AtlA: Flint

Title: Flint
Characters: Jet, Lu Ten, Ozai, Zuko, Ursa, Azula, assorted unnamed Firefolk extras
Rating: G
Word Count: 2200+ words
Summary: Captain Mongke of the Rough Rhinos brings Prince Lu Ten an Earth boy. Lu Ten decides to keep him.

Hail, Crown Prince Iroh, Dragon of the West, Scourge of the Earth Kingdom, Conqueror of Guoyin, Dragon-Slayer, Son of Fire and Flame,

Tell me when you get to be Firelord I can just call you Firelord in these letters, Dad. I know you'll be lying, but tell it to me anyway.

Also, tell me I can't strangle my Chief of Staff for insisting I maintain all formality. The fact that there are very good reasons to maintain the illusion of formality doesn't make it less annoying.

Province has been conquered, locals put to fire and sword when they resisted. Captain Mongke brought me back a kid, and I've decided to keep him. Not formally adopted, since I know you're going to ask. Grandfather wouldn't let me even if you would.

- Heir-Presumptive to the Crown Prince, Lu Ten

***

When Jet is seven, his entire world goes up in flames. The Fire Nation kills his parents and steals him from his people. The leader of the riders gives him to his leader, who is stocky and grinning and has eyes like the depths of a burning hell.

His name is Lu Ten, and he says Jet is his now. He tells Jet he will be treated well, but the next thing he does is have Jet stripped of his greens and forced into reds. Jet fights tooth-and-nail, but he is a child against the adult woman who manages supplies. In the end, he wears red.

It's ugly, he decides. Red is the ugliest color in the world.

***

Father,

Screw formality, this is a hawk-note, not a letter.

He is climbing everything! I don't know whether to be amused or appalled. He's quick-footed and very sure of himself, but Agni, sometimes I think he's going to break his neck getting back down. And he slipped the other day! Slipped! He fell almost fifteen feet before he caught himself on a lower branch, and his hands were skinned raw!

Don't you dare send back another letter full of 'I told you sos'.

- Lu Ten

***

He's not sure when he stops climbing to get away from the Firefolk and starts climbing for the fun of it. He is sure that it drives Lu Ten crazy, no matter why he's doing it, so Jet is happy either way.

Lu Ten isn't bad, he's decided. Well, for Fire. But the people with Lu Ten are all weird for Firefolk. None of them have tempers, and they mostly just use their firebending for fighting or useful campwork stuff. No one destroys stuff just for the fun of it. And there's women fighting, but the women are still women and the men are still men. Strange men and strange women.

The food still feels like fire going down, and he thinks maybe Lu Ten is trying to make him into Firefolk by feeding it to him.

Jet figures since he still doesn't like it, Lu Ten's plot isn't working too well.

***

Father,

Haaaaaaawknote.

Jet's picked out the weapons he wants to learn! A Heaven and Sun Moon Sword. Swords. Two of the hooked swords, used as a pair.

I'd like to train him to use them myself, but I only use the one sword. Speaking of which, how badly do you think Master Piandao is going to kill me for breaking his gift-sword?

- Lu Ten

***

Jet has been living with Lu Ten for a year, riding with the older man on his rhino and watching him plan and oversee battles. He's taken to mislaying some of the messages Lu Ten asks him to run, the ones that coordinate Fire Nation attacks on the Earth Kingdom.

He hopes Lu Ten doesn't catch on, because he doesn't want the older man to give him the disappointed look he'll give misbehaving soldiers. But it's wrong to do nothing for his own people.

"You need to learn to fight," Lu Ten says one day.

Jet blinks at him, then across at the fort's drill-field where some firebenders are practicing. "I can't."

"Not like that. With weapons." Then Lu Ten takes him to the fort's quartermaster, who sets him loose on the armory. "Find whatever suits you. There's no point in learning a weapon you hate."

Jet runs his hands over the weapons in the armory. He hefts a mace experimentally, and it reminds him comfortingly of earth but it doesn't feel right. A spear feels nice but it takes both hands to use just one, and a bow feels almost-perfect and also gut-wrenchingly wrong. Knives get closer to right, but they're too short, they've got no reach.

The pair of hatchets is interesting, but he's already thinking by then it's going to be swords. The jian swords like Lu Ten uses are nice, but not meant to pair. He doesn't think about why he wants something for both hands, and neither Lu Ten nor the quartermaster ask. He knows why Lu Ten fights with only one sword, of course; Lu Ten firebends with his empty hand.

He holds the twin dao swords thoughtfully, thinking they're what he wants, and his eyes catch a curve of metal. He drops the dao swords and heedlessly pulls out the pair of swords hiding in the back. His arms get a bit cut on the other swords' edges, but then he pulls out a pair of tiger-hook swords.

"I want to use these!"

***

Hail, Crown Prince Iroh, Dragon of the West, Scourge of the Earth Kingdom, Conqueror of Guoyin, Dragon-Slayer, Son of Fire and Flame,

All right, my campaign is done for now, and I've got various generals and admirals set up to maintain the provinces I've conquered, get them firmly established as part of the Fire Nation. I'm taking Jet back home to meet Mother and the rest of the family.

No, I'm not going to formally adopt him. I'm not even going to petition it. I know you think I should, but frankly, you're wrong.

- Heir-Presumptive to the Crown Prince, Lu Ten

***

Half a year after Jet turns eight, Lu Ten takes him to the Fire Nation. The sea-voyage is... interesting. Jet spends most of it as high up as he can get, staring back towards the Earth Kingdom. But it slips away into the ocean, and while water all around is terrifying if he thinks about it, he's mostly thinking about what lies ahead.

