Chapter Text
It was a beautiful cloudless day following the storm the night prior. Chief Hakoda stepped out on deck and took a deep breath, looking around at his crew as they organized the wayward ropes and unfastened the supplies they battened down. The youngest of the crew were ducking out of sight behind some recently freed barrels to escape the watching eye of the helmsman. Bato, his second in command, was dragging in a net and yelling at some nearby crewmen to get a healer and why was there a child in the net?
“Chief!” Bato yelled over to him, untangling sickly pale limbs clad in black. “Might want to come over here!”
Hakoda made his way quickly to his side, kneeling down to help detangle the – teenager? Laying on his deck, in the middle of the ocean in contested waters, was a snow skinned teen with straight dark hair pulled in the strangest wolf’s tail he had ever seen. The healer was just making his way on deck when the teenager squinted open golden eyes and coughed up sodden flecks of ash that stuck to his blue lips.
There was a Fire Nation teen laying on his deck.
Hakoda stayed in his spot beside of the teen’s head, rolling him on his side as Bato- and the majority of the crew- jumped back into fighting stances. He heard the scrape of several blades being unsheathed under the sudden cacophony of retching, coughing, and soot-blackened sea water splattering onto the boards.
“Hakoda, what exactly are you doing?” Bato asked incredulously, not lowering his boot knife. The chief muttered instructions to the healer before standing to allow the man in his place.
“You all are aware that this is an ashmaker. But we don’t know if he is a soldier, a pirate, or just some unlucky lava-born, washed off of an Earth Kingdom fishing boat. We are fighting senseless child murderers; we are not trying to become them,” He announced to the deck as a whole, already seeing dissent in some of the tribesmen. “We have the suppression cuffs from our last raid. Let’s hear him out if he makes it. He will either give us information that helps us or helps us justify his death.” That settled the majority of disapproval, most of the crew gave the shaking body one last scathing glance before sheathing their weapons and moving back to their tasks.
That left two men in this shift still standing there. Bato was staring at him like he suggested they ride penguin seals into their next battle. The other, a broad, tall warrior with shells threaded in his hair to symbolize his coastal tribe, was staring at the body like he wanted to string him up and dress him like an arctic deer-fox.
“Tonoruk, until we have a reason to, we are not killing this teenager just because of his appearance.”
“They wouldn’t hesitate- they didn’t hesitate.” He growled, turning away and stalking off to unfurl the sails. Hakoda sighed, turning to lift the dripping form in his arms.
Bato stood in his way. “You’re sure those were suppression cuffs, right Hakoda? Because you’re about to take a firebender into the infirmary of a wooden ship.” He made a good point.
“I’m sure, Bato. And I have a feeling whatever this one has to say, it will be worth the worry.” Hakoda smiled confidently, he was very good at making that expression, and walked past his friend after the healer. They made their way downstairs, the clammy boy shivering harder as the shade slipped over him. He deposited the bender into the bed furthest back, leaving him to the healer to get the cuffs.
After much rummaging in the piled boxes in his cabin/office he returned. Kalik had stripped the sopping garments from the teen and had them drying on a hook beside of the porthole. The one in question was shivering under too many furs to count while the healer heated another waterskin for the pile. Hakoda walked over and slipped the cuffs on the thin wrists, tightening them down with a shrill screech of metal on metal.
The soot coating the pillow beside of his mouth stopped immediately, but the shivering got worse. Kalik bustled over with the skins, shoving them under the furs against corpse cold skin. Hakoda waited until the healer had everything situated.
“What do you think, Kalik?” He asked, leaning against the far wall and watching the trembling pile. He watched the other man peel open eyelids to peer at glazed yellow, aged hands checking a weak pulse before rubbing away an approaching headache.
“I think the crew will get their body by morning, Chief.”
Hakoda nodded solemnly, clapping the healer on the back and walking out to get his day started, there was a lot of correspondence with the Earth Kingdom generals he had to send today. Enough to possibly distract him from a drowned and dying child two doors away.
