When he returns to the chicken rabbit barn, he takes a quick whiff of air and decides pretty much immediately that it needs to be cleaned before he sleeps in it.
It takes him a good hour or two to remove all the dirty nest bedding, scrape along the sides with a handheld garden shovel, put lime on the bottom, dispose of the bad bedding and replace it with straw from the open bale.
He steps outside to let the building air out and takes a deep breathe of the clean night air.
Or tries to.
The smell from the animals sticks to him, along with all the dust from the shrine and grime from traveling.
He resists the urge to groan at the thought of taking a bath in cold well water in the chilly night air.
But, he knows it must be done.
He finds the buckets left for him by Hua and her parents.
As he wanders over to the well, he looks up at the stars. He can make out the Shuanglong constellation and Tui and La.
He fills the buckets, then makes his way over to the abandoned ostrich horse stall that they had pointed out to him earlier in the day. It was behind the wall of a small courtyard. They had assured him that the owner of the house was away and that he'd have privacy.
Lee would be getting warm baths in the guest bathroom of Hua's home while they were here.
When he finishes washing up and cleaning his clothes, he heads back towards his sleeping area, but stops to check on Lee.
Lee is sprawled over the bed the way he was back in the afternoon, snoring loud enough to wake the dead.
Zuko allows himself a small smile as he steps in and rearranges Lee so that he can breathe easily again. He tucks the blanket securely around the younger boy and notes the streaks in the dirt on his face.
His smile vanishes and he goes back to the well to fill one of his buckets again. Gently, he sponges off Lee's face, warming the cloth in his hands first so that the cold water won't wake him.
Lee shifts for a moment, then relaxes and his breathing evens out again.
Zuko fills the pitcher on the table with the remaining water in the bucket and then quietly makes his exit.
"He is kind of like a little brother to you, isn't he?" Hua's voice startles him. She's standing to the side of the storage shed, watching him for his reaction.
"What?" Is all she gets for a response.
"When you first came to town, Feihong said something about him being your little brother. I was delivering lunch to my friend working out in the fields. I overheard most of what happened."
"Then you know we aren't actually related." Zuko retorts.
"Yes. But he's sort of like a younger brother to you, isn't he?" She presses.
"I'm helping him look for someone we probably won't find. He's making it harder to find the person I'm trying to find. I met him for a day and a half while traveling through the Earth Kingdom during the war, and I've only known him for about three days since then. What makes you think he's like a younger brother?" He tries to rein in his terse tone.
"You didn't have to tuck him in." She points out.
"I do. I'm looking out for him. I promised him that no harm would come to him while he was with me. My honor is on the line." Zuko takes a quick whiff of the air inside the chicken rabbit shed and decides it's tolerable.
She doesn't respond to his explanation.
"What do you care anyway?" He asks, irked in some way by her silence.
"I just think it's cute. That's all." She shrugs.
"Oh." He isn't sure how to respond to that.
"I guess I'd better let you sleep." She steps away and waves. "Have a good night."
"Good night." He echoes.
He lays on his back across the two unopened bales of straw and stares at the low ceiling. The chicken rabbits are calm and quiet, except for the occasional elongated cluck that he thinks might be a snore.
He listens to the breeze blowing softly through the stone alleys outside, rustling a tree beside the building. The strange quiet snore coming from the chicken rabbit, and his own thoughts.
Slowly, he drifts off to sleep.
((page break)) ((page break)) ((page break))
"Azula! Catch!" Zuko called. He rolled a little ball towards his two year old sister, being careful to roll it slowly enough for her to pick it up from the ground without falling over. She'd been walking for a good eight months, but she was still unsteady on her feet and would go tumbling if she tried to run too fast.
Azula, laughing, picked it up and threw it back to him as hard as she could. The effort sent her into a belly flop onto the ground, but she continued to smile.
Four year old Zuko grabbed the ball and collapsed, pretending to be winded from chasing it down.
"Geez Azula! You're going to have to go easy on me! I'm too old for this!" He said, laughing. He didn't really know what the phrase meant, but he often heard Uncle Iroh say it to Lu Ten, and it always made Lu Ten smile.
"ald o i" Was her response. Zuko figured she was trying to copy him.
He rolled back over and sat up and she came to sit beside him, taking the ball from his hands and rolling it back and forth between her own.
"Old for this." Zuko tried again, enunciating slowly for her.
"Ald o is"
"Old. For. This"
"Ald. Our. Hiss." She tried again.
