Dragons in the Sun: Rocks and Other Things
Author: donahermurphy
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
'verse: Dragons in the Sun
'verse summary: Fire Lord Ozai favors a more permanent solution to the problem of Zuko, and the spirits disagree.
Story Title: Rocks and Other Things
Rating: PG-13
Story Summary: "Banished" turns out to be a euphemism for a rather painful death. Stranded on a rock in the middle of the ocean, even Zuko doesn't think he has very long to live... until something rather unexpected happens, and he almost forgets about that whole "imminent death by starvation" problem.
Two Weeks after the Agni Kai- Day Two
Zuko’s Rock
Zuko didn't cry the next morning, either. He did think about what he had to do if he wanted to live.
And… maybe it was more honorable to accept his fate, but he did want to live. He didn’t want to die here.
So what did he need?
Food. Unlikely.
Water. He’d only get some if it rained.
A way to get off this rock. Well, that would be pure luck, he certainly wouldn’t be able to do it himself.
What would Uncle tell him to do?
Uncle would quote proverbs and talk about spirits and destiny. Not much help.
What would Azula do? He didn’t know. Probably scream at someone, or at the ocean or something. And with his luck, he’d piss of a spirit just enough for them to throw a storm his way-
Zuko froze, testing the edges of an impossible idea.
I’ve never been lucky. But maybe if I’m polite…
Well, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have enough rocks to make a spirit-shrine. He knew enough for that.
The rocks on this island were strange. It was a good think he’d decided to pay his respects to the spirits, because some of these boulders were too weird-looking to be anything else.
Zuko ended up making the shrine out of pebbles and wet sand from the shore, knowing it probably looked like the most pathetic thing ever created. He put a scrap of cloth from his sleeve atop the altar and lit it on fire, saying a quick prayer to Agni and any other unnamed kami in the area and asking for guidance. A chance to get off this island, and to find his destiny.
(And he didn’t want to be alone anymore, but he knew better than to ask for that.)
…Hopefully it counted as an offering. He really didn’t have anything else to give.
He sat quietly and tried to clear his mind, letting the flame rise and fall with his breath.
After a few minutes, one of the smooth, egg-shaped boulders wobbled, and Zuko called more heat without thinking.
“What-“ he yelped as he saw the cracks forming.
In the half-light of the rising sun, he saw a ghostly, fierce dragon step forward.
Oh, Agni, no.
He really was going to die.
There was a dragon-spirit, and rock-spirits, and he had no luck, of course they hated him, everyone in the entire Fire Nation hated him now, an exile should have known better than to draw the spirits’ attention-
The dragon stared at him, and seemed to smirk. It looked beyond him, off into the water, and opened its jaws with a roar that sounded like a cat-wolf howl, calling others to battle.
Then it turned, and breathed fire on the boulders.
There were more cracking sounds, and the dragon-spirit faded away.
Everything went black.
Something was licking his face when he woke up. Zuko could feel a dry, raspy tongue edging over onto his bandages.
He tried to bring his hand up, to call on flame and ward off the creature, but his head was so heavy and tired and slow moving, and he couldn’t manage even a wisp of flame.
Fingers brushed scales.
[curiosity/warmth/love/hunger-for-sun/newness/mama?]
Zuko woke up really quickly after that.
“What?” he yelped. Croaked, really. The dragon- there was a dragon!- was a little smaller than him, but not by much. And it wasn’t budging from its spot on his chest.
[Mama? Concern/warmth/belonging.] It leaned in for a nuzzle, then padded off his chest to stare at him with wide gold eyes.
Zuko was- he couldn’t think. The world didn’t make sense anymore. This didn’t happen.
The dragons were dead.
But not this one, apparently. It was white with glints of silvery-blue, and was probably quite little, for a dragon.
And it thought Zuko was its mother.
This made no sense.
[Come-see! Nestmates-hatching! Mama come-see!]
Oh, Agni.
…And there were more of them. Not out of their eggs yet, but they would be soon.
“I’m not your mother,” he managed, backing away a step.
The dragon turned soulful- and suddenly wary- gold eyes on him.
