p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Zuko finds himself staring off into the ocean while clasping the rails. He has been returning to old habits and he blames the ship. He just wasn't used to having little to do. The only other time had been on the raft and he wasn't quite feeling up to reliving those days. Once they'd been settled in on the ship he started practicing firebending first, trying to find a way to incorporate all the little tricks he'd learned while on the run into some kind of form. Though before he could manage that, Lala had to go and rain on his parade. He needed to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"'stop moving like he came from some backwater' /spanand span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"'had returned to civilization and his bending ought to reflect that.' /spanZuko didn't feel like finding out if the katas he had to practice cold for a year would be deemed acceptable by little miss perfect. So he had made up some excuse and left for below deck, resolving to find out if the many gripes Azula had with the 'Royal Sloop' had any merit./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Familiarizing himself with the ship's layout hadn't been too difficult, it was fairly similar to Zhao's flagship. The largest difference were the engines themselves. Featuring some measuring devices Zuko didn't recognize and different materials for the furnaces. Apparently they were 'state of the art' modifications made by the nation's chemists and engineers to suit the princess's needs. Zuko had only ever learned the basics on the Wani and he didn't think much of them applied to this kind of ship. Still, he could tell the lieutenant ran a tight ship just over the course of the tour and during his explanations he wasn't afraid to let any of the on board mechanics do the talking for him whenever they ran into them. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"After the tour was done he had his dinner and diligently ignored the girl's comments about his appetite. He was going to need to work his strength back up, fast. The state the Earth Kingdom had left him in would not do for Caldera. It did leave him too full to practice his katas well, and before he knew it he is back here./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It's almost funny. He had resented the ocean for so long, yet would turn to it whenever he needed hope. It was like an abyss that swallowed all of his fears and frustrations and never had the decency to at least appear filled up. Zuko had wholly believed it would take him like it took his countrymen at the North, but it didn't then, nor did it during the days that followed. He hadn't returned to the open sea since then, hadn't expected to ever do so again. Though maybe La did have enough of him after all. Yet now he has returned to it all the same, though Zuko finds he doesn't mind the endless blue quite as much. He's still as anxious as he's ever been, but now his fate is sealed. He's going home and whatever's coming for him there's nothing he can do about it now. He has made his choices; there's no sense in running from them anymore. He will just /br /p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.25px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Zuko hears the footsteps coming from behind, but doesn't allow himself to react. He is a little surprised when someone joins him to his left. Uncle is the only one to have ever made a habit of that. He peeks through the corner of his eye to see who it is. There's long black hair and pale skin. Mai? It's hard to make out the details of her face. She lets out a sigh before facing him. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Aren't you cold?" she asks, her tone soft. She seems hesitant? /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Zuko doesn't know why it surprises him. Mai had always been shy, but despite not really speaking with her, he had gotten the impression that she had outgrown it. Something in the way she'd carried herself. Looking back at her, it feels like he's that kid stomping around the palace whose skin he remembers wearing. But the thought sours on him. He'll never be that weak again, he has learned his lesson. He straightens himself and lets a plume of fire burst from the palm of his hand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I can handle the cold," he states. It's almost true./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He watches Mai slip into her new Face. "Of course," she replies before looking at the ocean. If she finds what she's looking for there she doesn't tell him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Forget I said anything," she adds instead, before walking away./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It wasn't much of a conversation, but Zuko finds himself pondering it anyway. He knows Cold, had felt it bone-deep when he fled the North. Him and uncle had cobbled together a poor excuse for driftwood and, in a moment of respite, he'd gazed upon the full weight of his failures. Zuko didn't have any words for the wreckage. Didn't find them those couple of weeks truly adrift on that stupid raft. He doubts they exist. He only knows that the Avatar he let loose had done it. All because he couldn't even accept defeat gracefully. He had to steal the Avatar away from his fellow countrymen. It's a disgrace really. In a day Sozin had left but one Air Nomad for him and he couldn't catch him in a year. But the deed is done. Now the Avatar is dead, must be and the Earth Kingdom has fallen. He is going home./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He looks to the fire still burning in his hand. He sighs and lets the flame pulse with his breath. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hespan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" is /spanCold./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Familiarizing himself with the ship's layout hadn't been too difficult, it was fairly similar to Zhao's flagship. The largest difference were the engines themselves. Featuring some measuring devices Zuko didn't recognize and different materials for the furnaces. Apparently they were 'state of the art' modifications made by the nation's chemists and engineers to suit the princess's needs. Zuko had only ever learned the basics on the Wani and he didn't think much of them applied to this kind of ship. Still, he could tell the lieutenant ran a tight ship just over the course of the tour and during his explanations he wasn't afraid to let any of the on board mechanics do the talking for him whenever they ran into them. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"After the tour was done he had his dinner and diligently ignored the girl's comments about his appetite. He was going to need to work his strength back up, fast. The state the Earth Kingdom had left him in would not do for Caldera. It did leave him too full to practice his katas well, and before he knew it he is back here./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It's almost funny. He had resented the ocean for so long, yet would turn to it whenever he needed hope. It was like an abyss that swallowed all of his fears and frustrations and never had the decency to at least appear filled up. Zuko had wholly believed it would take him like it took his countrymen at the North, but it didn't then, nor did it during the days that followed. He hadn't returned to the open sea since then, hadn't expected to ever do so again. Though maybe La did have enough of him after all. Yet now he has returned to it all the same, though Zuko finds he doesn't mind the endless blue quite as much. He's still as anxious as he's ever been, but now his fate is sealed. He's going home and whatever's coming for him there's nothing he can do about it now. He has made his choices; there's no sense in running from them anymore. He will just /br /p
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; width: 359.25px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px; background-color: #ffffff;" /
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Zuko hears the footsteps coming from behind, but doesn't allow himself to react. He is a little surprised when someone joins him to his left. Uncle is the only one to have ever made a habit of that. He peeks through the corner of his eye to see who it is. There's long black hair and pale skin. Mai? It's hard to make out the details of her face. She lets out a sigh before facing him. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Aren't you cold?" she asks, her tone soft. She seems hesitant? /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Zuko doesn't know why it surprises him. Mai had always been shy, but despite not really speaking with her, he had gotten the impression that she had outgrown it. Something in the way she'd carried herself. Looking back at her, it feels like he's that kid stomping around the palace whose skin he remembers wearing. But the thought sours on him. He'll never be that weak again, he has learned his lesson. He straightens himself and lets a plume of fire burst from the palm of his hand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I can handle the cold," he states. It's almost true./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He watches Mai slip into her new Face. "Of course," she replies before looking at the ocean. If she finds what she's looking for there she doesn't tell him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Forget I said anything," she adds instead, before walking away./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It wasn't much of a conversation, but Zuko finds himself pondering it anyway. He knows Cold, had felt it bone-deep when he fled the North. Him and uncle had cobbled together a poor excuse for driftwood and, in a moment of respite, he'd gazed upon the full weight of his failures. Zuko didn't have any words for the wreckage. Didn't find them those couple of weeks truly adrift on that stupid raft. He doubts they exist. He only knows that the Avatar he let loose had done it. All because he couldn't even accept defeat gracefully. He had to steal the Avatar away from his fellow countrymen. It's a disgrace really. In a day Sozin had left but one Air Nomad for him and he couldn't catch him in a year. But the deed is done. Now the Avatar is dead, must be and the Earth Kingdom has fallen. He is going home./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He looks to the fire still burning in his hand. He sighs and lets the flame pulse with his breath. /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hespan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" is /spanCold./p