Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: War is bad, oppression is bad, be nice to each other, claiming you are fighting in defence of freedom doesn't automatically make everything you do completely justified if you commit war-crimes and target civilians (looking at you, Jet and Hama). Don't be afraid to do what must be done but don't be afraid to seek another way if it conflicts with your morality.

RonaldM40196867: He had a very lucky escape.

As Always, Please Review!

Eventually, the column resumed its forward march, as Zuko slipped back towards the family he was travelling with.

Or perhaps saying he was travelling with them was a bit of a stretch. Saying he was travelling near them seemed more fitting.

He looked up to see the Avatar's bison flying slowly above the head of the column, and every so often he saw the white and blue of Yue's clothes and hair as she peered down at them along with the rest of her companions. The Avatar was leading them to a local fort, apparently, because there were Fire Nation troops in the area. How the soldiers stationed in the fort might react when a village full of Refugees turned up demanding shelter backed up by the Avatar, Zuko did not know.

Lian saw him coming first, and rushed over to him.

"What were you thinking?" She demanded.

"..What?"

Zuko stopped dead. He had not been expecting that reaction.

"You could have died!" Lian told him forcefully. "Why take the risk?"

"Because the alternative was being taken prisoner and you were all in danger!" Zuko replied, "Was I supposed to let it happen?"

"Yes! No! You weren't supposed to do that!" Lian insisted. "We could have found another way out."

Zuko frowned.

"How?" He asked. "It was either fight one tank, or fight ten tanks later."

"I..." Lian trailed off. "I don't know," she admitted. "But what you did was reckless. We were worried about you!"

"With good reason, that third one would have got you if the Avatar hadn't been there," Bei told him firmly.

Zuko didn't say anything. They had been worried about him? Why? They barely knew him. He had only been around a few days.

He could only nod mutely. Lian must have guessed what he was thinking, because she shook her head.

"Just don't do it again," she said. "Now come on. Let's see what the Avatar has in mind."

She turned and walked away. Zuko stood there for a moment, and then trailed after them. He glanced up into the sky again, and saw the bison doing a lazy circle above them. He caught another glimpse of white hair, and wondered if the Avatar had recognised him. He had been fortunate to escape her the first time, and had only managed it by making a quick excuse after giving Bei his swords back and then diving into the crowd.

He was snapped out of his reverie by a tap on his shoulder, and jumped in surprise. But it wasn't the Avatar, or any of her companions. It was Chen. Her brown hair hung loosely around her face.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," Zuko replied awkwardly.

"Look," Chen fell into step beside him. "I just wanted to thank you. That can't have been easy, it looked very dangerous. Are you alright?"

"I'm alright thanks. Just a little bit dizzy. You're welcome," Zuko told her, not really knowing what else to say. Lian and Bei's daughter had mostly avoided him so far, suspicion clouding their every encounter, and so this was very new for both of them.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Chen asked, getting straight down to business. "Did you learn that on the coast?"

She looked like she was holding something else in, and then finally gave up and kept asking questions.

"Who are you?" She said. "Why has my mother taken such an interest in you? And the Avatar was asking for you."

She looked at him with such earnest curiosity that Zuko almost told her his real identity, but then he remembered that he was in the middle of a crowd who most likely despised the Fire Nation. Indeed, Chen herself likely wasn't too fond of them. He could tell her the truth and trust in the Avatar to save him if it went wrong but he had no guarantee she would even notice until it was too late. It was too risky. Instead, he was going to have to carry on with his original cover story.

"My name is Li," he said. "I was a soldier in the earth military on the coast, that's where I learned to do that."

He found he hated the untruth even as he said it.

"So why are you here?"

"The night the Fire Nation attacked," Zuko said. "I made a... mistake."

He glanced again into the sky, watching the Avatar for a moment. Then he continued.

"The Fire Nation took my family away for it. I had to flee. I guess your mother just took pity on me. And I don't know what the Avatar wanted."

Chen looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry for that," she said. "And I'm sorry for not trusting you."

Zuko found he couldn't be angry at her for that, considering he was selling her a pack of lies, so he shrugged.

"I guess I didn't seem trustworthy," he said. "You don't have to apologise. Really, you don't."

Chen didn't say anything for a moment, contemplating.

"Maybe," she said. "But it's difficult to distrust someone who fights a tank for you. Thank you, Li."

She stopped, evidently considering something, and then quickly threw herself forward, engulfing Zuko in a hug that took him by total surprise. His eyes widened and his mouth flapped open and shut several times as he searched in vain for something to say. He liked it, he just hadn't been expecting it. Then, as soon as it started it was over. Chen took a couple of steps backwards, noting Zuko's stunned expression and trying not to laugh.

"Thank you," she said again. Then she smiled.

"Well?" She asked. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you coming?"

And then she walked away, leaving Zuko suddenly feeling absolutely terrible. This should have been a happy moment, he knew. For Li the Earth Kingdom refugee it probably was. But Zuko the Prince of the Fire Nation just felt lonelier than ever.