An Innocent Spark [Zukka]

Chapter 20: The Turtle Duck Pond

"Another group of bandits from the Earth Kingdom attacked the southern water tribe my lord. Several civilians were injured and according to this letter one of those civilians was named... gran gran?" the soldier read off the letter he was holding.

"What? Give me that!" Sokka snatched the letter from the guard. To his dismay the guard had read it correctly. His gran gran had been hurt in the attack.

He looked over to Zuko and handed him the letter before quickly walking out of the prison. Once he was out the door he ran as fast as he could away from that awful place. He didn't stop until he found himself standing in the garden Zuko had told him about, the one with the turtle duck pond.

He walked over and sat down against the tree next to the pond and let down his guard. The tears flowed gently down his cheeks as he watched the turtle ducks peacefully floating on the crystal-clear water. How could something so beautiful exist in a world like this?

His crying was interrupted when he heard someone walking towards him. He quickly wiped away the tears and tried to look normal. Zuko sat down next to him, looking out at the turtle ducks as they swam by the two boys, blissfully unaware of the troubles of the world.

"You don't have to be here you know," Sokka said quietly. Part of him wanted to be alone, but another part of him was glad his friend was there.

"I know, but I want to be," Zuko said calmly. "You were there for me when I was feeling bad, and I want to be here for you now."

Sokka's eyes examined the grass blowing gently at his feet as he contemplated what Zuko had said. He was glad to have someone like Zuko in his life. Normally Katara would comfort him at times like this, but for what may have been the first time in his life, he felt comforted by someone else.

"I'm terrified to lose anyone else I care about," Sokka said quietly. Zuko knew how he and Katara had lost their mother, and he had gone through something similar when his mom disappeared.

"I know how you feel. When Lao mentioned my uncle getting older it scared me," Zuko admitted. He had never been the vulnerable type, not even to Aang or Katara.

"I guess it shows how important it is for us to cherish the time we have with the people we care about," Sokka said and finally looked up from the ground. The garden was a peaceful place, one full of beauty that deserved to be appreciated.

"Sokka," Zuko said before pausing for a moment as if he didn't want to say what he was about to say, "if you want to go back home to be with your family... I don't want to stop you."

Sokka looked up at Zuko and saw what he thought was a hint of sadness in his golden eyes. "My place is here Zuko. I couldn't imagine leaving you here to take on all of this alone."

Zuko's brow furrowed and Sokka realized the last sentence could have been worded better. "What I mean is I want to be by your side, to face these challenges together."

The relief he felt when Zuko smiled was enough to bring a smile to his face too. Something about Zuko's smile felt special to him. Maybe it was how rare it was, or maybe it was because he could tell it was real whenever it appeared. Whatever the reason, it made the news of the second attack easier to bare for the water tribe boy.

"What happens now?" Sokka asked. He felt as uncertain in that moment as he had back at the south pole. Luckily he had Zuko by his side this time to bring some certainty back into his life.

"For today, we take some time to think," Zuko said in a way that reminded Sokka of Iroh. "Then, I think the next step will be to travel to the Earth Kingdom and track down these bandits near Omashu."

"We'd better start packing then," Sokka said with a grin and stood up. Their talk had given him back the joy that he had been missing over the past week.

The two boys took one last look at the turtle ducks now playing in the pond before heading inside to prepare for the long journey that awaited them.