Sorry for my absence, Fans! I didn't mean to take a while to update, but life had caught up to me! So I had to deal with that first before going to my fantasy world. Thanks for everyone who likes this story! I'd love if you guys gave me some comments/questions as a review. It's always apriciated! Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Air Bender...I own Markaia and Sam. Review please!

Indeed I did feel unwanted, but there was one place that I had always been loved; that was home. Unlike my original plan of staying in some random village to make money and such, I decided I was going to go back home to the Fire Nation. I'll hide away; at least until I know if Azula is dead or until Sam can move on. She was my only real friend, and I wouldn't have minded staying with her. Her choice of friends, the Avatar, wasn't my type of crowd.

I had stumbled around in the dark until my body had given up from exhaustion and pain. My head was hurting more than how it was hours ago. I could feel it throbbing and the back of my head felt wet under the compression wrap. The running, stumbling, and tripping was taking a toll over my broken ribs.

As I was running, my body had finally given up after I tripped over my own foot. Pathetic, I know. I fell to the ground and my face smashed into the dirt. The wind was knocked out of my lungs, and I had to roll over to breathe; it was hard enough with broken ribs. Looking around with bleary eyes, I couldn't see much because it was so dark. I could make out a few shapes which I assumed were trees. The moon itself wasn't bright and it's beams were barely shining through the trees. I gave into the heavy sleep that my body was demanding for the past few hours of running.

I awoke to the light beaming down on my face. I covered my eyes with my right hand, immediately tensing and whimpering from the pain of my broken ribs. The pain was more intense than yesterday, and I was sure that all my tumbling last night made it worse. The bandage on my head didn't feel wet, but it didn't feel crusty from the blood. It was then that I registered the sound of a tea pot over a flame whistling softly. "Do not move, Markaia." The voice sounded familiar but my groggy mind couldn't comprehend.

Turning my gaze to where the voice had came from, I saw Iroh, but it took me a little bit to recognize him. My vision was blurry and it was more distorted from the pain. "Iroh?" I whispered. He nodded and made me a cup of tea.

"Yes." He smiled slightly. I tried to sit up, but he shook his head. "No Markaia. Please do not try to sit up. One cannot get better if one does not rest. So please, rest." I obeyed. I noticed that Zuko wasn't around.

"Where is Zuko, and how did you even find me?" I asked as I laid back down onto the ground. There was a light breeze and I shivered. I tried to tie my robe, but came to the realization I wasn't wearing it anymore. "Where's my robe?"

"It's tattered and ripped. I'll get to fixing it soon, and as for Zuko he went out to catch fish. He's been up since we found you." Iroh smiled brightly and began to fix my robe. The red robe was tattered, and I had to wonder how it came like that. I didn't run through anything that could cut it; I think. "We saw you fighting with Azula, Markaia. Zuko wanted to help, but I saw the Avatar coming and told him to stay back, or Azula was going to get away. We then followed them to their camp with you and then I watched you run away. I then made the decision that it would be best to save you. Innocents shouldn't have to die by the hands of the Fire Nation like Azula. Zuko slightly resented the idea, but I made him come along anyway."

I listened as I thought about Zuko. Was it me who he wanted to help, or was it just that he wanted to kill his own sister? Was Iroh going to be the only other person in my life who wouldn't let me die? That makes three: mother, Sam, and then Iroh. Iroh began to tell me stories about him and his son before his son had died. I had no idea that he had suffered like that. It wasn't long before Zuko returned with some fish. "Ah, Zuko. Good catch. Markaia is awake, so no need to worry." Iroh smiled. He was trying to make Zuko blush or something. I couldn't look up because well one, I couldn't because my neck, and two I didn't want to have to look at him. I heard a gag noise and my self-esteem slightly went down. It hurt knowing that people didn't like me.

"Don't make me vomit, Uncle." Zuko spat acidly. I heard the splat of the fish on the cloth and I heard Zuko sitting down. He paid me no mind."So Uncle. The brats are on the move again, so we are leaving at sunset."

"Well, I don't think that is a good idea, Zuko. Markaia won't heal by then. We can't just abandon her." Iroh argued. I rolled my eyes, trying to cover the hurt.

"Oh well." was all Zuko said before gutting the fish and staying quiet. We ate dinner in silence, except for the occasional questions that Iroh would politely ask me about my childhood and my family. It wasn't long before Zuko had left to do some scouting.

"Don't mind him Markaia." Iroh said softly as he sipped his tea.

"I don't." I said smiling at him. His features brightened slightly.

"So, where were you planning on going before you got into that battle with Azula?"

Shrugging, I played with the wraps on my hands. "I was going home to the Fire Nation. I wanted to see my mother. Being out here in the world while I am only 19 isn't for me. Eventually after I see my mother, maybe I'll come back out and stop the Fire Lord from taking over everything else." The sky was getting pink and soon they would be gone.

"I don't know about the Fire Lord part, but everything else sounds fine." Iroh said honestly. I smiled at him as Zuko came back.

"Alright Uncle, time for us to keep moving. The brats are setting up their camp pretty far North of here." he said. It was like I wasn't even there. My heart felt broken. Why did everyone hate me? I did nothing. I couldn't even stay with a friend like Iroh for more than 24 hours.

"Zuko, we cannot leave. Markaia isn't healed." Iroh said coldly as he continued to drink his tea. Zuko huffed.

"We aren't staying." He argued. I held up my arm as I sat up; I ignored the pain. I was tired of this.

"No, it's fine Iroh. Thank you for the hospitality." I slowly stood up and dusted off my back. He handed me my robe with a look of worry. I grabbed my bags and got ready before turning to Zuko. His eyes were wide as if he had only now realized I was there. "Thank you for the help Zuko. Thank you Iroh." I said as polite as possible. My face felt cold. I didn't know whether or not my face was revealing the emotion of pain I was feeling. "Good bye, Zuko." I spat acidly before walking off into the trees. I didn't know where I was but that didn't matter. It was like an entire repeat of yesterday.

I gimped slowly through the trees, my legs were burning. I had found out that while I was running, I was running through bushes and everything, so I had cut up my legs. I looked like a lost, hurt, abandoned, puppy. The thoughts and memories of the past two days were running through my mind, and I didn't realize I had reached a village. A young little girl ran up to me. She looked no older than 7 and she looked innocent. An older woman who looked just like her came up to me as well, and put her hand on the younger's shoulder.

"Ma'am...are you okay?" The older asked cautiously. I nodded. The little girl pointed to my leg.

"Mommy she's bleeding. She's not okay!" She said. Her voice slightly shaky.

"I see that dear. Ma'am, can I help?" She gestured to my legs, but before I could reply, my body felt numb and I fell into darkness.