Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I do, however, own my OC's and everything they do.
Zuko felt the vengeful assassin building up an enormous explosion and suddenly knew, without a doubt, that everyone within the temple was going to die unless he could somehow contain it. Desperately he propelled himself forwards in his ball of flames nearly faster than the eye can see and using every ounce of determination he willed his inferno sphere to absorb and draw in all fire, fully removing his element out of the trapped assassin's final act of defiance.
It was as if in slow motion he saw the concussive force of the attack disintegrate the other bender's walls and send them all flying. He could hardly concentrate on their fate as his burning inferno sphere was hotter and more powerful than he had ever managed on his own, and the fire was fighting him, as the bender who'd wielded it.
There was no choice, he had to let it go away from the temple or risk destroying everything himself. Sick with worry for the people he had barely begun to know, and an old man he knew so well, Zuko shot out of the temple and up into the sky. Once he was a safe distance he allowed his outer sphere to collapse.
The errant fire he had stolen from the assassin's final attack exploded viciously around him in a massive area; an attack that would have easily destroyed him had he not been protected by his personal sphere. As it was, the explosion temporarily deafened and disoriented him, causing him to lose concentration and dispel his sphere.
Half conscious, Zuko fell, occasionally slowing himself with fire jets from his hands when he realized his peril. Despite his best efforts, he hit the ground hard, his world going dark.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Down below, Aang had recovered first to find himself freefalling, he somehow still gripped his glider and was about to snap it open when he realized, to his horror, that an apparently unconscious Katara was also falling.
"Katara!" he yelled frantically "KATARA!"
Desperately he angled his body and used wind to boost himself to fall faster to reach her before they both met their end on the rocks below.
She opened her eyes and realized her situation in a split second and he could see the panic written on her face as she attempted to reach for him as she fell.
"Aang!" she screamed, terror and the force of her fall tearing his name from her lips.
Her terrified eyes met his desperate ones, and despite the fact that he had agreed to give her up as the Avatar in order unlock his chakra, Avatar Aang wasn't ready to watch her die. He wasn't going to lose even one more person he loved, not while there was breath left in his lungs.
With power he didn't know he had, the young airbender used a massive burst of air to thrust him forward faster than they were falling and rocketed down to where Katara was mere seconds from meeting an untimely end and wrapped his small body around hers, using his hands and feet to create growing bursts of air to slow their descent.
Right before they hit the ravine floor Aang used his bending to flip their bodies so that he took the brunt of their landing. The force of her body slamming into his as he landed on the rocky ravine floor took the breath from his lungs and he barely grunted from the impact. Stunned and breathless he lay there, unmoving, until a similarly winded and dazed Katara scrambled off of him.
"Aang!" she cried breathlessly, sucking in air like a drowning girl and choking on a panicked sob.
"Aang are you ok? Stay with me, you have to stay with me!" She drew on the water from her pouch that was amazingly still at her hip and coated her hands, holding them above his chest and feeling for any damage that she might be able to heal.
He had a deep cut on his spine, from a rock, and she immediately began to heal that, along with a concussion she quickly healed as well. He was in remarkably good shape for having been the one to land directly on the ground with her on top of him.
The boy groaned and opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Katara in slight confusion.
"Is this the spirit world?" he mumbled.
"No Aang, just the normal world, the one where you somehow saved the both of us from falling to our deaths." She shook her head with an incredulous smile.
"Oh, well that's ok then!" Aang said with a considerably brighter tone. He sat up and reached around, his back smarted a bit, but he could feel Katara's healing water still mending him.
"Thanks for healing me, Katara."
"Thanks for catching me."
"I will always catch you." He said honestly, and the look in his eyes caused her to blush and look away from the intensity of his gaze.
She was saved from replying by a loud moan echoing in the ravine as it neared them.
"Appa!" Aang hopped up and waved to the enormous air bison as the gentle giant landed with a thump in front of them. He grabbed his glider that had fallen not far from their position and the two of them scrambled up onto Appa, Aang taking his usual place on the beasts' head, while Katara knelt down in the basket.
"Let's go Appa, yip yip!" he said with a small snap of the reins and the air bison gave a large bellow and slapped his tail on the ravine floor, stirring up clouds of dust and rising them slowly into the air.
