CHAPTER 12: ARRIVAL IN OMA SHU
The mega storm summoned by the young Avatar eventually passed. The villagers took refuge in a large chamber hidden by the thick foliage of the forest. Zuko and the rest of Team Avatar along with a significant number of Kyoshi Warriors took refuge in the dojo by the edge of the village. The rest accompanied the villagers to the shelter.
The sun was on its way to set upon the passing of the storm. Aang apologized for the damage done to the village and used his bending to help out with a few extreme damages. Eventually they had to say goodbye, on the insistence of Sokka. He along with Zuko knew the Fire Nation only wanted the Avatar. He suggested they live the island as soon as possible. Considering the state of the village, Aang reluctantly agreed. With a few bare minimum supplies loaded on Appa, the crew headed off. The supplies Zuko unloaded on to the beach were washed away by the storm. They had to make do.
The group that contained Aang, Appa, Katara, Momo, Sokka, Suki and Zuko flew away North for the mainland of the Earth Kingdom continent. Their plan was officially in motion but Zuko had doubts about parts of the plan, specifically the part about his uncle meeting up with him. He assumed that given Mui's betrayal there might have been changes in plan. He had to trust that his uncle would contact him should things turn for the worst. He did devote quite a few details of the plan so he just had to be vigilant and keep an eye out for anything his uncle might use as communication.
"So where are we headed off to for now?" Katara asked to Aang. She was trying her best not to interact with Zuko in any suspicious way infront of the group and the best way to do that was to ignore him blatantly.
Aang was riding at the front by pulling on the reins of Appa. Momo as he did most times clung to his shoulder.
"Omashu of course!" Aang answered with his usual wide grin.
Zuko's eyes popped open upon hearing the name. He didn't even need to ulter anything. It would appear the story was still progressing as it did in the series. With some minor and major differences of course. Omashu was a great city. Full of so many people that they could easily lie low for a while. Of course Aang's childish tendencies would lead to them being captured by a very powerful earthbender in King Bumi. King Bumi was in the top ten most powerful earthbenders in the whole franchise, in Victor(Zuko's) opinion. The most powerful would probably be Avatar Kyoshi but Bumi was certainly up there. The things Kyoshi did with earthbending were almost godlike, the key word being 'almost'. Encountering Bumi and fighting him was too big a risk to live to chance. Of course the king was a conservative bender, a patient man. He still had to disguise himself.
"Do you have any clothes I could wear as a disguise?" Zuko asked to the whole group. "The king of Omashu is the most powerful earthbender since Avatar Kyoshi. I cannot afford to antagonize him and so I need some clothes to not stand out." What he was saying wasn't entirely wrong. The two strongest earthbenders were most likely a coin toss between Bumi and Toph. When Toph invented metal bending it became less close but that was still a way away.
"I packed some clothes incase we would need disguises so you can change when we land." Sokka answered after a moment had passed and Katara refused to speak. He wondered why she was being so distant. Perhaps she still hated Zuko for what happened to their mother. Maybe it had something to do with what happened back in their home village.
"Thanks," Zuko said.
As the sun started its descend down passed the horizon, the group decided to land and set up camp for the night. Suki handed Zuko the aforementioned clothes for him to put on. He went behind some rocks to change while Aang attended to the fire. Katara prepared the food while Suki and Sokka had a romantic moment away from the group. Of course typical of him, Sokka ruined the moment with his curiosity.
"Did something happen to Katara?" He asked after taking a break from kissing her.
"You stopped kissing me to ask about your sister?" Suki asked in a voice that sounded innocent but for some reason it send a shiver down the spine of Sokka. Noticeably Sokka swallowed something hard.
"She's just been extra distant with Zuko for some reason," he quickly explained his thought process.
"I remember you telling me the Fire Nation killed your mother right?" Suki recalled. "Maybe seeing Zuko just reminds her of her mother."
"Yes that would make sense but she seemed to talk with him just fine before right?"
"True," Suki agreed. "I remember seeing her filled with tears back at the beach before the Fire Nation attacked. She said something about Zuko doing or saying something but she seemed to clam up and didn't tell me anything."
"What could he have done?" Sokka retorted. The moment of passion had long gone. Even Suki accepted he was worried about his little sister. She separated from his embrace and left to help Katara with the food. Aang was innocently playing with his two animal companions Appa and Momo.
Sokka decided to get behind the matter himself and headed for Zuko. Just as he arrived, Zuko walked around the large rock to reveal his new get up of plain colours. Even his hair was now pulled down. To all eyes he looked just like any earth kingdom peasant. In his hands were his Fire Nation clothes and armour. He walked passed Sokka and simply threw them into the fire that they burn. After that he returned to Sokka which he suspected wanted a conversation. Why else would a hot blooded teenager go towards another teenager who was completely naked if not for a conversation? Unless of course it was a female.
