This story is meant to take place between the Boiling Rock Part II and The Southern Raiders. Originally posted for the Avatar Big Bang (I know, it's been a while). I'll be uploading it in four parts. Expect the next part within a week.

Thank you to sparkydame on livejournal for betaing this. It would not have been even half as good without you.

The Herbalist Part I - Aftermath of the Boiling Rock

The hot Fire Nation summer never quite reached the land of the Air Nomads. Zuko wondered if it was the altitude or the fact the Western Air Temple was sheltered from the Sun for most of the day. He had never understood how people could live without seeing the Sun for weeks or months, like the stories he had heard of the Water Tribes. He shuddered at the thought, remembering The Cooler and how knowing that he would eventually get out of there was one of the few things that had kept him going.

Muffled, heavy footsteps approached from behind, interrupted by a hacking cough before the newcomer continued towards the ledge Zuko was sitting on. A friendly hand was placed on his shoulder and Zuko sent Sokka a withering look when he realized it was the same hand the boy had covered his mouth with while coughing. The offending appendage was removed before Zuko could do something stupid, like threaten Katara's brother, and Sokka gave him a dopey grin, puzzling Zuko to no end. Maybe he just was not as intimidating as he used to be, but thinking about his friendship with Sokka, Zuko found he did not mind too much.

Sokka let out a sigh of contentment and the two boys looked out over to the opposite canyon wall, where the moon's light reflected on it, making the rocks appear to glow slightly. They sat in silence for a little while – after all, Zuko would never be the one to start a conversation unless he had to – but it did not seem to bother Sokka either, who seemed just as happy to enjoy a bit of quiet.

"Thanks again… you know…" Sokka said finally, keeping his gaze pointedly away from Zuko and towards the opposite wall, "… for helping to break my dad out."

Despite the cool temperature, Zuko could not help but feel warm inside from Sokka's appreciation. They glanced towards each other, each with a goofy smile across his face, before they both turned to look back out at the canyon below. After another beat of silence, Zuko finally replied.

"Anytime, Sokka."

Dinner was less tense then it had been in previous days, though in Zuko's opinion that meant very little. Katara continued to send him narrowed looks any time that someone said something remotely nice about him, which unfortunately was quite often that evening due to Sokka's flamboyant storytelling.

"…and then Chit Sang was all like argh! Elbow slam!" Sokka described, using expressive gestures to help describe the 'awesomeness' of the action. Suki, Zuko noted, was doing a very good job of protecting Sokka's bowl of food from his own wild gestures. Sokka, who was oblivious to the danger, continued his tale, "But Zuko spun out of the way, flipped over and then, pow!" Sokka sent out his fist the same way he had remembered Zuko doing at the Boiling Rock.

"He punched him?" Toph frowned; obviously puzzled as to why Sokka thought that was so amazing. "Wow, Hotman, you really know how to let down an action scene."

Zuko sent her a look he knew she would never notice and Katara snickered not so subtly behind her hand. Zuko frowned even more.

"What!? No, that's not what happened!" Sokka quickly denied, trying to bring the 'cool factor' back into the story. "Zuko shot a fireball at him." He repeated the punch he had demonstrated earlier. "Remember, firebending wasn't allowed?"

"Well," Aang cut in, ever the diplomat. "That makes a lot more sense. So then what happened, Sokka?"

"Well, then these crazily strong guards…"

Sokka's tale was once again interrupted, but this time by his own coughing. Zuko looked towards him in concern and out of the corner of this eye saw Katara doing the same thing.

"Sokka, maybe you should take a break from the storytelling," Katara suggested, crawling over to feel his forehead with her palm. "You don't sound so good."

"Don't worry about it, Katara. It's probably just because I've been breathing in too much coal smoke. I'm sure that stuff's not good for you." Sokka waved off her concern.

Katara frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but Sokka continued his defense.

"Besides, I'm sure everyone here wants to hear the story and I can't leave it at the part where Zuko gets taken to The Coolers, now can I?"

