Erosion

Chapter One

Iroh, hero of the Fire Nation, retired General and brother to the Fire Lord, was generally known for being a patient man. Still, after watching Prince Zuko pace about his chamber for two straight hours, even he felt his patience begin to slip. He paused in his game of tiles, watching as his nephew walked back and forth across the long side of the room, pausing only to glare out the porthole from time to time. The problem was beyond his control and Zuko hated when things were beyond his control. "Prince Zuko, why don't you come and join me for a nice soothing cup of jasmine tea?"

The Prince leveled a glare at his Uncle. "I don't need a soothing cup of tea!"

"Well how about a game then? I can teach you how to play Pai-gow. It will help pass the time."

"No. That game is a huge waste of time. All games are." The teen resumed his restless pacing.

Iroh sighed. "Prince Zuko, please. All that pacing around is starting to make your poor Uncle seasick. It's not going to make the blizzard go away any faster, you know."

"I know!" Zuko yelled, before catching himself. "I know," he repeated in a lower, calmer tone, "but every day we sit here is another day the Avatar is getting further away from us. I can't let him escape me, not when we were so close!" Iroh gave his nephew a tolerant smile. They had been trapped in this blizzard for three days now and it was beginning to wear on all their nerves. He was actually rather impressed that his young ward had managed to rein his temper in.

"Prince Zuko, even the Avatar must take shelter from storms. I'm sure he is holed up somewhere, waiting for the weather to clear. It is far too dangerous to try to navigate these waters when we can't see two feet in front of the bow. Try to be patient. It will blow over soon."

Zuko turned his back to his Uncle, leaning against the wall and glaring out the porthole. All he could see was white. "You said that two days ago," he muttered. He heard the clink of a tile as the old man returned to his game.

"I could tell you a story," his Uncle offered, "You used to enjoy listening to my stories."

Zuko didn't bother turning around. "Uncle, please, I'm sixteen. I'm far too old for storytime." Apparently satisfied that Zuko had at least quit his incessant pacing, the retired General made no response. Zuko rested his left arm against the metal wall of the room, leaning his forehead against it as he glared out the porthole. He could feel the cold radiating from the wall as the impenetrable curtain of white continually blew past the glass window. He knew his Uncle was right; there was no safe way to travel in this, but still… sitting anchored in a harbor was such a waste of time. He couldn't even train in weather like this. It was so frustrating. Sometimes it seemed as if the world itself was conspiring to keep him from capturing the Avatar.

No. I can't think that way. I must capture the Avatar and I will, no matter what! Zuko had already been given a glimpse as to what his grim future would be should he fail. A renewed, extended banishment; one that had no hope of being revoked. That was what happened to him two months ago, when Zhao had successfully captured the Avatar. A quiet sense of dread gripped Zuko's heart. Those had been dark, terrible days. Waiting for his Uncle, waiting for a ray of hope to shine into his inner prison of despair. He had almost lost himself, literally.

The Fire Nation Prince shifted his position so that he could subtly examine his left wrist. A thin straight line of scar tissue ran across it. Thankfully, treatment had faded the once red scar into an almost normal flesh tone. The line was so thin that it wasn't even noticeable unless it caught the light the right way. No one had said anything about it, not even his keenly observant Uncle, a fact which made Zuko extremely grateful. It was Anko who had saved him the embarrassment of a blatant scar. Anko had saved him from a lot of things.

Zuko smiled a little as he thought of the earthbending farmer. He had been left on a small island called Yopoko, waiting for his Uncle to come for him. Without any real motivation to do so, the woman had rescued him when some locals took offense to his presence. She had tended his wounds from the encounter and had offered him food and shelter in exchange for work. When Zuko had demanded to know why she would go the trouble, she had just shrugged lazily and smiled a little, "Because it was the right thing to do."

At first he had completely misjudged the woman, believing her to be nothing more than a simple farmer. Slowly he had discovered the truth. Anko was an earthbender, and not only that but also a former soldier. Her last secret had been revealed when his Uncle finally showed up on her farm. Anko wasn't just a former soldier, she had been a General, one known and clearly respected by his Uncle.

Zuko turned away from the porthole, leaning his back against the wall so he could observe his Uncle. The retired General was deep into his game of solitaire. Iroh swore that he had no idea Yopoko was Anko's home. Zuko believed him… mostly. Even if his Uncle had known and had deliberately sent him there because of it, there was no way Anko could have known who he was. Not when she rescued him from the locals, not when she had stitched up his self inflicted wound. He had dropped the "Prince" from his name when he introduced himself; it wasn't until the arrival of the Avatar's allies that the fact that he was Ozai's son was revealed. Even then, even though she had lost her own father to the Fire Nation, Anko had just shrugged and smiled. She said that she would judge him by who he was, not by who his Father was. Even now, just remembering the moment made him proud.

It was still odd, thinking of her as "General" Anko. Odder still was the fact that she and his Uncle had been so… casual with each other. If they were both Generals, if they had both served at the same time, why didn't they hate each other? Wasn't that what being "enemies" was all about? And his Uncle had thus far evaded the Prince's questions about the matter, making Zuko even more curious. Since the day they had left Yopoko, Zuko had been busy trying to track down and capture the Avatar. He had allowed the matter to drop. Now, however… a crafty smile crossed his face; now there was no reason or excuse for his Uncle to avoid his questions.