"Good!" He gave her a big smile. She beamed proudly back at him.
"Zuko! Can you bring your sister inside? It's naptime." Mother called from the door to the main hall of the Palace.
Zuko lifted Azula, Azula carried the ball, and off they went inside.
Mother rocked Azula asleep, then came over to sit beside Zuko.
"Can you sing me a lullaby, Mom?" He asked, burrowing deep into his blanket.
Mother moved closer and ran a hand over his back.
"Which one do you want to hear?" She asked quietly.
"The one about the dragons." He whispered back.
Her sweet, calming voice told the tale of a powerful dragon, struck down by an ancient Water Spirit, cursed to walk the land as a man, until one day, a maiden would appear to free him from the spell.
His eyes drift closed.
When he woke up, Father was standing with a Fire Sage next to Azula's crib.
For a brief, terrifying moment, he thought she'd disappeared in her sleep. He heard that it had happened to one of the servant lady's babies. He'd heard them use another word for it, but he wasn't sure what is was, and when he'd asked what it meant, they'd told him not to worry, that it couldn't happen to him now, that he was too old for it to happen. But he was worried for the servant lady. He saw her crying in the halls once, when she thought she was alone. He'd wanted to help her, but Father had been with him. He thought it would be safer, for the lady and him, if he kept Father's attention on something else so he wouldn't see.
He'd kept a closer eye on his sister ever since then.
He was relieved when he saw Father lift her out of the crib and held her up for the Fire Sage to examine. Father never held her. Not even when she cried when he was near. Not even when she reached for him. He wouldn't do it for Zuko either.
Maybe Father was finally starting to like her.
Then, he saw the flame in the Fire Sage's hand. He hovered it near the sleeping toddler's face. Brought it closer and closer.
"NO!" Zuko shouted, leaping out of bed and shoving the Fire Sage aside.
Father glared at him. Zuko felt extremely cold, even though a warm breeze was blowing in from outside.
"Stay back, boy." Father's tone matched the feeling in Zuko's gut. Cold and hard.
Zuko glared defiantly back.
Father rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.
"You're still here, aren't you, boy?" He asked.
Zuko was confused by that and chose not to ask for clarification. He'd found that it was usually better to be thought stupid than to open his mouth and confirm it. Less scary.
The Fire Sage drew closer. His palm lit up again. He brought it again towards Azula's face.
Zuko ran at the man again. This time, the man simply side stepped him and shoved the flame closer to the sleeping toddler.
"No!" Zuko screamed again, from where he'd fallen and landed with his arm pinned between him and the crib's foot.
Mother came in. She held Zuko back. She hushed him and whispered that it was alright, that they had done the same to him, that it was just a test.
"You coddle him too much, Wife. He needs to be disiplined. He needs a firm hand." Father told her with a sneer. She glared a challenge back at him.
"My Lord." The Fire Sage interrupted the hostile exchange. "Look."
Zuko peered over at Azula. Her eyes were open, watching the flame flickering by her face. But she wasn't frightened by it. She smiled, giggled, and the flame danced a little in response.
Father glanced at him and smiled. Zuko felt his stomach drop to his feet, but he wasn't sure why.
Father turned back to Azula and cradled her closer. She smiled up at him and laughed again.
Zuko had no idea why it made his heart hurt. He burrowed into Mother's shoulder and tried not to cry until Father left.
When he was gone and Azula had been handed off to Mother, he walked over to his baby sister. She smiled up at him and reached for him.
He covered his mouth to stifle his cries.
Azula frowned and reached more insistently for him. Mother handed her to Zuko and he rested his chin on her head, tears falling into her hair. Mother came and hugged them both.
He felt better with Mother's arms securely around him and Azula's tiny hand rubbing up and down his back as she'd seen Mother do.
They would be ok. Zuko kept telling himself that. They would be ok.
((page break)) ((page break)) ((page break))
When he wakes up, the stench hits him like a sack of fish.
Did I forget to clean out the nesting boxes last night? He wonders. But he's almost certain that he did.
Deciding not to be mad about it, since it promptly knocked whatever dream he was having out of his mind, he swings out of bed, stretches, and opens the door to let the hens out into the yard.
He collects the eggs, cleans out the boxes, and then heads over to the shrine to start the day's work.
A glance at the sun tells him that he's slept in. Not a surprise considering that he'd only gone to bed two hours before dawn.