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Kalik shoved his door open almost half a day later, the sun well set and Tui resting half waned in the sky. Hakoda set down the pins he was marking ports on his map with.
“News.” Kalik said, walking back to the infirmary. Hakoda rolled up a few of the scrolls coating his desk and followed him the two doors down. Bracing himself for a water burial, at least the moon was out to guide the child’s soul home-
Golden eyes stared at him as he walked in, tracking his movement. So not dead thank La. But not very alive if the foggy gaze told him anything. Kalik had pulled many of the furs off of him, explaining something about bizarre fire nation body temperatures and fevers and apparently the kid had bitten him.
Hakoda looked at the teen again, not exactly liking what he saw. The bender looked half aware, watching him with the knuckle of his pointer finger clenched tight in his teeth. He was curled tight despite the fever sweat rolling down his face. His free hand was fidgeting with the chain of the cuffs, staining his fingertips orange with rust.
“- found a bruise starting up under that silly plume, and you can see the black eyes starting if you look hard enough. Must have cracked his skull on a railing or something when he fell. No telling what effects this is going to have Chief. I’m not sure all of this-” the healer gestured to the teen chewing through his knuckle. “- is fever related.”
Hakoda watched the boy some more, pursing his lips. Dull gold watched him back, a bleeding finger escaping from his teeth to purse his own lips. Kalik shook his head. “He’s been doing that since he woke up. But that’s only half of the news anyway.” The healer picked up a water-tight tube from the jars filling his desk and handed it over. A fire emblem crest sealed the top of the scroll tube. “Found that in his waistband, must’ve been about to send it when he went overboard.”
Scraping the wax away with his knife, Hakoda unfurled the scroll inside. It was addressed to Fire Lord Ozai. It had the word Father in it, referring back to the addressee. It was signed off by the Fire Prince. If Hakoda had ever regretted anything in his life, this was climbing up there with leaving his children to fight in this La-forsaken war. He cast a long look back to the prince, a look that apparently meant nothing if the blank, wide-eyed stare bearing on him said anything.
“Keep the crew away from him, Kalik. I’m about to have a very difficult meeting and that one is about to be a sitting goose-bear.” He dragged a hand down his face to rest on his stubble, pointedly ignoring the peripheral view of a bloody hand doing the same over slowly purpling eyes. Kalik kneeled beside of the bed with a small cloth to fasten around the bite. Hakoda walked out to the sound of Kalik cursing and shaking his hand with a freshly printed set of teeth marks set in the palm.
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The meeting went about as well as expected. The second he got out exactly who was being held on the ship there was an uproar. Half of the men shouted for the prince’s head; the other half suggested using him for ransom. There was at least one voice he heard talking about using the boy as an “example.” No one in the room was quieting down at his calls and it was starting to turn to chaos.
“SETTLE.” Came a shout from his left. He could have kissed Bato right there if they weren’t in front of the entire crew. As it were, he smiled at him gratefully as the volume in the room came to acceptable levels and missed the youngest slipping out of the room.
“I know-” Hakoda started, looking back to the seething group. “That you all are angry. I understand that this was a shock to you all as it was to me. But those who wish to harm him, and those who think there is information to have… Kalik and I are not as confident.” A mummer of dissent swept the room for a moment. “He is either severely hurt, in which case we will hand him over to General Hao at the nearest port, or an incredibly good actor. We will have watches placed on him at all hours to catch this charade slip if he is. Is there anyone who disagrees with this?”
He waited. Of course, if there was a larger vote for an alternate solution, he would have to back down. He was chief and that meant he had final say only when they were in a battle, situations like this went to majority rule.
Tonoruk and a few others raised their hands, but at least two thirds of the crowd simply frowned and accepted his proposal. He kept himself from relaxing, he didn’t want the group to think he cared for the little torch. The meeting adjourned, everyone filtered out to go to bed or begin their night jobs. Hakoda took Bato to the infirmary, opening the door and walking into a very odd sight.
