After walking for an hour more, Iroh stopped to look at sky. It had changed from blue to orange and pink shades, which meant dusk was approaching. The sun would disappear soon and it was best if they were able to catch the last hour of sunlight to prepare themselves for the night.
They had reached a open spot in the forest, beneath a mountain that was on Earth Kingdom territory. Iroh cocked his head as he focused on the silence and heard the soft sound of rushing water. There was a river nearby, most likely the So Una river that flowed through the colonies and the Earth Kingdom. They had passed the border, or were at least very close. This was far enough for today, he decided.
"I think it is best if we stay here for the night" Iroh said while he pointed to a cave, hidden behind the bushes at the foot of the mountain. The opening was mostly hidden behind the green leaves, but left just enough room to see the inside of a hollow cave.
Zuko had barely noticed the cave when his Uncle suddenly stopped in his tracks. His attention had been on the girl on his back, who had dozed off with her head lying on his shoulder. He felt her regular breathing close to his ear and he watched her fluttering eyelids longer than was necessary.
When his Uncle came abruptly to a stop, Zuko had practically run into him. His sudden stop nudged Elyrie awake on his shoulder.
"Wha-wha-we attacked?" she mumbled in a sleepy voice as she blinked her eyes to wake herself up. The soothing pace of Zuko's steps and the warmth from his body had made her sleepy. She had dozed off on his shoulder, feeling completely safe.
Iroh let out a deep laugh at her dishevelled look when her big blue eyes looked at him over his nephews shoulder. "No, dear," he said as he motioned to the cave, "We'll stay here for the night."
"Really?" Elyrie asked, much more awake as she stretched her legs in enthusiasm to force Zuko to let go of her. Zuko couldn't hold on to her when she stretched herself out of her comfortable position and she landed on her feet behind him. And she immediately regretted that action.
"Oof." She said as she fell on her behind on the grass with a soft thud. Her feet, though less tired, still hurt like she had sawn-off half of them. "Stupid shoes, stupid feet" she muttered under her breath as she pushed herself up on her arms and stretched her legs.
Zuko turned around and shook his head as he placed one hand on his hip. "Are you alright?" he asked with a grin, actually amused by her antics. It was normally him that made a fool of himself while she floated through everything like a feather. He saw she had not hurt herself badly, which made the situation all the more entertaining.
"Yeah, yeah." Elyrie scowled as she stretched her arms to him, like a child wanting to be picked up by her parents. "I think I am totally depended on you tonight." she said as she batted her eyelashes to him with a cheeky grin. If anyone saw the humour in her helpless situation, it was her. Her pride hurt far less than her feet did now.
Zuko felt a warm feeling spread through his chest at her words, but quickly repressed it and picked her up by placing one arm around her waist and the other under her knees. She put her own arms around his neck to relieve some of the weight.
Iroh, who had been too busy expecting the cave to notice the small stumble, came walking back to the pair. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Zuko holding Elyrie in his arms but said nothing. Instead, he motioned for them to follow him and pushed aside the vines which covered the entrance to the cave. "I'll cook some dinner for us." He said as he placed his bags on the floor and took a small kettle from one of them.
"Ah! Thank goodness!" Elyrie exclaimed, louder than she had intended so Zuko winced and snapped his head to the side at the sudden outburst that hurt his eardrums. "Oops," she said as she saw his pained expression, "Sorry."
"Why do I have the feeling that I am hurt much more in the process than you are?" Zuko mumbled as he evaded her cheeky smile.
"Sorry Zuko," she repeated sincerely as she planted a kiss on his cheek. Even if he wanted to be angry with her, it was impossible after the sweet words she said. Her sweet voice was able to make his knees weak.
Iroh might have missed the entire stumble earlier, but he certainly didn't miss the softening look in the eyes of his nephew. He had been worried about his nephew. The hurt and betrayal of Ozai and Azula could have been enough to break his spirit. He might have been able to ease some of Zuko's pain, but it couldn't be enough to cheer him up. These days almost nothing could have cheered him up.
Life is full of surprises, he mused as he looked at the two young people in front of him. His nephew had half a smile on his face as he looked at the young woman he was holding in his arms. The young woman smiled enchantingly and kissed his cheek. His nephew's good cheek turned a colour which looked suspiciously like an overripe tomato, but in a good way.
