The sun seemed lazy today, Zuko observed. Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was the winter solstice, and was the shortest day of the year, or the fact that might have been a psychological effect because it was the anniversary of his father's death.

Or, he mused wryly as a rather uncomforting squelch came from his innards, it could be that damned shopkeeper's stew coming back to haunt him.

He had already been working quite a while by the time the sun decided to show its face over the horizon, peeking over the mountains like a nervous child waiting to be punished by its parents. Sweat had gathered across his brow, his hair tied back in a low ponytail in a lame attempt to keep his wild shaggy locks out of his face, and his "favorite shirt" hanging loosely about his shoulders in tatters, he was less than an image of a dashing prince that many a creepy girl seemed to drool over.

He sighed, and shoved the useless thoughts of the antagonists in his life aside, focusing on the ultra-important task at hand:

Chopping wood for his landlord…

True, it was satisfying work, he scoffed… Here at this inn in the middle of nowhere. The landlord of the area, the self-appointed "mayor" of the town, was rather stupid in certain affairs; however he paid well, and didn't expect either himself or his uncle to clean any of the rooms other than their own.

That was definitely a good thing…he HATED to clean up, whether it was after himself or after someone else. It was something he loathed to do, and most likely had something to do with his royal blood, his uncle had often pointed out. "Princes hate to clean their rooms," he'd say with a hearty laugh.

At such times, Zuko would just indignantly burn the garbage (when no one was looking) and blow the ashes out of the window. (When Iroh questioned his methods, he merely said "fire bending practice," which it was to an extent: it took a lot of control to be able to burn just what he wanted, and leave the walls, sheets, and other items completely untouched by the flames.) It was on orthodox, but it was a 30 second job instead of the usual hour or so that it took.

Terron, their squat and big-hearted landlord, knew of their heritage from the fire nation, however wisely chose not to speak of it. Provided they didn't use their fire bending in public, it was perfectly okay for them to stay and work for him as long as they so wished. Iroh and Terron had become fast friends, and the both of them often had long talks by the earthly fireplace, sharing stories that never seemed to get old. Terron even knew their real names. But since their names seemed to pare in comparison to the names of "Azula" and "Ozai," there was no real concern for them to need to use their fake names, and for that Zuko was grateful.

However, those weren't the only reasons for Terron's want for them to stay. For one thing, Iroh's tea was even more of a hit here than it was in Bah Sing Se, and actually attracted travelers to the point that they made detours just so that they could stay at the inn and have some of his uncle's famous tea. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Zuko was starting to get an acquired taste for the tea.

But no, the REAL reason behind their welcome stay was Terron's daughter: Geeva.

Of all the names, "Geeva" had to be chosen, which literally meant (in the ancient fire texts) "donkey's bride."

Yeah…a real inspiration for him to get married to her, as Terron obviously hoped.

It wasn't that this girl was all that bad…No, that was a blatant lie: she was devil spawn. Selfish, a cruddy sense of humor, and poor manners, among other things, deterred the already non-existent chance of him ever being attracted to her.

She had the same squat figure that her father possessed, and boasted extreme strength when in reality she was just a round butterball. And although he realized that she could do nothing about her height, her overindulgence at the table was enough to leave one scarred for the rest of their life: he had never seen that much liquid squirt out of a woman's nose while they laughed.

Ugh…that laugh…he involuntarily shuddered. It sounded like a sound cross between a dying woodpecker, a platypus bear, and some other dying duck all in one that made his ears (and often times eyes) twitch whenever he was unfortunate enough to have the sound rape his ear. That "Kyuk kyuk kyuk" was just something else…

If this woman ever had a husband, (which would never be him, thanks to Iroh allowing him free choice of the woman he married,) he would have to be Buddha or some other deity capable of keeping up with her insanity…

The wood before him split unevenly, and he cursed his lack of concentration, as the end of his axe sizzled slightly and slight chars were visible within the grain of the wood. He let loose a heavy sigh, before picking up an armful of wood turning back towards the inn.

The trees were fresh, and the cold morning frost still clung stubbornly to the pine tree bark around him. It was days like this that he could really think, had he the right mind for it. Today, though, he felt that something big was going to happen. Bad or good, he couldn't tell, but something big.

