#hakoda and kya learning that they had children in this other world the spirit sent one came from and that the phoenix king took them away

[discordiansamba]

zuko makes the smartest decision in his life and gets the fuck out of there.

ozai does not remember altering reality, but he does subconsciously recognize zuko as a threat to his empire. he puts out a warrant for his arrest on the spot.

zuko gets out of the fire nation as fast as he possibly can.

the fire lord's decree catches up to him while he's on the boat to the earth kingdom (now called the fire colonies), so he does what any sensible person would do and jumps out and just. swims the rest of the way.

it's fine. he's not that far earth kingdom shores.

(this is not a normal decision to make. the captain of the boat assumes the fugitive likely drowned. no one yet knows that the spirits have sent their most durable mortal for the job.)

he gathers as much intel as he can at first. he knows nothing about this new reality he finds himself in other than what the spirits have told him. his father reigns supreme, while his sister rules the fire nation. her younger brother enforces the phoenix king's rule.

zuko: ...what. what younger brother? we don't have a younger brother?????

(he doesn't get an answer to that one right away)

the earth kingdom and the northern water tribe have both fallen. he hears a rumor that there are still some outposts in the south pole that are free, so he decides to head in that direction... but not before making a pit stop on kyoshi island.

(he is putting those blue spirit skills to some serious work here)

it's been conquered by the fire nation too. the shrine and statue dedicated to kyoshi are both gone, replaced with a statue of phoenix king ozai. he has a feeling he's going to see a lot of those.

he finds suki there. she doesn't know who he is, but when he mentions the kyoshi warriors, she gets a suspicious look on her face... and then says she doesn't know what he's talking about. he doesn't believe her for a second.

(she's been keeping the tradition alive in secret)

zuko manages to gain her trust, and gets his first ally. suki is immediately ready to do whatever is necessary to set things right.

they manage to reach the southern outposts together- and are immediately captured as fire nation spies and brought before their leader, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe.

since Zuko doesn't know how not to be the most suspicious man on Earth, he asks after his children. the chief gives him a baffled look. he doesn't have children.

...oh. when the spirits said his father separated his friends and that he would have to find them, he meant that extremely literally.

....at least Chief Hakoda believes him when he says he was sent by the spirits to fix the world? thank you katara and sokka's grandma.

wait what do you mean he looks spirit touched? suki?

suki: oh. sorry. I thought you knew about the glowing eyes.

zuko: NO??????

bad reality AU where aang fails to successfully energybend ozai and this somehow leads to him distorting reality and creating a version of it where he already rules the entire world as the phoenix king. the spirits can't let this happen but the avatar is Unavailable at the moment so they just have to turn to their next best (and only) option-

-Zuko.

the last thing Zuko remembers, he was fighting Azula. now he's definitely not in the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace. he has no idea where he is, actually but he's pretty sure the figures surrounding him are all very important and powerful spirits. great. what did he fuck up this time?

turns out this isn't because of his fuck-up (astonishing) but because they need him to enter ozai's new reality and free the avatar from his control. because energybending is apparently a thing, and aang tried it and failed. which is a lot to take in. he asks the spirits why they'd choose him, and the ones with faces just sort of awkwardly look at each other until one of them admits well. your father sort of... erased you from his reality?

zuko: ...yeah. that tracks.

it's great for the spirits because it means there's a gap in the new reality they can just slip zuko right in. in order to set things right, he'll need to find his friends- ozai has surely scattered them all, and they likely won't remember anything, but we have preserved shards of their consciousness. if you can get them to trust you, you can return them and they can aid you in your quest.

they have also hidden a piece of aang's consciousness among the shards. if they are able to reunite, they should be able to save the avatar's spirit as well, but they must all be together for it to work. but be warned- if a year should pass, then the new reality will become permanent and he will gradually cease to exist.

also. we are very sorry. we can only return you to where you were in the previous reality.

zuko: wh-

(zuko spawns in the fire nation courtyard, in the middle of a ceremony lead by Fire Lord Azula, attended by her father, Phoenix King Ozai)

zuko: oh.

[southslates]

V :)

Thanks! Here's the beginning of a no-war AU :)

/

The first time Zuko and Katara get married, they’re seven and nine— Azula wants to preside over the wedding, and she and Sokka fight about which traditions their siblings should unite. Azula wants them to tie their wrists together with the red string of fate; Sokka wants them to drink arctic wine.

