The Storm
For the rest of the week, the water tribe siblings and the prince found themselves distanced, mostly due to their involvement in their own chores and duties. At most Katara and Sokka would pass the firebender in the hall and he’d pass them a glance, but no words were exchanged.
One night, Katara walked outside of the ship, onto the lightly soaked deck, breathing in the night air. The moon was bright in the sky tonight, and she could feel the power of it deep inside her chi.
The ocean around her crashed against the side of the ship, and the air was harsh and moist, telling of a future storm.
She lifted her arms and moved the ocean water, gliding it around her carefully. She was a beginner still with her movements, and her only real practice in the past six months was moving the water around her casually. Hopefully that would change once she reached the North Pole with Sokka and found a master.
“Katara, what are you doing?!”
The voice behind her startled her, and she yelped as she dropped the water onto the deck with a splash.
She was relieved to see it was her brother behind her, although he did look rather upset.
“Spirits Sokka you scared me.”
His angry blue eyes gleamed in the moonlight
“Well you need to be more careful,” he lowered his voice “do you think the people on this ship would be happy if they found out you were a water bender? Especially a water bender from where they thought were extinct?”
She rolled her eyes “ok ok, I’ll try and be more careful next time.”
The two then returned inside together, and were shortly met by Iroh, who smiled warmly at the siblings.
“I hope you two are adjusting well to ship life, but I must warn you, it looks like there is a summer storm coming up, so I’d advise you to stay inside the ship until it passes.”
Sokka snorted in reply “trust me, we’ve dealt with some bad weather in the past, I think we know how to—“
The ship jolted violently, cutting off the rest of Sokka’s sentence. Outside, they could hear the crash of ocean waves slap harshly against the side of the vessel.
The storm was already beginning.
The fire in the lamps lighting the room flickered for a moment, until they stabilized once the ship had stilled.
Iroh turned back to Sokka with a genuine look of concern.
“I understand that the South Pole does have extreme weather, but it is very different from the sea, especially in the summer. It can be very dangerous, and I wouldn’t want either of you to be swept overboard.”
Sokka sighed irritatingly, then exchanged a glance with his sister, who replied reluctantly.
“I guess we could find some things to do inside.”
Dying didn’t sound that interesting, so Katara and Sokka stayed inside the ship, eventually separating when Katara wanted to return to their room.
After wandering for about a half hour, opening door after door, Sokka found his way into a room that seemed interesting. Well interesting to him was an understatement. The room was filled with all sorts of books placed onto various shelves, about history and mathematics and bending and all of the above. He hadn’t read a book in spirits knows how long, which meant he practically squealed when he saw the assortment.
He picked up a small novel with a worn greenish color—so worn it almost seemed like it had been held a thousand times before him.
“Basics of sword fighting,” he curiously read off the front of it. Sounds interesting.
He carefully opened the book, dust falling off the pages as he did so.
Hundreds of forms were laid out on the pages, forms he didn’t even know existed.
“Wow,” he said out loud in wonder.
A frustrated groan came from up above him, a familiar one. Sokka jerked in surprise, then looked up one of the higher shelves where the prince sat in an empty row, an angry scowl directed at him.
“Oh great, now you found the library.” The firebender growled.
Sokka ignored his comment, instead smirking up at the other teenager
“I didn’t take you for someone who likes to read.”
Zuko crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.
“I don’t come here to read,” he replied, then, almost softly, “I come here because....it’s quiet.”
Sokka merely looked up at Zuko, a bit taken back by the lack of aggression in the last comment. It was another strange moment of vulnerability that the prince showed that was making it harder and harder for the water tribe warrior to hate him.
But, like usual, the prince’s face hardened once more when the silence got too loud.
He nodded at the book Sokka still held,
“Didn’t think the guy who likes to throw projectiles at people would be interested in swords.”
“It’s called a boomerang,” he shot back defensively, “and I don’t really know shit about swords, I just like reading.”
Zuko quirked his eyebrow, squinting his eyes to see the book Sokka held.
“Basics of swordbending?” He scoffed.
Sokka flung his arms angrily in reply.
“I just said I don’t know shit about swords. What do you want me to do, read ‘sword fighting for experts?’”
Zuko rolled his eyes and slid down the ladder, tapping a finger on the novel in Sokka’s hands.
“I meant because it’s insanely boring. Trust me, I’ve read that book a thousand times. If you actually like reading...” he paused, scanning the shelves quickly, then grabbed a reddish book, one a bit thicker then “basics of sword fighting.”
