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"So, from the intel which Uncle's informants had gathered...the first sighting of the Avatar occurred on South Pole, at the Southern Water Tribe. That's where we'll start our search from." Druk roared in agreement as he quickened the beat of his wings, swiftly increasing their travelling speeds.
By the time that they've reached the South Pole, it was already night. 'It sure is great having a dragon as a travel companion.' Zuko thought as they spotted a small village below them. "Maybe they know where the Avatar went...Druk, we'll land there." Following his friend's suggestion, the crimson dragon began their descend at the entrance of the village.
An elderly woman rose from her slumber when a sudden scream of disquiet and strong breeze invaded her tent. Knowing something unusual must have occurred once more, old woman decided to dress up and check it out. The minute she stepped out of her tent, the elder let out a gasp of uneasiness when she witnessed the descension of a winged beast. Other residents who heard the commotion also exited from their tents as the gust of cold air blew even stronger.
As Zuko dismounted from Druk's neck. The exiled boy patted his partner on the head and thanked the latter for his hard work. He waited by the entrance of the village as he knew it would be rude if he entered without any proper invitation. Minutes' passed when an elderly woman eventually showed up before them. She studied both the scarred young man and the winged beast intently.
"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you at this hour, but is the village leader here? I would like to speak to him." Zuko held his fist and bowed at the woman courteously. "...Come with me." The old woman said as she motioned Zuko to follow her. Zuko complied and entered the village with Druk beside him.
Once they're in, Zuko noticed that the remaining villagers were eyeing at him and Druk with their expression filled with interest and fear. The young man also came to realise that the absence of men in the group. They were only children, women, and elders.
"...Where are the men in this village?" He abruptly blurted the question out. From the corner of his eyes, he caught the elderly woman tensed up a little. "They left with the chief to aid the Earth Kingdom in the battle against the Fire Nation." The elder spoke grimly as her tone carried a hint of frustration in it.
She then offered the prince to sit beside the campfire. "While the chief's away, I'm in charge of this village. My name is Kanna, but you may call me Gran Gran." She introduced herself as the remaining villagers gathered around her.
"Hello, ummm...Gran Gran. I'm Zuko, and I'm looking for the Avatar." Not wanting beat around the bush, Zuko immediately told the elderly woman the reason of his visit. Kanna frowned her brows when she heard that. "I believe he's a senior airbender? Roughly around 100 years old?" He added while ignoring the change in her expression. But that extra information led to Gran Gran raising her eyebrows for a second.
The old lady remained quiet for some time before she opened her mouth, "...You are a firebender aren't you?" Her questioned caught both Zuko and the remaining residents off guard as some of the villagers began whimper fretfully. Knowing lying wasn't going to help, Zuko let out a defeated sigh and nodded his head solemnly. "What gave me away?" He asked.
"Your clothes. Only a firebender or a lunatic would visit this frozen tundra while wearing that light. And I, for one, don't think you are a lunatic." Gran Gran bluntly pointed it out. The young prince mentally gave himself a slap when he heard that. "...I'm sorry. I left that out with good intention. It's just that...announcing myself as a firebender would make things difficult. Considering what my nation has done to the world..." With his voice filled with shame and guilt, Zuko lowered his head slightly and apologized to the elderly woman.
The boy's sincerity caught Kanna by surprised. For she has never met a firebender who is as genuine and gentle as the scarred young man in front of her. "It's alright. I understand the reasonings behind your secrecy. One should not be held accountable for the sins he has never committed. You are your own person." Zuko inclined his head once more at Kanna's remark as a gesture of 'thank you'.
"So, Zuko is it? Why are you looking for the Avatar?" Gran Gran asked. "I wish to help him defeat Fire Lord Ozai and end this war." Without any hesitation, the young man answered in earnest. Upon hearing that, Gran Gran's eyes widened in awe while those behind her were taken aback. The elderly woman observed the boy closely. She looked into his eyes and found them burning with an unwavering determination. 'He's telling the truth...' She thought.
"I'm sorry, Zuko. But you were a few days behind. The Avatar's no longer here." As Gran Gran said it soberly, the young man's expression became unreadable. He silently let out sigh of acceptance and nodded a few times. Though he knew the chances of the Avatar remaining here was very slim, he couldn't help but hoped otherwise.
