Our Own Walls

by Swiss

Part One

It was a sweltering day. The sun blazed so brightly in the pale, washed out sky that even under the blue shade of the Air Temple's vast stone arches, the heat was oppressive. However, blistering heat was not a good excuse to skip fire-bending practice.

Full of disdain, the resident fire-bending master watched as his pupil pleaded shamelessly for a reprieve. Clinging to his most likely source of succor, Aang begged, "Oh please, oh please. I need a break. Oh, please, Sokka."

Internally, Zuko scoffed at such antics. He looked like a little child petitioning his father for a day off from school.

Not that this was an entirely off-base comparison. It had, in fact, become quite clear to Zuko that the Water tribesman and his sister had taken on guardianship of the twelve-year-old Avatar. Culturized to be caretakers, the siblings seemed to have fallen into their roles naturally, unthinkingly. They had become a family, and as mediator and decision-maker, Sokka played a decidedly paternal role in their group.

It was something that had not changed, even with the arrival of Hakoda, the only actual father among them.

Hakoda had his son's quick wit and much of his daughter's pride, yet he seemed a subtle rather than an invasive presence. Nonetheless, his presence made Zuko uneasy. He had a brooding feeling that the tribesman almost certainly disliked him, and this sense was especially strong when the man lingered as he did now, at the edge of the commotion.

Sokka, meanwhile, appeared to be considering Aang's request. While the younger boy groveled, he stroked the ridge of his nose contemplatively. Finally he grinned, holding his friend back by an arm's length. "Okay, Aang. I think you've earned some time to relax."

Breaking through the air bender's exclamations of celebration, Zuko cut in. "Oh? And you've decided it's okay with his fire-bending master for him to 'take a break'?"

The Southerner grinned at him ruefully. "Sorry, Zuko, but this actually comes at a pretty good time. I've been meaning to make a trip into the nearest town, and I'd like you to go with me."

"Into town?" Katara's head stuck up from her place near the fire. "Sokka," she asked, "Why would we go back there?"

"Ah, well, not all of us." The young man idly scratched his neck, and Zuko noticed how his eyes flickered toward his father. As though, like the fire bender, he was still getting used to considering another potential voice. "I don't what to risk the whole group. But I'm interested in how the Fire Lord has responded to the invasion, and what he's saying about us and Aang. We need to know what's going on."

Zuko stepped closer, cautioning, "Rumors would be more misleading than informative. It's propaganda, straight from the politicians' mouths."

Sokka just nodded. "Yeah, that's what I want to hear. I want to know what Ozai wants everyone to know. And I want to see how it's affecting the people – if they're nervous or afraid. We need to put our ear to the ground."

Zuko frowned. He had a point. There was a lot to be learned from what people didn't say. "And you want me to come with you?"

Sokka nodded, looking more eager now that he was certain another understood. "We've infiltrated some of the villages before. Even, briefly," he chuckled, "the army."

"And a school!" Aang threw into the conversation, puzzling Zuko by performing a strange series of dance-like motions as he gallivanted in a circle.

"But," the Southerner continued, gesturing towards the former prince. "It could be even easier with your help. It is your Nation, after all."

"Sokka, I don't know," Katara trailed off, uncertain. "Infiltrating even a small village when they're on such high alert for us would be so dangerous. And –"

And. Zuko caught the way her eyes settled briefly on him, both distrustful and fearful. And she didn't want her brother to run off with the deceitful Fire Nation prince. Who knew what monstrous atrocities he might inflict on Sokka while they were off on their own?

Zuko tried to hum instead of growl as he'd seen his uncle do, but it wasn't very successful in subduing his temper. "Let's go," he deciding on a whim, half in defiance of that disapproving look.

The tension that had grown was fairly palpable, weighing down the air between the pillars. Toph and Aang were both gazing between them as though waiting for a climax, but Sokka was ever the defuser. "Now, guys, I've thought this all out carefully," he said, walking between them and gesturing placating. To his sister, he gently pointed out, "Zuko's done a lot to show he's trustworthy. Because of him, Aang is learning to fire bend. He helped us take care of that assassin. He tells stupid jokes."

"Hey," Zuko began, but Sokka plowed over him.

