Nearing the end of the second days' travel, Zuko finally saw forestland in the distance. And hopefully, a town nearby. Since meeting the kid, Booner quickly proved both timid and mute when he was awake.
As they pushed on through the evening, the kid stirred in front of him. When Zuko thought for sure he was actually awake, and not just shifting in his sleep, he said quietly, "Hey, Booner."
The child started, and would've fallen off the ostrich-horse had Zuko not grabbed ahold of him. "Whoa there! Hold still." he ordered gruffly.
Booner remained silent, but obediently held still. He carefully felt forward and wrapped his arms carefully around the ostrich-horses' neck, cautious not to touch the firebender behind him.
He doesn't know that I'm a firebender, Zuko reminded himself as he loosened his hold and looked back at the forest in the distance. He's just blind, and scared. Hopefully, there'll be water nearby once we get to that forest. Shelter, at the very least, from the sun.
The boy shifted slightly, a barely audible hiss apparent as he wrapped an arm around his chest. The hissing died away, and Booner kept his silence, stiff in the saddle.
"Are you awake enough to drink some water?" the boy nodded once, sharply, and Zuko handed him the waterpouch.
The boy carefully let go of the ostrich-horse and fumbled to open it. He would've fallen off had Zuko not grabbed his shoulder. The boy froze for a long moment, then took a small drink and capped the pouch. He slung it over his head by the strap and grasped at the ostrich-horse again.
Their shadows stretched out longer and longer as the sun sank beneath the horizon. When it was almost completely dark, Zuko slid off the ostrich-horse and led it onward in the darkness. The kid said nothing, and didn't move. It was difficult to judge his expression, but he seemed apprehensive.
They finally made it to the treeline as the moon rose. The path remained straight, and the moon provided enough light to see by, so Zuko kept moving. Pushing past exhaustion, he kept putting one foot in front of the other, despite how his vision wavered. . . .
Zuko started at the light tap on his shoulder. He turned and looked down in surprise at the boy, now clinging to the reigns, standing before the exiled Fire Prince. The child jerked his head towards the side of the road, towards the woods. His meaning was clear: We should both sleep.
Zuko nodded once. "We should make camp for the night." he agreed.
Booner nodded sharply, but gripped Zuko's sleeve and tugged him lightly towards the ostrich-horses back. His other hand gripped the reigns.
"Can you even see?" Zuko asked, then almost immediately wished he hadn't; Booner didn't know he had seen the bandages yet. "I only mean, it's pretty dark out." he tried to cover awkwardly.
Booner's expression was stony, but he only nodded once. He waited until Zuko climbed up on top of the ostrich-horse, and then lead it into the woods. The swaying motion of the animal he was riding made it hard to keep his eyes open, even though the Fire Prince struggled against sleep.
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Sunlight poked at his eyes. He struggled to stay asleep for a moment, then gave up, opening his eyes and sitting upright. He blinked. It wasn't exactly a clearing. More of a small patch of clear space between trees and bushes next to a trickle of water.
Booner was curled up against the ostrich-horse a few feet away from him, shivering slightly in the shade. He'd taken the blanket and draped it over Zuko sometime last night. His pack was leaned against his legs, and the waterpouch as well.
Zuko took the waterpouch and moved to the stream, glad to have some fresh water at last. He cupped the cool water in his hands, and drank it down greedily before he moved to fill the waterpouch.
He glanced over at the kid again. He was pale and shivering in the shade, drawn into a careful ball against the ostrich-horses side. Even asleep, he looked like he was hurting, which was more than when he looked awake.
Standing, he walked over to the child and crouched before him, gently shaking his shoulder. "Kid, er, Booner. Wake up." the boy did not respond. Zuko grimaced slightly, fingers just brushing the childs forehead. Dammit, the fever's getting worse. And not having enough water or any medicine over the last few days probably didn't help with that.
He roughly positioned the boy until he was sitting up a bit against the ostrich-horses back, and prodded the top of the waterpouch against the boys mouth. Nothing. The boy remained unconscious, and still. Grumbling, Zuko stuffed blanket and waterpouch into his bag, picking both it and boy up.
He got the ostrich-horse up to standing, and placed both burdens on it's back. He followed their trail back the way they came to the road, and from there he mounted up and pushed the ostrich-horse to a gallop. He kept a grip on the boy, making sure he wouldn't fall off.
