Chapter 10- Essential
essential (adjective): constituting or being part of the nature or essence of something; inherent; indispensable.
Needless to say, the council and Chief Arnook were less than impressed by their sneaky attempts to teach Katara combat based waterbending. And he was particularly annoyed by the fact that they had allowed Tao to observe as well. While Tao was doing his best to seem as small and submissive as possible, Katara was doing the opposite. She was magnificent in her anger, no, her rage, and for once, Tao doesn't flinch on instinct as she shouts at Master Pakku. Even as the ice and the water basins on either side of the dais burst and spill their water on the floor. The fight between the two out in the front courtyard was even more amazing. Tao could see the results of their practicing waterbending kata on their journey north clearly. Katara was precise, enough to create sheer blades of ice, to redirect or deflect the master's attacks. It was amazing, even if she did eventually lose. Which he had expected. Winning against a master was nothing short of luck, and Katara was fighting with her emotions, which could just as easily weaken someone as they could strengthen them.
However, things took a quick turn when Pakku picks up Katara's necklace, which had come loose during the fight. Apparently, he had once been betrothed to marry Gran Gran, some decades before, and still harbored a deep love for her. Something inside the cold master softened, warmed even, as he realized that Katara was Kana's granddaughter. It was like he was thinking about what could have been if Kana hadn't left the North so long ago. About whether or not Katara would have been his granddaughter as well. Tao can see his shoulders relax as he moves over to her, and while he can't quite hear what was being said from the distance he and Aang had been watching the fight from, there was something gentle that comes over Pakku's expression as they speak to one another. It was nice to see, and he can't help but smile for his friend.
Suddenly, Katara's entire being brightens and she hurries over to Aang, grabbing his hands, nearly bouncing in place as she grins at him. "Master Pakku just agreed to train me!" she says joyously, voice shaking with her excitement and happiness. Aang also lights up and they wrap each other up into a tight hug, laughing happily. Tao's smile that had crossed his face freezes in place as a cold feeling comes over him that he can't quite identify. But he wouldn't squash their happy moment. He simply moves back and up the stairs to help Sokka up, the other having been in the path of a particularly harsh redirected water whip.
Jealousy.
That was the feeling, he realizes as he pulls Sokka to his feet, barely hearing the other boy's whining about always having to deal with the business end of Katara's magic water. There it was again, that jealousy. That desire to not be a firebender. He was happy for Katara, of course he was. But he couldn't help but wish he was learning beside her and Aang. He supposed he could tag along with Sokka to warrior training, get some more training in on using his quarterstaff. But that didn't feel like it would be enough of a distraction. If anything, he'd be distracted the entire time, thinking about what could be.
A small, cool hand closes around his wrist, making him jump, and he blinks down at Katara, who was looking up at him with a measure of concern, but also still excitement. "Tao, Master Pakku said you could observe our waterbending training if you like. I explained to him that you had showed me a lot of the techniques that I used to fight him." Tao stares with wide eyes at this, not sure he had heard right, not able to formulate words, and it takes every bit of his willpower to not shrink as Pakku moves up the steps to stand beside them.
"Katara says you have some skill in waterbending kata. How odd for a firebender." he remarks, though there was a knowing gleam in his eyes.
Swallowing thickly, Tao nods. "Y-yes sir... my mother was a waterbender, and I've always found waterbending kata more comfortable to bend with." he says, to which Pakku nods.
"Drawing from other bending styles is wise. You may observe my classes with your friends, however because you are not a waterbender, obviously you cannot participate. If you are observant enough, you should still be able to glean something from simply watching." he states before nodding between them and walking away.
Tao can't help but feel a little breathless, the air fogging against his lips and nose as he exhales as his heart hammers. This was more than he had ever expected. He was ready to spend the rest of their stay, however long it was going to be, holed up in their temporary house or spending a lot of time with Appa. Which wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it didn't escape him that he would then be the member of their team with the least to do, and therefore useless. Now he could at least learn something, and it could potentially strengthen his bending. He could feel a trickle of the joy that was clearly roaring through Aang and Katara wrap around him as he follows them back to their lodgings, a small smile on his face, his shoulders relaxed for the first time in days.
oOo
Katara and Tao were running a little late for training the next morning, but thankfully Pakku didn't seem annoyed. Which was a relief. Tao gets out of the way quickly, watching Aang and Katara practice the techniques that Pakku had walked them through, thinking hard. He had had a lot on his mind all night, which had given him minimal sleep, and it was taking him a while to work up the courage to speak up about it. It was nearing noon by the time he does finally get up from where he was sitting on a block of ice and approach Master Pakku.
