p class="MsoNormal"Sky's POV/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"I'm now five or so months pregnant and living it rough. I was sitting next to Iroh who was looking at a pretty white and red flower, squatting in front of the plant, mesmerized by it. We were in a forest in the earth kingdom. His wearing dark green shirt and trousers. A bush began moving in the behind us and a series of grunts are heard as Zuko, clad like his Uncle, emerges from it. Short black hair now covered his head. Zuko frustratedly said, "I didn't find anything to eat. I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive." He kicked at the ground angrily before continuing, "This is impossible!" I shook my head, ashamed that this idiot was my husband./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIroh sniffed his flower deeply. Zuko, more calmly, looked towards us and said, "Uncle... what are you doing?" Iroh relied, "You're looking at the rare white dragon bush." He continues to explain lovingly, "Its leaves make a tea so delicious it's heart-breaking!" He then looked questioning at the plant, "That, or it's the white jade bush, which is poisonous." Zuko looked slightly frustrated, "We need food, not tea. I'm going fishing." Zuko hunches up his shoulders and leaves. I called out after him, "I'll help you! Or else we'll never get anything to eat!" I chased after him and caught up with him. "I don't need any help and I will get some food. You and the baby need it" Zuko said lovingly, rubbing my swollen stomach. We got to a sallow river and Zuko got a big stick then tried to spear a fish. I just sat back and laughed my head off until he caught the smallest fish I had ever seen. He looked so proud of himself. Until he saw how small it really was./p
p class="MsoNormal"We walked back to where we left Iroh. Zuko carries his large "fishing pole" on his leaning on his right shoulder. We found Iroh in the exact same spot we left him. "Zuko, remember that plant that I thought might be tea?" Iroh said. Zuko looked horrified with realisation of what had happened, "You didn't!" Only to be replied with, "I did." Iroh turned around to reveal his red, swollen face which he was scratching before continuing, "And it wasn't" Zuko looked at him and in repulsion said, "whoo!" and dropped his "fishing pole"./p
p class="MsoNormal"Iroh stood up calmly walking towards us while scratching with a long stick, "When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing." Iroh then excitedly said, revealing that the stick he had been using had berries on them, "But look what I found! These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant. That, or macahoni berries that cause blindness." Zuko loses his patience and takes Iroh stick of berries only to throw is away and the said, "We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need to get help." Iroh kept changing position scratching himself while saying, "But where are we going to go? We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation." Zuko put his had under his chin in a thinking position and said musingly, "If the Earth Kingdom, discovers us, they'll have us killed." Iroh added, still scratching, "But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula." They both looked at me, my pregnant belly and then each other and nod in agreement. "Earth Kingdom it is." Zuko stated. I picked up my bag and followed them./p
p class="MsoNormal"~This time skip is brought to you by Sokka finding out the curse of the Lover's Tunnel~/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Still Sky's POV/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe found a village and got Iroh to the village hospital. Iroh was at that moment of time sitting on a table, naked from the waist up, being attended by Song, a young woman who was a healer at the hospital. Iroh was still covered with the red rash from eating the white jade flower and it had gotten even worse. Song was applying a clay like substance to the rash. Zuko and I sat behind the young woman in the background, Zuko wore a coolie hat obscuring his face as he looks toward the floor with an arm around me. Song tried to make conversation, "You three must not be from around here. We know better than to touch the white jade, much less make it into tea and drink it." Iroh looked sheepishly and said, "Heh heh heh. Whoops!" Song then asked, "So where are you traveling from?" Which made Zuko stand up very quickly as well as talk very quickly, "Yes, we're travellers." Song then asked, "Do you have names?" Zuko hesitantly said, "Names Of course we have names. I'm... Lee. And this is my wife uh …" I answered for him, "Asmai." Zuko nodded his head in agreement and continued with, "and my uncle, uh... Mushi." Iroh shot Zuko an unhappy look from behind Song. Iroh continues the conversation by facetiously saying, "Yes, but my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior"./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIroh looked over Song's shoulder at "Junior," who balled his fists at the name his uncle had just bestowed on him and procced to move is finger across his neck at his uncle in a 'I'm going to kill you way!'