They arrived back at the damaged air temple to find Iroh, looking mussed but well, holding an unconscious Toph gently in his arms. Sokka limped up from behind Iroh.
"Sokka!" Katara cried "you're ok!" She immediately jumped off Appa to run over to where Iroh was still holding Toph.
"Lay her down I can heal her!" she barked quickly, and Iroh readily complied, gently laying the unconscious earth bender on the stone floor.
Once again, Katara coated her hands with water, this time from the still-intact pool of water that had somehow survived the attack. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on the job at hand. It wasn't long before she breathed a sigh of relief.
The young blind girl before her simply had been hit with a rock or piece of rubble and knocked unconscious; she was virtually uninjured. It was but the work of a moment to heal the bruise and give her system a little push to help her wake up.
"Your turn Sokka" she commanded in no uncertain terms, and he obediently sat down with a little help from Iroh which he grudgingly accepted. One again Katara drew her water and used it to heal the slight sprain in her brother's ankle.
"Thanks Katara, it feels a lot better now" the boy said as he scrambled up from the ground, this time on his own.
"Did any of you see where Zuko went?" Iroh asked worriedly once Sokka had been healed.
Sokka frowned at the mention of the person he still didn't like, but held his tongue. Katara and Aang immediately looked around but were distracted by Toph finally coming to.
She slowly sat up and rubbed her head a bit, then stood up. "What's everyone standing around for? Did we win?"
"I think so, but Zuko is missing." Katara replied, now slightly worried for the young man she hardly knew.
Sokka immediately took charge. "Everyone spread out and look for him; Aang, you and Appa check the ravine, we'll check the rubble in the temple!"
Obeying without question, the team and Iroh fanned out and began to search for him; Aang hopping nimbly onto Appa's head and launching them into the air with a quick "yip, yip!".
He dreaded searching the ravine but he knew it had to be done. If the fire nation prince had been anywhere near the edge he could easily have been blown outward just as he and Katara had been and might have fallen to his death.
Aang had no great friendship with the firebender, but he never wanted to see anyone die, or even get hurt. Apprehensive but still slightly hopeful, they flew down into the ravine and Aang combed the bottom, from one side to the other below where the temple jutted out from the cliff.
He saw debris, he saw rubble and he saw fire nation clothing. Dread spreading through his stomach, Aang directed Appa to land nearby and hopped off, running over to the rubble and pulling a few of the smaller pieces off.
It was with relief, and a small bit of horror that he realized the body he was uncovering was not the young fire nation prince; it was the Firelord's assassin. The body was badly damaged, but it was clear that this was not Zuko. He breathed a sigh of relief, despite his pacifist views; he didn't want Zuko to die either.
Once again he hopped on Appa and they rose into the air, turning to comb the ravine one last time before flying back up to where the others stood, having searched the temple to no avail.
"Where could he be?" Iroh muttered, truly worried now that he knew that no one had seen his son. Pacing back and forth, he tried to think of where Zuko might have gone in the middle of a battle.
Landing Appa and hopping off, Aang walked over to them to deliver the news.
"I found Sparky Sparky Boom Man…" he said hesitantly "but…I didn't find anyone else."
"If he's not in the ravine and not in the temple, where could he possibly be?" Katara voiced her thoughts out loud. "It's nearly completely dark, it will be almost impossible to continue to safely search for him, the moon is only a sliver and won't give us much light at all. Aang, are you sure…"
"Yes, Katara, I'm sure. He's not down in the ravine, I was really careful."
She looked over at Toph. "Toph, can you feel him?" she asked.
"I don't know. I'm not getting anything…" the young girl replied with a shrug.
Sokka had been standing quietly with a thoughtful look on his face, and finally Katara noticed.
"Sokka?" she asked "I know that look, you're thinking about something."
He nodded slowly. "The last thing I remember before everything exploded was that Zuko said he needed time to work something up…"
Iroh gasped in reply, interrupting him. "Of course! I should have remembered. He was going to create his inferno sphere, it's the only thing that he would need time to build up."
"Dare I ask what that is?" Sokka said with a raised eyebrow.
