The situation was strained to say the least. A small pack of mountain goat-wolves were watching them warily from a safe distance; their leader was the most forward, sniffing the air.
The hunter had never seen this type of wolf before, but he had already dealt with wolves in his homeland and was willing to take the risk. He slowly rose from the ground and, keeping his eyes level with their paws, said in a calm voice "No abrupt movements. And don't make eye contact."
"What?!" Zuko responded with a panicked whisper, letting his gaze fall a little below the beast's head. It was hard to fight the urge of looking it in the eyes when he knew the animal was watching his every move with its creepy horizontal pupils. The animal's height reached up to his chest, and the pointed horns were giving an ominous feeling.
Sokka continued, reaching slowly for the wall for support "If we back away slowly, they may just let us leave."
Zuko hesitated; he was already reaching for his swords. His eyes quickly scanned the beasts' torsos before falling back on the leader. He counted six in total, but it was hard to say if they even had a shot. Taking Sokka's leg in consideration, it was probably better to avoid the fight against unknown animals if they had a choice, especially when they were outnumbered. What stung was the fact that they would be getting back in the blizzard when the last of day's light was almost gone.
"Are you sure there's no way we could deal with them?" he asked quietly, but he began to move slowly backward anyway, bringing himself level with Sokka.
"They likely hunt in a pack and there is a pack of them, so yeah, I think it'd be a great idea to try." somehow Sokka managed to make his calm silent tone sound deadpan. Zuko would roll his eyes, but he didn't dare move his eyes from the silhouette of the approaching animal. Their slow movement already was enough to unsettle him.
"They're not stopping." the prince noted, his voice tight with tension.
"Just keep going. If they get closer, try to make yourself look bigger, raise your arms or something. And yell." the hunter advised, trying to back away, but his limping was attracting the animals' attention. The prince noticed it too, and moved to support him, risking a little faster pace. The leader's ears flattened against its skull, and a low growl rumbled from its throat. The other goat-wolves mirrored their leader, growling softly as their bodies tensed, ready to spring. Each step backward felt like a balancing act on a knife's edge.
At some point they started feeling snowflakes falling on them, and to their relief the pack stopped approaching. They could still feel their eyes following them outside as they went, but it looked like they made it.
Sokka breathed with relief, taking a look outside "This could have been worse. Hey, is it just me or the storm eased a little?"
Zuko looked around carefully, still peeking to see if they were not followed, but the silence was a good sign. The wind didn't blow that badly now, but the snowfall was still quite heavy.
"I guess." He muttered in response. He couldn't not notice how it was much easier to withstand the snow in a warmer coat, and again he felt bad for Sokka.
"So we're back to square one, huh?" the Water Tribe teen asked jokingly "Think we could find another one of these nice caves?"
The absurdity of joking at such a moment made Zuko smirk despite himself "We'll see."
"Hey, what's with this commotion?"
The soldier that Jee asked did not even stop, only shrugged his shoulders and continued to his ship with a rush.
"Hey, lieutenant."
Jee looked over his shoulder to check who was calling him, and it turned out to be Noren. He sighed and gave a quick inquisitive nod, the questioning look in his eyes hiding a dose of irritation.
"The captains have concluded their meeting and all ships are ordered to proceed to Zigan Harbor, sir." the young man said, almost shyly.
"Is that so...?" the Lieutenant said thoughtfully. If he recalled well it was a harbor at the north of Earth Kingdom, but why would Zhao send there such a big fleet? He had no reason to doubt this particular information from him, because an official order was bound to reach them any minute. Still his gut was telling him to approach the man with reservations, and so he turned away to leave for Wani.
"Lieutenant Jee!" Noren stopped him. The frowned look from his elder made him hesitate, but still he managed to say "I... I know you said you don't want to see me, but the Captain won't approve my transfer. I... Please, give me another chance. I did make a mistake, but-"
"Lieutenant Jee." a new voice sounded next to them, the one that was always making Jee's skin crawl. Iwai had his usual smirk on his face "As per the Admiral's directive, all vessels are to set sail for Zigan Harbor with immediate effect. Ensure your ship is fully provisioned and your crew is briefed. We will depart in an hour."
"Yes, sir." The man said, but then he risked asking "What is the final destination?"
The captain was obviously in a good mood because he replied proudly "The North awaits, lieutenant."
Jee couldn't tell if he was being serious right now. With this said he could only mean the Northern Water Tribe, but there had been no clashes with them for many decades.
