Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Crown Prince Zuko was killed at the age of 13. 

The Spirit showed up only a couple days after. 

Iroh tamped down his suspicions— his hope, he was in the middle of grieving. Of course he’d be seeing connections between things. The spirit making his appearance could be completely unrelated to Zuko’s death, and even if the two events were connected, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. He had to navigate this in the way he’d navigate any other interaction with a spirit: very carefully. 

The Spirit was persistent, making rounds around the royal palace, Iroh got the feeling they didn’t leave. He also got the feeling that he was the only one they showed themself to, though that could be for a variety of reasons. The Spirit didn’t seem to have a goal, at that moment, and Iroh almost wanted to say they were scared. He wanted to tell them that it was alright to be scared, but he knew it would be dangerous to approach them directly, especially without knowing their name.

It's when Iroh's grief is finally not so overwhelming when something happens. The regularity of the Spirit's appearances had dropped dramatically after those first few days, about a week after Zuko's death. Iroh was almost ready to accept that the spirit was simply there due to the general intensity of the emotions surrounding the death. But as he sat meditating that morning, he heard a whisper in his ear, barely discernible from the ambiance of the palace.

“I need help,” the voice said, and Iroh tensed.

“Zuko?” He asked, not daring to open his eyes. It was only a whisper, but he swore it sounded like his nephew.

There was a pause, uncertainty? The presence, and he could feel the presence now in a way he hadn’t before, seemed to be holding its breath, wavering.

“...I am the Blue Spirit,” the voice whispered, sounding confused about the mixup, unsure about the name they gave, “and you must help me, or, well, you should help me.“

Iroh opened his eyes, bracing for the face of his nephew in front of him, but the spirit was just that, a spirit, their blue, mask-like face glancing behind them, like they were about to be caught doing something they weren't supposed to do, but no one appeared behind them, no one at all.

”Blue Spirit,“ Iroh addressed, and the Spirit sighed, seeming almost more tangible, less flighty, “what is it that you seek?”

The Blue Spirit considered the question silently. “I can't leave,” the spirit whispered, statement simple. Their eyebrows furrowed, the white paint gathering above their eyes. ”I can leave the palace, I... I think? But I can't enter the Spirit World.“

Iroh hummed. ”And why do you approach me to guide you? There are many fire sages not so far from here that would surely be more suited for the task.“

The Blue Spirit shifted somewhat uncomfortably. ”I don't need a spiritual leader, I need someone to help me find the Avatar.“

Iroh frowned. ”The Avatar?“ It made sense, in a way, but Iroh couldn't help but wonder if finding assistance from the Avatar specifically was somewhat unnecessary... not to mention the fact that the Avatar had been missing for so long.

”The Avatar is the bridge between the Spirit World and this one,“ the Blue Spirit whispered hurriedly, Iroh idly wondered if they could speak in anything other than whispers. ”They're the only one who can help me with this— this isn't normal, I don't— I don't know what to do.“

The Blue Spirit turned away, looking embarrassed. How the tables had turned, and how worrying it all was... it was taking everything in Iroh not to completely disregard every bit of spirit etiquette he knew. The boy spirit hugged their torso absently, and Iroh simply let out a sad breath.

”I... Blue Spirit,” Iroh said, the name feeling strange, it didn't really lend itself to comforting statements very well. “I will help you find the Avatar, wherever they may be.”

The spirit sighed, and left with a quiet ”thank you.“

Iroh closed his eyes, frowning. It was such an irresponsible promise to make, wasn’t it? How was he supposed to find the Avatar? He would have to hope that the Blue Spirit would be merciful if it never happened. He would have to hope his instincts were right.

The Blue Spirit was young, very very young, and he knew that. He knew it as he wandered around the royal palace in a confused haze, he knew it as he realized he could not enter the Spirit World (return to the Spirit World?), he knew it as he stumbled his way through acquiring help. He knew he was young, and that being young was confusing, but there was another layer to his confusion that he knew did not come from being young.

He did not understand half of the feelings in him, half of the feelings that made him. He was mostly feelings, in the end, roiling within his stubbornly physical form. He knew hate, he knew justice, but he did not know why. Perhaps it had something to do with the funeral he had attended, the one that made him feel fuzzy. Maybe it had something to do with Prince Iroh, how their arrangement had felt right. Maybe it had to do with the way he looked at the princess, and how the princess looked back at him.

He watched as Prince Iroh prepared a ship, prepared excuses. Excuses, excuses, excuses, the Blue Spirit just wanted to leave. Iroh was about to embark on a spiritual mission to find the Avatar, to restore the bridge between worlds, wasn't that one of the most disgraceful things he could do in the eyes of the people there? Why did he pretend otherwise?

…It didn’t really matter in the end. Humans were probably just confusing. Iroh had agreed to the search despite the Blue Spirit’s atrocious attempt at negotiation. Maybe expecting him to be truthful and risk his position and assets even further was too much. 

“Blue Spirit,”

Said spirit was drawn out of his thoughts by the murmur of his name somewhere on the ship itself. Responding to the prayer, he swiftly made his way into a small cabin. Iroh had set up what looked to be a very simplistic shrine, maybe? It was just a standard firebender’s meditation focus— four candles set atop a low table— that could be used as an altar, though no offerings had been set out yet. It was covert, simple, but the Blue Spirit still felt like this was a bit much for him. It was embarrassing, they had already made an agreement, he did not need to be pleased further... but it would make for a fairly convenient anchorpoint, so he didn't complain.

“Hi,” the Blue Spirit greeted. Not particularly elegant, but he was limited to whispers as his main form of communication, so it wasn't necessarily ideal circumstances for elegance. At least, that was what he told himself.

Iroh looked somewhat amused at his awkward arrival. “I simply wished to let you know that we are to leave in the morning, will this be suitable?

The Blue Spirit glanced around at the rest of the cabin, at the bed especially. “...Is this room yours?” Had he misinterpreted something? Maybe the “shrine” really was just a meditation focus… Still, it seemed like a very small space for a prince.

Iroh shook his head. “This is your cabin, I... well. Since you are bound to the physical world, I doubt you'll be able to avoid the crew forever.”

A blink. “You know I don't sleep, right?” the spirit asked, still not quite understanding the purpose of the bed.

”If the crew is aware of you, they will assume you do.“

That still didn't make sense to the Blue Spirit. Was he expected to disguise himself? He may be humanoid, but he didn't particularly look like a human. Maybe he could figure something out, it wasn’t like he had ever tried to disguise himself before. He should've probably been offended by Iroh’s implication, but he didn't really care... and there was something else hidden in Iroh's expression, something he didn't quite understand.

”...Alright,“ the Blue Spirit relented. ”This will be my room.“ It still felt strange, but maybe not as strange as it should've.

”I am glad you like it,“ Iroh replied, letting out a breath of anticipation. That was not what the Blue Spirit said, but he didn't correct the man.

