Sunburn

11

Zuko growled as he fell out of the bushes with leaves sticking to his clothes. His pack was to his uncle as he picked the flora that had stuck to him.

"I didn't find anything to eat! I can't live like this! I wasn't meant to be a fugitive!" Zuko shouted as he threw royal tantrum tossing his hands in the air and yelling at the sky, "This is impossible!"

Silence was his only response as Iroh ignored him. He frowned then turned around to look at his uncle, who wasn't paying any attention to him and was instead crouching beside a small bush with large red and white orchid like flower stemming from it.

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Zuko asked in exasperation as he walked over to look at the flower his uncle was apparently so enamored with. "Where's Tsai? She said we'd meet us back here before the sunset," he put his hands on his waist and sighed his exasperation growing with each passing moment.

It had been a couple of weeks since the prince, his uncle and the banished daughter of the Vice Royal family of You Dao had officially gone into hiding. The three had barely managed to scrape from Azula's vile hands. It didn't help that Zuko complained about everything.

xxx

"Do you HAVE to complain about everything?" Tsai had said to him more than irritated with his pessimistic attitude.

"I wan't meant for this life," The prince added in a snotty tone.

Honestly he could be such a spoiled brat sometimes. "Ho! Sorry your highness," she taunted with a smirk. "I didn't know you were so sensible about a camping trip."

"You call this a camping trip?!" He snapped at her in a fiery tantrum.

"Five Stars," the girl retorted sarcastically rolling her eyes. "Of course not! But we are fugitives. And none of us have anywhere to go so there's no use in complaining."

"She's right," Iroh added wisely as they walked together.

xxx

"You're looking at the rare white dragon bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious, it's heartbreaking." Iroh said as he doted over the flower placing both hands over his chest. His eyebrow knitted as he frowned for a moment and sat thoughtfully, "That, or it's the white jade, which is poisonous." He scratched his beard as he pondered on that thought.

"We need food, not tea." Zuko snapped as he rolled his eyes at his uncle. "Wait here for Tsai!" Zuko ordered. "I'm going fishing..." He declared.

"Hmm... delectable tea?" Iroh mused ignoring the young prince. Both of his eyes enamored by the rare orchid flower before him. He gave the plant a suspicious look, "Or deadly poison?"

Xxx

Zuko rolled up the bottom of his pants as he prepared himself to step into the cold creek before him. On one hand he held a sharpened staff he had prepared to stab his future lunch. He stepped into the water and focused his sight on the small fish that swam the current by his feet.

"Stupid fish...." He grumbled to himself as he stabbed the water in an attempt to catch something. Anything. Who would've thought that fishing was so hard. He had been fishing for a while and was about to call it quits when something caught his eye. Something glimmering in the water. It was moving against the current and in between his feet the object was catching and reflecting a flickering light. He lowered his guard and his stick bending over to pick up whatever that was. It went under his feet. It was then that he felt a pair of palms press to his back and the next thing he knew he had fallen face first into the cold creek. He sat in the water, spitting some out a deep scowl on his face. A fish even leapt from the water and mocked him by slapping his face with its fins.