Besides, his nephew looked good in any way. He was not brooding, grumpy or even angry. The entire walk he had been too occupied by her wellbeing to even complain about his own situation. It was a good thing the girl was here with them, Iroh decided as he stroked his beard. He had been worried about her, about how he had pulled her into this mess. But she didn't seem the least bit frightened or angry at him. She had only been concerned about her family, but she accepted the situation graciously.
Like a Fire Rose, Iroh reminded himself, bending in the wind. He knew now it was her Water Tribe heritage that gave her the flexibility and adaptiveness.
After Zuko had carefully placed Elyrie on the hard floor of the cave, she unpacked the luggage while the two men searched for wood and fresh water. She was glad she was able to stay in the cave, because now she could finally kick off her shoes and examine her wounded feet. The blisters looked swollen, but the worst ones had finally stopped bleeding. All she needed to do was bind them for comfort, so she could walk at least by herself again. She ripped two sleeved from an old dress, which could function very well as improvised bandages.
After she was done she studied the small kettle Uncle had brought, no doubt purchased in the village earlier that day. It was a small teapot, but it would function very well as a cooking pot for the time being. When she opened it, she saw that it was filed with something that looked like a stew with vegetables. She felt her stomach immediately starting to rumble and placed her hand on her midriff to silence the sounds.
Zuko came back, his arms full with old branches which he assembled in the middle of the cave. With a swift flick of his wrist, he lit up the fire. A comfortable warmth spread through the small space.
With a smile, Elyrie moved closer to the fire to warm herself.
"Better?" Zuko asked as he sat down next to her. "Absolutely," she smiled back as he cherished the warmth that heated up her skin. The heat made her shiver in a pleasant way, like when you step into a warm bath and completely submerge yourself in the warmth.
She took off the cap to let her hair fall down her face, but she immediately remembered she had cut it. Even worse, it had become tangled under the cap and the small ribbon she used to tie her hair together was stuck in it. Just as she was about to untangle it, Uncle entered with a bowl of fresh water. It can wait, she thought as she place her cap on her head again.
"Where did you get the food?" Zuko asked as he took a cup of fresh water from his Uncle. "From the village." Iroh answered as he filled another cup to give it to Elyrie, "I bought it when I was finished with the clothing."
"Who's hungry?" he then asked as he placed the kettle on the small fire to warm up the food. The delicious smell filled the small cave. Despite everything, Elyrie felt a comforting sensation coming over her. Sure, they were fugitives but at least they had food, warmth and a place to sleep. A lot of people had it worse than they.
After Uncle had given Zuko and Elyrie their portion in their cups, he ate out of the kettle over the fire. It was a simple but good dish. The three of them were starving after a long day, so they ate quicker and made more noises than was socially acceptable. But nobody would hold that against them in a cave on the edge of the Earth Kingdom.
"We need to find a way to get more money soon," Iroh said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "We have only a few coins left."
"Is it safe for us to enter the villages of the Earth Kingdom?" Elyrie asked as she put down her cup and warmed her hands by the fire.
"It could be, if nobody recognizes us," Iroh said pensively, "And of course, if we don't show our firebending. But that is a problem for tomorrow," he added as he stifled a yawn.
"I think it is best if we put out the fire, so nobody can see us here." Zuko said when he dimmed the fire with a flick of his wrist. Suddenly, it was much darker in the cave with only the last rays of sunshine peaking through the leaves that covered the enterance.
The last pieces of wood were still smoking when Zuko and Elyrie heard Uncle snore deeply and loudly. Elyrie chuckled as she raised her knees against her chest in an effort to warm herself. She'd rather have the fire burning all night to keep her warm. She shivered and with trembling fingers, she tried to loosen the ribbon in her curls.
Zuko saw her struggling with her ribbon next to him. Without saying a word, he turned sideways as he placed his hands over hers and calmly untangled the ribbon.
Elyrie lowered her hands and let him help her. Their hands touched briefly, but long enough for Zuko to notice that her fingers were cold. Colder than normal and the tops were a strange blue colour. He frowned, but said nothing as he carefully removed the ribbon out of her tangled curls.
"Do you want me to untangle your hair?" he asked while raising his body temperature so she would be warm.