The Blue Spirit would hum a polite non-agreement if he could, but the most he could manage was a huff of breath. He wished he had a voice, more than just a whisper. He wished he was loud, he wished, he wished, but that was not what he was made of. So he was quiet instead.

“Apologies, Spirit, but—” Iroh paused. “Would I be incorrect in assuming that you are something of a younger spirit?“

The prince was so nervous, the spirit didn't like that, causing fear. It seemed counter to his essence. “...I'm very young,” he admitted, feeling quieter than he already was. “Very, very young. It was the Agni Kai, um,” that was a terrible way of saying it, wasn't it? “It was an injustice, and so I'm the spirit of that injustice.” That sounded poetic, didn't it? No, wait, “or, no, I'm the spirit of justice… for that injustice? Um, but I-I haven't really done anything related to that, um, specifically. So I'm a spirit of justice, in general, but because of what happened.” He was rambling, it was a terrible explanation. He held his mask in his hands, hidden from Iroh’s reaction. 

“That’s quite young, I don’t think there’s any shame in not knowing yourself completely so early on.”

It wasn’t that. At least, the Blue Spirit was pretty sure it wasn’t. It might be that it would take him time to become comfortable in his role, but he was born with it etched into his being. He knew what he was. But he didn’t say that. He just nodded.

“…If you need anything, let me know,” Iroh murmured. It was a strange thing to say to a spirit, but it almost seemed to be directed towards someone else. 

“Okay,” replied the Blue Spirit, if only to alleviate a bit of the awkwardness. It didn’t really work. 

Iroh nodded, and left the room, leaving the spirit grasping at what happened, what he was given. Perhaps the room itself was an offering, of sorts. The idea of his own room did calm him, somehow. He didn’t think most spirits would’ve appreciated it. But the room locked from the inside. It was his room. 

The Blue Spirit sighed and sat on the corner of his bed, and in the privacy of his room, he took off his mask, and stared into its eyes.

“You there, Fire Sage, do you happen to know what a ghost might look like? Assuming they're real, of course.”

Azula was getting answers. It had been an entire week since she last saw the ghostly figure that had been running around the palace ever since her brother had... died. She wanted to know where he had gone, why he had left her. How dare he?

The Fire Sage frowned, glanced up at Azula’s headpiece, and then back at her. “Did you see something?”

“Answer the question,” Azula snapped. She didn’t appreciate the lack of respect, and she really didn't want to give anyone ideas about her seeing anything.

“Of course, your highness,” the sage replied, giving her one of those knowing looks her uncle loved. Azula ignored it. She needed answers. “Usually ghosts are described as looking very similar to how they did in life, or perhaps moments before their death. They're often distinguished from living beings through subtle ways their forms defy logic, they may be transparent, or glow, or perhaps their hair does not react to the wind.”

Azula frowned. Was the figure not a ghost? She had been so sure that Zuko had simply refused to die. Had the figure been a spirit, instead? That seemed like the only other option. He wasn’t just someone pretending to be a spirit, she knew that. The mask he wore moved and shifted in a way that would've been impossible otherwise.

“So if I saw something ghost-like that does not look like a person, that would more likely be a spirit, right?”

The Fire Sage studied Azula again. It was getting annoying. She didn't know how to ask about any of that without implying she'd seen something.

“...Yes, it would,” the sage confirmed slowly, picking and choosing his words, “though I would need more details than that to be sure.”

Damn him. Azula narrowed her eyes. “Is there anywhere we can speak more privately here in this Fire Temple of yours?”

Of course, the Fire Temple wasn't his, Azula had chosen to speak with a Fire Sage that did not have regular correspondence with her father, just in case. She was starting to think her caution was justified.

The Fire Sage led Azula down, through the library, and into a small... study room? Unused closet? It didn't really matter.

“What did you see?”

Azula inhaled. Reminded herself that it was the Fire Sage's job to take silly spirit things seriously.

“After the Agni Kai, there was someone running around the palace, he was wearing this mask, he— Zuko had a mask like that, I think,” her voice did not waver. “He was wearing a mask, but nothing else, it looked like his body was made of smoke, or ash. He only revealed himself to me, I think.”

The Fire Sage frowned, thinking. Azula tried her best to ignore the sad, pitying look he had on his face. “That does sound more like a spirit than a ghost,” he confirmed, “though ghosts are technically a type of spirit… I know what you mean, the sort of spirit associated with a place, or concept. The mask is an interesting detail, though. What does it look like?”

Azula didn't get excited. The sage was just playing along, wasn't he?

“The mask was a gift from our mother, it's from some play, something about love and dragons?” She rolled her eyes. “It's blue, it has these big saber teeth. Fangs? Whatever. It's blue and white, it has a nose?”

“It has a nose,” the sage repeated, “I'll be sure to remember that.”

Was the sage teasing her? Azula didn't know how she felt about that.

“That didn't help you at all, did it,” Azula said, voice dry. An attempt to sound cold and uninterested, she thought she did pretty well (she was eleven, she just sounded disappointed). 

The Fire Sage shook his head. “It narrowed things down. None of the known local spirits around Caldera fit that description, nor do any of the common roaming spirits I know of. We may be able to find record of him somewhere, but there is a chance that he is a brand new spirit, never before seen,” his eyes sparkle with excitement, “you should be honored, Princess Azula, if that is the case, honored that he decided to reveal himself to you.”

“Of course,” Azula replied immediately. Of course he would reveal himself to her. She had another question on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t know if she trusted the random Fire Sage enough to ask it. She couldn’t appear weak, desperate. Desperate for her dead brother, of all people.

She stood, she had gotten what she wanted, at least to start.

“I am coming back here in a week and you are teaching me whatever… however… You’re teaching me spirit things,” she commanded.

The Fire Sage bowed. Azula didn’t like the amused look in his eye. “Of course, Princess Azula. I look forward to seeing you.”

Right. That was enough of that. She was leaving the sage, leaving the temple. It was only then when she realized she didn’t know the sage’s name. Surely she’d be able to find him in a week or so, right? There couldn’t be… that many sages.

Chapter Text

After nearly three years of existence, the Blue Spirit was still young, especially for a spirit, but he had built up knowledge, he had built up skills, and he was sure he had done a lot more rowing than most other spirits. Maybe they should row more. Maybe that’d make them less flippant about his predicament. 

It was very cold so close to the south pole, the Blue Spirit released freezing drops of water into the air with each stroke of the oars, and it soaked into the thick layers of his disguise and occasionally made it through to the ashes that made up his physical form. It wasn’t unpleasant, though, and it wouldn’t be, unless it started to freeze. But he was approaching his target, he’d be out of the water soon. He doubted he would have to start worrying. 

The village was small, which meant it would be easy to find the Avatar. The short wall of snow separating the village from the rest of the world was just begging to be phased though, but stuck in his physical form as he was, the Blue Spirit was forced to vault over it. Not that it was particularly hard. 

