Author's Note: This story idea roamed around in my head for a few weeks now, I've rewritten it a few times, changed and tweaked it, but I think it's now come to a final point. It's a bit of a birthday present to myself, kind of, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Earth Kingdom, 100 AC

It had been some time since the boy had picked up a familiar scent. His fine nose never failed him. As he slowly followed the trail, he wondered if this was a smart decision. It could prove dangerous, fatal even, but on the other hand, from his perspective, everyone was potentially dangerous, so it barely mattered. If nowhere was safe, maybe it was his best bet to follow the scent. At least that would be a danger he once had known.

Earlier that year, he had recognized something shifting in the atmosphere. His senses were sharp, but it was hard to name the feeling, it seemed, the balance of power was shifting, something was coming from the south.

One night he had made out an unfamiliar shape in the sky. Curiously he had investigated it. But as soon as he had noticed the people on the strange animal, he had recused. No need to be careless. Still, he followed them, secretly, cautiously, for a few weeks, but when they headed up further north, he decided it wasn't worth it and returned to his hidden life of travelling wherever his bare feet led him.

He still thought about those people though. All were around his age, two teenagers clothed in blue, Water Tribe, a little older than him, and an orange-clothed, bald boy that seemed to be his age. He didn't know his clothing, his tattoos, everything about him seemed strange, yet he had an interesting air about him. Somehow, he recognized the power that laid hidden in this boy. Amongst his travels, he heard people talk about the Avatar, and once he had seen a wanted-poster, he was sure, that that was the bald boy.

As he now followed this new trail, he wondered about his own actions. What did he hope to gain from following the Avatar? Or this trail? Security? A place where he belonged? He sighed deeply. If that place had ever existed, it had been wiped out seven years ago.

The scent led him to a small cave. They must've stayed here for some time but went away over a week ago. Empty baskets still stood around in the small space. Once they must've held something sweet, but sadly, they were now empty. His stomach growled on cue. The boy hadn't eaten for some time, he wasn't even sure how long. He shook his head, his chin-length hair swinging with the movement and tickling his cheeks. He had to stay on track, he couldn't lose that trail for a hunt or whatever else. The boy could go hungry for a while longer, he was used to it.

Somehow that thought had renewed some of his energy and he continued to make progress, his mind working tirelessly. They had split up. Without hesitation, he followed the trail of the old man. He would be slower, easier to follow, and more important to him anyway.

Unconsciously he sped up, a sense of danger seeped into him, as well as curiosity, making him hurry faster and faster. He ran through the forest, always close to the trail he followed. He came across a clearing that showed the traces of an earthbender. But the fight seemed to have been quick, if there even was one at all. His nose picked up the scent of tea, it led him out of the forest. A small collection of burned sticks showed him where the pot had been. But the tea was gone, and so was the man he followed.

He looked around, in the distance, he saw the remains of what once had been a village or something, sitting in the merciless sun of the dry plains. The trail of the old man led there. Concerning how fresh the tea smell still was, there was a good chance that the man was still there. The boy thought for a moment how he should proceed. A small house on a hill not far from the village caught his attention. Maybe he could get a better view from there…

Suddenly he heard a heart-wrenching scream. His head jerked in the direction, it came from the village. He began to run towards it. On his way, he saw that a part of the houses was burning, and the large animal the Avatar used to travel on soared into the air.

He stopped in his tracks when he reached the ruined village-gate, staring shocked and perplexed at the scene. The old man laid on the ground, a teenager on his knees beside him, crying. The grey-haired man laid unconscious, a sizeable burn blackening his left shoulder. Two single tears ran down the boy's cheeks, no… no, no, no, no. Not him, please…

The boy knew who the man was. The echo of his father's voice rang through his mind: "He doesn't know you, but I want you to know who he is."

"But why can't he know who I am, Dad? He seems so nice.", he had asked.

