Homeless Dragon- Zuko

Ch. 6 Trust

"You know Sokka?" asked Hakoda once he got over the initial shock.

Zuko saw the emotion in the older man's eyes, and saw a mixture of relief, happiness, sadness, and desperation. Before Zuko could really discern the emotions the man was feeling, Nava cut in.

"Describe him," he challenged before looking to Hakoda, "We should make sure it's really Sokka before you get your hopes up."

All the other tribesmen agreed with Nava on this suggestion. They had all missed their homes and families, and desperately wanted to hear any kind of news regarding them. However, they knew better than to simply get their hopes up by trusting some stranger claiming to know such precious information.

"Tell me," said Hakoda as he looked to Zuko.

"Um... ok," said Zuko before he cleared his throat, "Sokka's thin, lanky, and a little awkward. He has his hair raised in the same style your hair's in, but anything not tied is shaved off. His voice cracks too, and he has dark blue eyes, kind of like yours. He also has a club and a boomerang, and he tries to make himself appear to be a strong warrior and wise leader..." Zuko paused when he saw tears welling up in Hakoda's eyes, "Um sir... I didn't upset you or anything... did I?"

"No... you didn't..." answered Hakoda, "You see, Sokka is my son."

Zuko's complexion became slightly paler, and his mouth dropped.

"Your son?" he asked as he studied Hakoda's face for a moment. The face had the same bone structure, the eyes were the same shade of navy blue, and the hair was unmistakable. This man was indeed Sokka's father, but then his heart nearly stopped, "...wait, if he's your son, then Katara must be your daughter."

The mood changed from heartwarming to tense the moment Hakoda heard his little girl's name. His instincts as a father made him get onto his knees and grab Zuko's shoulders and his gaze tuned very sharp.

"You've met my daughter as well? When did this happen? How did you meet them? You didn't do anything to her did you?" asked Hakoda in rapid succession, unable to give Zuko a chance to respond. If the physical resemblance didn't give him away as Sokka's father, the accusatory instincts at the mention of Katara's name did.

"Calm down Hakoda, let him speak," began Bato, "

Hakoda took a deep breath, "Describe her too."

It was the same command as before. However, Zuko didn't really know how to describe Katara to her father, but knew he had to. He could tell that the man looking at him had not seen his family for a very long time, and sympathized with him. He missed his uncle and mother, and knew that if there was a kind of information, however trivial, he would jump on the opportunity to hear it. But Zuko knew that giving information on Katara was easier said than done. He knew that he and Katara weren't exactly on good terms, but neither were they on bad terms. He took a deep breath to calm down however, thinking it may be better to simply get it over with.

"Katara has hair-loopies, a braid, and sapphire eyes. She has a good heart and tends to think of others, but it gets aggravating sometimes," he stopped and thought quickly, "... er, that is to say... if someone is in trouble she'll put her life on the line for them even if she doesn't need to. She also has a temper, which I got to experience once. Nothing bad happened to her, just to me. Oh, and she's a waterbender."

Hakoda gave a bittersweet chuckle at Zuko's description of his daughter, "I see... she's become like her mother," said Hakoda.

There was no mistaking it. Those were his children that Zuko was speaking of. Sokka was still the same boy that he was when Hakoda left for war: always standing up straight way too much, puffing out his chest to be strong, and carrying his boomerang wherever he went. However, Katara was different from how he remembered her. When he left, she was still shaken by her mother's death, and even before that, she was somewhat shy and demure. Now, it seemed she grew out of it, and became a fierce woman in her right. In fact, based on Zuko's description, she had drifted to her mother's personality, particularly Kya's protective nature and her temper. She was becoming a woman, and he wasn't there to see it, "So, you really have met my children."