It didn't seem like Iwai was going to elaborate, but before he left he said "Noren, good thing you're here. Come to my office in 10 minutes."
The young man watched him leave with growing panic.
"Sir, what is this about? Captain!" he called after him, but without any response. He turned rapidly, only to see Jee giving him a disdainful look before walking away. "Lieutenant! I don't know what he- Lieutenant Jee! Uhh..."
They were trudging through the snow for a while, but without much success. A few paths have been dead-ends, and the cold clawed to their skin like a living thing. It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but eventually a shape loomed ahead. An outcropping rock that could provide a partial cover from the wind and snow. A quick exchange of glances was enough to make a decision - they were too tired to go on. At least it was certain that nothing lived there.
Zuko helped Sokka down, and sat next to him. There was no point in pretending that they weren't cold anymore.
"Apparently luck is not on our side this time." the Water Tribe boy said, his teeth shaking slightly from the cold.
"You'd better not rely on luck. I've already learnt it."
"Dude, why are you always like this? It's as if you want everything to be against you."
"I don't want it. But it usually turns out like this anyway." Zuko said quietly "Didn't you say yourself that it's better to be prepared?"
"Well... I didn't mean it that way, but..."
They stayed quiet for a while, but eventually Sokka spoke out again:
"Hey, Katara mentioned once that you said you'd rather have died than be saved by us then, or something like this. Did you mean it?"
Zuko gave him a surprised look, slowly recalling the situation he was talking about. The argument with Katara in the forest by Makapu village.
"Did I mean it? Maybe at first, but..." he wondered, but then another thought occurred to him, and he asked:
"Why are you asking this now?"
"I'm just thinking, if we were not to make it-" Sokka started, but the rest of his sentence was lost to Zuko's ears. His mind wrapped around these few words. For the first time this night he realized how dire their situation was.
"Are we not going to make it...? And right now, when I- No. I won't accept it. We're not going to die without-" an image of his precious dagger showed before his eyes and he smirked a little "-without a fight. Right, Uncle? You said that the fire is life, so I'm going to keep us alive no matter what."
"Hey, I'm pouring my heart out here and you're not even listening!" Sokka huffed outraged, but he noticed Zuko had his eyes closed. He was about to shake him to check if he fell asleep, but he recalled how the firebender had been doing it multiple times at the camp. Aang called this a meditation or something...?
He gave a sigh, pulling on his sleeves to warm his hands up a bit "Sure, just do your weird stuff. Whatever."
However Zuko didn't hear him right now. He focused all his might on his Inner Flame. It was still there, as always. He could feel it every time he used flames to heal himself. Now he realized, it seemed smaller, a mere shadow of its former glory - diminished, suppressed. He hesitated for a moment. Should he actually try it now? What if he will mess this up too? But if he won't try now, he might not get the chance to redeem himself anymore. With that thought he reached for it, carefully at first. It stirred in response, almost with enthusiasm, greeting him with a pulse as vibrant as a heartbeat. His own heart echoed the rhythm, and he took a deep breath, feeling a familiar feeling spreading all over his body, and when he breathed out through his mouth, a small flame came out with it.
"We are going to make it." he said, raising his hand in which he now cupped a steady flame.
The inside of the ice cocoon was surprisingly quiet, but to call it cozy would be far-fetched. Aang turned restlessly onto his other side for what felt like the hundredth time before finally sitting up, careful to avoid waking Appa.
"You can't sleep too...?"
He jumped at the question, not expecting to see that he wasn't the only one to have trouble sleeping.
"Yeah. It's awful knowing that I'm not able to do anything to help." the kid replied quietly "Again."
"Don't be too hard on yourself. You're doing a great job." Katara said, getting up as well.
"Thanks." he replied, managing a small smile. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before he quickly looked away, a hint of shyness creeping in.
"Hey, um... I know it's probably not the right time, but I was wondering... Ever since Zuko gave you back your necklace you stopped wearing the one I gave you. Did you throw it away...?"
She blinked in surprise "Well, it was meant as a replacement for my mother's necklace, wasn't it? Now that I have it back, I don't need a replacement... And Sokka needed his fishing line, so..."
"So you- But I thought... I hoped it meant something for you, because... Well, it meant a lot to me." he said quietly, lowering his eyes to the ground.
"Oh, Aang... It did mean a lot, it was really nice that you wanted to cheer me up. But my mother's necklace is a part of who I am. I couldn't just replace it, even with something from you."
The boy gave a soft nod "I know. And I'm glad you have it back, really. I just... No, never mind."