"A large ball of swirling fire he creates with himself at the core." Was the succinct reply.
"He…what?" Sokka, for once, was speechless as he stared at the old general.
"So far it is mostly defensive. He uses it to absorb and deflect attacks." Iroh answered.
Sokka's eyes widened slightly and his mouth opened as if he was about to say something. "Wait…did you say absorb attacks?"
"I did." Iroh blinked then gasped "could he have…" his voice trailed off.
Sokka looked around at everyone. "Did anyone get burned?" he asked quickly. Everyone shook their heads.
"Nope." Toph answered. "Now that you said it, shouldn't we have? I mean, Sparky Sparky Boom Man exploded big time and I remember feeling heat, but you're right, we didn't get burned."
"What are you thinking Sokka?" Katara prompted.
"He did it. Somehow the guy actually managed to absorb the explosion. Well," he amended "at least he got rid of the fire from it so we didn't get burned."
"Wow…" Aang was impressed, despite his worry for the firebender. "Still, that doesn't explain why he's nowhere around here."
"Sure it does!" Sokka began to pace as he spoke. "If Zuko absorbed all the fire from that explosion into his fiery death ball, he probably had to get rid of it, right?"
"And he would have done that somewhere as far away from here as he could get!" Aang nearly shouted as he began to get excited at the prospect of figuring out where Zuko might have gone.
"There was a lot of raw power in that assassin's attack, Zuko would not have been able to hold it for long before it exploded." Iroh added.
Katara peered out over the ravine. "He would have jumped…" her voice trailed off. "Is he..gone?"
Iroh brought his hands up and shook his head "no no, he flies the inferno sphere."
"He WHAT?!" Sokka practically screeched.
"Can we do less surprise and more finding?" Toph interrupted. "It's not getting any lighter or warmer, and he could be hurt ya know."
"Sorry, right." Sokka grimaced. "Ok so if he was flying…he may have made it to the other side!"
"Of course!" Aang was already running to jump on Appa who moaned and prepared to launch them into the air with a slap of his tail.
"Aang, wait!" Katara shouted "I need to come with you, he might need healing fast."
They waited just long enough for the water tribe girl to scramble into the saddle before Aang's "yip, yip" was heard and Appa was carrying them swiftly across the ravine.
"Just go straight across, he probably wouldn't have had any time to go anywhere else." Katara told Aang.
"I am" he replied quietly.
"Katara…" he was hesitant. "Just be careful ok? He might be hurt bad and, well, we need you too."
"I'll be careful Aang, but I won't let him die without a fight."
"I know."
The ravine's gaping maw had passed beneath them and the cliff edge had come and gone. They hadn't gone too far before Appa moaned and slowed down.
"What is it Appa?" Aang asked his lifetime companion. The massive bison moaned again and descended quicky, Aang giving Appa his head so he could lead them.
"Do you think he found him?" Katara asked anxiously.
"I hope so."
They landed with a whump and both of them jumped to the ground and ran in front of where Appa was pointing his huge head. There on the ground in front of them was a small crater with Zuko lying very still in the center.
Katara rushed over, tripping once or twice on larger rocks in the darkness. She dropped down to her knees beside the fallen firebender and whipped water out of her pouch, coating her hands without even thinking about it. Aang stood nearby; he could do nothing but watch.
"He's hurt inside…" Katara muttered, only partially to herself. "But he's still alive." She could feel that some of his organs and a couple bones were not where they should be. One of his ribs came very close to puncturing a lung. She knew if that had happened, he would already be gone. As it was, the damage was much harder to heal than any of the others had been.
She felt herself becoming weary. The exhaustion from expending so much energy on healing was beginning to catch up with her. Mentally shaking herself, she dug deep and continued her relentless efforts, pushing herself as hard as she could.
At last she determined that she had done everything she could right then. Her energy reserves were depleted and she was about to collapse, but she'd done it. She had healed his inner injuries which meant he was going to be ok.
Katara went to stand up but she staggered and would have fallen if Aang hadn't jumped forward to catch her.
"I told you not to go too far…" he admonished her.
"You know I had to."
He sighed. "I know. I'll help you up on Appa and then I'll get Zuko."
A groan came from the ground. "Don't worry, I'll get myself."