His father had only shaken his head, "No, Jun. I don't think it would be good to just run up to him. You have to be careful. Now is not the right time. Your safety is the most important thing, and thus, we can't act reckless. You have to stay here with Madam Noriko for a while longer, it won't be forever. Soon, I can take you with me, okay?", the boy had nodded. A few weeks later, people had come and killed the woman. They had tried to get him too, but he was able to kill one of them and hurt another before he flew, leaving only a burning house.

Now he stood there, motionless, the setting sun behind him. Thoughts raced through his head, limiting his body's movement.

Zuko had rarely felt so helpless ever in his life. Frustrated, he sat at his uncle's side, praying inwardly that the old man would open his eyes and tell him what to do. Thoughts were running wild in his head as he noticed a shadow being cast upon him and his uncle. Quickly he looked up and saw a small boy standing as still as a statue at the entrance of the village. He wore rough looking greenish clothing and no shoes, his chin-length hair swaying slightly in the evening breeze. Amber eyes stared at them.

The banished prince had no idea who that child was. He seemed a few years younger than him, but he couldn't seem to remember the face, even if he had a slight feeling of knowing him. With a dry voice he roared, "Get away from us!", but the boy didn't budge.

Instead, he made two slow steps towards them, his voice was barely a whisper, "What happened?"

"You don't need to know that! I told you to leave us alone!", Zuko yelled at him.

Something flickered behind the boy's amber eyes. His voice had more strength and determination now, "He needs help. If you leave him like this, he might die."

With tears in his eyes, Zuko yelled at the child, "Are you deaf?! I told you to leave us alone! Can't you listen?! Who are you anyway? You know nothing about us, just get lost!"

The boy closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze laid on the floor in front of him, but a slight smile tore at his lips. With a calm voice he said, "I know a few things about you, Prince Zuko.", at this Zuko gasped, before scrambling into a defensive stance. The boy continued, "You don't have to be afraid, I'm not here to fight you.", quickly, he opened his palm and a small flame appeared on top of it, "Please, I'm from Caldera. I… I just… I'm lost, have been for a long time, so when I saw someone I knew, I started to follow you. I mean no harm, I promise, I just want to help."

The banished prince stood there like a statue for a long moment, thinking about what the boy had said. He was definitely a firebender. And he couldn't imagine Azula sending this child. How old could he be? Twelve? Thirteen maybe? His clothing was barely more than rags in the greens and browns of the Earth Kingdom, and he wore no shoes at all. If he was honest, that boy looked like he had nothing to eat for longer than Zuko himself. Something the boy said echoed in his mind, I'm lost… He knew the feeling and suddenly sympathy for the child rose in him. Slowly he dropped his fighting stance and nodded, "Fine. What do you suggest?"

The boy smiled, "Up there is an empty house. I think, it has a few holes in the walls but, overall, it's better than anything here. We could bring him there first, so he can rest."

Zuko thought about it, then nodded and added, "Okay. I'll go get my ostrich-horse. I don't think we can lift him."

When he returned, the boy knelt next to his uncle, examining the burn. He looked up when he heard the animal's steps, "Do you have bandages with you?", Zuko shook his head, "Hm, that's unfortunate. Maybe we can find some old clothing and tare it then."

"Can we get him to this house first?", Zuko asked annoyedly. He was immediately sorry as hurt flickered in the boy's amber eyes, even if just for a second. "I didn't mean to snap at you, sorry. It's just, it's been a long day."

The boy shrugged it off, "I've been treated worse, don't worry about it. Guess, we both had some really hard times.", the teenager nodded, relieved that the boy didn't seem too upset. Then they heaved his uncle onto the ostrich-horse and began leading it towards the house on the hill.

The house really was little more than a hut, the weather and what not else had left it in ruins, but it was better than anything in the still burning village. Together, they managed to heave the still unconscious Iroh into the house and onto the one bed that seemed not to be broken. Both panted afterwards and Zuko slid down against the next wall. His journey, the fight, now this, everything was taking a toll on him.

