Zoe was jumping at anything, her nerves on end and seriously annoying Zuko.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed as they finally got passed the guards to board the ferry.

"What? Nothing." She snapped, nervously making sure her scarf was still hiding her hair. She had it plaited back and covered with a cotton scarf, her face was nice and clean and Zuko thought she looked quite stunning, despite her annoying jumping.

"Calm down." He put a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"I am calm! I'm just…oh no." She said suddenly, her eyes widening and gazing over Zuko's shoulder. He spun around quickly, expecting to see his father or Azula; but there was nothing.

"What?" He snapped angrily.

"We left Fifi!" She cried mournfully.

Zuko very nearly laughed, "I think he will survive, and it was Lano, remember?"

Zoe sighed, "I loved having a pet." She said sadly and Zuko rolled his eyes, "let's go get some food," she continued to get her mind off her long gone animal companion, "I'm sure Uncle's probably starving."

A little while later, Zoe was taking a walk around the ship as Zuko was extra grumpy and she didn't feel like having his anger taken out on her. She was in shock at the number of refugee's, she couldn't believe the world held this many people, and that so many of them were uprooted from their homes because of the Fire Nation.

Things need fixing; the Fire Nation needs to be stopped. She hoped Zuko would realise this too.

She saw Zuko talking to some tall guy with messy, dark brown hair by the edge of the ship. She walked over to them.

"Oh who's this?" Asked the tall guy who happened to be quite handsome in a careless type of way. He eyed Zoe up and down appreciatively.

"I'm Ping." She said trying not to scowl at the name. "I'm Lee's…sister." She struggled to get the word out.

"My names Jet." said the guy chewing on a grass stalk curiously and Zoe wanted to rip the annoying thing out of his mouth. "Funny, I can't really see the family resemblance."

"Well, lucky me although Mum always said he got the looks and I got the brains." Shrugged Zoe and Zuko didn't know whether to scowl or not.

Jet chuckled, "Well, maybe you'd be interested in joining us tonight. We're going to liberate some food." He spoke so smoothly, so confidently that Zoe nearly felt compelled to say yes. "Your brother is coming too."

"Oh of course he is." sneered Zoe, "are you keeping all the food for yourself or are you actually going to share it around?"

Jet frowned, "We'll be giving it out to all the refugees."

"Fine, I'll help." Said Zoe recklessly and Zuko was surprised, "You'll probably need someone like me anyway."

Jet smirked, "great, meet behind the ship at sundown." And he walked away, his two friends whom had been previously unnoticed by Zoe following him.

"I thought you hated stealing." said Zuko accusingly.

"I do. But, the food we have is gross and we are giving the new stuff to everyone so I'll make an exception. Plus, I want to keep an eye on Jet and you." replied Zoe simply.

"Excuse me?" snarled Zuko, "I can take care of myself."

Zoe rolled her eyes and sat down next to Iroh. "So Ping," said Iroh comfortably, but Zoe grimaced, he smiled, "You know the name has two meanings. It could mean duckweed if you wanted it to, or it mean's 'peace'. I think, for you, it is the latter. Well," he chuckled, "most of the time."

"Thanks, Uncle." she grinned and he gave her another warm smile.

"So, my dear Ping, tell me about your previous time spent in Ba Sing Se."

Zuko sat next to Zoe, resting his arm and head on his upturned leg and eyeing Zoe. "I don't remember much." said Zoe.

"You don't seem to like it…" prompted Iroh.

"No, I don't." snapped Zoe, "They have these…people, like secret police, I don't really know much about them seen as I was only little at the time. All I know are the pieces that I found out later." She took a breath, looking at her twisting hands in her lap. They're friends, she had to remind herself, I can talk to them. "They took my parents away and I don't know what happened to them and I don't know why they took them and I don't know if they're…" her throat was constricting, but she refused to let herself cry. Not now, not in front of Zuko. Iroh placed an arm around her shoulders. "They could be dead, I don't know. I was left alone, a little kid in that massive city till they came for me too. But, they didn't take me to my mum and dad, they threw me out with other refugee's that had been…expelled from the city; a four year old child. I found my own way from there."

"I am sorry." Said Iroh sadly and he tightened his arm over her shoulders, "and how did you come to live in the Fire Nation?"

Zoe sighed, "it's a bit of a long story…I don't really feel like…I'm sorry."