"Hey, Sleepyhead! Don't Firebenders rise with the Sun?" Feihong's voice calls out.
"Not when they barely get any sleep the night before!" Zuko retorts. He simmers over that for a minute, but keeps moving in the direction of the shrine.
Hua is there when he arrives, sitting on the steps on the side that faces the ocean.
"Good morning!" She picks up a basket. "I brought you breakfast. Mom made it for you. Don't tell anyone in town though. They don't know where we're from. They wouldn't be too happy about us sharing food with a Fire Nation citizen."
"Thanks." He takes the basket, but doesn't open it. Hua seems to want to linger. "I should probably get to work."
"You aren't going to eat first?" He tries to ignore the disappointment in her voice.
"I got up pretty late. I need to get caught up on the work I've missed. Don't worry though. I'll hide the basket so you and your family don't get in trouble." He tucks it into a corner behind some artifact crates from Kyoshi Island.
He picks up some buckets and heads for the well. Hua follows him.
He grinds his teeth in frustration. He just wants to get his work done so he can get back on the road already!
"So, how are things in the Fire Nation?" Hua asks, as he lowers the bucket into the well.
"Fine. My Uncle is watching things right now. I doubt anyone will try anything while he's there." He pours the water from the well bucket into his cleaning one and lowers it back in.
"Your Uncle is the Dragon of the West, right?"
"Yeah." Please just go away!
"Is the Fire Nation always warm? I know it's a group of volcanoes." She lifts the full bucket, looking as though she has the intention of carrying it back up the road to the shrine for him. She struggles, even with two hands on the handle.
"Mostly. We do get some cooler days at the end of each year though." He picks up the second bucket, now full, and grabs the other one from her hand as he starts back toward the shrine.
"I can help!" She insists, grabbing the handle.
"It's fine. I've got it." He pulls it back.
"I heard that you trained the Avatar." She gives up trying to get a hold of the bucket and matches his pace.
"That's right."
"What's he like?"
"He's fine. Listen, Hua, I really need to be focused on work right now. I'm supposed to be taking Lee to the market in a few hours, and I'm way behind on work today." He glances away to avoid seeing the hurt expression on her face.
"I can take him for you!"
"Why do you keep following me?!" He explodes. He sets the buckets down and turns to face her.
"I'm sorry!" She squeaks. "I'm just curious about everything! The Fire Nation, the Avatar, the war, you. All of it! So much has happened in the last year and I just want to hear about it from someone who was there!"
Zuko feels like an absolute jerk when he notices the tears in her eyes. She blinks and they're gone, her expression back to something a bit more neutral.
"I'm sorry." He says. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry to get back on the road. Every day that we spend here is a day further from finding anything about Lee's brother, and my mother."
He picks up the buckets again and starts walking. She follows, but stays a bit behind him this time.
"How long has she been missing?" She asks, in a softer voice.
"About seven years."
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it. You're awfully curious for an Earth Kingdom girl. Are you more Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom?" He just wants to get the topic off of his journey at this point.
"There isn't really a way to know." She shrugs. "They wiped all the early records from Yu Dao as part of their martial law when they first took it over. Arranged marriages were a thing in the early days, I know that much. They probably tried to get an even mix of both. It would have defiled their bloodlines, but helped them in annexing the territory. Nobody knows their real origin or how much of one nation they are compared to another."
"That way nobody would know which side to be loyal to." He finishes the thought.
"Right. Neither of my parents are Benders. I think I had an Earthbender grandparent, but I was so young that I don't remember who it was. And Earthbending in the village was frowned upon until recently. My friends all say that we have funny colored eyes for both Nations. We could be distantly related to Air Nomads that survived the Battle for the Air Temples."
"Genocide."
"What?"
"It was a genocide. A crime. Not a justified or evenly matched battle. Call it what it is. It was a slaughter. You're safer here if you accept it for what it was." He grabs a rag and starts wiping down a cracked wall. He'd spent most of the previous day clearing out artifacts tied to Chin. There had been an awful lot of stuff dedicated to the deification of one man.
"I guess you're right. Someone once told me they didn't even have an army."
"That's right."
"What about your family?" She sat down beside him. "Were they all Firebenders?"
"No."
"Your mother wasn't." It's more of a statement than a question. It seems everyone knows everything about his family. Between his father, Uncle, and Azula, Zuko supposes he isn't really too surprised.
"No."
"Do you ever miss home?"
