ZUTARA WEEK 2014, Day 4: COBALT BLUE
Leaving a Trail
DISCLAIMER: Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra belong to Bryke, but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians. I write in the context where neither Kataang nor Maiko happened.
NOTE: At first this prompt left me stumped but after a while, I came up with two ideas for it. So here is my second take on it and it is not related to the first one. But I really like this idea so I decided to write it too.
This is set in Book 2 when everyone is in Ba Sing Se and it's mostly from Zuko's point of view and starts out not that shippy but just read on and you will see what I've done with it. Hope you like this little story!
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Every now and then, Zuko could be a really thoughtful nephew.
He didn't make a show of it but he knew how to make his uncle smile. The latter was quite content with his life these days now that they had a small teahouse in Ba Sing Se, which was doing really well. Zuko himself had recently recovered from a deep illness and he found his outlook in life considerably brightened. Starting a new life in the city no longer seemed like a forlorn prospect. He was also keenly aware of all his uncle had done for him and wanted to show his gratitude every opportunity he got.
Zuko was well enough acquainted with Iroh to know what would make the old man happy and then the young man would go out of his way to get it. More often than not it was a rare blend of tea or an exotic herb that would enhance the flavor of tea or some other tea-related item. But occasionally, and to Zuko's relief, Iroh would yearn for something that was not associated with his favorite hot beverage.
One such occasion found the young firebender walking proudly home with a small sack of blue powder. It had taken some time scouring the market stalls of the Lower Ring of the city and even more time haggling with the merchant but he had eventually succeeded in acquiring the sack of powder, which would be used as pigment for some of Iroh's porcelain creations.
Creative soul that he was, the old firebender had recently taken up pottery and was satisfied with his little achievements, a series of small porcelain jars. He even envisioned making his own teapots once he was sufficiently skilled. But something seemed missing and he had remarked to his nephew one day how he wished he had a certain pigment, known as cobalt blue, to be able to decorate his porcelain handiworks. He had mentioned it in passing but Zuko had taken note of this and immediately resolved to procure this blue pigment to give the old man some joy.
Iroh's reaction to his nephew's unexpected present was so warm that it immediately erased any inconvenience the search had caused Zuko. It had all been worth it and Iroh's appreciation was expressed in a tight embrace.
"Uncle, you're crushing me," the young firebender teased and the old man finally let him go.
"I'm so excited!" cried Iroh, "I will finally be able to make masterpieces out of my porcelain and it's all thanks to you."
"Really, Uncle, don't mention it," Zuko said abashedly, "It was no trouble."
"I'm sure you're downplaying your effort," Iroh remarked knowingly, holding up the sack of blue powder, "but I am very, very grateful. But Zuko, what's that?"
Zuko looked where his uncle was pointing and saw with dismay that there had been a small hole in the bag and some of the powder had leaked, leaving a trail of blue from the teahouse to some other part of the city. In his haste to get home, he had not noticed the spillage.
"Oh no!" Zuko cried out in exasperation but before he could throw a fit of rage, his uncle calmed him down by putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," Iroh reassured him, "it doesn't look like you lost much. There's still more than enough for me to work with here."
"I'll clean it up immediately," Zuko offered but Iroh shook his head.
"Leave it, there's no harm done," Iroh said cheerfully, "and besides, you never know, it might lead someone special to our teahouse."
And at that very moment, in some other part of the walled city, a mysterious trail of blue powder caught the eye of a visiting waterbender.