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Dragon's prey	By : ajj77sunhawk Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Slash - Male/Male > Sokka/Zuko Views: 20843 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Okay wow – had a good holiday – and my nephews were too distracting. So only writing after holiday. But this is a long chappie and I blame Sokka solely!!! Totally had no idea... well read and see.

Chapter 21 : Changing Destiny,... freedom???

It was eight long hours since they had found the Prey collapsed on the floor.
Slightly more than two hours ago, the Air Bison had flown past, Katara had literally leapt off, as the Bison immediately turned and headed towards Roku’s temple. Aang had literally felt Sokka’s spirit leaving the realm of the living, the spiritual ripple that the event had had triggered, shook Aang to the bone. Something was terribly wrong, and Aang knew he needed to be in a location where the veil between the worlds was thin enough for him to get a lot of information fast. Katara through the cry of the Frilled Narwal had also felt the disturbance – but her instincts cried that she needed to be with her brother.

In the earth kingdoms, Toph had lost concentration in the middle of a fight and had been sucker punched into a wall. She hardly noticed nor cared, before her people even realised they had actually hit her, she had raced off, making her way to the fire nation on the fastest mode of transport she could find.
And in the Air Kingdom the twins that housed the Spirit of air began to cry, the two children barely 7 years olds, cried inconsolably for many hours.
Zuko sat silent by Sokka’s bed, his silent vigil heartbreaking.
--
Katara had got to work on Sokka immediately, but her meticulous inspection and even the precious waters of life had no impact on the silent warrior. The only assurance she could give was that all Sokka bodily functions were working – and as long as they could feed the warrior his physical body was in no danger. All they could do was wait for the Avatar to return.
It was well past midnight, when the Air Bison was spotted again. No one stopped or even challenged the Avatar, as he flew to the side wall of the Prey chambers.
Zuko, Katara and the healers jerked to attention as one wall of the Prey’s quarters shook, then a part of it buckled. Aang earth bended a huge window into the once solid stone wall. He leapt off the Air Bison and glided into the room. His face was grim.

“Aang?” Katara whispered, hope and fear tangled in her voice. “Can you help him, please help my brother!” The silent form on the bed was breaking the water bender’s spirit – she could not help him, could not reach him – again.

Aang shook his head, “I can’t help him Katara, but I think she can.” Aang looked up towards the moon as he said the words. His eyes glowed as he called out silently for help, prayed for assistance as he had been doing for many hours.

Zuko silently got to his feet, he watched in awe, as the blue moon light streaming in though the window seemed to get stronger, it reminded him somehow of the glow of the WolfHawk. The blue light moved across the the floor and the light seemed to touch and wrap itself around the unconscious form. The beam of light was powerful, and though it emanated from the moon, it was in no way a simple natural phenomenon.
Such was the power and purity of the blue light that none in the room dared to move, they stood or sat- silent and still, as the moon beam bathed the warrior. 10 minutes, 20 minutes – time seemed irrelevant. Finally after almost 30 minutes the moon beam wavered, it pulled back from the warrior, whom to everyone’s disappointment was still in a coma, and the light coalesced into a graceful figure.
“Yue!”Katara whispered in awe. The maiden who had once so thoroughly captivated Sokka stood in ethereal splendor before them. She smiled gently.

“Can you save Sokka!”the words burst out of Zuko, he knew of course who the shimmering goddess was, but all that was important was seeing those blue eyes open and coherent again.

Yue turned to Zuko, she nodded her head regally at him, “Lord Zuko,” Yue’s voice was soft and light, a lilting melody in the sound that gave soft comfort and cool warmth at the same time. “You misunderstand...” her eyes gently swept the room, “You all misunderstand – Sokka does not need saving – it is he who has saved you.”

(a/n : If I stopped here the vision of flying tomatoes coming my way is intimidating. ;))

Everyone looked at the Moon Spirit, confusion apparent on their faces. She waved a graceful hand in understanding. “Fear not, I have touched Sokka’s spirit and he has explained to me what has transpired. My time on this realm is limited to the time the moon shines, so please do not seek to interrupt.” She said a little firmly – she knew that listening was not a strong point of the current Avatar, and her tale was a long one.