[This-one… unwanted? Not in-pack with this-one?]
He wasn’t quite sure what the dragon was getting at, but it didn’t sound happy. It occurred to Zuko that he might have just moved himself from the category of “family member” to “possible meal.”
“Maybe… an older brother?” he suggested. “I might be able to help take care of you, but I’m not really fully grown yet. And I’m not your mama,” he added emphatically.
He might get eaten, but he wanted to be firm on this last point.
Oh, spirits. Had he just agreed to take care of them? All of them?
He was so doomed.
No wonder the royal family let Fire Sages deal with the spirits, if this was what happened when you asked for help.
The little dragon was quiet.
Thinking, maybe.
(Hopefully, not about what Zuko tasted like.)
[Older nestmate!] The little dragon yelped gleefully, pouncing on Zuko.
Ouch. The rocks dug into his back again, but he had to admit the dragon was lighter than it looked.
[Little nestmates!] It exclaimed, looking toward the hatching eggs. Us-older, them-little! It puffed up with pride.
[We protect nestmates! We older nestmates!]
…It was a pretty enthusiastic little guy, he had to give it that. And if it was pretty strong, if the bruises on his back were any indication.
He grunted as he got up, preparing to give it a piece of his mind- then sighed as it soundlessly nuzzled his hand, giving off waves of [comfort/sorry/nestmates-us?]
They’d probably make better siblings than Azula, anyway.
And he had asked not to get stuck on this rock alone.
Two hours later, the other two dragons- one gold with a little red, the other a mottled dark green- had hatched and been enthusiastically greeted by their younger sibling.
…Their actual older sibling, not Zuko.
Zuko was currently wondering how to feed them all, whether they might have a chance to fly off this island at some point, and where to go if they did.
He’d learned about the Earth Kingdom from his tutors, but they’d never exactly covered safe places for dragons to live. Dragons were supposed to live in the Fire Nation.
…Except that the Fire Lord had ordered the dragons to die, and he couldn’t bring them there. They’d be killed on sight.
Their only advantage was that the Fire Lord thought the dragons were dead. He wouldn’t be looking for them- no one in the Fire Nation would.
But if they went somewhere with people, and word traveled… they’d be toast.
Zuko realized that he wasn’t quite sure if he was just talking about dragons, anymore. He wasn’t under any illusions about his ‘banishment.’ Those soldiers had had orders.
Maybe secret orders, orders Uncle Iroh and the other nobles hadn’t known about. But only the Fire Lord would have had the authority to issue them.
Father had wanted him to die, and not come back.
Zuko swallowed.
If Zuko did come back, or showed up somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, if Father even found out he was still alive…
He shuddered, touching the edge of his bandages, and tried to think about something else.
Uncle wouldn’t want him to get hurt. Uncle cared about him, he was pretty sure. Like Mom had cared.
In a way, that made it worse.
If Zuko got caught inside the Fire Nation- if Zuko was recognized and reported alive, anywhere in the world- Uncle might try to protect him. Like Mom had protected him.
No.
He wouldn’t let that happen. Not to Uncle, too. Zuko wasn’t going to pull someone else into his own mess.
He still had that much honor left.
…He just felt like such a failure. Uncle had been lonely, after Lu Ten died, and now Zuko wouldn’t even be around to help. If he had just listened…
Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides maybe pray. And he wasn’t sure that was such a good idea anymore.
The Fire Sages had said the royal family had a special connection with Agni, but Zuko hadn’t thought it meant… well, anything particularly interesting, except that some of them were better firebenders.
Apparently, he’d been wrong. Again.
Although if that was the case… maybe Agni wanted the dragons back. Maybe that was Zuko’s destiny now.
Maybe, even if he had failed his father, even if he couldn’t be a good heir for his people… he did still have a purpose. A second chance, from Agni himself.
He couldn’t afford to screw it up.
“Ahh!” The oldest and most enthusiastic dragon pounced on Zuko again.
[Older-nestmate?Nesting-ground other-place. Where other? “Older brother,” yes? Where nest?]
Zuko stared at the little white dragon, utterly confused. It seemed to be… asking about him?