"You'd better not die on me." Zuko muttered.
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It was just past sunset when she heard the heavy knock at the door. Sighing, the brown haired and eyed woman left the kitchen and opened the front door. If this is Ping coming just to bother me again, she groused to herself, I'm going to kick his tail all the way to the North Pole. Instead of the elderly man she'd expected, the teenager who stood in her doorway was a complete stranger.
He had a scar, most likely from a fireblast, marring his face, black hair, and looked quite travelworn and underfed. He was leading an ostrich-horse, and the child on it immediately caught her attention. Pale, sweaty, bloody bandages wrapped around his face, clothes torn and shivering.
"Oh my! Come in, come in." she gestured toward the door as she moved to lift the child from the ostrich-horses' back. She may've been short and stout, but she was strong. "I'm Malla. How'd this happen to him?" she asked, closing the door behind the teen.
He looked tired, and hungry, but looked back at her. "Not sure." he replies. "Found him this way."
Malla tutted to herself, laying the child down and examining him. "I'd say he got into a bad scuffle with some earthbender, by his condition." she moved to get some clean bandages and a pot of hot water. "Is he your brother?" She watched the teen out of the corner of her eyes as she gently loosened and removed the bloodied bandages.
He'd leaned himself against a wall, watching her work, arms crossed. He nodded once, looking away. ". . . yes. He is." he replied quietly.
Removing the bandages entirely and throwing them away, she gently cleaned the bad wound. Infected. And he's running a fever. How long has this boy gone without treatment?
Malla quickly sorted through her store of herbs, gathering ones to help with infection and fever. She worked carefully, trying to see if the boy would ever regain his sight. If this boy was attacked by an earthbender, she grimaced, then they must've slashed at his eyes with a bunch of gravel. The boys eyes had been mangled, and she doubted that he would ever see properly again.
She carefully dressed the wound and wrapped a fresh bandage around the boys eyes before gently removing his outer layers. They were torn up enough not to be worth fixing, anyway. She gently felt the boys chest, feeling for broken ribs. Hm, I think they're merely bruised. she thought, turning to look at his brother. I wonder what happened. He's a traveler, and claims he found the boy in this condition. The two honestly did look similar.
Paler skin tones, more angled faces. She met golden eyes with her brown and raised her brows. Her gaze drifted to his scar, and her eyes widened as realization set in.
They must be from the colonies. . .something clearly went wrong, how did-?
". . .what?" the teen demanded edgily.
Malla shook herself and turned back to her work for a moment, straightening bundles of herbs and pots. "Oh, nothing. Golden eyes are just an unusual sight, is all. Do you know what happened to your brother?" she asks. They're Fire Nation, but this boy was struck by one of his own. And his brother. . . .he's just a child!
"No. He disappeared awhile ago. Me and Uncle split up to search for him." the teen replied tersely.
Him and Uncle . . .at least they has someone older to turn to. All three must've been traveling together for quite some time. She looks back at the teen as mulled this over. "Mmhmm. Well, I can clearly see that you're exhausted. As a healer, I'm ordering you to bed for the night."
The teen flinched away from her and struggled in her grasp when she grabbed his wrist. "Hey!"
"Calm yourself. Exhausted, hungry, and clearly worrying for some time. You need food and rest." she told him sternly. "Do not worry. Your brother will be fine." she assured him.
"But I-!" he protested.
"Shush now!" she reprimanded him gently. "I will not be asking you to pay for food, rent, and healing." she kept her relief hidden when he stopped struggling and allowed himself to be led to a long, darkened room with a long row of beds pressed against one wall. A lantern was lit at intervals along the wall, but dampened down. "I can see you've been through a lot, as well as your brother. Rest now. We can talk in the morning."
The teenager nodded, and moved toward the bed. Malla said a quiet good night and closed the door behind her. She went back to the boy and carefully examined him, but could find no other injuries. Gently, she scooped him up and carried him into the same room she'd led the teen, and tucked him into a bed as well.
She glanced at the teen as she left, but he was already asleep, breathing even. I'll check on the boy in an hour, she thought, closing the door carefully. His fever is not dangerous, but I cannot have it getting even worse. Malla sighed, moving toward the back, and storage. I just wonder why two kids from the Fire Nation colonies are doing so far inland.