"Please." she said with a smile as she leaned her head back. Zuko took his time to make sure he didn't do any damage, since the hairpiece had really created a mess in her curls.
Elyrie felt her eyelids grow heavier every time he stroked her hair. It was such a nice feeling, so comforting.
As soon as her untangled curls fell around her face, she expected him to stop. But he continued combing out her hair with his fingers, softly and delicately. She said nothing as she felt goosebumps go over her skin. It was so simple yet so intimate.
Zuko didn't knew he was going to let his fingers trail through her hair. He didn't anticipate it, but once he started it was impossible to stop. The rosy scent that seemed embedded in her skin was woven through her hair as well. Her hair felt like silk, gliding through his long fingers. For some reason, he suspected it pained him more to see her long, lucious locks gone than it did her. He would never say it out loud, but he had loved her hair. Her beautiful auburn curls, which had made her stand out from the crowd from a young age.
His thoughts wandered off to the time he had recognized her because of her hair. He must have been around sixteen years old and it was at a party in the Royal Palace. The great hall was lit by at least a hundred candles and a small band played a soft melody, filling the room with music. Now that he thought about it, it must have been for his birthday party. Yes, he was certain it had been for his birthday. His mother had insisted on it. She wanted him to have a proper party, so he and Elyrie...
"Thank you." Elyrie's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He blinked and saw that he had stopped combing her hair. Instead, his hands were resting on her shoulders, just an inch from the soft skin of her neck. He felt himself blush as he quickly pulled his hands back.
Elyrie repressed a disappointed sigh as she felt Zuko retract his warm hands. Zuko picked up the blanket and gently placed it over her shoulders. She hadn't noticed she was still shivering, but she was certain it wasn't from the cold anymore.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he saw her hands returning to her normal colour. "I feel fine, really." she reassured him, slightly embarrassed. She had been nothing but a liability today.
"Try to sleep," Zuko said as he moved to stand up, but as soon as he left her side, Elyrie felt the chill of the cool night air caressing her skin again. She didn't want him to leave and in a reflex grabbed his hand. "Can you stay here?" she asked, her cheeks turning slightly pink but not letting go of his hand, "You are so warm."
Zuko felt his heart skip a beat when she grabbed his hand, her fingers still cold. She had to be the only firebender that had trouble warming herself. He knew she Uncle taught her the firebending technique, but she still had to master it. For him, it was habit by now. He sat back down with his back against the cave.
Without hesitation, Elyrie let herself fall in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder and she nestled against him with the blanket covering her. The warmth he was radiating was so comforting that she had the feeling that she could sit like this forever. Involuntarily, she thought about how right this felt. Through his tunic, she could fell his heart beating and his familiar scent of sandalwood tickled her nose. She shivered again in delight.
Zuko tucked the blanket tighter around her when he felt her shiver. "Thank you." he heard her whisper against his chest.
"Try to sleep" he said gently as he listened to her soft breathing. Once again, he caressed her hair to soothe her.
Zuko didn't know how long they sat like that but he knew that she was about to fall asleep against him for the second time that day. He smiled involuntarily at the absurdness of this whole situation, but he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't find it comforting to help her. It felt nice to have her depend on him for a change.
Elyrie stirred slightly, but she didn't say anything. Zuko looked down and saw that she almost seemed to be asleep. A small smile played on his lips as he though about how comfortable she was with him. He was even more surprised how comfortable he was with her. He hated it when people invaded his personal space, but with her he couldn't stand it if she was too far away from him. She was the same, he was certain of it. She'd never let anyone near her if she wasn't completely comfortable. He was thankful that they were such good friends, allthough for some reason the word friend stung a little bit as he let his fingers trail through her hair.
Of course they were friends; they had known each other far too long to be anything less than that. It isn't unusual for men and women to be friends, right? However, Zuko couldn't remember the last time he had felt so comfortable around another woman. And now that he thought about it, he had never seen Elyrie willingly sit in the lap of another man.
Zuko thought about the last time he had seen her near another man, which was when she had still been Zhao's fiancée and she had avoided the Admirals touch at every possible opportunity. Clenching his jaw, Zuko thought about Zhao's behaviour and how he had tried to break her will. But she wasn't broken and Zhao would never try to harm them again.
