As much as I adored Appa, there was one thing that made redirecting the prince's obsessive pursuit of my brother difficult; Appa was very much a dead giveaway to where Aang and his friends were going. The ship had been on a mainstay course following him ever since Kyoshi Island. Then, after three days of a dogged pursuit, Appa had veered over a mountain range, somewhere the ship couldn;t follow.

I had mostly stayed away from Prince Zuko during this time. While he was barking orders to the crew or holed up in his quarters, I kept to myself in the galley, focusing on helping the cook. I cleaned up messes left by the crew after their meals. I didn't mind. Cleaning and cooking kept my mind off of the whereabouts of my brother, making it easier to come up with lies about his whereabouts. It also gave me a strange sense of home. My mind wandered as I swept up after a mess, remembering some particular time where I vented to Sister Wei.

"Aang is getting everyone's praise," I had complained, "what's so special about moving around air, anyways? Where's my reward for my work! I can't bend and I work just as hard as he had with not so much as a good job!"

Sister Wei had patted my shoulder. "Rewards aren't entitled to anyone, Gitan. Your brother has put in incredible work to get where he is as an Airbender. You should be proud of him, not resentful. Resentment doesn't nurture healthy bonds with anyone."

Resentment. The word sat heavily in my stomach. Like I hated my little brother. On the contrary. I loved him. I just hated the attention he was getting. Yet here I was, realizing how much the world had changed. A world where my brother was praised for being an Airbending prodigy now equal parts hated him or revered him.

Was that part of why Prince Zuko was so determined to capture the Avatar? Because he envied my brother? Resented him? It also explained how his obsession twisted him into the Firebending monster he became whenever so much as a whisper of my brother was uttered.

I finished sweeping and went up to the deck. For a few days, we had been on the fringes of the southwestern Earth Kingdom. Aang and I had never spent much time on this section. Mostly we traveled inward to Omashu to visit Bumi. The rock formations jutted to the sky like stone towers

Sister Wei's advice echoed in my head as I turned away from the deck to the jutting balcony of the bridge. A red Fire Nation flag snapped in the breeze, its triangular pattern stark against the blue sky. I exhaled with a hint of reluctance. The resentment I had towards Prince Zuko was justified, though. When I had complained to my mentor, I had been much younger. This was the present. I was imprisoned on a boat with no means of escape. No. My resentment towards Prince Zuko was as blazing as his fires. He was hunting my brother. For the glory of his great nation. I promised as a child I would protect Aang from any threat, and right now, he was my brother's greatest threat.

I returned to my quarters and lay down on the mat, glaring up at the blank ceiling. Perhaps I was being rude to not acknowledge people on the ship that welcomed me openly like Iroh and Jee, but the last thing I wanted to do was give Prince Zuko an incentive to seek me out. After a while, I started to close my eyes. In my dreams, I saw myself standing by Aang, glaring down Firebenders fleeing in terror as a strong whirlwind picked them up and flung them like they were balls. But then Aang started to float up like he was made of nothing but pure air. When I tried to grab his hand he continue floated upward….father and farther out of my reach.

I awoke to the sound of hissing steam. We were docking. I sat up and rubbed my eyes sleepily, trudging out of my room and making my way down to the lower deck. When I came down, I frowned at what I saw. Bowls of clear broth. I clearly remembered prepping some rice for the day.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to feed everyone," the cook said apologetically when I had asked. "But don't think your help wasn't warranted." As I slurped it slowly, he said, "we've stopped here to gather supplies."

"And where is 'here', exactly?" I asked.

It was then that the helmsman, whom I had never seen in person until now, piped up from where he sat. "A mining village occupied by the Fire Nation. The Earthbenders provide coal."

"I imagine not of their own free will," I said with disgust. No one said anything or they chose to ignore me. I raised my voice and said, "And let me guess, we're here because of an Avatar sighting."

"No, Gitan," Jee scrubbed his face, "we're simply here to gather supplies. But no doubt Prince Zuko will try and get whatever intel he can." He looked at me. "Aren't you going to stop him? Ever since Kyoshi Island, you've mostly been hiding here."

