Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

21

❃ Gentle Hands ❃

It didn't take long before the three companions were back in their new home -the apartment that Iroh had acquired for them. The place was pretty decent, despite being located in one of the most dangerous areas of Ba Sing Se. The apartment consisted of two simple rooms and a small washing room. The washing room was mainly for washing one's face and included a single toilet. For proper baths, they would have to head over to the local bath house. The other two rooms consisted of a sleeping area and a living area/kitchen. These rooms were separated by a thin, paper wall.

Perhaps she just wasn't used to proper housing, but Keya was impressed by their new home. Iroh had done a fantastic job at finding them a place to live. The girl was happy that she had made it to Ba Sing Se at all. Even so, the state of this place was much better than the shack that her mother and brothers still lived in. 

Speaking of which, Keya worried for her family. Winter would be approaching soon and her family was not prepared for the harsh change in weather that would befall Yulin village this year. She would have to write them a letter this night, so that they could leave before the last leaf could fall. Otherwise, they would be stuck in their hometown untill the end of the winter season. The girl wasn't too sure if her family would survive it this time...

Iroh led the two teenagers inside with a big smile and made a straight line to the tea kettle. Zuko kicked off his shoes and flung himself on the single couch in the corner while Keya looked for some ink and parchment.

"Would you two like a pot of tea?" Their older companion offered happily. 

Keya looked up and smiled. She raised her hand like a school girl and answered him energetically. "Oh, yes please!" 

She fished some parchment from one of the cabinets and continued her search for the ink. Zuko noticed her actions but didn't comment on it, choosing instead to let his uncle know just how grumpy he was after his first day of work.

"We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea!" He grumbled, to which his uncle gasped and clasped his wrinkled hand to his heart in shock.

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" Iroh exclaimed as he searched for some spark rocks. "Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?" He asked after a while.

Keya stopped her own search for ink momentarily and helped the old man look around. "Not this again..." She was instantly reminded of how their little group came together. What was it with spark rocks? Somebody needed to invent a way to make those buggers stay put!

"This time, I'm sure I left them here for you- where have they gone?" To her surprise, the rocks were really gone! They weren't in any of the bags either (she had even gone so far as to check her good old hip pouch -to no avail). It almost seemed as if someone had stolen them. Iroh quickly left the appartment to go look elsewhere.

Unbeknownst to the girl, someone had in fact stolen them. Jet held his breath and kept his crouch on the roof opposite to their window low as he observed the little family. In his sneaky hand, the rogue teenager held a pair of pale rocks between his nimble fingers. This time, he figured, they had no reason to hide. They were just among themselves, right? Surely the firebenders would let down their guard and show off some of that disgusting power! It was time for him to gather some evidence.

Sadly, Jet would not find what he was looking for today. Iroh quickly returned and closed their front door behind him with a friendly gleam in his eyes. In his hand, he held two new spark rocks.