Little Soldier Boy

Captured conscious

"Uncle!" Nine year old Zuko ran to his only uncle happy he's returned safely from the war.

"Hello prince Zuko," he smiled sadly at his nephew.

Zuko gulped with tears in his eyes and wrapped his arms around the man's belly and iroh immediately wrapped his arms around the boy.

"I'm sorry about Lu ten," Zuko sniffled a little.

"I'm sorry about your mother," iroh whispered with tears in his eyes. Zukos grip tightened around his uncles uniform.

"It's going to be okay, it'll be okay," he felt a tear run down his cheek but quickly wiped it away before anyone could see.

"I miss her so much, I miss Lu ten, I missed you," Zuko buried his face.

"I'll miss my son so so much, but his memory and your mother's memory will always be with us and in our hearts, they live within us," iroh smiled down at him as he made his nephew look up at him.

"And that's with everyone we will lose in life, we grieve because we love, and we loved our lost ones so so much," he tapped the top of zukos head to keep his eyes up at the older man.

"How is your sister doing?" Iroh sighed a little.

Zuko looked down and shook his head.

"She's terrible, she makes fun of me for missing mom and doesn't even care!" Zuko stomped his foot down.

"She cares, everyone is different when they lose someone, Azula... is just different than we are," iroh tried but Zuko didn't believe him.

"I'm going to go speak to your father, I just came back from ba sing se and must find him," he patted the boys shoulder walking forward.

"He's in the throne room, he's been in there since grandfather passed away," Zuko stayed put. Iroh paused and assumed the worst of his younger brother betraying tradition.

Zuko felt tears run down his face as soon as he was left alone again. Everyone always leaves. They always leave him. He just wished he could stop it from happening or know why...

Zuko gasped awake as his eyes snapped open, bolting up with a cry holding his shoulder.

"I knew you'd wake up soon," a voice teased close by.

"Commander?" Zuko groaned confused as his head was foggy, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Mmm sure, commander Toph," she grinned.

Zuko grunted in pain as he scooted to lean against a tree to hold himself up. He looked over seeing a large bison and the blind girl from before.

"Where am I?" Zuko glared at her.

"Uh close to a valley somewhere in the earth kingdom, you've been out for a day," Toph sat on a rock above.

Zuko was quiet as he felt hot and woozy still, but he was under the trees shade and saw no one else was by them except the animals and the girl.

"Katara, she's our healer, she helped the burns, should heal in a week or so with little to no scarring I think?" Toph told him as she was eating nuts from a baggy.

The water bender?? He was prisoner of the avatar? He got captured by the damn avatar?!

"Chill out, Aang and Katara are training or something so they'll be back soon, apparently I was to mean to twinkle toes during training," Toph could feel him getting worked up again.