17
Zuko let out a loud groan as he and his uncle reached land. The ferry ride had been tiring and uncomfortable, but now, he had to sleep on the ground, because there was no way for them to get to the city until sunrise tomorrow. It was far too dark to travel now. Iroh walked up beside his nephew and looked out at the dark expanse of plains before them.
"I suppose we will set up camp." He said with a shrug, Zuko said nothing in response. His uncle started walking to find a particularly comfortable campground for them to rest on. It only took him a moment, finding a spot not too far from a stream. Uncle said he would set out mats for them to sleep on and he suggested that Zuko get the firewood. He reluctantly agreed.
He stalked out to the darker part of the plains, carrying a small torch he lit himself to light his way, picking up different sticks of wood as he did. He saw a light coming up behind him and figured it could only be one person, he sighed.
"I'm getting the wood, Uncle." He said.
"Who're you callin' uncle?" A female voice replied, Zuko whirled around to see who it was and saw a young Shinjun reptilian girl with long blonde hair that went down to her waist, her bangs covering one golden eye, her scales a certain shade of green that sparkled in the light of a lantern she carried on a long wooden pole. She wore a green and pink kimono that looked rather festive.
"Who are you?" Zuko asked, on high alert of the Shinjun.
"Just a scavenger, like yourself." She replied with a smile, showing an armful of wood, "Watcha doing all the way out here?"
"Getting firewood for camp." Zuko replied, returning to his task, deciding to ignore the girl.
"Who's in your camp?" She asked, not leaving him alone and walking closer to him.
"My uncle and me." He replied, "That's it."
"Just you and your uncle all by yourselves?" She asked, astonished, "All the way out here? In the middle of nowhere?"
"Yes." Zuko replied curtly.
"Aren't you going to join the rest of your people?" She asked concernedly, Zuko paused in his gathering and looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" He asked, the reptilian girl pointed to a light shining in the distance.
"All your people are over at the Shinjun encampment." She said, "We invited them to stay there for the night, weren't you there when they announced it?"
"I suppose not…" Zuko muttered, he had left the boat in a bit of a hurry… The girl reached out and grabbed his hand, "Hey!"
"Where's your camp at?" The girl asked, "We can grab your uncle and you can come back with us to the encampment!" She sounded so cheery. Zuko pointed it out and she cheerfully went over to where Iroh was, when she explained why she was here and she wanted them to join the others, he happily agreed.
"Great!" The girl said, "My name is Xana, by the way."
"A pleasure," Iroh said with a bow, "I am Mushi, and this is my nephew." She bowed back.
"Nice to meet you!" She said, and then she turned around, holding up her lantern, "Camp is this way, come on!" They followed her towards the light that was glowing in the distance.
"Miss Xana," Iroh began, "If you don't mind my asking," She looked back at him with an inquisitive look in her golden eyes, "What are you using to light your lantern? It does not appear to be fire."
"Oh, it's not." Xana said, "They're fireflies. We use their glowing butts to help us light up our way at night. They're indigenous to this part of Ba-Sing-Se, and they don't really seem to mind, except when you do this." She shook the lantern, watching the lights dim slightly, but they quickly regained their light again. "We have to catch them before the sun goes down, otherwise we never get the chance."
"I see…" Iroh said, "I've never thought of that before." Xana shrugged carelessly as she kept leading them to the camp.
As they got closer and closer, they saw the light was actually from a huge bonfire, as well as a large assortment on lanterns surrounding the tents the Shinjuns called home. Everyone there was happy and festive, with some cheery music playing to the beat of a drum. All the Shinjuns were dressed in fine and expensive-looking kimonos as they danced around the bonfire, singing out a song that made no sense to anyone but them. There were humans dancing as well, trying to sing the words as well, but no one bothered to correct them if they sang it wrong, because there was nothing wrong with singing out of happiness.
"What's the occasion?" Iroh asked, looking around at all the decorations.
