Chapter Text
There's a human edging dangerously near home.
It is red, like all the others. But small. The colours on his fabrics has more weird gold squiggles than the brownish red clothing she normally sees.
She stares at him warily and quacks an inquiry.
He bends down and reaches into sleeve.
Unsure of the meaning of reaching into sleeve,she quacks a mighty protective quack and puts herself in front of her offspring.
A small crunchy wheat cube falls out of his sleeve.
Small human brings food!
She hesitates.
Humans are malicious, crafty creatures..
Small human does not move. His weird gold eyes are big.
Food smells good.
Perhaps small human is good too.
She will give him the benefit of doubt.
She warily approaches and nibbles food. It tastes wonderful.
Small human leans back. He bares teeth, eyes tightening, but he doesn't attack.
He give more food and says gibberish.
Bare teeth is good, she learns. It is like twitching fluffy tail.
It means happy.
She boops small human with beak and waddles away to offspring.
_______________
Small human comes to give her food a lot.
Mostly when the sun is setting.
Sometimes he is happy, sometimes his chin wobbles and hand shakes, eyebrows squeezed together.
He likes to sit by the pool and speak gibberish. She wonders why he doesn't just quack. Quack is easier than the odd convoluted string of sounds humans use.
She supposes turtle-ducks are just superior to stupid humans.
She may not understand but she tries sympathising. The small human hunches into himself, not unlike retreating into a shell. Sad. Fearful.
She picks up the little gestures he does when he's upset. Humans have patterns. He pinches nose, fiddles with hand, plays with hair.
When small human is down she lets him pet her. Sometimes her offspring waddles onto the small human too. She sits in his lap as they settle in his hair, or perch on his shoulders, or snoozes on his sleeves.
The small human is very careful with her offspring. He sits still, elbows tight but face relaxed, slowly petting her coat. His hands are soothing, she likes it.
Small human calms down when he is touching her feathers.
Another reason turtle-ducks are superior.
Eventually small human is no longer just food bringer or shell massager or offspring perch.
He is more than that.
He is baby.
Child .
Mother turtle-ducks protect their children.
______________
Child calls her Quackers.
Yes she quack.
Very good name.
Proud of you child.
Here's another boop.
________________
Child brings another smaller human and a female human to her pond.
Quackers quacks as greeting.
The new humans are both of his blood. One a sibling, the other a mother. They have the same silky black hair and golden eyes.
Sibling is fidgety but settles down next to child after being cooed at by the mother. Child places his hand on sibling's, and guides the small hand towards her feathers. Sibling is hesitant, but follows her brother's lead and pets her coat. She lets out a string of high pitched sounds in delight at the fluffy sensation. (They're called giggles in human.)
She quacks at the fellow mother in approval as she ruffles child and sibling's hair.
Sibling and mother visits a lot.
Until there are sparks of glowing orange.
The humans look in wide eyed delight as the small sibling holds the sun in her palms.
Quackers quacks in amazement.
There is much happy noises among the humans after that.
But then sibling comes less often.
And with azure sparks
never at all.
_____________
Child was playing with Quackers' offspring when the angry boom boom man came.
He quickly retreats from the pool and bows,terrified.
The angry man nods, and glances towards her.
She shakes the water off her shell and her beady eyes meet his stubbornly.
She doesn't like him.
He is fire, like child and sibling and other mother.
But colder than pond water during the winter days. His gaze quickly turns towards child and harsh mashed up sounds makes child flinch. Her small human speaks, but his voice is small and restrained.
Child doesn't visit for the next few days.
He returns looking over his shoulder, and murmurs an apology. ( Yes Quackers figured out what's an apology, she's a smart turtle-duck.)
She gives him a reassuring quack and her offsprings pile onto him as comfort. Child bares his teeth in a good way again, and lies down in the grass.
That was not the only time angry boom boom man visited. Sometimes he comes with sparks in his palms and head held high in nauseating arrogance.
She doesn't care about human social statuses and messy relationships, but child shrinks into himself when he is near,knuckles white. Child is afraid.
She hates whoever makes her child afraid.
________________
Sibling returns.
Not for her.
She sneers coldly, too much like the angry boom boom man for comfort.
Quackers wonders when this small human started resembling a predator, fangs sharp, ready to pounce.
She needs to be humbled.
So Quackers snatches the fabric on her leg and pulls.
Unbalanced, the sibling topples backwards and falls into the pond. Her offsprings let out quacks of surprise and waddles away from the soaking wet lump.
She quacks in triumph as child giggles.
_________________
There is a old fat man that smells of tea at her home.
No.
Not only tea.
Also war and bloodshed and crippling despair.
She turns away and preens her offspring's feathers.
It's awfully idiotic of humans to butcher each other when they essentially a very big family. Turtle-ducks are smarter than that.
________________
The other mother is gone.
Child nuzzles into her. Is weird gesture, but child calms down. His face is buried in her feathers. There is water leaking out of his eyes.
She puffs up feathers and quacks into his ear. Perhaps he would cheer up for food.
Quackers snatches a fish and smacks it into child's face.
Child lets out a gasp and wipes away eye water. He bares his teeth in good way and murmurs gibberish into her. Child is very sad.
She lets him sob into her coat.
Now that his mother is gone, she will be his mother.
She will be best mother.
__________________
She's worried.
Very worried.
Something will go very very wrong.
She follows her child into a big room full of humans.
Then there's noise and her child is on his knees begging.
the angry boom boom man
his father
puts a hand on her child's face
And burns.
She only feels blind rage as she launches herself at the man and attacks in a flurry of feathers and vicious quacks tearing away at the human's flesh because you hurt my child you burnt my child and you will suffer
There's screaming and heat searing her wings hands pulling and bludgeoning she doesn't stop until his face is a mangled bloody pile of filth.
______________
There's a half dead bird smoldering on the Agni Kai stage.
The Fire Lord no longer has the left side of his face.
(like his son)
The Dragon of the West runs with his scarred nephew.