"Master, if I may..." he starts, swallowing hard when Pakku glances over at him and gives him the smallest of nods to continue. "I believe that it will be... beneficial to your other students if they learn to fight against a firebender. My bending style doesn't match with firebending soldiers, but fire is fire. The Northern Water Tribe can't stay out of the war forever, and if they're caught off guard on the battlefield, that could kill them." he says, having a hard time maintaining eye contact as the elder stares at him. But at least he seemed contemplative. He hears a few skeptical murmurs from Pakku's other students off to the side, and a few disparaging ones. While no one had been outright abusive to Tao, verbally or otherwise, it was clear in the looks he got when he was moving around the city, even with his friends, that he wasn't overly welcomed. Even with the Chief's sanction and the, frosty, approval of their head waterbending master.
Pakku is quiet for a while, seeming to be weighing his options, and Tao could see the surprise in Katara and Aang's expressions. Tao avoided violence and conflict whenever he could, usually sticking to running interference and damage control when they encountered foes like Zuko or Zhao rather than directly engaging. It was just easier on him mentally, even if he was a capable fighter.
He has to stiffen his back a little when Pakku finally speaks, just the sound of his voice startling him a little, even if he didn't speak loudly. "Very well. Do try your best to keep the damage to my students to a minimum, though. As much as I am sure the healers would appreciate practice, the less injuries the better." he says, and Tao nods, admittedly nervous. He hadn't fought waterbenders before, except for Katara. And that was in a training environment, where she was still very much a novice. These students were much more experienced than her and Aang, and as the first one steps up and readies himself, Tao can see not a shred of friendliness in his expression or eyes. It was very likely that this student, and perhaps the others, were going to treat this like a real fight against a real enemy.
Pakku calls for the other students, including Tao's friends, to gather around and watch, though they kept a distance to avoid stray fire, the Northern residents more than Katara and Aang, having no way of knowing how much control Tao had on his fire. He was glad he was ready for an immediate attack when the master calls for the fight to begin, because that was exactly what he got. A stream of water flies at him, the end almost as sharp as a spear, and would likely break ribs if Tao let it connect. Gritting his teeth, he presses his fingers together like a knife and slices forward with them, a blade of blue fire cutting through the stream and he spins, kicking his leg out and sending a stream of flame at the student. Its blocked with a wall of ice, which is then sent flying at Tao.
Gathering his chi in his heels, Tao jumps, using fire to propel himself upward, flipping over the wall of ice and sending a couple balls of fire at the student, a thick fog billowing out of his nostrils as he carefully controls his breathing. His foot slides out from under him when he lands, the snow having become a sheet of ice, and his heart jolts a little as he wheels and barely catches his balance, pressing forward with gritted teeth, barely dodging another hard water whip, aiming low with his fire this time. The student scrambles back, desperate to keep his feet from being burned, and in his panic, throws several shards of ice Tao's way. One slices his cheek, the other his arm, and the third flies right by his right ear, stings of pain and trickles of blood staining his pale skin. Huffing out a cloud of hot air, Tao clenches his fist, concentrating and charging a slightly more powerful fire blast, aiming it mostly at the ground, melting a deep trench in the ice as it billows out of him and towards the student, who had regained his balance and draws up a broad and thick wall of water, extinguishing the blue flames in a harsh hiss of steam, leaving a cloud rolling behind it that Tao leaps through, kicking the student in the chest and driving him to the ground, holding his fist and a tiny blue flame a mere foot from his face as he pins him with his foot, a clear win. A win that the student wasn't happy about.