"No. I know it's in good hands with Uncle. And I'll go back in a year or less." He jabs a little harder than necessary at some particularly crusted dirt.
"I miss Yu Dao all the time." She sighs. "Mom says now that the war's over, we might be able to go back. But Dad says that it will be given back to the Earth Kingdom and we might not be allowed back."
Despite his wish to work in peace and quiet, she's suddenly found a topic that he has use for.
"Why not? Didn't you say there's no way to know who's Fire and who's Earth, unless they're Benders? Wouldn't you get a choice between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation?" He asks.
"Well, not exactly. It's...complicated."
"I see." He rinses the rag out and starts on a new spot. "Shouldn't you go do chores, or do whatever you do for fun around here?"
"You really hate having me around, don't you?" She asks, sounding a bit insulted.
"I guess I don't really care, as long as you don't slow me down. But you're the one who said it could be dangerous if these villagers find out where you're from, or that you don't hate me. I really don't want to get in trouble and be stuck here longer than I absolutely have to be, and I don't want to see anything happen to you and your family. You should probably go now." He heads for the door to dump the dirty water out.
"I guess you're right." She gets up and dusts off. "Promise you'll eat something though?"
"Sure."
"Can I take Lee to the market for you?"
"I guess so. Good luck getting him to behave though. Don't let that little brat out of your sight. He's really hard to find once you lose him."
As she leaves, Zuko sits down and massages his temples. Even though he'd slept in, he probably only got about four hours of sleep. After all the work he did yesterday, that just wasn't enough. And that girl's need to chat all the time isn't helping.
((page break)) ((page break)) ((page break))
Lee's pov
"Where's Scarface?" Lee asks, when the young lady comes to get him. "He's the one that's supposed to be taking me."
"He woke up late and needs to catch up on his work. Besides, wouldn't you rather not go anywhere with him? I thought you hated him." Hua grabs his hand and tows him along.
"Yeah." He starts running ahead, jumping over a few crates, someone's cat dog, and dodging a couple of ropes being used in some game the kids are playing.
"So, where do you want to go first? Clothes or preserved foods?" She asks.
He's already looking at a table with Avatar souvenirs.
"Lee?"
"Oh! Yeah, let's get some new clothes, I guess." He bounds off in that direction. He can hear Hua struggling to keep up. Rolling his eyes, he slows his pace.
The first shop they come to is one of the plainest on the outside. Lee almost suggests that they move on.
But when they enter, he is surprised by the array of color and variety in not only the clothes, but the shop's decoration. Tapestries and paintings hang from nearly every wall. Light shines in from various windows. And the walls are painted in pastel colors.
"Excuse me, where are the children's clothes?" Hua asks the shopkeeper. The lady points to a stairway that goes into a loft.
Lee's eyes land immediately on a shelf full of scrolls when he gets to the top.
He takes one carefully and opens it. It's the story of the missing Fire Lady from Weilai's story!
"Lee, maybe we can come back to that later. But we should focus on finding you some clothes for your journey." Hua gently removes the scroll from his hands and steers him towards the clothing racks.
He randomly picks out a few items and goes to try them on. All but one fits, so he places it back and picks a slightly smaller size.
"Is that all that you think you'll need?" Hua asks, doubtfully.
"We don't have much room in the saddlebags." He replies with a shrug. "And Flicker does laundry anyway."
"You know, Lee, you really shouldn't call him names." Hua puts an arm around him and comes down to his level. "He hasn't had an easy life, and for the most part, it seems like he tries to do right by you."
"For all I know, he's the one who burned down my village!" The vehemence in his voice surprises even him.
"Lee! You know that's not true! Why would he take care of you if he'd wanted to hurt you?" She protests. She gets up and rummages through the clothing rack again.
"I guess. But I still hate him!" Lee stomps, like a little kid, and he instantly feels embarrassed when he spots a family in the far corner of the loft looking at him.
"Let's talk about this later, Lee. Try these on. I think you should have one pair of nice clothes for special occasions." She holds them out to him.
He doesn't take them. A lump rises in his throat.
"Lee, what's wrong?" She asks, when she notices the tears in his eyes.
"Don't know." He grunts, trying to play tough.
"Come over here." She leads him to a small corner between a clothing rack and the wall for privacy.
"Now, what's wrong?"
"I don't know! I just feel weird about this." His voice cracks as his tears spill out. He keeps a hand over his mouth in order to keep quiet.
