Chapter Text
Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe sat in a Fire Nation prison cell watching the Kingdom's crown prince empty the contents of his stomach on the floor of their enclosure. He had never personally encountered the boy in the past but he knew of him. The prince had a reputation for being rash and destructive.
Right now though, the prince looked disheveled and thoroughly put out. He had stopped vomiting and was leaning his head against the bars of the cell. Hakoda waited several heartbeats, listening to Zuko's sharp breaths, before deciding to intervene.
Hakoda lifted himself up. His side ached and he was a bit stiff from sitting against the chilled stone of the cell but he came to his feet without incident and walked over to the now shivering Fire Nation boy. Without preamble, the chief lifted Zuko up and half-carried him, half marched him to the other side of the cell. The boy didn't struggle. Hakoda set him in the corner, the place where the two walls met serving to support the prince in a sitting position.
Kneeling in front of his newly deposited charge, Hakoda made eye contact with the Fire Nation prince. The boy had an odd expression of pained confusion on his face. His eyes seemed a bit crossed.
Hakoda knew that the Fire Prince had some sort of disfigurement on his face. He had always imagined it as a burn over his cheek or temple - the result of some reckless action with his overzealous fire bending. He had not imagined the boy with half his face and neck marred with scarring. His hairline behind his ear pushed back by the former injury. Hakoda could see the boy’s hand and forearm had also been partially burned and wondered how much scarring was hidden beneath his clothing.
Studying the boy’s face Hakoda realized that while the scarring discolored most of its right half, Zuko had fresh bruising across his temple. There was a red mark on his opposite cheek as well. It was in the shape of a handprint.
The princess, this boy's sister, must have done that to him only a few minutes before. That burn was mild and would fade in a few days. What concerned Hakoda was Zuko's inability to fully meet his gaze. It didn't look as if he was avoiding Hakoda's stare but the boy’s eyes didn't appear to be cooperating with their owner and the pupil in the eye forced halfway shut by the scar tissue on that side of his face was much larger than in the other exaggerating how it narrowed more than the other.
"Young man, I think you have a bad head injury." Hakoda said. Zuko smiled lopsidedly.
"Yeeeah, m-most people, most people, don't notice." He let his chin drop as he spoke and then eyelids began to follow. Hakoda was unsure if the boy had genuinely attempted to make a self-deprecating joke or if he honestly didn't realize that the man was referring to the blow Zuko must have just recently taken to the head.
"No, I'm not talking about your scarring. You've been hit in the head recently right? Can you keep looking at me for a moment?" Hakoda was not harsh but he kept his tone authoritative and detached. He spoke to Zuko as he would to one of his men. In response, the boy did try to lift his gaze back up to meet Hakoda's.
"Oh, um, ah…" Zuko furrowed his brow. “Maybe?” He said.
That didn't bode well as a response, Hakoda thought, but at least the boy understood what was being said to him. The chief decided there wasn't much he could do for the kid other than try and keep him awake. He sighed and lifted his half gloved hand up with the first two fingers and thumb raised.
"How many fingers am I holding up." Asked Hakoda. Zuko looked contemplative for a few beats.
"Fffour." The boy's voice was low and guarded as he slurred out his response.
By all things sacred, thought Hakoda. He lost a bit of his business-like demeanor as he stared at the Fire Nation prince for a moment. The boy was giving him as steady a gaze as he could muster, his mouth in a hard line. This boy took a blow to the head so hard he just told the chief of the Southern Water Tribe that he was holding up four fingers instead of three with a straight face. Hakoda ran his hand through his hair and moved into a sitting position against the wall a few feet from Zuko. The boy turned his head to continue looking at him, his scared cheek was now pressed against the cell-wall.
"Alright, listen son. I know you probably feel tired right now but you need to stay awake." Zuko's eyes had actually begun drifting shut as Hakoda gave his speech. "Hey!" Hakoda said. The boy looked a bit cross but opened his eyes.
"Yeah." Huffed Zuko.
"No,” Hakoda began in a stern voice. “Look at me and say you will stay awake." Commanded Hakoda. Zuko made a small frown.
"I'll ssstay wake." He said.
"Alright then."