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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.

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Chapter 3 : Adventurer Fire

More then a year had passed since they had discovered Sokka was missing, and no one had any clue to where he was. Since they could not be obvious in the search and put up wanted posters, the search went slow. It was obvious Sokka had not wanted to be found, and as irritating as they found it, they could not help but admire the skill with which the Warrior had disappeared.

Zuko was tiring. There had been no sign of his sacrifice, and Zuko had seriously begun to consider the ramifications if the sacrifice was not found in time. The spirit in him drained his energy, and at the end of the day, he felt like an old man. Less and less interested him, as any access energy he had was drained by the spirit. Rather grim, he knew that he only had a few more years of life if the sacrifice was not found, and sooner then that his effectiveness as the Fire Lord would be in jeopardy. Zuko was afraid, not for himself but for his people, for his nation.

**

A long day in court, left the Fire Lord utterly exhausted. He hid his feelings admirably, and none except his closest body guards and advisors would have guessed that their Lord was drained. The Fire Lord almost groaned in pain as the last group of people were ushered into his throne room. They were from the far South an area in the Fire Nation that received almost no resources and support from the capital. Zuko wanted to help, but the resources of the Fire Nation were already stretched thin. He was not looking forward to hearing their complaints and placating them, he needed to remind his steward to organize these complaints session earlier in the day.

Zuko took a deep breathe and centered himself to meet the irate group.

7 elderly men and women, representing 6 different villages in the area, walked in. They bowed respectfully at the Lord, and to his surprise presented a huge tray full of weavings and clothe to him. Zuko was not expecting such a rich tribute from such an impoverished province, he had a sinking feeling that they would be needing more help then he could easily provide. “The Crown thanks you my good people, what is it we may do in return?” Zuko said formally.

The villagers looked at each other in surprise. “No my Lord, this is a token of gratitude to you for sending the Adventurer Fire to our Lands. We realize that Your Grace provides him with his stipend, and he honourably only takes food and shelter, from the villages for his services. But he has done so much for our province the Ancestors would be displeased with us if we failed in our duty to show gratitude for all you have done.”

Zuko had never heard of an Adventurer named Fire and he was pretty damned sure he was not paying a stipend to anyone from their area, he barely hid his total surprise, and glanced at his advisors. All of them looked equally confused. Zuko who could not take a weaker position and show his ignorance, was uncertain about how to proceed.

“Good people.” Adela one of the more canny female courtiers stepped forward, “Ah, Adventurer Fire, it has been a long time since he has graced the court with his presence, and he is very tardy with keeping us informed of his activities. If it pleases the Fire Lord, could you grace us with what he has been up to? I am ever so curious.”

The representatives looked at the Fire Lord, who nodded his head regally.
The representatives told of an adventurer who helped each village tighten the safety and security of the village. Adventurer Fire helped them make items that eased the life of people in the village, like a water wheel, balloon delivery system and even better traps for their hunters. The adventurer while helping to improve villages, had slowly and steadily waged war on the bandits that had controlled the area, and had slowly and surely cut down their numbers. He had recently killed the most influential bandit leader in the province and that was the deed that had finally prompted the gift giving. The villages spoke to the courtiers rather then the imposing Fire Lord, so when they had finished their tale they were shocked to see a huge rather satisfied smile on the Fire Lord’s face.

“Good people, when you try to thank and pay the Adventurer Fire, what exactly does he tell you?” Zuko almost purred the question out.

“Eeerr.. My Lord he says that he is in the Fire Lord’s service and requires no coin from us, and we should use the coin to improve the village. We have asked him to stay in our villages but he always refuses, saying that to serve his Lord and Nation best he needs to be able to move around.” The villager said.

“Ah, Excellent! Thank you good people, Adela please see to the comfort of these good people and ensure that they have a good stay in the city. Court is adjourned for today.” Zuko swept out, and Savin fell into step just behind him. As soon as they were out of the room, Zuko turned to Savin. “Prepare what we need to, I intend to visit the Southern province in no more then a month. Have your men, track Adventurer Fire but keep a far distance from him. I don’t want to spoil our hand, and have him wiggle out of my net.”

“At once my Lord! If I may my Lord, you seem extraordinarily satisfied.” Savin said questioningly.