Katara whirled around, nearly causing Aang to lose his balance as he supported her. "Zuko! You're awake already?"
"You are a very good healer, Katara" he replied as he sat up slowly, allowing his body time to adjust. He utilized his breathing techniques to warm himself a little before he eased himself to his feet.
"Let's get back to the camp."
Aang helped Katara into the saddle and Zuko carefully climbed into the saddle, feeling too uncomfortable to ask for help.
"So…" Aang began "you can really fly?"
Zuko cleared his throat in a small cough to cover his surprise. "Ah, well, yes I guess I can." He replied.
"Wow if I could fly I wouldn't guess, I would know!" Katara interjected with a small grin, still relieved he was on the mend.
"I haven't had too much time to think about it I guess." Was his reply.
"Ah…" she didn't know what else to say.
Soon they arrived at the temple to a small but warm fire and something delicious smelling cooking that wafted towards them as they landed.
"Zuko!" Iroh was overjoyed, his son was safe.
He raised a hand in greeting "father, I'm glad you're safe." Aang helped Katara down and Zuko carefully made his way off the saddle and to the floor. Iroh met him there and hugged him gently. Zuko awkwardly returned the hug. "It is good to see you well." Iroh added.
Zuko nodded before turning around to look at everyone gathered around the fire.
"Everyone is ok?" He asked.
"Yeah, thanks to Katara" Toph answered "she healed nearly all of us."
"It wasn't just thanks to Katara." Sokka spoke up in a very serious tone causing everyone to turn their attention to him. "We're still alive right now because of what Zuko did to remove all the fire from that blast. It should have killed us; it would have killed us if not for him."
"He's right." Aang agreed. "That explosion was huge. We owe you our lives Zuko."
Already flushing with the obvious gratitude he was unaccustomed to, especially from people who used to despise him, Zuko stepped backwards slightly, nervous from the attention and praise.
"We do owe you our lives, but I also owe you an apology." Sokka stepped forward and walked up to Zuko. "I was the one who threw the boomerang that hit combustion man in the head. You told me to stall him, but instead I attacked and because of that we nearly died. Not only that" he continued, "but I've been cruel to you since I've known you and I've hated you with very little reason."
Sokka stretched out his hand. "Truce?"
Still flustered but inwardly pleased that they could have found peace with each other, Zuko quickly shook the boy's hand, meeting his grip, giving as good as he got. It was a man's handshake, and they nodded to each other. They might not be friends, but they were no longer enemies.
Iroh smiled to himself as he watched the scene unfold. He had known this would be a good idea.
"Ok I hate to break up the male bonding that's going on over here, but I'm hungry, can we eat now?" Toph piped up.
Everyone laughed but Katara, and Zuko noticed.
"What's wrong Katara?" He asked hesitantly. He still didn't know her all that well.
She glanced his way and then her gaze slid away.
Aang walked over to her and put a hand on her arm. "He's right, something's wrong. What is it?"
She shook her head and sighed. "It's my fault, ok?" she looked away and turned her back to everyone, tears finally falling from her eyes as the stress and worry and exhaustion finally caught up to her. Her voice quivered slightly.
"I froze him after Sokka stunned him with his boomerang. But I left his nose open so he could breathe. That's how…" she took a deep breath and her voice steadied. "That's how he almost killed us. I was careless and I was too kind to my enemy and he nearly killed us."
"Young lady you could not have known that this would happen. Don't blame yourself for the actions of another. The assassin with the third eye was known as one of the deadliest assassins in the fire nation. You cannot be expected to know the tactics of a trained killer. The consequences of his actions are his responsibility and his alone." Iroh admonished her gently.
"Lastly, kindness" he continued "is never, ever wrong."
His words were like a soothing balm to the aching of her heart, and she quickly bent away her tears and turned back around with a small upturning of her lips. She looked earnestly at the old gentleman whom she remembered with horror they had nearly left to die. Her smile died. It was time to apologize for that.
"Thank you" she said earnestly. "We really do owe our lives to the two of you, and it makes me ashamed to think we nearly left you to die in the mountains."
Sokka hung his head. He was ultimately to blame for what happened back then, his anger had been out of control, and he was beginning to realize it at last.
