Their episode in the swamp had the odd side-effect of forcing them all to confront their feelings. Where Kaito had made them understand the larger workings of this world and the war, he'd never been one for introspection. He'd been a fun, largely quiet companion, and until Sokka met Yue again he hadn't thought much about Kaito's loss at all.
"Kaito fares well, by the way," Yue had said to him, "He's pretending to be a pirate now."
Sokka had spluttered: "A pirate!"
Yue had laughed. "It suits him. He never really did enjoy being my guard."
Sokka hadn't understood. All he'd wanted to do then was be as close to Yue as he could.
When he thought about it now, about what Kaito had been doing when they met him, he realised that he'd always been talking to people or training with the waterbenders. He'd been social to the point that Sokka wondered when he found the time to sleep. He'd been someone made for action and the position of a guard was one of long periods of doing nothing. He'd had a large circle of acquaintances and Yue had often complained to Sokka about how she thought Kaito was bored too often, which was why he behaved as he did.
In leaving behind the Northern Watertribe, Kaito had left behind a large network of people – many of whom were dead. He'd been Hahn's best friend, and he'd given Sokka his last memento of him. Kaito had acknowledged Sokka's loss. But Sokka had never done the same.
Kaito was, by and large, the picture of strength and a mess at once. A strong mess.
...
When they finally caught the whiff of a bending teacher for Aang, they'd been so excited that Sokka only realised the implications of what it meant that all Earthbending schools were shit when he took a step back from his emotions.
It meant that there was hardly any competent opposition to the Fire Nation, and the best fighters were criminals. And Sokka felt a cold shiver run down his spine. It was no wonder the Fire Nation was advancing as well as it was. It meant that… the Earthkingdom had no real defence to muster up outside of large fortifications.
He held his hears out for news from Omashu, even if he knew that Kaito had left the city behind as well. It never hurt to know where things stood, and which places were still untouched by war.
Most of the news was that of thousands of refugees pouring into Ba Sing Se, and that Omashu had turned into a battered city of war, the bastion that held strong against the Fire Nation's continued advances. It was the opposite of what King Bumi had wanted, he supposed, but Sokka didn't know if life as a slave to the Fire Nation was better than fighting for one's freedom and perhaps dying.
He knew he would fight. He had been for so long that he thought he probably didn't know how not to.
He'd seen what a well-planned defence against the might of all the Fire Nation's Navy could do. He knew what it had cost, and he was aware that it had been an all-or-nothing war. Or, more precisely, a battle that could turn the tides on the Fire Nation, at least for a time. It had been very straight-forward, he thought. Far less convoluted that the strategies they employed in Omashu. The battle grounds were simply different.
The Resistance had to take out both the access points of the Fire Nation to the city, as well as make use of their superior knowledge of the terrain to disable all the war machinery the Fire Nation employed.
Thinking about this more made Sokka realise how important it was for them to finally end the war. These people they met would all be slaughtered, or sent to prison, the way Haru's father had been.
It wasn't right.
Sokka only hoped that the might of the Avatar could help them sway the war.
But he realised that Aang was eleven, and the thought that he would lead them all to victory was… well, he had faith in his friend. But he knew that it was the symbol of the Avatar that would encourage many to take up arms once more, not the actual person. He also realised that they would have to organise themselves into efficient battle formations and follow a common strategy. Of course, different angles would come together, but they had to have a common goal that would set the list of objectives for each confrontation.
He had no idea how that could be organised on such a large scale without military hierarchies that could structure all of this efficiently. There had to be stable channels of communication. There had to be a clear line of distribution of supplies, and they had to be transported.
His headache was getting worse.
The ships that the Fire Navy had lost… meant that the Watertribes could bring supplies much faster than the usual slow crawl of carts or caravans. But there were pirates to consider.
Then again, hadn't Yue said that Kaito fancied himself a pirate now? They could disguise lots of their supply ships as pirate vessels perhaps and cover up their activities for a time. Time that could be vital as they scouted out how quickly the Fire Nation re-built much of their fleet. As it was, Sokka was sure that the only reason that Omashu could truly still resist was because the Fire Navy couldn't bring over new soldiers fast enough to turn the tides efficiently. The problem was, that as time went on, Omashu's troops would be worn down.
They really had to get things done.
And then there was that comet…
Sokka wished Kaito had left him one of those skins of wine. He could really use a drink.
...
GOROU POV
Gorou thought negotiations had gone rather well. He'd only been roughed up a bit, for failing to report in sooner, but then at his proposition and revelation of who he was travelling with, Marija had thought it better to get to know her options. As she always had.
She was the most calculating person he knew, after all. And his brother was O-Ting, who had infiltrated the Dai Li in order to find their sister's noble abusers. In Omashu. Which was where he was now part of the Resistance…
Really, he wondered how O-Ting got himself into these situations. But then again, he had little ground to stand on, didn't he?
As part of the ykuzaGorou'd been in his own tricky situations.
As the first mate of a pirate crew he'd been in a few dangerous scruffs with Fire Nation and other officials alike. And then that disaster with capturing the Fire Nation noble girls and Kaito…
Well, that had been a sound strategic bite in the dust.
Literally for most. Really, as soon as Gorou had understood that Kaito could control some of his bodily fluids, it was over. There were some things you could take on, and then there was monstrosity hidden behind half-lidded eyes and lazy movements that could turn sharp at a moment's notice.
He'd thought to bide his time with Ebisu and Fon, but once the storm hit, Gorou knew that there was nothing he would do to murder this man in his sleep. If he was blessed by the spirits, Gorou wouldn't bring down their wroth on himself. For nothing in this world.
And, if he was honest, freedom sounded rather nice.
As it was, he was enjoying the view of Tananga tinged in the rosy hues of sunset. It was the first time the sun showed itself that day.
He only wondered if Kaito would be back soon enough for them to make for Ba Sing Se in the morning. He'd been gone all day. Where to, Gorou didn't know. The man could look after himself, after all.
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