Katara placed one of her hands on her hip ready to argue some more, "You weren't the only one there, Sokka. I'm sure someone else can tell the story."

"Yeah, but Zuko's terrible at telling good stories. You remember his joke delivery, right?"

"Hey, I…" Zuko began his defense, but shied back when he saw the intense argument brewing between the two siblings.

"Sokka, you have a fever. It's been a long couple of days, so the last thing you need is to be tiring yourself further. For all we know you caught something from the Boiling Rock."

Suddenly Hakoda stepped in between the two siblings. He placed a firm hand on each one of his children's shoulders to grab their attention. "All right you two, that's enough. I think it has been a long day for everyone, so why don't we all get an early night's sleep? Sokka, you can continue your story tomorrow."

"Come to think of it," Aang said with a yawn, "I'm feeling pretty tired myself."

Sokka glared at him, and then sat back despondently. "Fine."

"Goodnight everyone!" Aang excused himself cheerfully, but Zuko was quick to grab his attention.

"Aang, don't forget practice first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing, Sifu Hotman."

Aang absently waved before walking further into the temple, completely ignoring Zuko's earlier complaint about the name. Soon the others followed suit and Zuko found himself alone in the courtyard.

Deciding he was too wide-awake from the day's events, Zuko carefully placed another log on the fire and with a flick of his hand sent the flames around to devour it. He was still surprised at how easily the fire was his to command after his trip to learn from the dragons with Aang. With a small smile of satisfaction at the thought, Zuko set about making a pot of tea using a slightly chipped set that they had found inside the temple.

"Mind making me a cup too?"

Zuko almost dropped the pot in surprise, utilizing his skills learnt from carrying ceramics in Ba Sing Se to catch it in time. He sent a glare over to Toph, as she walked up to sit beside him. With a subtle gesture, she bent a stone into a roughly comfortable-looking shape and leaned back against it, folding her hands behind her head. While one foot remained firmly on the ground, the other was lazily crossed over her knee and she turned her face towards him with a grin that showed she was completely aware of her lack of manners and was wholly unapologetic.

Zuko shot her another glare that he knew she would not be able to see, but which gave him a level of satisfaction, before setting the pot above the fire. He walked back over and sat next to Toph, draping an arm over his bent leg. He watched the shifting flames and made sure they did not get too high and crack the pot.

At first the continuing silence was comfortable, but the longer Zuko thought about it, the more he wondered if he should be striking up conversation. It was not much longer before he became quite agitated at the awkward silence while Toph continued to lie down in a relaxed position, doing nothing to break it. He coughed into his fist before looking around in an attempt to find a safe topic.

"So… uh… nice weather we're having." Zuko cringed as soon as the words came out of his mouth, preparing himself for a scathing response.

Toph closed her eyes and smirked. "Maybe you should give up on the small talk, Princess; it really isn't your forte."

Zuko sighed and collapsed backwards, lying back in a similar position to Toph's, but less comfortably. He was not sure what to make of her alternative nickname for him. Relaxing marginally, he looked up to the Temple's ceiling above them.

"I'm just not very sociable." He chose to ignore her snort. "I can't tell good stories, I can barely cook, I'm a disaster at hunting and my tea is nothing compared to my uncle's."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Toph open her eyes again with a frown, "Hey, if you're looking for pity you've come to the wrong girl."

"I think you're currently the most sympathetic girl towards me in the group." Zuko turned his head and smiled at her. "Sorry, this is all pretty new for me. I'm still used to giving orders, not fitting in."

Toph blew her hair out of her face, though it promptly fell back in front of her eyes. "Tell me about it. My parents may have kept me hidden, but anything I wanted I got… well, as long as it was deemed safe. But don't worry, you're not the only one who had trouble fitting in at first. I got into a fight with Katara and then got yelled at by Aang. Even you haven't been yelled at by Aang!"

Zuko huffed, "At least you haven't been chasing them for the better part of the year, or been the son of the man they're trying to defeat, or tied the Avatar's waterbending master to a tree."