Looking into his sister's stubborn face, he told her, "I promise we'll be safe, Katara, but this will help us. We need supplies we can't get here, anyway. Didn't you say you wished we had more of those awful smelling weeds?"

"Healing herbs," Katara corrected him, but she was smiling indulgently now. "Okay," she acquiesced. "I'll make you a list. But I expect you back in one piece, or else."

The 'or else' lingered in the air like a sharp piece of ice positioned uncomfortably near one's jugular, and Zuko had the clear impression that the threat had been meant entirely for him. As in, Sokka had better come back in one piece, or Katara would be grafting him back together again with bits of Zuko's carcass.

"Dad?" Sokka looked to the older man, who'd stood by thoughtfully throughout the conversation without saying a word.

A moment of contemplation was followed by a slight inclination of his head. "This is possibly something only you can do, Sokka. Men like Chit Sang and I would never be able to pass unnoticed, but two young boys…"

The Southerner's face lit up with his approval.

Aang pumped his arm appreciatively. "And that means a break from training!"

"Not so fast, Twinkletoes." Toph was grinning evilly. "If Zuko's going to be gone, then I think this will be an excellent time to get your earth bending in shape. You still move dirt like a pebble-pusher."

"She makes a good point," Katara agreed from over their cook pot. "You aren't a master of all the elements yet."

The Avatar deeply groaned, bowing over. He didn't bother petitioning Sokka again. Apparently he already knew that the will of mommy and bullying big sister conquered all.

A question had occurred to Zuko which he asked now, looking over the Southerner critically. The young man was head to toe blue and navy, the tunic, jewelry, and armguards all distinctively foreign. His scruffy tail of hair made him look even more...tribal. "Surely you're not going like that."

Sokka picked at his clothes with dark brown hands, blinking blue-eyed in quite a comical way. "What? You think I'm indiscrete?" he asked innocently.

The others laughed. "We have disguises, oh wise Prince Obvious," Toph scoffed at him. "Sokka even has a whole set of Fire Nation armor. You know, with the mask." She curled her fists around her eyes like telescope lenses in a humorous rendition of the infamous invasion force helmets.

Zuko was slightly stunned. Their words from earlier about their foray into the Fire Nation returned to him. "The army?" he inquired, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yep," Sokka grinned. "Army and navy, actually. Though after our trip, I don't know why you're so surprised. For this, I think I'll just go with the red tunic, though. Seriously, do you people even make clothes in other colors?"

Zuko had to turn his back moodily to cover the quirk that threatened to turn up the corner of his mouth. He retorted, "Humph, you should talk. Do you wear blue so that you blend into the fathomless, glacial wilderness where you come from?"

"Actually yes," Sokka answered, quite cheerily and completely untouched by offence. He posed like a prowling hunter. "Yes, we do."

The fire-bender crossed his arms. "Okay, fine for you. What about this," he gestured to his face. Any citizen with half a mind would recognize the twice-traitor now.

But the intelligent, crazy Water tribesman just smirked. "No problem."

Their "disguises" worked out better than Zuko expected.

Sokka did indeed have an outfit of suitable clothes. Bedecked in rust and brown and crowned with a cheap ornament of red flame, he looked absolutely like any Fire Nation native Zuko had ever seen. His eyes even seemed less obviously blue.

For Zuko himself, they'd toned down the quality of his clothing with a little dirt and a few unnecessary patches to make them look mended. Like Sokka, he pulled his hair back into the topknot that was so typical of his people, transforming him from raggedy rouge to travel-worn but ordinary youth.

"You look so regular," Suki commented when he had finished. Her acceptance of their plan was, in contrast to Katara, mostly amused.

"Yeah," Zuko answered her. But not glumly, no. "All except for the disfiguring scar."

But his companion had already resolved this. With a flourish, Sokka presented the group with a strip of clean cotton. "Here," he said, unceremoniously wrapping it around Zuko's head and eye. "It's like a bandage, so anyone who notices will just think you're clumsy."

Zuko reached up to gently prod the odd pressure against his face, trying to get a feel for it. It actually wasn't a completely stupid idea, though the sensation of the cloth against his face did bring back uncomfortable memories. "I think it will work," he admitted.