“....then you should read this.”
Sokka looked at the book, then the prince, then back at the book before grabbing it.
“The history of sword fighting in the four nations,” he read off the front.
He looked back up at the firebender, a surprisingly playful expression on his face,
“And here I thought you didn’t like to read.”
He turned to stare at the books on the shelves again as he tapped his fingers against his leg,
“I really don’t. Swords are the only things that make reading worth it.”
Sokka laughed sarcastically in reply
“Wow, I didn’t know the fire nation prince had such a passion for sword fighting. Aren’t you supposed to like.....hate everything but fire?”
“Sure,” he replied, annoyance blatant in his tone.
“Hm.”
The two stood quietly, staring at the ground, the only sound filling the room being the rain hitting the ship windows.
“I need to go command the ship,” the prince said suddenly, rather awkwardly and stiffly.
“Uh ok,” Sokka replied as the firebender rushed out of the room.
He shook his head and set his sights back on the text he was clutching in his hands. It was a beautiful work, with thin gold paint outlining the front, and designs of each of the symbols of the four nations in the corners. He opened to the first page, and written in small manuscript, was a note. He narrowed his eyes to read it.
‘To Zuko, my talented student. Learning from different sources is the key to becoming the best you can be. I trust that this volume will help you to do so.
-Sifu Piandao’
He didn’t know who Piandao was, but obviously he cared about Zuko, enough to gift him this incredible book. The book he was now....kinda gifted? He wasn’t sure, but he finally sat down and began reading, the rain drops pattering against the windows and the waves crashing beneath him. Finally, some peace.
......................................................
Zuko made his way to the bow of the ship to consult with the other officers on the ship. Well, consult was a strong word. More like him basically screaming over them and no one listening.
The brewing storm outside caused the ship to jerk rather suddenly, to which the prince paused, then continued walking.
By the time he made it to the meeting area, all the other men were already there.
He was late. He was never supposed to be late—
‘a hot hand gripped his small shoulder tightly, and a voice growled “do not ever be late again Prince Zuko.”
He shook off the memory and noticed all eyes on him.
He could have prevented his tardiness if he hadn’t been conversing with the other boy. Just add it to the list of failures that made him a complete embarrassment to his nation.
“What are you looking at?” He yelled suddenly, “this ship isn’t going to sail itself.”
The crew was more then used to the prince’s incessant yelling, so they merely grumbled and turned to discuss among themselves.
Their dismissal of him would have hurt if he actually cared for what they thought of him, and he most certainly did not. Well, not anymore at least. He stopped crying himself to sleep over what his shipmates thought of him at least two years ago. Being cold and detached at this point was a survival mechanism.
A safety precaution.
It does sometimes still hurt, but now, it makes him want to grind his teeth in rage rather then sob like a child.
His uncle, like usual, was the only one that seemed to still care for his presence.
“Prince Zuko, is everything alright?” The older man asked in a concerned tone.
The teenager sighed exasperatedly and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
“What do you think?”
Iroh looked like he was about to share some wise words of comfort, but Zuko brushed him aside.
“Hey,” he yells once’s more, “did you guys forget who commands this ship!”
The crew turned once more to face him, looks of irritation and malice apparent. They quietly murmured to one another.
“Who does he think he is,” he heard one say, or “yeah, maybe we do forget he’s the commander.”
He felt himself fume with rage, smoke coming out of his mouth and nose, and he wants to scream became no one listens to him and no one cares and no one respects him and—
He would have yelled in anger to hide his vulnerability, but then he heard a commotion outside, one that was getting closer and closer to the door.
..............................................
Life on the ship was boring enough, but now that they had to only stay inside the ship, made it even worse.
Katara sat alone in their room for a good ten minutes, merely staring up at the ceiling in boredom.
She ran her fingers over her neck expecting to feel the smooth groves of her mother’s necklace, then realized she wasn’t wearing it; It was stuffed away with all the rest of her water tribe attire.
The last remnants of home. Spirits she missed it. She missed it so much.
She felt tears prickle her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and sat up, looking for some water to bend.
Whenever everything hurt just a bit too much, she would waterbend. Obviously she wasn’t all that advanced, but it was almost therapeutic. Healing.
‘My little waterbender.’
“Screw it,” she murmured to herself, finally getting up to leave the metal box.
Once she made it down the hallway, she looked around each corner quickly, then opened the door to go outside.
Well, the weather had certainly changed quiet drastically. The sky was a dark grey, the waves an angry shade of blue, and lithe sprinkles of rain were now falling from the sky.