General Iroh glanced sideways at the Prince as the teen came over and sat down next to the table. He wordlessly played another tile. The smile Prince Zuko's face had hosted a moment ago had not escaped his notice; it was a look that usually preceded a demand that Iroh wouldn't enjoy. Nephew or no, if he thinks I am going outside to train him in this weather he has another thing coming.

"Uncle," Zuko started, "how did you know An… I mean General Anko?"

Iroh felt the corner of his mouth twitch up. So knowledge was all the boy wanted; that was good, but he'd have to earn it. "I told you Prince Zuko, we were opposing Generals during the war."

Zuko frowned, "You seemed awfully friendly for enemies."

"Ah," Iroh played another tile, "well, we're both retired now. No point in carrying on with old grudges."

Zuko's frown deepened. He knew his Uncle had few equals when it came to evasiveness. But still… there had to be more to the story than that. He thought, trying to find the one question his Uncle couldn't answer simply. "What about the rematch?" he asked slowly. "Didn't you say that Anko owed you a rematch in Pai-gow? That would mean that you two played a game during your time at war, wouldn't it?" The Prince saw the hint of a smile on his Uncle's face and knew he was on the right track. "And Anko called herself a "former" General, not a retired General, and isn't she a little young to be retired anyways? And why did you call her the "Omashu Fox?"

Iroh stopped playing his game and regarded his nephew directly. So the boy was too old for storytime, was he? "Prince Zuko," he teased, "I'm afraid that story is dreadfully long and boring. You wouldn't be interested."

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't interested, now tell me!"

Iroh rubbed his beard for a moment. "Very well, I will answer your questions if you honestly answer one of mine. What did you think of General Anko?"

Zuko leaned back, a hint of a blush flushing his face. "What did I think of…? What… what do you mean by that?"

"I mean how do you see her as a person? How do you regard her, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko felt his checks start to warm under his Uncle's penetrating gaze. He averted his eyes, focusing down on his hands. Unconsciously he stroked his suicide scar with one finger. Anko was an earthbender, an enemy to his people. Was it wrong to say that he respected her, that he liked her? He closed his eyes, remembering the tall, dark haired farmer. Was it wrong to admit he kind of missed her? Zuko could feel his hands clench into fists. He hated when his Uncle did this to him, turning his own questions against him. Come to think of it, Anko was really good at that too. In fact, if Zuko was to be completely honest about the matter… His eyes snapped open. He raised his gaze to look directly into his Uncle's golden eyes. "You," he answered. "She reminded me a lot of you. I guess I regarded her somewhat as I do you."

Zuko felt his blush deepen as his Uncle smiled gently at him. "Really, Prince Zuko? Because you are perhaps the one who has the most in common with her."

Iroh began to clear the tiles off his table as his nephew puzzled over his cryptic statement. Normally, this wasn't a story he would repeat. But he had seen with his own eyes the Fire Nation Prince bow to General Anko, a display of respect that the teen usually reserved for his own family. And Anko herself had mentioned in an off-handed way that Zuko would make a good Firelord. A Firelord worthy of respect, she had said. He placed a pot of water over the fire. Before, when Zuko had been impatiently asking him questions, he had caught a glimpse of the old Zuko. Zuko as he was before the Agni-kai; a young, bright child, eager to learn, eager to please. With a sigh, the older man settled himself back at the table.

"Very well, I will tell you what I know of General Anko's past. But I warn you, you might not like everything you hear." Zuko nodded, the avid look on his face once again poignantly reminding Iroh of the Prince when he was younger.

The retired General stroked his beard, adjusting his gaze to stare out the porthole as he gathered his thoughts. "As to what drove a young farm girl born on a neutral island to become a soldier, I cannot say. What we do know is that she was trained in Omashu." Iroh twisted, rummaging around in his collection of maps until he brought out the appropriate one. He unfurled it onto the table, pointing out the city of Omashu as he did so. "As you can see, Omashu is located in the mountains. Its isolated location makes it difficult to attack, so for the most part we've left it alone. That hasn't stopped the city from sending trained soldiers to reinforce the Earth Kingdom's armies, however. Usually these men are dispersed; but once, only once, the King of Omashu made a unit of about thirty very talented earthbenders and sent them to war together.

It was a unique group, a band of skirmishers that were never permanently attached to a larger unit. They moved around constantly, reinforcing other units as ordered, acting to disrupt Fire Nation activities, serving as guards and scouts. Odder still, the King made Captain of this group a young bender straight out of training, bypassing some of the older, more experienced soldiers. For a while, this unit was simply known as the One-Twenty-sixth of Omashu but it wasn't long before they started making a name for themselves.

Omashu, it is said, trains the strongest and most clever earthbenders. The 126th seemed bound and determined to prove it true. As you've probably guessed, Prince Zuko, their Captain was named Anko. At the time, I was stationed here, to the south, while the 126th was active in this more northern location. In fact, they had been active for over a year before word of their existence reached my ears. I admit, I didn't give it much thought. Little did I know, forces were already in motion that would bring us to the same region…"