Ba Sing Se
"Good morning Prince Zuko!" Iroh exclaimed animatedly. Said prince had apparently just rolled out of bed, evidenced by the ruffled and pointy mess that was his hair and his eyes still half closed and crusted from sleep. Zuko merely grunted a greeting and plumped down on the small futon in the smaller living room of their newly acquired apartment in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. "Come Zuko, today is a new day! We start our new jobs at the tea shop, and who knows, maybe someone will meet a pretty lady friend!" Iroh cooed with a not-so-subtle wink in the prince's direction. Zuko gave his uncle a deadpanned look, choosing not to reply, before rising from the couch lithely and moving towards the door to the bathing room.
"I'll be ready in fifteen, Uncle." He said with a backwards glance before closing the door behind him. Iroh sighed and returned to his brew of hot Ginseng in the little kitchen, shaking his head mournfully and hoping that someday, his nephew would find something other than hunting the avatar and fulfilling his father's destiny to motivate him to wake up with a purpose in the morning. Since travelling again with his nephew, Iroh has noticed a new side to Zuko. No more is he the angry, passionate, yelling young man he used to be. He's still angry, but it's a much quieter, more melancholy version of Zuko that has Iroh so worried. Just what was it that put his nephew in this sad state of mind? Was giving up the search for the Avatar and becoming fugitives of the Fire Nation going to be the undoing of his nephew?
One week later
"Uncle! Two Ginseng, one Jasmine!" Zuko barked into the kitchen in the back of the tea shop where his uncle was diligently brewing as fast as he could. The tea shop they worked at had a remarkable influx of new customers who longed to taste the tea brewed by the Tea Master himself, Mushi. The older man was extraordinarily pleased to become, literally, a hot commodity in the Lower Ring. His nephew, on the other hand, was much less enthusiastic. Grunting irritably at the full platter of tea cups and kettles, the young man moved about the shop, depositing his load to the various tables. Finally, as the sun began to set, the steady traffic developed into a lingering bit of customers who chatted animatedly and sighed happily at their tea. Zuko slumped against the counter-top and folded his arms across his broad chest.
He soon found himself not unwanted company in Iroh, who came out of the kitchen beaming ear to ear at his customers. He settled himself next to Zuko and leaned against the counter in amicable silence. Zuko felt his eyes drift close as he began to quietly meditate; that is, until he felt his uncle go rigid at his side. Zuko looked at Iroh, and noticed he seemed to be distracted by something towards the door of the tea shop. Following his uncle's gaze, he caught sight of a girl, perhaps no older than 15 or 16 – though it was hard to tell due to how thin she was – gracefully walk up to the counter. That was the first thing that caught and held Zuko's attention; her grace. She walked with cat-like litheness and a superior purpose in her set shoulders. Zuko immediately tensed and slightly shifted his position so if she were to attack, he would be able to defend his uncle.
Her eyes followed his movements precisely, smirking slightly at his new guarded position.
"Well hello there! Welcome to the Hot Kettle Tea Shop!" Iroh moved around Zuko to greet the new customer jovially. Her eyes shifted from Zuko to Iroh and her smirk lifted in to a genuine smile.
"Good afternoon, sir." She replied with a voice that was soft, but powerful. Zuko took these few seconds to study this new girl. She was tall, taller than his uncle but still about six inches smaller than himself; she had long arms and legs, accentuated by her thinness, which appeared to be from malnutrition rather than genetics, though she was still muscular, especially for a woman; her long hair was a startling gold color, something Zuko had never seen before; but it was her eyes, set in a pale, angular face that caught his attention. Her eyes were a misty blue-grey, but when they caught the light they flashed a cold yellow. Her eyes held vast knowledge; and they were as sharp as they were calculating. Zuko was knocked out of his reverie as she spoke again. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I've been living here for around a month and I've never seen this place so…lively. I came to see what all the commotion was about." She smiled genuinely at Iroh and shrugged her small shoulders delicately.
"Well, I am always happy to serve a young woman as beautiful as you, my dear. Please, have a seat anywhere you'd like. My nephew and I would be honored to serve you…?" He left the unspoken question hanging.
"Nina. My name is Nina." She smiled again and turned to a seat right at the counter.
"Excellent! Nina, such a strong name. Warrior, I believe it means, am I correct?" Iroh asked. Nina's eyebrows knitted together.
"Yes, I do believe that is the literal translation. Not many people know such an old language." Zuko wasn't sure, but he thought she might seem a bit weary. Nina, he knew, was a very old name. A Fire Nation name. He wondered if the girl's parents knew that.
"I count myself as one of the lucky few people privy to such knowledge of history and languages. I try to impart some of this on my nephew, don't I, Lee?" Iroh slapped Zuko's back lightly, making the younger man scowl before stomping back in to the kitchen, the mystery of the girl forgotten. Said girl's eyes followed his retreating figure with a contemplative look on her face.
"Don't mind my nephew, Nina. He's had a long week. He's still adjusting to life here in the city." Iroh said. Nina turned back to him and offered a small smile of understanding.
"I think we are all still adjusting, sir." She said sagely.
"Please, my dear, call me Mushi! Or Uncle Mushi if you prefer." Nina laughed lightly and ordered a cup of Iroh's favorite tea, which was Ginseng, of course. Iroh walked to the back kitchen to prepare his favorite brew and saw Zuko there, standing in the middle of the kitchen, arms crossed, brooding. When Iroh walked through the door, Zuko's eyes snapped up.
"Uncle! How could you talk to her like that? She's not some normal customer. She's got to be a spy, she knows who we are, she—"
"Lee!" His uncle interrupted, laughing. "Are you going to be distrustful of everyone that walks through the doors, or just the pretty ones?" He laughed again at his own joke before he started to bring the water for Nina's tea to a boil.
Zuko fumed. "Uncle, this is not a joke. You saw how she moved, you saw how she studied us. She's not normal. What about her hair? I've never seen that color before. She's probably out there right now, collecting evidence she's going to use to get us turned in to the Earth King, or worse, the Fire Nation." Zuko huffed and began pacing. Iroh sighed and caught his nephew by the shoulders, looking in to his eyes.
"Zuko. Enough. We are safe here. The chase for the Avatar is over! Not everyone has a motive to kill us! We have settled down, we have made a life! Finally, a life Zuko! You can be a normal teenager for once" at this, Zuko snorted in derision, "I'm serious. Its time for you to realise that life isn't about the hunt for the Avatar or your honor anymore. Its about you finding yourself, learning what this beautiful life of yours is really about. We are all put here for a reason, my nephew, and soon, I know you will learn what that truly means." Iroh gently patted Zuko's back. "Now, please go serve that poor child her tea, Nephew. And bring her some moon cakes, she looks half starved!"
Zuko grimaced but did as he was told. He prepared a platter for the mysterious girl, which consisted of her tea, the moon cakes (homemade by Iroh himself of course), and a small bowl of rice. He picked up his platter, took a deep breath, and plastered a somewhat pleasant expression on his face before he stepped through the swinging doors, immediately meeting the pale eyes of his... customer?