He looked around, trying to hide his disappointment, when he realized something was amiss.
"Momo?" he called, but there was no expected chirping in response. He took a few steps towards the bison, his eyes scanning the area for the small lemur, but to no avail. "Have you seen Momo?"
"He was definitely here when we were setting this up." Katara said, her voice tinged with anxiety as she looked around their shelter. "Do you think he went outside?"
Aang immediately walked to the ice wall, turning a part of it into water with a swift motion. The storm has passed and it was completely quiet outside, except for the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff. But the lemur was nowhere in sight.
Sitting by a bonfire on a cold night was always one of the best things Sokka knew. Having the fire just magically levitating in the air over someone's hands was adding a weird twist to it, but it could be easily overlooked when it felt like you needed to thaw out. He didn't even notice when it stopped snowing. If it wasn't for the circumstances, he would say it was a pleasant moment to remember. The boy quietly reveled over having feeling in his fingers again, and his curiosity was starting to remind about itself.
"Not that I mind, but weren't you just all whiney about not being able to bend fire?" he asked, still warming his hands over the flame held out by Zuko. "Or were you actually able to do it all along?"
"Shut up. I wasn't." Zuko huffed, offended.
"Wasn't whiney or able to bend?"
"Neither!"
"So what did you do?"
"I figured it out. Now stop asking."
It gained him a sigh from Sokka. The fire almost made him grateful that he actually was stuck with the jerk-bender, but this whole keeping-to-himself thing was getting old.
"Again with that? Seriously, you- oh, wait, does it require concentration?" he asked with sudden realization, to which Zuko gave him a confused look.
"Keeping a flame? No. Once you learn it, it's natural." the prince said, almost adding like breathing. He looked at the flame fondly, ignoring how it hurt his eyes to stare directly into the light. It didn't matter at that moment, because to him it was as if he regained a lost part of himself.
"So maybe you could teach it to Aang? He was really looking forward to learning from that Jeong Jeong master, but, you know..." Sokka said, but he could sense the firebender starting to tense "It seems like a useful skill here-"
"You want me to teach the Avatar firebending?"
"Yes?"
The silence that followed made Sokka gulp silently.
"No."
"Why? That thing with acting against your country? Come on!"
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Maybe just a little? Not firebending fighting, but maybe just a calm little flame like this one? It could really come in handy on-"
"No! I'm not teaching Aang. That's the final word."
"What about a 'we'll get back to this discussion'?" Sokka pried again.
"There is no discussion. I won't be changing my mind."
"Oh, of course, I see it now. The great Fire Nation doomed because of the kid who possessed the knowledge of lighting a flame in his hand!"
His tone surprisingly wasn't mean when he was saying it, and Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's not about a flame itself. But teaching the Avatar, no matter what in particular, would just prove that I'm a traitor."
"Oh, I'd say you already gave him a lesson..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You-"
A screeching sound picked their attention. Zuko jumped to his feet, wincing as he forgot to mind his ribs again, but he managed to keep the fire lit in his hand. He wasn't good at hunting, but even he knew that the animals usually stayed away from the fire. If this one was willing to approach them anyway, it could mean-
"Wait!" Sokka warned, seeing the firebender ready to shoot "It kinda sounds-"
Before he could finish the sentence, a small animal landed on Zuko's head gently, giving happy chirps.
"MOMO! You found us!" the Water Tribe boy yelled happily. The prince reached for it now that he knew what was invading his head, but before he could pick it up, the lemur jumped down on Sokka's knees.
"Are the others nearby? Can you take us to them?" the boy asked eagerly, petting the animal. Zuko was about to say that there's no point in talking to pets, but he bit his tongue, remembering how he had made this mistake with bison. Maybe the lemur was extraordinary too?
As if on cue, Momo jumped off, and flew a little distance before circling back towards them. The prince watched it doubtfully "Are you sure he can actually guide us?"
Sokka got up, taking the hand that immediately was offered to him as he started to rise. "Yeah. I mean, where else would he go? To start a new life in a cozy ice cave?"
He shook the snow off his pants, and noticed that the other boy was staring at his leg hesitantly.
"What...?"
"Your leg." Zuko said and cleared his throat "I mean, now that I can bend, I could try to heal it if you want."
Sokka's eyes widened at the implication "You want to firebend at my broken leg...? Nah, I don't think so."
"I wouldn't burn it! I mean, I tried it on myself and it didn't burn me, so I think..."
