Inato stood on board his ship, welcoming the passengers aboard himself as he usually did. He also took care to request money ahead from the more suspicious looking passengers. One of them he was talking to right now, a thin, greying man with a cart of cabbages behind him.

"I'm sorry, mister, but it's payment in advance."

"That woman didn't have to pay!" The cabbage guy pointed angrily at a traveler in an expensive-looking coat. Inato stifled a sigh. He didn't have the motivation to explain that the woman was wearing at least a pound of golden jewelry on her, and was clearly not the kind of passenger who might get off without paying. Even if she did, she couldn't run far, not in those stiletto boots of her.

He settled for saying: "Look, mister, I'm the captain here. I decide who has to pay in advance and who doesn't. It'll be eight golden pieces, please."

The cabbage guy looked terrified. "But how do I know you're not just going to throw me off the ship in the middle of the night, since I've payed already?"

"Why would I do that? It's not like we have to spare any more expenses on you. Passengers provide their own food."

"What? No one told me that! What will I do?"

"I don't know. Eat some of those cabbages."

The guy suddenly burst into tears. "I can't. They're like my children!" As if reaching a difficult decision, he added quietly: "I can't watch them being slaughtered like that. Will you buy them from me? It could double as payment for the tickets."

Inato looked doubtfully at the cabbages. They were worth five silver pieces, maximum, maybe ten if you added the cost of the cart. Still, he found himself wanting to agree, if only to get rid of the headache that was already starting to build behind his eyes. What the hell. Maybe other passengers hadn't understood the bit about 'bring your own food', and would be willing to pay double for the damn things.

"Alright. Leave the cart here, and get on board. Your cabin is number thirteen." The smallest and darkest cabin he had. You get what you pay for.

The cabbage guy almost fell to his knees in gratitude. "Thank you, sir. May the cabbages taste sweet on your tongue."

"Yeah, yeah. Move on, mister. Next!"

The person in line behind the cabbage guy turned out to be a young man with a messenger hawk on his shoulder, whose most distinctive feature was a huge red scar over his left eye. Poor guy, Inato thought. He'd still have to request payment in advance, though. The guy looked suspiciously like a bounty hunter, with his black clothes, lack of luggage and what Inato recognized as twin dao swords on his hip.

"I'll have the luxury cabin," the man said in a coarse voice. Strange. Bounty hunters usually went with the regular cabins, not wanting to spend too much money on something relatively unimportant.

"Sorry. Luxury cabin's taken." By the woman in the coat, obviously. "You can still have the second best cabin, though. It's not as big, but it's clean and nicely furnished."

After a moment's hesitation, the scarred man nodded.

"That'll be ten gold pieces, please." The man handed the money over without argument, in what was turning out to be a pleasantly refreshing way. There were too many bargainers as passengers today.

"Your cabin is number five. You don't look like you have any food packed, so you might want to be in the dining room at four o'candle. There'll be cabbage soup with fried cabbage."

Another nod, and the man disappeared into the ship. If only all customers could be as cooperative as that guy.

Zuko found cabin number five with ease. True to the captain's word, it wasn't very spacious, but it appeared relatively clean and the bed looked more comfortable than the usual hammocks. That is, if he managed not to fall out of it during the night. The cabin even had a perch for a messenger hawk. Zuko lowered his arm and let Hawky (he'd never admit to anyone he'd taken to calling the bird that) climb on.

"Sorry, bird. There won't be any food for you for the next two days, unless you happen to like cabbage."

Zuko himself wasn't planning to eat the cabbage, either. He hadn't taken any food with him because he was hard-pressed to find any decent food that would hold, and he absolutely refused to eat anything less than the best quality food. He would not lower himself to that level. It was also why he had tried to get the luxury cabin; he couldn't stand dirty surroundings. He would rather starve than eat spoiled food, and he would rather not sleep at all if it meant risking being bitten by ticks or fleas. Teffe had used to make fun of his cleanliness, calling him a pussy (as for most other things he did), but Zuko was not a dog-rat, and he would not scratch at himself like some common animal.