My hands on the bowl shook. "I just want to stay out of his way. I can do more down here. Besides, it keeps me from getting bored. And it gives me a sense of normalcy in these…well…not so normal times."

"Normalcy. I can't wait until we return to that," Jee said. A few men mumbled their agreements.

I said nothing, simply sitting down and listening to the crew share stories. Most of them were about their families back home in the Fire Nation. It was interesting to see the men in uniform and then trying to picture them, oh, playing games with their children outside, or kissing their wives after a long day. Some even shared that, now that we were docked, that they would go to seek out entertainment. Part of me wanted to tag along, yet another part of me knew that the temptation to run away would grow. Aang had a target on his back, and with my affiliation with Prince Zuko, no doubt if I did run away, I would have an even bigger one.

After the morning meal and everyone went their separate ways, I stayed behind to clean up the mess. I heard a pair of footsteps and looked up. Waddling down the stairs, smoothing out his leather breastplate, was Iroh. When he saw me, his eyes crinkled.

"Ah, so this is where you have been hiding," he said.

"Don't tell your nephew," I said almost pleadingly.

Iroh said nothing. He was holding his teapot in one hand and a small handful of jasmine scented leaves. He ladled water from a bucket nearby and, as I watched, he cradled the teapot and exhaled a jet of hot air from his nostrils into the porcelain. Steam began to curl from the open pot and he set it down.

"Uncle…I mean…Iroh…if it's…not too much to ask…you were a general a while back, yes?"

A cloud seemingly passed over his usually pleasant face. Sadness filled his amber eyes. "Yes, I was. Back then, I was someone that felt I had to uphold ideals that were not my own. My father, Fire Lord Azulon, committed himself fully to fighting the war. I wanted to be like him, and in doing so, I led the Fire Nation to many victories. But perhaps the greatest victory was having my son in my ranks."

I was about to add the leaves to the water, but he took my hand gently and shook his head. I lowered them and prodded, "You had a son? What was he like?"

"His name was Lu Ten. He was a brilliant young man…misguided in some ways, but truthfully, he meant well."

The way he spoke of Lu Ten pierced my heart. I didn't ask any more questions after that. The way he spoke gave me insight into his relationship with Prince Zuko. He saw his nephew as misguided, and was making up for mistakes he perhaps had made with his son.

"He sounds like he was wonderful," I managed a small smile.

"You're very kind, Gitan." After a moment, he said, "You know, it's a shame that you and Prince Zuko cannot find a way to get along.

I looked at him hard. "So long as he keeps trying to hunt down my brother, he and I will never get along."

"But you made him laugh that one day," Iroh said plainly. "I had not heard my nephew laugh in two years, let alone smile. You bring out something in him, and perhaps, if you allow yourself, you will see his own frustration. You and him are more alike than you realize."

"His frustrations aren't excuses for his actions," I objected. "I'm only taking comfort that he wants the Avatar alive, not dead. At least when I'm angry, all I do is take my anger out on dirty pots!"

Iroh chuckled. He added the tea leaves to the pot and let the tea steep before offering me a cup. I accepted it, watching the golden stream of jasmine tea pour out. I took a sip and let the flavor dance on my tongue. Iroh had found the perfect temperature. "You know," I said, "my mentor, Sister Wei, told me Aang's identity as the Avatar while brewing tea. Before you came down, I was thinking about some of her advice."

"The Air Nomads did have a unique perspective of the world," Iroh agreed. "What did she tell you?"

"She said that," I tried my best to imitate my teacher's calm mannerisms of speech, "Resentment doesn't nurture healthy relationships."

Iroh's eyes glimmered. "I suggest you keep that teaching close to your heart, then, Gitan."

The boat stayed docked for one more day. The ship was loaded up on supplies. I had found the courage to ask the cook to try and buy ingredients so that I could teach him several recipes that I would make back in the Air Temples. It would perhaps give the Fire Nation a different point of view about a world that they either blindly destroyed or perhaps I was projecting my homesickness onto them. The cook agreed, thankfully, and I became enamored with making dishes from home. Mushroom and chrysanthemum dumplings, tofu and mung beans, and, of course, Aang's favorite egg custard tarts. Iroh had devoured one of everything before retiring to take a walk outside.