“Of course, we have been hunting for him for more then a year have we not. He has hidden well, but as usual he has outsmarted himself. You heard the villagers, did you not? By his own admission he is MY MAN, serving the Fire Nation. By his own words, Savin, by his own words Sokka now belongs to me, all that is left is to collect him. See to the arrangements Savin.” Zuko said with an almost cheerful wave, it felt good to beat the other benders to Sokka. What felt better however was knowing that if he could not find his sacrifice, with Sokka serving the fire nation, as long as the next leader was loyal and semi-competent, with Sokka as an advisor the nation would prosper. Zuko stunned his loyal guard when a small chuckle escaped his lips “Adventurer Fire, I should have remembered earlier... man did Sokka ever suck at names.”

Savin smiled, bowed and walked off. Determination on his face. It was rare for his Lord to find any enjoyment in the world, if even the memory of this warrior caused the Lord to smile, Savin would flay any of the men who slipped this mission up . He sent for his best people, and made that crystal clear.

It was more like 2 months before the Fire Lord was able to clear his schedule enough to make a secret trip down south. Traveling under the guise of a noble, the Fire Lord and a small elite entourage headed South.

**

Sokka rode the mongoose dragon as he patrolled the back roads. For the last year he had kindda adopted an area that took him about a month to cross on the mongoose dragon. He had chosen it because the area had been infested with bandits, led by the Bandit Leader Two Ton. It had taken more then half a year for Sokka to quietly gather information and help the villages shore their defenses. Then he had begun taking out the bad guys, carefully and slowly. They had not even realized that they were under attack until three months ago. It took them another month to realize that all the damage was caused by a lone warrior. They things had gotten really dangerous. Sokka had been hunted seriously, but in the end his plan had worked, he flushed out Two Ton.

The Bandit Lord had chased Sokka down into a canyon, the Lord and two dozen bandits on his tail, in a box canyon, they thought they had won. But the one who really had them trapped was Sokka, as they passed the narrowest bend, Sokka had dropped more then two tons of rock on the Gang. Killing them, and getting himself trapped in the canyon. The last bit had not been part of the original plan, but the rock slide he caused had sealed the small tunnel he had prepared for escape.

Two days of slow climbing over rocks, he had not even been half way up his food and water had run out. Contemplating his own death, Sokka had been surprised to find that he was alright with the idea. He didn't want to die, but if he had to die – well he had no real regrets. The truth is, he was tired and lonely, maybe if he died he would see his mom and Yue again. Maybe they would want him around, hold him and he could be happy again. Still Sokka was not gonna die because he gave up, so he pushed on, scrambling over more rock. When he heard a small whinny, he looked up and saw his mongoose dragon that he had left in a village stare at him with big yes. Sokka's face broke out into a grin, “Goosey!! You have no idea how good it is to see you.” Grabbing the dangling reins Sokka pulled himself on his mounts back. It nuzzled him gently.

And Sokka was more then happy to leave thoughts of death and the canyon behind.

Sokka petted his mount again, in the last year it had become his only real companion. Sokka had saved the Mongoose dragon from a master that had been intent on whipping it to death. Sokka had cared for it and the tried to let it go, but the mount had refused to leave and Sokka found his one act, rewarded many times over. Not walking was a GOOD thing. And having a mount that was smart enough to go looking for a missing rider was a life saver. Still this area was now pretty much in good shape. It didn't need adventurer Fire anymore, and if he wanted his low profile to continue it was perhaps a good time to start thinking of moving on. He and Goosey should probably see about getting to the earth kingdom outlandish next. All he needed to do was figure out how to get there, with Goosey in tow.

For one man, especially an experienced sailor getting a ride on a boat, was easy. For one man and a mongoose dragon however, Sokka found much to his disgust was almost impossible. Sokka had done a final patrol of the area he looked after, taking him almost 3 months, then he had packed up and made his way to a small port town. That was when Sokka found himself regularly banging his head against the convenient table, chair or wall. It seemed every time he lined up a boat to get him off the fire nation things went wrong. One boat ride was canceled because the captain was caught for smuggling, another ride lost because he could not find his space sword on the morning of departure, after spending a whole day searching and missing the ride, he found the sword in Goosey's water through. He thought third time they were lucky, he was actually on the boat when the Captain developed a huge allergic reaction. Figuring he was allergic to Goosey they had been ignominiously thrown over board. And so it continued.. Arrrgghhh... the universe hated him.