Toph's eyebrows rose, "Woah, you tied Katara to a tree? No wonder she's so snarky around you."

Zuko looked away in shame, shoulders hunching up over himself. "That's… not exactly why." He said haltingly.

Toph sat up with obvious puzzlement and a bit of curiosity. "So what happened?"

Zuko looked guiltily into the fire, switching his attention to the boiling pot of water. He grabbed it with his bare hand before checking the temperature and putting in the dried flowers for the tea. "I hope you don't mind jasmine."

Toph, seeming to understand that he wanted to direct the conversation away from Katara, decided to take pity on him for once. "Honestly, I don't drink much tea."

Zuko waited a few more moments for the tea to brew before pouring out two cups and handing one of them to Toph, then picking up his own cup and taking a sip. He kept his eyes intently on Toph's face, as she took a sip and smacked her lips together a few times.

Toph leaned back on her rock and set the cup down delicately. "You know for a pansy little flower, this tastes pretty good."

Zuko chuckled and Toph found herself smiling at the sound. She felt Zuko shift so that he was lying back on the ground and listened as he took in a deep breath. When he breathed out she suddenly felt a wash of heat that was definitely not coming from the fire.

"You blowing smoke over there?"

"Flames actually; a technique from the dragons that my uncle taught me."

Toph could practically feel Zuko's guilt when he mentioned his uncle. The smile slipped from her face and she turned to face him.

"You really miss him don't you?"

Zuko took in another breath and this time Toph heard the rush of flames along with the smell of smoke. He then stuck out his arm and lightly touched her hand. At first Toph wondered what he was doing, but then the heat reached her cold fingers. It felt like he had been keeping his hands in front of the fire and then moved them to her hand, except the heat stayed. The Air Temple was getting cooler and suddenly that heat felt like the nicest thing in the world. Although it was the middle of summer in the Fire Nation, the cold ocean breezes that came through the Western Air Temple really cooled everything down once the sun set below the horizon. Toph shivered.

"So, now I know where to go when I'm feeling a bit cold during the night."

Zuko snatched his hand back, sitting up in horror at the idea of her coming in to share a bed with him. "What? No! I've seen the way you sprawl out across the floor of your room. My bed's hardly big enough for one, let alone you."

"Aww, come on. You want to make up for burning my feet don't you?"

Zuko stood up and Toph had to fight to keep from smirking. "You're the one that couldn't defend herself properly against my attack."

Toph cracked each of her knuckles with a huge grin on her face. "What was that? You want me to bury you up to your neck?"

Toph readied herself to show him a few things, but a sound from inside the temple alerted the two to another presence. Zuko crouched into a firebending stance and Toph placed hands and feet on the ground to find out who it was, attempting to look casual about it.

"What are you kids still doing awake?"

Zuko relaxed when he realized it was just Hakoda walking towards them with a look of parental disapproval. With arms crossed over his chest and one raised eyebrow Hakoda regarded the two critically before settling his gaze on Zuko.

"Well?" he asked expectantly at their silence.

Zuko began fumbling for an answer under the older man's gaze, but Toph was thankfully ready with a reply.

"We couldn't sleep so we were just having some tea together."

Hakoda turned his gaze towards Toph, and Zuko finally felt the thoughts in his head start to make sense again. "Sorry, Chief Hakoda, I needed to clear my head and Toph came out to join me."

Hakoda sighed, "I can understand you've had a big day, young man, but keeping up the younger kids," he continued though Toph's protest that she wasn't a kid, "is not very good behavior."

Zuko looked away in shame, wondering if he would ever be able to gain an adult's approval. Without looking at either Toph or Hakoda, he cleaned up the teacups and threw any leftover tea onto the fire before putting it out completely with his firebending. Turning to Hakoda, but not looking the man in the eyes, he bowed at the waist.

"My apologies, it won't happen again, sir." Keeping his eyes on the temple in front of him Zuko walked away towards his room, not wanting to look back.

