HOME | DD

Description
“It’s going to take a while to get used to these new clothes.” Hakoda remarked, securing the belt around his waist. He held his arm up, sniffing the grey sleeve, his nose wrinkling up in disdain. It- and the rest of the uniform- reeked of soot and ash, both bitter and acidic- nothing like the tantalizing smell of salt-water and sea breeze his traditional clothes smelt of. He had yet to put the armor on, dreading how constricting it would feel; the Water Tribe was the embodiment of the ocean, meant to be free and fluid, not restricted and contained.

“And the hairstyle.” Bato frowned, trying to pull his warrior’s wolf tail up into the ‘fashionable’ topknot. His thick hair was not well suited for Fire Nation trends. He was finding it near impossible to keep his hair neat and tucked behind his ears and his topknot was far too sloppy to pass as accurate.

Hakoda couldn’t help but laugh at the sight and motioned his friend over to him. “Here, let me help you out. Bring the brush with you.”

Bato obeyed, still frowning as he handed his chief the brush before sitting down on the bed. Hakoda sat behind him, pulling the hair tie out of Bato’s hair. He began to run the brush through thick locks, apologizing each time he had to roughly tug through a stubborn tangle.Once he had combed all of the tangles out, he set the brush aside and began pulling back the sides until he had enough to properly form the topknot. “Let me know if I make it too tight.”

Bato gave a slight nod as Hakoda pulled the hair tighter, folding it back and binding it with the hair tie. It uncomfortable, but he could live with it.

“How’s that?”

“It’s certainly different. I don’t see how the Fire Nation citizens can stand it…” Bato turned, offering a smile. He lifted his hand to where his friend’s dual, tightly woven dreads had once been. “You look like a different person with your hair like this. It’s a shame you had to take them out.”

“Don’t remind me.” But that was what the Fire Nation was good at: taking away individualism and forcing it to be exchanged for blind conformity. He hated it. “It was a sacrifice I had to make to blend in.”

“I know; it’s still a shame.”

The men studied each other, processing the how different they looked now; they still had an air of familiarity about them, yet everything seemed different. Dark hues of red and grey adorned their bodies, colors that didn’t suit either of them, and their normally wild hair was constricted, tightly pulled back to army regulations. Water Tribe men weren’t supposed to look like this; it was all too surreal, too foreign. After all their time at war, never before had their desire to be back home been so intense.

Description
“It’s going to take a while to get used to these new clothes.” Hakoda remarked, securing the belt around his waist. He held his arm up, sniffing the grey sleeve, his nose wrinkling up in disdain. It- and the rest of the uniform- reeked of soot and ash, both bitter and acidic- nothing like the tantalizing smell of salt-water and sea breeze his traditional clothes smelt of. He had yet to put the armor on, dreading how constricting it would feel; the Water Tribe was the embodiment of the ocean, meant to be free and fluid, not restricted and contained.

“And the hairstyle.” Bato frowned, trying to pull his warrior’s wolf tail up into the ‘fashionable’ topknot. His thick hair was not well suited for Fire Nation trends. He was finding it near impossible to keep his hair neat and tucked behind his ears and his topknot was far too sloppy to pass as accurate.

Hakoda couldn’t help but laugh at the sight and motioned his friend over to him. “Here, let me help you out. Bring the brush with you.”

Bato obeyed, still frowning as he handed his chief the brush before sitting down on the bed. Hakoda sat behind him, pulling the hair tie out of Bato’s hair. He began to run the brush through thick locks, apologizing each time he had to roughly tug through a stubborn tangle.Once he had combed all of the tangles out, he set the brush aside and began pulling back the sides until he had enough to properly form the topknot. “Let me know if I make it too tight.”

Bato gave a slight nod as Hakoda pulled the hair tighter, folding it back and binding it with the hair tie. It uncomfortable, but he could live with it.

“How’s that?”

“It’s certainly different. I don’t see how the Fire Nation citizens can stand it…” Bato turned, offering a smile. He lifted his hand to where his friend’s dual, tightly woven dreads had once been. “You look like a different person with your hair like this. It’s a shame you had to take them out.”

“Don’t remind me.” But that was what the Fire Nation was good at: taking away individualism and forcing it to be exchanged for blind conformity. He hated it. “It was a sacrifice I had to make to blend in.”

“I know; it’s still a shame.”

The men studied each other, processing the how different they looked now; they still had an air of familiarity about them, yet everything seemed different. Dark hues of red and grey adorned their bodies, colors that didn’t suit either of them, and their normally wild hair was constricted, tightly pulled back to army regulations. Water Tribe men weren’t supposed to look like this; it was all too surreal, too foreign. After all their time at war, never before had their desire to be back home been so intense.