"Well done, Tao." Master Pakku says, the praise catching Tao off guard enough that the small flame goes out, and he looks at the master in shock. Which opens him up to nearly get speared in the face by a shard of ice from the defeated student. It was only Pakku's interference that stops it, an inch from his eye as Tao stares wide eyed at it. "Nukak, enough. You are defeated. Have some honor." the master chides harshly as Tao steps back, putting a wide distance between himself and the student, his arm and cheek still stinging, and Nukak gets to his feet, clearly angry.
"This ash-maker could have killed me three times." he states, as if that excused nearly blinding his opponent in his defeat.
"Exactly. You will not always be fighting against other waterbenders. It is very likely in the near future that all of you will face at least one firebender. Fire is arguably the most dangerous element to face as an enemy. Even a single burn can be devastating and take you out of the fight, which puts yourself and your fellow warriors at risk." Pakku says harshly, a look of clear disapproval on his face. "If you wish to survive this war, you will take this training seriously, and not try to deliberately harm each other. Tao held back, and this is also training. Retaliation will not be tolerated."
"Held back?" Nukak replies incredulously. It was actually Aang that answers with a nod.
"He's usually faster. With his movements and his fire. If this was a real fight, he would have seriously hurt you on his first retaliation." the airbender says with a small grin of pride at his friend. This doesn't seem to comfort Nukak though, and he glares at Tao, who huffs in response, an edge of annoyance creeping into his voice.
"None of you students, aside from Aang and Katara, have ever fought a firebender before. This city won't shelter you forever. I'm volunteering to help you learn how to fight against firebenders. I don't have to." he states, fingers twitching a little at his sides, small wisps of steam curling off the exposed parts of his skin, and the fog of his exhales thick. Taking in a deep breath of the icy air, he forces himself to calm down, the steam stopping, the fog becoming less thick and he looks over at Pakku. "Which of your students is next? Or would they rather watch Aang and Katara face me and observe?" he says, a little snidely. Pakku raises an eyebrow at this, crossing his arms.
"Perhaps a competent demonstration is in order. Very well. Pupil Aang, you may-"
"No. Both of them." Tao interrupts, regretting it for a moment when Pakku gives him a reproachful look for interrupting. But he steels himself, confidence coming from adrenaline. "Both of them. They can demonstrate teamwork as well as facing a firebender."
"Fine. Pupil Aang, Pupil Katara, you may face him." Pakku states, nodding. Aang and Katara exchange a look but step forward, standing side by side facing Tao, who slides into an opening stance.
"Waterbending only Aang. No cheating." Tao says, a small teasing smirk on his lips, which is returned with a mischievous one from Aang. Pakku calls fight, and Tao is immediately pressed by both of his friends. He had a lot of work to do to keep them both off his back and also try and turn his immediate defense into offense. He works for a while concentrating on keeping his breathing steady, knowing if he started panting his fire would weaken, running defense, melting their ice and evaporating the water streams they send at him. Katara gets clever and freezes his feet to the ground for a while, which he allows, instead rooting himself, crossing his arms, palms out, as they stand on either side of him, arcing water streams up and over their heads, watching both of them with quickly flicking golden eyes. As the streams come down towards his head, he throws his arms out to either side, a ring of fire billowing out around him, and like he was pulling a wave, he draws his arms upwards, crossing them, and the fire forms a dome above his head, the water evaporating with a loud hiss of steam as it makes contact with it.
Melting the ice around his feet, Tao drops low and kicks his legs out in a spin, arcs of fire flying at both of his friends. They block it with ice, and Tao picks a target. Aang was the better bender and also faster than Katara, and Katara needed to practice anyway, so he focuses his attention on her. When she sees his intent, sharp, hot gold eyes focused solely on her, she looks a little nervous for a moment before steeling herself. Tao presses an offensive on her while also keeping up his defense on his back as Aang tries to draw his attention and also protect Katara, who was having a hard time warding off Tao's flames alone. The only thing saving her was that Tao wasn't actually trying to hurt her. When the flames got too close, they simply arced around her or dissipated into the air in a wave of hot vapor. She does eventually find an opening though, as Aang distracts Tao with a rapid succession of water whips, focusing on the snow below Tao's feet, which was melting from around them with the heat coming off his body, pulling her arms up and dragging the ice and snow with it. Tao only has a moment to feel the rumble in the ice under his feet before he's shot up into the air, half encased in ice and snow, his arms and legs immobilized. It caught him off guard, and it takes him a moment to suck in a sharp, gasping breath, which billows out of him in a cloud of thick steam.