"It's a Shinjun holiday!" Xana said happily, "Every year, we all gather together and sing praises to Shinjuko, the Great Spirit who allowed us Shinjuns to be! We celebrate with singing, dancing, eating, and being as happy as we can to please him!" Iroh grinned happily.
"Sounds like my kind of festival!" He said with a boisterous laugh, and Xana laughed with him. Zuko couldn't care less. He looked out into the crowd of Shinjuns as they passed by him. He had never had anything against Shunjuns, unlike his sister, who thought they were trash, but they sometimes got on his nerves. His eyes widened when he saw a familiar head of white hair.
"Oh, hey!" She said, pointing to him, "There's Kota! He'll set you up with a place to stay for tonight." She put her hand next to her mouth and shouted, "KOTAAAHH!" He turned around and Zuko saw it was the same Shinjun he had met so long ago. He smiled at the reptilian and came over, his eyes travelling to her companions, and widening when they saw Zuko. "I found two more, Kota! Guys, this is Kotaro, he's second in command to the second in command here. Kota, this is Mushi and his nep-"
"Lu Ten!" Kotaro exclaimed at the sight of Zuko. Iroh's eyes widened considerably at the name. Kotaro smiled at the scarred teen, "It's good to see you again, Lu Ten. How long has it been?"
"You know him?" Xana asked in surprise, pointing to Zuko. Kotaro nodded.
"Yeah, I met him a while ago." He said, "I forget the name of the town we were in, but we ended up staying in the same place." He smiled a toothy grin at Zuko, "He's a good guy." Zuko didn't reply.
"When did you meet him, Lu Ten?" Iroh asked, straining the name.
"It was when I was travelling alone." Zuko said. Xana smiled.
"Well! Any friend of Kota's is a friend of ours!" She said, "Welcome!" She grabbed their hands, "Come sit over here!" She dragged them over to the epicenter of all the celebration, the bonfire where all the Shinjuns were gathering.
Zuko sat next to Kotaro, watching the silhouettes of all different Shinjun breeds dance around the fire, singing the same thing over and over again.
"Lai la-lai la lee lai lai.
Lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai
La-lai lai, lai-lai-la lee la-lai, lai.
Lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, la-lai!"
Zuko ate another piece of the meat in front of him as he watched them dance. He sat next to his uncle, next to him sat Xana. The reptilian suddenly jumped up, her arms in the air.
"I have to dance!" She said excitedly, Kotaro laughed at her enthusiasm.
"Then go and dance," He said, gesturing to the crowd, "No one will stop you."
"But I need a partner." Xana said with a pout, she smiled at Iroh, "Mushi, come dance with me!" She reached down and grabbed his hands, pulling him up. Iroh laughed.
"Well, who would I be to deny a dance with a young lady?" He asked with a jovial smile, Xana's smile grew and they twirled into the crowd, dancing in time to the music. Zuko watched them until he could no longer distinguish them from the rest of the crowd, and kept eating.
"You seem so upset." Kotaro said, looking at the incognito prince. Zuko didn't reply and kept eating, "Is it because you were exiled from your country, and have been forced to change your name and appearance, Prince Zuko?" Zuko's head shot to the Shinjun's, who took a sip of his drink casually as if he hadn't said anything at all.
"You know?" Zuko asked, Kotaro nodded.
"I happened to overhear your little declaration in the town." He said, he turned to the prince and laughed at his expression of worry and anger, "Don't worry, I'm not going to rat you out."
"How do I know that for sure?" Zuko asked, glaring at the Shinjun, Kotaro smiled softly, looking at the bonfire.
"I saw what you did." He said, "I saw you fight to help that kid. You revealed who you were so you could get him home." He reached down and popped a small piece of fruit into his mouth, "I find that very admirable, even if you are the prince of the nation that enslaved my people." Zuko grimaced at the sound of his voice as he spoke of slavery. His tone had darkened slightly at the mention of it.