Obviously pleased with himself, Sokka gave Zuko an amicable shove forward and then spread his arms wide as though presenting them for the group's inspection. "Well?" he asked. "Do we look alright?"

The remaining members of the gang, even the Earth Kingdom boys, stared. "Freaky," Teo spoke for the entire gathering.

"He's right," Hokoda spoke, his lips quirking. "As strange as it sounds, you could be brothers." Brothers colored in different shades, anyway.

Sokka broke the tension with a snort. "Give me a break – I'm way more handsome than Zuko. So the disguises knock out some of the differences. Everybody looks the same in these things anyway." He pointed to the topknot disdainfully.

Zuko rolled his eyes, even if he secretly agreed.

Forestalling any further discussion, the Southerner went to grab their meager bag, which was mostly empty in anticipation of the supplies they would be bringing back. He went over their plans again. "We'll head southeast like Zuko suggested and hopefully hit a town this evening. I expect you'll see us in two days, but don't just come running after us if we don't. The last thing we need is a blotched rescue attempt. Discreetness!" he declared, puncturing the air with one finger.

Zuko sighed with exasperation at almost the same time Katara did, and they took a moment to glare at one another. "You better not get him into trouble," she growled at whisper volume while the subject of their confrontation rattled off final instructions to a vapid-looking Aang and an indifferent Toph.

The fire-bender's nose scrunched, a clear indication that he was on the verge of loosing his temper. "He'll be fine. Do you think I'm going to eat him?"

"I think you're a thoughtless, self-absorbed jerk," Katara retorted without hesitation, and the conviction in her voice was so strong that it gave Zuko pause. "I don't think you've ever looked out for someone else your whole life, and I don't know if you're capable of it."

Zuko's voice coiled metallically. "Is their a point to this?"

"He just better come back in once piece," she said.

Sokka hailed them then – "Katara, quit threatening Zuko! We're leaving!" – and the fire bender joined his strangely changed companion, leaving the girl and her glower behind. She stood at the edge of the precipice as the others waved them off, her hands fisted over her breasts as they disappeared over the horizon.

Sinking mournfully into Appa's saddle, Zuko sulked. "Your sister hates me."

Sokka looked back towards the rapidly sinking figures. "She's worried," he judged. "That's all. We'll just have to try really hard not to die."

It was just before sunrise when the boys caught sight of a suitable village, nestled around the bay of a small but obviously inhabited island. Far below them, tiny dark vessels were already moving in and out of deeper water, and there appeared the be a market of at least a moderate size.

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Sokka surveyed the ground. "I don't see any Navy ships, do you?"

"No," Zuko answered, his gaze sharp. A measure of tension drained from him automatically. "It should be safe." Or at least as safe as any place in the Fire Nation was for them now.

More fully awake, Sokka grinned into the chilly air current kicked up by Appa's propulsion. He stroked the enormous bison encouragingly. "Hey, buddy. Can you circle around to the edge of those farms – to where the forest is?"

"So far outside the wall?" Zuko pondered. It occurred to him to puzzle over the wall itself – an impressive metal structure twice as high as a man that surrounded the entire town. Outside of it there were only plowed fields and a narrow road straggling inland. "Why a wall like that?" he wondered. "Even at the edge of the bay, look."

"A floodwall?" Sokka guessed. "If so, they chose a poor material. They'd have been better off with earth or stone."

Zuko didn't say so, but he still felt fairly certain the wall was intended to control something other than the sea.

It didn't take them long to reach the undeveloped land by air. Appa set them down gently in an outcropping of thick foliage, gurgling deeply in his throat until Sokka praised him. "Good boy, Appa. You should wait here while we investigate."

A lowing sound of understanding, though the animal did give a kind of exasperated huff as though to say, 'I know how this goes.'

The gate of the wall was open wide when they reached it, watched only by one lazy looking guard observing the carts of produce, people, and farm equipment as they trickled by. He straightened against his spear, however, when he caught sight of the unfamiliar young men.

"Hey," he called to them, affectedly casual but with a definite challenging undertone. He gazed over them when they obediently halted. "You boys here for business?"

It occurred to Zuko that they hadn't discussed their cover story, but before he could stammer out something believable, Sokka was slapping him on the back and cheerfully explaining, "We were heading here to look for work, but we sorta crashed our boat a little south of the bay." He scratched his head with a self-depreciating grimace. "Hadta walk."

