[Fanfic]: don't take me home
Title: don't take me home
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1451
Summary: Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, questions a prisoner
Notes: Immediate followup to take me home tonight. Written for atlaland's WYOP Challenge
"Daddy, I want to eat him!" Katara pouted.
"You had seal just this morning," Hakoda pointed out wearily.
"Seal isn't Fire prince," she said, still sulking.
"Neither is he," Hakoda said.
The subject of their discussion lay crumpled between them, an unconscious, shivering bundle chained in silver. Sokka crouched beside him, poking him curiously with the dull edge of his boomerang. "Why are we keeping him, if we're not gonna eat him?"
"Because I said so," Hakoda said. His tone brooked no further argument from his children.
Katara opened her mouth anyway, and Hakoda said,"Sokka, take your sister fishing."
Sokka grabbed Katara's arm and hauled her away, ignoring her muttered protests. That done, Hakoda grabbed the Fire man by the chains and dragged him over to the fire to warm up.
Kya raised her eyebrows as she regarded husband and prisoner. "A new toy?" she drawled.
"I want to talk to him," he said, dropping the silver chains and wrapping his wife in his arms. He kissed her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and both cheeks, and then Kya drew him to her for a proper kiss.
"I am not so easily distracted, Hakoda," she murmured when they drew apart.
"It was worth a shot," he said, and dodged her swipe at him with a grin. Abruptly he turned serious. "This is not the first time that man has been in Southern Waters."
"He isn't one of the Fire ravens," Kya objected. The ravens had kept them well-fed for months, after all. Only one of them had escaped the Southern Water Tribe, and they had found his body a day later, floating bloodless in the ocean, his throat cut.
"No," he agreed. "I believe he slew the last of them. I want to know why."
Kya shook her head. "What does it matter to us? You're far too curious, Hakoda."
Hakoda couldn't say why it mattered. He certainly couldn't say why he knew this man had killed the last of they who had come to kill his Katara. Instead, he kissed her again.
"One day I won't let you change the subject with kisses," she told him, dark-eyed, voice husky. "And then where will you be?"
"Here," Hakoda said, and drew her to him.
"Licentious man."
Kya stroked the Fire man's hair as they waited for him to wake. "He's not as pretty as they usually are," she noted. Hakoda had to agree, really, but he hadn't kept the man alive for his appearance.
"Good," he said, kissing the tips of Kya's fingers and delighting in her laugh. "I don't need another man to turn your head from me."
"Bato turns the heads of all the Tribe."
Hakoda smiled. He certainly did. "Perhaps he should keep our Fire man, then."
"I knew you were going to make a pet of him."
"Maybe."
A groan disturbed their banter, and Hakoda peered over Kya's shoulder at the prisoner. His face was contorted with pain; Hakoda supposed he must be suffering quite the headache.
"Your name?" Hakoda demanded.
"Tenok. Lieutenant, Imperial Fire Navy." The man moved onto to turn his head so he could face them. His eyes went wide when he did -- not with surprise, Hakoda noted, but fear.
He smiled. So this Tenok understood what they were. Good. "Five years ago you were on a ship that picked a man out of the water. A Fire man, with an emblem of a black raven."
"The Southern Raiders," Tenok said quietly. He flinched when Kya hissed.
Hakoda stroked his wife's arm to soothe her. "A day later his body was dumped in the ocean."
"He succumbed to his injuries," Tenok said blandly.
Hakoda's smile sharpened at how straight the Fire man's face remained. "His throat had been cut."
"Fancy that."
"Did you kill him?" Hakoda asked directly. When Tenok was silent too long, Hakoda took one of the chains and yanked him roughly closer, reaching over Kya to take him by the neck. "I asked a question, lieutenant."
"Yes," Tenok said just before Hakoda tightened his grip. "I killed him."
Hakoda shoved him away, and Kya sat up languidly, stretching before she cleared space between her husband and the prisoner.
"Why did you kill him? He's of your people."
Tenok laughed harshly. "My people are not his people. My people came long before his. We were the first to learn firebending from the dragons, and we taught it to the Children of the East who came a hundred thousand years later. For our trouble we were forced from our lands, and those who did not leave were made to become like the Children of the East, but never truly like them."
Fascinated, Hakoda let Tenok rant.
"They keep us from advancing, by laws and by favouritism; they tell us our firebending is wrong and we must do it their way or be punished. They stripped us of our culture, our religion, and our language. They drove the dragons to extinction in less than a century, with no respect for the very ones who brought firebending to the world and to the people. I may be of the Fire Nation," he finished, "but they are not my people."
"And you killed him for those reasons?" Kya asked.
"If I was going to kill for those reasons, I would have murdered half the country by now," and Tenok, though he spoke frankly, did bow respectfully. Hakoda decided not to thrash him.
"Then why?" he asked.
Bronze eyes met his. "Because," Tenok said, "the Southern Raiders were doing to the Southern Water Tribe what was done to the Sun Warriors."
