-o-I'm not completely satisfied with this piece, but I was just sitting here eating Avatar fruit snacks, reading fanfiction, and I decided, "Aw, screw it." So I updated. Something about eating the gummy likeness of Zuko's head gave me the confidence to post it. Plus I needed to grab y'all's attention and do this:

HEY! READERS! There is an Iroh-centric story of most amazingness that you all need to read. It's called Summer Child and it's by Chiyo Thyra . I was honestly surprised a few chapters back to find out I'm the ONLY reviewer…which is a pity because, aside from the fact that I love it, Summer Child is an original idea. So go read that, after you read my (gaghideousgag) Soko…thingy!-o-

-o-

As the healer's apprentice, she had an opportunity to play a part in the lives of the travelers that came through the healing hut where she worked. It was satisfying; knowing that she had touched somebody, had altered and in some cases, even saved their lives. She imagined the stories that they would tell, with her presence slipped in between the tales of their harrowing adventures. She had become a minor player in what could become a great legend someday. Perhaps it would be the man that had needed stitches on his upper right arm—from a sword injury he readily admitted, grinning roguishly. Or perhaps the baby she had helped birth when the mother couldn't make it all the way to the village boarders, maybe someday he would grow up to be a great warrior and help defeat the Fire Nation. Or the woman that had needed herbs to soothe her swollen feet, or the young girl that the men had found dehydrated, or the man who had broken his wrist…any of them could go on to become living myth, each owing a part of themselves to her.

She had learned from her own experience to ask only the questions that the travelers wanted to answer, which gave her more of a camaraderie with the strangers she knew for only a night or two than most of her neighbors. Names of the families that she'd met years ago often registered in her mind quicker than the names of the boys that came shyly to court her. Song never shied away from using her own story, edited for the circumstance, to aid the healing process of the people that came to her. Admittedly, many of these travelers were nothing more than simple refugees, but sometimes she felt that there was something more. Occasionally people would come to her that her hands would know were different, marked for a life of adventure and excitement. She could feel purpose in these lives, a sense of destiny, a touch of greatness.

Perhaps that was why she thought so much of Mushi and his nephew, Li. She had never before felt such a presence of importance as she had in these to refugees, both pretending to be something minor when she knew that they were hiding secrets of the greatest importance. "Li" and "Mushi" weren't their real names of course, she knew. Song had enough experience to know when someone was lying on the spot, and these two hadn't exactly been experts at it. She tried to keep the conversation light and carefree, on subjects that a normal refugee would feel comfortable answering without having to pry too deeply into personal information. The fact that each question was met with awkward silence before a halting reply only served to intrigue her further.

Her thoughts drifted to Li when there was nothing else to occupy them. He had evidently lived a difficult life, but Song knew more about the situation that she had let on. His scar hadn't been an accident, or even a demonstration. Her knowledge as a healer told her this much. It had been given maliciously, purposefully, and with the intent to inflict pain and physical suffering. Who would do that, she wondered, to such a boy? When had Li known a Firebender? So many links were missing from this story, and she occupied much of her time wondering what path the boy and his uncle had traveled that led them to her door…and more importantly, if that path would lead them back to her again.

She had watched him take her Emuhorse, watched his uncle hang his head in humiliation as he, too, and climbed aboard the stolen animal. She had shed a tear or two for them, but not for the reasons that an observer would have supposed. She cried not for the animal (though she did miss it, too) or for the situation that would drive such honorable men to such actions. She cried because she had had the opportunity to run after them, to demand that they take her with them, to join in their adventure, and she hadn't taken it. The feeling that she, too, had a destiny of greatness before her, had screamed that she run after them, and she had refused. After all her daydreams of being swept away, she had shunned her chance at actually embarking on a grand adventure. She had let the opportunity slip through her fingers because of an acute feeling that now was not the time.

Now was never the time.

She had patients to care for, and chores to do at home. She played an important, valuable role in the village's community, and there was no way that she could leave her mother behind. How could she even dream of leaving the world she knew when there were patients that were dying at her very fingertips and her mother depended on her? She was bitterly disappointed with herself for holding to the hope that someday, he would return with the emuhorse. She berated herself for daydreaming that she would see him again. Song knew that she had lost her chance, that if she truly wanted to leave, she would have. Believing that there was a touch of destiny in her was just too draining for the young healer. Song tried to kill the seed of hope in her heart and failed, which only made her more miserable. Her smile never wavered, but the brightness that had once been in her eyes dimmed somewhat. She was tired of merely touching other people's lives. She wanted something great for herself.