The first thing he thinks when he sets foot on the Fire Nation is that it's really hot. It's been hot for days, but somehow being on land again makes it real.

Then Lu Ten took him for lunch at a local tavern.

He'd been getting used to the food Firefolk ate. Apparently, though, what they ate in the Earth Kingdom was mild by their standards.

Jet didn't stop regarding the food distrustfully for days.

***

Father,

Letters from the Fire Nation take too long to get where you are.

Mother likes Jet. Ursa likes Jet. Ozai doesn't like Jet, but this didn't really surprise anyone. I think Azula likes Jet. Azula's little friend with the braid likes Jet but I think she likes everyone. Azula's other little friend maybe likes Jet but about all I'm sure of about Mai is she likes Zuko. Speaking of which, Zuko and Jet... Yeah.

- Lu Ten

***

"He's going to kill me," Jet mutters after Lu Ten takes him away from meeting his aunt and uncle. Ursa is nice, he supposes, or as nice as such a woman can be. She's actually less scary than Lady Zolena, Lu Ten's mother.

Ozai was polite, and Jet wishes he'd been less polite because then the man would have spoken to him less. Focused on him less. Those crazy gold eyes would have been looking at someone else instead of him.

"Are you worried about Uncle Ozai?" Lu Ten asks. "Yeah, he didn't seem to like you." The older man shrugs. "'Course, he only likes Ursa and his kids, and I'm not really sure how much he actually likes his kids. But he'll be polite - you're just a kid, and you're my kid."

"No, I'm not," Jet says because he still sometimes forgets to think before he talks.

Lu Ten gives him a hurt look.

Jet plows forward since he might as well keep going now that he's gotten it started, "You've never adopted me."

Lu Ten stops, then settles down on his haunches so he can look Jet in the eye. "Look, Jet, I would if I could. But one, my grandfather would never let me; two, all the nobles would scream bloody murder if I did; and three, you really would need to be afraid of Uncle Ozai if I did. After my betrothed died, I promised him Zuko would be my heir. He would kill you to protect his son's interests."

Jet nods, knowing he'll understand more of this when he's older. What he understands now is infuriating enough.

It's not fair. He doesn't want to be Firelord. He just wants to be Lu Ten's real son.

Lu Ten stands and hmms. "Azula and her friends are probably out in the garden, but we can meet them later. Let's go find Zuko."

***

Father,

I keep watching Jet and Zuko together and thinking of what it was like when I was a surly teenager, and Ozai was a pissed-off twenty-something who'd just lost an Agni Kai. Except it's not like that at all, and I can't tell if they're going to be best friends or worst enemies.

- Lu Ten

***

Zuko is a dork.

He gets bullied by his younger sister, by turtleducks, and probably by passing breezes. He throws himself into doing everything like he'll be set on fire if he doesn't give it his all, and he still pretty much sucks at firebending. He wears his hair like a girl, too, except Lu Ten says a long phoenix-tail isn't anymore girly than Ozai's long hair.

Jet stops comparing Zuko's hair to girls back home after that.

Zuko's pretty good with his swords, though, even if it took Jet forever and a day to get the other boy to even admit he had them. They're practicing when Azula comes along, and Jet finds out why Zuko doesn't like to admit he uses swords.

Of course, since Zuko is such a nancy-boy, it falls on Jet to tell Azula to scram and call her names until she gets so angry she tries to fry him. Then Zuko puts him out, and Ursa comes along and snaps at all three of them, but mostly at Azula.

Lu Ten tells him he's strutting like a peacock later, grinning with clear amusement and approval.

***

Uncle Ozai,

Father wants me to join him in the siege of Ba Sing Se. Will you watch over Jet while I'm gone? I don't think bringing him into the middle of that is a good idea. I'd ask Mother, but Jet and Zuko are getting along well, and both the kids need friends. Or do you remember how we were at that age?

- Lu Ten

***

When Jet is ten, his entire world goes down under stone. Lu Ten dies besieging Ba Sing Se, Firelord Azulon dies the night they receive the news, and Ozai takes the throne. Lu Ten's father, whom Jet has never met, should have had it, everyone whispers, but Azulon did make Ozai his heir before he died.

It's as ugly as red, and so obvious to Jet's eyes what happened.

The morning after the world ends, Ozai stands in his doorway, and Jet wishes his hook-swords were closer. The older man wears a white robe, a mourning robe.

"You're very fortunate," Ozai says. "Lu Ten never formally claimed you as his own."

That is all he says before leaving. Jet gathers his swords and his best traveling clothes, then sneaks down to the kitchens to get some food and hide it. He's not sure when they'll make him leave, but he'll be ready for when they do.

But no one comes. No one does anything. They're not ignoring him, exactly, but no one has time for an Earth Kingdom boy. At least not until the day of the funeral.

"You will wear white as befits a prince mourning his grandfather," Ozai says. "The Seneschal will instruct you in what to do."

Jet glances in confusion at the woman in red armor-like ceremonial robes. "Lu Ten never-"

"No, Lu Ten never did. And now Iroh never will," Ozai says and leaves.

Jet looks at the empty doorway in confusion, then turns to the Seneschal. She is a woman younger than Zolena but older than Ursa, one hand broken and gnarled as if it had been smashed between stones. Some of the guards speak of her with reverence - she fought with Azulon, it seems.

She has been neither kind nor unkind towards Jet, and today does not change that. "Firelord Ozai has claimed you as his own."

-End-