He landed face to face with a warrior, club raised in warning. The warrior was young, young enough to make the spirit question why, but the war often caused problems far outside of the Blue Spirit’s domain, so he shelved the question until he knew more. 

The warrior took in the spirit’s human disguise, confusion clear on his face. The iron ship that had brought the spirit close to shore was just close enough to see from the village, it implied a much bigger threat, even if he had closed the distance on his own. The confusion was fair enough, the spirit didn’t look particularly dangerous. He wore no armor, just his usually stealthy all black outfit that was, at that moment, fairly counterproductive against a backdrop of snow. His hair was down, messy, face covered mostly with a cloth mask, only a strip of illusory skin around his eyes visible. His namesake mask, the blue one, his other face, was tied to his belt, carefully trained to remain as impassive as the inanimate object it once was. He wasn’t unarmed, but his dual dao were sheathed, on his back. He wasn’t there for vengeance. 

“Is this some kind of trick? Are you trying to distract me while an actual army comes barreling in? Because it isn’t working.” 

The Blue Spirit shook his head, holding back a huff of impatience. The sound would come from his mask at his side, not the face that was usually underneath. It would be unlikely that the warrior would even notice the sound, but it was good to be careful. It wouldn’t do him well to ruin his disguise so fast. 

“I’m looking for the Avatar,” the Blue Spirit signed, making sure the gestures were slow and readable, even to the villagers behind the warrior. 

The warrior squinted. “You’re looking for— what? Can you repeat tha—“

A voice from behind interrupted the warrior. 

“The Avatar.” 

The oldest woman in the little group of villagers stepped forwards. 

“This—” once she was sure she had the warrior’s attention, she repeated the sign: both hands in front of her torso one on top of the other, palms facing in, fingers touching, she then pulled her hands apart, palms facing each other, and fingers splayed. “This means Avatar. It’s not a sign you’ll come across often, these days.” It was understandable he didn’t know it, is what went unsaid.

The warrior frowned. “Well, uh, we don’t have the Avatar? So, if you’re telling the truth, which you probably aren’t, you should just go and take your scary Fire Nation ship… literally anywhere else.”

The Blue Spirit rolled his eyes. “I know they’re close. Maybe not here, but close. They were in the Avatar State, not for long, but it happened.” 

The warrior looked to be following along right up until the Blue Spirit mentioned the Avatar State, but he seemed to piece together what was going on fine enough. “Well I don’t know what this Avatar… thing that happened is, but you’re not gonna find said Avatar in this village, so get lost.”

The Blue Spirit ignored the warrior, who had no idea what was going on, clearly. The old woman, though, had a look of quiet contemplation on her face.

The Blue Spirit raised his hands, prepared to ask another question, when suddenly his legs were pushed out from under his body by something ramming into his shins. 

The spirit’s yelp was inaudible, of course, but he wasn't sure if he preferred it in that case. He kind of wanted to let whatever did that know he was offended… Even if he wouldn’t do anything about it, there wouldn’t be retribution. He was disguised, no one had been purposefully offending a spirit in that moment. 

“Katara! Sokka! I saw the ship— I’m so sorry, are you okay? Is it just this guy? Who is this guy??”

So it was a human who attacked him. It was somewhat understandable, there was a war going on, even if it didn’t involve him at all. Iroh’s ship was intimidating on its own, even if it was small by Fire Navy standards. 

“He’s looking for the Avatar, apparently? I don’t really believe him, I don’t know why he’d think the Avatar is here, of all places, unless he’s looking for you,” the warrior snorted like the human shin projectile being the Avatar was the most absurd idea in the world. It did prompt the Blue Spirit to get a better look at his attacker, though. Just in case. 

The Blue Spirit looked over to see a small, young, Air Nomad boy chuckle nervously. “Um, yeah, about that…” 

Of course. The Blue Spirit scrambled back onto his feet. 

“It’s you,” he whispered, the words slipping out before he realized he was trying to exclusively sign at that moment. 

The Avatar smiled in a way that looked more like a wince. “…Surprise! I’m… the Avatar.”

The warrior sputtered, gesturing at the Blue Spirit. “They were right?”

Before they could say anything else about the whole Avatar deal, a new voice interrupted them.

“Aang!” 

From the group of villagers, another teenager ran up to greet the Avatar, one that the Blue Spirit hadn’t taken notice of before. She, along with the warrior, looked like they made up the entirety of the teenaged population of the village. Information to be examined later. 

“You came back!”

“Hey Katara,” The Avatar looked a bit sheepish. “Yeah, I saw the ship and I got worried… I guess it didn’t end up being as big of a deal as I thought, though?”

The warrior frowned. “Yeah, I dunno Aang, I still don’t trust this guy… Thanks for um, running into him. Sorry I didn’t trust you.”

The Avatar smiled. “It’s alright, Sokka. I did set off that flare.”

It was a pretty useful flare, all things considered, but the Blue Spirit didn’t think he should mention it. 

“You did,” The warrior, Sokka, agreed with a sigh before turning towards the spirit. “Anyway , you. Fire Nation ship guy. What do you want the Avatar for, hm? Want to capture him? Kill him?” 

The Blue Spirit rolled his eyes. “The Avatar is the bridge between the Spirit World and the physical world,” he explained. Sokka already looked very lost, but the Avatar seemed to know enough sign language to keep up. That was what mattered. “I’ve been traveling the world looking for spiritual help, and everything points to the Avatar being the only one who can help.”

The Avatar winced. “That… might take a bit, I don’t really know anything about the Spirit World yet? Or anything? Mostly just airbending. So I don’t really know how much I can help you… at least for now.”

“Okay, cool. He can’t help you with your Spirit World stuff so you can just take your ship and leave forever!”

“I mean, if he's willing to wait, I can probably learn?”

Sokka sighed. “Aang, I know this is all new to you, but we're in the middle of a war. We can't just trust random people like this!”

”If he wanted to take me or something he'd just do it!“

The other teenager, Katara, cleared her throat. “So uh, random stranger, why did you come here on a Fire Nation ship? I'm sure you have a good reason.”

Finally. An opening. “I am not part of the Fire Nation navy,” the Blue Spirit clarified first, he wasn't exactly sure how he should explain everything else. Katara had grabbed Sokka's head and turned it so it was facing the Blue Spirit's hands, so clearly she wanted him to explain things well. “It's just me, my... family member, and a small crew. Officially, they're on a research mission, researching the Avatar, but half of what we learn isn't even reported.”

Sokka frowned. “Okay, so you aren't Fire Nation, but you make reports? To who?”

Ugh. He thought he would be able to get that through without scrutiny. “I am not Fire Nation, but the crew is.”

“Then why are you working with them??” Sokka asked.

“They have a boat?” the Blue Spirit tried, “and they were willing to help me?”