Hakoda rose abruptly, grabbing Tenok's chains. Startled, the man scrambled clumsily to his feet lest he be dragged after the Southern chief. Amused, Kya followed, shedding the blanket that had covered her during the questioning. She strode ahead and dove into the water, her form changing as she did.
He smiled. Kya always understood him.
"What's going--" Tenok managed to get out before Hakoda shoved him off the ice.
He sank like a stone, and Hakoda followed, the change working on his own body the moment he touched water. With a flick of his tail, he followed the sinking Fire man, and saw that Kya was already swimming up beneath him.
To his credit, Tenok was not panicking. Instead, the silver cuffs on his wrists were putting off light, and the water around them bubbled and hissed.
Then Kya caught him, and pressed her mouth over his, giving him much needed air. Her hair floated in a dark cloud around them both, hiding the bone knife in her left hand.
Hakoda took charge of Tenok then, unlocking the chains and letting them drift down below. He could see the fear in Tenok's eyes, and the confusion there too. He didn't know if they would kill him clean or let him drown, Hakoda decided, and smiled.
One-armed, he held Tenok against him and gave him air, too, holding out his right hand for Kya to cut open. The saltwater stung in the wound, but Hakoda had felt the pain before and could ignore it.
Kya gave the knife to Hakoda and took Tenok back to give him a new breath of air. As she did, Hakoda cut Tenok's right hand, then clasped their wounded hands together. In Old Ice, he said, "You who have lost your way, my tribe welcomes you."
Kya drew away from Tenok, and the man breathed once, twice, and his legs tore through cloth and became the tail of a spotted orca.
The fear in Tenok's eyes changed to wonder. "What did..." He twisted around, trying to see all of his new body.
Kya laughed musically and swam a loop around him. "Your people and mine have much in common," she said.
"And as deeply as you hate the Fire Nation -- or at least the Children of the East," Hakoda added, "you still sacrificed yourself to save your prince."
Tenok waved a hand. "He's a good kid at heart, if temperamental. When he was lured overboard, he went with the intent to rescue."
"Whatever the reason," Hakoda told him, "you showed honour. Now we offer you a choice -- you can go back to the Fire Navy, or you can remain with the Southern Water Tribe."
Tenok didn't stop to think. "I've been a lieutenant for ten years, Chief Hakoda," he said. "Before that, I was ten years an ensign. I stayed only for love of the sea."
Kya twined around her husband and nuzzled him; Hakoda pinned her to his side and said, "Come, then -- we will introduce you to the rest of the Tribe."
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1451
Summary: Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, questions a prisoner
Notes: Immediate followup to take me home tonight. Written for atlaland's WYOP Challenge
"Daddy, I want to eat him!" Katara pouted.
"You had seal just this morning," Hakoda pointed out wearily.
"Seal isn't Fire prince," she said, still sulking.
"Neither is he," Hakoda said.
The subject of their discussion lay crumpled between them, an unconscious, shivering bundle chained in silver. Sokka crouched beside him, poking him curiously with the dull edge of his boomerang. "Why are we keeping him, if we're not gonna eat him?"
"Because I said so," Hakoda said. His tone brooked no further argument from his children.
Katara opened her mouth anyway, and Hakoda said,"Sokka, take your sister fishing."
Sokka grabbed Katara's arm and hauled her away, ignoring her muttered protests. That done, Hakoda grabbed the Fire man by the chains and dragged him over to the fire to warm up.
Kya raised her eyebrows as she regarded husband and prisoner. "A new toy?" she drawled.
"I want to talk to him," he said, dropping the silver chains and wrapping his wife in his arms. He kissed her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and both cheeks, and then Kya drew him to her for a proper kiss.
"I am not so easily distracted, Hakoda," she murmured when they drew apart.
"It was worth a shot," he said, and dodged her swipe at him with a grin. Abruptly he turned serious. "This is not the first time that man has been in Southern Waters."
"He isn't one of the Fire ravens," Kya objected. The ravens had kept them well-fed for months, after all. Only one of them had escaped the Southern Water Tribe, and they had found his body a day later, floating bloodless in the ocean, his throat cut.
"No," he agreed. "I believe he slew the last of them. I want to know why."
Kya shook her head. "What does it matter to us? You're far too curious, Hakoda."
Hakoda couldn't say why it mattered. He certainly couldn't say why he knew this man had killed the last of they who had come to kill his Katara. Instead, he kissed her again.
"One day I won't let you change the subject with kisses," she told him, dark-eyed, voice husky. "And then where will you be?"
"Here," Hakoda said, and drew her to him.
"Licentious man."
Kya stroked the Fire man's hair as they waited for him to wake. "He's not as pretty as they usually are," she noted. Hakoda had to agree, really, but he hadn't kept the man alive for his appearance.
"Good," he said, kissing the tips of Kya's fingers and delighting in her laugh. "I don't need another man to turn your head from me."
"Bato turns the heads of all the Tribe."
