Chapter 24

-[Aroh]-

Sitting in front of the small campfire, he meditated in silence. There was only so much a flying bison could do before it got tired, hence the reason they were currently on land.

Katara was asleep closeby and Aang was still unconscious from Roku's 'possession'. Sokka, being paranoid, was still awake to keep an eye on Aroh.

"What?" Aroh asked, opening his eyes to see Sokka still staring at him.

"What?" Sokka asked back.

"You've been staring at me in silence for the past hour. If you have anything you want to say then say it." Aroh said, tired of the irrational hypocrisy of the water tribe boy.

Sokka didn't say anything for a while, a frown on his face before he turned his sight to the flickering flames.

"What was it like…being in the army?" Sokka asked, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"I'm just curious. If there were others like you then the fire nation would have won the war already." He added at Aroh's questioning look.

It looked like it had taken a lot out of him to admit that but he still asked that.

"It was terrible." Aroh summarized simply. "They took me from the orphanage when I was six and conscripted me into the army."

At Sokka's horrified expression, he continued. "No amount of training would allow a child of that age to match up to a standard warrior so we were given a different duty."

"Wait, we?" Sokka managed to ask despite his shock.

"There were other kids like me who were conscripted. We were used as scouts to scope out enemy territory and report back." He remembered it like it was just yesterday. "When I was old enough, I was thrown into the main force."

"What about the others? What happened to them?" Sokka asked, gulping audibly.

"They're dead. I wasn't the only child taken in by the military but I'm the only one who survived up till now." Aroh answered, throwing a small nearby branch into the fire to keep it burning.

His past wasn't something secret or too important so he didn't attach so much importance to it.

"When a scout is caught, the first rule is to make sure you don't give out any information, even if it means dying." He said, causing Sokka to let out a gasp.

A second gasp also came from Aang who had been faking his unconsciousness, something Aroh had noticed a while ago.

"Aang! Since when were you awake?" Sokka asked, now in confusion.

The avatar had the decency to look abashed. "A few minutes ago." He lied. The bald monk turned to Aroh, a complex look on his face.

"What?" Aroh questioned.

"I didn't know. I didn't know it was like that. I'm sor-" Aang was cut off as Aroh immediately spoke.

"I don't need anyone's pity. It's all in the past." The firebender said, gazing into the flames as Aang shot up to his feet.

"How can you say that?! Forcing children to fight in a war is just cruel!" Aang protested. "Those other kids, they were your friends. You can't just forget about them!"

Aroh could only shake his head at Aang's anger. "I watched as some of them were caught and tortured. I watched as each of them died, unable to do anything meaningful. They're gone, nothing I feel now will bring them back."

They were his comrades, the only people who could relate to the feeling of being prisoners among their own people.

Unlike him, they didn't have a crutch to help them survive, resulting in their death. The first few deaths took their toll on his psyche but he had no choice but to adapt.

Adapt and survive or give up and die.

That was the principle that kept him alive and pushing forward each day, even till now. He would continue adapting to make sure he survived.

"That's just…" Aang muttered, unable to compose his speech after the short revelation. The bald monk simply walked away in silence.

Sokka on the other hand was simply silent, deep in thought and staring into the flames that lit their surroundings.

'Maybe when this is all over, I can finally rest…' Aroh thought, also staring into the fire.

••••

By morning, Appa was fully rested and they continued their journey. The four teens journeyed in silence, Aang and Sokka still reeling from what they had learnt so far and Katara being oblivious to it as she rested on Aroh in the saddle.

"How much longer do you think it's going to take us to reach the North Pole?" Katara wondered.

Aroh held a map that was among the things he confiscated from Jeong Jeong and his people. "According to this, we should reach there soon enough. Appa is faster than the ships the fire nation uses so we're ahead of them."

"I still can't believe they want to wipe out a whole tribe." Katara muttered.

"They're the fire nation. They did it once, they'll try to do it again." Sokka threw in from the side, surprisingly not targeting Aroh with his statement.

"Aang learning waterbending is a hindrance to their agenda. By doing this, they'll also boost their nation's morale and send a message to their other targets. Two birds, one stone." Aroh analyzed.

Even with that, there was a reason why the northern water tribe had managed to stay out of it all so far.

They had the advantage in terrain, literally being surrounded by ice and water. Any invasion force that wanted to conquer them would have to be of a considerable size and even then, the losses were going to be high.

"We'll just have to get there first. Then we-" Whatever Aang wanted to say was cut off as a tendril of water shot up from the sea below, wrapping around Appa's leg.

It abruptly pulled them down, changing their path of flight. Katara spurred to act, making motions with her hands as the hold on Appa weakened, allowing the bison to break free.

More tendrils shot up to grab Appa but a wave of water rushed forward, clashing with the tendrils. Aang swung his staff, shooting a wave of air to push back more tendrils.

Aroh just barely restrained himself from launching a ball of fire to disperse them and flush out their attackers, gripping the handle of his sword.

"I think we've found the northern water tribe." Sokka commented as boats of men in water tribe men revealed themselves.