Fire Unbound
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Rating: K+/PG
Words: 452
Genre: Gen
Characters: Zuko, Aang
Warnings: Spoilers for "The Firebending Masters", death
Summary: The Avatar and the Fire Lord make one final pilgrimage.
Those knowing this, mindful,
fully extinguished/unbound
in the here and now,
are forever calmed,
have gone beyond
entanglement in the world.
--Sutta Nipata, verse 9
Their footfalls are silent on the stones; no easy feat for two old men relying upon staffs to walk. The afternoon sun gleams off of white hair falling loosely around stooped shoulders and a faded blue stripe on a shaven scalp littered with age spots. Carefully they tread around the trigger for the trap half way down the path. In front of the largest pyramid they stop and take a moment to catch their breath. Even the Avatar and the Fire Lord do not have the power to slow the march of time.
A cough sounds behind them, and they turn to face the chieftain of the Sun Warriors. Under the large headdress and carmine paint is a man half their age, having taken over from his father years ago. An ancient warrior accompanies him, once strong body now shrunk and bent, shiny black hair now gray, but his suspicious beady eyes are the same. Even now, those eyes say, I would watch you be devoured and not blink.
At the shrine where the eternal fire burns, they strip down to pants and boots and each take a small flame. The chieftain leads them to the mountains bridged by stone and they ascend a staircase painted in shades of copper and brass by the fading light. At the top they stand, back to hunched-over back, and wait.
Slowly two reptilian faces emerge, the red before Zuko, the blue before Aang. The scaly skins sag around their eyes, fold and wrinkle at each creaking joint, hang loose from their underbellies. Ran and Shaw take to the air, weaving and undulating around the two men. The tiny humans, in turn, slip into the familiar dance. But arthritic pain and fatigue cut short the movements. Zuko and Aang fall still and watch as each dragon descends upon the bridge, sinking ragged claws into the stone. Man gazes at dragon, dragon gazes at man.
Then, moving together as one, Ran and Shaw inch forward and touch their huge snouts to each man's chest. Warm dragon breath puffs over puckered scars, smoke curls around lined faces. As one, the old men each reach out a hand, Aang holding out his left, Zuko holding out his right, and rest their palms on the rough, alien mounds of flesh. The gesture is a thank you and a farewell.
The sun sinks into the ocean's embrace, yielding the sky to the stars. The stone under their feet fades to gray. The long tails stop twitching, the large eyes close, and the flames go out.