Focused Fire (ATLA)

As much as Sokka wished to continue staying in the North Pole, only a part of his duties as the Avatar’s companion was done with, and he had to return to Ba Sing Se to continue the rest of them. At least throughout his ship ride back to the city, Sokka carried the lingering warmth of Yue’s parting hug. The fuzziness it imparted should last him long enough for their big reunion.

Watching Xing’s representatives carry themselves on the ship, Sokka still found it astonishing that they were so…okay with having such a major vulnerability revealed. Ren and her people must be really sure of themselves or Xing to be able to be so sanguine about losing firebending, even for a short while. He couldn’t imagine his friends taking the prospect of losing their bending so calmly.

But then again, Sokka remembered fire spewing tanks Xing had, and the earth and waterbenders working with him. Plus the soldiers of the 11th were still capable fighters, firebending or not. Ba Sing Se would be far from helpless if that day came and the worst came to pass.

“Preparations are underway in case this information is leaked or misused,” Ren had confidently told the Northern Water Tribe leaders. “It is a fact that the more people are exposed to a secret, the less of a secret it becomes. Trust me when I say that Ba Sing Se will do its part, even if other parties try to butt in during our supposed moment of weakness.”

That threat had been backed up with Grandaunt Kilin gleefully reminding everyone in the tribal council of who Xing is. “I’ve had a glimpse of some of the prince’s plans,” she cackled darkly. Too darkly for Sokka’s tastes. “Pity the poor fools like King Kuei if they think they can seize the city while the 11th are busy.”

“You have my word that this information will not leave this room,” Chief Arnook reassured them, likely in an attempt to wash his hands clean in case the impossible happened. “And rest assured, the Northern Water Tribe remembers its debt to Prince Xing. We will not entertain any notions of hostility against him and his claims on Ba Sing Se, so long as he and his people do the same.”

Sokka had to admit, the way Xing was leveraging his reputation was quite impressive, and worth learning from. Keep within the rules of war, but be as ruthless and unhinged as you like within those confines. 

It made Earth Kingdom villages treat the Defiant 11th as more of an undeniable but unoppressive force, and speak of them as if they were a convenience to be tolerated rather than resented. And being so infamous meant that Earth Kingdom conscripts (Sokka still found that idea of such military service for farmers to be abnormal) were already eager to flee or surrender before they even met the 11th.

And over here, Xing’s conduct gave his words some considerable weight in the Northern Water Tribe, enough that Chief Arnook was already keen on sending out an envoy to Ba Sing Se once the Day of Black Sun was over with.

For a guy that did a lot of horrible things, Xing sure was getting a lot of respect simply by keeping said horrible things confined to the battlefield.

And criminals that deserved to be put down, of course. 

Like the Dai Li of Ba Sing Se, and the rapists and sadists the 11th came across, be they Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom. Ren liked regaling Sokka with tales of how she got to sneak into some camp or barracks to horrifically mutilate (his mind automatically blocked out the exact details) common soldiers and even officers to death for being very indecent human beings.

“Our old colonel, Colonel Lidai, disapproved of how we did it, but not why we did it. The old man hated injustice just like the rest of us, but him getting into trouble would’ve been really bad for us. So Xing led…hm…yeah, he definitely led…me and a few others to do what had to be done.” 

How the captain could be so damned cheery when reminiscing about such bloody times was beyond Sokka.

“We learned a lot more from sneaking around barracks and colonial manors compared to trying to sneak into Earth Kingdom camps,” she said with a nasty chuckle before she fell into a scowl. “Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom - maybe even Water Tribes have them - but there’s something about being the only guys allowed to wield a sword or wear a fancy hat that makes some men-”

“-and women,” one of her lieutenants chipped in. “Remember that time in…”

Ren waved a hand and nodded with some annoyance. “Yeah, yeah. That sick bitch in Puohai, right? Yeah, some men and women devolve into monsters that make dark spirits paragons of virtue. Sickos that need to be put down.”

“Just don’t forget to help the victims as well,” Grandaunt Kilin added as she joined them on the ship’s deck. “Retribution is good, but rebuilding lives is better.” The old waterbender paused for a second, and then shrugged. “Though sometimes a good place to start rebuilding is by providing closure. That’s why it’s good to keep the monstrous bastards alive, give their surviving victims the chance to personally kill off their nightmares.”