"Ah, but you didn't, did you?" Iroh replied gently. "You helped me down from the cliff, you left us supplies that were sorely needed, and left in peace. Your kindness saved us that day."
Once again Katara was left with a feeling of peace. No one blamed her, or them. She smiled at Iroh, a true smile of camaraderie and thankfulness. Iroh smiled back happily.
"Now, one way you might demonstrate your profound gratitude upon our humble selves would be to allow me to brew some of my world famous tea for everyone to enjoy." The old general said jovially, and the entire group burst out laughing.
"His tea is good, but I wouldn't call it world famous." Zuko joked with a small grin.
Iroh gasped in mock pain, looking at Zuko and putting a dramatic hand over his heart. "Son, you wound me with your words! I'll have you know my tea is the stuff of legend!"
"Well, let's have some of that legendary tea then!" Sokka piped up happily. It almost seemed like they were all a family at that moment, and he couldn't help but feel happy, despite missing his own father. The rescue at Boiling Rock was the last time he'd seen him, he hoped it wouldn't be long before he saw him again.
"Yeah, cmon, make us some tea and if it's not legendary you're on cleanup duty." Toph grinned.
"Do not worry, you have never tasted tea until you've had the tea I make." Answered Iroh as he pulled his implements from Zuko's pack.
"I don't know, Toph's had some pretty expensive tea probably." Aang finally joined in.
"Ah, but cost does not equal skill" Iroh answered with a silly grin. "I will convert the doubters, have no fear!"
As Iroh worked to create is 'legendary' tea, the rest of the group began to eat dinner and talk about everything and nothing, a comfortable babble of adopted family.
This group of various ages, backgrounds, upbringing and ideas forged through adversity and tempered with time, would produce a bond of trust that would endure not only for their lifetime, but for generations to come.
Right now though, they enjoyed each others' companionship, and the worries and cares of the coming war, unrest, pain and loss they experienced faded away. Just for a little while, they were happy and free to enjoy being children (or children at heart).
0o0o0o0o0o0
"There is someone here to see you." Came the quiet voice of her benefactress. Umi jumped slightly and pricked her finger with the needle. Again. Almost without thinking she sucked the injured digit into her mouth, as she had done dozens of times over the last week. She was becoming a pin cushion.
The action lasted but a moment and she placed her sewing on the table to stand up and face the lady who spoke to her.
"I'm sorry my dear, I didn't mean to startle you." The woman apologized.
"Oh it's quite all right, ma'am. Who wishes to see me?"
"Ah…it is a young man from the neighboring village. He has come courting." She smiled wryly, knowing how Umi felt about the young man who'd left some time ago. Men of various ages were beginning to frequent the farm, seeking the young woman's favor, and she spurned them all, kindly, but firmly.
Her face fell slightly. It was never him. Of course, it wouldn't be, she knew that. Hope seemed to spring eternal in her heart, however, and every knock, every time a man would come courting, her heart couldn't help but speed up in anticipation that, this time, it might be him.
She knew it was silly. It was she, herself who had chosen to stay, and her idea to tell him to go. Oh she knew he didn't have feelings for her, he was just Zuko, not a man who was wildly in love with her, no matter what her foolish heart desired.
Content with her sewing and the peace of the farm, she normally managed to keep her mind on other things, such as dreaming of the ocean. However, when a man came calling, she was unable to keep her heart in check. How she missed him.
Seeing the young woman's face, she wished she didn't have to tell her when a suitor came. It was obvious she pined for the boy called Zuko, and it seemed like salt in a wound every time she announced another. Her heart hurt for this waif they had taken in.
She was loathe to suggest it, but perhaps getting out would help the girl. "If you don't mind my saying so, perhaps it would do you some good to go out and have a good time." She finally said.
Umi's eyes snapped up to meet the kindly ones of the older lady before her.
"I…I prefer not to. I'm not interested in…any of them." She finished haltingly.
"I know. But you spend every waking and sleeping moment here. It is not good for young people to spend all their time cooped up like this. You should be going out and enjoying yourself, living life, as much as you can while you're young."