Zuko had often thought about what could have happened to Zhao after La had pulled him underwater with him. Uncle had told him that he was probably taken to the Spirit World, where a fate worse than death would await him. Despite everything that the Admiral had try to do to him, Zuko wasn't happy about the idea of Zhao suffering for all eternity. Then, he remembered how Zhao had tried to kill the girl that was lying in this arms. He remembered how Zhao had wounded her, locked her up and how her red blood stained the ice of the North Pole.
Inhaling deeply, Zuko tried to get himself to think about other things and put his arms closer around Elyrie. Once again, he noticed how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms. Placing his hand on her hair, he immediately felt himself calm down.
He leaned back and felt his own eyelids growing heavy after a while. I need to go to sleep, he told himself but for some reason it felt wrong to leave Elyrie alone. She told me she was cold, he reminded himself. He couldn't just let her sleep on the floor so she'd be cold again? No, that wasn't right. Still, he knew he needed to rest as well.
When he was sure she was fast asleep, Zuko carefully lifted her from his shoulder and slowly moved her with him as he laid down on his back on the grond. He placed her head on his chest and put one arm around her. With his other arm he grabbed his own blanket and placed it under his head as a pillow.
Elyrie didn't even move when he finally was comfortable. Stroking away a strand of hair on her forehead, he looked at her sleeping face for a moment. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyelids fluttered. Even when she was asleep, it seemed like a smile was visible on her lips. His thumb gently caressed her jawline as he looked at her full lips.
"Good night, Lily." he whispered softly when he closed his eyes.
The first rays of sunshine made their way through the roof of leaves which shielded the forest.
"Have you found something?" Elyrie asked as she cocked her head to Uncle. Iroh sat in a squatted position and didn't respond, but was staring in awe at at beautiful white and red flower. She repeated her question, but he still didn't answer. He probably hadn't even heard her.
The ruffling of the bushes drew Elyrie's attention away from Iroh's intense look. Grunting loudly, Zuko struggled out of the leaves.
"I didn't find anything to eat!" Zuko cried out, "I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive, this is impossible!" To strengthen his words, he threw his hands up to the sky.
Elyrie repressed a chuckle at his antics. A hungry Zuko is often a cranky Zuko, she thought with pouted lips. As soon as she said that, she felt her own midriff starting to growl. And a hungry me is also a cranky me. She was glad that she had at least slept well, because this morning she had woken up warm and well rested. Zuko must have placed her on the ground during the night, because she had woken up on the floor of the cave. Zuko had, of course, woken up before her to wash himself in the river. But to her surprise, she wasn't the last one to get up because Uncle's snoring had continued for quite some time, even after she had washed herself.
Iroh wasn't disturbed in the slightest by his nephews rant. Instead, he inhaled the sweet scent of the flower in front of him.
Zuko, surprised by the silence, turned to his Uncle with a confused look. He raised one eyebrow at Elyrie, silently asking her what his Uncle was doing. Elyrie simply shrugged to signal she didn't understand it either.
"Uncle," Zuko asked, "What are you doing?"
"You're looking at the rare white dragon bush!" Iroh finally said as he gently clasped his hand together in delight, "It's leaves make a tea so delicious it's heart-breaking!"
Tea? Elyrie mouthed over his head at Zuko with a puzzled look.
"That," Uncle continued as his frown suddenly deepened, "Or it's the white jade bush which is poisonous."
Elyrie stared at the older man. She knew Uncle had an obsession with tea and truth be told, he made the most delicious blends. But to think about tea now? Zuko seemed to share the sentiment, although he said it a bit more gruffly. "We need food, not tea!"
"I am going fishing." He added as he stormed off to the river. Once again, Iroh didn't seem to hear him.
"Hmm" he pondered out loud while continuing to stare at the flower, "Delectable tea or deadly poison?"
The question didn't seem to be directed at anyone in particular, so Elyrie shook her head and let the old man alone with his plant. Still limping a bit, but much better than yesterday, she walked in the direction of the river. She had never seen Zuko fishing, but maybe he learned some skills on his travels. And even if he didn't, it would be quite a show to see him try.