Hakoda smiled. He certainly did. "Perhaps he should keep our Fire man, then."
"I knew you were going to make a pet of him."
"Maybe."
A groan disturbed their banter, and Hakoda peered over Kya's shoulder at the prisoner. His face was contorted with pain; Hakoda supposed he must be suffering quite the headache.
"Your name?" Hakoda demanded.
"Tenok. Lieutenant, Imperial Fire Navy." The man moved onto to turn his head so he could face them. His eyes went wide when he did -- not with surprise, Hakoda noted, but fear.
He smiled. So this Tenok understood what they were. Good. "Five years ago you were on a ship that picked a man out of the water. A Fire man, with an emblem of a black raven."
"The Southern Raiders," Tenok said quietly. He flinched when Kya hissed.
Hakoda stroked his wife's arm to soothe her. "A day later his body was dumped in the ocean."
"He succumbed to his injuries," Tenok said blandly.
Hakoda's smile sharpened at how straight the Fire man's face remained. "His throat had been cut."
"Fancy that."
"Did you kill him?" Hakoda asked directly. When Tenok was silent too long, Hakoda took one of the chains and yanked him roughly closer, reaching over Kya to take him by the neck. "I asked a question, lieutenant."
"Yes," Tenok said just before Hakoda tightened his grip. "I killed him."
Hakoda shoved him away, and Kya sat up languidly, stretching before she cleared space between her husband and the prisoner.
"Why did you kill him? He's of your people."
Tenok laughed harshly. "My people are not his people. My people came long before his. We were the first to learn firebending from the dragons, and we taught it to the Children of the East who came a hundred thousand years later. For our trouble we were forced from our lands, and those who did not leave were made to become like the Children of the East, but never truly like them."
Fascinated, Hakoda let Tenok rant.
"They keep us from advancing, by laws and by favouritism; they tell us our firebending is wrong and we must do it their way or be punished. They stripped us of our culture, our religion, and our language. They drove the dragons to extinction in less than a century, with no respect for the very ones who brought firebending to the world and to the people. I may be of the Fire Nation," he finished, "but they are not my people."
"And you killed him for those reasons?" Kya asked.
"If I was going to kill for those reasons, I would have murdered half the country by now," and Tenok, though he spoke frankly, did bow respectfully. Hakoda decided not to thrash him.
"Then why?" he asked.
Bronze eyes met his. "Because," Tenok said, "the Southern Raiders were doing to the Southern Water Tribe what was done to the Sun Warriors."
Hakoda rose abruptly, grabbing Tenok's chains. Startled, the man scrambled clumsily to his feet lest he be dragged after the Southern chief. Amused, Kya followed, shedding the blanket that had covered her during the questioning. She strode ahead and dove into the water, her form changing as she did.
He smiled. Kya always understood him.
"What's going--" Tenok managed to get out before Hakoda shoved him off the ice.
He sank like a stone, and Hakoda followed, the change working on his own body the moment he touched water. With a flick of his tail, he followed the sinking Fire man, and saw that Kya was already swimming up beneath him.
To his credit, Tenok was not panicking. Instead, the silver cuffs on his wrists were putting off light, and the water around them bubbled and hissed.
Then Kya caught him, and pressed her mouth over his, giving him much needed air. Her hair floated in a dark cloud around them both, hiding the bone knife in her left hand.
Hakoda took charge of Tenok then, unlocking the chains and letting them drift down below. He could see the fear in Tenok's eyes, and the confusion there too. He didn't know if they would kill him clean or let him drown, Hakoda decided, and smiled.
One-armed, he held Tenok against him and gave him air, too, holding out his right hand for Kya to cut open. The saltwater stung in the wound, but Hakoda had felt the pain before and could ignore it.
Kya gave the knife to Hakoda and took Tenok back to give him a new breath of air. As she did, Hakoda cut Tenok's right hand, then clasped their wounded hands together. In Old Ice, he said, "You who have lost your way, my tribe welcomes you."
Kya drew away from Tenok, and the man breathed once, twice, and his legs tore through cloth and became the tail of a spotted orca.
The fear in Tenok's eyes changed to wonder. "What did..." He twisted around, trying to see all of his new body.
Kya laughed musically and swam a loop around him. "Your people and mine have much in common," she said.
"And as deeply as you hate the Fire Nation -- or at least the Children of the East," Hakoda added, "you still sacrificed yourself to save your prince."
Tenok waved a hand. "He's a good kid at heart, if temperamental. When he was lured overboard, he went with the intent to rescue."
"Whatever the reason," Hakoda told him, "you showed honour. Now we offer you a choice -- you can go back to the Fire Navy, or you can remain with the Southern Water Tribe."
Tenok didn't stop to think. "I've been a lieutenant for ten years, Chief Hakoda," he said. "Before that, I was ten years an ensign. I stayed only for love of the sea."
Kya twined around her husband and nuzzled him; Hakoda pinned her to his side and said, "Come, then -- we will introduce you to the rest of the Tribe."