21st Day, 3rd Moon, Year of the Serpent (Azulon 66)

We all visited the rhino stables today. The Fire Lord had assigned my husband to make a tour of inspection in anticipation of the calving season, and I thought that as long as he had ordered a coach to go there anyway, it would be good for Zuko to see the great beasts at their ease in their own place. Then while I was dressing him, Lu Ten turned up asking if he might accompany us so that he could visit his ostrich-horse, Tsuchi.

"That's up to your father," I told him. In retrospect it was a silly thing to say, since I don't think Iroh has ever denied the boy anything since I have known the two of them. The end result, of course, was that all five of us went to the stables together.

At the time we arrived, the stables were fairly quiet inside, as most of the rhinos were undergoing training exercises out in the yard, with the exception of a few pregnant cows (with whom I heartily empathized). Ozai took his leave of us to begin his inspection undistracted, and Lu Ten led the rest of us to Tsuchi's stall. Along the way, we passed a few of the pregnant female rhinos, and I held Zuko up to see them. They were all sleepy and didn't react much to our presence; even so, I think he must have been slightly alarmed by them, because I tried to get him to say "Komodo rhino" or even just "rhino," and all he would say was "Big!"

Tsuchi, when we came within sight of her, was much more alert—she immediately got up and trotted to the front of her pen to greet her master. Evidently, Lu Ten spied an unevenness in the animal's gait, because he cried out "Oh, no, she's limping!" He ran over, vaulted into the enclosure, and crouched to examine her feet. After a moment he stood up again. "It's okay. She just had a little piece of wood stuck between her toes."

"Good boy," said Iroh. "With any sort of riding-beast, proper care of the feet is paramount. Otherwise, well…you get things like this." He patted his sprained arm.

"Why don't you all come here and say hi?" said Lu Ten. "Just be careful if you're wearing anything shiny, 'cause she might try to eat it."

"Fair warning," Iroh chuckled. "You'd better take off your crown, Ursa. I'll hold onto Zuko while you do."

"Not with only one good arm, you won't," I said. "If he squirms, you'll drop him."

"Don't be silly, girl. Set him down and I'll hold his hand."

"Of course, how silly of me," I said, embarrassed not to have seen such an obvious solution myself. "I don't know where my head is of late."

Once my crown was off and safely put away in my handbag, I took Zuko's hand back from Iroh and led him over to the pen, where Lu Ten was stroking Tsuchi's flanks and mane.

"Do you remember Tsuchi, Zuko?" said Lu Ten. "Dad gave her to me for my last birthday. She's an ostrich-horse. Do you want to pet her?"

Zuko looked up at me questioningly, and I said, "It's all right, Zuko. Tsuchi won't hurt you. She's friendly. Say hello."

"He-yo," Zuko said obediently, but his heart wasn't in it. Tsuchi lowered her head to get a better look at my son, between the railings of the enclosure. Zuko leaned away slightly.

"It's all right," I said again. "She just wants to see you better. Go ahead and pet her on the nose. Show Uncle Iroh and Cousin Lu Ten how brave you are."

Zuko tentatively reached out to touch Tsuchi's snout. She snorted suddenly, smelling his hand, and he was so startled that he withdrew and fled from the stall toward Iroh, whimpering.

"Oh, Zuko," I sighed. "What's wrong with you today?"

"No! That bite!" he explained, pointing accusingly at Tsuchi.

"Nonsense. She did not bite you, and she's not going to," I scolded him. "Now stop behaving like a chicken-mouse and come back here." I started after Zuko…but all at once I found myself held fast by the hair!

For a moment, I'm afraid I was in a state of pure panic, screaming for help and yanking at whatever it was that had hold of me. Of course, it was Tsuchi, who apparently had mistaken my hair for a sheaf of hay. Lu Ten was soon able to make her let go, but not without a good deal of pulling. (My scalp is still sore from it.) Iroh then overturned a water pail so that I could sit and recover my composure.

As for Zuko, I expected to find him wailing in terror, but the little beast was laughing at me. I suppose I must have made an amusing spectacle, panicking over a little tug on the hair, but after his earlier timidity, he ought to have had the decency to be frightened on my behalf! Strangely enough, he was more confident about approaching Tsuchi once everything had settled down. This time, I lifted him so that he could see her on her own level, with no wooden planks in the way, and he patted her and called her "Soo-See."

After a few minutes of this, Lu Ten asked if we wanted to see him ride…meaning, of course, that he wanted to show off. Of course Iroh and I agreed, and he fetched Tsuchi's tack from the wall and showed us how she was trained to stand still at his command so that he could put it on her. Then he led her out into the yard, with the rest of us following.

Of course, most of the fields were in use, for the rhinos' training exercises. I spotted my husband in the distance, observing the drills and taking notes for his report. But a few of the smaller areas were free, and we went to one of these.

I had never seen an ostrich-horse in action before today, and though the initial pace of Lu Ten's ride was not very fast, the severe bouncing motion took me by surprise and made me feel rather queasy in sympathy. Indeed, at first I was certain that he was going to fall and hurt himself, and I could hardly bear to watch. But Iroh and Zuko were both delighted with the display. After a few minutes of circling the field, Lu Ten stopped Tsuchi and guided her over to where we were standing.

"She gets a treat now," he explained, pulling a small, bruised peach out of his pocket. "You wanna give it to her, Dad?"

"No, thank you," said Iroh. "If she's hungry enough to eat your aunt's hair, I don't think I can trust her to know the difference between the peach and my fingers. But Zuko should be safe—there's no way she can mistake his little hands for food."

"How about that, Zuko?" I asked. "Do you want to give Tsuchi a peach to eat?"

"Soo-See peash!" said Zuko.

So Lu Ten let Zuko take the peach, and he held it out gingerly for Tsuchi to eat. She snapped it up rather suddenly, putting him a stunned fright for a moment, but as soon as he realized that nothing bad had happened, he relaxed again.

After that, we returned to the stables so Lu Ten could brush Tsuchi and check her feet for stones and splinters. I was beginning to feel tired from being mostly on my feet for hours, so I sat back down on the pail and let Zuko loose to explore the immediate area.

"That was very impressive riding, son," said Iroh. "I'm not sure I could stay on an animal bouncing like that."

"It's not as hard as it looks," said Lu Ten. "You have to do this thing where you stand up a little and bounce with her."

"When is your next lesson? I thought you were having them every week."

Lu Ten sighed and shuffled his feet. "Madam Ma-Lung doesn't give lessons in the winter. I have to write to her and let her know I'm ready to start again now that it's spring."

"Well, then, you do that as soon as we get home," Iroh said seriously. "No slacking."

"I will, Dad."

Not long after that, a groom found us and informed us that my husband had finished his inspection and was waiting for us back at the carriage. Of course when we got there, he noticed at once that I was not wearing my crown and my hair was in disarray, and I had to tell him what had happened and assure him that not a bit of harm had been done to me.

Since we returned to the Palace, I have spent the afternoon and evening resting and occupying myself with quiet pursuits. Still, the extra weight I am carrying is beginning to slow me down a little, and I am tired enough that I think I shall retire soon.


A/N: Sorry this took so long. I've been very busy lately, not only with creative projects but with my actual job that I get paid for. I'll try to get the next one out quicker.