. Zuko Quickly stopped when Song looked at us and said, "Mushi, Asmai and Junior, huh? My name is Song. You two look like you could use a good meal." She turned and swatted Iroh's hand away scratching his rash before continuing, "Why don't you stay for dinner?" Before I got the chance to speak Zuko replied looking to his right, away from Song and I, "Sorry, but we need to be moving on." Song replied with, "That's too bad. My mom always makes too much roast duck."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIroh's puffy, clay smeared face got closer to Song to ask, "Where do you live, exactly?" I shook my head in shame of his behaviour and said, "What them meant to say was that we would love to stay for dinner." I glared at Iroh and Zuko as a mum would when scowling their child. They both looked to the ground ashamed, making Song and I laugh./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"~This time Skip is brought to you by Sokka's map not working~/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Still Sky's POV/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Zuko, Iroh, Song and I were are seated at a knee-high table. Song's mother approached the table with a plate of roast duck. Song's Mother seated herself and started a conversation, "My daughter tells me you're refugees. We were once refugees ourselves." Song who was seated in front of Zuko said to him, "When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away." Then she said sadly, "That was the last time I saw my father". During Zuko's reply he lowered his gaze, "I haven't seen my father in many years." Which lead Song to ask, "Oh. Is he fighting in the war?" Iroh finished slurping a mouthful of noodles as he looked with some trepidation at his nephew to see how he would answer this dangerous question. Zuko had put his bowl on the table and replied with, "Yeah." Then He looked away from Song. "What about your family Asmai?" Song's Mother asked me. I looked down at my pregnant belly before looking up to her to say, "I don't remember my family. I was found by Lee and his family when we were young. They took me in." Song's Mother reached out a hand and placed it on top of mine and said, "We'll it must have been fate to meet Lee then." This caught Lee's attention again as he took my hand and kissed it are, I nodded my head saying, "Yes. Yes, it was."/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"~This time skip is brought to you by Sokka being stuck with a bunch of high hippies~/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Still Sky's POV/p
p class="MsoNormal"Zuko and I sat crossed legged on Song's porch when Song exited the house, and asked kindly, "Can I join you?" Then proceed to walked over and sit on the other side of Zuko, "I know what you've been through. We've all been through it. The Fire Nation has hurt you." She reached out to touch his scar, but Zuko grabbed her hand without looking before she could reach his face. Zuko released her arm, "It's okay. They've hurt me, too." Song said as she raised the part of her dress covering her right leg to reveal a firebending scar. Zuko's face looked shock. I just looked at it calmly and took Zuko's hand only to be pulled into his chest./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"~This time skip is brought to you by high hippies singing badly~/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Still Sky's POV/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Zuko, Iroh and I were leaving Song's house. We stood in her courtyard. It is still night, and fireflies buzz lazily around us all. Song and her mother stood ready to bid us goodbye. Iroh graciously said, "Thank you for the duck. It was excellent." To which Song's Mother replied with, "You're welcome." She then handed him a package, presumably of leftover roast duck, "It brings me joy to see someone eat my cooking with such... gusto." Iroh patted his stomach and said, "Much practice." Zuko turned to leave guiding me with him, but Iroh stopped him. "Junior, where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people." Zuko turns and offered a small bow, his face was still obscured by his coolie hat. I bowed with him. Zuko quietly, without much feeling said, "Thank you." Then turned him and I to leave again but we were interrupted by Song quickly saying, "I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned!" Zuko replied quietly, but intensely with, "I know."/p
p class="MsoNormal"We walked off with Iroh in tow. As we pasted the courtyard gate, we see a stable where a war ostrich is tethered. Zuko stopped, looked at the animal, then looked back at the courtyard and then at me. He released the ostrich and began to lead it away with them. Iroh looked appalled and said as Zuko climb on to the ostrich and help me up too, "What are you doing? These people just showed you great kindness." Zuko replied on the ostrich, "They're about to show us a little more kindness." He offered his hand to Iroh and asked, "Well?" Iroh looked down, dreadfully unhappy with this turn of events, but got on and we rode away. I hugged myself into Zuko's back slightly ashamed./p