Chapter Text
The first thing that Sokka noticed after getting off the ferry was the emptiness of the Earth Kingdom. Somehow, he had always grown up with the idea of the Earth Kingdom’s mighty population, and he had eyed the hills upon hills of houses from the ferry with eagerness.
It struck him as odd now that he was standing in the middle of an empty ferry terminal, facing a web of deserted streets. Come to think of it, the ferry that he had come in on had been empty as well. He turned around to double-check, only to be faced with a vacant port.
Huh. That was awfully quick for the ferry to have pulled away.
He made his way to the ticket booth, where thankfully an attendant was at least present. “Uh, excuse me?” he pulled out a scroll, stamped with the seal of the Earth Empress herself. “How do I make it into the inner city?”
The attendant held out her hand for the scroll, which Sokka handed over. After skimming the contents of the scroll, the attendant’s expression lit up immediately.
“Ambassador Sokka! We’ve been expecting you.” The attendant unlatched the door to the booth and strode purposefully further down the port, gesturing at Sokka to follow her. “I’m afraid the quickest way into the inner city will be by train, but we’ll have a carriage pick you up to your place of residence once you arrive in the inner city.”
“Is it a civic holiday or something?” Sokka asked, scanning the abandoned storefronts as the attendant lead him down a street.
The attendant gave a high-pitched laugh, as if Sokka had told a funny joke, but didn’t reply to his question. She kept leading him through the streets until at last they arrived at the train station.
“You’ll be taking the train on Platform 9,” she told him. “The trains are fortunately less busy at this time of day, so you might even get a car to yourself!”
Sokka raised her eyebrows at her, half-expecting her to wink, or give some indication that she was joking. However, the attendant continued to smile at him.
“Okay? Well, thanks for your help,” he said, hurrying quickly onto the train. The woman gave him the heebie-jeebies.
No sooner had he settled into a seat did the train pull out of the station. He shifted closer to the window and leaned his head out. The sprawling streets of Ba Sing Se below him were empty, although there were signs of life in the garments draped over clotheslines and red lanterns set up in anticipation of the new year. Other than that, however, it was truly a depressing sight. Sokka leaned back against his seat and mentally composed the letter he was planning to send to his father and Katara.
The train eventually left the condensed apartments of Ba Sing Se behind. Soon, the view out the window was replaced by fields of farmland and mountains in the distance.
Sokka was on the verge of falling asleep when the train came to a screeching halt. Shaken awake, Sokka looked out the window. They had made it into the inner city. The train hadn’t stopped at a single station since the outer city.
Increasingly unsettled, Sokka stumbled off the train, noticing that the sky was starting to darken. He also noticed with some relief that in the inner city there were at least people that occupied the streets.
“Ambassador Sokka,” a stout man in emerald green robes was approaching him. “I was sent to retrieve you and take you to the Bathhouse, where you will be staying for the night. The Empress has sent along a message that she will meet with you tomorrow morning.”
Sokka supposed it was pretty late to be meeting with the Empress now. He allowed the man - Jie Dai, as he introduced himself - to lead him towards the carriage, drawn by two ostrich horses. They set off towards the bath house.
Sokka peered out the curtains of the carriage when the clop-clop-ing of the ostrich horse claws turned into muted fump-fumps. They were making their way over an arched, wooden bridge. And across the bridge, towering over them in a formidable fashion, was what Sokka supposed was the Bathhouse.
“It’s fire nation style,” Sokka remarked, taking note of the wooden make of the building and the curved, tiled roofs.
“Ahh, yes,” Jie Dai replied proudly. “The Bathhouse sees many visitors from the fire nation, perhaps due to its distinct architecture. And its impeccable service, of course.”
“Of course,” Sokka agreed absentmindedly. “You know, in the Southern Water Tribe we have bathhouses as well. Although the baths are always cold.”
“That sounds… delightful…” said Jie Dai, although his smile was still plastered on his face.
“My sister’s been trying to use her water bending to control the temperature of the baths, but no luck so far. It always annoys her when I tell her to just light a fire under the bath.”
Jie Dai continued smiling fixedly at him.
A moment later they pulled up in front of the Bathhouse, where a plump woman with a grey-haired bun was waiting for him. She smiled an eerie smile a Sokka when he hopped off the carriage.