“Well, yes. I’m um, sort of your older brother now? If you want me to be, I mean. And I’m… well, I’m Pr- I’m Zuko. Son of Lady Ursa and- and I’m from a place that’s very far away.”
Hopefully he hadn’t messed up too badly. He had no clue what the little dragon was trying to get at.
[“Lady Ursa?” Show. Tell.] It’s voice was curious. Excited.
The other two dragons nudged themselves forward, bringing their snouts under his hands.
Zuko blinked, his throat tight as he remembered a soft voice. Kind words and long, pretty hair. She’d tried to protect him. She’d tried to protect him, and it was his fault she was gone and he wanted her back, and why hadn’t she come back, if she’d been there this never would have happened-
The green dragon’s voice was mournful.[ Mama. Brave. Nest-defender.Fought-for-fledgeling]
Zuko wiped away tears, and the little red and gold dragon whimpered when he took his hand away from its snout.
Gold whiskers reached for the side of his face, and he was too tired to flinch.
[Nestmates-together,] it chirped in his mind. [Nest together. Hide together. Fly together. If fight, fight together. Older nestmate not fight predators alone.] There was a picture of- of Father, at the Agni Kai. He did flinch, this time. Gold whiskers reached for him again, and the ends of his bandages.[ If hurt, other nestmates protect.]
Azula wouldn’t have protected him-
There was a sense of searching, and of dissatisfaction. Anger, but not at him.
[Bad younger-nestmate. Not loyal to nest-mother! Hurt nestmate in not-play. Bad. Older-nestmate here now. Here-stay.] The gold dragon was emphatic, possessively sending its whiskers all over Zuko. [Old-nest place-of-sickness. Not-safe! No go back!]
Uncle had tried-
[No-fight,] the green dragon grumbled.
“No,” Zuko said. “I accepted the challenge! I said I was ready, was old enough to act as an adult! It wasn’t Uncle’s fault I didn’t listen.” His shoulders slumped.
“And no one could have fought the Fire Lord,” Zuko continued. The green dragon gave him a look, and he remembered what Mom had done. “Not in front of everybody. Not like that,” he whispered.
The little white dragon prodded him. [Older-nestmate no-listen/watch elder? Foolishness/troublefinding/mistakes? Lost-now?]
“Pretty much,” Zuko agreed.
[Elder no-here,] the green dragon observed, somewhat morosely. [Alone/no-elders.]
The gold dragon snorted.[ Nestmates-together!] It cried indignantly, hissing.
“Hey. Hey, calm down, you two,” Zuko said, glancing at the white dragon for support. He didn’t really want to end up in the middle of a fight. (Literally, both of the dragons were draped all over him.)
[Playfight careful,] the white dragon reminded them. [Older-nestmate hurt.] It nuzzled Zuko, who fell over. Again.
“Okay that wasn’t quite what I- hey, wait? How did you understand what I was talking about before? I mean, what I wasn’t talking about.”
The white dragon cocked its head. [Mouth-sounds important?] it asked innocently. A little too innocently.
“I’m not falling for that one,” Zuko snorted. He realized he was smiling, a little bit.
It felt weird.
Arguably less weird than having dragons listening inside his head- though if that was the case, why did they still want to be… uh, nestmates? He was a human, and not even a very good firebender. How could he help them get food, or learn how to hunt, or find out what was safe for them to eat, or- or anything?
The white dragon sighed again, with the air of one dealing with a particularly stubborn bit of idiocy.
(Between Mom and Uncle, Zuko recognized the expression well.)
[Older-nestmate wants belonging. Younger-nestmates want belonging. Belonging-together. Strength-together. Older-nestmate warm. Warm-mind. Hurt-now. Still, warm-mind. Safe-feel. Good nestmate, will-be.]
“So, you felt my mind and it was… nice?” Zuko asked, swallowing a lump. They wanted him. Not just any random human coming along. Him, specifically. That was…
[Nestmates-together!] The green dragon chirped, sounding cheerful and brash and not at all like itself. Then it put its whiskers all over the un-bandaged side of Zuko’s face.
The gold dragon sulked and glared at it, not at all pleased with the imitation.
