A/N: Than and Ying are canon characters encountered peripherally by Zuko in 'Zuko Alone' as well as directly by Team Avatar in 'The Serpant's Pass.'
2: "Lee"
Than pressed a freshly cleaned rag to the boy's chest. He could count on one hand the number of things that could cause such a wound. Pity the number of people who could do it could fill an entire army. Literally.
"How is he?"
He shook his head and lifted his gaze to his beloved wife's dark brown eyes. "If he doesn't wake up on his own soon, I'll try to wake him myself. You never know with concussions," he said. "To be honest, I'm surprised he made it this long without care. He has a strong will."
Ying pushed herself further up against the tree she sat under and patted her lap. "Bring him here," she said gently. "I want to see."
"It's not pretty," Than said grimly. When Ying pursed her lips and patted her lap again, Than sighed. Shaking his brown bangs from his face, he carefully scooped up the boy's body and carried him over to his wife.
Ying guided the boy's head down so it nestled limply on her lap. When she saw the burn, she winced in sympathy. The chest wound had clearly been made by a controlled blast of fire. Even though the boy's clothes had acted as a buffer, Ying doubted even a waterbender could heal the burn without leaving a scar. At least it wouldn't be as bad or as noticeable as the scar marring the boy's face.
She trailed her fingertips along the older scar and sighed heavily. "What happened to you?" she murmured.
"He must have found himself on the wrong side of a firebender's fist," Than muttered, wringing the excess water from the cloth before dabbing the wound once more. "At least it's not bleeding much anymore. The fire must've cauterized some of it. Not that it did much different for his ribs." He shook his head. "Ying, the sheer force of this attack, it... He's got at least two cracked ribs that I can feel."
Ying pressed her lips together and began brushing strands of black, sweat-soaked hair aside from the boy's sleeping face. "Oma and Shu have mercy," she prayed.
Her husband squeezed her shoulder comfortingly before returning his attention to tending the fresh burn. It broke Ying's heart that even children were suffering in this war. It wasn't fair for such a young boy to know pain like their surprise guest did.
A low crooning sound and the soft tickle of feathers against her side startled her from her thoughts. Both Ying and Than blinked at the boy's ostrich-horse which it settled down next to Ying, tucking its head into a small wing. Most ostrich-horses were rather bad tempered, but this one seemed comfortable with strangers. Either that, or it was worried about its rider too. Smiling, Ying scratched the creature's head with her free hand.
"Why don't you get some sleep," Than said. "We'll have a long walk tomorrow. We'll need to be rested before attempting to cross the Si Wong desert tomorrow."
"We both need to be rested," Ying corrected with a smile. "I'll be fine. The baby's not due for another week or two yet. Besides," her smile faded, "someone needs to wake him regularly tonight. If he stays asleep, he may not wake."
"Without knowing how serious the concussion is, I agree." Than heaved a sigh and scratched his head wearily. "I'll do it. I need to keep an eye on the fire anyway."
Ying gave him a look. "You need to sleep sometime, dear," she scolded.
"I will, I will," he said, patting his wife's arm. "After I bind that wound."
Sunrise.
He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. He knew it was sunrise without having to open his eyes. Too bad he opened them anyway. Something large, round, and green filled his vision. Curious, he tugged his arm up and poked the thing.
"Oh!"
Startled, he scrambled back from the thing, regretting the abrupt motion when his chest stung sharply. Grunting in pain, he clapped a hand over his chest and stared at the woman whose lap his head at been resting on. What the-?
"Goodness gracious," the young woman said.
She pushed herself upright so she could see over her very pregnant belly. It must have been her belly he'd poked. His cheeks flames in mortification.
"Are you alright?" she asked, her soft brown eyes filled with sleepy worry.
"Who-?" He stopped when he noticed the woman's gaze flicker briefly to something behind him. Before he could react, a gentle hand pressed between his shoulder blades.
"Not so fast, son."
"You look like you'll keel over dead."
He turned around to see a man kneeling by a dying fire. Eyes a few shades darker than the woman sparkled with worry, but the smile on his face was both warm and genuine. "You had a rough night last night," the man said. "You had a concussion so I had to wake you every so often." He chuckled. "You don't wake up very gracefully, you know."
This time even the woman laughed. Warmth bloomed in his cheek despite his confusion. Thankfully, the man took pity on him.
"I'm Than and this is my wife Ying," he said, gesturing to the pregnant woman who smiled and waved. "Your ostrich-horse brought you here last night. Do you remember?"
He nodded.
"Good," Than said in relief. "Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, if that's alright."
He nodded warily.