"Aren't firebenders fireproof?" the hunter asked, but he reflected after the deadpan look Zuko gave him "Oh, right. If you were, you wouldn't have that scar. So why won't you try it on yourself if you're so sure?"
"I'd probably need to take the coat off to do it. Right, you can take it back now, I'll be fine."
"Nah, I'm good too, don't bother."
"So do you want to try?"
"That healing? Um... I think I'll pass, if you don't mind."
The prince just shrugged and offered his shoulder "Your choice."
The hunter took his support, and they started to follow the lemur. It was much easier with Zuko lighting the way, and throwing flames into the snowdrifts normally too difficult to cross. Even Sokka admitted to himself that it wasn't so bad to be stuck with him after all. Especially since neither Aang nor his sister could be his personal heater during the walk. Really useful.
He glanced at the firebender and noticed how the fire illuminated the scarred half of his face from this position.
"Come to think about it, where did you get such a scar?"
"I've done enough talking about myself for today." Zuko said, turning his face away.
"Okay, fair enough. What would you like to know?" Sokka said lightly, and the prince gave him a surprised look.
"About you?"
"Yep."
Zuko thought for a moment. He wasn't going to ask anything himself, but since the boy himself was giving him the opportunity to find out something about him... There was something that he was curious about.
"Why did you give up the chance to meet your father?"
The easy-going smile faded away from Sokka's face "I didn't- it's not like this, okay? We are doing something important for the world with Aang. I know he'd understand that because he's doing the same thing. We're trying to make the world a better place. Safer. It's- you probably won't understand anyway."
"Right, cause you're saviors of the world."
"Hey, you wanna start that argument again?"
"... No."
"Yeah, I thought so."
For a while they went silently, but then Zuko blurted "How did you realize that Qin was lying to my- to the Fire Lord?"
Sokka gave it a thought before answering "Well he looked all smug when you were asking him those questions... Guess it was a hunch?"
The prince sighed "Of course. Reading people is another thing I'm bad at. It was always Azula's thing."
"Who's Azula?"
"My sister."
"Oh, you have a sister? You didn't mention her!" Sokka asked enthusiastically, turning to him.
"Why would I?"
"You- Nevermind. So, is this an older or a younger sister?"
"She's younger." Zuko said, and after a moment of thought, added "She should be fourteen now. I haven't seen her in three years either."
"Cool. I mean, not that you haven't seen her, but, you know."
The decision to go out into the night wasn't easy, but Aang knew he couldn't fall asleep knowing that another one of his friends was lost. Katara wouldn't let him go alone, but they felt they shouldn't disturb Appa's rest when they knew he needed it.
Unable to fly around the mountains, they decided to use the approach that Katara was considering earlier. Turning the all-present snow into ice platforms and stairs was making a surprisingly convenient path, even though the process wasn't too fast. With a combined effort, however, they managed to develop an effective method of shaping ice. Additionally, the ice trail they were leaving behind was bound to be easy to follow in case they got lost.
"Once we meet the masters, I bet we'll be able to do it with a blink of an eye." Katara complained tiredly as she pulled another pile of snow from the ground before them.
"You bet. I hope it will be better than the training with Master Jeong Jeong though. Or else it will take an eternity." Aang mumbled as he joined the effort, and together they raised another ice bridge.
"I'm sure he meant well. Are you sure you were concentrating properly though?" the girl smiled at the memory.
A small blush entered the kid's face as he remembered it too.
"I was concentrating! But he just went on and on with this breathing thing. Zuko said it was a normal exercise, but..." he said heatedly, coming back to that day with his thoughts "Well, Master also warned me about the fire. That it's dangerous, and that I need to be patient... I just wish I had more time to learn."
"Maybe we'll meet him again one day?" Katara offered sympathetically. "If you're supposed to learn waterbending and earthbending first, then we still have time."
"I guess..."
Progressing gradually, they tried to recreate the path they had taken earlier while flying, although they couldn't be sure because they couldn't see the surroundings very well before. They continued to call their friends, which now, in the absence of wind, resulted in an echo carried through the area. It bothered them all the more that they did not hear the answer, but they pressed on.
They just made another ice platform to step on. Aang went first, but suddenly he heard a gasp and a sound of falling. He turned around in a flash, with concern in his eyes "Are you ok, Katara?"
To his surprise the girl wasn't looking at him, but somewhere above him; there was the utmost astonishment in her eyes.
"Did you see that?"
There we go, the moment we've all been waiting - Zuko has his fire back! Also with this chapter this story reaches 100k words, so thank you all for following so far! (I'm not stopping here, don't you worry ;D )