Was Sokka rattled at how nonchalantly his grandaunt was giving tips on how to enact bloody vengeance? Maybe a little.

But Kilin was not the hate-blinded crazy psychopath that Hama was. There was a contentedness and certainty in Sokka’s grandaunt that he realized he envied. Gran Gran gave off something of the same air, except that Kilin’s had a…sharper edge to hers. A calmness forged out of violence and suffering.

The bits of her past she let Sokka and Katara know about hammered home just how different they saw and reacted to the world around them. Grantaunt Kilin endured much for so long, and was happy to repay blood with blood. Sokka and his friends had only been spending nearly a year running and flying about, keeping away from most of the trouble that chased after them. 

Did that soften their resolve, Sokka began to wonder?

Did their relatively carefree travels up until meeting Xing shield them from the harsher realities of war? Or was it simply because they were young and lucky?

It was hard for Sokka to compare himself to Xing, knowing what he did of the guy’s past life now. An orphan raised by a band of soldiers, no wonder he came out the way he did. If anything, it was a minor miracle that he wasn’t more bloodthirsty.

But still, was Toph right that the gang were being a bit naive?

And when the time came, could Sokka join the other warriors in combat, could he willingly strike to heavily wound or even kill his opponents?

Should he?

For what little it was worth, those questions ran about in Sokka’s head without Captain Ren or Grandaunt Kilin or anyone else giving him their thoughts on the matter. He didn’t raise the question, so they didn’t provide any answers. His grandaunt did offer an important bit of semi-related advice, though.

“When you have to fight, however you go about it, be decisive. No hesitation, Sokka. Regret and grieve later, but never hesitate. You are being dragged into war, where mercy is scarce and honor is left at the camps. If you change your mind, be quick and certain about it.”

She delivered such heavy words with a sad, almost forlorn smile, further hammering home her point into Sokka’s head.

“And do not be so reckless with your life. You are a warrior. You fight for your tribe, your family. The longer you’re up and breathing, the longer you can protect them.” At this, Kilin’s face truly fell for perhaps the first time. The naked regret and grief in her expression broke Sokka’s heart. “If I wasn’t so ready to throw my life away to fight the Fire Nation back then, I’d have remembered that I could’ve used my time to find if my family were still alive. If Hakoda was alright… I could’ve been there for poor Kya.”

There was a sigh of remorse, and then she fixed Sokka with a hard stare that made him reel back a little. “Learn from me, Sokka. Fight for those close to you, and do not…never forget why you fight.” The way she stared at him, the intense, faraway look in her eyes, made Sokka gulp and nod in silence.

They returned to Ba Sing Se to little fanfare, only a squad of the 11th waiting to receive them. As Sokka noticed the frantic bustle of people moving about and working, and he could feel the nervousness of reforging the city’s industry. Scaffolds rose up here and there to drape around particular buildings. Convoys of carts and wagons trundled through the streets with piles of metal and bricks and lumber.

And that was just the docks. As Sokka followed everyone back to the palace, he caught sight of further renovations. Parts of Ba Sing Se’s famous monorail were gone, with signs of new rail sections being built to divert the route. Whole blocks in the Middle Ring, which were once shoplots if Sokka remembered right, were replaced with larger, sturdier buildings that sprouted chimneys. 

Finding a rope floating up to the heavens, Sokka then noticed a Mechanist’s balloon bobbing lazily high up in the air. His gliders were also soaring about, its occupants often carrying baskets, Sokka noticed. Xing was sure fast to make use of them.

“Sokka!”

He turned his head towards the source of Katara’s voice, and found his sister running up to him alongside Toph. “You’re back!” Katara exclaimed with a smile. Both girls looked a bit worn, with the former showing clear signs of restrained annoyance. 

The rest of the North Pole delegation went back to the palace, leaving Sokka to hang out with his sister and friend. “How did things go?” Toph inquired with mild curiosity.

“About as expected, really,” Sokka answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “The Northern Water Tribe will work with Xing, so long as Aang works with Xing.”

“And Yue?” Katara asked with an uncharacteristic gleam in her eyes.

Sokka didn’t let that trip him up. “Oh, she’s good.” There, that should be casual enough.

“He’s blushing, isn’t he?” 

Or not.

“That he is, Toph. How’d you know?”