He rounded a bend in the path of trees, and Terron's Inn (as it was literally called) rose from the shadows and into the vision of his golden eyes. While a palace might have received a fanfare of trumpets and brass, Terron's Inn would receive a melancholy chord of strings. It wasn't a bad place on the inside, however the outside looked like any other woodland inn: a roof carved of tree logs with a base formed from, predictably, earth bending.

The inside wasn't anything spectacular as it was by itself, however Iroh's tea brought a wonderful atmosphere to the place. It felt almost like a home. It wasn't just a logged building, but a place that people could go to rest, and really…just…live…

"Oh Zukie-poo!"

Aaaaaand get assaulted and/or have an attempted rape on him by a portly female who looked more like a cross-dresser than an actual female.

He glared up through his tangles of hair to the third-story window, where his uncle was, no doubt, laughing at him mentally. The aged man shrugged helplessly, before turning around and bursting out laughing inside.

…Note to self…buy daggers, learn how to throw them efficiently, and then destroy something…

Or he could just fire bend the hell out of something…that was MUCH more gratifying! Mm…explosions…

"Oh, Zukie-poo! How I've MISSED you!" Geeva ran forward, slamming her oversized bust into his face while giving him a crushing hug.

"You… (need air…) saw me last night, Geeva…at dinner…" he gasped, his voice muffled by the two fleshy mountains in front of him blocking his airflow.

"Oh, that's right!" she chimed, her voice a forced cheery one, like she was trying to act like some sort of ditz and that would attract him.

He knew all to well, however, that she didn't HAVE to act…

She glanced down at him, and giggled a quick "Kyuk kyuk kyuk," before dropping him to the ground roughly and prancing back towards the inn, singing a quite horrifically out-of-tune song as she bounded…err…bounced, back to the kitchen, where he could hear her slurp up something noisily from within.

He shook his head. Gods, his life was a living comedy act!

Organizing the logs into a semi-orderly pile was a feat that took most of the short day, but he was proud of the job that he had done. So as to avoid any further contact with Geeva, he feigned sickness and swiftly ascended the stairs to his and his uncle's room.

Zuko let out a heavy sigh, before flopping down on the bed and letting out a shout of frustration into his pillow.

"Having fun flirting with our little friend, are we?" Iroh chuckled, tugging slightly at a knot in his beard.

"If you call being suffocated in her chest 'flirting'…" he mumbled.

"Oh? You've gotten that far already?" Iroh questioned in mock surprise. "My, that's usually something that happens AFTER the first date…"

Golden eyes glowered between a layer of shaggy hair and a green pillow. "Her mother must have been a hippo-gator, and she smells like a retarded monkey-bird that can't even clean itself," he monotoned flatly, before letting his face fall onto his pillow.

There was a short silence. "That was a colorful metaphor," Iroh observed.

"Comes naturally when living with you…"

"Ha-ha! True," he commented, before sneaking a glance back at his exasperated nephew. "You know, Zuko, she probably wouldn't chase you if you had a fiancée…or a girlfriend at the very least…"

"Uncle, I don't have time—"

"Time? Pfft! You're 22 now, and you've only had a pitiful number of dates. Circumstances aside, your love life is about as rich as a wind bison's backside! Let yourself live a little, eh?" He leaned down, smirking into his nephew's bewildered face.

"You could either start womanizing a little, or I suppose I could give my consent for you to marry Geeva…"

Zuko was immediately in a sitting position, glaring as hard as he could at his uncle with his jaws grinding together so much it was nearly painful.

"You wouldn't dare…" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Iroh shrugged, before flopping down on his own bed. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Zuko."

With a snap of the old man's fingers, the candles flickered out, leaving Zuko to fume in the darkness.

Something was going to happen…something that he thought he wasn't going to like…

With a huff, he lay back down onto his hay mattress, and drifted off into a relatively dreamless sleep.

The only image that danced through his mind that night was the silhouette of a single dancing figure against the setting sun.

0o0o0o0o0o0

True, Toph hasn't appeared yet, however I thought this was a good spot to stop for the moment.

Critiques and constructive comments appreciated!

I'll update as soon as I can!

Dak