Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

05

❃ Old friends ❃

Keya had only been walking by herself for a small fifteen minutes, but already started to feel the loneliness of travelling by oneself. Her days with Mushi had been nothing short of fantastic compared to the times she travelled on her own.

The man had done so much for her in such a short amount of time. Back home, Keya was used to doing things for others, never expecting anything in return. She took care of the home, the food and even her brothers' stinking laundry! Never underestimate the scent that can come off of teenage boys' socks!

But Mushi did not need to have his meals made for him. He did not need a lot of begging and encouragement to get up and do something, like her mother always did. He talked to her and gave her fatherly advice. Even when she didn't think she needed someone to take care of her, Keya had to admit that it was nice having someone around. She felt safe and comfortable in his presence. Mushi was what she always imagined her father to be like, despite never having met her old man.

"Aw man... Is it going to be like this every time I meet someone new?" She grumbled to herself. 

Back in Yulin Village, everyone always knew everyone. So naturally, the young teen did not have a lot of experience with meeting new people. She never would have guessed that she'd attach to another person so quickly as she had with Mushi. Then again, the man was really sweet. Even the other girl she had met had immediately taken a liking to him.

Keya's inner ramblings were interrupted by the sound of gurgling. The teen looked down to her stomach and remembered that Mushi and her hadn't even gotten to eat lunch! The sky around her was slowly going from a bright blue to a pale orange. It was almost dinner time and all she had eaten today was a bit of Mushi's leftover bread for breakfast.

"Time for those goji berries. Too bad I couldn't share them with Mushi before he went..." Keya sighed and opened her pouch to grab the scarce amount of food that she had gathered earlier that day. She felt around her hip pouch for her dinner. To her horror, the girl did not only find her foraged goods in her pouch. 

"Oh no!" She gasped as she felt the cool rocks in her slender hand. "Mushi's spark rocks! I totally forgot to give them back!"

Quickly, Keya shoved the rocks back in her pouch as she started to pace back and forth. "Should I go back?" She wondered out loud. "What's the man going to do without his spark rocks? I don't think that he could survive without them... He did manage to make a fire by himself while I was gone, though. Oh! Toph must have had some rocks for him. Oh, what should I do now? Is it worth the risk of going to that town?"

In the middle of her worrying, Keya noticed that the explosions in the distance had stopped. The fight had come to an end, it seemed. But who had won? Who would she find if she went back there to look for Mushi? What if he was hurt...?

"Oh, screw it." She suddenly decided. "That man has done more than enough for you, Keya. You should go back there and... and..." Talking to herself was less motivating than she had expected it to be. She simply wasn't cut out to be a brave person. What if she came across more Fire Nation soldiers? Would they try to hurt her again, or would she hurt them again just like she had done back at home? The girl still didn't know how she had done it at the time.

She was scared. Too scared to go back and help an old man...

"Are you that much of a coward?" She scolded herself and turned around, trying to gather courage. She tried her best to remember Mushi's final words to her.

'You're a capable young lady. I'm sure you'll be alright.' That's what he had told her himself!

"C'mon, Keya, you can do this." The brunette gathered her hair in a ponytail and stretched her limbs. She smacked her hands to her cheeks and pumped herself up by jogging in place.