The boy leaned against the wall too, but only for a moment, then he looked at his surroundings. "I saw a well outside, I'll go and get water. Can you look for old clothing?", wordlessly, Zuko just nodded.

A little while later they had cleaned his uncle's wound and wrapped some makeshift-bandages around it. The sky was getting darker, so Zuko lit the small fire pit in the middle of the room. "Maybe we can get some food, or herbs, tomorrow. The forest is not that far.", the boy smiled at him, his amber eyes glowing in the shine of the fire at the mention of something to eat.

Zuko stared at him. How feral this child seemed to be… "You look like you've gone hungry for a while now, if you can get something to eat just like that, why don't you look like it?", he asked.

The boy raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I didn't have the time to hunt or gather much lately. Needed to stay on the trail."

They were both silent for a while, before Zuko asked, "Uhm, by the way, what's your name? You know mine, but you haven't told me yours yet."

A quick grin appeared and disappeared on the boy's face, "I'm Jun."

"What about your family? You said, you're lost. Don't they look for you?", Zuko inquired. He wanted to know what he was dealing with.

"My mother died when I was born. Otherwise… my grandparents are living very distant, and I don't even know if they know of me, and even if they do, if they would accept me. You see, I… I'm an illegitimate child. The first five years I was raised by my mother's best friend, but then she died too and…", Jun blinked tears away.

Zuko cursed at himself inwardly, great, you made the child cry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… What about your father? How do you know he's not searching for you? Even if you're illegitimate, that doesn't mean he does not care for you."

A sad smile appeared on Jun's face, but he shook his head, "I don't think so. My… father… he, he died on the front.", his gaze wandered to Zuko's uncle.

Zuko didn't know what to say. Empathy for a stranger wasn't his realm of expertise. Not at all. So, he just stared into the small fire. "This is all very depressing. Are you always so fun to talk to?", the boy asked. As an answer, Zuko just shot him a glare. But it didn't have the desired outcome. Jun chuckled and shook his head, His voice though was somehow serious, "Who did this to him? Your uncle, I mean."

"My sister.", it was barely more than a whisper. A voice in the back of Zuko's head told him that Azula did this just to hurt him. That she knew how much his uncle meant to him, and purposefully targeted the old man.

Jun had said nothing, just looked into the small flames with an expression of such anger that Zuko was for a split-second afraid of him, before the boy's face evened and finally formed into a smile again. "It's already dark, I'm going to rest now if you don't mind. I want to get out early tomorrow and hunt."

He went over to a corner of the room and laid down on his side, facing the wall. The flames painted a moving pattern on his small back. "How do you want to do that? You don't even have any weapons.", Zuko commented, crossing his arms.

Wordless, Jun stretched his arm to the ceiling. Almost covered by his hand, a small knife reflected the light. "Worked for seven years, will work now."

The next morning, Zuko rose with the sun as usual. A look to his side told him that his uncle had not awoken in the meantime, but he nevertheless seemed to be a little better. His breathing was coming regularly as he slept calmly. The banished prince sat up and looked around. He needed a moment to realize, the boy was gone. Without a trace. Quickly, he stood up and checked the immediate surroundings of the house. Nothing, as if he never had been there in the first place. Sighing deeply, he returned to his uncle. He had found an old teapot the other night, maybe he could try his luck making tea, the old man always had a few leaves with him.

A little more than half an hour later he suddenly heard soft steps, and seconds later, Jun stood in the doorway, crunching his nose at the smell of Zuko's tea. Draped over his shoulders was a dead animal, it seemed to be some kind of fox-gazelle, the banished prince wasn't too familiar with the wild fauna of the Earth Kingdom.

"What is this smell?", the boy inquired.

Zuko glared at him, "Tea. He loves tea, so I thought, I'd make some."

