D/C: I own nothing.

Shout-out to ProudGeek4Ever! Thank you so much for beta reading the Floating White Lotus!

Chamomile

Used for healing wounds, reducing inflammations and/or swelling. Could either be used as tea or applied as a compress. A drawback is that it could cause drowsiness and may interfere with other medications.

Ginger

Used to ease nausea and motions sickness. Could be used to relieve nausea caused by pregnancy. A drawback is that possible side effects could include bloating, gas, heartburn and nausea.

Ginseng

It is used as a tonic and cu-

"Zuko! We are almost at the Southern Water Tribe. Could you recheck the shipment we have for them?"

"I'll get right to it, Uncle!" Zuko responded. He looked down at the leather-bound notebook his uncle had given to him. It contained detailed descriptions of flowers and several other things that had to do with tea and herbalism. He had started to keep track of all the items necessary to make tea and remedies. This book had saved him more times than he could count and he was forever grateful for Uncle Iroh for helping him.

Even if it meant the man went into exile with him.

He shook his head and rose from his spot on top of the deck. Then he headed towards the location where he knew they kept the shipment for the tribe. One of the other men could do this job, but it helped ease his mind. Right as he was about to enter the cargo hold, a bright flash of light shot up into the sky. It lasted several seconds, more than enough time for everyone that was on the deck to see what he was looking at.

In back of his mind, he wondered what that light was. He had never seen anything like it. He'd never even heard any sort of bending that could cause such an event. Eh, Zuko shrugged his shoulders and continued with his task. It was not his problem.

So not his problem.

Zuko continued on his way and as he did so he walked through the main hall of the ship. The lighting was changed to make it more welcoming and not so… intimidating. Plus, there were paintings, plants, and tapestries that made the former Fire Nation naval ship more welcoming. Zuko couldn't help but snort. Welcoming. He nodded at any of the former soldiers that walked passed him on his way to his destination.

Zuko paused when he stopped in front of a tapestry. It was the first one that was ever hung on the ship after the change. The change from using this ship to hunt down the avatar to using it as a travelling teashop. Hunting down the Avatar… What a fool's game. His father just wanted him out of his hair after he started to show his true colors.

Mainly showing how Fire Lord Ozai would easily sacrifice soldiers for nothing. How he could easily kill off innocent lives just to prove a point. The banishment was a massive blessing in disguise. Zuko wanted nothing to do with his father, the Fire Nation and let alone this war. A stupid war at that.

-.-

Zuko took in a deep breath and stared down at his reflection in a giant basin of water. His hair easily fell over his shoulders. He had it cut that way to hide his distinguishable scar. He was wearing clothing that was typical for the Earth Kingdom, but for a far colder climate. Despite having already been to Southern Water Tribe multiple times, he couldn't help the uneasiness that washed over him. As far as the village knew of he, Uncle and the crew were all were running away from their homeland and had created the Floating White Lotus to get a new start. Which was a former Fire Nation naval ship before it got converted into said teashop.

Nothing out of the norm. Nothing out of the norm at all.

"Zuko, we have arrived. Please, try to make yourself presentable… and make some friends your own age."

Zuko's head sagged down. "Yes, Uncle."

Oh, Uncle Iroh. The closet thing Zuko ever got to a father figure. To think the man put himself into exile for his sake… and sanity. Either way, Zuko was grateful for Uncle. Except when Uncle would mention that, he needed to connect with others that are his age or reprimanding him for ruining tea.

He walked into his room on the ship. It was filled with paintings, plants and tapestries. Just like the rest of the ship. Everything was unrelated to the Fire Nation. Zuko quickly changed his clothing to something that suited for his work as a server. When he opened the dresser, the exiled Fire Prince saw his Fire Nation uniform. It was just in arm's reach if he ever needed to wear it. Like whenever they came across a Fire Nation ship. Those times were always the worse.

Dressed in several hues of green, yellow and brown, Zuko walked out of his room and headed up. Along the way, he saw the others quickly putting on their respected uniforms or preparing for their arrival by making tea or any other necessary items. By the time Zuko arrived at the deck, was now the entire place was now had tables, chairs and canopies on said tables. Surrounding it all, were portable fire pits to provide much needed heat.

Slowly but surely, the occupants of the Southern Water Tribe began to trickle in. Uncle welcomed all of them onto the ship and then he and the crew showed the patrones to their tables. Laughter could be heard all over. Children were running around and they kept trying to get Zuko to play with them.

Zuko looked around the ship hoping to see two people. His shoulders sagged when he realized that they were not there. He felt someone tug on his apron and saw that it was Gran-Gran. The old woman gave him a smile as she spoke to him. "They went off earlier in the day. You should surprise them!"

Zuko looked for Uncle and saw the man giving an encouraging smile. He took that as approval. Without much else, he gave the tray of goodies to one of the former soldiers before running off. He had a good idea where they were. He moved quickly with his snowboard and pole that the locals had made especially for him.

-.-

"Uh…." Zuko stared at the supposed avatar. He wondered if this was his mind playing tricks with him. He wasn't able to hear as his friends, Katara and Sokka, attempted to explain how they found the Air Nomad in a glacier and don't forget the flying bison. Oh, Spirits… "No… no. Just…. No… I'm dreaming. No, this is a nightmare!"

Aang, Katara and Sokka watched as Zuko hopped back on his snowboard and headed back to his ship. Aang worriedly watched him leave. The airbender believed he had somehow offended the tea maker. He did a double take when Sokka wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to say something in his ear.

"Don't worry about Zuko. He's weird... Even for a firebender."

TBC.