Than sighed. "Do you remember your name?" he asked.
He opened his mouth to speak but the words left him, slipping away like water between his fingers. He frantically dug through his mind for a name, a memory, something, anything! Nothing.
"Easy, easy," Thank said. Strong hands gripped his shoulders and held him firmly but gently in place. "Calm down," he said, keeping his tone steady and reassuring. "It's okay. It's okay."
No. No it's not okay. He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember! Why? Why couldn't he remember his own name? It was who he was. It was everything! How could he exist without a name? How could he ever forget his own name?!
He was getting dizzy and he couldn't get enough air. He couldn't get enough air. Why couldn't he get enough air?! He couldn't breathe!
He was so lost in his own frantic mind, that he barely noticed when Than released him and backed away. Smaller hands, calloused from work but gentle as any mother's wrapped around him and pulled him into an embrace.
"Shh, shh. Not so fast, now," Ying murmured, tugging the boy's head down so it rested on her chest. "Deep breaths. In, and out. Come on, I'll do it with you. In, and out. In, and out. There you go. That's better."
Breathe. He could breathe. Maybe. In and out, she said. His mind latched onto Ying's voice, focusing on her soft commands. He tried to follow her lead, stumbling over the first few attempts. In and out. In, and out. In, and out. No. Not that wasn't right. He had to... Close but not... In, and out. No. In, hold, out. Yes. Yes, that was it. In, hold, out. In, hold, out.
Slowly, he clawed his way back to reality. Ying held him like a mother, one hand holding his head, her finger teasing his hair. The other squeezed his shoulder, her thumb rubbing soothing circles into his tense muscles. She kept whispering encouragements to him, praising him when he took a deep breath and calming him when his mind threatened to crack once more.
"I know it's scary," Ying murmured. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. Just know that, no matter what, you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you want to."
She pressed a kiss to his forehead and it took everything he had not to sob. Familiar. That was so familiar, but so far...
A shadow fell over them and he flinched, bringing a flood of more soothing words from Ying. A large hand began rubbing his back, up and down along his spine. Than.
"We're going to Ba Sing Se," Than said, settling next to the boy's still shivering form. "We'll be safe there. All of us." His hand moved up to grip the boy's neck, massaging the tense muscles there. "You too, if you want to. We could be a regular family of four."
Than had seen a much in his thirty-two years of life. Some of it worth remembering, some not. But when those two pale gold eyes gazed at him with such a lost, open expression, Than knew in his heart that he would never be able to forget it.
The Fire Nation burned his village, took away his livelihood, and left him and his beloved wife adrift. They barely had enough coin between them to make it to Ba Sing Se, let alone set them up comfortably. But bridges were made to be crossed after they were reached, not before.
Right now, Than focused on making sure his wife was comfortable and Lee didn't overwork himself in this desert heat. Ying sat on the back of the ostrich-horse, clutching the reins with both hands, while Lee trudged at her side with one hand on the creature's flank, gently guiding it.
Lee. When Ying suggested the name, Than had been certain the boy would reject it. Yet the boy had acquiesced without much of a fight. Lee, a common name for such an uncommon boy.
Lee didn't speak often, understandably so, but he wasn't silent either. He murmured to the ostrich-horse sometimes and even asked questions on occasion. Otherwise, he seemed content to just listen to Than and Ying talk.
"Are you sure you don't need to rest, Lee?" Than asked. "There's no shame in that, you know."
Lee winced like he'd eaten something sour. "I'm fine," he muttered, deliberately not touching his bandaged chest.
"Well, I need to stop," Ying said, patting her belly. "I love this child, but I would prefer it if they didn't insist on pressing my bladder."
The bright red that bloomed in Lee's cheeks pulled a chuckle from the mother-to-be. Honestly, this boy was so easily flustered.
"Than, help me down, please," Ying said, holding out her hands. "No, Lee," she admonished gently when the boy stepped up to help her instead. "Why don't you go sit down in the shade over there so Than can check your bandages," she said.
"But-"
"Don't worry," Than said. "You're not holding us up. It's probably best we stop now anyway. If we wait for another hour or so, it should cool down a bit. If you want to be useful, you can give this good girl a drink of water," he added, patting the ostrich-horse.
Lee hesitated with a frown, fingering his straw hat awkwardly before nodding. Taking the ostrich-horse's reins in hand, he moved into the shade of a low sand dune and sat down. The hen clucked and fluffed her feathers when she reached the shade.
"I get the feeling he's not used to taking orders," Than said, helping his wife squat down to relieve herself without ruining her clothes.