She bent some of the droplets, forming a small roof above her head. Giggling, she walked around the deck and widened the shield.
It was almost a perfect moment, almost-
A sound behind her startled her, causing her to quickly drop the water on the deck.
There was a man at the door, who’s expression was one of surprise and cruel malice. She instantly recognized him, Tai. He was one of the healers on the ship, and he constantly glared viciously at her and Sokka and murmured hateful words underneath his breath.
No one else was out here, so that must mean he purposely followed her. Which means he had to have seen her waterbend.
Shit.
His face molded into a ugly grin, it reminded her of that side-burned creep that had come onto the ship the other week. Crap crap crap she wished she had listened to Sokka and been more careful.
“Well well,” he finally spoke, “of course the little savage is a waterbender too.”
“Please,” she hated the pathetic tone of her voice, “don’t tell anyone.”
His face morphed into a very ugly grimace, one so full of vengeance that she almost shivered at it.
“And why the fuck would I do that?” He questioned, his face red and voice clenched.
He reached forward and snatched her wrist tightly.
“Water Tribe barbarians killed my brother and my son.”
She was speechless, trying to force the words out. To tell him that he had no right to hold the same kind of bitterness she did. His dead loved ones were probably soldiers trying to invade innocent villagers, not regular citizens like her mother was.
“Let me go!,” she finally said as she desperately tried to twist out of his iron grip.
Instead, he clenched tighter and lit a flame in his palm, one that was the shape of a blade.
“How about I cleanse the world of another nuisance. An eye for an eye.”
The fire blade came closer and closer to her neck, and in her fight or flight reflex, she quickly bent water to dose the flame, and effectively caused him to let go.
She bolted so fast that he didn’t have time to even try to grab her again, but even as she made it inside, she could still hear him chasing after her. Her heart pounded in her chest. She could feel her blood in her head, heating.
No no Tui and La this wouldn’t be the day she died please please—
She wasn’t sure where Sokka was, but she was running towards wherever at this point, just as far away as possible.
Her lungs burned, and she realized that she was going to loose this race. Oh spirits oh spirits—
She grabbed the handle of the next door she saw at the end of the hall, not before Tai grabbed her wrist once more and attempted to drag her away.
She heard voices inside the door, many not quite familiar ones, and Iroh’s stood out. He was fire nation, but from what she gathered, he wouldn’t let her be murdered. After all, he was the one that offered her passage on the ship in the first place
So she screamed.
Loudly.
................................................
Sokka had gotten deeply invested in the book Zuko had given him, until he heard a bloodcurdling scream.
Katara?
His heart dropped to his stomach, and he jumped out of the library space.
“Katara!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.
Thank to years of tracking and hunting, his depth perception was above average, so he was able to find where Katara had screamed from fast.
When he found her, there was a man there, fire in his hand, face contorted with rage. He was sure Katara had probably kicked or slapped or stomped on his foot or something, considering she was in a fighting stance.
The door she was standing in front of what now open, and the prince was standing there, a look of shock on his face similar to Sokka’s. Getting over the momentary distraction, he straightened his back and growled at the older man.
“Get away from my sister!”
............................................
Zuko stood still, deeply confused at the scene before him. The three people he was staring at looked like they wanted to kill one another. The tension was permeable.
Until Sokka cut the silence with his get away from sister. It was kinda badass honestly. A non bender standing up against a bender to defend someone he cares about. He shook his head ‘focus Zuko.’
“What is going on here?!” He finally questioned.
“Your healer,” Katara angrily pointed a finger at the man in front of her, still panting from their chase, “just tried to murder me!”
Tai took a step forward, causing the younger girl to fearfully take a step back, and Sokka looked about ready to pounce on the man.
The man responded aggressively.
“That—that rat is a waterbender. I had every right to try and end her lowly existence.”
Zuko’s eyes widened at the words, and he turned to face Katara.
“You’re a waterbender?”
Her eyes seemed to almost immediately fill with tears as she silently nodded. He looked in between her, then Tai, then ended on Sokka, who was a mixture of many indistinguishable emotions. But if one was sure, it was one that he shared with his sister.
Both he and Katara had fear in their eyes.
If he were anything like how his father wanted him to be, that would bring him joy. Good, they should be afraid. This was his ship and they had willfully omitted the truth, and should face the coincidences for it.
But he didn’t feel that. Instead he felt sick at their fear. Someone had tried to kill one of them because of the element they bent. That lacked honor in so many ways, and that didn’t represent what his nation was supposed to stand for. Murder wasn’t by any means ok, and especially not in this situation or context.