The four of them all end up conceding on certain points. Katara wears a betrothal necklace fashioned of icy ferns rather than the comb Azula had stolen from her mother. Zuko wears Fire Nation armor, but Sokka pulls a wolfskin robe over him. They tie their fists together using colorless twine, and they both choke down the watered down wine. Katara ends up spitting most of it out— Zuko, in order to maintain his dignity, gasps down the souls of the spirits, coughing violently at Sokka afterwards.

It’s Kya who finds all of them together, in the pantry, trying to put together an awkward feast out of assorted items in the ice cooler. Katara is the only one of the children who can cook, and her mother discovers her and Zuko learning over each other in the cold, attempting to fry fish on the firebender’s warm hands. Zuko has the burn mark of that night on his palm for the rest of his life. It is the scar he is proudest to display.

The children of the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe spend assorted times together, throughout their foundling years. While Prince Iroh and Prince Lu Ten prepare to rule the Fire Nation, Ozai and his children are sent on ambassador’s journeys. It grates at Ozai, but he does what the Fire Lord says. His family of four sails the sees across the continents, and his children learn about the cultures of the world and their nation.

Katara and Sokka don’t have that experience— Sokka is almost certainly next in line in the Southern Water Tribe’s hereditary chiefdom, and though Katara is years younger, she follows him. Hakoda and Kya work together to keep the tribe intact and trade. Kya and Ursa become friends by letter, by diplomatic procedure, and when their children first meet they also befriend each other.

There is a certain pressure on their shoulders— the fate they have been handed, the next generation of the world’s peace— and therefore Zuko and Azula and Sokka and Katara understand each other best of all, more than the children they go to school with or meet in the halls.

Azula is the first of them to bend as a child. Katara and Zuko start soon after, to Katara’s surprise and Zuko’s relief. The two fire siblings start training together, and Sokka prays to the moon and ocean spirits in secret, asking to be able to manipulate the elements. It doesn’t work, and he feels alone sometimes. But then Katara hugs him, and it’s alright.

The four of them are always alright. They’re alright, together.

The first time Zuko and Katara get married, and their parents find out, witnessing the red stone on Katara’s neck and the twine around Zuko’s wrists, the world is calm. Peaceful. They are children, after all, and children like to play pretend.

Ursa makes note of the spark in Zuko’s eyes after the ceremony, and she holds it close to her heart. Azula and Sokka are teased too, about whether or not they’d perform a ceremony on themselves. They both lift up their noses and sniff at each other, and then look away.

It’s Zuko and Katara, everyone knows, that share that distinct, special bond, something deep and intrinsic. They bend together and share steps— Katara learns the dancing dragon, and she teaches Zuko how to keep his whips of fire together as they fight on the glacier. They meet twice a year while they grow into their own, and they write each other in the times in-between.

Zuko has scars on his fingers from his first wedding with Katara. Those are the only scars he has from her— in the years that follow she learns how to heal, and she fixes him, places every part of him together.

[wildshadowtamer]

Firelord Ursa AU Idea

okay so this is a really rough idea, but what if:

(Zuko would be 10-ish, Azula would be 8, pre-lu ten’s death, if only by a few months. the siege of ba sing se was probably delayed for one reason or another)

Ozai did something awful, as usual, and Ursa finally snaps, sick and tired of putting up with this trash man and watching people suffer by his hand. She first asks Azula (who she has kept close and safe from ozai’s control) and Zuko if their okay with her ‘dealing with’ their father, to which both are alright with, and she promises them they’ll have a step-dad in no time.

So, she poisons Ozai’s drink and has tea with iroh, lu ten, and the kids, and tells them to act upset when the messenger arrives with the news of his death. She completely gets away with it, and fake-mourns him for a while while she makes her plan to kill Azulon, too.

A month after Ozai’s death, Lu Ten and Iroh prepare to head to Ba Sing Se and begin the siege, but Ursa pleads with them not to, and they stay, saving Lu Ten’s life in the process.

(the rest under the cut bc Long)

After a convincing amount of time, Ursa gets the help of her children to create the traceless poison that she kills Azulon with in the night, the creation of it was a nice bonding moment for the family, and zuko quickly got over his ‘feeling bad for being an accomplice to murder’ after Azula mentioned some bad stuff Azulon likely did.