Zuko snickered.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
'verse: Dragons in the Sun
'verse summary: Fire Lord Ozai favors a more permanent solution to the problem of Zuko, and the spirits disagree.
Story Title: Rocks and Other Things
Rating: PG-13
Story Summary: "Banished" turns out to be a euphemism for a rather painful death. Stranded on a rock in the middle of the ocean, even Zuko doesn't think he has very long to live... until something rather unexpected happens, and he almost forgets about that whole "imminent death by starvation" problem.
Two Weeks after the Agni Kai- Day Two
Zuko’s Rock
Zuko didn't cry the next morning, either. He did think about what he had to do if he wanted to live.
And… maybe it was more honorable to accept his fate, but he did want to live. He didn’t want to die here.
So what did he need?
Food. Unlikely.
Water. He’d only get some if it rained.
A way to get off this rock. Well, that would be pure luck, he certainly wouldn’t be able to do it himself.
What would Uncle tell him to do?
Uncle would quote proverbs and talk about spirits and destiny. Not much help.
What would Azula do? He didn’t know. Probably scream at someone, or at the ocean or something. And with his luck, he’d piss of a spirit just enough for them to throw a storm his way-
Zuko froze, testing the edges of an impossible idea.
I’ve never been lucky. But maybe if I’m polite…
Well, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have enough rocks to make a spirit-shrine. He knew enough for that.
The rocks on this island were strange. It was a good think he’d decided to pay his respects to the spirits, because some of these boulders were too weird-looking to be anything else.
Zuko ended up making the shrine out of pebbles and wet sand from the shore, knowing it probably looked like the most pathetic thing ever created. He put a scrap of cloth from his sleeve atop the altar and lit it on fire, saying a quick prayer to Agni and any other unnamed kami in the area and asking for guidance. A chance to get off this island, and to find his destiny.
(And he didn’t want to be alone anymore, but he knew better than to ask for that.)
…Hopefully it counted as an offering. He really didn’t have anything else to give.
He sat quietly and tried to clear his mind, letting the flame rise and fall with his breath.
After a few minutes, one of the smooth, egg-shaped boulders wobbled, and Zuko called more heat without thinking.
“What-“ he yelped as he saw the cracks forming.
In the half-light of the rising sun, he saw a ghostly, fierce dragon step forward.
Oh, Agni, no.
He really was going to die.
There was a dragon-spirit, and rock-spirits, and he had no luck, of course they hated him, everyone in the entire Fire Nation hated him now, an exile should have known better than to draw the spirits’ attention-
The dragon stared at him, and seemed to smirk. It looked beyond him, off into the water, and opened its jaws with a roar that sounded like a cat-wolf howl, calling others to battle.
Then it turned, and breathed fire on the boulders.
There were more cracking sounds, and the dragon-spirit faded away.
Everything went black.
Something was licking his face when he woke up. Zuko could feel a dry, raspy tongue edging over onto his bandages.
He tried to bring his hand up, to call on flame and ward off the creature, but his head was so heavy and tired and slow moving, and he couldn’t manage even a wisp of flame.
Fingers brushed scales.
[curiosity/warmth/love/hunger-for-sun/newness/mama?]
Zuko woke up really quickly after that.
“What?” he yelped. Croaked, really. The dragon- there was a dragon!- was a little smaller than him, but not by much. And it wasn’t budging from its spot on his chest.
[Mama? Concern/warmth/belonging.] It leaned in for a nuzzle, then padded off his chest to stare at him with wide gold eyes.
Zuko was- he couldn’t think. The world didn’t make sense anymore. This didn’t happen.
The dragons were dead.
But not this one, apparently. It was white with glints of silvery-blue, and was probably quite little, for a dragon.
And it thought Zuko was its mother.
This made no sense.
[Come-see! Nestmates-hatching! Mama come-see!]
Oh, Agni.
…And there were more of them. Not out of their eggs yet, but they would be soon.
“I’m not your mother,” he managed, backing away a step.
The dragon turned soulful- and suddenly wary- gold eyes on him.
[This-one… unwanted? Not in-pack with this-one?]