"Hey, wait a sec," called Toph, and Zuko forced himself to stay where he was. "Hotman, my feet are still a bit tender. Could you carry me to my room?"

Zuko attempted to push away the guilt of burning her feet by reminding himself that she had been fine earlier in the day. Forgetting Hakoda's rebuke for a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes at her, and Toph, seeming to sense it, sent him a cheeky grin. He was tempted to call her out on it, but the long fight that might ensue for such a comparatively short journey hardly seemed worth the effort.

Finally, he sighed in resignation, walked back towards her and pointedly ignored the man watching him like a falcon-hawk. "Just don't call me Hotman."

Toph whooped and jumped up onto his back. Zuko barely managed to catch her and shifted his arms under her legs, bouncing her up higher so that she could easily wrap her arms around his neck.

"You know, having someone carry me around sounds like a fun idea, but not being able to see is a bit of a pain," Toph observed, puffing stray hairs away from her face.

"I can always set you down," Zuko offered, loosening his grip on her legs.

In response, Toph tightened her grip around Zuko's neck and he made a strangled noise before pulling her higher up his back again. "Okay, I get it," he choked out.

Zuko just about caught Toph's smirk out of the corner of his eye and he sighed, accepting his fate. Not that he minded as much as he was letting on (something Toph probably realized). It was nice being appreciated for who he was, rather than someone he had to pretend to be. He attempted to ignore the pang in his chest once again at the thought of Uncle.

Sensing Toph's impatience (which was made even clearer by a short kick to his side), he walked off towards their sleeping quarters, shushing Toph every-so-often when her giggles would become too loud.

"I guess now I know where Katara gets her mothering from."

Zuko shifted his head slightly to show he had heard, but made no noise of indication. He set her down just inside her room and bid her a quick good night before walking to his own bed.

The next morning Zuko's eyes cracked open to see the sunlight already streaming into his room. After a second of processing, Zuko sat bolt upright, realizing he had completely overslept due to staying up so late. Throwing on his clothes, Zuko almost tripped over himself leaving his room and rushing outside. Putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the Sun, he took a look around the courtyard to see that only Chit Sang was sitting there looking a little bored.

Glancing around and wondering if Katara was about to attack him with a torrent of water, Zuko walked wearily over to the older firebender. "So, where is everyone?"

Chit Sang took one look at him and turned back to look at the water fountain in disinterest. "The others are all still asleep. How they can all get up so late is beyond me."

Zuko cringed slightly, knowing that he was part of that group that was still asleep only a few moments before. Zuko frowned, puzzled, as he turned back towards the inner temple where the others were possibly still sleeping. While he could understand if Hakoda and Toph were still asleep after how late they had stayed up, he was a bit surprised about Aang, considering the young Avatar was now a firebender and had gone to bed at a decent hour.

Zuko walked through the corridors, the sound of boots hitting the floor echoing up and along the walls with faded pictures of sky bison. Finally coming to stand in front of Aang's door, Zuko gave a firm knock and called Aang's name before walking in. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the darkness and eventually saw Aang lying tangled up in his thin blankets.

Cautiously, Zuko walked over and gently shook the younger boy's shoulder. Rather than giving the explosive response that Zuko was dreading, Aang merely turned over with a mumble and a feeble push with his hand in Zuko's direction. Zuko raised his eyebrow, unimpressed and slightly amused, but ultimately he needed Aang to wake up.

"Aang, we've got firebending practice."

Again rather than shooting up out of bed, Aang mumbled something incoherent in response, but turned over and seemed to finally focus on Zuko. "Oh, hey Zuko." His eyes closed again.

Worried, Zuko felt his forehead and was not too surprised to find that Aang was burning up, even by the standards of firebenders. Zuko frowned and stood up. "You're sick. I'm going to get Katara."

"No, wait!" Zuko looked down in surprise at the desperate, pale hands that grasped his wrist. "I'm up! Besides, I have to learn firebending before the end of the summer! We can just work on the basics or something, please?"