"Great job Katara! That was amazing!" Aang crows, bouncing over to her and wrapping her in an excited hug. Katara was panting a little, from the expended energy from bending and from the amount of physical movement that she had just been put through. Aang on the other hand was his usual tireless ball of energy.
Exhaling hot vapor, Tao melts his way out of the ice pillar and carefully slides down it, wincing and rubbing his arm, which now had a fairly wide gash instead of just a small slash, the ice pillar having opened it up a little more as it had rushed around him. At least his face had stopped bleeding. Pakku gives his own small praise and then looks at his older students. "Who can tell me how Pupil Katara won this battle?" he asks. The students all exchange confused and lost expressions, and Tao does his best to not only not roll his eyes, but not show his friends that he was bleeding. They didn't need to feel guilty over a small training accident. Pakku's expression is quickly annoyed and he frowns at his students. "She immobilized Tao's arms and legs. The vast majority of firebenders you will encounter predominantly use their fists and feet to bend and produce their flames. Though there are a few that can also bend from their mouths." turning to Tao, Pakku raises an eyebrow. "Can you?" he asks, and Tao blinks.
"I can a little but I have to be careful. Its my least practiced bending technique, so it would be easy to hurt myself with it." he says, shrugging, wincing a little as his arm smarts.
Pakku nods, turning his attention back to his students. "If you wish to stop a fight against a firebender quickly, your best bet is to immobilize them as fast as you can. But even then, the fight may not be over. It isn't widely practiced, but some firebenders know a technique called the 'Breath of Fire.' It allows them to heat their bodies and survive extreme cold, like ice. As you saw, Tao was able to free himself from Pupil Katara's ice pillar with relative ease, so he knows this technique as well."
"I've been using it for most of my stay here so I don't freeze to death. Extreme cold temperatures aren't a boon to firebenders like it is to waterbenders." Tao remarks, shaking his head. "Fire comes from the breath. The better breath control a firebender has, the stronger they are and the longer they can bend. If you can't fully immobilize a firebender, your best bet to subdue them is to cut off their air supply." he continues, fully aware that he had just confessed that the best way to defeat a firebender was to suffocate or drown them. He can't help but notice Aang wince in his peripheral vision, and he resists the automatic urge to cross his arms, not wanting to open his arm gash up any more. "That's not to say that gives you permission to try and kill me. This situation is still training." he huffs, not liking some of the expressions that had come over a couple of the students' faces. He was shaking a little as well, the edges of his mind whispering dark words. The only thing keeping him somewhat calm right now was the fact that it was so cold and he had water and ice flying at him and not fire. He knew he wouldn't sleep tonight though, but he had known that going into this. Two nights with minimal or no sleep in a row wasn't very unusual for him, so he was prepared to face the consequences.
"I believe we've seen enough for today from you, Tao. However, tomorrow morning, I would like you to spar with a couple more of my students. The more experience they have, the better they will be prepared for the real thing." Pakku says, and Tao can't help but feel relief that he didn't need to fight anyone else today. He had been ready to do so until the sun went down, but that he didn't need to he wasn't going to complain about.
He realizes too late as he turns to go sit on the side, that he had turned his injured arm towards Katara, who's eyes widen at his blood stained sleeve. As he sits in a small snow drift out of the way of the training, she hurries over to him, kneeling beside him. "Why didn't you say something?" she chides, rolling his sleeve up, seeing the wide, deep gash and wincing. "Did I do this?" she asks, voice growing small as she melts some ice and focuses the water around her hand, holding it against the gash. Tao winces at first, and then a cool, comforting feeling spreads through his arm as her chi threads with his, pulling his injured muscle and skin back together and healing it with a soft glow.