To the fire-bender's astonishment, the guard nodded his head sympathetically. "That's a lethal lee shore. You're lucky to be alive." He rebuked, "What were you thinking, taking an unfamiliar route before daybreak?"

Sokka wilted like a scolded puppy. "I know," he said mournfully. "My boat looks like shattered toothpicks."

"Someone will help you get the hull off the teeth once you're established yourself." Then the man actually clapped Sokka on the shoulder. "Well, just keep in mind that these doors close at dusk, so if you're camping, be on time. Security's tight at night – no excuses. Anyone trying to get in or out is arrested on the spot."

"But why such precautions?" Zuko dared to inquire.

For some reason, the guard looked at the former prince with a far less friendly expression than he had Sokka. Tight-lipped, Zuko could practically see the suspicion growing in him…

"It is weird," Sokka put in, poking his chin as though he were the most harmless dolt in the world. "At home there was just this rickety old stick fence, and I think that was mostly to keep the cowpigs from wandering off."

Zuko actually watched the man's face mellow. He asked, "Ain't you heard, farm boy? A pack of halfwit renegades tried to attack the capital. They've got them locked up tight now, but the army sent out a warning there could be some stragglers trailing up and down the island chains."

"Oh! Was there any word about the identity of the raiders?"

The guard was contemptuous. "Just a bunch of Water Tribe pirate trash."

Sokka had tensed at the description of the 'pirate trash', undoubtedly the fathers, uncles, and clansman of his tribe. Very quietly, he said, "I see."

"Yeah, everyone's pretty nervous. So you boys better stay out of trouble, understood?" His gaze seemed to bite into Zuko particularly.

The disguised tribesman waved, giving a motivating yank on his companion's sleeve. "Will do! Wish us luck."

"Luck," the man granted, gesturing them onwards. Then they were inside on a dirt and cobble path leading through an array of colorful houses and fluttering laundry. There were any number of folk about, going about their business.

"They didn't tell the people that the Avatar is alive or that the 'raiders' were anything more than an isolated rabble. I suspected it would be this way," Zuko admitted. Information was too carefully controlled in the Fire Nation for things to be otherwise.

Sokka nodded. He was no longer affecting a dullard's merriment, but there was also no anger or surprise in his expression. "Yeah," he said, adjusting their bag. "I figured so too."

The marketplace was only a short walk from the edge of town and brought with it the smell of fish. The myriad stalls supported any number of products, and the morning sun made the plaster on the buildings seemed bright and wholly unaffected by war. There was buying and selling going on in a complicated ritual of haggling. Money was exchanged, something that Zuko had never needed in his own country. The casual greetings, speech, and slang were bewildering, and as they walked, it became increasingly clear to Zuko that he wasn't going to be much more use in this place than Momo would have been. He'd traveled the world, but in his own nation he had been a prince. He'd probably visited fewer Fire Nation villages than Sokka.

"Living in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se must have been a real transition for you," Sokka commented. Seeing the fire bender's startled expression, he chuckled. "Heh, you had this wondering look on your face. But don't worry. I figured that."

"Why did you want me along then?" Zuko wanted to know.

"Honestly," he said, leaning closer as though sharing a secret. "You looked as though you could use a break as much as Aang."

Zuko considered this. How did he feel? For one thing, he wasn't used to so many people. Then there was the continual hostility that radiated from Katara, and the hesitant looks the others sometimes gave him. His uncertainty about Sokka's father. It was a strain, sometimes.

A skipping game had been marked out on the ground and Sokka paused to observe with interest. After watching a few repetitions, the tribesman joined the dragon's tail and leapt through the complicated pattern with ease. The children clapped with delight at one of the big boys joining their game. One tugged on the hem of Zuko's shirt, but he only stepped back, declining the invitation.

After he'd said goodbye, Sokka teased, "Gee, Zuko. Too repressed to play a kiddy game?"

"I don't play," the fire-bended answered. It was mostly true. It had been a long, long time since he'd done something so carefree as a chalk game. Probably such activities predated the departure of his mother. His mother…

"We didn't do those kinds of things at the South Pole either," the tribesman shared.

