlocking the cell, stalking inside.
"Change in plans. I have a way to track the Avatar-"
"Aang."
"Whatever. And you're coming with me. You'll be my bargaining chip, but I'm not going to let you just wander off at the earliest chance. Give me your wrists."
"You've got to be joking. You can't just parade me around like some chained beast. Your thing is honor right? Where's the honor in doing something that humiliating to a fellow human being?" Tao huffs incredulously, staring wide eyed at the shackles in Zuko's hands. It wasn't like he was being given a choice though, so he eventually relents with a sigh and holds his wrists out, allowing Zuko to clamp the shackles around them, and then the prince crouches and does the same to his ankles, chaining the top and bottom together to limit Tao's mobility and ability to firebend or run away as much as possible, pocketing the key. "This is ridiculous." he grumbles, stumbling when Zuko grabs the chain between the wrist shackles and pulls on him, needing a few steps to get used to his restricted stride length.
Iroh gives Zuko a disapproving frown at the state of Tao but he doesn't say anything as they depart the ship and make their way into the town. Tao hates everything that follows. He didn't dislike shirshus, but he sure didn't like riding on the very back of one, side saddle because his shackles didn't let him straddle the creature properly. He had to cling to the back of Iroh's armor so he didn't just go flying off the back, and thankfully the older man didn't mind. They run across what felt like the entire Earth Kingdom, following the most recent trail of Katara from what appeared to be her mother's necklace. How the prince had gotten his hands on that, he didn't know, and he wasn't going to ask. His tailbone and back ached, and his fingers were raw from holding onto Iroh as the beast galloped here, there, and everywhere. For hours. His wrists and ankles were being bruised and rubbed raw too from the shackles moving around.
They do end up finding Katara and Sokka, but they don't find Aang. The siblings don't even have a chance to be shocked at the sight of Tao before the shirshu does her work and paralyzes them. They're also loaded onto the creature's back, and Tao actually feels sorry for her with all the people she was carrying. They end up back in an abbey they had initially checked, the shirshu walking in circles, and then suddenly rearing up completely vertically, dumping everyone off her back as Aang flies overhead. Tao yelps as he lands on his bad shoulder, the shackles crushing against his bones, and it takes him a moment to get his breath back and sit up, watching the battle happening between Aang, Appa, the shirshu, Zuko, and the shirshu's handler. Iroh, it seemed, was more concerned with sampling the perfumes. Huffing, he forces himself to his feet, hobbling over to where Katara and Sokka's prone forms were laying, helping the sisters of the abbey drag them out of the way of the fighting.
"Tao? Why are you with Zuko?" Katara asks, not able to move, but able to talk, and Tao lets out a puff of breath.
"I'll explain later. Zuko has the key to my chains though. I need to get it from him somehow." he says, putting himself between his paralyzed friends and the battle so he could at least attempt to protect them. He wasn't sure how effective his firebending would be chained like this, but he was going to do what he had to. Thankfully, the fray never makes its way fully over to them, and the sisters are able to neutralize the paralytic toxins in Katara and Sokka, and he can't help the smirk that crawls momentarily onto his face when the overwhelmed shirshu paralyzes her own handler, as well as Zuko. Making his way over to the prince and leaning over him, he tilts his head a little as Zuko scowls up at him. "You know, you're going to cause your own downfall with this obsession of yours. Maybe you should reevaluate your life goals." he says, making Zuko's scowl deepen, and the prince protests loudly as Tao starts rifling through his clothing before producing the key to his shackles, unlocking himself. "Well, as fun as this has been, I think its time for me to take my leave of you and your uncle. I thank you both for your... hospitality." he states, honoring them with a brief bow, after all, they had saved his life and treated him well so they deserved at least that, before turning and hurrying over to his friends and Appa.
As soon as they're in the air and heading for safety, Aang is attached to him like glue, shaking and almost sobbing as he clung on tight to his friend. "I thought- I thought you were d-dead. We went out t-t-to save you and Sokka and the fisherman and- and you were just gone. We searched for a day and- and I thought that- that-" Tao shushes the little airbender, holding onto him and rubbing his back, letting him just sob his feelings out. He couldn't imagine what they had all been feeling, Aang especially. After all, besides Appa, Tao was the last piece of his past that he still had.