"It was started by Nukak. I think when I got caught up in the ice pillar it just tore it open more." he says, shaking his head, a strange knot of something tightening in his chest as her cooler chi gently caresses his injury. It was like he could feel her soul through it, being more used to drawing directly on chi and feeling it. It was easier to read. She was a gentle, caring soul, genuine and hopeful. But there was a wound there, deep, deep down. It was a part of her core. Tao could guess at its origin, her mother. That wound still festered even after so many years. Were she more attuned to her own chi and feeling it, which he knew she would be quickly as she honed her healing skills, he didn't doubt she'd be able to feel his own internal wounds. The damage to his core that he tried, and often failed, to hide.
"I'm sorry." she says quietly, pulling her hand away from his arm when it was fully healed, only the smallest of scars in its place.
"Don't be. Injuries happen, even in training. Besides, you didn't do it on purpose." he hums, offering her a small smile. It seems to comfort her, and she slowly reaches up to his face, focusing on healing the cut on his cheek. Once its just a tiny scar, she pulls her hand away, smiles at him, and hurries away to get back into training.
oOo
Training continues like this in a cycle for about a week, Katara and Aang's skills getting better and better every day by leaps and bounds. Tao found himself improving as well, observing the techniques of the Northern Water Tribe allowing him to add new movements to his own arsenal. It was quite different from the Southern style. Being able to face off against opponents who didn't exactly wish him well but also weren't out to deliberately kill him also helped him hone his firebending in general, fighting against harder opponents without the risk of death, who also didn't beat him if he lost or didn't perform to expectations, allowing him to have more confidence in his firebending. And with that confidence came more power, more speed, more precision. As the students improved with their waterbending and their offensive techniques, so did Tao with his firebending and his offensive and defensive techniques. When he lost his matches, he never gave them an easy victory. But to their credit, as time passed his own victories became harder and harder won. It gave him a bit of hope that when they faced firebenders, they stood a chance.
Tao was watching Aang and Katara practice some more advanced moves late one evening, the sun slowly edging towards the horizon, when a terrible sight grabbed their attention. Black snow. Snow falling mixed with ash. The last time they had seen this was right before Zuko had attacked the Southern Water Tribe. But this was so much more, falling across the entire city, and as they looked out over the ocean, they could see a massive black cloud rolling slowly towards them. The Fire Nation was here.
The Chief and council are quick to react, Arnook even going as far as to give Tao permission to freely firebend within the city, having no doubts of his loyalties after his week of training with Pakku. If Tao could help minimize damage and losses with his firebending, all the better. Which is exactly what he does. As the Fire Navy lobs flaming boulder after flaming boulder at the city, Tao does what he can to pull the fire from them so at least the city wouldn't burn as well as be destroyed. Once he has enough fire gathered in a swirling torrent above him as he stood on the top of the city wall, he concentrates, gathering his chi and charges the fire, condensing it and letting it loose back at the first of the ships that had edged forward. It slams into the rear tower with a hard explosion, rocking the entire ship and its not long before its listing backwards, taking on water, half the deck melted or on fire. Aang was also out there on Appa, doing everything he could to take out as many ships as he could. But he was just one kid. He couldn't do it all.
When night falls, they were blessed to have the attacks stop, which gives them a chance to regroup. Tao helps with putting out the fires that burned in various parts of the city, focusing on that while the rest of his friends figure out what they were going to do next. It was just after dawn when he hears a bellow from Appa, looking up as Sokka has the beast descend beside him. "Zuko found the Spirit Oasis! Climb on, Katara is fighting him alone while Aang is in the Spirit World." Sokka calls, Yue looking at him from the saddle. Gritting his teeth, Tao leaps up into the saddle with a blast of fire from his heels, and as soon as he lands, they take off. Yue fills him in on what she knew, and Tao curses under his breath.
"Its dawn. If Katara couldn't take him out while the full moon was out, Zuko is going to have an advantage now. Firebenders are stronger in the day, just like waterbenders are stronger at night." he says, icy, soot scented wind whipping against his face.
