Afterward Adventures (ATLA Zuko X OC)

Chapter Eight - The Search Pt. 1

"Wait, I want to know everything,"

"Everything?"

"Everything,"

"For you, my dear, I'll start from the beginning..."

~ {0} ~

The City of Yu Dao, now...

"Blah, blah, blah..."

Iris snorted once again, her head slipping from her arm that rested on. This was the most boring thing she'd ever done in her entire life. Even the Philosophy Lessons from the Air Nomads could be considered a hundred times more interesting. She tried to pay some attention and try to find something useful in the old man's words, but sitting between her brother and Zuko and close to Sokka, wasn't helping either.

"Tell me again how exactly is this boring lecture guy supposed to help us figure out what to do with Yu Dao?" Sokka asked whispering at Aang and Iris.

"He's an expert on ancient Earth Kingdom theories of government. The Earth King thinks we should draw wisdom from the past to build the society of the future," Aang answered.

"...blah, blah, blah..."

"Even if the past bores me out of my skull?" Sokka asked boringly.

"Totally agree," Iris said yawning.

"We need a new way of seeing the Four Nations, not-" Aang tried to say but Katara cut them.

"Schuss! Can you three keep it down, please? Some of us are trying to listen!" Katara lectured them.

"Sorry, Katara," Aang said apologetically.

"Surprise, surprise, my boring sister likes boring lecture guy," Sokka said mockingly and Iris tried to suppress her laughter.

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're talking about!" Aang said offended.

Katara shot her brother a cold glare and then she turned the water in her cup to a snowball and she threw it on her brother's face. Aang and Iris were practically suffocating from laughter, trying desperately to suppress it with their hands on their mouths.

Watching Sokka, ridiculously, wiping the snow off his face didn't stop Zuko from keeping the serious expression on his face. When he heard the word 'family' he immediately asked "Professor, can you repeat that last part?"

"I was explaining, Fire Lord Zuko, an ancient Earth Kingdom Philosophy. Family is, in essence, a small nation, and a nation a large family, do you understand? In treating his own family with dignity, a ruler learns to govern his nation with dignity," The Professor answered and then he continued.

Iris and Aang noticed the worried expression on Zuko's face. Iris took his hand in hers "Hey, you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Zuko gave her hand a gentle squeeze and he asked "Have you two been listening to him?"

"I've been trying, but all I'm getting is 'Blah, blah, blah...'" Aang said sarcastically.

Iris smacked her brother's shoulder "This seems serious, Aang," she said shooting a look at her brother and then returning back to Zuko as he spoke.

"I put my father in a prison and my sister in an institution. My mother's been banished for years. What does that mean for my Nation?" Zuko asked worriedly.

"Zuko, that's not what-" Aang tried to say but Sokka cut him whispering from behind.

"The guy's a blowhard! Only people like Katara are taking him seriously," He said mockingly only to receive another snowball on his face...