New day…..
Zuko was the first to wake up; he quietly got out of the bunk and headed toward the forest. He quickly gathered some twigs and branches, and went back to camp. When he returned he found that his love was not there; he dropped the gatherings and ran toward the river. He found her in the river bending the water to get fish, he sighed in relief to find her there…. She turned her head, to the slight noise he made and smiled to find him standing there watching her. She returned her focus to the river and created several bubbles to envelope the fish, she quickly froze the bubble with a gentle movement of her wrist. She moved the frozen bubbles toward the shore and placed them softly on the ground. He stared at her, in awe at what he had just witnessed. She smiled to herself and walked toward the frozen bubbles on the shore; she defrosted the bubbles and placed seven fishes in her basket.
They walked together toward their camp, to prepare for breakfast. "Did you find wood?" She hesitantly asked him. "Yes, I did. Why do you hesitate to ask?" He asked her calmly. "Well, because I don't know how you will react sometimes, it frightens me to be nervous around you…" He walked to her, removed the basket from her arms and held her face. "Never be scared of me, the things of my past are my past. If I do something that intimidates you, are makes you feel uneasy; let me know. I don't want you to feel that way, ever." She gingerly smiled at him, and kissed him on the cheek. He gave her an embrace and picked her up; he set her down on a log and went to prepare breakfast. He began with building a fire, he brought his pan out to fry the fish and set it on the fire…. She sat quietly on the log, watching him. He removed the fish from the pan and placed one fish on each dish, he gave one to her and kept the other for himself…. Once again, they ate quietly and glanced at one another several times. She set her finished plate on the ground and began packing her belongings. He quickly finished his meal, and went to help her pack their belongings. "So, where are we headed?" She asked. "I was thinking one of the Earth Kingdoms or if you prefer, the Water Tribe." He smiled at her; she smiled back at his kind request to visit her home land. "That would be nice, but I would like to go to the Earth Kingdom, I want to reacquaint myself with some old friends." He glanced at her. "What old friends?" She stopped folding her clothes and looked at him. "This kind family, that the Gang and passed by on the way across the Serpents pass." He looked down; remembering the
Serpents pass is Fire Nation territory. "Oh, ok…" She moved towards him and enveloped herself in his arms. "Don't take it the wrong way; I helped the woman give birth…. She named her child Hope." She looked at him, hoping to see him understand. He tightened his hold on her, and kissed her head. "I'm sorry I reacted that way, I thought you met some Earth Kingdom boy or something…" She looked at him surprised at his response, and blushed at the memory of Haru. She contemplated the idea of telling him of Haru, but decided to tell him so that there are no secrets between them. "I did meet an Earth Kingdom boy, actually two. But nothing happened; they just helped at different times…. Don't take it the wrong way." He leaned his head onto her shoulder, and kissed her collarbone. "If you say nothing happened, nothing happened. I trust you." She smiled at the comment and leaned her head onto his….. They stayed like that for a while before they realized they have delayed their trip…. "We should get going." He stated. "Yea, let's go…" He kissed her gently on the lips and grabbed the packed bags. She knelt down and fastened the bunk, and pulled it on top of her back. He turned to her. "We should switch…. I don't want you to get exhausted." She smiled and generously removed the bunk from her back and took the two bags, filled with clothes and pans…. Then; they were on their way, to the Earth Kingdom of Omashu.