"What did you to do my sister?" Sokka got straight to the point. He did not want to dilly dally. Someone messing with his family was an easy way to get on his bad side.
"You mean the fact she has been cold and distant to me?" Zuko guessed. Sokka nodded to confirm.
"My sister is not the type to hold grudges." He revealed. "At the beach back on Kyoshi, before the attack, Suki said she caught her with tears and she wanted to mention something about you but held back which brings me to my original question. What did you do to my sister?" The intimidation tactic did not surprise Zuko. He expected as much from Sokka. What surprised him was the fact Katara was crying. He couldn't even begin to guess as to why that would be given their brief conversation.
"I did not do anything to your sister." He answered point blank. "I simply asked her to be my woman." His indifferent tone caught Sokka off guard.
Secondly was the answer. Of all the things he expected to hear, betrothal did not even cross his mind. He honestly did not know how to react to this revelation. It was a good thing his sister found a powerful man but it still not change the fact that he was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. The nation responsible for the greatest era of blood and massacre in history. His mind just could not process it fast enough. Not to mention, this man was the heir of the nation which his father was fighting. The very same nation that killed his mother and desemated his entire village to live him as the only warrior. On the other hand was all the safety and luxury she would have. In his heart he knew this was not a good idea but he still couldn't say it.
"Sokka!" Zuko suddenly called him awake from his daze. "The food is ready." He added and proceeded towards the fire. He joined Aang and the two girls by the fire. Momo and Appa were having a separate dinner away from the group but still close enough to bask in the warmth of the fire.
After a while, Sokka joined the group. He decided to have a serious talk with Zuko when they could possibly be alone. They needed a talk as men should. For now he decided not to cause too much disturbance to the status quo of the group. Maybe that opportunity would come in Oma Shu so it was best to wait so that everyone else could be distracted by the hustle and bustle of the big city.
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The following morning, the group had a quick breakfast of some hot tea and hard bread. Zuko and Sokka decided to have some dried meats as well. As teenage boys their appetite was significantly more than the rest. Even eating twice as much as the rest of the group combined they were still not quite satisfied. They had to hold back the urge as they needed to ration the food until they got to Oma Shu. Once breakfast was done, the boys packed up everything on Appa as the two girls had a bath in a local lake. The lake was discovered by Sokka accidentally when he wondered around in the middle of the night.
It was surrounded by high rise hills that enclosed it. The dense forest obscured it from view and made it especially hard to peep. The thought had crossed the mind of Zuko and Sokka but they both decided against it. For Sokka he knew it was only a matter of time before he saw the full glory of Suki but the other girl was his sister. For Zuko the problem wasn't incest or guilt. He just didn't want the temptation to get him hard. He was already having a hard time just driving the dirty thoughts away. If he actually got hard then not even rubbing one out would help at this point. As for Aang, the thought didn't even cross his mind. His mind was too preoccupied with riding the great causeways of OmaShu that he couldn't even give it a thought. He just wanted to get there as fast as possible and have a good time.
Eventually everyone got ready and the group took off. They flew for hours straight until noon. They landed and had a quick lunch before departing again, thanks to insistence from Aang. Even flying for the rest of the day they could not reach the great city. After a bit of a quarrel Sokka convinced Aang to land for the night and set up camp. This time they found a very secluded mountain top. Things proceeded normally and the next morning came.
This time they woke up at dawn and quickly packed up the equipment. Their flight this time was only a mere hour. The outline of the pyramid shaped city of Oma Shu came into view. The group stashed away Appa in a nice and secluded area of the mountains. With that accomplished the group made their journey down the mountains and towards the southern entrance of the great city. As expected the group was met with suspicion and scepticism by the guards at the gate. Fortunately things went through quite well. They managed to pass as refugees running from the tyrany of a Fire Nation raid that destroyed their entire village. After a few tearful sobs from the guards they were allowed passage. With their bending the city guards opened up the massive stone gates and into the city. What came into their vision was the marvel of earthbending ingenuity.
The great city of Oma Shu. Home to nearly half a million people, the city was a source of great pride for people of the earth kingdom. Founded some millenium prior by the widow of powerful earthbender. The woman, Shu, united the warring tribes of herself and her lover and created the mighty city in honor of their love. Over the years the city had grown to be considered just behind Ba Sing Se as the second most powerful city on the great continent. Located towards the west south west edge of the continent it was a sore thumb in the businesss of the Fire Nation and their business of conquest. What amassed most people of the city was the use of earthbending in almost everyday life. From transport to construction and the most famous was the delivery system. An interconnected network of stone causeways used as a delivery system for all kinds of goods. This is the great city of Oma Shu.