Sokka got out of his tent and went into town for another round of trying to get a boat. There was a great deal of excitement in the town. One of the Lords from the capital was visiting, and the visit would be quite a boost to local economy. Sokka curiously sauntered into the main street standing in the crowds, to watch the small procession of the Lord and his guards. The Lord sat in a carriage drawn by Komodo-rhinos, he was in impressive garb with one of those white masks covering his whole face. His two dozen guards were equally impressive. They all waved and seemed to enjoy the crowd. Sokka shrugged, nothing to do with him. He went back to the docks, for another day of round-about discussions.

He was almost coming to the conclusion he would have to leave Goosey behind and just hop on the next boat. Hell maybe Goosey would be happier here, the Lord's men all rode Mongoose Dragons and they all seemed extremely well cared for and well fed. Mayhap better fed then he could keep Goosey in the Earth kingdom. Lost in thought Sokka bumped into someone. “Oh sorry, wasn't paying attention.”

“That's alright we were looking for you.” A voice said, Sokka spun immediately on alert. He finally noticed he was surrounded by the Lords' guards. Eyes narrowed he calculated his odds. “Our Lord would like to meet you adventurer Fire, your reputation proceeds you.” The speaker was a cultured looking soldier, Sokka was tall about 5 feet eleven, this man was easily 5 inches taller, broad and solid looking.

“Sure, lets say we do lunch, I'll pencil him in for next week.” Sokka said.

“How about we meet for tea, now.” The soldier gestured and the guards took a step closer and began herding Sokka on. Odds not in his favor, and curiosity getting the better of him, Sokka went along. The went to the Lord's camp site on the outskirts of the Town. The Lord stood hands behind his back in front of the largest tent. Sokka was tall slim and whipcord, having a limited diet he had not much in terms of bulk. The Lord was taller then him by maybe 3 inches or so, used to wearing heavy amour, the Lord was broad shouldered, with a wider build then Sokka. Mask and helmet on, Sokka had no idea what the Lord looked like, but still there was something familiar.

As they approached, the Lord gestured for the guards to step back, and the gesture clinched it. Sokka's jaw dropped, “Zuko?!”

The Lord jerked in reaction, and lifted the mask off his face to reveal a familiar scared face. Zuko smiled, “I can never understand how some as dense as you in so many ways, can be so damn sharp on others.” Zuko said with a wider grin, and Sokka pretended outrage.

“Hoi whatdya mean dense.” Sokka glared.

“As a log, how could you not notice my men spoiling your plans to leave the fire nation. I'm a little disappointed in you.” Zuko said smugly. Sokka's jaw dropped, he had no clue. Satisfied at having pulled one over the too smart warrior, 'I needed to talk to you, it is good to see you again Sokka or is it Adventurer Fire.” Zuko walked forward finally arm extended.

Sokka shrugged and walked forward clasping Zuko's arm in a warrior's handshake. What Sokka was about to say next was drowned by Zuko's howl. Fire and lightning burst from the Fire Lord, raced through his body and into Sokka.

Sokka's body jerked and fire and electricity raced into his body, he tried to release Zuko's hand, but the Fire Lord's grip tightened. Sokka's left hand caught Zuko's in an attempt to pull it off, inadvertently completing the circuit. The force that invaded Sokka's body drove him to his knees, he was sure he was burnt to a crisp.

He opened his eyes expecting to see himself on fire. He stared at his hands in amazement, nothing – he was not burned at all. Steam seemed to be rising from all over his body, but he was fine, no damage, no residue of pain or discomfort even. Zuko was still holding Sokka's right hand, shaking his head in confusion, from his kneeling position he looked up, to see golden eyes, burning, staring at him, The look in the eyes were beyond Sokka's ability to describe.

“You!” Zuko said, his voice low and almost filled with wonder. “It was you.” Zuko free hand reached out grasped Sokka's hair and held his head, so that their eyes met. “You are mine now Sokka, you belong to me, and you are my sacrifice.”

Fear rose thick and heavy in Sokka's chest, as he saw the burning look that seemed to consume him in Zuko's left eye.

--tbc--

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Dragon's prey