where i come from is where i come from, g. zuko. it is a journey, and you have so many maps but you are still lost.
it is a journey.
you have so many maps but none of them can tell you where to go. you spread them all out in front of you, east and west stretching on forever. the ocean is quite vast as you sail across the sea with your ships behind you.
home feels very far away.
there are still bandages wrapped around your head — you are very afraid to take them off and see what damage has been done.
azula was born lucky; you were lucky to be born. you know it and she —
azula knows it well. she knows it in the curve of a flame, in her father's smile, in upturned lips. she knows a lot of things, your sister. more than you know, probably.
but you're not stupid.
you're trying harder than you've tried to do anything in your whole life. even harder than when you tried to impress your grandfather, the fire lord, with your new bending. even harder than when you tried to run faster than azula to get to uncle iroh on one of his rare visits home.
you have the best of the worst from the fire nation, the people your father, the fire lord, could spare. they are good men and they try, too, even though they say it's a wild goose chase.
you want to find the avatar. you want to restore your honor. you want to go home.
it's just hard, sometimes, with so many maps.