Iroh had just finished putting their supplies on Dusty when Zuko came back to the shack. He was still angry, his blood boiling in his veins, but it was already dying out. Iroh glanced up at him, his bushy eyebrows raising when he saw the look on his nephew's face, but Zuko stormed past him into the shack where he found Katara ensuring that their fire was completely dead.

With a wave of his hand, Zuko killed what remained of the embers. Katara looked up at him as her brow furrowed. She stood up and faced him, and Zuko prepared himself for her fury.

"You're not leaving me behind," Katara said, her voice steely. "I'm not worried about those mercenary jerks or your sister or any of that. My brother and Aang are spirits-knows-where, and I have no idea how to find them. I can't—you can't leave me."

Katara stopped to take a breath. He could see the mistiness in her eyes and two spots of color had risen in her cheeks. Zuko felt guilt gnaw at him, and he resisted the urge to wince. He didn't want to hurt her. But Zuko didn't know if he could accept what she was offering. It was all too much.

But he knew that he couldn't stand to leave her by herself, either. Bad things had happened since they had come together, but what if he hadn't been there? And Zuko knew that there was always a chance that she could meet worse people with even more nefarious intentions. Katara was strong and capable, but he found that he didn't want her to face something like that on her own.

And to hear the pain in her voice, to see it on her face? It was too much. It was clear that she had grown just as attached to him over the past few weeks as he was to her. Katara was a caring person, and for whatever reason, she cared about him.

Zuko stepped closer to her, a part of him wanting to reach out to her, to offer her comfort. But he kept his hands by his sides instead.

"I'm not gonna leave you," Zuko told her quietly. "I—I'm sorry, about what I said. You're just...you're trying to help. I know that."

Her eyes fluttered closed in relief for a moment as she exhaled. Then Katara looked up at him. "I am just trying to help."

"I know that. I know." Zuko raked his hand through his hair as he pressed his lips together.

Katara took a step closer towards him, looking up at him with her bright blue eyes. Sometimes, Zuko thought that those eyes could see right through him, clear to his soul. She seemed to be doing that right now. Zuko swallowed hard, wanting to look away from the intensity of her gaze, but finding himself unable to.

She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but suddenly, Iroh's voice was saying, "If we want to get there by sundown, we should be leaving."

Katara looked past him towards his uncle, and it was like the spell was broken. Zuko released a breath he hadn't even known that he was holding. He turned towards Iroh and nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go."

He and Katara followed Iroh back outside. Dusty was ready to go. She looked at Zuko and huffed out a snort. He thought that maybe she was upset with him too, like Katara was. Dusty had really seemed to take a liking to Katara, and the ostrich horse had witnessed him yelling at her.

"I think you should ride Dusty, Uncle," Zuko said to Iroh. "Katara and I can walk."

"Don't worry about me, nephew," Iroh replied as he held up his hands. "These old legs have carried me just fine for the last few weeks. I think Master Katara should ride her."

Katara shook her head. "No, I agree with Zuko. He and I can walk. You should ride Dusty."

"Well, if you insist…"

Iroh hauled himself into the saddle with some effort, but for her part, Dusty didn't protest. Once Iroh was settled, they set off. He and Katara walked a few paces behind them, neither of them speaking. Overhead, the sun was starting to burn through the fog. He could feel the power of the sun's rays. It was going to be a hot day.

As the hours passed, Katara seemed to revert back to the habit of humming that had annoyed him so much when they had first started traveling together. But now, he found that he actually enjoyed it. He thought that if she actually put lyrics to the words that she hummed, she would have a beautiful voice.

With nothing to do but walk and think, lulled by Katara's humming, Zuko found himself thinking. He was mulling over everything that she had said to him, both last night and this morning. Could she be right? Was it wrong of his father to send him away? To banish him, simply for talking out of turn?

His father had sent him on a wild saber tooth goose chase to find the Avatar. It was an impossible mission. No one had seen the Avatar in a hundred years, but Zuko had been determined to be the one to find him. Failure was not an option, not then.

But now, Zuko had failed. Time and time again. His father considered him such an embarrassment that he had sent Zuko's fourteen year old sister to apprehend him. Azula was their father's favorite, his prodigy. He always said that she was born lucky, and that Zuko was lucky to be born.

Zuko would never forget the day his father had told about the day he was born. Ozai had ordered the Fire Sages to throw him over the palace walls, that he had lacked the spark of a firebender. It was only by the grace of his mother that Zuko had been allowed to live. He had been fighting ever since.

All Zuko had ever wanted was his father's approval. Was that too much to ask for? He thought about what Katara had said, that her father would never do anything like that. Zuko looked at Iroh. Surely, he never would have done that to Lu Ten. Iroh had stood by Zuko's side all these years during his exile. He had always tried his best to help Zuko, even if he didn't always realize or appreciate it. Iroh loved him unconditionally.

And now there was Katara to think about. She'd been his enemy. He'd hunted her and her friends down, and had tried to capture the Avatar. He'd never gone out of his way to hurt her or her brother because they had never been his target, but he had hurt her. Zuko had captured her and tied her to a tree. He'd used her necklace as a tool of manipulation. He had attacked her in the North Pole. And yet, here she was, offering him amnesty. To leave the past behind and move forward.

Zuko was conflicted. Could he turn his back on his father and join Katara and her friends? He wished he could ask his uncle what he thought Zuko should do. Iroh was always full of wisdom, even if he didn't always understand it, or want it. But he didn't need to ask his uncle to know what Iroh would say. He'd tell Zuko to follow his heart, to do what felt right.

But Zuko didn't know. Or maybe he didn't want to know. What Katara was offering him was frightening and unknown. At least with his father and sister, he knew what it would be like. He had been raised in it. It would be easier to go back to what he's always known rather than jump head-first into the uncharted.

He could follow her to the Avatar. Even though they hadn't found him yet, Zuko knew that it was only a matter of time. And when they did find him, Zuko could finally capture him. He could prove himself to his father.

Or he could join him. He could help end the war. This terrible war that had led him to be banished, had caused his uncle to lose his son, had forced Katara and her brother to take on the responsibility of helping the Avatar save the world.

These thoughts swirled around in his head. It felt like there were two voices warring in his mind. One was telling him to join Katara, to embrace the unknown. The other was telling him that he needed his father to restore his honor, and he could only do that by capturing the Avatar. By the time the sun started sinking towards the horizon, he felt no closer to having the right answer.

His uncle's voice broke through his thoughts.

"We're here," Iroh said, sounding far too cheerful for someone who had spent a day traveling under the hot sun. Zuko looked up to see what 'here' was, and found himself unimpressed by the sight. But to his surprise, Katara let out a gasp.

"Oh, wow!" she exclaimed. "Aang told me about this place. It's one of the wonders of the world."

Iroh looked back at them with a smile. "That's right. Welcome to the Misty Palms Oasis."