"Neither were you when we met," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "Young men are like that. He didn't have to let me ride, Than. In a way, I wish he hadn't. That wound-"
"It's not as bad as it looks, thank Oma and Shu," Than said. "Though I'd wager it hurts more than he lets on. It's the ribs I'm worried about."
Ying clicked her tongue, straightening with her husband's help. "Men."
Than laughed but his smile faded quickly. "The burn on his face..." He shook his head in mild horror. "I can only imagine the things he's seen. Since when did the Fire Nation field children in their armies?"
"Never that I've seen," Ying said, giving her husband an odd look. "Why?" She followed her husband's gaze to Lee waiting for them in the shade and grimaced. "No. He's so young!"
"He may not be military," Than allowed cautiously. "He could be a colonial. But he is Fire Nation."
"You don't know that," Ying insisted.
"The eyes."
"What, you mean his scar? Than, you know-"
"Not his scar, his eyes. Only the Fire Nation has gold eyes," Than said grimly. "Pale gold?" He shook his head.
"He could be mixed blood," Ying said firmly.
"He could be and if it was just the eyes, then I wouldn't second guess it. But it's not just the eyes." He bit his lip and sighed. "Ying, he swore by Agni. You and I both know only the Fire Nation prays to Agni these days."
Ying sighed, her eyes closing wearily. "He's just a boy," she said finally, and he's done us no harm. I can't in good conscience send him away. Even if, by some curse, he is military, I couldn't do it."
"He certainly doesn't look it," Than agreed. "He looks half-starved."
"I can't leave him to some unknown fate without making sure he's well enough to take care of himself!" Ying said, nodding. Call it an overdeveloped mother instinct, if you'd like," she said, tapping her husband's nose with her finger. "He needs someone right now. If we can help him, if we can show him that someone in this world cares, then we should. Besides," she added with a small smile, taking Than's hand and pressing it to her stomach, "it could be good practice."
Than smiled despite himself and kissed his wife. She was right. He had no way of knowing Lee's lineage or background but his personality spoke volumes. Lee didn't have to insist Ying ride the ostrich-horse, yet he had. He didn't have to stay with them, yet he had. Lee could have taken all of their belongings and left on his ostrich-horse at any time and they wouldn't have been able to catch him. Yet he hadn't. Even now, Lee sat obediently by the feathered mount holding a small wooden bowl of water for the hen to drink from and waiting for Ying and Than to return.
Of course, Lee could be waiting until he milked their generosity for all it was worth before leaving, but Than couldn't bring himself to believe that. Lee's breakdown earlier this morning nearly broke his heart to watch. Lee eyes may be gold, but they weren't cruel; wary and suspicious, but not cruel.
"Thank you for waiting," Ying said, easing herself down next to Lee.
Than knelt in front of Lee and smiled. "Could I see your chest, please?" he asked.
Lee grimaced, glancing nervously at Ying before reluctantly undoing the frog buttons of his brown tunic. Dark red blossomed through the bandages, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it was this morning. Than carefully pulled the cloth away from the burn, wincing when skin stuck to it. Interestingly, Lee gave no indication of pain until one particular scab peeled free with a bandage.
"Sorry," Than said, easing the bandage back in place. "We'll need to clean these and rewrap when we stop for the night."
"We shouldn't go any further today," Lee said.
Startled, Than blinked and lifted his gaze to Lee's pale gold. "Why not? There's plenty of sunlight left."
"Too much," Lee said, tilting his hat back so he could stare at the cloudless, blue sky. "We should travel at night when it's cooler and rest during the day. We'll make more headway if we do that. Besides, it'll be easier to hunt for food at night."
"O-oh. I see." Than considered the advice. "How do you know that?" he asked.
Lee's mouth opened, then snapped shut. Golden eyes flashed briefly with the same fear that clouded them this morning before Lee took a deep breath, swallowed, and looked away. Well, that answered that. Than felt like an idiot.
"If it can get us out of this heat, then it's worth a try," Ying said, patting Lee's hand.
"I'll take first watch," Lee said, tucking his hands into his tattered brown sleeves and settling into a comfortable position.
"Nonsense," Than said, waving Lee's offer aside. "You're wounded. You need your rest to heal. I'm perfectly capable of keeping an eye out."
"I can do this," Lee argued. "I won't be able to get much sleep anyway."
"Then rest your eyes," Than insisted. "Believe it or not, I do know what I'm doing sometimes." He winked at Lee, amused by the befuddled expression on the boy's face.
"Often," Ying said.
Well, with encouragement like that, how could Than possibly fail in his duties?
