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Hardened	By : sheraven Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2711 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its affiliates, and make no profit.

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Hardened

Chapter Two – Discovery

If he had to see his uncle for one more second without at least full armor on, he would consider burning his own eyes out. Maybe it was an age thing, he thought, trying to explain Iroh’s propensity to strip off everything and leap into every single pond of fresh water they happened across. More likely though, it was just the somewhat eccentric personality of the Dragon of the West. Zuko shuddered as he walked away from the small spring through the forest of young tube trees, constantly weaving through their slender trunks and spindly branches. He wanted to bathe as well, but merely needed a few minutes alone after so much time on the ship with Iroh.

The sun had just set on the warm summer evening, and the Prince of the Fire Nation was looking forward to getting out of his high-collared uniform. The same way it was made of heavy fabric to protect its wearer from mild fire, it also kept heat in, making it miserable to wear in the hot season. He figured there had to be another spring in the area, based on the flourishing vegetation, so he began to tug the band off his queue in anticipation. Before his hair could fall free though, a young man’s cry split the dusk, freezing the Zuko in his tracks. It was filled with pain and despair, and oddly, the firebender thought he recognized the voice.

Cautiously and quickly, the master martial artist moved through the forest toward the sound. After only a few seconds, he emerged into a clearing with the spring he’d been searching for. The full moon’s light was taking over for the slumbering sun, casting a feathery glow on everything beneath her. Zuko’s mouth dropped open in shock when he saw a teenager dressed in blue laying unnaturally still on his back. His head was turned away, but the hair was pulled back into a warrior’s wolf tail, instantly confirming the Prince’s suspicions. As he approached, he saw the shining boomerang stuck into the grass as if it had been dropped.

Now standing over the boy who traveled with the Avatar, Zuko saw that his face was covered in full war paint. The black eyes in contrast to the gray cheeks and white jaw seemed strangely appropriate. He wore his armor as well, complete with glacier fox tails hanging off his shoulders and black two-fingered gloves. His customary white necklace was gone though, replaced by a clean red line. The cut went from one side of his neck to the other, spilling a torrent of blood down his chest and onto the ground. The dark puddle was rapidly expanding under his shoulders, soaking into the firebender’s pants as he knelt beside the water tribe boy.

Zuko’s golden eyes narrowed as he contemplated his options. It was clear by the practiced cut and position of the dropped weapon that the wound was self-inflicted, so perhaps he should just leave him to his own fate. On the other hand, it was a rare gift from the cosmos to get such a lucky find. He had never seen the Avatar anywhere without the boy, so if the Prince kept him, Aang would eventually come looking for him. The Water warrior was just the edge Zuko had been hoping for, a direct line to drawing the Avatar right in.

Moving decisively, the Prince closed his eyes and breathed deeply, sitting down on his feet. From two fingers held together, he produced a short, bright flame as thin as a thread. He cupped his other hand on the back of the warrior’s dark neck to steady himself and carefully traced the bleeding line with his fingers. Zuko did not flinch at the smell of burning flesh as the flame cauterized the cut, and as soon as he was finished, breathed again. He inspected his work to make sure he had not missed any bleeding, leaning in close. When he was satisfied his prize would not slip out of his hands by dying, brought the palms of his hands together to center himself.

He inhaled and placed his hands over the southern boy’s chakra centers, heart and stomach. In the back of his mind, Zuko was silently grateful his uncle had drilled the importance of these areas into him so repetitively, for he now knew them instinctively. The body was cool under his touch, losing the battle with death since the mind had lost the will to fight. The Prince knew that if the boy cooled down too much, his organs would stop functioning and what remained of his blood would stop moving altogether. The firebender exhaled slowly, sending his core heat into the other body.

The energy traveled down his fingertips and into the dimmed chakra paths, lighting them up with transferred heat and life. Zuko breathed again to keep his own rebelling body under control and continued. One of the hardest things to learn about fire healing was that the body would panic when its life force started draining. His brow furrowed with effort to control the automatic responses; he tried to keep his heart rate normal, temperature down, and mind still as he passed some of himself into the dark-skinned enemy. He was starting to think he would not be able to bring the boy back from death’s door when the warrior moaned in pain and moved slightly. Zuko made a noise as he fell beside him, severing the contact and panting with exertion.

As Zuko tried to regain his balance, he looked at the boy carefully. He was much bigger than the Prince remembered, taller and more muscular. Perhaps it was because the first time he saw the warrior, it was almost a year ago. Like Zuko, he was at the right age to be filling into his adult body, and being constantly on the move had left its mark. His skin was clear but rough, undoubtedly from countless days in the sun and wind on the back of the sky bison. Even through the armor, the Fire Prince could see dense musculature forming, and the fact that the boomerang had no blood on its edge was testimony to the swift and precise slice he had used. The firebender realized he’d better watch this one more closely than he’d originally thought.

The Prince sat up after a moment and wiped the sudden sweat from his eyes, peering down the water tribesman. He opened his blue eyes briefly, staring at his savior momentarily before his lids fluttered shut and he succumbed to unconsciousness. The Fire Prince was pleased with himself; not only had he come upon one of the luckiest finds in recent history, but he had saved another human being from the afterlife itself with his own two hands. Gathering his strength, Zuko hauled the Water warrior up over his shoulders, heading back through the forest toward his docked Fire Navy ship. How he was going to explain this to Uncle Iroh he did not know, but somehow he thought the old man would understand.

Only a few minutes later, a giant furry form passed through the sky overhead, darkening the moonlit clearing in shadow. Appa landed near the water with a worried rumble, barely beating Aang and Katara to the ground. The waterbender spotted a glint of polished metal and ran to it. Before she could reach the boomerang, she slipped in the cool puddle of blood, landing hard on her side. Her blue eyes opened wide in shock when she looked at the slick liquid on her palms, realizing with dread what it was. “By the moon…no, Sokka.” she whispered.

She looked over at the untouched boomerang stuck in the ground and tears welled up. It was still shining from its last sharpening, which meant her big brother hadn’t even had the chance to fight back. “Aang, he’s not…” she couldn’t bring herself to say the word, “…is he?” She bowed her head as hot tears began to fall.

He stood behind her and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. Upon contact, her pain immediately radiated through his tattoos, a minor disadvantage to being the Avatar. The twelve year old monk fought back his own tears and tried to think about the situation logically. He sniffed, “I don’t think so. His body’s not here, I’m sure he’s alive.” Momo landed next to Katara and laid his head on her leg in an effort to comfort the waterbender. Aang looked up at the moon quietly, silently asking Yue to watch over Sokka until they could find him.
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Hardened