When they reach the oasis, Katara was just sitting up in the grass, and Aang was nowhere to be seen. She was distraught, and Tao wasn't much better, though he was containing it better than she was. His heart was hammering in his throat as he looked around for any sign of what way Zuko could have gone. It wouldn't be an easy journey, carrying an unconscious twelve year old. Aang wasn't very heavy, but it wasn't like the banished prince had many places to go. The only real direction they had to look was straight up, to the top of the glacier wall and into the frozen tundra beyond, where a blizzard was raging. So, bundling up, they head out.
The search goes on for hours, Sokka using a lamp and Tao using his fire to light the way so they could see better, and soon its night again, and they were all freezing, and starting to lose hope. That was, until a brilliant flash of light soars overhead, and they just knew that it had to be Aang's spirit returning to his body. They follow it, landing in time to see Aang trying to worm away from Zuko, bound in ropes in the snow. Katara makes quick work of him though as Sokka cuts Aang free, and they almost leave the prince there. Aang's compassion takes over though, and he and Tao work to get the prince up into the saddle. He was heavy, being dead weight, but he was also very muscular, which made his otherwise lithe body deceptively heavy. Sokka insists that they bind him so he couldn't immediately attack when he woke up, and soon they're headed back to the tribe.
Tao looks Zuko over carefully in the dim light. The prince looked rough. He was covered in fresh bruises, cuts, and burns, and his eye that wasn't scarred was swollen and black around the rims. A shiver going through the other teen makes Tao blink, and he glances around at his companions for a moment, who weren't paying attention to either of them, before moving closer. Holding his hands out, he focuses heat into his palms, and presses them to Zuko's jacket, which was damp from the snow. Zuko was freezing, his body constantly lightly trembling, now and then a harder shake passing through him. How long had he been out in the cold, even before he had taken Aang? A couple days perhaps? He had fought Katara the night before after all. Frowning, he can't help but think back to his time on the prince's ship, how kind the other had treated him, despite all his blustering. The brief moments of vulnerability that had passed between them, the almost moments of camaraderie. The flashes of doubt, of confusion, of yearning that had flitted across Zuko's face and eyes after he had come back from freeing Aang from Zhao's capture, after he had asked Tao about his scar and his father.
Pressing his lips together, Tao's brow furrows as his gaze focuses on Zuko's face. He looked younger asleep, more peaceful. The anger, the shame that was ever-present in his waking expression was absent, and he looked Tao's age rather than several years older. Even the scar seemed softer. Moving one hand down to Zuko's belly and the other up closer to his throat, the warmth in his palms making the air around them fog a little, the other firebender's mind also goes back to some of the things Iroh had said to him. Zuko was desperate, but good inside. Both were evident in how he ceaselessly chased Aang, but also in how he had helped Tao despite him being an enemy. How he had freed Aang, even if he planned to capture him for himself. Moments of good, hidden beneath a hard facade. A facade crafted perhaps to protect a soft interior. Tao had seen as much when he had pressed Zuko about what would happen when he presented Aang to his father, and when he had forced Zuko to think about Aang's humanity. A crack had opened, one Tao wished he had had longer to look through. There was something about Zuko that he wanted to reach for. A kindred spirit perhaps? Someone who would know what he was feeling, why he was feeling it. Someone he didn't have to pretend around, so that they wouldn't worry about him. He knew that was an impossible thing. Zuko and he stood on opposite sides of an invisible line.
"What if you did not need to be on opposite sides of this conflict?"
Iroh's words from what felt like an eternity ago ring in his mind, and Tao's jaw clenches. That question had often circled in his mind on his more sleepless nights, his thoughts often turning back to the prince and his time on the ship. Even being a prisoner, that had been the first time in his life he had been around other firebenders without fearing he would be hurt for speaking out of turn. Even when he refused to give information, the most Zuko did was get loud and then stalk away. He supposed part of his attachment to those memories were also the kindness from Iroh himself, the tea, the quiet words of advice and affirmation, the general gentle aura the older man seemed to give off. And then there was Zuko. His gentle touch as he tended to Tao's injury, the strength in his body as they had sparred. Tao wanted to cling to that thread of connection, even though his friends were right beside him in the saddle right now. He didn't know why. It was confusing to him, and a source of anxiety as well when those thoughts wouldn't leave him alone.
"What are you doing?"