They once again fake shock, sadness, and mourning, and sit through his funeral. However, when the sages say it is Iroh who will be crowned, he rejects it and insists on Ursa to take the throne instead, and Ursa gets crowned firelord.

The first thing she does is stop the war, then lifts the ban of same-sex marriage, and slowly starts to heal the fire nation like 6 years early.

She gets with Ikem and goes to the SWT for a peace meeting, on one of the less intimidating ships, with her family (without Ikem bc he insisted on staying at the palace in case anything went wrong) 

 After all the formal meeting stuff is out of the way, Hakoda offers to let them stay for a bit, stating he understands the curiosity of young minds, and thinks it would be good for the children to learn about the other nations, so they dont end up like their father, Ursa agrees.  Ursa, Kya, and Hakoda hit it off right away, Iroh and Kanna do too, likely telling embarassing stories about their children, Lu Ten falls head over heels for some water tribe boy his age (hes a hopeless gay), and the children meet Sokka and Katara, who they latch onto and make an inseparable bond with. 

 Sokka and Zuko go penguin sledding, Katara and Azula plan pranks like little sisters do, Lu Ten is trying and failing to ask this dude out bc his braincells left the moment he fell in love, and Ursa has successfully made steps towards peace with the southern water tribe.

They stay for a bit longer, and eventually have to leave, which none of the three kids want to, but they do go home after like an hour of “get on the boat, sweetie” “no”

Years pass, and the fire nation and water tribe children continue visiting  eachother, and Lu ten does manage to ask the guy out after 3 years of silent pining.

But then, assassination attempts start popping up left and right while Hakoda and his family were visiting, when Zuko was about 13, and he asks the guards about whats going on, to which the guards dont answer, and Zuko decides to take it into his own hands.

He creates The Blue Spirit to avoid suspicion. 

Zuko, along with Azula (the red spirit), investigate and eventually find themselves in the lair of Ozai’s Angels, a group badly named by Zhao, who was and still is fiercely loyal to Ozai (somewhat bc he was sleeping with him to get promotions), and has worse naming abilities than Sokka. A Fight happens, and Zhao ends up burning half of zuko’s face after his mask gets ripped off.

They nearly die, but Sokka, Lu Ten, and Katara burst in, and help them escape, breaking Sokka’s leg in the process. Sokka had figured out what Zuko was going to do, and had followed them to the lair entrance.

When they got back to the castle, they got both sokka and zuko medical help, and the others got told off for doing something so dangerous, and Lu Ten got in trouble for letting it happen

After Zuko woke up, he got mad, very mad. Mad at OA (Ozai’s Angels) in particular, and swore revenge on Zhao, who was quickly building up his underground society into something bigger and more dangerous. Zhao also got ahold of a dragon, somehow.

Zuko realised he had to find someone strong enough to help take down such a big, dangerous society, which now had the Dai Li on their side after Lu Ten helped Kuei realise how bad Ba Sing Se was getting under the Dai Li’s control.

and so, Zuko began on his quest to find the avatar. The others helped, going on their own adventures in their respective nations to find him. Zuko went to the northern and southern air temples with Iroh, Lu Ten and his boyfriend went to the earth kingdom, Katara searched the lands of the SWT, Sokka and Bato (hakoda was needed in the village) went to the northern water tribe, where he met Yue, and Azula (+ mai and ty lee) stayed and explored the fire nation. Between the lot of them, they had most ground covered.

After 2 years of searching and growth, it was Katara who found Aang in the ice berg, and quickly sent word to everyone else that the avatar was found.

After that, Aang and the regular group explored the world for masters to teach them, and quickly found out that Zhao was on the hunt, he had stolen a fire nation ship and was going across the world with the strongest of his soceity to find the heirs and the avatar. Zhao had visited Kyoshi Island and burnt it down, which the Gaang helped patch back up.

Zhao eventually headed for the northern water tribe, where the Gaang were to get Katara and Aang a waterbending master. Zhao’s soceity had grown significantly in the 2 years he was left unsupervised, big enough to make a dangerous fleet of firebenders.

Canon happens to an extent, Sokka falls hard for Yue, Yue dies, and Zuko carries Aang through a blizzard to make sure Zhao cant capture or kill him while hes in the spirit world. Aang goes into the avatar state, destroys the fleet, and Zhao very narrowly manages to avoid getting eaten by the ocean spirit, but gets a lot of scars for killing the moon. 

