We had retired to the inner temples. Katara told me it was cloudy, as if I didn't notice the lack of heat on my face. I wasn't stupid. I knew it wasn't nighttime yet since we'd only just had breakfast not even two hours ago. I didn't make a remark to her, just shuffled inside and followed the sound of footprints, thinking we might move to a central room and talk or eat. Instead, everyone began moving in different directions as soon as they entered through the main set of doors. The cliff overhead offered some protection, but water droplets would still whip in with the high winds. The pitter-pat of rain sounded and I ducked inside before getting wet.
The rain always messed up my 'sight', thousands of little drops hitting the ground at completely random intervals and sending out vibrations. They made it hard to tell where other people were, people and things, like a hundred different people talking in a room while I only needed to hear one of them. If the ground had already turned to mush, then it really didn't matter. Mud is almost as bad as sand, everything gets all blurry and hard to make out. This is why I hate storms, any storms, but especially thunderstorms, with the bursts of noise like Fire Nation catapults, except louder and with less notice. At least with the catapults, I can hear them wind up, gears shifting and grinding, the men working them. At least I could feel the tremors they sent before the flaming balls are launched.
Even inside I could feel the drops of rain that bounced off of the roof, the leaky drips of water that fell through holes, the slip of it moving down a wall. Thunder boomed again, and I imagined that the entire temple shook. I wasn't willing to admit it, but I longed to be near someone else, someone to distract me from this. No, I wouldn't tell anyone my reasons, but I would search for company where I could, feeling throughout the temple to know where everyone else was. Aang and Katara were with Appa. They'd managed to lure him inside and were brushing his fur or his teeth or something. Haru had disappeared down a maze of tunnels. Suki and Sokka were using this time to… ick. I hadn't seen much of him since she'd been back, not that I wasn't happy about the whole she'd escaped jail and etcetera, but she was still his girlfriend.
This left me with Zuko, Prince Grumpypants, who as far as I was concerned hadn't spent nearly enough time with the coolest member of our gaang: me. I set out to find him, and followed various hallways that led me to a shut door, average sized, and sturdy. It was made of stone, meaning I could easily Earthbend it open, which I did while yelling "Guess who's here on the fun parade!"
He didn't turn around. His breathing was slow and rhythmic, as was his heartbeat. Neither had changed with my arrival. It almost led me to believe that he'd been expecting me, but that wasn't possible. I knew my step was silent, lending itself to my many sneak attacks on Sokka. Zuko couldn't have known I was coming, and even as the moment passed awkwardly, he made no move to acknowledge my presence. For all I knew he was staring at the wall or meditating or asleep or something.
"What are you doing?" I asked, slowly treading towards him. As he shifted his body, I felt for the first time a slip of paper in his hand. Beside him, he'd made enough room for me to sit, so I did, gruffly and all in one motion. "Is it a picture? Another warrant?" I was used to these supposed flyers depicting warrants for our arrest, either because of association with Aang, or from being left to our own devices in certain situations. I hoped they got my face right if that's what he had.
Zuko hesitated before speaking, but his voice was guarded. "No, nothing like that. It's a painting." He paused again. "It's a painting of my mother."
I wanted to prompt him, push him for more information, but I didn't know how to ask about it. It was common knowledge what had happened to his mother, or perhaps it was common knowledge that nobody actually knew what had happened to his mother besides that she was gone. It had to be a sore spot for him. I didn't want to push too hard or make him retreat back into his shell. Although I'd been on good terms with him since he'd joined us, he'd yet to open up to me about anything personal or invited m when he decided to run off wherever. Did it bother me? Yeah. Duh. Of course. Why wasn't I a good enough companion for him and his life-changing adventures? Why were everyone else's problems so much more important than mine? I had issues too.
A burst of thunder pulled me out of my thoughts in a way that was entirely unpleasant. I'd tried to keep myself from jumping, but I still shook at the initial sound. Finally I asked the question I'd wanted to most. "What did she look like?" The whole blind thing did become problematic in situations like this, and I guess Zuko had forgot judging by the way he shifted around uncomfortably.
"Umm… yeah. Just give me a second." His fingers began drumming against his leg, joining the sound of raindrops in a way that was for once soothing. "I don't know where to start exactly." His voice had softened to a gentle murmur. "She was beautiful, and kind. You could see it in her eyes." He stopped again, abruptly.
I waved it off. "I know, I know. I'm blind. Keep going."
So he continued. "She had a way of attracting people and animals, an air to her that let them no she wouldn't hurt them. And she had a way she would wear her hair, half of it pinned up and the other half down because she liked the feel of her hair around her shoulders. She told me that once. Her voice. It was like everything good in the world turned in to sound, and she would sing to me when it was stormy outside." His voice trailed off, this time not so sharp.
"She sang?"
I think he might have nodded at that point, not realizing how difficult it would have been for me to tell if he had or not. He let out the affirmative verbally, and then we sat quietly for another few minutes, while I thought about my own mother and he probably continued to think about his own. Mine had never sung to me. She'd barely touched me to be honest, held me at arm's length as though my blindness was contagious, all the while showering me with gifts her and father had bought for me, fans and dolls and things that I could play with safely and alone. Occasionally she had the servants bring flowers to my room, but she probably did it out of habit and not because the faint smell of flowers was so strong for me that I could smell them for weeks, even after they'd began wilting. When it stormed, my dad was often the one who came to me and stroke my hair, silent all the while.
"Could you sing me something… maybe?" I asked quietly, almost self-consciously. I didn't want Zuko to think that I was a wimp or weird or anything. Surprisingly though, he agreed to it, and soon enough his voice echoed through the room, low and gruff.
Rest little prince of mine
Do not worry yourself this time
The storms are ours to cherish
A sense of noble pride
Lighting streaks across the sky
Bends to no strong will
You are not that different
Little prince of mine
His words lulled me to a sense of restfulness, and I could only imagine what it would sound like coming from a mother. Zuko on the other hand, twitched with a nervous energy now. "Are you alright?" I asked.
"No, I'm fine," he replied, but I could practically feel his sense of relief when there was a sudden knock on the door. "Come in," he called.
Aang appeared at the door, asking him to come see a trick he'd taught Appa in the past twenty or so minutes. Zuko literally jumped at the chance to leave the room, which I'd failed to understand his reason for, so I sat there baffled as he exited the room with the avatar. "Hey, we still need to have that life-changing adventure!" I yelled out. The door shut less than a second later, but I was sure he'd heard me, and I wasn't kidding either. Everyone else had got to go on some sort of trip with him and I wanted my turn.
A/N: So this chapter did focus more on Toph and Zuko's relationship as I saw it near the end of the third book, a bit of the awkwardness between the two and Toph almost exclusively seeking out Zuko's company. Also, while Avatar the Last Airbender isn't mine, I did create the lullaby that Zuko sings. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed it.