The longer Prince Zuko and General Iroh's ship sailed in search of their impossible prize, the longer the men on board were kept from returning home. Thus far, it had been two years since any of the men on board had seen their homeland. The steady rocking of their lonely, isolated ship as it sailed, set for destination after destination was punctuated only by the occasional landing. Whether that docking was for supplies or hunting for the Avatar (a wild goose chase, at this point), it did little for morale, and it only served to intensify loneliness and isolation to see so many places so far from home.
In the ship's pilothouse, Iroh sat at his Pai Sho table, across from Li as the two of them played their morning game. Wu looked on with fascination at their strategic playing as he enjoyed a cup of tea, the water in the teapot kept at a soothingly warm temperature thanks to Iroh's firebending. At the end of the room, Chang steered the ship, making sure to keep their course toward the South Pole.
"Well?" remarked Wu to Iroh, chuckling "Are you going to move or are you simply going to stare at the board?"
Iroh slid over the Rose tile before sitting back and proudly admiring the board.
"Trying your old strategy again?" chided Li. "There's only so many times that can work, you know."
"That's what you think," said Iroh, smiling smugly as his opponent began eyeing the board more closely.
Before he could make his move, however, he was interrupted by the creaky groaning of the metal door, revealing Prince Zuko in uniform, hair tied back neatly as always, face screaming impatience and posture reflecting anger and agitation. The door slammed shut behind him, shaking the room slightly as he began to approach the helmsman.
"We need to get to the South Pole as quickly as possible. We must be getting close to finding him," his tone hinted that he was more irritable than usual.
"Yes, Prince Zuko," replied the helmsman. "We will arrive within two weeks."
"Can't you sail this thing any faster?" the prince barked.
The helmsman warily shook his head as he attempted to avoid Prince Zuko's glare.
"Absolutely useless! This entire crew is utterly incompetent!" shouted the prince, slamming his fist down on the table before him. The tiles shifted as the force of his hand shook the board, and Iroh became visibly displeased by his nephew's temper.
"Please, Prince Zuko," said Iroh as he began to gently nudge his tiles back into place, "if you break the board we will have nowhere to play Pai Sho."
"This is more important than your stupid game, Uncle!" He was close to swatting the tiles completely off of the table.
"Relax, Prince Zuko. Perhaps you would like a cup of ginseng tea?"
"I don't need to relax!" the prince yelled, louder than before. "What I would like, Uncle, is to find the Avatar. Not to drink tea!" A steady stream of smoke trailed from his nostrils.
"And you!" the prince shouted at his steward, "Why are you just sitting here? Don't you have work to do?"
"Of course, Prince Zuko. I shall attend to my duties immediately." The steward began to stand as he spoke, nodding his head attentively toward his superior.
"No more idle time! All of you get back to work! Now!" With that, he turned around and left the room, the door groaning and creaking just as much as it had when he entered, though the slam and subsequent shudder of the room were somewhat more intense.
Rather than exiting the room behind Prince Zuko, Li carefully sat back down on the floor, ready to continue their game. He delicately picked up and placed the Jasmine tile. "The prince seems somewhat on edge today."
"You imply that's different from any other day," laughed Wu as he sipped at his tea.
Sliding the Lotus tile forward, Iroh spoke, "My nephew has a lot on his mind. Perhaps he grows tired of sailing these foreign waters."
"We all grow tired," interjected Chang as he stared out absentmindedly at the vast, blue ocean, its waves crashing rhythmically against the sides of the ship as the vessel rocked gently back and forth. "I miss my family."
The room grew silent as all of the men tacitly agreed with the sentiment.
For a few moments, all that could be heard was the sound of the ocean and the quiet clicking of tiles on the Pai Sho board as all the men contemplated the lives they had left behind in the Fire Nation. The rest of the crew, as well, must have had similar thoughts during their time away from home. Some of the crew were younger men with promising futures. Others were older, with wives and children, who thirsted for an excuse to exercise skills left unused for years. Some simply wanted to put their work into what they believed to be a good cause. All, however, were fiercely loyal to General Iroh.
So why were they allowing his brat of a nephew to order them around like dogs?
The silence was broken suddenly by the sound of Wu pouring more tea into his cup.
"It certainly isn't made any easier by the prince's temper," stated Li, as he snapped back to reality along with the rest of them.
"Yes," replied Iroh. "He certainly can be hot-headed. He means no harm by it. I am sure that you can understand he is simply growing impatient."
"Aren't we all?" Wu asked, sipping at his tea.
"I mostly grow impatient with him," said Li, placing his tile down more forcefully than before.
Iroh spoke slowly, "You know what he has been through and what is at stake. I would not wish such a shame upon anyone."
"Clearly he has not yet learned humility, though he bears his mark to the world," Li retorted. Wu and Chang chuckled in response.
Iroh simply slid his next tile as he frowned deeply.