Casually, Jun walked over to him and took a cup. He smelled skeptically, then he tried a sip and his face contorted in discomfort. "Bleh, gross! Are you sure, he likes your tea?", he giggled. "I'm going to be outside, skinning this one, and turning it to breakfast, if you need me."

Zuko raised an eyebrow at Jun's apparent good mood as the boy left the small house again. No home, no family, not even shoes, and still in a better mood than the banished prince himself.

Outside, Jun did almost exactly what he told the prince he'd do. Skin the animal, prepare the meat, get a fire going. Routinely, he took away the parts of the animal he didn't want to eat, like its horns, and cleaned his bloodied hands before returning to the fire. After a few weeks without food, the smell was more than tempting. Gleefully he watched one piece in particular. The fox-gazelle's liver would be his, after all, he made the kill. It was a thing he always had. The madam had said, it was probably because of his inner predator that he preferred it. A lot of carnivores prioritized the liver amongst all other body parts since it held the most nutrients.

Proud of himself, Jun sat down, his gaze never leaving the cooking meat. It went from the meat to the flames. He would have to concentrate more than he already did usually for as long as he'd be traveling with those two. If his concentration slipped and they saw him bend colorful flames it would be a tell-tale sign. At least to the old man. He knew for sure, the prince probably not, but it would spark questions, nevertheless.

His gaze went to the sky. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to travel with them. It would soon be new moon, with all its implications. But on the other hand, he had had to follow. And when he saw the old man laying there, ignorance had not been an option.

Suddenly, his trance-like stare was interrupted by voices from the inside of the house. The old man was awake. He chuckled as he heard a small sound of disgust. He must've tried Zuko's tea. Smiling he got up and picked two of the pieces of meat up that looked done to him.

Inside the house, Iroh smiled at himself for managing to throw out this disgrace of a tea without his nephew noticing. After all, he didn't want to hurt the teenager, especially since he looked like he had sincerely worried about his well-being. The banished prince seemed delighted at the notion of more training and advanced firebending techniques.

Soft steps were heard from the outside, and the former general shot his nephew a skeptical gaze. Was there somebody else here? "Ah, yes, I haven't told you yet.", Zuko began, "When you were unconscious, this boy came up to us. His name is Jun, he's from Caldera, and apparently his situation is not much different from ours. He helped me to get you here, and this morning, he even went hunting, so I thought, maybe he could travel along for a bit…"

Iroh was still skeptical, "Are you sure, your sister didn't send him? He could turn us in."

"I don't think he would. I mean, he didn't seem to pose a great danger, and I can't imagine Azula wanting anything to do with some orphaned child. He seemed just… lost.", his words didn't manage to fully convince the former general, as Zuko could tell from his serious expression.

A small knock on the open door made them both turn their heads towards it. There stood Jun, a shy, almost apologetic smile on his lips and two sticks in his hands with deliciously smelling meat on them. "Uh, I heard voices, so I thought, you'd maybe like something to eat…", he avoided too much eye contact with the former general.

Iroh felt shaken, for a long moment, all he could do was stare at this child. Maybe the feeling was still the aftermath of his dream, but he felt like he'd just seen a ghost. This boy looked so much like his son had when he'd been that age.

Zuko didn't know why his uncle was silent, it wasn't normal for him. And Jun too behaved differently than he had the other day. To end the awkward silence, he stood up quickly, giving Jun a rare smile and took the sticks from him, "Thank you."

The boy stared at him like he'd just seen a miracle, then raised his eyebrows, muttered something like, "No problem.", and returned to his place outside of the house.

Jun wasn't sure what it was, but something kept him from looking into the old man's eyes. Maybe it was fear. Fear of being recognized? No, they had never met in person, even if he knew, there was no way he could recognize him. Maybe it was the fear of being chased away. He had heard parts of the conversation the two others had before. He knew that the former general was skeptical of him. Lost in his thoughts, he sat down, took all of the meat away from the fire, so it wouldn't burn, and munched down on his piece of liver.