The Gaang get seperated, however, and Appa gets injured, so Aang cant fly around to locate everyone else. After 3 weeks, they end up at the earth kingdom, and find a swamp, and they know who to search for next.

Gonna put the rest in a part 2 cuz this is getting long and thats a good place to end off on.

[angel-squid-trash-ghost]

Parental Guidance

       The wind whistled across the tundra. A storm was moving inland but probably wouldn’t be too eventful. But something else wasn’t right in the air. Hakoda could feel it. The wind whispered it to him. It was a warning. Go inside. Go inside, he felt his heart say. There was a giggle behind him. It was his youngest, Katara. He was happy to hear that sound from her. For too long his precious daughter didn��t even smile.

         It was only a year ago his wife, his Kya, had been slain by the Fire Nation. It was hard to see his children grow without a mother. Sokka, his son understood better than his sister. Katara would cry for her mother to tuck her in. She only wanted her mother to make her dinner. Only her mother to hold her when she cried. But his son was showing her a spinning top. One decorated with a wolf spirit that spun in a figure eight. Her blue eyes, his wife’s eyes, lit up with wonder.

“Dad! Look!” Sokka smiled.

              Sokka was a good boy. He was so eager to learn how to be a man. He couldn’t do a Water tribe father prouder. He was smart too. He had built his first snare before he was even shown how to. He was also a good brother. Hakoda knew there were times he couldn’t care for his daughter alone. He couldn’t take the constant pleading for someone he couldn’t give her. But it would be Sokka to take her hand and tell her to hush, that things would be different in the mornings.

              The snow kept falling as Kanna stirred stewed squid. His mother was a tremendous help. She had filled all the roles Kya would have had in their household. He wouldn’t be able to do it without her. Sometimes he would try to get her to rest. But she would brush him off and insist she wasn’t that old yet.

“That’s really amazing, son.” He smiled at his family.

              He was grateful to be able to see their faces every day. He had not been asked to go to war like many in the sister tribe had been. His village was small with only a few other villages scattered around. If all warriors were shipped out there would be no chance for the Southern Water Tribe to survive. Lately there hadn’t been any raids. Not since the last one that took his Kya. He tried not to think about her or the war. Not on nights like this with his family warm and laughing. In the morning, fresh snow would cover the ground erasing the days before. So, he dreamed to be old, white haired and wrinkled, surrounded by grandkids who had never heard of war. Many, happy grandkids who had never seen the red flags or the black snow.

“Dad! Dad! It’s still spinning!” Katara clapped her hands snapping him out of his trance.

“I see! How long do you think it will spin?” Hakoda laughed.

“Maybe until Mommy comes back!”

         Sokka stopped the top, his mother had stopped stirring and his daughter’s smile disappeared when she saw her father’s reaction. Hakoda found himself wanting to go outside again. The stab to his heart was too much. But the wind whispered. Stay inside. Stay inside.

…

          The water was cold. It was too cold. It hurt Iroh’s bones and his muscles. He was already so tired from swimming. He only had a small piece of metal and what seemed to be the remains of his nephew. The storm had destroyed their ship as if La themself had split the metal vessel in two. Iroh didn’t know how many of the crew had survived. But his nephew was with him still as the ice they rested on. Iroh longed to be on the shores of his homeland. He wished he were on sand and not ice. That he was being covered by sun rays and not snow. His rib was broken, and his hip was in an unbearable amount of pain. But in that moment, none of it mattered. His nephew, Prince Zuko was not moving. Iroh felt the burn in his eyes and the choke in his throat. The journey couldn’t be for nothing.

          Another wave washed over Iroh. So cold. The splash hit the burnt skin of his nephew. Prince Zuko’s eyes squinted. Now Iroh was crying, not with pain but with relief.  It gave him the strength he needed to pull himself out  fully from the water. The ice was not much more forgiving than the water. He was still too weak to bend. He closed his tired eyes. Iroh started to think almost into meditation. He was almost ready to resign to a death next to the young life he tried to save. Almost.

         He felt a warmth close to his plumped cheek. It was a salvation. Was it Agni trying to take him to the spirit world? Iroh opened one eye. It was Captain Soru. The son of the navigator Soji, who was surely at the mercy of the ocean if not already dead. He held a fire to him warm and welcoming.

