Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose, tossing the empty inkwell onto his papers. A drop spills on an Earth Kingdom commerce agreement, and he waves it around lazily, causing the black ink to just ooze down the paper. Great.
"SIT, FLUFFY!"
The door to his study flies open, and with a blur Zuko's tired mind can't keep up with, Kozo comes streaming in.
"Daddy!" the little boy screams, hand held fast to a gold object.
Zuko stands with a quiet groan, walking around the old oak desk to aid his son.
"Kozo, what did you-"
Kozo's hand is curled tightly around a rope. Not a rope - a curtain pull. The servants won't be happy about that. On the other end of the rope is a turtle-duck, shell wiggling in discomfort, squawking loudly in protest, struggling to get away from the child.
"Let the turtle duck go," Zuko sighs, prying the leash from his son and slipping it off of the turtle duck. The animal steps menacingly toward Kozo, then flaps its wings, making a bee-line for the door.
"What did I tell you about bothering the turtle ducks?"
"You should've seen it, daddy, I jumped in the pond and - PSHOOSH!" His arms fly up, and he falls over theatrically. "And then I ran and climbed up on the tree like-" with a huff of determination, Kozo leaps up on the Fire Lord's desk, stomping in circles for good measure.
"Get off-"
"YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN IT, DADDY!"
Zuko scoops the writhing child up, propping him on his forearm.
"Where's your mother?"
His tiny nose wrinkles. "She's feeding Ursa. Why can't she feed herself?"
"She's 4 months old, bud. She can't eat by herself."
"Why not? Why does mommy feed her and not a servant?"
Zuko's face begins to flame, and had he a free hand, he no doubt would've been pinching his nose again. I need to knock that habit.
"Because⦠of reasons, Kozo."
"What reasons, Daddy?" his wide, golden eyes look up at Zuko innocently, legs swinging.
"Mommy has special food."
"What kind of special food?"
"Food that only she has," he insists, eyes searching for a scapegoat.
"Why is Mommy the only one with the food?"
"Because her name is Mai. And only people named Mai have this food."
"Really? So Mommy has special food superpowers?" his eyes light up, squirming in excitement.
"Sure," he agrees, happy to finally be sating the boy's curiosity. He's not as energetic either. Thank Agni-
"Uncle Iroh taught me a new move, watch!" he yells, leaping to the ground and landing with a pronounced thump. With a roar, a tiny blast of fire jets from his mouth, fizzling out a foot away from him.
"Looks great," Zuko praises, smiling kindly.
"VICTORY DANCE!" Kozo yells, arms waving akimbo, feet flying as he spins and turns across the room. He crashes into the wall, and his butt hits the floor as he rubs his head, disappointed.
"Hey, let's hold off on the victory dances, okay?" Zuko says patiently, happy his son is at least not moving for once. He picks him up a second time, and Kozo squirms away at the sound of voices.
Mai traipses into the room, Ursa nestled into her arms, her normally carefully arranged robes disheveled at the top.
"Thank Agni you're here," Zuko thanks, putting down Kozo to hold Ursa.
Her eyes lazily drift open, a gold even more vibrant than her older brother's, and she gurgles happily, waving her chubby arms toward Zuko. He holds out his finger, and she grabs on, hand barely wrapping around his pinky. Zuko smiles at the sight, and looks up at one of Mai's sighs.
Kozo is securely attached to her skirts, and she's smoothing out his hair.
"Daddy told me you have special food powers!"
A single eyebrow rises.
"Oh?"
"Yeah! He says you have special food that you feed to Ursa! Can I have some special food?"
Her slight, amused smile is hard to discern, but his heart lifts as it appears.