Sokka, still very unconvinced, huffed and walked away, muttering something to himself. The Avatar was relaying what the Blue Spirit had said to Katara.

“Well, I don't see why you'd be lying about this,” she said.

“You're on his side, Katara??” Sokka yelled. “Am I the only one with sense around here anymore?”

“Well what do you think he's going to do, Sokka? What's his evil Fire Nation master plan, huh?”

Sokka cleared his throat. “Well, obviously, he’ll trick us into trusting us and then… give us fake spiritual advice that actually gets us to help the Fire Nation somehow. Without us knowing.”

“Oh— Sokka, that’s a really good point, actually,” the Avatar turned to the Blue Spirit, excited. “You’ve been all over with this Avatar research thing, right? I mean, if you got all the way down here. I bet you know a lot about spirits, you can probably help teach me about them!”

Sokka groaned, and the Blue Spirit allowed himself a single huff of laughter. “You could say that,” he signed. “I can… try to teach you?”

“What even is this spiritual issue you have anyways?” Sokka asked. “If you’ve been all over researching it, why do you even need the Avatar?” 

“I… can’t say,” that was the closest the Blue Spirit had gotten to lying so far, if he didn’t count referring to Iroh as family. That felt different. He couldn’t say what his issue was without revealing he was a spirit, which he could not do. Well, he could, but there could also be very messy consequences if he did. He’d wait until he knew the situation better. 

“And why can’t you tell us?”

“Sokka, this is the most obviously cursed person I have ever seen,” the Avatar cut in, “I mean, just look at him!”

The Blue Spirit didn’t know what exactly the Avatar saw, but he let the assumption help him out. 

“A lot of curses make it so you can’t talk about your curse, right?” Katara asked, “I don’t think you’re going to get any more answers, Sokka.”

Sokka pouted. “Well don’t blame me if he ends up backstabbing us.”

“Hey, we’ll be on Appa for most of the trip, if he does anything, I’ll uh, push him off! Just for you.” 

“Oh, right, your 'flying bison,'” Sokka said, rolling his eyes. As if a flying bison wasn't just as unbelievable as a living Air Nomad.

“Where are we traveling?” The Blue Spirit asked. We. He was going with the Avatar, he had to.

“Yeah, Aang, where do we want to take this liability to?”

“The North Pole, obviously. We've already talked about this.”

Right. Because water was after air... and there were no more waterbenders at the South Pole.

“Oh! And um, what's your name, by the way?” Katara asked. “It's gonna be a long trip, we don't want Sokka to call you 'Mr. Liability' the whole time.”

Oh, right. Humans liked having names to use. In general, not just for summoning reasons.

“Aoi,” the Blue Spirit fingerspelled. It was the name he usually gave, what Iroh called him. He then gave his name sign, the sign for 'blue' over his left eye, the one with the scar. It didn't get used too often, not too many of the people he spoke to signed back once they learned he could hear them. He liked to bring it up, though, he wouldn’t let it go to waste.

The Avatar nodded. “Welcome to the team, Aoi! That means blue, right? You really don’t really wear a lot of it for someone named blue.”

Aoi rolled his eyes. His mask was plenty of blue. Didn’t the Avatar know anything about contrast?

They were approaching the Fire Nation ship, and Sokka was not trusting Aoi for a second... If that was even his name. Seemed too convenient. ‘Oh yeah, heard they like blue in the Water Tribe. By the way, my name actually means blue.’

And yes, Appa could actually fly, so he was wrong about that, fine. Aang was just some 12 year old and also the Avatar, Appa could fly, everyone was just trusting Aoi now, and he was the crazy one. Maybe it was all just preparation for going to the North Pole. It was winter there, after all, not summer. Maybe everything else down there was backwards too.

Speaking of Aoi, he signed something just a bit too fast, and Sokka was cursing himself for not learning more sign language. Like, okay, maybe it had been several years and also he had been 12, but still. He didn't like that Aang kept having to translate.

“Pretend that we've captured you?” Aang repeated, thankfully. Sokka wasn't about to admit he had only caught the word 'capture'... And Katara was there, actually. Dad hadn't gotten the chance to teach her more than a couple signs, so she’d need translations regardless. Maybe that was what Aang picked up on, not Sokka’s embarrassment. “Wasn't this your plan though?”

“Kind of,” Aoi signed with a bit of a wince, just a quick little 'so-so' gesture. “Iroh knows, the rest don't.”

A new fingerspelled name. Did Aoi realize they had no idea who this Iroh was?

“So the crew doesn't know…” Aang deduced. “Is Iroh the relative you mentioned?”

A nod. Okay. 'Relative' was incredibly vague, but whatever. Wasn't like everything else Aoi said wasn't suspect as shit.

Pretending to capture the guy though, Sokka wasn't against that idea at all.

“Give me your sword,” Sokka said, eyeing the scabbard across Aoi's back. They should've taken that from him before they got on Appa. Whatever, better late than never.

Aoi rolled his eyes, but complied. Sokka nodded approvingly. “Alright, now we'll tie up your hands and you can lie down like we've roughed you up a bit.”

“But then he won't be able to talk!” Aang protested.

Aoi shrugged. “It's fine,” he signed, and then signed something else Sokka didn't catch. It seemed to convince Aang well enough though.

Right. One tied up Fire Nation spy cursed guy, check. Incoming Fire Navy ship, check. Nice view of said ship while not being in range of any stray balls of fire? He’d have to wait and see.

Sokka was almost tempted to call the ship small, but he was pretty sure it just looked small because they were way above the thing. The Fire Nation didn’t really make small ships, at least, he didn’t think they did. There were a couple soldiers on the deck, but most of the crew seemed to be more actual, y’know, crew. For a boat. The Fire Nation was the Fire Nation, so it would make sense that a supposed research vessel would have a small security detail, but otherwise, it didn't look like they had the full firepower of a ship that would actually be attacking. Which meant, so far, the most lyingest liar to ever lie was looking pretty truthful. Annoying, but the best liars stuck as close to the truth as they could, so Sokka wasn’t quite convinced of anything yet. 

It was pretty obvious when Appa was spotted, crew members started subtly (or not so subtly) moving to get a closer look. There were a good amount of shouts, a lot of pointing, but it was very obvious when Aoi was spotted. The shouting got a lot louder, people started moving around a lot quicker, the few soldiers were falling into bending stances, presumably hesitating only because they didn’t know what to make of Appa. Out of everyone, though, there was one guy who seemed relatively unaffected by the panic. He wore armor, but not like the soldiers did. He was old, probably— Sokka could see his grey hair from a distance. He wished he could see the guy’s face, though, he wanted to know what expression the guy wore as he tracked Aoi across the sky. If anyone was the relative, it was him. Damn Aoi and his actually believable story.

There were a couple fireballs, but the soldiers had been so caught off guard that Appa was already out of range by the time they reacted. Perfectly safe. 

