Wild At Heart (Zuko)

Chapter Seventy-Four

Deeper in the trees, Kali places her hand on the trunk of the tree and the branch above grows downward to create a sort of canopy roof for them to sleep under. Zuko smiles to himself, it feels like it has been so long since he witnessed her doing this. It brings a sense of belonging, a sense of home. He really has missed her. He has even missed the way that being in nature with her feels. Like there is some depth and comfort and vibrancy that nowhere else has. He sits on the ground in front of a lit fire as he watches her softly, a hand rubbing at his eyes. Now he is back with Kali, all those sleepless nights are creeping up on him. But he doesn't want to sleep just yet, he wants to talk to her.

"So" He starts and lets out a breath. "Are you okay?" She chuckles a little and nods.

"I'm fine" She assures him softly as she sits at his side, leaning against him. "What about you?" She asks. "You are the one who went into 'enemy' territory" He smiles a little. "You could have been caught"

"I wasn't" He reminds her, she nods and closes her eyes, sinking into his side as he wraps an arm around her. The two of them basking in the fire warmth and each other's warmth. He really has missed her immensely and being back in the capital reminded him of the life he had before he met her. Before all of this started, and how much it has changed. How much he has changed. He would have given anything to be allowed to go home, until Kali. He's not sure he ever wants to go back now. Because he isn't sure she'll be allowed to come with him, or even if she will want to go with him. She hardly has a reason to when Tian Tang exists and the Fire Nation hasn't done anything for her or her people.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Kali asks Zuko who lets out a long breath, brought out of his thoughts by her voice.

"It was Iroh that sent the scroll, he wanted me to learn about my other great-grandfather"

"Not Sozin?" She counters, he hums and shakes his head.

"My mother's grandfather was....." He pauses and glances down at her as she snuggles into his side. "Roku"

"Roku?" She asks him softly. "Avatar Roku?" He hums in agreement. She pulls away from Zuko to look up at him. "And you didn't know?"

"She never spoke about her family" He answers and shrugs. He never thought anything about it when he was growing up. But now he is older, he notices how little his mother told them about her side of the family. How little any of them spoke of her family. It's the realisation that he barely knows anything. "Iroh wanted me to see that there was good and bad in me" He continues as he draws his fingers down her arm. "That I should understand what that means to me...that I might struggle with the good and bad...." She hums a little. "What If I am just like Sozin?" He asks her. Kali tilts her head a little.

"You are a good man, Zuko" She assures him softly, curling her hand around his face, she draws her thumb over his cheek and smiles warmly at him. "You set me free"

"Iroh...." He starts to argue but she shakes her head.

"Physically, yes" She agrees. "But....I didn't feel truly free until...well, until I fell in love with you" She whispers. Zuko leans forward and presses his forehead to hers. He knows he is lucky, but then she says things like that and he remembers just how lucky he is to have found her, and found her when he did. He then suddenly remembers something. That he didn't come back alone.

"I'll be right back" He whispers and kisses her head before he stands. She frowns and watches as he disappears through the trees. Kali leans up a little, surprised that he's wandering off with the risk that Katara or Sokka might see him. Though less likely for Sokka to be awake. Once he's asleep, there is little chance of him waking before mid-morning. Kali can probably persuade Sokka to be okay with Zuko being here more than she could Katara though. Katara will be the problem. But Kali is not willing to be away from Zuko again. Not after this time apart and the time she spent away from him in Ba Sing Se. She deserves to get what she wants now. She spent years at the bottom of the pile, getting nothing except the worst, now she deserves happiness and she deserves to be with Zuko. The trees rustle and Kali lets out a relieved breath when Zuko returns, her body sinking with it. He gives her soft smile before glancing over his shoulder. Behind him, the hart appears. He'd left it away from here just in case they'd reacted negatively to his arrival and for some reason took it out on the hart. He didn't think they would, but he wasn't 100% sure and he didn't want to be wrong and it to get hurt. So he tied it to a tree through the trees to retrieve when he was sure. Kali pushes herself to her feet and moves to the hart as Zuko pulls the reign system from his head to make him comfortable.

"Hi" Kali greets warmly, rubbing her hand over the hart's nose. She is glad to see that Zuko kept the hart with him and didn't just leave him somewhere to fend for himself. She didn't think he would. But it is nice to see her faith rewarded. She leans forward and presses her forehead to the hart's nose as she draws her hand around to his cheek. Zuko smiles softly watching the two of them before Kali pulls back from the hart and moves back to Zuko. The hart trots closer to the two of them as they move back to the fire.

She sinks into his side again as the hart curls up around the two of them, basically getting as close to them as he can. Zuko pokes at the fire and then lets out a breath.

"Do they have a plan?" He asks, glancing at Kali. "All this time, they have to have some form of a plan, right?"

"You'd be surprised" She answers with a sigh, because she believed like he did, that they have to have had a plan this entire time, but no. Though she does know now that they have a plan for the Fire Nation and winning the war. Because Sokka sat her down and explained it all to her to reassure her that it isn't going to be a 'on their feet' situation. That would be a terrible way to go about the war. "Well" She starts and sighs. "I only know what Sokka has told me" She explains a little. "And he can be a little.....I don't know what the right word is" She whispers to herself. "There's a solar eclipse approaching in four days" She tells him. Zuko lets out a breath and nods.

"Which will mean that all fire-benders lose their bending ability" He realises.

"So they are planning an invasion-esque attack then" Zuko glances at her, sees that she is studying his reaction to this, waiting to see what he will say. He knows it is a smart plan. Wait until the fire-benders are no longer a threat, even if it is for mere minutes, then attack using the time given.

"Just the five of you?" He asks, she hums and shakes her head.

"No" She answers. "There are more. I don't know exactly, all I know is that I sent word to Tian Tang asking for aid...I mean, Sokka sent word...he wrote the letter" He hums a little. At least grateful that they are willing to help her out in that aspect. "But I signed it" She adds proudly. "I am getting better" She whispers. "Sokka has been teaching me, like you did, but he's harder to understand" She frowns a little. Sokka has been trying his best to teach her to read and write, but it's not the same as Zuko doing it. "He's very sure of his plan" She assures him and Zuko hums a little, pondering it. Well, with the moment he has before Bing and Ran-Ya are on him, the moment they burst through the bushes. Zuko finds himself chuckling as he gives the two animals attention. He was never an animal person. Never. But being around Kali, being around Bing. And then Ran-Ya. And then the hart. He can see why Kali loves them so much. They are so affectionate and loyal. And loyalty has been so fleeting in his life. He has two people. Only two, who he knows he can rely on to be utterly loyal to him. Iroh and Kali. Right now, there are more animals than people that are loyal to him. Which is rather sad when he thinks about it. But right now, they are all he needs. This little group of beings at his side and he knows he made the right choice coming back to her. He rests the side of his head on the top of hers and closes his eyes. "We can talk about the rest later" She assures him, her hand on his chest. "Please" She whispers. As much as she is glad that he is here, she knows that talking about this will bring up how the others are going to react. She already knows how this is going to be. She is not going to leave Zuko, but she is aware that Aang needs nature-bender guidance. And she is not ready to be made to choose yet. So she'll take the rest of the night to be with him, here, now, before it unfolds in the morning. Zuko kisses her head and nods. He can accept that. He lets her snuggle into his chest as she gets herself comfortable against him. "You'll be great" She assures him warmly. It just makes him realise that he is going to have to plead his case to them. To allow him to stay. He is going to have to make some kind of speech. He holds Kali to him tighter as he ponders that. Because he has no idea what he is going to say to them to get them to let him stay.