If the Fire Prince is so obsessed with the Avatar, I had thought to myself smugly, maybe eating like him will sate his desire.

Speaking of which, the helmsman told me that Prince Zuko had gotten word that, on a prison rig out near the Mo Ce Sea, Aang had been seen. There had also been a massive prison uprising in which not only had the Fire Nation guards stationed there been completely overwhelmed when the Earthbenders got their hands on coal, but they had escaped. Yet by the time Prince Zuko had arrived, the rig was completely abandoned. However, he had come back with something that was left behind and was important to his search. When I asked for more questions, the helmsman said he didn't ask and was asked to be ready to depart should Aang retreat.

I went outside to vent my frustrations with staff training. Cleaning pots wasn't giving me the same sense of relaxation and satisfaction that it once had. Besides, I had been sloppy with my training regimes ever since I started hiding. I swung my staff in wide arcs, getting used to the feeling in my hand. The burns hadn't caused terrible damage, which gave me a sense of relief. As my arms ached, I focused on footwork. After drilling several movesets, I began putting them together in a semi arranged routine. Fighting against Firebenders had strangely prepared me for properly dodging projectile attacks. I pretended a Firebnder had shot at me, and I spun. Then I was inspired by Aang's propeller moveset. I tried spinning the staff in my hand…only for it to clatter onto the deck. I grit my teeth, exhaled, and tried again. Failure.

"Have you seen my uncle?"

I spun around rapidly, my black ponytail neatly following the snap of my head. Prince Zuko stood nearby. I straightened my posture. "Not since this morning," I answered. I looked back at him. "I'm telling the truth, you know."

"He was supposed to be back here in half an hour," he muttered.

"Where was he last?" I asked, picking up my staff and sliding it into its holster.

"In a hot spring," he answered.

"A natural one?"

"Yes, a natural one!"

"You don't need to snap at me, Your Highness. Usually there are hot spring resorts in the Earth Kingdom, I just wanted to make sure."

Without warning, Prince Zuko held onto my forearm. His grip wasn't aggressive, yet the firmness showed that he didn't intend to let go. "Come with me." The way he said it had multiple layers; that he would not take no for my answer, yet with it was a hint of desperation.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because leaving you alone on the ship would tempt you into running away. That and my uncle likes you, and it's safe to say you look up to him."

I scowled. I hated to admit it, but Prince Zuko was incredibly accurate. Yes, if left alone, I probably would have escaped. Iroh also very much liked me. While he didn't care for me in the same way he cared for his nephew, he had done so much to ensure that I was cared for or taken care of. I looked over at Prince Zuko and, once again, I saw that vulnerability I had once seen when Iroh stood up for his honor.

I relented. "Fine. I'll come with you."

After getting two other Firebenders to come with us, Zuko and I trekked off the ship towards the forests past the mining village. The terrain was rough. The air smelled of cedar and other conifers. The sun had dipped past the mountains, leaving us in the shadows of the woods. There weren't any lights to guide us save for small flames.

We hiked for what felt like miles before Zuko parted aside a large branch. Behind it sat a series of small pools. A heavy, sulfuric smell came from their contents. They flowed into each other in a small series.

"Look! This pile of rocks!" I pointed to a large cluster sitting in the largest pool. It had been large enough to be someone's bathtub. The ground around it was not crumbling soil or decaying wood, but rather mud. Mud that smelled like sulfur. The largest slabs were a trio of huge, jagged formations. They were all pointed at one end, and there was a cavity in the center, like it was a toothy mouth bursting through the pool. I cupped my chin as I studied the formation. Something about it was off. If this was where Iroh chose to relax, it was a strange choice.

"It looks like there's been a landslide," A Firebender behind me observed.

I frowned. "Land doesn't slide uphill."

Prince Zuko came to stand next to me, leaning towards the rocks, focusing particularly on the points. "She's right. Those rocks didn't move naturally." He stood up straight and declared his verdict. "My uncle's been captured by Earthbenders!"

Earthbenders…and we were close to several Earth Kingdom villages. No doubt that there were Earthbenders that wanted to ensure the Fire Nation wasn't encroaching on the land. But Iroh wasn't just a foot soldier or a scout. He was a retired war general. Capturing him was perhaps as big of a flex as, well, capturing the Avatar.