He wasn’t quite sure what the dragon was getting at, but it didn’t sound happy. It occurred to Zuko that he might have just moved himself from the category of “family member” to “possible meal.”
“Maybe… an older brother?” he suggested. “I might be able to help take care of you, but I’m not really fully grown yet. And I’m not your mama,” he added emphatically.
He might get eaten, but he wanted to be firm on this last point.
Oh, spirits. Had he just agreed to take care of them? All of them?
He was so doomed.
No wonder the royal family let Fire Sages deal with the spirits, if this was what happened when you asked for help.
The little dragon was quiet.
Thinking, maybe.
(Hopefully, not about what Zuko tasted like.)
[Older nestmate!] The little dragon yelped gleefully, pouncing on Zuko.
Ouch. The rocks dug into his back again, but he had to admit the dragon was lighter than it looked.
[Little nestmates!] It exclaimed, looking toward the hatching eggs. Us-older, them-little! It puffed up with pride.
[We protect nestmates! We older nestmates!]
…It was a pretty enthusiastic little guy, he had to give it that. And if it was pretty strong, if the bruises on his back were any indication.
He grunted as he got up, preparing to give it a piece of his mind- then sighed as it soundlessly nuzzled his hand, giving off waves of [comfort/sorry/nestmates-us?]
They’d probably make better siblings than Azula, anyway.
And he had asked not to get stuck on this rock alone.
Two hours later, the other two dragons- one gold with a little red, the other a mottled dark green- had hatched and been enthusiastically greeted by their younger sibling.
…Their actual older sibling, not Zuko.
Zuko was currently wondering how to feed them all, whether they might have a chance to fly off this island at some point, and where to go if they did.
He’d learned about the Earth Kingdom from his tutors, but they’d never exactly covered safe places for dragons to live. Dragons were supposed to live in the Fire Nation.
…Except that the Fire Lord had ordered the dragons to die, and he couldn’t bring them there. They’d be killed on sight.
Their only advantage was that the Fire Lord thought the dragons were dead. He wouldn’t be looking for them- no one in the Fire Nation would.
But if they went somewhere with people, and word traveled… they’d be toast.
Zuko realized that he wasn’t quite sure if he was just talking about dragons, anymore. He wasn’t under any illusions about his ‘banishment.’ Those soldiers had had orders.
Maybe secret orders, orders Uncle Iroh and the other nobles hadn’t known about. But only the Fire Lord would have had the authority to issue them.
Father had wanted him to die, and not come back.
Zuko swallowed.
If Zuko did come back, or showed up somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, if Father even found out he was still alive…
He shuddered, touching the edge of his bandages, and tried to think about something else.
Uncle wouldn’t want him to get hurt. Uncle cared about him, he was pretty sure. Like Mom had cared.
In a way, that made it worse.
If Zuko got caught inside the Fire Nation- if Zuko was recognized and reported alive, anywhere in the world- Uncle might try to protect him. Like Mom had protected him.
No.
He wouldn’t let that happen. Not to Uncle, too. Zuko wasn’t going to pull someone else into his own mess.
He still had that much honor left.
…He just felt like such a failure. Uncle had been lonely, after Lu Ten died, and now Zuko wouldn’t even be around to help. If he had just listened…
Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides maybe pray. And he wasn’t sure that was such a good idea anymore.
The Fire Sages had said the royal family had a special connection with Agni, but Zuko hadn’t thought it meant… well, anything particularly interesting, except that some of them were better firebenders.
Apparently, he’d been wrong. Again.
Although if that was the case… maybe Agni wanted the dragons back. Maybe that was Zuko’s destiny now.
Maybe, even if he had failed his father, even if he couldn’t be a good heir for his people… he did still have a purpose. A second chance, from Agni himself.
He couldn’t afford to screw it up.
“Ahh!” The oldest and most enthusiastic dragon pounced on Zuko again.
[Older-nestmate?Nesting-ground other-place. Where other? “Older brother,” yes? Where nest?]
Zuko stared at the little white dragon, utterly confused. It seemed to be… asking about him?