“So, uh, what did that accomplish, exactly?” Sokka asked once the ship was out of sight.

Aoi just glanced down at his hands. Right. Sokka reluctantly freed them.

“I wasn’t planning on coming with you all, I was going to return to the ship after I was done,” Aoi said, “if they didn’t see me leave with you, they might’ve thought your village did something to me.”

Oh. Okay. That… made sense. If Aoi was trying to do some convoluted thing to hurt them, why would he care about the village? Would he have even considered it?

“But why did you need to pretend to be captured, then?” Sokka asked. “Won’t they be after us?”

Aoi exhaled. “It’s… complicated.”

Sokka motioned for him to elaborate. 

What came next was something so convoluted and signed so hurriedly and messily that Sokka immediately got lost. It really didn’t help that Aoi’s mouth was covered. It was fine back in the village, when he was very intentional and clear with his movements, but as things went on and his mood obviously took a turn, Sokka found himself wishing for at least one more thing to orient himself with. 

“He says he was completely alone when he was cursed,” Aang translated, “and then Iroh found him, and took him in, almost like his own kid. But the Fire Nation doesn’t really like it when respected generals pick up random weird colony kids, people don’t really trust Aoi or Iroh. If anyone knew that Aoi is willingly traveling with us, traveling with the Avatar, that could put Iroh in a lot of danger.”

“So you’re just trying to protect your dad,” Katara summarized, resting a sympathetic hand on Aoi’s shoulder.

Aoi flinched slightly at the word ‘dad’, but nodded. Katara looked up at Sokka, giving him a look .

“Alright, fine,” Sokka conceded, “I believe him, for now.”

“For now,” Katara repeated, rolling her eyes.

Sokka held up his hands. “Hey, if he betrays us, I just want to have the right to say ‘I told you so.’”

“He’s not gonna betray us!” Katara argued.

“I said if!”

Katara gave him an exasperated little shove. Aang was laughing shamelessly, and even Aoi looked entertained. 

What were they getting into?

Chapter Text

Setting up camp that first night was much more nerve wracking than Katara would like to admit. She was able to take care of herself, not that she was even alone, but things weren’t all familiar. The small island they’d landed on was not too far away from the southern continent, and yet Katara was already able to feel the climate shifting. Snow was dotted only in small, shaded patches, looking sad and dirty. The sparse bushes were already full of bright green leaves, and the salty air had a distinctly warm feel to it as it blew from the north.

Plus, they had two strangers along with them. Granted, one of the strangers was Aang, who could only ever be suspicious to Sokka… but then the other one was Aoi, so they kind of canceled each other out. 

Katara truly didn’t know how she felt about Aoi. Sokka was, rightfully, suspicious. Aang was, understandably, fairly trusting. And sure, maybe Sokka did begrudgingly accept that Aoi was coming along with them, especially after he actually gave details about why he was on a Fire Nation ship in the first place, but he was still being more cautious than Katara. It made sense to be cautious, but Katara just… wanted to trust Aoi. She wanted to trust that Aang knew what he was doing, even if he did seem to think that the Southern Air Temple would have a secret pocket of Air Nomads that had been hiding out for a century. Even if he didn’t fully get that the Fire Nation was evil. 

So, because feeling indecisive about it wasn’t the most productive… and because he was looking a little lonely standing off to the side, Katara left the campfire, went up to Aoi, and asked him a couple questions. Gently.  

“Hey, I just wanted to ask, because I know Sokka will get… weird about it. What’s your mask for? If you’re hiding your identity, I really don’t think you’ll need to do it around us,” she gestured to herself and her brother, “we’ve never left the South Pole before now, and Aang was stuck in an iceberg for 100 years, so.”

Aoi looked confused for a second, glancing down at a blue object affixed to his belt that Katara had somehow never noticed until then. She wasn’t able to make out what, exactly, it was before she noticed Aoi was giving her a look. He signed something, and then pointed at Aang… Right. Katara was the only one who didn’t know any sign language. She buried her face in her hands. 

“Spirits, I totally forgot, um. Maybe I can ask some yes or no questions? And then you can just nod or shake your head.”

Aoi shrugged. Katara chuckled quietly.

“Alright, um. Are you hiding your identity? Or, well, is that the reason you’re wearing a mask?”

Aoi shook his head. 

…Okay. What were some other reasons to wear a mask? It was black, like the rest of his outfit.

“Is it for stealth?”

Aoi gave that so-so gesture again. So, partially? A little bit?

“I guess you aren’t really needing to sneak up on anything now, so. It wouldn’t make much sense if that was the only reason.”

Aoi nodded. Right, okay. So Katara was understanding what he meant by that. That was good to know. But now Katara had to figure out more potential reasons.

Was he hiding something? Like, not in an identity sense, in like, an injury sense, or something. It didn’t… fully make sense, Aoi already had that scar around his eye, which was pretty prominent, even with most of his face covered. Did it get… worse? Farther down? Katara probably had to ask, didn’t she.

“Do you… not want us to see something?”

Aoi hesitated, and then nodded. Slightly. 

Katara frowned. “I don’t think any of us will judge you,” she said softly. 

Aoi gave her a strange look, and shook her head. He would know how people reacted to whatever was under there better than them, she supposed. 

“I guess you don’t have to trust us with that, sorry,” Katara sighed. “I really need to learn sign language.”

Aoi rolled his eyes and walked over to Aang. So much for their one-on-one talk… not that there was that much back and forth. Great job, Katara.

Aoi signed something to Aang, who turned to Katara and cleared his throat. “Aoi has told me to tell you that if you want to learn sign language so bad, you should just start learning it. Uh, his words, not mine.”

Aang frowned at whatever Aoi said next. “Well I’m pretty sure that’s how you meant it!” Aang said.

Katara sighed. “I mean he is right either way, it’s not gonna be something that just happens, unless I want to just learn really slowly. Which would be super annoying, you and Sokka having to translate this whole time sounds like a nightmare. And I can learn two things at once!”

“Two things?” Aang asked.

“Yeah, waterbending and sign language.” 

“Oh yeah! I mean, hopefully you’ll be pretty decent with sign language before we reach the North Pole, but, yeah I mean I’m… definitely not against learning two things at once!”

Katara huffed. “I know you aren’t a waterbender yet, but I’m pretty sure teaching you what I know right now will at least be good practice, and you are still a master airbender, so I can still probably get some tips from you even if you’re so sure it won’t help at all. I’m not going to spend this whole time just waiting to get to the North Pole.”

“…Right! Yeah! Yeah, you can do it! I believe in you.”

Katara gave Aang a withering look. Was she being unfair? No! Maybe? Whatever.

Sokka cleared his throat, drawing Katara’s attention away from Aang and Aoi. “Here, since Aang is being rude, I can show you a bit of what I know.”