A quirk of humor overcame Zuko. "Did you play with snow?" he asked.

"Yes," Sokka readily admitted, as cheerfully as before. "I fished, learned to hunt, to fight, to cook. To build things…with snow," he emphasized, grinning. "Everything was made of snow. Dazzling white towers so bright that they could hurt your eyes if you didn't wear the right gear. Walls and turrets and stairs." He spread his arms as though to encompass this glistening spectacle. "There were dances though," he added, sounding wistful. "But we hadn't done them for a long time."

"Why not?" Zuko wondered, caught up in the description.

Sokka's steady pace slowed, shoulders rolling. Keeping his face turned away, he said, "The dances are for marriages, births, successful hunts, springtime, coming of age. But our numbers have dwindled so much. Katara and I were the only ones even near marring age, and the hunters were busy being warriors. Nobody felt much like celebrating."

It was a disheartening story, and one that made Zuko feel uncomfortable. He knew why the numbers at the South Pole had been diminished, and it made his stomach churn with shame. "I'm sorry," he murmured, meaning it.

Sokka stopped, grinning at him. "You know, it's sort of enough for me that you feel that way. I don't blame you for everything that the Fire Nation's done. But, if things turn out the way we hope, I'd like to be able to hold you responsible for the future." Then, blinking, he looked around. "Now, where do you think we can find some of Katara's smelly weeds?"

"Healing herbs," Zuko said automatically, and lead them in a likely direction.

Sokka followed with an expression as mild as if they had spent the morning discussing potted plants. The fire-bender could envy his rapid recovery. His own troubled thoughts always dwelled in him deep, like smoldering embers.

By the early afternoon, Zuko was convinced that Sokka could successfully infiltrate any place he pleased. Something about him just blended. Little old woman preened when he winked at them, strangers that he'd never met waved back and smiled. He bumbled enough, smiled enough, that he seemed completely innocuous. After a while, it became hard for even Zuko to discern how much was just acting. He certainly seemed completely comfortable here.

A good example of this occurred when Zuko turned around from a stall just in time to see Sokka jostle an enormous villager carrying a hoe. Beside the man, the tribesman seemed runty – his shoulders half the farmer's size. But Sokka just grinned as though he'd run into a beloved old uncle rather than a burley, red-faced laborer. Incredibly, he gave the man a shove. "Hey, watch out for those of us smaller than a house, huh?"

The fire-bender saw the furrowed, stormy expression and almost expected that the giant to clout Sokka across the head. But instead his face transformed, turning from irritation to amusement.

"You've got a lot of nerve for a scrawny whelp," he answered. "In town for work, boy? I've got a few fields that could use an extra pair of hands, provided a good work ethic comes with that big mouth."

Sokka laughed. "We're actually just passing through." He gestured generously toward Zuko, drawing him into the conversation after that particular way of his. "Me and my friend."

Perhaps it was the way he stood, or something in his face, but just as before with the guard, the farmer took one look at Zuko and his face creased with distrust. "You look out of place, boy," he challenged.

"We're from the Fire Nation colonies." Sokka shrugged, as if that explained everything. And possibly it did, because the farmer was suddenly nodding agreeably. Zuko was boggled, but the Southerner just gave him a shove. "We need to go. Come on, Zu…er, Zukka."

"Zukka?" the fire-bender demanded when they were well enough away.

"Yeah! That makes me Suko." The tribesman wiggled his fingers expressively. "Hm. Possibly needs more z's. Suzo? I want a double letter. I am Suzzo!"

"We don't use double letters in the Fire Nation."

But he'd underestimated Sokka. The young man countered, "The second letter will be silent. Only me and you will know."

Zuko's brain throbbed from the sheer ludicrous nature of this conversation, but at the same time he found himself having to swallow a smile. This idiot was ridiculous, but somehow his absurdity put off even Zuko's withering moods.

Still, he was troubled. "I didn't expect this to be so easy," he admitted. "My uncle would tell me that a person is always most surprised by what happens within their own walls, but still…"

Sokka looked at him sympathetically. "Nobody expects the enemy to be like themselves," he said.

A more true and ironic statement had never been said. As he reached to smooth the bandage at the side of his face, the word filtered through Zuko's consciousness: traitor.