Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

04

❃ Life's true delight ❃

It had been a few days since Keya and her new friend, who had later introduced himself as 'Mushi', started travelling together. The duo worked surprisingly well, considering the large age gap and the fact that they were practically strangers.

Keya used her limited knowledge of wildlife to forage for food while Mushi used the foraged ingredients to cook and brew his delicious tea. All the while they would have interesting conversations about life and philosophy (a.k.a. Keya would have a question and Mushi would give her a drawn out answer with a life lesson attached to it). Keya and Mushi also had something else in common; they loved their family and talked about them all the time. Neither minded the other talking about their loved ones. And although Mushi had not told Keya the boy's name, the teen had learned quite a bit about Mushi's nephew.

According to Mushi, his nephew was lost and needed to find his own path. He was currently 'finding himself'. Mushi, ever the sweet old man he appeared, was tracking him. Apparently the nephew was a rather antisocial boy with a tendency to lose sight of everything but his 'goal'. What that goal was exactly, she did not know, but it sounded pretty intense as far as she could tell. Keya couldn't imagine her brothers being so... angsty.

"He's got a heart of gold, you see." A solemn Mushi explained to the Earth Kingdom girl walking beside him. "But this world has the tendency to corrupt those who walk its paths and taste its fruits." The two companions were silent for a while as Keya pondered the older man's words.

"Has your nephew, err, tasted a lot of these fruits?" She decided to ask.

Mushi sighed as he trekked on. "My nephew has had his fair share of struggles and adventures. I fear it may have corrupted him much more than I had hoped. But only he can make his own choices and decide his own destiny, even if he doesn't know that himself."

Keya thought that his sentiment was very sweet. She thought over her words for a bit before speaking up. "This boy you speak of... I don't know what he has been through, but it sounds like he has a very good source of influence as well. Whatever corruption took place in his life, I'm sure that your wisdom has helped him as well."

Mushi looked touched as he contemplated her words. He stared out in front of him and sighed. Keya chose to add something during his silence. "Also, I don't know if you would value me saying this, but... in our short time traveling together you've helped me a great deal with your advice. I don't know how long you traveled with your nephew, but I can't imagine you not having an influence on him."

The man smiled and waved his hand in the air dismissively. His other hand stroked his long beard. "Your words are too sweet, my dear. Let's set up camp and stop here for lunch."

Keya decided not to comment on his change of subject. Instead, she nodded and set down her pack behind a large boulder just off to the side of the road. Mushi grabbed some twigs that were leftover from yesterday's fire and got started on lighting a new one.

"I'm gonna head out and see if there's any berry bushes nearby. I'll be right back." Keya said.

She got up and walked over to the nearby forest. Ever since she met her new friend, the terrain around them had fully transferred from tundra-like plains to woods and grass. There were still mountains off in the distance, ofcourse, but the rocks and boulders were far less frequent down here. Keya was thankful for this, as it made foraging much easier. Perhaps she could even find some tasty mushrooms to roast for dinner. She was sure that Mushi could brew a nice tea to go with those.

"Good luck. I'll get the fire started in the meantime." Mushi bid her a farewell while looking around for his spark rocks. Keya observed him for a second, before heading off for some food.