Kalik was sat near the door, mashing some sweet-smelling herbs in his mortar and casting an amused eye towards the chief and second in command who stood unsure in the doorway. In front of them sat a half-naked prince, mottled with bruises and pointer finger trapped firmly between his teeth, trying to keep his hand in his mouth and extend his other hand towards the qilaut wielded by Enok, the baby of the crew. The chains connecting the ashmaker wrists rattled with the deep percussion of the wide drum, Enok himself sat just out of reach, beating a playful rhythm with the stick strapped to the drum’s handle.
“Kalik I thought I said to keep the men away from him.” Was all Hakoda could say, watching the 19-year-old falter the drum with a sheepish glance. Bato looked like he was having a mental war and didn’t know which side he wanted to win.
“Since when has an ashmaker been interested in our instruments.” Was apparently the most important question to him. Hakoda did not allow himself a facepalm. Kalik did.
“Since the ashmaker developed a fever hot enough to give me a burn and has a skull fracture,” he deadpanned from behind his hand, crescent bites flaring red on his skin. “And good luck getting anywhere near him, sweet La. Brat has teeth and knows how to use them.” Said ashmaker had a line of dark blood trailing down his chin from his bruised knuckle. As if to spite the healer, Enok deftly brushed the hand from the other teens mouth, wiping the blood away with a strip of gauze Kalik had abandoned to the fur pile.
“Chief?” Enok turned to look at him, he would have to discuss turning your back on a fire bender with him later. “I don’t know what you decided on in the meeting… But I don’t think he’s any more of a threat than the children back home. I think he’s been chosen by a spirit.”
Hakoda kept a neutral expression. He knew Enok had a younger sibling who was spirit touched, the little girl had just hit her second sun-cycle milestones several cycles late. But they all knew spirits had never chosen a child as old as the Fire Nation royal. Children were picked to be raised from a young age in the community when they sensed tensions and walls rising. They were a tool to bring a village back together. They would never touch a near-adult destined to land on a warship manned by his father’s enemies. That would be cruel.
Enok was watching him, chewing his bottom lip in a nervous habit. The prince beside of him watched for a moment before chewing his own. Hakoda sighed, “I don’t believe spirits choose teenagers, Enok.” He held a hand to quiet the tribesman before he could protest. “But we are not doing anything besides ferrying him to the nearest Earth Kingdom port. We will see between here and there whether this is a true ailment of the prince or if this is a ruse.” A subtle glance at the teen showed him playing idly with the chain between his wrists again. Because he was disinterested or because he was afraid of the chief seeing through his ploy he didn’t know.
“Prince Zuko.” The prince looked up, keeping his eyes on the rusted chain for a moment before looking at the two older men. “You are staying in here until we make for shore, if you try anything I won’t stop the crew.” Gold looked into sky blue for a moment, curiosity swimming behind the fog.
He nodded slowly, running the links between his fingers. He looked away, back to the qilaut.
“We will have a watch set up at all hours to make sure you do not escape, you are a prisoner right now, do not forget.” The teen ignored him, glancing from Enok to the abandoned drum and back again. The other teenager got the hint, starting to lightly beat it again. Bato smirked a little at the dismissal and Kalik set down the paste he had made.
“Alright everyone out, I’m about to force feed the piranha-shark.” Bato was replaced with cold air in record time, not wanting to be wrangled into holding the bender down. Hakoda stayed by the door to wait on Enok, but Enok very resolutely planted himself.
“Enok, let’s go,” he started, raising an eyebrow at the clack of clay beads colliding with each shake of the younger tribesman’s head.
“He’s going to be scared… I’m staying.” Enok declared, sitting straight and tall. Kalik looked at Hakoda and shrugged with amusement swimming in his grey eyes, picking up the pulp filled mortar and making a shooing motion with his free hand.
Effectively outnumbered, especially with a firebender starting to make the same spirits-damned gesture, Hakoda admitted defeat. Stepping back into the hall he shut the door, but not before seeing Enok sit right beside of the prince, Kalik patting the boy’s knee and coaxing him to open his mouth like a parent to a child.
The spirits were known to be cruel.