Katara sighed, kind of grateful for the distraction, ignoring Aang’s protests as she did. 

(“What? I’m not being rude, I’m being… normal? That was normal, right Aoi? Yeah! He agrees, I’m normal.”)

“Hey,” Katara greeted, walking over to sit by her brother on the other side of the campfire. He had a look on his face like he wanted to talk, like, more than just about sign language. 

“Hey,” Sokka echoed. “You doing okay?”

Katara rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, you don’t have to check in on me every time I get a bit testy.”

Sokka held up his hands, “Well excuse me for trying to be a caring, understanding older brother.”

Katara sighed, releasing a bit of built up tension. “I guess there is a lot going on. I think I’m doing fine, considering the circumstances, but…”

“We just left our home for who knows how long with a couple of strangers,” Sokka concluded. “Yeah.” 

Katara finally went to sit down next to her brother, staring into the flames of the campfire. “I guess not being able to understand Aoi is kind of getting to me,” she admitted. “But I’m going to do something about it, so. It doesn’t really matter.”

Sokka glanced at her, but didn’t say anything too direct. “Honestly, I’m surprised I remember as much as I do. I’ll miss a lot of things, though. Aang is really pulling through for both of us.”

Katara rolled her eyes. That was such a Sokka way to try to comfort her.

“Uh, I can start teaching you what I do remember though. We can get you up to some basic phrases and stuff. A bit of vocabulary. A lot of words I know have to do with hunting, though. I can teach you the signs for, like, fifteen different animals.”

Katara snorted. “What’s otter penguin?”

Sokka frowned. “When is Aoi ever going to be talking about otter penguins?”

“Why mention that you know fifteen animal words if you’re not going to teach them to me?” Katara countered, rolling her eyes.

“I’m just saying! Getting like, grammar and pronouns out of the way would probably be a lot more helpful for your first lesson, but if you insist, I will teach you every animal sign I know.”

Katara smiled. “Thank you.”

Aoi slowly trailed behind Aang, stopping completely once he realized Katara wasn’t following. She was staring at the spot where she had found the lost helmet belonging to a long dead Fire Nation soldier. Before she hid it from Aang.  

“Have you been here before?”

Katara looked a bit queasy as she asked that. Aoi grimaced, and nodded. Once, he’d been to the Southern Air Temple once before, in search of the Avatar. He hadn’t stayed for long; the aura of the place reeked of death, all of the air temples did. Aoi didn't want to know how the local spirits were doing. He wouldn’t be able to help. 

“You knew it'd be empty,” Katara sighed.

“I thought it would be more empty,” Aoi admitted. Not just of corpses, he hadn’t realized how much of the temple had been preserved. The whole place was so incredibly haunted. 

Of course, Katara didn't understand him, one night of sign language lessons didn't really give her any of the vocabulary she would've needed to do so, and so the comment went unaddressed. Katara sighed, giving him an apologetic look.

“I don't blame you for not telling him, it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. He’s so sure that he’ll find something, find someone.”

Aoi gestured to the snow drift Katara had bent in order to hide the helmet. Katara chuckled bitterly.

“I guess none of us want to be the one to actually break it to him, do we?”

No, none of them did. But Aang would figure out regardless, he would have to, wouldn’t he?

Sighing, Aoi motioned for Katara to follow him. They had already fallen a good bit behind Aang, and at the very least they would probably want to be with him when he inevitably did see proof of what happened.

They approached a worn statue, Aang already telling Sokka about it. His airbending master, Monk Gyatso. He looked so bittersweet about the sight of his teacher’s statue, it at least seemed like he had definitely accepted that it had been 100 years. 

Once Aang had paid his respects, they went on to the air temple sanctuary.

“There’s someone in there I’m ready to meet,” Aang explained, leading them to a large door, framed by a tree and featuring an intricate knot of pipes in the center. A bending lock, if Aoi were to guess. He had come across one while visiting the northern temple as well.

“But Aang, no one could have survived in there for a hundred years,” Katara pointed out.

“A spirit could,” Aoi countered, even though he doubted it. If they really were expected to meet a spirit who had been living amongst the destruction of the temple for 100 years… that would probably not go over well. 

“Ooo, a spirit,” Sokka repeated, a somewhat mocking tone to his voice. “You scared, Aoi?”

Aoi bristled at that, shaking his head with a silent huff. As if he hadn’t just been dreading the possibility of meeting a corrupted spirit. That was different.

After a few more possibilities were thrown out, Aang opened the door, shooting air into the two openings to the pipes. The room inside was dark, revealing many stationary figures cloaked in darkness.

“Hello? Anyone home?” Aang called out, his voice echoing back towards him. It was a very large space.

“Statues? That's it?” Sokka asked, disappointed. Aoi was inclined to agree, part of him was hoping the ‘someone’ to help them would be a bit more literal. And alive.

"Who are these people?" Katara breathed, walking up to the nearest statue. 

As Katara asked her question, Aoi was starting to realize what the room was, who the statues depicted. Jumping to explain, he tapped Aang on the shoulder to draw his attention away from the statues for a moment.

"These are all previous Avatars," Aoi explained, his growing excitement making his words increasingly more animated. "All of your past lives, they overlap to become the Avatar Spirit of today, every generation adding more and more. This is why the Avatar is so special, able to do things no one else can, spirit or mortal."

Aang relayed Aoi's information as he rambled, but as he went on, recounting Aoi’s declaration of the Avatar’s specialness, he sounded like he was getting more and more uneasy. 

"Sorry," Aoi apologized. "...I got excited. It's probably strange to hear when that’s… you."

"It's okay, I guess it's not every day you meet the Avatar," Aang replied, chuckling in a way that sounded kind of forced. Great.

Katara was still looking at the statues, musing out loud as she followed the spiral. "Air, water, earth and fire, that's the Avatar cycle, right?"

"Of course," Aoi signed immediately, more than a bit flippant. Katara didn’t see, and he doubted she’d understand if she did. It all felt so real, so close. His search was over, even if he still had to wait for Aang to become a fully realized Avatar. After so long, it was sometimes hard to believe. Aoi was more than a bit excited.

"There are so many of them," Aang breathed, moving in towards the center of the spiral. "I almost can't believe that I was all of these people at some point."

"But you really do believe in all this?" Sokka asked, because of course he did.

"I mean, it lines up with what I know," Katara replied, "and Aoi does seem to be a bit of an expert."

Aoi nodded. He was the expert, wasn't he?

Aang had come to a stop in the middle of the spiral, staring up at the statue of Avatar Roku, fully entranced. It made sense, Avatars often found it the easiest to call upon their most recent past lives.

"Who is that?" Katara asked. The question seemed to be directed at Aang, but she kept glancing at Aoi. He did know the answer, it wasn't unfair for her to assume he did.

"He's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me," Aang answered, not even giving Aoi a chance.