Everyone just nodded, anticipation heavy in the air.
“Spirits are formed in many different ways, the Spirits of the four elements were formed with the birth of this world, they are ancient; they sleep and awaken according to the needs of the world. Other spirits are born in different times for different reasons, sometimes powerful natural phenomenon spawn spirits both good and ill, sometimes strong souls, brave acts, terrible acts and great sacrifices by both humans and animals cause new spirits to take birth. And sometimes a spirit is born because it has a task to perform.” Yue’s voice was clear, a counterpoint to Sokka’s breathing – the only sounds in the Prey’s chambers.

“The Dragon Spirit as you know is ancient, of all the elemental spirits – it was the most lonely and feared, its realm uninviting and dangerous. Very little changed in its realm, and the dragon spirit got more and more alone; that loneliness of the spirit to an extent was caused by the actions of those in the human realm. By attacking the other elements, by upsetting the balance so terribly, the Dragon Spirit was so cut off, that it was slowly going insane. Because the elemental spirits were not active forces in your grandfather’s time – it did not understand what was happening in the human world, nor did it comprehend why all around it felt a terrible fear in its presence.

“Time in the spirit world is not like time on this one, so do not attempt to compare the time frames. Suffice to say the 100 years here, felt much longer to the Dragon Spirit. Just when the spirit was about to give up on itself and the worlds, it came across a spirit of the WolfHawk, shining with a cool light in its hard world. The Wolf Hawk has been its companion now for almost 10 years in the spirit world, yet in the time frame of this world the WolfHawk was ‘born’ in the spirit realm just a few years ago, when Sokka was kidnapped and taken to the spirit realm by the Panda Forest Guardian.

“Sokka was taken in his attempt to save Aang, though he does not remember all he did in the realm was to try to save the others that the Panda had taken. He protected them, cared for them and comforted them, his drive to protect called to sleeping energies in the spirit realm and in response to his deeds, the spirit of the WolfHawk was ‘born’. The spirit – though technically young is fearless, fiercely protective, and extraordinarily wise. In the WolfHawk the Fire Spirit found a being that could calm its fires and sooth it – not just when it manifested in this plane – but in the spirit realm itself.

“When the spirit manifests on in this realm, it is only a part of the whole, as I am now a part of the whole of the moon spirit. The part that manifests here has always been the wild and hungry part of the fire spirit – its Prey, in the past – were but a a temporary relief. The Prey were beings that could sooth the part of the spirit that manifested in this realm – but gave only and echo of comfort to the whole spirit in the other realm. In the past that would have been enough. But with the spirit going mad, due to the imbalance of its own elemental users, more was needed to save it. And that was what the WolfHawk spirit did as soon as it formed, it found the being in the spirit realm that needed the most protection and saved it.

“This occurred in the spirit realm long before the spirit manifested into this one. When Aang killed Ozai and all four spirits were reborn into the human realm, the part of the fire spirit once again manifested in its uncontrolled state. It recognized Sokka as the originator of its companion spirit, and yes – that first meeting the crazed manifestation was seeing to devour Sokka. Actually making Sokka's physical being a part of the Fire Spirit would have 'cured' the spirit immediately.” Yue said solemnly. There were gasps all around the room, a resounding silence.

General Iroh was the first to break it, “But my lady, that is not how the Prey relationship works, we have had Prey that were members of the court, and according to legend they were not recognized by the Fire Spirit until after they were calmed – nor were they ever attacked.”

Yue nodded, “That was because none of the others were linked to the whole spirit in the spirit realm, the manifestation of the WolfHawk – changed everything.”
“Goddess please,” Zuko's voice was stressed and raw, “Please what does all this have to do with Sokka's coma?”

The goddess seemed to inhale deeply and than continued, “Recently, in the spirit realm an unformed spirit was ready to be born. This spirit wanted to be born as it had a duty to perform. It formed in part from the parts of the spirit of the Fire Lords, that had hated their actions – were ashamed of themselves, and these hidden feelings became energy that sought to atone for the deeds of the past. The other part that created the spirit was the hopes and dreams of the people of the Fire Nation. The collective energy formed a a spirit with the potential to be the hope for the future, to return to the people of the fire nation and to other realms some of what had been lost.

