Aang was pleased with the way things were going.
Blue was fitting into their group excellently like the missing piece to their puzzle.
He got along well with Katara and ensured the work got done. Sokka was no exception to this, he was given many chores around camp.
The only problem Aang had had with him was when blue tried to force him to eat meat. He could seem to grasp the concept that Aang didn't eat living creatures, deceased or not.
The moment was short-lived as it didn't take long to convince the not so spiritual spirit that Aang was in fact, not starving himself and was just fine eating fruits.
The group was moving forward.
The camp was packed up. Blue was lured onto Appa and the journey to the air temple was underway.
Sokka pulled out his map and began looking it over.
Katara turned to blue.
"Why don't you remove your mask? You didn't take it off earlier to eat either."
Aang turned around from his position steering Appa.
"Yeah, doesn't it get stuffy?"
Even Sokka paused what he was doing to look at their recruit.
Blue just shook his head and tapped his mask once like that explained everything.
"This is going to take a while isn't it..."
"That's okay Sokka," Aang chirped, "it can be a game. A guessing game."
Katara hummed.
"Do you not like the way you look?"
Head shake.
"Are you hiding your identity," Sokka asked.
Blue tilted his hand in a kinda way.
"Partly," Katara guessed. "You don't want people to know who you are and something else."
Sokka snorted.
"Are you ugly or something."
Blue paused and tilted his hand back and forth again.
"What do you mean kinda! How can you be kinda ugly?"
"Do you have a birthmark or a scar?"
Blue pointed to Aang and nodded.
"A scar."
Katara patted his shoulder ignoring how he tensed.
"You don't have to be ashamed, we won't judge."
"Yeah, you're part of the group now so it's only fair we get to know what you look like."
Katara glared at her brother for that comment.
"What he means to say is you can trust us."
Aang nodded, "has any ever seen your face."
Blue shook his head and held up three fingers.
"No, three?"
"Not in three... weeks? Months?"
Head shake.
"Years!"
Nod.
Sokka whistled.
"That must get pretty lonely," Katara said softly.
Her response was a shrug.
Aang climbed down next to them.
"You can show us, you're not alone anymore."
Blue hesitated and nodded.
The team waited in anticipation but the Blue spirit made no move to remove his mask. He just sat there... twiddling his thumbs.
"Well, what are you waiting for," Socka huffed impatiently. Aang shushed him.
The blue spirit stared at him and once again, said nothing.
"We did say he doesn't have to remove it... whenever you're comfortable."
Katara was watching him thoroughly intrigued. Aang was curious himself, but he refrained from staring.
Blues identity could wait because the avatar had bigger expectations for the day.
He was going home.
Zuko had absolutely no clue where they were headed. After fifteen minutes of struggling to ask he finally relented and allowed himself to be dragged onto the giant bison.
He certainly hated being in the dark. As well as being misunderstood in every action and unable to correct the team's suggestions.
However, he did sign up for this so he had no one to blame but himself.
The flight was awkward. The water tribe girl stared at him the entire time. The feeling of being watched overwhelmed his senses, honed over his three years living in solitude.
The prince was aware he was presumably crazy. He did feel crazy but he doubted anyone ever did.
Perhaps if he still spoke he might be the kind of man who talked to himself. He certainly thought at himself.
Did that count?
Regardless, he didn't care. Sanity wasn't very high on the list of problems.
Being questioned by the "gAang" was.
Blue was tempted to remove his mask. To relieve himself of the heartache that came from being alone.
The truth of the matter is, he doesn't trust his new "friends, as they called themselves. They were kind, sure. As well as naive and innocent.
Removing his mask would be to open himself up to another betrayal. Perhaps this time he would die for real.
That was the biggest deciding factor.
There was also the problem of his pale skin and golden eyes that would give him away as fire nation.
As well as his scar. He knew it was bad. The first time he had seen his reflection he almost fainted. He did however lose his lunch.
The avatar seemed not to care who he was under the mask. All to trusting strangers.
The only one who seemed to use his brain at all was the water tribe boy, and that was only on occasion. He could tell that Sokka was suspicious of him. As he should be. He could also tell he set aside his and his team's safety for the sake of having another "warrior" around.
The boy was pretty blatantly sexist, even towards his sister. Zuko briefly entertained the idea of him meeting Azula. A thought he quickly discarded.
Just thinking of her made Zuko's heartache. He missed his family. He knew his father cared nothing for him, but the others.
He missed sitting by the pond in the royal gardens with his mother. Spending a combined amount of hours together just feeding the turtle ducks. He missed when they acted out old plays in the mirror and went to see them performed on stage.
Zuko missed the time he spent with his uncle and cousin before they left for the war. When Uncle Iroh would make tea and teach him how to play the boring game of pai sho.
He missed "sword fighting" with Lu Ten, using sticks for blades. How his cousin would always let him win and in the most dramatic way possible.
He even missed his time with Azula. Though she never took much interest in Zuko other than to hurt or embarrass him. He still missed the time he spent with them when she was younger and would listen to his stories with wide innocent eyes.
Azula was now alone with their father. With nothing standing in the way of him hurting her like he did Zuko and Ursa.
It was true that the current Firelord Ozai favored his daughter... Zuko couldn't decide if that was better or worse for Azula's sake.
Time passed quickly atop the flying bison. Appa is his name, the blue spirit reminded himself.
The entire journey blue was on guard. Careful to watch all three passengers with hidden suspicion.
It was hours later when the monk announced their arrival.
"We're here! The Southern Air Temple!"
Zuko paled. This was not good...