"You were a firebender?" Sokka asked, "No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

Aoi huffed, immediately offended on Aang’s behalf. "You didn't trust me when we first met, I'm not even a bender."

"You know why I don't trust you," Sokka grumbled.

Katara shot Sokka a glare before continuing her conversation with Aang. "There's no writing. How do you know his name?"

Aang frowned. "I'm not sure. I just know it somehow."

"Is that enough proof for you?" Aoi asked Sokka.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're all weird."

Before they could argue any further, there was movement at the door to the chamber, a long, intimidating shadow grew as something approached. 

“Firebender,” Sokka whispered, “Nobody make a sound.”

Aoi was about to argue that the shadow looked a bit off from the silhouettes of the helmets he was familiar with, but it wasn’t long before they discovered the truth.

“Lemur!!” 

Aang leapt up to chase after the animal, and Sokka’s eyes tracked it as it flew away.

“That is the only animal I’ve seen this entire time and I’m starving. That’s dinner.”

Sokka took off as well, following Aang and the lemur, leaving Katara and Aoi behind.

“I’m surprised Sokka hasn’t been complaining our ears off this whole time about how hungry he’s been,” Katara observed, “if he’s going after that little guy, he must be hungry.” She sighed and shook her head. “Let me know if they get into any real trouble,” she said, turning around and walking back towards the statues.

Sighing to himself, Aoi figured he had to follow the two boys, right? That’s what Katara meant? He didn’t mind it, not really.

It was easy to track the two from the noise they made as they scrambled towards the lemur, the chase turning into something of a race, one where Aang definitely had the advantage, as he was able to airbend his way down some of the steeper drops Sokka was forced to climb down.

But as Aang entered an unfamiliar section of the air temple, a new enclosed room, his laughter stopped. Sokka caught up to Aang soon after, and Aoi frowned as he tried to figure out what, exactly, was in there.

Aoi didn’t reach the room before the area was suddenly filled with energy, centered on where he knew Aang must’ve been. He glanced back at the sanctuary, wondering if Katara could feel it all the way back there. He certainly could’ve if he had stayed, it almost felt like it could tear him apart if it wanted to. 

Sokka glanced at Aoi as he entered, struggling against the power of the Avatar’s airbending. The Avatar state was a defense mechanism. It drew on the power of previous Avatars, yes, but without training, it was simply a manifestation of that raw power, and could, presumably, be very dangerous. Beyond that, Aoi didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t like he could do much, anxiously huddling with Sokka.

It quickly became clear what triggered the Avatar state. Aoi felt a wave of nausea wash over him as he saw the long dead corpses on the floor, even though he had already felt the lingering pain of the dead before he had even entered, ever present as it was. It was different, seeing them. It made it all much more real, it must’ve been ten times worse for Aang, and Aoi couldn’t do anything, there was nothing he could do.

The sound of footsteps was so faint under the rush of wind as Katara rushed into the room, but suddenly, things felt a bit less helpless. Things felt a bit more alive, almost? That notion felt a bit silly. Aoi was starting to feel dizzy, or something, his thoughts were hard to distinguish from everything in the room. The shouted conversation between Katara and her brother was just background noise. He was… he was…

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Sokka, who looked concerned. Aoi didn’t think Sokka trusted him yet, not really, and yet here he was. Being concerned. 

And there Katara was, slowly making her way against the storm of airbending being whipped around by the Avatar, attempting to talk them down.

“Aang! I know you're upset, and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love.”

Was Aang even still there? Beyond the overlapping power of the Avatar?

“I went through the same thing when I lost my mom.”

Spirits felt loss differently from humans, at least from what Aoi had seen. Especially for older spirits. Would the loss of a single individual even matter, anymore?

“Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I!” She glanced back at Aoi, searching for something in his gaze, he didn’t know what. “...And Aoi, too! We're your family now!”

Wait, what? No, not him. He wasn’t… he couldn’t… He was a spirit, spirits didn’t have families, unless they did, of course. And maybe he had more connection to humans in general compared to most spirits, but he wasn’t supposed to have favorites. And, and, and…

And he was scared.

But Aang was calming down. The notion of family… calmed him down. It made sense, after seeing the evidence of such an intense loss. It made sense. Why was Aoi freaking out?

“Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you,” Sokka said, approaching Aang. “And this numbskull better not,” he added, pulling Aoi into the messy embrace, “we’re already apparently way too attached.”

Maybe Aoi had been thinking about it all wrong. Maybe joining Aang on his journey was… more of a commitment than he had anticipated, but not in a bad way. Maybe this was how he would exist for a time. 

And maybe he could be okay with that.

Aang’s vision cleared to see his friends holding him. They all looked worried, but Aoi especially looked rattled. Dread pooled in his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. 

“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault,” Katara reassured.

“But Aoi, you—”

Aoi shook his head, cutting Aang off by bringing his hands up. “The Avatar Spirit is very powerful, I was just… startled.”

He was scared. Of Aang. Or, well, he was scared of the Avatar, but Aang was the Avatar. 

…Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising. The last powerful spirit Aoi had encountered was probably the one who cursed him. 

Aang groaned, doubling over. His concern for his friends might’ve distracted him for a bit, but there was still… he was still… It was all too much. 

“Are you okay?” Katara asked, her grip on Aang tightening just slightly. 

“You were right,” Aang sighed. “I really am the last Airbender.”

Katara pulled him into a proper hug as he collapsed into a silent sob. His upset just felt hollow, now, he didn’t think the strange Avatar defense mechanism would come back, at least, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t. He just… he needed time. The iceberg had stolen that time, hadn’t it? He had seen Gyatso the other day, alive. It was so… so sudden.

After a while, around when Aang was starting to feel a bit less hopeless, he felt someone tapping his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Aoi, gently requesting his attention. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Aoi said, looking guiltily to the side. “I’ve been here before. I knew there was no one left.”

“Oh,” Aang said. He didn’t have the energy to really grasp what Aoi was saying, but the older teen barreled on anyway. 

“I was hoping you were right, somehow, that you being here would make a difference, I… I should’ve just told you, we could’ve been more careful, you wouldn’t have had to see—“

“I had to see it,” Aang interrupted, sounding just as upset as he felt. “I… I had to.”

Aoi studied his face, and then after a couple quick moments passed, nodded. 

Aang let out a sigh of… was it relief? He didn’t know. There was so much mystery around Aoi, so many reasons for Aang to not trust him, and yet. And yet. 

“I’ve been to the other temples, I… haven’t seen anything,” Aoi continued, wincing. 

“Yeah,” Aang closed his eyes. “Yeah, I figured. If the Fire Nation got up here, they could’ve gotten to the other Air Temples.”

Aang thought he heard Aoi sigh, very slightly. Like when Aoi had said “it’s you,” the other day, or maybe he hadn’t? Aang could tell there was something there, something underneath that mask, maybe, something big. But that didn’t change anything, did it? That didn’t change the fact that there was a gloved hand on Aang’s shoulder, awkward and stiff, but an attempt at comfort nonetheless. 

