Adventures of a Metalworker

The Beach

Warden Poon came up to Iroh's cell, carrying a tray of food. The warden thought Iroh looked like a hopeless slob in his cell.

"You used to be the pride of the Fire Nation," Warden Poon said. "Our top general, the Dragon of the West. Now look at you." He dropped the food on the floor.

As the tray's contents spilled everywhere, Iroh quickly moved and grabbed a green fruit from behind the bars before it could roll away. Iroh sat on the ground, moving the fruit to his mouth.

"Look what you've become."

Iroh watched the warden leave and stood up. He put the fruit in his mouth and held it with his teeth as he untied his belt. His shirt came off and a thick, folded sheet that had been pretending to be his belly fat fell to the floor. He was no longer out of shape and had become incredibly buff. Iroh took the fruit from his mouth and bit into it. He jumped up and grabbed a bar on the top of his cell with one hand. Iroh took another bite of fruit and began doing one-handed pull-ups.

—∞—

A small ferry was cruising through the ocean. The head of a manatee whale emerged from the water as it pulled the boat. Azula was leaning with her back against a railing and her arms crossed, and Ty Lee was looking out in front of them. Shun was also trying to look out in front of them, but Isamu had a firm grip on her arm and would only let her go so far. Zuko and Mai were sitting on a bench behind them.

"I'm so excited to spend the weekend on Ember Island," Ty Lee said. "I'm so glad they said you could come, Shun. You'll love it."

Shun still wasn't sure why or how she ended up on this vacation with the others, but she thought it might be that they thought she would become more talkative if she made friends and saw the "friendly" side of the Fire Nation.

"It's going to be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing." Ty Lee put her hands behind her head, imitating a relaxed position.

"Doing nothing is a waste of time," Zuko said angrily.

"Not if you enjoy it," Shun said.

Ty Lee laughed a little and said, "Good one."

Zuko rose from his seat next to Mai.

"It's fine for you. You were doing nothing all day anyway," Zuko snapped at Shun. "We're being sent away on a forced vacation." He walked over and gripped the railing of the boat. "I feel like a child."

"Lighten up," Azula said. "So Dad wants to meet with his advisors alone, without anyone else around. Don't take it personally."

"Doesn't your family have a house on Ember Island?" Ty Lee asked Azula.

"We used to come here every summer when we were kids," Azula said with a slight hint of nostalgia.

"That must've been fun!" Ty Lee said.

"Isamu used to come, too, didn't you?" Azula said. "Separately, of course, but their house was next to ours, so he and Zuko played together sometimes. Right?" she said, looking at Zuko.

"It was a long time ago," Zuko said.

"Wow, so you've known each other for that long?" Ty Lee asked Isamu.

"Sometimes it feels like longer," Isamu said, still gripping Shun.

"You know, you can let go of my arm," Shun said. "I'm not going to run."

"That's exactly what you would say if you wanted to get away," Isamu said.

Shun frowned at him.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to get you and Dad in trouble," she said.