…

         Hakoda felt something else on the wind. There was more than one voice now. He was starting to believe the grief had caused him to go insane. Stay inside. Help. We are here. Stay. Help. Stay. Whispered on the winds as he stared through the uncovered window. Kanna was quick to cover the carved hole with a pelt.

“You will catch a sickness.” Kanna chastised.

“Maybe, mother. But I can hear voices.” He admitted knowing his mother would not judge him. He had said worse things to her.

His mother answered. “What do you hear? One does not hear the wind if it is not telling him something.”

        Hakoda moved the pelt and watched the snow. Slowly figures appeared. At first, he thought he was seeing things. Seven shapes moved through the whirling gusts. Some tall and some thicker than others. But they were all in a circle around something.

“Chief Hakoda!”

“What is it, Moak?” Hakoda asked seeing Moak run past his window.

“Seven men! They look Fire Nation!”

Hakoda’s heart pounded in his chest. “Mother take the children to the communal hut. Go quickly! Tell all women you see to do the same. Where’s Bato?”

“I’m here.” Bato, a man that had been his friend since childhood stood faithfully at his side.

“I want all men armed and ready.” Hakoda said trying to hide his panic.

“There may be a weapon with them!” Moak shouted out.

“Look through the spy glass! Get a better look.”

“Chief it’s…a doll? A child? There is only half a face that I can see! They look injured.”

“Wait till they get closer. Keep your eye in the spy glass. When you get a better sense let me know.” The chief kept his composure. The entire village would be counting on him.

       Hakoda went around the village, preparing for the worst. Every command had to be followed to the exact letter. Hakoda had planned for every single outcome since the last time the Fire Nation were spotted on their shores. His plan was full proof, and he would never lose anyone ever again.

“Dad what’s happening? I can help!” Sokka must have escaped his Gran-gran. He was already armed with seal leather armor and a boomerang.

Hakoda’s pride out-weighed his panic for a few moments. He put his hands onto his son’s shoulders. “What I need you to do right now is a very important job. Do you understand?”

Sokka nodded hard gripping his boomerang for dear life.

Hakoda continued, “I need you to be with Katara and Gran- Gran. I know it feels like I’m sending you away, but I need someone protecting them. You know you’re my bravest warrior, right?”

He could see his son fight his own tears, “Yes, Dad.”

“Then please be with them Sokka. I can’t lose anyone else.” Hakoda pulled his son close before letting him go to bark out more orders. “Guard the gate! Hold the line! Show no fear!” The snow fell faster now making it hard to the approaching men. It seemed like they would have to get closer to get a full idea of what they could be expecting.

              Finally, the Fire Nation men were in sight. Two young men and four middle aged men. One old man and one boy being pulled on a makeshift sled. They all limped, each step taken in agony. The young men had extensive injuries. One appeared to be missing an arm. Two middle age men hobbled along keeping up the old man whilst helping themselves. And the other two pulling the sled with the half-faced boy. They all fell to their knee’s when they reached the gate. They were wet and bleeding. The cold must have been adding to their misery as they were not properly dressed for ice and snow. He heard them sob and groan. Some of his men grew restless. There was no doubt they were suffering, but how could he care. They were Fire Nation. They should get a taste of their own medicine. They should walk around limbless and in pain. They should starve and be frightened. Their child should die innocent in their arms…

“Chief? They have a child with them. The old man is saying they need warmth, or they will all die. What should we do?” Moak whispered.

“Keep the gate closed.” Hakoda said without hesitation.

“Yes, sir.” Moak nodded before leaving to inform the guards.

“Bato!” Hakoda called his friend. “What should I do? They are injured and they have a child with them. But they are Fire Nation. Do they deserve mercy?”

“Hakoda...” Bato stared at the Fire Nation men as Hakoda did, “Are we better than them if we leave them at the gate to die? Are we exposing ourselves to a sneak attack if we let them in? But any decision you make I will follow.”

“I have the same troubled thinking.” Hakoda breathed out. To know his men were as conflicted as he was made it easier for him to form a plan. “We should let the most injured man in to ask what they want. Do not let the child come through yet. I do not want them to think we are too gullible.”

“Yes, sir!” Bato leapt down to the others to inform the change of plan.

