They followed him out of the courtyard and up the path that wound around the mountain like the thread of a screw. "My nephew and I found this place when we first came here."
"Why did you come?" Sokka panted on the thin air. "Everybody's gone. There's nothing here."
"I know," Iroh said sadly. "But Prince Zuko needed to see for himself."
"But why?" Sokka demanded. "I know you said he was hunting the Avatar, but why?"
"Oh!" Iroh stopped at a a hole in the wall of a low, long building and picked up the tattered curtain that hung in the way. "This is it."
As Sokka thrust his lips out and grumbled about sneaky old men who never answered anything, Katara pushed her way through the curtain and into the dark, empty room beyond. Iroh and her brother joined her, and the old Fire Nation general pointed to the faint light that shined from under the edge of another ragged drapery. Through the gloom, Katara made her way over to it and threw it aside. The scream leapt out of her throat before she could stop it. Sokka dashed over to her. "What is it?" Then he looked. "Oh."
"I'm alright," Katara told him.
Iroh came up behind them and lowered his eyes in respect for the dead filling the small, broken room, Fire Nation dead in their red armor, skull masks over real skulls, and Avatar Aang's body, layed in the lap of a yellow clad skeleton on a mound of snow and rubble.
"There he is." Pushing his sister aside, Sokka sauntered into the bone chamber. He knelt down next to the prince lying in the shadows between the heaps of rubble and bones. "Hey why's his scar glowing?" Sokka poked him with his club, but the boy didn't move. He pulled Zuko's good eye open, and the light that shone from it bounced off the crumbling walls.
Iroh rushed over to him to examine his nephew. Sokka poked him again, tentatively. "Why isn't he moving? He isn't dead, is he?" Katara sucked in a harsh, frightened breath at his words.
"No, he is in the Spirit World." Iroh's face broke into a wide smile. "This is a step forward. He is the bridge between the two worlds now. It is a good thing that he is accepting this part of himself."
"What should we do?" Katara asked from the entranceway.
"You will stay here," he told them softly. "I need to go back to the temple." He grinned, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. "I have an idea."
As he waddled out of the building, Sokka took a lingering look around the room. "So we're supposed to stay here, with a bunch of dead people?"
"Shut up, Sokka," Katara said, trying to sound exasperated, as she joined him glancing at the bodies with trepidation. "You heard him, we're guarding the Avatar while he's in the Spirit World. This is important."
"But Katara!" Sokka waved his arms at her. "Dead people!"
She heaved a sigh. "Just sit down."
~*~
The pale, insubstantial rays of light that found their way through the canopy flashed across the inside of Zuko's eyelids, luring him deeper into his doze. Insects droned around his head and the heavy perfumed air tickled-
"We're here!"
Zuko yelled, his eyes snapped open, and he rolled to his feet in the saddle, only to see Aang bouncing up and down on the bison's neck.
"We're here, come on," he burbled. "Get off, we're here!"
"You said that already," Zuko grumbled, swinging his leg over the edge of the saddle. "Let's get this over with so I can go back."
A high dome of roots rose out of the water like a hillside. As soon as Aang had jumped down from Appa's back, the bison hauled himself up out of the water and collapsed on the tangle.
Zuko cast the tree that topped it a sceptical look. "What's so special about this place?"
"This is the mother tree." The old woman's voice rattled, like dry paper catching the wind. "All others in this swamp come from her body. All of their roots are joined to hers. This grove is one tree with many trunks, and this is the first."
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branchandroot
Laying Aang to rest at the Southern Air Temple, Part 5/7
Date: 2012-05-15 06:08 am (UTC)"Why did you come?" Sokka panted on the thin air. "Everybody's gone. There's nothing here."
"I know," Iroh said sadly. "But Prince Zuko needed to see for himself."
"But why?" Sokka demanded. "I know you said he was hunting the Avatar, but why?"
"Oh!" Iroh stopped at a a hole in the wall of a low, long building and picked up the tattered curtain that hung in the way. "This is it."
As Sokka thrust his lips out and grumbled about sneaky old men who never answered anything, Katara pushed her way through the curtain and into the dark, empty room beyond. Iroh and her brother joined her, and the old Fire Nation general pointed to the faint light that shined from under the edge of another ragged drapery. Through the gloom, Katara made her way over to it and threw it aside. The scream leapt out of her throat before she could stop it.
Sokka dashed over to her. "What is it?" Then he looked. "Oh."
"I'm alright," Katara told him.
Iroh came up behind them and lowered his eyes in respect for the dead filling the small, broken room, Fire Nation dead in their red armor, skull masks over real skulls, and Avatar Aang's body, layed in the lap of a yellow clad skeleton on a mound of snow and rubble.
"There he is." Pushing his sister aside, Sokka sauntered into the bone chamber. He knelt down next to the prince lying in the shadows between the heaps of rubble and bones. "Hey why's his scar glowing?" Sokka poked him with his club, but the boy didn't move. He pulled Zuko's good eye open, and the light that shone from it bounced off the crumbling walls.
Iroh rushed over to him to examine his nephew. Sokka poked him again, tentatively. "Why isn't he moving? He isn't dead, is he?" Katara sucked in a harsh, frightened breath at his words.
"No, he is in the Spirit World." Iroh's face broke into a wide smile. "This is a step forward. He is the bridge between the two worlds now. It is a good thing that he is accepting this part of himself."
"What should we do?" Katara asked from the entranceway.
"You will stay here," he told them softly. "I need to go back to the temple." He grinned, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. "I have an idea."
As he waddled out of the building, Sokka took a lingering look around the room. "So we're supposed to stay here, with a bunch of dead people?"
"Shut up, Sokka," Katara said, trying to sound exasperated, as she joined him glancing at the bodies with trepidation. "You heard him, we're guarding the Avatar while he's in the Spirit World. This is important."
"But Katara!" Sokka waved his arms at her. "Dead people!"
She heaved a sigh. "Just sit down."
~*~
The pale, insubstantial rays of light that found their way through the canopy flashed across the inside of Zuko's eyelids, luring him deeper into his doze. Insects droned around his head and the heavy perfumed air tickled-
"We're here!"
Zuko yelled, his eyes snapped open, and he rolled to his feet in the saddle, only to see Aang bouncing up and down on the bison's neck.
"We're here, come on," he burbled. "Get off, we're here!"
"You said that already," Zuko grumbled, swinging his leg over the edge of the saddle. "Let's get this over with so I can go back."
A high dome of roots rose out of the water like a hillside. As soon as Aang had jumped down from Appa's back, the bison hauled himself up out of the water and collapsed on the tangle.
Zuko cast the tree that topped it a sceptical look. "What's so special about this place?"
"This is the mother tree." The old woman's voice rattled, like dry paper catching the wind. "All others in this swamp come from her body. All of their roots are joined to hers. This grove is one tree with many trunks, and this is the first."