"About buying new clothes?" Hua asks. She rubs his back in gentle circles. It reminds him of Mom and Dad. He cries harder as he nods.
"I see. I think I can understand. I'm from a town that's pretty far away from here. My family and I moved here less than a year ago. I miss my old home, and I have a lot of old things that my mom wants me to give away. Things like old books, old hobby materials for things I don't really do anymore, and clothes. I want to keep a piece of my old home with me." She turns to lean against the wall, and Lee follows suit. "I have this old toy from when I was a little girl. It's a stuffed bear. Just a plain bear. I heard that King Kuei has one. A real bear, I mean. I loved that bear so much! He reminds me of when my friends and I would play tea party and hide and tag together. I brought that bear along for everything!" She chuckles a little. She has a pretty chuckle, even when it's sad. "I don't think I'll ever give him away. Mom says that I should have done it when I stopped playing with him a long time ago, but I never got around to it. And now, I never really want to."
Lee has stopped crying enough to take his hand away from his mouth. He glances up at her and she meets his eyes and smiles sadly.
"I don't actually have many of my own clothes now." He admits. "Most of the ones I have are my parents' and brother's old ones. I can't even wear them. I was using them as blankets when I was hiding out in a cave for a while before Cinderman found me. But I brought them along, and if I get new clothes, I'll have to get rid of the old ones to make room for new ones."
"Oh, Lee! I'm sorry!" She pulls him into a tight hug. Lee isn't sure why that makes him want to cry again.
Why is it always harder to not cry when someone hugs you?
"I'll tell you what. If you give me the old clothes, I'll keep them for you until you find your brother and a new place to live. Alright? I don't think my mom will mind." She says.
"Ok." Lee's voice squeaks and he swallows hard.
"I'm going to go downstairs and get something for you to wash your face with, alright? You just stay here and relax for a minute." She gives him a final squeeze and hurries downstairs.
The family that was on the other side of the loft seems to have left.
Lee creeps out from his hiding place and looks through the scrolls again. He finds an old one detailing a history of the Avatar. It's probably one he's seen before, but he doesn't know for certain because there aren't any pictures on this one and he only knows the characters for "Avatar".
"Here." Hua hands him warm washcloth. He wipes his face off thoroughly and she takes it back from him. "Do you like reading?"
"I can't yet. Dad was going to send me to school after the war. We were all going to move to Gao Ling, and I was going to go to school, but then Sensu left, then..."
"I see." She cuts him off so he doesn't have to say it again. "If you want, I can get you one. I'll pay for it, so Zuko doesn't have to work any longer for it."
"Let him work!" Lee snaps.
"Well, the longer he has to stay here, the longer you have to stay here." She replies evenly.
"I knew that!" Lee glares and crosses his arms. He'd sort of forgotten that part.
Hua laughs her pretty little laugh and picks out a few scrolls that she seems to think will be good ones.
"Come on. Let's go find some good traveling food for you." She says.
((page break)) ((page break)) ((page break))
As soon as they reach the food section of the market, Lee can smell a million different things. He smells cooked fish, several soups and stews, freshly cut fruits on the sample tables and more.
His first thought is to raid every sample table. But Hua catches up to him and holds him back.
"We'll get you some lunch later." She promises over his struggle and protest.
They head over to the preserved food area, where things have been pickled, cured, and canned.
Lee looks around, feeling sullen. He's sick of cured food, and the pickled stuff doesn't smell edible.
"What do you think we should get?" He asks.
"How long do you think you might be on the road between towns?"
"A few weeks maybe. I haven't seen a map or anything."
"Well, if you're going to Ba Sing Se, it could be a long time." She takes a jar of jelly and examines it carefully.
"Flames says we might still stop in Gao Ling." Lee offers.
"But you aren't going to be there for very long. Better to pack more now so you don't have to waste time later." She comments cheerfully.
"Guess so." He shrugs.
"I'd recommend mostly canned food then. A can of vegetables, a can of fruit, and a can of meat, twice a day. Let's assume you're going to be on the road for two months to be safe..." She whips out a paper and pen and starts tallying. "We're probably going to have to get you another saddlebag." She presses the pen against her cheek, then carefully writes another number down. "That should do it." She smiles.
"What vegetables do you like, Lee?"
And so, with Lee taste testing, they spend the next two hours finding out which foods he likes enough to take with him in canned form.