Speaking of ticks… Zuko took out his swords and prodded at the mattress, then sniffed at the covers. It seemed clean and didn't move, unlike some other mattresses he'd seen while traveling, but it still didn't mean there were no ticks or fleas anywhere. He took a small bottle with a green liquid out of his pocket and sprayed it first at the covers, then the pillow. It was guaranteed to kill all insects, but also sometimes had the side effect of leaving the user with a skin rash. Zuko didn't care. He could hardly afford the luxury to worry about his skin condition. A little rash could only draw attention away from the scar, nothing more.

He started unpacking. Not that there was that much to unpack, but he did want to put away his belongings. The swords went up over his bed, the pouch with the money into the pillowcase. Finally, he took out a blank scroll of parchment, a brush and a small ink bottle and placed them on the desk.

Zuko sat down on his chair that was bolted to the floor, no doubt in case of storms, and started chewing on the edge of his brush, thinking of how to start. He stopped when he noticed what he was doing, let out a breath and started writing:

Hello, uncle. I'm writing to tell you that all is well, and I'm currently away on a job that should earn me at least two hundred gold. I'm not sending any money with this letter because you asked me to stop, but if the situation changes and you ever need any, write me, I'll be glad to help. Seriously. Don't be too proud to ask me, I really don't need the amounts these guys keep paying me.

So, how is business in the Jasmine Dragon going? I'm sure you have plenty of customers. I myself have never been able to tell the difference between good tea and bad tea, and in truth, I prefer mango juice, but the people really like your tea, at least from what I've seen.

Zuko looked up, thought for a moment, and crossed out 'I prefer mango juice'. He didn't want to risk giving his uncle a heart attack, or, in the case he survived, being disowned by his only remaining sane family member.

Is Jin still a regular customer or has she stopped now that I'm gone? I hope not. She seemed to enjoy talking to you, as well. How's the hired help holding up? I know you needed someone else to help once I left, but I was getting an untrustworthy vibe from that person. I hope you'll tell me I was wrong, but in case not, maybe one of Jin's brothers would do. She told me about them, and apparently they have a hard time getting a job. I can't imagine it's getting better now that the city's under Fire Nation control.

I'm afraid I have to decline your invitation to come and visit. Right now I'm on a job, and I'm planning on visiting some old friends when I'm finished. Maybe later.

To answer your constant inquiries, no, I don't have a 'lady friend' yet. No, I don't want one. No, you shouldn't try to pair me up with anyone. I'll find my own girlfriend once I feel I'm ready, or when I meet the right person. Right now my job doesn't encourage staying in one place, and I'm not a person for one-night stands. Maybe later, when I've decided on a place to stay on a more constant basis.

I wish you good health, and I hope you finally find the right pai sho playing partner.

Your loving nephew,

Zuko

P.S. In your letters, please call me Lee. I don't know who might be standing next to me when I read your letters, and some of my friends might be bright enough to make the connection between 'banished prince Zuko' and 'my old buddy Lee, who also apparently happens to be named Zuko and has a huge scar on his face'.

Zuko looked up, satisfied, and rolled the scroll up, tying it with a ribbon to Hawky's leg.

"I need you to take this to my uncle, okay? His name is Iroh, and he lives in Ba Sing Se."

The bird screeched, once, and flew off. Zuko looked after it, not feeling guilty in the least for using a bird assigned for job purposes for his own personal gain. Messenger hawks were strange birds, he reflected. Not only were they hawks, not turtle-hawks or slug-hawks, they always knew how to find the recipient of the message. How they did it was a mystery. They didn't return to their home nest, and they didn't even need to have met the recipient beforehand. All they needed was a letter, a name and a city, and they'd do the rest. Zuko had tried experimenting once, ordering a hawk to fly to Omashu to find a Kinto. Kinto wasn't even a name, and Zuko was sure there wasn't one in Omashu, but the hawk somehow dug one up. He gave up trying to understand how the whole thing worked, then, and just admired how simple and efficient it was.

Zuko sighed and sat down on his bed, stripping his forearm guards down and hanging them on the chair. He did the same to his shin guards and lay back, wondering if he could order someone to bring him a few candles. He had a lot of time and nothing to do, and he figured he might as well try meditating.