"No, no forgive me; I can be a little nosy." Apologized Iroh and they sat in silence, thinking, remembering.

Zuko hadn't said a word; he was too busy thinking about this city they were headed to. How both he and Zoe had lost their mothers and didn't know if they were dead or alive. But, there were many things about her that still confused him, gaps in her story, parts left unsaid. Why had they taken her parents and not her? In fact, why had they taken her parents? Wouldn't they have been simple commoners? How had she made her way to the Fire Nation? When and why and how did she join the circus? He was very confused. And then the biggest question: how was it possible that she was an airbender somehow mixed up in the Earth Kingdom capital.

"You're fast, nimble, beautiful; you'd be a great member to our gang." Zuko could hear Jet talking around the corner and he knew who he was talking to. And it made his blood boil. They'd taken the food successfully and now Jet had somehow managed to corner Zoe.

"Great, thanks so much, but ahh…no thanks." He heard Zoe sneer and it made him happy they she wasn't falling for his tactics. He heard the sound of skin on metal and had a feeling Jet had Zoe against the wall, furiously he was about to round the corner and rip him off her. "What the hell are you doing Jet?" he heard Zoe cry furiously.

"Just giving you a chance to reconsider." He said simply, "I'm sure I can persuade you. I'm going to ask your brother to join too." Ha, thought Zuko, like that would ever happen. He rounded the corner to tell Jet exactly that, but stopped as soon as he saw the two.

Jet had Zoe pressed right up on the wall, one hand holding her wrist and the other holding her face as he forced his mouth on hers. She was scowling as his tongue invaded her mouth; she thought she might be sick. Not that he was a bad kisser, more that she was not at all attracted to him like that. She brought up her knee sinking it into his groin and pushed him off her as soon as his mouth was off hers as he crumpled in pain. He looked up at her mournfully like an abashed puppy.

"Never do that again." She hissed and stalked off.

Zuko stormed over to Jet, fists nearly smoking after what he had just seen. He grabbed Jet by his collar and pulled him up. "Don't ever touch her again." He snarled.

Jet held up his hands in surrender, "I'm not that kinda guy!" he said defensively, "I know when I'm not wanted."

"You're definitely not wanted." Spat Zuko and he dropped him back down and headed in the same direction as Zoe. He found her back by a sleeping Iroh spitting and rinsing her mouth out violently into the sea.

She turned and saw him, blushed then cleared her throat. "Ah, I had something funny in my water." She said.

"Really?" Zuko raised his eyebrows at her.

"Mhmm." She couldn't look at him for if she did she felt she might kiss him with an excuse that it was to rid any taste of Jet.

He walked right up to her and took her water flask out of her hand. "Can I taste it?"

"Uuh…" she couldn't say no; she always lent him her water! "If you want…"

He took a long sip. "Tastes fine to me." He said giving it back to her.

"Yep, well I have funny taste buds, maybe I was over reacting."

Zuko sighed; why wasn't she telling him about Jet? He sat down on his sleeping bag feeling left out. Zoe sat down beside him.

"We'd better get some sleep." She said softly as she lay down.

"Yeah…"he grumbled, rolling over so his back was to her.

"Good night." She said, a slight tinge of annoyance entering her voice. Why was he being so…grumpy?

"Night." Zuko heard her sigh and he scowled, he didn't care if she was annoyed; did she not trust him enough to talk to him?

"I'm glad Jet's finally stopped bothering us." said Zoe, though she glanced behind her nervously. They had made it; they were entering the walled city, the great city of Ba Sing Se.

"Yeah…" Said Zuko, he had a feeling Jet knew his Uncle had idiotically firebended his tea.

"Well, what do you think of the city?" asked Zoe.

"It's Marvellous!" said Iroh contentedly just as Zuko said 'it's disgusting'.

"I've never been here before." said Zoe wonderingly as she glared at some filthy salesmen who were leering at her.

"You said you were born here…" Zuko said confused.

"I was. Well I was born in Ba Sing Se, not in this part though. I remember where I lived being very fancy, clean and huge. My mum always wore beautiful gowns and my parents went to fancy dinner parties. I found out about this part if the city years after I left." explained Zoe, "It's a horrible city, separating the rich from the poor. It's wrong."