“Welcome to the Bathhouse,” she announced, bowing deeply. “We are most honoured to have you as a guest, Ambassador Sokka. Let me show you to your rooms.”
Sokka gave a hurried wave at Jie Dai, who was already pulling away in the carriage.
“Er, how should I refer to you?” he asked the matron.
“They call me the Witch,” she said, followed by a hearty cackle to prove her point. “It’s alright, I don’t take offence,” she elaborated at the startled look on Sokka’s face.
But Sokka’s bewilderment was quickly replaced by amazement when they entered the Bathhouse. The ceiling of the foyer went all the way up, surrounded by rows of balconies stacked over dozens of floors. Lights and tapestries decorated the walls. Robed individuals - whether they be idle patrons or scurrying workers - bustled down the wooden halls.
“Woah,” Sokka couldn’t help exhaling.
“RIDA!” the Witch suddenly yelled, causing Sokka to jump
A young girl dawdling by the elevators scurried quickly towards them.
“Take Ambassador Sokka to his room,” said the Witch. She fixed the girl with a narrow glare. “And don’t let me catch you slacking off again.”
Rida gave a squeak, lowering her head in fear. She led Sokka to the elevators.
“Your room is on the seventh floor, in the diplomat’s suite,” she said timidly. As the doors to the elevators were about to close, another worker quickly squeezed through them.
“Oh, it’s a disaster, a disaster!” he mumbled to himself.
For the nth time that day, Sokka dearly wished Katara were with him, so that he could share a bewildered look with her.
“You okay there?” he settled for asking.
“How could I be okay?” the worker tittered, tearing animatedly at his hair. “The Phoenix siblings are arriving any minute! They weren’t supposed to come until next week! We need to get the banquet ready, we need to get their rooms ready, we need to put up all our fire emblem tapestries…!”
Rida gasped. “They’re coming tonight? Why the change in schedule?”
“You can ask the Witch if you don’t fear her ripping out your tongue for even asking,” the worker sniffed disdainfully. “Oh, what to do, what to do…” He practically shot out of the elevator when the doors opened on the seventh floor.
Sokka barely took a step onto the landing when another worker barrelled by him.
“Out of the way!” the man yelled, launching himself at the balcony. “Oh, hippo cow dung, they’re already here!”
There was a collective gasp. All the occupants on the landing crowded towards the balcony. The air hummed with nervous excitement. Sokka peered over the edge of the balcony as well, curious as to the cause for the commotion.
The front door of the Bathhouse opened.
The first thing that caught Sokka’s eyes were the deep, blood-red robes. The next thing was glinting of golden hairpieces.
A small fire nation envoy was gathered in the foyer. Two figures led the party - a man and a woman, looking remarkably similar to each other.
“The Phoenix siblings,” the worker in front of Sokka simpered.
Down below, the Bathhouse matron was busy greeting her new guests. Sokka took the opportunity to study the siblings that led the fire nation envoy.
It was immediately apparent that the sister was the one running the show. She took in her surroundings with one quick sweep of her gaze before fixing the matron with a bored stare. Though she stood regally, there was something about her stance that was fluid, like she was ready to spring into battle at any moment’s notice.
Her brother stood slightly behind her, equally as regal, though a little more stiff than his sister. He, too, was taking in his surroundings. When he tilted his head up to survey the balconies, his eyes lingered briefly over Sokka before he turned his attention onto the Witch as well.
“Please, let me personally escort you to the royal suite,” the Witch’s gravelly voice floated up the balconies.
“Yes, yes, it’s been a long journey,” said the Phoenix Princess. Her voice was penetrating, cutting cleanly through the air. The heels of her boots clacked as she made her way towards the elevators. “My brother and I will appreciate settling in.”
The crowd of workers and patrons waited excitedly to see which floor the guests would get off. Then, suddenly, the elevator came to a halt on the seventh floor.
“Make way, make way!” the workers cried. Sokka found himself shoved unceremoniously against the opposite wall as the crowd cleared a path down the hall. The elevator doors opened.
“Here we are,” the Witch announced, leading her guests to the end of the hallway. “The royal suite are right behind these doors, as I’m sure you’re both familiar with.”
“We’ll be having the wing to ourselves, of course,” said the Phoenix Princess.
“Ahh,” said the Witch.