“Stand down Tai,” the prince finally spoke sternly.
The older man looked enraged at the comment.
“You’re telling me to stand down!? They lied to us! I’m merely teaching them a lesson!”
‘Suffering will be your teacher.’
The man’s hands were still hot, Zuko could feel it, and he trembled. He instinctively stood in between the siblings and Tai, in case he decided to leap and burn them.
“There is no honor in this lesson,” Zuko growled.
The seething man leaned into his space, and Zuko fought to keep from shaking.
“What do you know of honor, Prince Zuko?”
His good eye twitched at that. How dare he—
“Get off my ship,” the prince said blankly, his anger barely being contained.
Tai looked genuinely surprised at the boy’s order, then leaned back.
“You can’t possibly—“
“Yes I can. I will not allow dishonorable brutes onto my ship. So get off. Now.”
The healer blinked his hazel eyes a few times in amazement, then threw his hands up. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Katara flinch.
Tai seemed to want to throw an insult at the young prince, but decided with stomping down the hall, not before sneering.
“Whatever. It’s not like I want to live on a ship with you traitors.”
Zuko ignored him, instead turning back to the room full of the clearly stunned crew members.
“If you agree with his actions, then you are free to join him.”
The room stood still for a few moments, until about four other men walked out the door, glared at Sokka and Katara, and followed Tai.
Zuko sighed and addressed his lieutenant, “Jee, set sail for the next earth kingdom port, we need somewhere to drop those dirt eaters off at.”
Jee seemed to think for a moment, then tapped his fingers against the metal of the ship.
“I’m afraid that won’t be for another couple days because of the storm.”
Zuko groaned in frustration.
“What if he tries to kill me again?” A small voice behind him asked.
Katara was now poorly holding in tears, and spirits she looked terrified, despite Sokka’s comforting hand on her back. He almost completely forgot about the fact that she had left out the important detail that she was a waterbender, mostly because her big eyes reminded him all too much of another thirteen year old.
“I-“ he looked at some of the guards, then motioned for them to leave the room.
“Go follow the men that just left and make sure they stay away from these two,” he ordered.
They nodded in compliance and left, leaving the room in silence. Not even a whisper was spoken between the remaining crew members.
“Do we have to leave now because I’m a waterbender?” Katara asked, causing many a head to perk up.
All eyes were all on Zuko now, awaiting a response. He merely rolled his eyes.
“Whatever. We have more things to worry about other then you being able to bend water.”
Neither sibling said anything, just nodded in response.
However, as the two turned to leave, Sokka mouthed at Zuko
“Thank you.”
His chest tightened at that, and suddenly everything felt very hot. He softened his expression as a response, unable to do anything else, and breathed a sigh of relief.
He was glad he did the right thing, even if his only reward was a pretty boy breathing words of gratitude to him.
..............................................
It was getting late into the night, and Sokka had made sure Katara was safe in their room, asleep, before slipping out.
He found himself in front of the prince’s door, unsure what to do next. He decided upon lightly knocking, hoping he wasn’t waking up the firebender.
To his surprise, Zuko opened the door, and he didn’t look angry or upset. Actually, he looked rather concerned.
“Is everything alright? It’s late.”
Sokka stuttered for a moment, unsure what words he wanted to speak. Zuko just stared at him, looking more tired than irritated. It was strange, seeing his face so free of its usual tightness, and the fire gently lit his face and his golden eyes. He actually looked like a kid, just like him.
“I—thank you for today. I know I kind of already said it earlier but I wanted it to be more real, you know?”
The firebender fluttered his eyes, then stared at the ground and ground his heel.
“No need to thank me, I was just doing the right thing.”
“Well I can’t say I’ve known many firebenders who didn’t jump onto the idea or killing or capturing me or my sister, so today kind of threw me for a loop.”
Zuko nodded in agreement.
“Trust me, today most definitely threw me for a loop.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
The fire crackled in the background comfortably, before Sokka shifted away from the doorway.
“Well, have a good night.”
Zuko stammered in reply.
“You too, uh, stay safe.”
As Sokka returned to his room, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was supposed to despise the prince, afterall, he was a firebender, and he was on the other side of the war.
But Zuko wasn’t like other firebenders. Any other firebender would have thrown him off the ship like they were nothing. Instead, he made an effort to make sure they were protected and safe.
So if Sokka was supposed to hate him, he was making it damn hard to do so.
......................................