“That spirit would have become the soul of the child you sought to conceive. The spirit realm felt the ripple that a time of conception was on hand, and the energies formed into the potential of a new soul, that potential is always formed as a star in the spirit world sky. But there is always choice in the human realm that disrupts the expectations f the sporot world, and in the last moment you changed your mind – the baby was not conceived. With its potential vessel lost, the energies that formed the star, could not be maintained, it could last only for so long, and the star fell from the sky. It would have died, and none would have known, by the WolfHawk as fate would have saw the star – and understood the potential that may be lost. The WolfHawk followed its instincts and sought to save the star, the Fire Spirit helped - not to save the spirit, it is a much more practical spirit than that, potential is only potential after all and many stars fall fro the skies– but to please the WolfHawk – against its better judgment the Fire Spirit helped. Between the two of them they stopped the star from dying immediately; and the real trouble started.” Yue's voice was heavy.

There was a lot to process for everyone, Katara's mind latched on to one thing, “How the hell can Zuko almost conceive a child? Sokka is male, were you planning on betraying Sokka just before you unification ceremony – and than changed your mind?” Katara snapped, her ager distracting her form the sick feelings of fear for a moment.

Zuko didn't even acknowledge the question, he was too busy processing everything, Yue answered, “No Katara, the nature of the relationship between Zuko and his Prey was such that Zuko was physically incapable of performing without Sokka at his side. The exchange of energy between their souls and bodies was one of the most profound sharing in the history of the earth. Still they both know their duty and they must be an heir, Sokka arranged the event, but he was unprepared emotionally for it, Zuko stopped it when he saw Sokka hurting.” Yue looked firmly at Katara, “Do not lose your temper water bender, it will serve no purpose here – trust me and accept my assurance that Zuko acted most honorably.”
Katara's jaw clenched, but under the steady unwavering light of Yue's ethereal stare she finally gave in and nodded.

“Goddess, you used the word 'was' please, please finish your tale.” The Fire Lord's voice was humble – beseeching even.

“Have you been feeling any different Lord Zuko?” Yue asked softly.
Zuko nodded, “Yes the Fire Spirit no longer burns, it is there, the energy is resting inside me, I can call on the fire energy – but it no longer consumes me, no longer seems to need a fuel.” Zuko's words trailed off, fear deep in his eyes.
Yue nodded, her energy became comforting and soothing, “Fear not it is a gift, it is what the others have always felt with their spirits. You see, whne they saved the potential spirit the Wolf Hawk linked its energy to the Spirit and fed it so that it did not die, but it is not energy from the spirit realm that can sustain a spirit meant for birth in this realm. It is impossible for the two Spirits to keep the it alive on their own. In despair the WolfHawk finally called out to Sokka, adnd Sokka responded to that called, he was not dragged into the Spirit realm, he went fully aware of what had occurred, with plans of how to solve the problem already forming.” The tension was high in the room, and You continued immediately.
“Sokka's ability to solve problems is amazing.” The admiration and gentle softness in the Spirit's voice when she said that was clear, “Sokka, is safe in the Spirit realm, he is keeping the potential spirit alive, and he can keep it alive until a vessel with the Fire Lord's blood is conceived. As part of the Spirit's energy is from the Fire Lords, only a vessel that shares the same kind of base energy is suitable.” She looked at the fire benders in the room.

“I said that the bond between the Fire Spirit and their Prey 'was' the most profound because the bond is no longer necessary. The fire spirit manifestation is now like any other – it does not need fuel from this realm anymore Sokka has made it so.” Yue said almost proudly.

“WHAT has that idiot done, if he has hurt him..” Zuko barked out, but Yue's raised hand stopped him.

“Zuko, no matter what how fair is the Prey relationship? Did you not resent the fact that when you accepted the bond with the Fire Spirit choice was stripped from you? Your destiny arranged by forces not of your will? That the Prey must be sacrificed due to the need of the fire spirit? Was that fair? Was that right – to steal choices like that – to always have this tiny part that says that without the “Prey relationship” without the need for fuel, there would really be nothing between the two people. Ultimately it is hunger and need that sustained the Prey relationship,, yes emotions did come, but did you not resent that you needed your Prey?” Yue asked her voice soft – but her eyes bore into Zuko and he could not lie.
Almost painfully he nodded “No one likes to be forced, but I accepted it, and what I have with Sokka...”