"You were one of them, weren't you?" Zuko asked quietly, Kotaro nodded silently, "How did you…?"
"I bought my freedom." Kotaro said, "Took me a little over a year to get it all." Zuko didn't dare ask how much his freedom cost, knowing that he might be insulted that his life was only worth that much to any Fire Nation noble.
The two of them looked up when they saw Iroh and Xana coming back, Iroh limping slightly. He took his seat beside Zuko with a groan. "What happened?" Kotaro asked, looking at the old man.
"His hip gave out or something." Xana said with a pout, Iroh chuckled to himself.
"It seems I'm getting a bit too old for this." He said with a smile, Kotaro shook his head with a smile.
"Oh!" Xana reached down and grabbed Zuko's hands, "Come dance with me, Lu Ten!" Zuko instantly tried to pull his hands away, but she would not let him go.
"No!" He said, "I don't know how!"
"Oh, it's super easy!" Xana replied as she pulled him towards the crowd, "Just move to the beat and keep up with my feet!" She linked her fingers with his and they began to dance. Zuko had to move quickly to keep up with Xana's fast moving feet as they danced. He kept looking down at his feet, trying to make sure he didn't step on hers, and occasionally looked up. Xana was smiling and laughing, singing along to the words that only made sense to Shinjuns and having the time of her life. Eventually, she ordered him to stop looking at his feet and just move in the way he felt was right. He did so, and felt the music flowing through him, and soon enough, he began laughing and enjoying himself just as much as Xana was, but he didn't sing the words to the songs.
After all, he didn't know how.
Kotaro looked at Zuko as he danced with Xana, a smile on his face as they danced. Iroh sighed contentedly as he watched.
"It has been a long time…" He murmured to himself, looking at his nephew, Kotaro looked over at him confusedly.
"A long time since what?" He asked him.
"Since he has smiled like that." Iroh replied, pointing to Zuko as he and Xana danced, "It has been a very long time." Kotaro smiled.
"Well, I'm glad your nephew could find such joy at our festival." He said, he was about to take a sip from his drink, when someone tapped his shoulder, he looked up to see a boy who looked perfectly human, except for the monkey tail coming out from behind him, and his very hairy hands. "Yes, Uki?"
"She's asking for you again…" He said timidly, Kotaro sighed, getting up.
"Alright…" He groaned, he looked back at Iroh, "Excuse me for a moment." He followed Uki to a tent a bit further from the celebration that was well lit and guarded by another reptilian. He nodded at Kotaro as he came closer and allowed him inside. Uki remained outside, because only one person was allowed inside at a time.
Kotaro walked in and looked sadly at the figure lying on the small mat before him. The person turned their head towards him, showing a pair of crystalline blue eyes.
"It hurts, Kotaro…" The person murmured hoarsely. Kotaro nodded, reaching for a salve near the person's bed.
"I know it does." He said gently, unwrapping a few bandages from around their arm and chest. A little black tail peeked its way out of the covers they lay under, and a pair of black ears twitched at the top of their head, "Bear with me for a moment, Hikari." He rubbed the salve over the large burn marks that littered their body, and they hissed at the feel of it. "Just give it a moment."
"I know…" She murmured. A few minutes passed by in silence as Kotaro kept rubbing the salve over her burns. "I can hear the music outside…" Kotaro looked at her when she spoke, "It sounds so wonderful…" Kotaro looked at her sadly, knowing she was upset because there was a good chance she may never leave the tent for the rest of her life, "How does the food taste?"
"As delicious as it always does." Kotaro said with a forced smile at the woman, "But you know you can't eat any."
"Yes, I know…" She murmured, a few more minutes passed in silence and Kotaro finished, he began re-wrapping her burns as she spoke again, "Have you heard anything yet?"
"No, not yet." Kotaro said, "But Xana says she should get a message back any day now." He smiled at her, "Or, better yet, maybe Hoshiko will come to see us." She smiled.