"Its ok Aang. I'm alright. In fact I'd say I'm in better condition than I was before I went fishing with Sokka." Tao says, allowing Aang to more or less crawl into his lap, knowing the other needed the comfort. Aang was very touchy, especially when he was particularly scared or upset, and Tao decided he didn't mind it in this instance.
"What do you mean?" Katara asks, brow furrowing, looking like she wanted to get in on the hug too, but not wanting to get in the way of Aang comforting himself that Tao was alive. Sighing, rubbing a hand through his hair, he explains being picked up by Zuko and being nursed back to health and how well they had treated him, feeding him good food and treating his wound daily. He leaves out all the more personal details though, not getting into any details about his conversations with Iroh and Zuko, or the sparring match with the prince. They were privately important, something for him to chew on in his own mind but they didn't need to know about all of that yet.
There was one person who hadn't said a word yet though, which was odd for him. Sokka. He was sitting against the back of the saddle, arms crossed, and he had his head turned away so he couldn't look directly at Tao, who was confused by this. He and Sokka were pretty close, or so he thought. So this reaction from the young warrior was baffling. "Sokka? Everything ok?"
The Water Tribe teen is silent for a long stretch, jaw working, neck stiff, warring with himself. Eventually though, he bursts. "No! Everything isn't ok! You volunteered to go with me fishing while you were still injured. You shouldn't have been there to begin with but its my job to protect this group. Especially when one of us is injured. And I just... couldn't protect you. I couldn't do anything but watch as you got thrown overboard. Its my fault. I should have grabbed you or... or done something instead of just watch." he rants, taking Tao by surprise. He was... shocked that Sokka was so effected by this.
Thankfully, Aang has the sense to let go of him, scooting over towards Katara and speaking quietly to her, fidgeting with something in his shirt as he wipes his face with his other hand. Tao moves over to Sokka, sitting down next to him and resting a hand on his shoulder, feeling how the other was shaking, even if he was trying to conceal the true breadth of his emotions. "Sokka me getting washed overboard wasn't your fault. It could have just as easily been you or the fisherman."
"I still should have done something. And then you were at the mercy of that... jerkbender. For days! Are you sure you're ok? They didn't brainwash you with their ash-maker magic did they? Blink twice if you're being forced to say everything is fine." Sokka says, a little unhinged, and Tao can't help the laugh that bubbles up out of his chest, shaking his head.
"I don't think I've ever heard 'jerkbender' before." he says, to which Sokka huffs and puffs.
"Its my new name for every firebender. B-but you. Unless you want to be a jerkbender too."
"No, I'm quite happy not being put into that category, thanks." Tao hums with a small smile, giving Sokka's shoulder a squeeze. "But seriously though... I'm fine. They weren't cruel to me in any way. Zuko is mostly just noise and temper. He never tried to hurt me though. I promise you. Compared to your experiences with him, he was actually rather nice. For the most part. He didn't like that I wasn't giving him information on Aang, but he didn't do anything but shout and get frustrated with me and then stomp off."
Sokka frowns, chin jutting out unhappily before his shoulders slump and he sighs, shaking his head. "I still feel like this is my fault."
"Well... I can't do anything about the way you feel. I chose to go with you under my own power, you couldn't have stopped me from going, and you couldn't have stopped me from getting washed overboard. I survived. I'm here. That's what's important. I do appreciate the worry though. Its... touching. Even though I know its not fun for you."
The other teen looks at him sullenly before nodding, needing time to work through his feelings. When Tao looks up and over to Aang and Katara, he sees that Katara was positively beaming as Aang held something out to her. Her mother's necklace. Last he knew, Zuko had had it, and they were using it to track Aang, or rather Katara. Aang must have snatched it at some point in the battle at the abbey. It was good to be back with his group of friends. As much as he had enjoyed being around Fire Nation things and food and bits of culture, he had missed this, he had missed them. More than he thought he would, and he was taking himself by surprise just how emotional he felt about the whole thing. As usual though, he keeps himself under control, but only just, settling down next to Sokka against the back of the saddle, letting the other teen feel and see that he was there and alright, while Aang and Katara happily chatter closer to Appa's head, making plans for their next stop on their quest for the Northern Water Tribe.