"While I'm young…" Umi repeated, feeling the irony of that statement. If the woman only knew just how ancient she was. Now though, now it was irrelevant. She heaved a sigh.
"Ok. If this one isn't too forward I will spend a little time with him." She finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.
The lady of the house nodded. "I shall tell him you will be with him shortly."
"I'll freshen up a bit and put on a clean dress and be out soon."
Staring at the closed door after her hostess left, Umi wondered if she was ready for this. Turning away from the door, she prepared to meet her date for the evening and her thoughts wandered.
Her experiences with the male species were few and far between and significantly negative. With the exceptions of Iroh and Zuko, and of course the man of the house she lived in, men, in her experience she believed, on the whole, were cruel, disgusting and evil.
Nevertheless, she would humor her hostess; the lady did have a point. She couldn't stay hidden in their safe little world forever.
Emerging from the room a short time later, refreshed and apprehensive, but trying to stay positive, she stepped into the living room where the young man was seated sipping on some type of drink provided him.
He appeared to be a normal young man about the age she looked. His features were not distinctive, his brown hair was nicely combed and he was casually dressed, but tidy. Her shoulders relaxed a little. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.
He looked up and stood as soon as he saw her. Surprise and pleasure registering on his plain face.
"You came!" He blurted, and then flushed as he realized what he'd said. "I..I mean…" he stammered then cleared his throat and set down his drink. "I'm Tiron, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Umi smiled, hoping to ease his nerves. It was clear he had not been expecting her to actually go out with him. She most likely had a reputation. Oh dear.
"It's nice to meet you Tiron, I'm Umi."
"Oh I know who you are, everyone knows who you are!" He exclaimed then nearly slapped himself in the head when he realized what he'd said. "Idiot!" he yelled at himself. "Now she's going to think you're a complete jerk and a moron too!"
She couldn't help the grin this time. Her nerves were gone at his fumbling. He was clearly worse at this than she was, and she felt completely at ease now.
"Oh my" she answered with a small chuckle "I hope I can live up to my reputation, or, live it down."
"I'm sorry!" he apologized quickly "I didn't mean to say that. I just, I get really nervous. Of course you didn't need to know…that…" his voice trailed off as once again, his tongue got the better of him.
She laughed and he flushed. It was just too embarrassing to be laughed at by the girl he was trying to court.
Noticing the redness of his face and his obvious discomfort, she controlled her laughter and spoke.
"No no, it is I who must apologize. I admit I was very nervous to meet you. You see, I have very little experience with courting, and some unpleasant experiences with..men.. in the past. My laughter was not at your expense, but rather at my own for being so nervous and afraid to meet you. It was also out of relief, that you are nice and not scary at all." She admitted frankly.
Quickly letting go of his embarrassment he grinned; apparently she seemed to like him ok, and that was all he cared about right then. Perhaps they might have a good time after all.
"I'm sorry you've had bad experiences in the past, but let's make this a good one, ok?" he responded lightly, and offered her his arm.
"Ok!" she answered brightly then she smiled, taking his arm and nodding to her hostess they left the house together.
She felt like a grand lady as he assisted her into his cart, then hopped up beside her. With a word to the ostrich horse he snapped the reins and they were off.
Along the way the spoke about whatever subject they happened upon, including what they would be doing that evening, and developed somewhat of a mutual appreciation for each other. Before long they arrived at the village where he had arranged for a table at a restaurant for them to dine.
He assisted her out of the cart and handed over the reins to the stable hand that dutifully lead the beast and cart to the designated parking area.
Once inside they were quickly seated and waited on by an older gentleman with a seemingly endless knowledge of the restaurant, its food, drinks, and anything else they might wish to know. Dinner was by all accounts a success, and once they were finished, Tiron paid the waiter and they left, satisfied and happy with the pleasant company and dining.
"Why don't we take a walk for awhile?" he suggested after they left the restaurant. Umi readily agreed and they began to meander around the town, just enjoying each other's company.
"The food was fantastic!" Umi enthused as they walked. "I have never had earth kingdom food like that!"
He stopped walking and he turned to look at her strangely. "What do you mean? Aren't you from the earth kingdom?"
Immediately realizing her mistake, Umi began to quiver inside and attempted to back-peddle quickly. "I…I mean I've never been to a restaurant here before." It was the wrong thing to say to end the conversation.