Some of the color seemed to be returning to Aang's cheeks already and Zuko bit his lip, realizing he had already relented. Letting out a sigh, he stopped pulling and Aang let go of him, "Fine, but I say what we're working on and when we stop. Got it?"

"Yep!" Aang grinned brightly.

Zuko started them off on mediation with a flame in front and while Aang shut his eyes to concentrate, Zuko kept his open to monitor the younger boy's condition. They sat in the courtyard where the sunlight was just finding its way in, casting long shadows with the columns. A few minutes in and already a sheen of sweat was forming on Aang. Zuko had had enough.

"Alright, I think that's enough."

"Huh?" Aang's less than coherent response did little to ease Zuko's anxiety. "But we haven't even gone over the basics yet. Please Zuko; I need to master firebending before the comet!"

Aang descended into a coughing fit at the end, strengthening Zuko's resolve. He placed a firm hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Aang, I know you have a lot to learn, but we can do much more once you're better."

Aang looked away, ashamed. "But what if I can't learn everything in time?"

"You don't have to fight him alone. Katara, Sokka, Toph and I will help you as much as we can."

Aang looked at Zuko, who removed his hand. "You'd fight your own father?"

Zuko glanced away for a moment at a distant memory, but when his eyes returned to Aang they were resolute. "I've done it before, but this time I know what he's doing is wrong."

"When did you fight?"

Zuko could not help it when he turned the left side of his face away from Aang's sight. Even now, the memory was still painful. Though it no longer brought the shame that it used to – Zuko knew he had been in the right – a small part of him still wanted his father's approval without the cost of the World.

"Come on." Zuko held out a hand to pull him up, which Aang accepted, seemingly forgetting his question – much to Zuko's relief. "Let's go find Katara and get you training again."

Despite their slow pace, it was not much longer before Aang and Zuko arrived back at the plaza with the still damaged fountain at the center. They had been gone for some time so Zuko was surprised to see that apart from Chit Sang, who was lounging in the sunlight, no one else seemed to be awake yet.

"Chit Sang, have you seen Katara?" Zuko asked as he set Aang down on the rim of the ruined water fountain.

The ex-convict turned lazily to look at Zuko and shook his head. "Sorry I haven't seen any of them yet."

Zuko frowned, wondering where everyone could be considering the sun was relatively high in the sky and few people trusted him alone with Aang. Glancing down at Aang, who still had a sheen of sweat around him despite the low-level training, he made a quick decision.

"Aang, you stay here and cool off, while I find out where the others are." He glanced at Chit Sang, debating whether it was wise to leave Aang alone with him.

Aang seemed to understand Zuko's concern and tapped him on the shoulder before sending him a reassuring grin. The suspicion left Zuko for the time and he stood up from his crouching position.

"Chit Sang, do you mind keeping an eye on Aang?"

Chit Sang made no verbal response, but made an 'OK' symbol with his hand. Zuko sent one more worried look at Aang, who shrugged. Sighing, he walked into the temple to find the others.

It took some time for Zuko's eyes to adjust to the dark inside of the Air Temple even with the flame he formed in his palm. It was easy to get lost in the temple, with staircases that suddenly opened up to nothing and rooms that could only be explored by airbenders or people with climbing gear.

A crash alerted Zuko to something up ahead and he ran into one of the great halls to see Haru and Toph practicing their earthbending. The next thing he knew, Zuko was dodging a particularly large rock aimed straight for his head. Scowling in the direction of the projectile, he saw Toph grinning as she smashed the rocks Haru was shooting at her.

"Sorry there, Princess. I didn't see you."

Zuko did not know whether to be angrier at his new nickname or her sight joke. Out of the corner of his right eye, Zuko saw The Duke sitting on a rock watching him with Momo on his lap, which was a little unnerving when neither blinked. Momo suddenly hopped off The Duke's lap and swooped over to Zuko's shoulder, curling himself around the back of the firebender's neck for warmth.