Tao jumps a little, glad he kept control of his breathing so he didn't set Zuko on fire. Looking up, he sees Sokka staring at him, though no one else seemed to notice what he was doing. Swallowing, he clears his throat, speaking quietly. "Warming him up so he doesn't freeze to death." he says, glad it was dark so Sokka couldn't see the color that rises to his face. Sokka gives him a hard look through narrowed eyes, seeming to peer right into his soul and Tao had never felt more exposed.
Eventually though, the warrior teen huffs and rolls his eyes. "You need to quit fraternizing with the enemy. First Jet, and then who knows what really happened when you were on Zuko's ship." he remarks, and it takes a moment for Tao to not be offended and get Sokka's meaning, his face burning even more.
"Sokka!" he hisses through clenched teeth, fingers twitching against Zuko's prone body. "Nothing happened. I was his prisoner and we happened to get along okay-ish sometimes. That's it."
"Yeah ok, sure. Whatever you say, buddy. I'm just saying I don't see you going all warming hands on me or Katara or Aang." the warrior teases back. Tao is about to snap something back at him, indignant and embarrassed, when something catches all of their attention. The moon suddenly washes red, the sky with it, and Yue gasps and holds her head. Something was wrong with Tui, the moon spirit, and they had to get back to the Oasis quickly.
When they land, Tao stays in the saddle to keep an eye on Zuko, who was starting to stir a little. He keeps an ear on the conflict though. Zhao was here, and he was going to kill Tui, all for glory, not realizing the massive, horrible consequences of such a stupid action. He can't focus too much on it though as Zuko fully opens his eyes, realizes he was bound, and quickly starts squirming to try and free himself. "Hey- stop." Tao says, pressing a hand to the other teen's chest to hold him still. Zuko glares up at him, but there wasn't as much heat behind it as usual. Glancing over his shoulder, seeing that everyone was focused on Zhao, including Iroh now, he sighs, reaching under his shirt and pulling out his small dagger. Zuko looked alarmed for a moment before Tao shakes his head. "Relax. I'm not going to slit your throat." he says, slicing through the ropes holding the other teen down. Zuko is up in a crouch immediately, ready to attack. "Just get out of here. Consider this repayment for fishing me out of the ocean." he says, seeing that thin line they stood on either sides of again, and wishing it weren't so. Only because Zuko would make a powerful and useful ally, or at least that's what he told himself to keep his more guilty thoughts at bay.
Zuko hesitates for a moment, but as the entire sky goes gray, as well as everything around them, he decides that this wasn't worth the fight in the state he was in, gives Tao one last, long look, and descends from Appa's saddle, fleeing the Oasis in the direction Zhao had gone. Looking over the edge of the saddle, Tao was horrified at what he sees. One of the koi fish, the spirits in physical form, Tui, was dead, an ugly burn on her side as she floated listlessly in the warm water. Zhao had killed her.
And La would have his revenge.
What followed was the most terrifying and awe inspiring display of power he had ever seen in his life. Aang and the ocean spirit merge together in to a massive abomination of rage and power, laying waste to the Fire Nation armies, heading for the ocean and the fleet that lay beyond it. Who knew how many were dying right now. Who knew how Aang would handle it when he realized what he was doing, whether or not he was actually in control. Tao was grateful when Yue offers up a solution, even though that solution was to give up her life to restore Tui's, to put the moon back in the sky. Sokka was hole heartedly against it, but even he knew it was the right thing to do, because he does nothing to stop her as she gives her life back to the spirits, collapsing back into his arms, lifeless. The moon shines brightly once again, and Tao feels like he could breathe again, even though he grieved for the loss of the beautiful young girl, and grieved for Sokka's loss, hating the pain in the other's voice as he cradles her body until it fades away.
A quiet falls over the city, the siege over, the Fire Navy in full retreat, and as La appears back in the pool and begins circling again with Tui, Tao knew he had released his hold on Aang as well. His heart ached for his friend, who would soon realize the devastation he had helped reap. Moving to Appa's head, Tao gives the command to lift off, wanting to find Aang so he could hopefully provide comfort when everything came crashing down on the young Avatar.