Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

12

❃ Rough Rhinos ❃

Zuko slowly got up from the soggy ground and made his way back to the ostrich horse. The beast had been sheltered during his episode, but even so it looked like the rain had gotten to it. It trilled happily when the young Prince untied its reins, ready to get away from the storm. Zuko's fingers struggled to move and bend like they usually did, due to the frigid cold that had invaded them. His fire breathing technique was the only thing holding the teenager back from hypothermia. He really needed to go back to his uncle.

Uncle must have been worried, Zuko thought to himself. He got on the ostrich horse and rode back down the mountain. As soon as he reached the valley, he noticed that the storm had been very localised, for the valley had barely been hit by any rain at all. The burnt down buildings nearby reminded him of the wound his uncle had been given by his sister. How would the old man have survived if he hadn't come back down the mountain? The worn down teen suddenly realised how stupid he'd been for seeking his own lightning like that (not that he would ever admit that out loud).

When Zuko finally arrived at their make-shift home, he noticed that the remnant of a fire was still crackling softly. He jumped off of the ostrich horse and tied it to its post. The beast squawked in appreciation of being back home, but Zuko cringed at the loud sound.

"Shh! Stay quiet. Uncle's already asleep." He shushed and walked over to the shack.

Inside, his uncle and Keya were resting peacefully in their respective corners. The glowing embers that the boy had noticed earlier were partially covered by a small pot. Curious (and rather hungry), he lifted the lid of the pot to take a look at the contents. A delicious smell wafted from the broth inside. His stomach grumbled and he clutched it with his free hand.

Zuko quietly grabbed a brown bowl and scooped some of the broth up. He brought the bowl to his lips and chugged the whole thing back in one go. Once done, he cleaned it up and got ready to sleep.

As he got his blanket, he saw that the only spot to sleep was between his uncle and the Earth Kingdom girl. He sighed and just plopped down, too tired to complain. Now that the broth had settled in his stomach and stilled his hunger, and the blanket warmed up his exhausted body, Zuko quickly found himself falling asleep.

In the state between the living world and dreamland, a thought occurred to him. His outburst to Keya had been unfair to the girl. His uncle was right, she couldn't have known. Why was he so angry when she'd told him? 'Who would ever bend a direct attack at their own nephew, their own family?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?'

Was this what most people thought? Was his experience not normal? Zuko's sleep-drunk mind was too tired to fully process what that might have meant about his upbringing. However, one thing had become very clear to him: He shouldn't have yelled at the girl.

He sighed. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. In the last moments of his wakefulness, Zuko breathed out an apology.

"I'm sorry for my anger, Keya. You didn't deserve it."

Soon after having spoken, he fell asleep. Beside him lay a startled Keya. Her eyes went wide when she heard it, but quickly relaxed again when she heard the boy's breathing even out. She had been awake ever since she heard the ostrich horse squawk. The girl had been too afraid to open her eyes - let alone speak to the guy. She felt his body heat radiate off of him as he had laid down beside her, a talent he received by being a firebender. She couldn't deny that she felt a lot warmer with him in the shack. Her shabby blanket wasn't exactly made for cold desert nights, after all.

With that said, his apology had come rather out of the blue. Had he even meant it? Surely he wouldn't even remember it after waking up tomorrow. The words had tumbled out of his mouth like a sleepy thought rather than a conscious apology. But perhaps that made the whole thing more genuine. Zuko didn't exactly seem like the type to apologise so publicly. Not in the sense that he wasn't a nice guy, but more so because he often didn't seem to recognise his bad behaviours. The Fire Lord must have had a hand in that, Keya thought to herself.