Zuko attempted to ignore the creature and focus on his mission. "Toph, have you seen Katara?"

"Sorry, I don't think I've seen her."

Zuko slapped himself in the forehead for his stupidity, causing Momo to cling to his shirt tightly, and Zuko reworded the question. "Do you know where Katara is?"

"I don't think she's been up yet," piped a small voice to his right.

Zuko turned to see The Duke rub some snot away from his nose and turn to look at Haru for confirmation. The earthbender stopped throwing rocks and looked from The Duke to Zuko.

"Yeah, come to think of it she's normally up by now. Do you think she's… ooph!" Haru was cut off from asking any more questions when a small bolder smacked into his side.

"You snooze, you lose, Moustache Boy."

Zuko backed away slowly, almost forgetting to add the quick 'thank you' as he left. Momo jumped off and glided ahead towards the others' rooms while Zuko followed at a slower pace behind. As they approached the Water Tribe siblings' rooms, Zuko was surprised to hear fierce arguing, interrupted by the occasional choking cough. Using his skills as the Blue Spirit, Zuko pushed himself close to the wall and crept up to the door. Momo seemed to sense his desire to remain unseen and hopped back up on Zuko's shoulder, letting out a low inquisitive trill.

"How do we know he didn't just take you there to get us all sick? With everyone weakened it would be easy for the Fire Nation to attack us."

Zuko's heart sunk and unconsciously he found himself pressed to the wall behind the door so as not to be seen, listening into their conversation with a sickening feeling.

"Come on, Katara," her brother protested, "don't you think Zuko would have just handed us over to his sister at the Boiling Rock and told her where to find you if he was going to turn us in?"

"Why are you suddenly taking his side?" Katara cried out, but was quickly shushed by her father and a wracking cough.

"Katara, you need to calm down. It's not helping your fever."

It was just then that Momo decided he was bored hiding with Zuko and let out a friendly trill, swooping off Zuko's shoulder towards the room. Zuko tried to make a grab for the flying lemur, but missed, allowing Momo to land inside and blowing his cover. Realizing he would need to reveal himself, Zuko took in a breath for courage and stepped into the room, keeping his gaze more towards Sokka and Suki, who was sitting just behind the Water Tribe boy, than a furious-looking Katara sitting on her bed out of the corner of his eye, glaring darkly at him. A tense silence followed as everyone tried to think of something to say.

"Uh… hi," Zuko said, giving an awkward wave while Momo swooped back onto his shoulder, seemingly unaware of the tense atmosphere he had just instigated.

"Hey, Zuko," Sokka finally greeted with a too-wide grin on his face, trying to be as friendly as possible considering the tension leaking through the room. "Shouldn't you and Aang be practicing jerkbending?"

"Aang's not feeling well," Zuko responded, shoulders hunching over, ready for the onslaught he was about to receive from Katara.

"I think we may be dealing with the Soldier's Sickness," Hakoda supplied, while his son started another coughing fit.

Zuko frowned, looking towards Hakoda. "I've never heard of that before."

"Probably not," Hakoda agreed, "since it's referred to by another name in the Fire Nation. The illness got its name in the Earth Kingdom due to villages getting breakouts after Fire Nation soldiers went through."

"Fire Fever," Zuko almost whispered in worry.

Hakoda nodded, recognizing the name. "I lost a few of my men to it when we first hit one of the colonial towns that was in the middle of an outbreak at the time. We only survived because an Earth Kingdom traveler came upon us and noticed the symptoms."

Katara and Sokka's eyes widened and Zuko's expression became thoughtful. "It's still very common in the Fire Nation too. Azula and I got it during an outbreak when we were kids. Every town that has a herbalist or a doctor that keeps around the treatment for Fire Fever."

"Great, then we can just fly to the Fire Nation and get a cure," concluded Suki in apparent relief.

"Yes, but it is probably best if the sick stay here and we only send a few who have already come in contact with the disease. The last thing we need is to be starting another outbreak and drawing attention to ourselves," Hakoda interjected.