“Well, yes. I’m um, sort of your older brother now? If you want me to be, I mean. And I’m… well, I’m Pr- I’m Zuko. Son of Lady Ursa and- and I’m from a place that’s very far away.”
Hopefully he hadn’t messed up too badly. He had no clue what the little dragon was trying to get at.
[“Lady Ursa?” Show. Tell.] It’s voice was curious. Excited.
The other two dragons nudged themselves forward, bringing their snouts under his hands.
Zuko blinked, his throat tight as he remembered a soft voice. Kind words and long, pretty hair. She’d tried to protect him. She’d tried to protect him, and it was his fault she was gone and he wanted her back, and why hadn’t she come back, if she’d been there this never would have happened-
The green dragon’s voice was mournful.[ Mama. Brave. Nest-defender.Fought-for-fledgeling]
Zuko wiped away tears, and the little red and gold dragon whimpered when he took his hand away from its snout.
Gold whiskers reached for the side of his face, and he was too tired to flinch.
[Nestmates-together,] it chirped in his mind. [Nest together. Hide together. Fly together. If fight, fight together. Older nestmate not fight predators alone.] There was a picture of- of Father, at the Agni Kai. He did flinch, this time. Gold whiskers reached for him again, and the ends of his bandages.[ If hurt, other nestmates protect.]
Azula wouldn’t have protected him-
There was a sense of searching, and of dissatisfaction. Anger, but not at him.
[Bad younger-nestmate. Not loyal to nest-mother! Hurt nestmate in not-play. Bad. Older-nestmate here now. Here-stay.] The gold dragon was emphatic, possessively sending its whiskers all over Zuko. [Old-nest place-of-sickness. Not-safe! No go back!]
Uncle had tried-
[No-fight,] the green dragon grumbled.
“No,” Zuko said. “I accepted the challenge! I said I was ready, was old enough to act as an adult! It wasn’t Uncle’s fault I didn’t listen.” His shoulders slumped.
“And no one could have fought the Fire Lord,” Zuko continued. The green dragon gave him a look, and he remembered what Mom had done. “Not in front of everybody. Not like that,” he whispered.
The little white dragon prodded him. [Older-nestmate no-listen/watch elder? Foolishness/troublefinding/mistakes? Lost-now?]
“Pretty much,” Zuko agreed.
[Elder no-here,] the green dragon observed, somewhat morosely. [Alone/no-elders.]
The gold dragon snorted.[ Nestmates-together!] It cried indignantly, hissing.
“Hey. Hey, calm down, you two,” Zuko said, glancing at the white dragon for support. He didn’t really want to end up in the middle of a fight. (Literally, both of the dragons were draped all over him.)
[Playfight careful,] the white dragon reminded them. [Older-nestmate hurt.] It nuzzled Zuko, who fell over. Again.
“Okay that wasn’t quite what I- hey, wait? How did you understand what I was talking about before? I mean, what I wasn’t talking about.”
The white dragon cocked its head. [Mouth-sounds important?] it asked innocently. A little too innocently.
“I’m not falling for that one,” Zuko snorted. He realized he was smiling, a little bit.
It felt weird.
Arguably less weird than having dragons listening inside his head- though if that was the case, why did they still want to be… uh, nestmates? He was a human, and not even a very good firebender. How could he help them get food, or learn how to hunt, or find out what was safe for them to eat, or- or anything?
The white dragon sighed again, with the air of one dealing with a particularly stubborn bit of idiocy.
(Between Mom and Uncle, Zuko recognized the expression well.)
[Older-nestmate wants belonging. Younger-nestmates want belonging. Belonging-together. Strength-together. Older-nestmate warm. Warm-mind. Hurt-now. Still, warm-mind. Safe-feel. Good nestmate, will-be.]
“So, you felt my mind and it was… nice?” Zuko asked, swallowing a lump. They wanted him. Not just any random human coming along. Him, specifically. That was…
[Nestmates-together!] The green dragon chirped, sounding cheerful and brash and not at all like itself. Then it put its whiskers all over the un-bandaged side of Zuko’s face.
The gold dragon sulked and glared at it, not at all pleased with the imitation.
Zuko snickered.