"Here?" he repeated almost dumbly. "Where have you been to a restaurant?"
Should she lie? What would he do to her if she said the fire nation? "It was hundreds of years ago. It's too late now though, oh what should I do?" agonized Umi.
"I…" her throat closed off and she stood paralyzed with fear and indecision.
Tiron saw her panic and realized he'd inadvertently trapped her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." He said quickly.
"My mom is from the fire nation." He added quietly, watching her closely to gauge her reaction.
Her eyes widened in surprise and the tension melted from her shoulders. She relaxed and moved to stand next to him.
"Let's keep walking." She murmured, and he did so without question.
"I am not from the fire nation, but I spent a great deal of time there, in the past." She continued quietly as they meandered through the town.
"That life is behind me, deep in the past, where it belongs."
He glanced at her curiously then looked ahead. "I won't pry then. Much…" he added with a grin.
She looked over at him and smiled, looking back around at the town as they walked.
"If I may be so bold, your eyes…they're beautiful. So unusual." He blushed as he spoke.
She smiled wider and tucked her head in an attempt to hide her own blush. "Thank you" she murmured.
As they neared the edge of the city it became apparent that a festival of some kind was being held there.
"Have you ever been to a festival before?" he asked.
"Yes…"she replied hesitantly. "Not…here."
"Ah, of course." He understood. "Want to check it out?" he grinned and held out his hand. She shyly placed her hand in his and they trotted over to where a vendor was selling tokens for games and such.
He purchased several tokens and they proceeded to peruse the different shops and vendors' wares, watching the circus with their incredible agility and death defying acts, then browsing shops again and playing silly games here and there and just having fun and forgetting themselves, and the times they lived in.
The times they lived in, however temporarily forgotten, had not taken a vacation, and this was readily apparent as a rowdy group of fire nation 'soldiers' began to roughhouse and make a ruckus. Tiron grabbed her and pulled her towards a shop stall that would hopefully hide the two of them, but the one of the men saw Umi before she could duck out of sight.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, pretty lady!" He yelled. "You shuuure are a looker!" He staggered in their direction and Umi's worst fears began to materialize before her eyes. She began to tremble as she stood rooted to the spot.
Tiron released her hand and, despite his own fear of these so-called soldiers, he jumped in front of her and took a solid stance. He might not be any sort of fighter, but he would never stand by and allow any lady, much less his date, to be accosted when he could do something about it.
"Oh look!" laughed another. "He's trying to be the hero!"
"You're just a zero kid, don't get in our way or we'll crush you!"
"C'mere sweetness, you look good enough to eat!"
"Yeah, ditch that kid and come play with a real man!" He was punched in the shoulder by the guy next to him. "As if you're a real man compared to me." The other groused.
"Real men wouldn't accost a lady with her date." Tiron said bravely, if not foolishly.
By now the villagers who had heard the sounds of an argument and seen the men began to gather around, at a distance, to see what would happen. No one was willing to go to their rescue, after all, this kind of thing had happened before, and no one ever came out unscathed.
Several of the men laughed uproariously at his words, slapping their knees or tossing back their heads in amusement.
"We got ourselves a bona fide hero here folks!" shouted what appeared to be the leader. He looked at the villagers gathered around them. "Watch carefully as we show them what happens when they defy soldiers! Don't blink now!" he barked a laugh, amused at his own words.
A heavy ball of dread and fear had settled firmly in Umi's stomach. She could feel it. This was it. How she wished for Zuko at this very moment. She wished she'd never left the house.
Tiron clamped down on his fear and steeled himself for the beating he knew he was about to receive. He hoped he survived it.
In moments they were on him. He tried to fight back but there were eight large men, and he was no fighter. The blows rained fast and thick and the pain of each blow seemed to be worse than the last. He fell to the ground and they began to kick him, curling up into a fetal position as one pulled a club out and was preparing to beat him with it when a perky voice called out and interrupted their 'fun'.
"You boys sure are brave when you're ganging up against one guy. How about I even the odds a bit?"
A/N: I left a pretty big clue there, who do you think has dropped by to save them? Until next time!