When she arrived at the riverside, she saw that her second guess had been correct. Armed with a long stick, Zuko stood knee-deep in the river. Almost slapping the stick in the water, he attempted to catch something. The water splashed him every time he missed and after a few tries, he was soaked to the bone.
Elyrie coughed to mask her chuckle but Zuko turned around with an irritated look. "What is so funny?" he asked while the water dripped from his face.
"Nothing." Elyrie shrieked, her voice betraying how amused she was. To make the situation even funnier, a large silver fish jumped out of the water in front of Zuko. It was as if he was mocking him, because he jumped out a few more times and splashed more water in Zuko's direction.
Now she was laughing out loud. "I am sorry," she said when Zuko turned around and gave her a look that could scorch her right on the spot. She quickly covered her mouth, but her eyes continued to spark with amusement.
"Can't you search for berries or something?" Zuko growled as he turned his attention back to the water, "Or edible plants?"
"I don't know which plants are edible!" Elyrie responded with raised eyebrows, "What makes you think that?"
"Didn't you study every subject imaginable?" he asked as he frantically poked his stick in the water in the hopes of catching the fish. It wasn't going to work that way, but she didn't dare point it out now.
"Languages, history and politics!" she said as her eyes followed the movements of the stick, "Not biology or farming!"
"And you never thought that might be useful?"
"Then why didn't you study it? I don't see you climbing to the top of the food chain at the moment."Elyrie pointed out as she motioned to his attempts. The fish jumped out another time and she bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing again.
"You try it then!" Zuko said indignantly as he handed her the stick.
Now she was sorry she had laughed at him, because her attempts were even more pathetic than his were. It took a few minutes for her to be soaked as well, although she was much less irritated by it then he was.
After more than an hour, neither of them had managed to catch something fit for three people. Zuko did manage to catch a small fish, but it was barely larger than Elyrie's little finger. The fish was flapping about helplessly at the end of the stick as they walked back. It looked absolutely ridiculous, but Elyrie didn't dare to say that out loud.
When they returned to Uncle, it seemed as if he hadn't moved from the spot where they had left him. He still sat down by the plant, but Elyrie noticed that the flower was missing.
"Remember that plant what I thought might be tea?" Iroh said without turning to them.
"You didn't?" Zuko asked in shock.
"I did." Uncle said as he turned around, "And it wasn't."
Zuko dropped his stick and staggered back. At the same time, Elyrie let out a gasp and she clasped her hands in front of her mouth.
Uncle looked horrible. His face was swollen and his entire skin was covered in a red rash. It appeared to be the itchy kind of rash, because he kept scratching his face as he walked towards them. She saw that his hands were covered in the rash as well, as if someone had spilled red wine all over him and it had left stains.
"How bad is the poison?" Elyrie asked after she had found her voice again. If it was only a rash, that might not be so bad. It might be better than it looked.
"When the rash spreads to my throat," Uncle said, surprisingly calm as he scratched his back with a stick, "I will stop breathing."
"But look what I found!" Iroh added while showing them the stick he used to scratch his back with. It was a branch on which pink coloured berries were growing. "These are Pakui berries! Known to cure the poison of the white jade plant!"
Elyrie felt a wave of relief go through her, but only for a moment. "That or Makaola berries that cause blindness." Iroh continued with a frown as he vigorously scratched his stomach.
"We are not taking any more changes with these plants!" Zuko said as he snatched the branch from his Uncle and hurled it into the bushes.
"We need to get help." Elyrie said as she saw Uncle bending in different positions to scratch his irritated skin. She resisted the urge to scratch her own skin, since she started to feel itchy over her entire body the more she looked at Uncle's rash.
"But where are we going to go?" Iroh said while bending down on one knee to scratch his back and upperleg, "We are enemies of the Earth Kingdom and fugitives from the Fire Nation." He squatted down to scratch both his upperlegs. If he hadn't been in such a grave situation, it might actually be funny to see him bend in such awkward positions.
"If the Earth Kingdom discovers us, they'll have us killed." Zuko said while placing his hand under his chin as he thought about the possibilities.
"But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula." Elyrie added while she tapped the side of her chin with her index finger.
All three of them exchanged looks and nodded after a brief pause.
"Earth Kingdom it is."
It has been a while since I could use the name of an episode as a title, but funny enough I had written the cave scene before I even realised that it fit very well with the episode title!