Avatar: The Last Airbender: Reawakening

24

Hakoda walked along the streets of Ba Sing Se with his head turned down to the ground. It wasn't the way the confident Southern Watertribe Chief normally walked but he didn't care. Not after the news he just heard.

He and his fellow warriors had arrived at Ba Sing Se a few hours ago and he had been meeting with the Council of Five ever since his arrival. He already knew how bad things were. Omashu was attacked, King Kuei was murdered...but those were not the things that shocked him. Those weren't the things that nearly broke his heart with worry. The only thing that came out of the meeting with Ba Sing Se's General's was a feeling of desperation.

According to them Katara, his own daughter, was captured a few days ago. What's worse was that no one had any idea what happened to her. Hakoda had taken a small comfort with the knowledge that Aang would never let anyone harm her but when General Howe told him that the Avatar had left days ago to rescue her and that they haven't heard from him since...that did it for Hakoda.

For all he knew, his daughter was dead now.

And for what? Hakoda asked himself, What do these kidnappers want anyway?

That was the real question and no one knew the answer. In a strange way, Hakoda found it all to be a little funny. The most powerful government in the world had been thrown off guard for months by what might only be a few men. On top of that, no one knew anything about them...except that one of them was a Waterbender.

That had brought Hakoda up short and caused him to stop and think. That meant one of these men was from the watertribes. The Southern Tribe kept track on who would leave the city so Hakoda doubted that it was anyone from his own tribe...unless they had left the tribe long ago. He made a mental note to talk to the Chief Arnook of the Northern Tribe when he arrived here for the meetings that would take place in just a couple of days.

Still, Hakoda couldn't help but think who the mysterious Waterbender could be. He thought back to men he had known over the years. Sure, he knew lots of Waterbenders...but one that could evade and shake up things in the Earth Kingdom? No one he knew of had the experience to do that. Except perhaps one...

Tau, the name popped up in Hakoda's mind as he remembered the powerful Waterbender that he had fought alongside with years ago. Hakoda quickly threw that idea away though; he was captured years ago...he was probably long dead by now.

And all thanks to you, a voice seemed to whisper in his head and Hakoda felt a sharp guilt enter his heart...a guilt that had not plagued him for years.

Hakoda tried to force those thoughts away from his as well, trying to focus on where he was going. General Howe told him that he would probably find Sokka at the Jasmine Dragon. According to him, Fire Lord Zuko had taken him there yesterday and now Sokka seemed to be there often. It didn't escape Hakoda that Howe had mention Suki as well. He smiled at the one piece of good news he had gotten in the past couple of weeks. At least his son had been reunited with the Kyoshi Warrior again...Ex-Kyoshi Warrior, he corrected himself, remembering what Howe had told him.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a bunch of chatter coming from in front of him and he noticed that he was now standing at the entrance of the Tea shop he had been trying to find. He walked in, gazing around the room, trying to pick his son out of the crown that filled the restaurant. After a few seconds of searching, he spotted him in the far corner, sitting next to Suki. Hakoda walked a little closer, seeing that he was talking to Zuko and Mai as well.

However, whatever conversation they were having was stopped when Sokka spotted him and he perked up instantly.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, getting up to and making his way over to him quickly.