Katara and Sokka were talking between themselves quietly off to the side, probably about Aang, about what they were going to do next, but he didn’t really mind. He took in a deep breath, and stood up. 

“We should probably get back to Appa,” he said, trying his best to be a lot more composed than he felt. “We have a lot of stops to get to on our way north.”

Katara nodded. “If you feel like you can leave, we can go. Just… don’t push yourself, okay?”

“I won’t,” Aang replied, as if he wasn’t pushing himself. As if he wanted to do anything but wallow forever. 

But Katara understood, didn’t she? She took hold of his hand as they made their way back through the temple and didn’t let go until they found Appa. She didn’t say anything when everyone was settled in on the saddle, and Aang just sat on Appa’s withers, looking back at his home. She understood.

Aang was feeling... better, by the end of the day. At least, he thought he was. Maybe he wouldn't ever truly be better, but he felt a good bit calmer. Which was good.

The sun was lower on the horizon, and with the ocean surrounding them and Appa still fairly well rested, they'd be sleeping in the saddle that night. He wished they had arrived closer to the peak of summer, when the moon peach trees had finished blooming and their fruit was ripe, then they could've taken some with them. But maybe that would've been too good, too bittersweet.

Aoi was keeping to himself, which seemed a bit normal to him, but the way he seemed to be lost in thought made Aang wonder what had actually happened while he was in the Avatar state. Katara had told him he just blew a bunch of air around, but what if there was more?

Whatever it was, Aang hoped it would turn out okay. Or that maybe he just wouldn't do any more crazy Avatar things. It hadn't really happened before, so maybe it would only happen very occasionally?

The sky was finally turning pink when Aoi turned his gaze from the waves below and towards the group.

“I… want to show you something,” he announced, only the speed at which he signed betraying his nerves. “I should be more open with you all, I think. Since you…” he trailed off, shrugging. 

Aoi reached up towards the lip of his mask, and Katara inhaled sharply. “You don’t have to--”

But the mask was already off, and what lay underneath was… nothing?

He didn’t have a mouth. It was just… completely uninterrupted skin, right up until the bottom edge of the scar around his eye.

“What the hell do you do to get a curse like that??” Sokka asked, voice shrill. Katara slapped him on the arm. 

Aoi shrugged again, impatiently tugging his mask back up. 

“...I said something rude,” he explained. It was very clear he wasn’t going to elaborate.

Sokka nodded slowly, still looking a bit freaked out. “Yeah, yeah, okay, and spirits can be jerks! Makes sense. Remind me to never, ever talk to a spirit, alright?”

Aoi’s shoulders shook in silent laughter. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ll let you know if you might get cursed.”

Sokka’s expression pinched, not looking very reassured. “Oh yeah, I’m sure you have a great intuition for that.” 

The comment earned Sokka a dirty look from Aoi.

“I mean, I think he probably knows more about spirits now than he did when he was cursed,” Katara reasoned.

Aang frowned. “Am I gonna have to negotiate with this jerk spirit? The one that cursed you?” he asked, “y’know, once we get to that. Or is the curse something I can just… get rid of?”

Aoi thought on that question for a long moment. “...It’s complicated, but we won’t have to go to the spirit, not physically. I’ll tell you more when we’re closer to actually… figuring it out,” he looked kind of apologetic as he said that.

“That’s okay!” Aang really didn’t see why Aoi had to get into the specifics if he didn’t want to. “I’ll just work on getting better at spirit-y things in the meantime.”

Aoi nodded. All Aang had to do was figure out how, exactly, to actually do that… He’d ask later. Maybe when Aoi was less shaken. Maybe wasn’t good to talk about Avatar stuff after all that.

Every time Aoi looked back at his companions, Sokka was staring right back at him. It was getting annoying, especially since Katara and Aang had fallen asleep at that point.

It was also making Aoi nervous. Did Sokka know something? It wasn't like Aoi had been lying, really... he didn't like lying. Humans lied, spirits didn't really lie. At least not often. And it felt different from when humans lied. He really didn't have a mouth on that face. Even if he also didn't have skin down there, and that was being kept from them, he'd really never been able to get it looking like he had a mouth. Just skin.

Whatever, whatever. At least Katara didn't say anything about how it'd be fine if he didn't wear the cloth mask. Because he really wasn't able to keep up the whole skin illusion thing for his whole face very long. He was used to doing his eyes, he could do his eyes and the skin around them, especially since he didn't have to do anything with his scar, (it stayed whether he liked it or not), but his whole face? There was way too much concentration required for that.

He wondered how much Sokka was able to deduce. He wondered if Sokka was mad, angry that Aoi wasn't really being honest with them. He wondered if he would be forced to go back to Iroh... what would he even do if he went back there? Without the goal of the Avatar?

"Do you have something to say?" Aoi challenged. He didn't care if he was being rude. He didn't like being stared at.

Sokka blinked, turning away. "...Sorry." He sounded embarrassed.

Aoi frowned. No one was looking at his mask, no one noticed its mouth moving. It was fine.

"I just... I'm sorry I've been such an asshole, I guess," he elaborated. "It must take a lot of trust to show us your curse and I... really haven't done a lot to deserve that."

Aoi blinked. Did Sokka not remember the whole Avatar state thing? Aoi was pretty sure he could trust Sokka. Like, sure. Sokka was kind of an asshole, Aoi could admit that. But when things got serious, when it came down to it, Sokka was willing to ground Aoi, to accept him into the whole family thing that was going on. And Aoi could respect that, he knew he could get prickly at times too... But maybe more when he wasn't needing to be nice to the Avatar.

"Okay," Aoi replied, not really sure what else to say. "Is that why you were staring at me?"

Sokka cleared his throat. "...Honestly, I was more wondering how you eat, y'know. Since you don't have a mouth."

Aoi rolled his eyes. Of course. He didn’t really need to eat, in the traditional sense, but there was a reason food was a common offering. He didn’t let the food he was given go to waste.

“...You don’t want to know,” Aoi replied. He honestly didn’t know how to explain that at all in a way that would make sense with his story, best to keep things vague.

Sokka cringed. “Eugh, okay. Sure.” He swallowed. “Do you just..? Uh, never mind.”

Aoi glanced away from Sokka, suddenly feeling self conscious. “...It’s not that bad,” he signed, very aware that he was digging himself into a hole.

“Well then just tell me! If it’s so not that bad!!”

Aoi grimaced, not sure how to reply to that, so he just rolled over so he wasn’t facing Sokka anymore. If they weren’t on Appa he would’ve probably just walked away. Perfect solution.

“You’re so annoying, you know that?”

Aoi didn’t react to that. He’d have to pretend to sleep that night anyway, right? Right.

…He could hear Sokka grumbling to himself for around half an hour after that.