The winds were blowing at Zuko's wild mane more fiercely than that of the ostrichhorse's which he now rode upon. His robes blew in a flurry, as he gusted down the top of a narrow valley. In one hand he grasped the reins; in the other a taught role of parchment delivered by the very messenger hawk that still perched gallantly on the young lord's shoulder.

It had been a vacantly plain letter- consisting of barely two sentences, the ink half stained by what could only be suspected as tea. It had been from Iroh, stating simply:

"Come see me Zuko. I need your help."

The prince thought back to it's arrival… and of all the dark details it might entail…

After all the mistakes he had made- there was no way he was going to miss out on a change to repay his uncle's kindness!

"I'm coming uncle!…"

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Owww- Uncle!- UNCLE!!-"

Came a small cry from the newly crowned Fire Lord's bedchambers; the attendants rushed to see the disturbance; but stopped midway when they heard the voice erupt into boyish laughter.

Zuko's eyes squinted with pain and jubilation as he rolled over, admitting defeat. Mai chuckled atop of him, releasing the arm she had been wrestling.

"Told you I could make you call out his name." Mai covered her mouth with a light titter; her vague expressionless voice, somehow alive with affection.

"Heyy now- that's not fair, you said that was the rules of the game-" He argued, sitting up and fixing his partly dismantled robes.

"Admit it, you miss the old fuddyduddy." She shrugged, moving to fix the drapes by the window.

"You stare at his picture and sigh so much I'm beginning to feel like a third wheel here," she joked, though still sounding humorless.

"It's just…" He gazed downcast, fiddling with his thumbs. "I was traveling with him for so long, and even though he's forgiven me; I still thought I might have seen him more…" His light whisper started to take a dramatic turn in growing volume, "I wonder how his tea shop went; what if he never got it back? What if it got VANDALAIZED when he was in PRISON and I made him Loose it? OR WHAT IF the villagers ATTACKED him for being FIRENA-"

"Shh-Shhh-Shhh-" Mai sighed, rolling her eyes and lightly tapping his lip with her finger- a secret code they worked on to control his temperament.

He sighed deeply, burying his head in his hands

"But I can't leave… what if…"

"If WHAT? Your father Ozai or Azula manage to break through the impenetrable guard they are both put under?" Mai snapped.

"Your city is not going to FALL if you are out for ONE day."

Zuko looked apprehensive. He had made a lot of progress in bonding with Mai. After the fall with Ozai the two had made up; without the old inner demons that had plagued him when he first returned to Fire country, their relationship had hit off to a much better start. Mai was certainly independent but it took a lot for her to speak her mind- so when she did, Zuko had BETTER listen.

"My father's a warden. I think it's obvious I can take care of myself. You big baby." Mai teased with her gentle rough throated whispers; pulling a knife from beneath her sleeve to demonstrate. The smooth silver licked gently at the prince's throat.

Zuko grinned, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's waist.

"Your beautiful when you threaten my life-"

"FORGIVE THE INTRUSION SIR!" A group of soldier's marched into the room, their gravely voices somehow harmonizing in unison as they saluted.

"It's a messenger hawk for you sir- it looks like its from your uncle!"

Mai grinned appropriately.

"Well. There you go. Now you HAVE to see him."

OOC: This was an experiment I began as a small audition for a roleplaying community; but I had so much fun writing as all of their charactrer's I quickly progressed into writing a story of my own. It still needs some finetuning, but I'm focusing most on keeping people in character and being able to hear their voices through the dialogue. Any critique is appreciated ^^ I hope you all enjoy