-o-

"Have you ever wanted something more?" she asked one day to the master Healer, an elderly woman called Min.

"Don't we all, hon. More food, more clothes, more medicine, more time…"

"No, I mean, more..." Song trailed off, unable to articulate her feelings, which were boiling and bubbling up agitatedly within her. She ground the dried Goji berries more forcefully, the reddish fruit becoming powder in the bowl. Min nodded, and smiled sadly.

"You want a prince to come and rescue you," she said knowingly. "You want to be swept off your feet, meet the Avatar, travel throughout the Four Nations. You want something grand to happen, something that don't happen just everyday."

"I suppose that sounds silly," Song admitted. "Thinking that maybe I'm destined for something greater than what I can find in this village."

"It's what every girl wants, really," Min answered. "But there's just a select few that the Spirits really pick out for legendary adventures and epic romances. The rest of us just have to figure out how to see the legend in the everyday. Learn to be happy with what's in front of you, eh?" Song's pretty features formed into a dissatisfied frown. There were plenty of good things in front of her, but none that she wanted…none that would ease the ache in her restless heart.

A man entered the healing hut, and both women abandoned their tasks to turn and face him.

"Are you hurt?" Min asked, since there were no apparent wounds on his form. The man's dress was that of an Earth Kingdom rider, apparently a mail carrier of some sort. His voice was deep but uncertain as he looked at them both.

"I'm looking for a girl named Song. I was told that she worked for the healer?"

"I'm Song," she replied, surprised. The man smiled warmly.

"I'm here to return your Ostrich-horse." For a moment there was a stunned silence, then Song was running. Her stolen pet had been tied to a post just outside the healing hut. With tears in her eyes she hugged its neck, feeling the hard beak nuzzle against her back. The deliveryman had apparently followed her out, because a male voice interrupted their reunion.

"There was a young man leaving for Ba Sing Se that wanted to be sure that this got to you."

"Thank you!" she cried, wringing the man's hand. "Is Li alright? I mean, the boy...was he okay?" She couldn't help it; the question slipped between her lips too quickly to be suppressed, and she winced at the desperate note in her voice.

The deliveryman paused to think. "He looked alright, aside from that nasty scar. The ostrich-horse looked sad to see him go, though." He gave the beast a pat on the neck, laughing. It nipped at his hand. This particular emuhorse didn't generally take kindly to strangers, but Song had already witnessed it's affection (or at least tolerance) for Li.

"Oh! This is for you, too." He withdrew a note from within his shirt and handed it to her, then made his goodbyes. With trepidation, Song unfolded it and read.

Dear Song,

I am not proud to have stolen your emuhorse, and I hope someday I can return to explain to you why I stooped to such a shameful act. Please forgive me.

I feel I owe you a fraction of the truth, knowing the pain that I have caused you, and if this truth causes you to hate me further, I completely understand. I apologize for my actions, and the actions of my people against you. Someday I will repair what we have done.

Prince Zuko

The penmanship was elegant, even if the writing itself was forced. Song fought to control her breathing as she leaned against her avian-equestrian friend in shock.

"I hope someday I can return," she said out loud, her heart racing. She traced his name (could it be the real thing?) with her fingertip, and whispered "Prince Zuko."

Perhaps she had missed that one chance at embarking on an adventure…but perhaps second chances existed too. The wind tossed her braid over her shoulder, and she could almost hear the tiny voices of the spirits, their whispers touching that little spark of greatness in her. She smiled and threw her arms around her pet, images of a handsome, scarred young man filled her mind.

I forgive you, Li...Zuko...and I hope you can return, too.

-o-

-o-I don't think I captured the feeling that I wanted with this, but maybe I'll just try again. Most of it just pooped itself out, anyway. Song is just an awesome character. I think I'd love her, even if I didn't look like her. Heh heh heh…Tell me what you think! And don't forget to read Summer Child!-o-