“I can feel his heartbeat pick up,” the Blind Bandit blandly answered, and then fixed him with a smirk. “It must be nice, meeting your fiance again? Did you go all cuddly and snoggy on each other? Any long, teary goodbyes?”

“I mean…” And there went his composure, and Sokka was left stammering for a bit as both girls teased him. It was a bit irritating, but he didn’t mind it too much. The time with Yue was nice, however short it was.

“And what about you two?” Sokka asked after their first barrage, to hopefully change the topic. “How’s farm life like?”

At that, Katara instantly took on an expression of utmost loathing. “Urgh. It was-”

“It was fun,” Toph cut in, clearly to rile up his sister. “I thought moving farmlands and roads was boring, but it turned out to be a fun puzzle.”

“Yeah, fun for you,” Katara remarked dryly.

Toph snickered as she turned her blank eyes to Sokka. “Sugar Queen here’s just pissy because her highness doesn’t like being down in the mud.”

“It’s not the mud!” Katara replied a bit too defensively, Sokka thought but wisely did not voice out. “It was just so tedious having to control the water from spilling out of the ditches for days while you got to play ‘move the farms around’. I was just a glorified walking dam.”

“Yeah? Well I don’t see the other waterbenders complaining or huffing.”

Sokka couldn’t resist. “Uh, Toph? You can-”

“I know,” she instantly returned with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m being figurative, Sokka.”

Katara sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m just…not used to using waterbending for such…normal tasks.”

“You meant to say boring.”

The glare she gave Sokka made Katara adorably petulant. “I did not! I just…”

“It’s like I said,” Toph came in, her voice affecting an exaggerated posh tone. “Her highness doesn’t care for the lowly tasks that are clearly meant for peasants like us.”

Seeing Katara growl with rising annoyance, her brother quickly tried changing gears to de-escalate the situation. “Well, at least you got to practice your waterbending, right? I mean, grandaunt said it’d be good for you.”

That got her to calm down, sighing out her frustration. “I guess? I can sorta waterbend longer…I think.”

“And with more control,” Toph added helpfully, which surprised Katara. “She can pull the water out of the ground quite well, and if I heard it right-” Toph tapped her foot to emphasize how she eavesdropped. “-she was doing a better job at controlling the irrigation flow than most of the adult waterbenders.”

“Wow, that’s great Katara!” 

It was hard to not break into a stupid grin at how the flattery made his sister switch to half-fake modesty, but Sokka managed to keep a straight face. 

“Well…it wasn’t that hard…”

They began to head back to the palace after allowing Katara to bask in the praise offered to her, and Sokka found himself impressed at not just what the girls were doing, but the plans Xing had concocted that required reshaping the Agrarian Zone. The focus had been on the farmlands near the breaches for the time being, which was where everyone expected any attackers to hit.

From what Toph and Katara explained, roads were made to connect the ‘entrances’ of Ba Sing Se’s Outer Wall with the city’s interior. Paddy fields, orchards and other such plantations were ‘moved’ closer to the Outer Wall, while cereal and other ‘flatter’ crops took up the lands closer to the Inner Wall.

It was a rather ambitious attempt to shape the terrain to favor the city’s defenders. It made the roads a highly valuable asset for armies to march through the breaches, otherwise they’d be slowed down by the mud of the paddy fields or the maze of trees and bushes. Wheat, cabbages and other vegetables would be grown closer to the Inner Walls so that any invaders would gain the most minimal advantage of cover.

Right now, the work only took up a small slice of Ba Sing Se, and who knows how long it’ll take for Xing’s changes to be finished. But there was no doubt that it was some far-sighted thinking the guy had. And the paranoia to fuel such ambitious precaution must be something, too.

“With how uneventful things are for us, I wonder how Aang’s holding up?” Sokka wondered aloud.

His sister chuckled. “He’s with Bumi. No doubt they’ll be caught up in some sort of trouble.”

Toph nodded, also smiling at the idea. “I sorta feel bad for Prince Iroh, having to rein in Aang and Bumi.”

It turns out, their estimations were completely off the mark, as days later, it was an exasperated Aang that crawled off Appa, while Iroh and Bumi seemed in high spirits.

“What happened to you?” Sokka had to ask, to which the Avatar wearily answered with a single word:

“Politics.”

Huh, and here Sokka thought that Ren’s and Grandaunt Kilin’s work up in Agna Q’ela was imposing.