Leader(ship): of Embers and Swords

Chapter 8

A/N: Art by me! follow for more: yourqueerauntkya.tumblr.com / insta: tswillustrated

Zuko hugged his uncle before leaving. He and Iroh had spent the last few days discussing the issues with the older Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom. "You should go to Yu Dao. See what the issues are firsthand, Zuko." Iroh smiled intuitively. Zuko always appreciated his uncle's wisdom. It made him wish Iroh was closer to give him guidance more often. But, Zuko respected and tried to honor Iroh's retirement.

The tiny war balloon rose over the immense city. Zuko sat back in the basket and realized he was sitting where Sokka sat when they rode in it together. He lifted his fingers to his lips and felt his ears turn red. Zuko closed his eyes and tried to remember how Sokka would look back at him. The comfort Sokka presented him with. The peace of mind and confidence Sokka reassured in him.

Zuko was then reminded of the look on Sokka's face when they last spoke. The panic in his cerulean eyes. "Oh, no..." Zuko's eyes opened quickly and widened, "He probably thinks I ran away...from him! Ugh! I'm so stupid!" Zuko pulled at his hair and screamed, collapsing into himself.

There was no time for him to go back and apologize. The rumors in Ba Sing Se were spreading and he had to get ahead of it. The Earth Kingdom's military was preparing to mobilize in Yu Dao. Zuko would just have to have a lot of explaining to do when he got back to the palace.

---

Sokka walked out of the Fire Nation airship in Yu Dao and was surprised to see a familiar painted face on the platform. A woman with a stark-white face illustrated with red and black makeup over her eyes approached the Water-Tribe warrior and shoved a closed fan into his face. "You..." she threatened.

"Why is this always your greeting to me when I meet you in the Earth Kingdom?" Sokka joked nervously.

The woman lowered the end of her fan to his shoulder and pushed him off balance. "Why haven't I heard from you!? It's been years!!"

Sokka regained his balance and rubbed the back of his neck with a very uncomfortable smile across his face. "Er.. about that. Well, we broke up remember? I was...giving you space?" He blushed. The woman stepped back defensively, she turned her attention to fuss with her elaborately designed uniform. She paused, "Well...it was like you fell off the face of the earth!"

Sokka exhaled his nervousness and took her hand, "I'm sorry, Suki. I didn't want to get in the way." When she looked up into the blue sorrowful eyes, Suki pouted to keep her remaining emotions back. "You didn't have to... disappear," she mumbled. Sokka furrowed his brow and pulled her into him. She fell into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. Sokka felt her hand on his chest, the same place Zuko pressed against him. He clenched his jaw. He wouldn't feel Zuko's touch like that again, he thought to himself. Sokka gave into Suki's reception, "I didn't mean to. Let me make things right." The two left the platform and headed into the plaza to catch up over some lunch.

Two old friends laughed back and forth across the table from one another. Swapping war stories and catching up on each other's timelines. As they got closer to the present, Sokka felt a twinge in his chest when Suki asked what happened at the Palace. He wanted to tell her, he wanted her to help, like maybe there was something he could do to fix what happened between him and Zuko. "Sokka?"

"Hm? Oh.. I think Zu- he's upset about something. He left without telling anyone. I was supposed to help him. So, I came here." Sokka looked down at his hand that was white-knuckling an innocent tea cup. Suki could tell he wasn't sharing the whole story, and reached across the table to calm his hand. Sokka watched the delicate, light fingers rest on his darker wrist. He flinched and changed the subject, "So, why are you here?"

Suki sulked at his response to her touch, but complied and turned her gaze out the window next to their table. "The Fire Nation agreed to remove their colonies. Their presence continues to trigger the past oppression for the people in the Earth Kingdom. These people are refusing to leave, and the Kioshi Warriors and I are here to make sure they do."

"Then, let's get to work!" Sokka gave her a modest thumbs-up and they worked on their plans.

---

Zuko landed his war balloon in the square near the Fire Nation airship. He was met by a small group of Fire Nation soldiers and the new advisor to the Earth King. The Fire Lord was immediately escorted to the temporary Earth Kingdom Embassy for further negotiations.

"Look, I understand this is a delicate process. But we need more time to figure this out," Zuko pleaded with the Earth Kingdom representatives.

"The message from the King clearly states: if the Fire Nation is not removed by the end of this week, General How and his troops will enter the city and begin the 'Harmony Enforcement' process," spoke the overly chipper advisor as she read from the scroll.

"What?! Joo Dee! That's an ultimatum! A-and a declaration of war all in one?!" Zuko cried.

"I'm sorry, Fire Lord Zuko. You misunderstand. It is not war. It is Harmony Enforcement. We all want peace between our nations. And the world." Joo Dee smiled vacantly back at him.

"And that's-" Zuko's eyes darted back and forth quickly over the scroll as he took it from her, "..only two days from now?!" Zuko felt the familiar heat rising in him as his voice deepened.

"Correct." Joo Dee said simply. The absence of normal human empathy rang in her tone.

Zuko knew he needed to calm down. The palms of his hands were burning and he could definitely feel steam coming off the top of his head. He handed Joo Dee the scroll, excusing himself from the negotiations and decided to walk it off.

He turned down a nearby alley and slumped to the ground. He remembered meditating helped last time. Zuko focused on his breathing for a while and felt some of the heat go down. Contr- No. Embrace it. Zuko exhaled and saw his breath of fire before him, but it plumed differently. He jumped up, "Wh-what was that!?" Zuko looked down at his shaking hands. He thrust a closed fist down the alley and shot out a short flame. The red fire he normally produced had threads of a brilliant purple flame as the force left him. He shot out again, and the flames looked almost iridescent.

"Wh-what is this?" he huffed, catching his breath. Behind him, a small brown ball tapped his ankle. Zuko turned quickly and saw a child at the end of the alley, peering behind the side of a building. Zuko picked up the ball and walked back to return it. The child wasn't wearing any distinguishing colors, so the Fire Lord couldn't tell if she was Fire Nation or from the Earth Kingdom.

When he got closer, she looked up at him with trepidation. Zuko squatted down to her level and passed the ball back into her little arms, "Here you go. Where's your family?" The little girl looked around for a moment, then tugged on Zuko's sleeve. She pointed over to a group of other children waiting for her to retrieve their ball. Some of the children wore robes of dusty red and others with faded green. For the most part, Yu Dao was a solid palette of brown and sand.

She thanked Zuko and waddled back to the playing group. He stood and watched for a moment. He realized he didn't know where the Fire Nation colony ended and the Earth Kingdom began. Zuko ventured deeper into the village... more like a city at this point? He hadn't really pieced together how big Yu Dao was... Is?

A/N: Oh geez.. This is becoming a real handful... But it's always fun to see throwback friends, right? lol

Also-I just realized this chapter didn't publish last. Oops! I'm old. Lucky for you, gonna get a double whammy this week! *low-key tho.... I also post on Ao3...and they are ahead. shhhh... Look up KitGodric*