Author's Note: Iroh is, by far, the most heart-rending character on Avatar: The Last Airbender, at least in my opinion.
I do not own Avatar, nor any of the show's affiliates.
He can barely navigate the cloud of dust he finds himself in, stumbling in a choking billow of bullied air. General Iroh brings a forearm to shield his dry mouth, fighting the blur of his vision. He can see nothing before him but a wall of floating, barbed sediment, blinding him from the action that lay beyond.
"Forward!" A man yells.
General Iroh shuts his eyes tight, his lungs like sandpaper scraping against his rib cage with every labored breath. His arms and face are spotted with light burns, punctuated with bruises, carved with bloodless cuts.
"Forward!" Another command.
His head rushes with an impossible weight, toppling him over on the spot. General Iroh's knees give in to gravity as the unseen chaos around him increases in volume. The pounding of earthbender feet and firebender flame seem but white noise to him now, so familiar; too familiar. A pained scream issues from behind him, or is it to his side? He cannot deliberate.
"Ba Sing Se shall fall!"
General Iroh scans his calloused hands as if they were a map, his heart skipping like an erratic drum. He crawls forward, reaching out for something - anything. He grips a handful of cloth, attached to corpse, before reeling back. Lu Ten. Through the sandstorm, the pulsing mess of bursting flame and death, he begins to sob.
Within the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh pours another customer a cup of tea.
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