Ok, so clearly she's not just a commoner. "So you're a noble?" clarified Zuko.

"No."

"Well why were you so rich?" He was annoyed at being so confused.

"Well maybe we were, but not of the Earth Kingdom. Look, I hardly know a thing about my family except for what I remember." Snapped Zoe, "my adopted family in the Fire Nation were nobles, yes, but I don't know about my real parents."

"You were with the Fire Nation nobility?" Hissed Zuko under his breath so passer's by wouldn't hear. "Why did I never meet you?"

"My family kept me a secret." She said in a hard tone, but her face softened. "They were trying to protect me, and I really let them down. I doubt I'll ever see them again."

"What do you mean you let them down?"

"Please, it really doesn't matter right now OK?" With that she walked off at a fast pace toward their new home.

Zoe was trying not to laugh, but Zuko's looked quite funny. They had a job at a tea shop (of course) and had just put on their new uniforms. Zoe had a feeling that Zuko had never worked a day in his life.

Zoe looked different too, though it was not for the uniforms. Her hair was straight, thanks to the ingenuity of Iroh. Using two pieces of tin in either hand, Iroh would heat the metal and place strands of Zoe's hair between them, flattening them with the heat. So now it was quite straight, though by the end of the day it had become a little wavy. For some reason it also looked a lot lighter when all flat like that, and silky. Zoe was enjoying its new texture quite a bit.

Within a week they had won the love of their boss; well he loved Iroh and her. Iroh was an excellent brewer of tea, and Zoe was great at attracting customers; though that was most likely because of her appearance.

"I'm getting sick of those men out there." hissed Zoe through her teeth when she returned out the back for more tea.

"I'm getting sick of being in this prison; I hate it here." replied Zuko shoving his tea tray down angrily.

"I didn't want to come here at all, so how do you think I like it?" Snapped Zoe so menacingly that Zuko took a step back in shock.

"Well you didn't have to come with us!" Snarled Zuko, "no one was making you, so what are you doing here!"

Zoe's eyes stung with tears at his harsh tone, but she glared them away her anger taking over. "Well I am sorry." She whispered icily, "for some idiotic reason I thought I was your friend!"

Iroh walked in at this moment and looked between the nose to nose glaring pair. "Now, now," he said bracingly, "Both of you seem a little stressed."

"I'm not stressed!" burst out Zoe, "I'm fine! This asshole howeve-"

"How about you both take the afternoon off?" He said gently.

They sent a death stare at each other. "Fine." They said together crossing their arms.

Iroh chuckled, "I'll be home in a few hours."

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Asked Zoe stiffly once they were out of the confines of the shop.

"No." snarled Zuko.

"What, you want to starve instead?" she demanded, her cheeks flushing slightly.

A small smile ghosted Zuko's lips as he remembered a pair of large, googly fish eyes and a pompous Zoe declaring she'd rather starve than eat it.

"Fine we'll go fine some food." He said resigned.

But, food it seemed was not to come as Zoe was distracted by almost every stall they passed.

"Oooh look at this Lee!" she crooned peering into crate filled with fluffy, baby rabbit-hens. "I like the brown one."

"You can't be serious."

"You know what?" she continued, ignoring him. "I'm gonna get one."

"What?" cried Zuko, "Where would you keep it? There is no way you're buying that…fluffy…waste of space."

Zoe turned to him with a very cold glare. "Don't ever call Huan a waste of space." She hissed in a low deadly voice.

"You've already named her?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes." said Zoe sticking her nose in the air, "'Huan' for happiness."

"I can't believe you…" muttered Zuko under his breath.

"How much for the rabbit-hen please?" Zoe asked pleasantly.

"20 silver pieces." The unfriendly salesman replied. Zoe's face sank immediately and Zuko felt his hearth wrench. She walked away sadly and Zuko ran to catch up after giving Huan one last look.

"In a few weeks we might be able to afford him." Zuko tried saying kindly. He wondered why he was saying this, but deep down he knew it was because he never wanted her to be sad.

"It was a stupid idea." She sniffed, "I can't go wasting our money on some animal."

She kept walking miserably and Zuko stopped, wondering why 'some animal' wasn't as bad as calling Huan a waste of space.

She was a strange girl.

A/N :) comments are very much appreciated! Duh...does it actually make a difference when people say please review or not?

I'll try it.

Please review!