fire in your eyes • zuko

vi

Two weeks following the North Pole invasion, Nava insisted they go back onto land because she wasn't sure she could handle being within three feet of Zuko and his pouting much longer. Iroh and Zuko reluctantly agreed to spend a night on land and they docked the raft in a cluster of trees before venturing further inland, where they found a clearing to set up a makeshift shelter out of branches. Iroh sent Nava and Zuko out to get firewood, a task that the both of them thought only required one person, but were too tired to argue about it, so they set off on foot together.

Nava started off walking in front of Zuko but was quickly distracted by a couple of squirrels chittering at them from the trees, which resulted in Zuko running into her.

"Would you keep your eyes forward for once?" he snapped at her.

"I've had nothing but water and metal to look at for the last couple of weeks, so lighten up, would you?" Nava responded, watching as the squirrels jumped from one tree to another and disappeared from view.

Zuko pushed past her and stomped ahead. Nava rolled her eyes and looked to her side at a pile of snow that had yet to melt. She glanced from the snow to Zuko's retreating back and smiled. She bent down, made a fist-sized snowball, aimed, and launched it at him. The snowball hit him on the shoulder and he stopped. Nava ducked behind a tree and scooped more snow into her hands.

"Are we really doing this right now?" came Zuko's annoyed voice. "I don't have the energy for this."

"Sounds like you're chicken!" Nava sang back.

She was met with silence. And then, rapid footsteps approaching. She barely had time to move before Zuko was in front of her, shoving a handful of snow into her face. Nava fell sideways and landed on her knees in the snowbank. She looked up at Zuko, who looked amused. She chucked her snowball at him and it hit him in the thigh. He ran away again, and she followed. They stopped a few feet away from each other and simultaneously made more snowballs.

Their battle went on for a few minutes, which resulted in cold fingers and faces, but Nava would be lying if she said she wasn't having fun. She had even coaxed out a tiny smile from Zuko after he "accidentally" dropped a pile of snow from the trees on her. He insisted he wasn't anywhere near the tree, but she wasn't convinced.

They returned to Iroh with their arms full of sticks and branches for the fire. They had some cooked fish that Iroh caught while they were gone and then settled into the shelter for the night. Nava slept in between the two of them so she would stay warm and once morning came, they were back at sea.

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They sailed on the raft for two more weeks afterwards. The further south they went, the warmer the air got as the frigid winter melted into a forgiving spring. Ever since they blew off steam with their snowball fight, Nava found her tolerance for Zuko and his angst going up. They still bickered and were seemingly always at each other's throats, but Nava liked to think that they were forming a reluctant friendship.

They stuck close to the Earth Kingdom mainland, eventually coming to an unguarded dock. Nava didn't bother waiting for Zuko and Iroh as she ventured into the trees. She was just grateful to be back on solid ground. As she made her way up a steep hill, she noticed the trees were slowly beginning to turn into flowering cherry blossoms. By the time she got to the top, Nava was feeling rather lightheaded; none of them had eaten or drank anything substantial since leaving the North Pole. It was a wonder they were still able to walk.

She waited under the trees for Zuko and Iroh and inspected the area around her. She'd never seen the cherry trees like this before, it almost overwhelmed her. She was plucking petals from a fallen blossom when Iroh and Zuko appeared, red in the face.