whoo hoo! someone just told me the Avatar was safe. thank you to those who participated! you guys were the big help...i just promoted my friend's petition. enjoy the chappy!
Zuko had to travel by foot to remain unseen by Commander Zhao and his army of soldiers. By the time he had made it off the shore, it had already begun to storm. The whipping winds and rain beating against his face made it harder to see, but he continued. He knew that he had to keep going, for Aiori's sake. If he failed to bring back the flower by the third day, she would die. If it was anyone else he would have let them suffer a slow death, but it was different. This was Aiori, the girl who meant more to him than almost everything. He pushed himself every step of the way, fighting through the snarled branches.
As if things weren't bad enough, he found himself standing in the middle of a quicksand pit, the exact same on Aiori had warned him about! He struggled furiously, throwing his arms everywhere! But it sucked him in deeper! He had to think, what did Aiori mention when she was babbling on about all that useless nature trivia? She had told him that you needed to stop moving! He stopped instantly, and found himself not sinking anymore. He looked around for something to grab onto. He saw a branch hanging low a ways in front of him. He had no other option, so he made his way over to the branch and grabbed on! He used all his muscle power to lift himself out and crawl onto the side. There he laid on his back for a few moments to catch his breath.
Meanwhile on the ship, Uncle Iroh and the doctors tended to Aiori's every need. Her fever continued to grow and she got dark circles around her eyes. Her wound began to turn green and the doctor lifted her hair up to inspect it. Iroh stayed in her room and watched her, but she didn't move one bit. He wondered when his nephew would return. Aiori began to stir and cough. Iroh walked over and lifted her head and poured some water from a cup into her mouth. Drips of water trickled down the sides of her mouth and he wiped them off. "Please hurry Zuko." He said to himself as he sat her head back down.
That night, Zuko was exhausted form nonstop walking. He had sweat dripping down his face, and bugs swarmed near his head from being attracted by his perspiration. He swatted them away with anger. His armor seemed to weigh him down and he knew he needed to rest. So he sat down against a tree and leaned his head back. He felt himself slip off into a slumber. But his sleep didn't last long; he had a nightmare.
He walked back onto the ship and watched as people lit candles and bowed their heads in the hallway. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, even when his uncle walked out with a group of men behind him, who carried a stretcher with a white sheet draped over a body. Zuko watched closely as they brought it out to the deck and set it down. His uncle reached forward and slowly pulled back the sheet, revealing Aiori's pale face! "No!" Zuko said to himself. "Rest in peace Aiori, we'll never forget you." Iroh said and covered up the face again.
"NO!" Zuko shouted as he sprang up and looked forward! He was out of breath, and even sweatier than before. There was nothing but darkness and the forest trees. He wasn't on the boat, and Aiori wasn't there. He sighed and leaned back, taking in that it was just a dream. "I have no time to rest." He told himself and got up. "I have to find that flower." And he walked through the woods again.
The next morning, Iroh woke up and walked into Aiori's room to check up on her. She still hadn't moved, and her face was just as pale as ever. He touched her forehead again, and her fever had gone up since the night before. "Day two." He whispered and stroked her hair back. He called to the doctor and told him to fetch a pail of cool water. He did so and Iroh used a cloth to try and cool her down. "I fear that if we do not get her fever down, we'll lose her. It's gotten worse, but she's still shivering as if she was on a bed of ice." And he pulled down the shoulder of her dress to put the cloth there. "She is too sick to even speak. The sting of a Deloppa quill can even cause blindness and deafness, as if she was in a coma. She probably has no idea what is going on. Wait a minute." He said and looked at a marking on her shoulder. It was some sort of blue symbol and he didn't know what it was until he took a closer look. "Oh My…" But as he said that, Aiori lifted her head and howled, like they had known her to do, but ended it short with a violent cough. Iroh just stared at her. "I should have known!"
Prince Zuko pushed his way thought some brush and looked around. He spotted his own footprints in front of his feet and growled. "I'm going in circles!" he growled. "I have one day left and I can't even find my way out of here!" he began to fuss with himself. "I need a guide." Suddenly a wolf came out of the bushes. "Another one!" he said and crossed his arms. "I don't have any food, okay?" The wolf walked up to him and sniffed him. Zuko's stomach growled. "See, I don't even have any food for myself." He told the wolf. The wolf jumped up and pushed him down! Then he bit off his shoe and ran with it! "Hey! Come back here!" Zuko yelled as he followed the wolf to get his shoe back!
The wolf stopped and waited for Prince Zuko to catch up, and he eventually did. The wolf dropped his shoe under a tree and Zuko stomped over and put it on. "I have enough trouble as it is!" he said to the wolf, but then he looked up and saw fruit growing on the tree above! "Did you lead me here?" he asked. The wolf sat down and Zuko jumped up, grabbing a fruit and biting into it. He ate hastily and then ate another one. After eating, the wolf tugged at his pant leg and led him along. Prince Zuko sighed and followed again.