Yue cut him off again “Is based on the burning need, the consuming hunger. It is not a normal human relationship. Sokka knows that, understands that and he accepted it – while he could do nothing about it. Until now. Sokka has made the last sacrifice that is needed by the fire spirit,.. Wait ... I have said that he is safe.. let me finish........ Sokka has sacrificed his connection with the WolfHawk, he has surrendered that connection to the Fire Spirit, the two are now directly bonded in the Spirit realm, and the fire Spirit is getting its sustenance directly from the WolfHawk, it no longer requires fuel when it manifests in this realm.
“You no longer need a Prey Lord Zuko, I believe you will find that you can function normally now. Sokka has made it so that need and hunger will no longer drive your actions, you are free to choose once again. You and the Fire Spirit are free.” Yue's smile was a blessing, the Fire Lord stood there stunned.
“But what about Sokka, why is he not waking up?” Aang asked the question that was burning in all their minds.

Yue's laughter was light in the air, “Oh you don't have to worry about him, keep his body alive and he will wake up raring to go in a couple of years.” Again she found herself having to calm Katara and Aang. “It is simple really, Sokka has to stay with the potential Spirit until its body on this world has been conceived. As soon as the babe is conceived, the Spirit will be able to leave the Spirit realm and be born like a normal child, that will hopefully one day achieve its full potential.”

“So Sokka will be able to wake up as soon as Zuko conceives an heir?” The look in Katara's face was clear that she would do all in her power to see the event through.

Yue shook her head, “No Katara, that just frees Sokka to go on his big Quest. He is looking forward to it actually, he says he is going to be one of the first non-Avatar living soul to explore the Spirit realm. You see, because he has surrendered his connection to the WolfHawk in the Spirit realm, he is – pretty much- well normal and in a way incomplete – in the realm. He has to travel to certain locations in the Spirit world to absorb specific energies into himself before he can pierce the veil between the two realms and return to his body. From the distances he has to travel in the Spirit World, it will take about two years on earth.”

“Can I go and help him?” Aang asked eagerly.

“No, you probably wont be able to find him, As soon as the babe is conceived he will be transported to the location where his quest must begin – his own spirit will do this and as it stands – the spiritual energy he releases, because of the sacrifice, is so weak, that even though I was standing in front of him, I could hardly feel him. His journey is such that he must begin it alone, but you all know Sokka he will find companions and make friends on the way.”

“But Moon Spirit,” Iroh interrupted, “What about the changes wrought in Sokka as the Prey, I mean there are physical changes in him.”

“Yes, that is why this quest will be good for Sokka, now that Zuko no longer needs a prey, the time he is in the spirit realm, will allow Sokka's body to slowly return to normal – the unification ceremony was not complete after all. When he returns he will be able to find a wife of his own.” She smiled encouragingly at Lord Zuko.

“If you wish to help Sokka awaken fast my Lord, please find a wife for yourself fast. Sokka has bonded a lot with your potential child, and he thinks it would be nice if you actually got married next week, he wants the babe to have a proper mother, he said to tell you that you need not worry about him, and that he fully expects to be here to see the birth of your second child. More than anything he wants you to be happy.”

Yue's manner was so calm and confident, that they all knew she spoke true, Sokka was fine, he would return to them in a couple of years, and he was looking forward to his quest. Slowly most people in to room began to relaz, the tension eased as relief grew.

“I no longer burn from inside out. Sokka has fixed the Spirit.” Zuko's voice was strange , wondering, a bit disbelieving and flat. “Brilliant, so damned brilliant. Leave it to Sokka to find a way, he has solved everything it seems with minimal losses. The Fire Nation no longer requires a sacrifice, my heir will be sane and as long as we don't mess up – a good ruler- the Dragon Spirit has a constant bond companion...” Zuko let out a dry barking laughter. “ I can choose now, I actually have a choice...” He laughed again. “I am .... free, I no longer need a sacrifice... I don't NEED the Dragon's Prey!”

Zuko's laughter echoed in the room.

--tbc---

errr... Sokka is too clever – he made me do this – its all his fault – I swear!! *hides and waits for reaction.
Because of the reactions of people on another site – I decided to wait to post unitl I can post two chapters together, - I will add PLEASE have faith.
- 20
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- 22
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Dragon's prey