"That would be perfect." She said, "To see her again after all these years…" Kotaro gently patted down the end of the gauze on her skin.
"I'm done." He said, "Would you like me to keep you company, Hikari?" She slowly shook her head.
"No, I only want to sleep now." She said, "You go out and enjoy the festival some more, I'll just sleep." Kotaro nodded.
"If you say so." He said as he got up, when he got to the tent's exit, he turned back, "Sweet dreams, Hikari."
"Good night, Kotaro." Hikari replied before he left the tent.
After the bigger part of the celebration had died down, all the Shinjuns gathered around a wooden idol of a woman with large angel wings and a lion's tail. An older man came up next to it, and other than his headband with a small red jewel right over the middle of his forehead, he was dressed as any other Shinjun. All the Shinjuns bowed their heads in prayer as he began to speak. All the humans silenced themselves so they could hear what he had to say.
"Tonight, we celebrate the creation of our people." The man said, "We sing our praises up to Shinjuko, the Great Spirit who created the first of our people. May she hear our prayers and have the grace to answer them." He clapped his hands twice, bowing to the statue in prayer, and the crowd of Shinjuns did the same. After a moment, the man stood back up, taking a stone goblet from a younger man nearby who held it out to him. He held the goblet up high, "Praise Shinjuko!"
"Praise Shinjuko!" The other Shinjuns shouted. When the man took a drink from the goblet and showed them he had drank it all in one go, and the Shinjuns cheered. Music began to play again and people began to dance once more. Kotaro came over to Zuko and Iroh with a smile on his face.
"Having fun?" He asked as he sat down beside them, Zuko didn't move a muscle, and Iroh nodded his head, a weary expression on his face.
"Yes, perhaps too much fun." Iroh said, yawning. Kotaro nodded.
"Then would you like me to find you somewhere to sleep for the night?" Kotaro asked, "We already prepared a few tents for the humans that come by here." Iroh nodded.
"Yes, please." He said, Kotaro smiled and helped the old man to stand, Zuko following them as they were led to a small, brown tent designed in the traditional Shinjun manner, with pillows strewn about on the floor to act as cushion in case you fell off the hammocks. Kotaro helped Iroh into one and Zuko got into the one opposite his uncle. Kotaro bid them both goodnight before he left.
When they were both certain he was gone, Iroh turned to Zuko, "Lu Ten?"
"It was the only name I could think of at the time!" Zuko snapped, turning over in his hammock, "Just go to sleep, uncle."
"It's a shame you have to leave so soon." Xana said as Zuko and Iroh prepared to leave with the rest of their group.
"We need to get to Ba-Sing-Se." Zuko said, "We can't stay here."
"I know." Xana said, "But can you at least come and visit? I bet the soldiers will let you leave for a little bit every now and then…"
"I wouldn't count on it." Zuko said, making Xana pout.
"Oh…" She said, Iroh looked back at her.
"But you are more than welcome to come and visit us!" Iroh said, Zuko sent his uncle a pointed glare, ignoring the way Xana's entire face lit up.
"Oh, can I?" She asked, "That would be so much fun!" She squealed excitedly, "Okay, first chance I get, I'll come and visit you guys!" Iroh nodded.
"We'll keep an eye out for you." He said, he looked to his nephew as they saw some of the other refugees leaving. "Come, nephew." They both followed the crowd out as they went to the wall. A group of Shinjun children and their families came out of their homes to see them off, waving and shouting goodbyes as they left. Zuko chanced a look back and saw Xana waving with the children just as enthusiastically as they were. Next to her was Kotaro, who only waved once when he noticed his stare and smiled. Zuko nodded once at him and kept following the crowd as they left.
Kotaro put his hand down as he watched Zuko leave, still smiling, "It seems our destinies have been entwined." He said to himself, "We'll meet again."
Did you like? Some people liked the other Kotaro and Zuko story, so I made another one.
Does Zuko seem a little OOC to you? I'm sorry if he was.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!