The Phoenix Princess narrowed her eyes marginally. Her lips pulled back into a dangerous, shark-like smile. “No?”
“We currently have a guest in the diplomat’s suite,” the Witch explained hurriedly. “An ambassador from the Southern Water Tribe.”
“I’m so glad you explained who will be sharing the wing with us,” said the Princess, “seeing as that makes such a big difference to me.”
“Princess Azula,” the Phoenix Prince spoke for the first time. His voice was surprisingly low, considering the sharpness of his sister’s voice. “Our hosts were kind enough to accommodate our early arrival. It would be unfair to request that they displace their guests on our behalf. I wouldn’t mind sharing a wing with the ambassador.”
“Where is this ambassador from the Southern Water Tribe?” Princess Azula demanded, as if her brother hadn’t spoken.
There was a moment of confusion as everyone looked around the landing.
“Um,” said Sokka. He waved his hand awkwardly from the opposite end of the hall. “Hiya. It’s me. The ambassador, that is. From the Southern Water Tribe.” He received twin lukewarm stares.
“Well, Mr. Ambassador, it seems we have a problem,” the Princess crossed her arms. “We’re staying in the same wing.”
Sokka shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with it.”
The Phoenix Prince’s lip twitched.
“It’s not my concern what you have a problem with - ” the Princess started scornfully.
“Then we’re all in agreement,” her brother cut in. “Princess Azula, I recall you mentioned that you were tired after a long journey. Let us settle in for the night.”
A lesser man would have quaked from the chilling glare that the princess shot her brother. A second later, however, she gave a long-suffering sigh and turned towards the Witch. “Very well then. Leave us be. We would like to retire.”
“Of course, your highnesses,” said the Witch. She turned around and made shooing motions at the workers on the balcony.
Sokka trudged wearily towards the diplomat’s suite. Princess Azula had already retreated into the royal suite, though the Phoenix Prince was still lingering in the hallway. He cleared his throat awkwardly as Sokka passed him down the hall.
“I’d like to apologize for my sister,” said the Prince. “She’s not used to sharing.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” said Sokka honestly. “It’s not your fault. You seem like an alright guy.”
The Phoenix Prince looked adorably pleased at Sokka’s compliment. He bid Sokka a soft goodnight, before turning into the room beside his sister’s.
When Sokka finally got to collapse into his own bed, he fell asleep almost the second his head hit the pillow. What an odd pair of siblings, was his only thought as he drifted off into sleep.
“Sokka. Sokka. Sokka!”
With a stir, Sokka forced open heavy eyelids. His head pounded like crazy. There was a blurry face above him.
“Oh, thank the spirits,” Aang collapsed backwards from where he was leaning over Sokka and gently tapping his face. “What happened?”
“What do you mean?” Sokka asked. He rubbed his temples, trying to recall whatever had occurred before he passed out. “We were chasing that weird spirit thingy through the caves, right?”
“Yeah, we split up down a fork in the road. I hit a dead end so I came back to look for you, and I found you lying unconscious on the floor. Did you find the spirit?”
Sokka shook his head, then instantly regretted it when his vision started swimming. “No. It feels like it probably knocked me out, though, my head feels awful. I had this super weird dream.
Aang looked at him oddly. “A dream? About what?”
“I…” Sokka frowned. “I don’t remember. It was a really weird dream though, kind of surreal.” He shivered. “Hey, Aang, this place is giving me the creeps.”
Aang gave their surroundings another careful look. “I don’t think the spirit would have stuck around. Let’s get back to the village first and have you checked out. It’s getting late, we can keep looking for the spirit tomorrow.”
When they got back to the village, Sokka’s head felt a lot better. Now that they were out of the caves, he started to feel a little silly for being so creeped out earlier. They should have stayed longer to find the spirit that had been haunting the villagers.
“We’ll head back tomorrow,” Aang assured him as they prepared to turn in for the night.
“Sure thing,” said Sokka, wriggling deep into his bedroll. He fell asleep in seconds.
He woke up to the light twitters of guinea pig sparrows outside his window. Yawning, Sokka dragged himself out of bed and trudged over towards the window. He threw open the curtains.
A gorgeous view of the sea greeted him. He leaned forward, breathing in the salty breeze.
Some distance above him, the chimneys were letting out the smoke from the Bathhouse.