Pyrophobia || Sokka x Reader

|Chapter 2|

PLEASE READ!!

I've noticed some people have been skipping the prologue. If you didn't read it GO BACK AND READ IT!! It had some super important details and backstory. Prologues are chapters too so don't skip them. Thank you! Enjoy chapter 3. :)

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Zuko walked from his sleeping quarters to the main deck. He looked around the ship but found only a few crew members were awake. It was still rather early and the sun had barely risen past the horizon. Iroh followed close behind his nephew, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. They both glanced around, looking for the young fire princess. She was always first to rise, but today she was nowhere to be found.

"Uncle, have you seen Y/n?" Zuko asked his uncle, who's room was across the hall from his sister's. Iroh shook his head, a little too sleepy to be answering his questions verbally. "I have a weird feeling this morning, Uncle. She's always awake first."

Iroh just shrugged and set off to fix some morning tea for him and his niece. She had always preferred green tea in the mornings.

Zuko turned around and headed for his sister's quarters. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach, though he wasn't sure why.

When he arrived at her door he noticed it was very quiet. Most of the crew had awoken by now and where off doing their jobs. There was no rustling of sheets or footsteps to her closets. It was completely silent. That is until he knocked. Zuko knocked gently, trying not to startle his rather jumpy sister if possible.

Again, he was met with silence. He knocked once more. More silence.

"Y/n, are you awake?" Zuko spoke softly in attempts to make up for the way he had lashed out the night prior. Zuko hadn't been looking at her when he yelled but he was sure he had frightened her. "(N/n)?"

Zuko opened the door at the lack of response. Her door creaked as it opened and the prince looked into the room. He walked towards her bed. Upon seeing it empty he quirked a brow in confusion.

He was sure she would have greeted him by now if she was awake. There was no reason for their regular routine to be disrupted.

Zuko heard approaching footsteps from behind, and turned to see his uncle. He held a somewhat sad expression on his face. The young firebender was confused until his uncle held out his hand.

In his palm was a small paper butterfly. Zuko knew what this meant.

Ever since before he could remember, (Y/n) had loved to fold paper butterflies. No one knew where she had learned it from, but she didn't make anything else. Just butterflies.

When they were very young (Y/n) handed them out often. She gave them to people when they were sad or upset. She had given them to her mother when she and her brother left to stay at her uncle's for the weekend. She gave them to her brother when he tripped and scraped up his knees. She gave them to her uncle when she spilled her tea or broke his teacup. Sometimes the butterflies were comforting gifts and others they were apologies. Not a single person ever lost one they were given. They were almost sacred to them.

When her efforts to firebend were fruitless, she gifted a small orange butterfly with red tipped wings to her father. It was a sort of apology. She felt guilty for her inability to bend properly.

But the Firelord only scoffed and burnt the butterfly in his hand. They young girl's (e/c) eyes filled with horror as she watched the ashes fall to the ground.

That was the last butterfly she had given. Until now.

Iroh's butterfly was white and rounded. Its edges were lace-like and rimmed with gold. It had been folded from a paper doily. It was a doily from Iroh and his niece's favorite tea shop. They hadn't visited it in years. Iroh held a sacred artifact in his hands. What appeared to be only a pretty piece of origami was so much more. It held so much more meaning than anyone else could imagine