"Would you be so kind as to point me the direction he went?" Zuko asked. "...The Fire Nation took the boy and went that way." As Gran Gran pointed towards the direction behind her. It was then, the young man noticed a section of the wall was broken downed. He instinctively got himself up and headed towards the crumbled wall of ice. As he quietly and thoroughly inspected the damages and the snow field that was cleaved in half by something big. He concluded that it was done by a Fire Nation cruiser.
He made a sound of irritation with his tongue. The prince shifted his head slightly when he heard the crunching sound of the snow from his back. Zuko then remembered something which Kanna said to him. "Wait, what do you mean 'boy'? The Avatar should be an elder aged around 100 years old." He looked confusingly at her.
Gran Gran simply shook her head and told the prince everything. How her granddaughter, Katara and her grandson, Soka found a young airbender named Aang and his giant six-legged buffalo-like beast trapped in an iceberg during their fishing trip. How Katara and Aang ventured onto an old, abandoned Fire Nation ship and accidentally set off the flare which caught the nearby fleet's attention. How the vessel came and easily breached their frail defence and attacked them. How they only left when Aang came and gave himself up to the Fire Nation soldiers to protect them. How her beloved grandchildren left the village to save the young Avatar.
After taking all that information in, the young firebender scowled a little as he growled "Idiot..." softly. But Kanna heard it quite clearly despite her age. "Thank you, for telling me all this." Zuko thanked her.
Next to him, Druk was curiously staring at the ice wall as he took a few sniffs at it. His interests got the better of him when he decided to give the snow barrier a lick which resulted in his tongue sticking onto the surface of the ice. The young man chuckled apologetically when he saw the dragon finally got himself free by forcefully ripping off a chunk of the ice wall. Druk let the ice that's glued to his tongue dangled in mid-air for seconds before he went ahead and chomped on it innocently.
"Come, boy. You'll need to get some rest if you plan on journeying to find the Avatar." Kanna signalled him to follow her as she guided him to an unoccupied tent. As he entered the tent, Kanna offered him an animal fur skin as a blanket. The young man thanked her and accepted it.
The next day, being a morning person, Kanna woke up earlier than the others. However, when she exited her tent, she was greeted by a pile of fish and numerous dead tiger seals lying next to Zuko and Druk. "What's all this?" Gran Gran asked quizzically. "Morning," Zuko greeted her with a short bow. "Umm...earlier this morning, I wanted to thank you for your kind hospitality and uhhh...to apologize for the damages and any additional mistreatments that my nation had done. So I thought I could help you all by providing food...I'll apologize for taking your net without asking." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and explained it nervously. Kanna blinked a few times before giving him an appreciative smile.
As other villagers had woken up and saw the bountiful harvest immediately had their faces lightened up. The children cheered knowing there's meat to eat. They immediately approached the exiled prince and the crimson dragon to express their gratitude to the duo.
As the time came for him to leave, Kanna offered to walk him to the destroyed ice wall while the remaining were radiantly waving goodbyes at him. "This is where I'll say goodbye, Prince Zuko."
"Than–!?" The boy paused and raised his good eye in shock when the elderly woman called him by his title. "I-I…You knew?" With the corner of her lips curving upwards, Kanna nodded softly. "And you still welcomed me? Why? I'm…I'm the son of the monster who caused pain and suffering your people…" Zuko questioned incredulously as mountains of guilt stirred in his stomach. Still maintaining her smile, Kanna explained to the boy, "You are your own person, Prince Zuko. Remember that. I can tell that you have a gentle soul, and so far, you have yet to prove me wrong. I am deeply grateful for what you have done for us."
"I-it's the least I can do...for now." He muttered at the last second as he lowered his head humbly. She then took out something from the sleeve of her fur coat. A wrapped pelt. "When you do find the Avatar, could you please pass this to my granddaughter, Katara?" Zuko accepted the pelt with a nod and got onto Druk.
"Good luck, Prince Zuko. May Tui and La smile upon your search." Kanna said it as she watched them soared into the sky.
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