"So who's going to go?" Suki glanced between Zuko and the others.

"What I don't get is that if this disease is so common why have Aang, Sokka and I been able to avoid it for the better part of the year?" Katara asked with a frown.

"Fire Fever breaks out at random times and villages tend to close themselves to outsiders to prevent its spread," Zuko replied, looking at each face around the circle as he spoke, "so if you didn't stay in a village very long then it's unlikely you would have ever come across it."

"Also," added Hakoda, "it tends to become a problem mostly in the summer, which is also when the Fire Nation advances the most."

"Longer days," explained Zuko.

"All right." Hakoda stood and looked at Sokka and Katara. "Sokka, Katara you two stay in here. I'll have Chit Sang bring Aang in while the rest of us figure out the best solution." He motioned for Suki and Zuko to follow him before walking out.

Zuko gave one last look towards Sokka and Katara, sharing a concerned glance with Suki before the two followed behind Hakoda, their shoes echoing down the long corridors. Zuko felt the light weight leave his shoulder as Momo, having played his part, once again swooped away.

"Our best chance is going to the Fire Nation," concluded Zuko; standing up in front of the remaining members of 'Team Avatar' – Hakoda, Chit Sang, Suki, Toph, Haru and The Duke; Teo had also caught the illness.

"What about the colonies?" Suki asked. "Wouldn't it be safer to go somewhere potentially friendly?"

"The Fire Nation doesn't have reliable supplies out there," Haru interjected, arms folded over his chest. "The cure is grown in the Fire Nation and since the invasion I would be surprised if supply lines are running as usual."

"The Fire Nation could also withhold it from an area they think is plotting against them. So we might have to travel to several villages, which would increase our chances of being caught by Fire Nation patrols. My… the Fire Lord," Zuko quickly corrected, feeling slightly awkward mentioning his father, "is unlikely to distribute wanted posters for anyone from the invasion except Aang, so no one should be looking for our faces."

Toph suddenly looked a bit sheepish, "Yeah, so I might have scammed a Fire Nation town or two. Mind if we stay away from them?"

"We should probably stay away from any towns you kids have visited," agreed Hakoda.

"Well, doesn't that bring us to the question of who should go?" Suki asked, looking around the group from her seat on the edge of the ruined water fountain.

"Someone from the Fire Nation should," Hakoda reasoned, looking from Zuko, who nodded with a determined expression, to Chit Sang, who was once again lying in the sun and only half listening to the conversation. "They'll be much more natural with Fire Nation customs and can draw attention away from the rest of the group."

At this Chit Sang swiveled around into a sitting position. "I don't wanna put a damper on your planning, but I'm not going near the Fire Nation again until I know I'm not gonna be put straight back into The Boiling Rock or worse."

"That's fine. I'll go."

Zuko felt the weight of the group as all their eyes focused on him, some confused, some concerned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Suki, worry clear in her voice.

"I'm in too," Toph volunteered, raising a hand. "We'll keep our heads down and I can tell if people are keeping things from us."

Hakoda sighed, "I should probably come too. You kids will need an adult with you."

"Don't worry about it, Pops." Toph shrugged off his concern. "We travelled through the Fire Nation and no one raised so much as an eyebrow over four kids travelling alone."

"There's a lot of movement between the home islands and the colonies. No one will think anything of it if we say we're part of a group visiting family," Zuko assured before Hakoda could worry any more. "Besides, I'm sure Sokka and Katara want to spend time with you."

"I'd like to stay and help too if you two don't mind?" interjected Suki.

"I'll go with them, then," Haru relented, uncrossing his arms. "Three is probably a good number since I'm assuming we're taking Appa. I can stay with him while you two get the medicine."

A tentative smile made its way across Zuko's face and Toph grinned. "All right! What're we waiting for?"

"Let's check with Sokka that you're not planning to get supplies from somewhere that will recognize you." Hakoda said with amusement.

Toph stuck out her tongue as Zuko laughed with the others.