By the time he finishes, he's too full for a fresh food lunch, but Hua promises to get him something special for dinner.
As they head back to Lee's storage shed, he notices Hua looking towards the cliffs.
"You don't like like Cinderman, do you?" Lee asks, a grimace on his face.
"Hm? No! Not at all!" Hua's face turns a shade of pink. "I was just thinking about where he'll get his supplies from, if Gao Ling won't serve him. I heard that they remained neutral for trade relations during the war. But I know they aren't especially friendly with Fire Nation citizens that just wander in from the land."
"I hope he starves." Lee mutters darkly.
"Lee! That's not nice!" Hua exclaims, an expression of horror on her face.
"It's true though." Even as he says it, he remembers how cold and weak, tired and sore he'd been on the mountainside. He realizes what Dad must have meant when he said he wouldn't wish meeting the Rough Rhinos on his worst enemy.
Cinderman was definitely Lee's worst enemy right now, but when he really thinks about it, even he shouldn't have to starve to death.
"Lee.." Hua is about to say something, but Lee holds up his hand.
"I know! I know! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He says through a huff. "I'm just so mad! About everything!"
"And you have every right to be." Hua wraps an arm around his shoulders and squeezes. "But you don't know who burned down your village. At least, that's how it sounds. And all Zuko is trying to do is help you. He's giving up a lot of time in his search for his mom to help you. His mom's been gone for seven years, and probably moves around a lot. So every day that he spends helping you look for your brother or working so you can eat is a day that he gets farther from finding his mother or what happened to her. How would you feel if you had to choose between helping someone you cared about and finding your brother?"
Lee doesn't really have a good answer to that.
He places the saddlebags full of food down next to his old one, digs out the old clothes and hands them to Hua. He goes to put the new ones in, but sees something that makes him pause.
"Is that your family?" Hua bends down and looks inside.
"Yeah." He says, reaching in and grasping the picture of his parents and Sensu before he was born. His mom's belly is large with him, and Sensu looks at his mother proudly as he rests his hand over his brother inside. His mom smiles up lovingly at his dad. His dad has his arms around Mom and Sensu and is the only one looking towards the painter of the portrait.
"They sure look like they loved you." Hua smiles gently. Lee bites his lip and puts that picture on the bed next to him. He reaches in and pulls one out of him as a toddler holding Mom's hand.
The last one is his father reading to him and Sensu under a tree. They weren't aware that the portrait was being painted.
"Do you want a hug?"
Lee falls back into her arms and sobs. She runs a hand over his hair and rocks back and forth a little.
"I'm ok." He says, after a few minutes. "I just didn't think I'd ever see them again. I told him to leave them in the cave. I-I was mad about the village, mad about going in the woods when I was supposed to be home, mad about having to go with a Firebender, and..." He sniffles.
"Sad about leaving the village. You wanted to forget about it for a while." She must read his mind.
He nods, ashamed of himself. When it's said out loud, it seems like the worst thing he ever could have done.
What had I been thinking?! And now, I don't even want to let go of their clothes!
"It's alright, Lee. What's important now is that you didn't forget. You still have their pictures. I'm sure they're still looking out for you." Hua says, soothingly.
"Dad always used to say that people become stars when they die." Lee says, quietly. He scrubs at his eyes, but isn't crying anymore.
"Maybe. They say some go into the Spirit World." She offers.
"What do you think it would be like to be a star?"
"Well," She stares at the wall, trying to think. "I guess I don't really know. Probably peaceful up there in the sky. No wars, no hunger, no fear." She looks back at him. "But I'll bet they miss us up there as much as we miss them down here."
Lee thinks about that for a moment.
"Dad always used to say that maybe time doesn't go the same way for them up there. Do you think time ends?" He asks.
"I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it."
"I wonder what the end of time looks like. Maybe I can ask Weilai when I see him!"
He hops up, reaches out a hand to help her up, carefully puts the pictures and the new clothes into the worn out saddlebag and steps out into the sunlight.
"Hey Lee!" One of the boys from the night before calls out to him. "We're going swimming! Want to come along?"
"Yeah!" He glances back at Hua. "Can I go?"
"What are you asking me for?" She asks, smiling. "Shoo! Go have fun!"
A/N Thank you so much to everyone that has followed, reviewed and favorited this story so far! And thanks to all who read it! I think slow updates are sort of my writing style after all, since I do a lot of thinking before I write. Quality over quantity. lol! Thank you for sticking with the story. :)