        They sent the old man in. He spoke the Water language. He spun some story that the storm had pushed them off their course and their ship sank some miles out. He asked for fire his injured crew could gather around. He had the audacity to ask for food and to ask for shelter. Hakoda had a quick thought of cutting them all down in their weakened state. But he was raised as a warrior. He would not kill men who could not defend themselves. But they would not be guests. They would be held as prisoners until Hakoda decided they weren’t.

“Please take my nephew! He needs a healer right away!” The old man begged again.

              Hakoda could only assume the boy’s face had been damaged by the sinking ship. He was small and couldn’t be older than his own son. He wasn’t moving. Not even when the snow landed on his wounds. He gave the order to have the child taken to the healing hut, but the others had to stay together and were to be guarded at all times.

              Over the next week, the prisoners were given a meal a day of whatever scraps they decided to provide. Any sign of bending and they would be killed. They had to be restrained when their injuries were inspected. The boy in the healing hut had not opened his eyes. As the days went on the villagers grew anxious. No one wanted Fire Nation in their midst for that long. A search party might arrive soon only putting his people in further danger. The Fire Nation men had to leave. They had been shown enough hospitality.

              The next morning Hakoda went to inform the prisoners. They all took the news well. All except for the old man. The old man struggled to stand on his feet. He whimpered even as two men lifted him.

“Please, Chief Hakoda. I understand me and my men must go, but please let the boy stay.”

“You have already asked too much of my people. I will not allow some lifeless Fire Nation pup to be a cause of another raid.”

“No one knows where we are.”

“You could be lying. I should have made the order to kill you at the gate. You could be a spy.”

“We do not wish to stay, Chief Hakoda. But the boy cannot come with us. I fear he would not survive the journey back.”

“What concern of this is mine. Unlike the Fire Nation, Water tribe understand what innocence is. No child of the Fire Nation can be innocent.”

“I know your heart cannot be so hard, Chief Hakoda. He is not unlike your children. His only crime is being born under the Fire Flag.”

“My decision is final.” Hakoda kept his laconic tone.

Iroh threw himself into a kowtow,  “I wish for his safety! He will be safe here! Please, Chief Hakoda. This old man begs you.”

“As my wife did? Before she was slain holding my daughter in her arms? My decision is final.”

“You are not the only one to have loved ones lost at the hands of the Fire Nation. My people lose fathers and sons every day for a war that does not benefit them. I lost my very own son. I do not like this war any more than you. I do not seek glory or victory over you or your people. I want to go home and die in my own bed knowing that my nephew is safe.”

       Hakoda ignored the sympathy that flittered in the back of his mind. There wasn’t much else Hakoda could do. If he allowed the boy to stay, the Fire Nation would have a reason to come back. If not them, then the Northern Water tribe would have a long-awaited reason to seize control of the South. It would be reason enough for some Earth kingdom tradesmen to sell information to the Fire Nation. He seemed to be cornered at all sides. It was the most rational decision to send them all away.

       He approached the healer’s tent unable to remember his reasoning. Inside was the last thing he wanted to see. His daughter was above the half-faced boy. She took a towel and gently dabbed at the boy’s scar. The boy’s eyes moved but didn’t open. He stayed in his place before his body had to react. He stepped backward. The crunch of the floor behind him alerted his daughter. Katara put her hands behind her back like she was caught sneaking an extra tart.

“Dad. I’m sorry. They left him. They said he was already dead. But look! He’s alive, Dad!” Katara began to sob.

Hakoda kept his voice even, not to scare his daughter, “I am taking you to Gran- Gran and you will not leave her sight.”

              Hakoda made his way to the communal hut where all the women and children sat together waiting for news. Including the healer, Kehana who was supposed to be treating the boy. He saw the fear in her eyes. In all their eyes as he scanned the room. He made them aware of his decision. Relief washed over them all. But all too soon when shouting was heard.

              Hakoda dashed outside. Men were hollering and running in disarray. They all were pointing in the same direction. The six Fire Nation soldiers had escaped and were seen hauling a canoe into the water. Hakoda grabbed the nearest weapon and sprinted to the shore. He couldn’t think and couldn’t make any commands, but his men followed suit and ran with him. It was too late. The old man was yelling something over the water that he couldn’t hear. Hakoda hoped La would not make the same mistake and swallow them whole this time.