"They couldn't have gone far." I tried to sound reassuring, yet my uncertainty was still present in my voice.

"Going after them on foot is too risky," Prince Zuko said. "We need…"

Please don't say rhino, please don't say rhino, I thought.

"A rhino."

I gritted my teeth with an annoyed grunt.

Riding the rhino a second time was just as difficult and uncomfortable as the first. Although, it was nice to be riding in the back as opposed to being in front of Prince Zuko. Sitting on it with such a wide stance was slightly uncomfortable. It could have been I clung to the saddle with both hands as it walked down the path. I tried to focus on anything to avoid getting dizzy, from the trees to the ground, but nothing was swaying me.

It was still dark when we set out. By the time the sun rose and cast long rays of light through the trees, we were able to locate a loose series of kicked up rocks and pebbles. Among the rocks were ostrich horse tracks. The prints were deep in the ground and moving in a set path. The rhino trudged down the road, its tail sweeping away the tracks like a broom.

"You don't exactly like riding, do you?" Prince Zuko asked.

"I've only ever ridden ostrich horses and sky bison, and unlike my brother, I didn't go out of my way to try and ride every beast known to the four nations." I replied.

"So, not the adventuring type."

"I never said that! My brother was always the more adventurous one. I mostly tagged along to make sure he didn't get hurt."

My mind replayed a memory, which made me chuckle. Prince Zuko glanced back over at me. "What's so funny?"

I tried to hold my laughter in. "Sorry, I just remembered a particularly big adventure. One time Aang and I were camping out in mountains similar to this. A huge boar-q-pine came out of the brush, I wanted to fight it off, and Aang wanted to give it a hug. Before I could even stop him, he leapt over, arms wide and," I made a poking sound, and laughed again. "Oh, Aang let go so fast. The quills were all over him. I spent all night pulling out every quill, then the next morning, I woke up to see he had made a wig and put it on my head!"

Even though he didn't laugh, I did see a glimmer of amusement in Prince Zuko's eyes. Yet his face still remained stoic. Apparently, he was not in the mood for light hearted memoirs.

I changed the subject to Uncle Iroh. It was the one thing we had in common that I knew of. "We spoke a little bit about your uncle's history with the war, but he didn't share much. What was one of his…I guess accomplishments?"

"He breached the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. It took 600 days, but he did it."

My eyes widened. Ba Sing Se had been a part of the Earth Kingdom that Aang and I never visited. Mostly because of the giant wall surrounding the great city. It was one of many walls in the city. The lifestyle had been described as rigid. The monks had told us the people there were too attached to their ways to truly adjust. Of course such a city would be a prize during an apparent global conquest. Yet the images of Iroh the tea loving sweetheart clashing with the ruthless blood hungry general were so different.

"Is that why he was captured?"

"Maybe," Prince Zuko muttered. He suddenly pulled the rhino into a hard break. I stayed on the steed as he dismounted. From where I sat, he was kneeling towards something. It was a sandal. The soles were thickly woven fiber. The thong was thick ruddy leather. The prince studied it, and took a whiff. A look of disgust crossed his face before he mumbled, "Yeah, that's Uncle Iroh,"

"The less I know how you figured that out, the better," I said.

He said nothing and mounted the rhino. The reins were snapped and the creature grunted before moving forward. I lurched forward, trying not to show discomfort.

We rode in silence. The only sounds that echoed around were the rustling of trees and the snort of the rhino every couple of paces. In front of me. Prince Zuko had a rigid posture, his eyes focused on the path ahead and his hands gripping the reins tightly. Every so often, he would slow the pace down, looking at not just the trail of ostrich horse tracks that we were following, but stop to investigate something that had caught his attention. When he dismounted, I did as well, if not to stretch my legs. We both would find small markers that the Earthbenders possibly had come the way we were going. I had discovered a branch with its leaves crushed in a particular pattern, pointing in a various direction. Prince Zuko found a small, gold piece of Earthbender's armor embedded into one of the tracks.

Eventually, as the sun grew higher, I gave up trying to mount the rhino and decided to continue the journey on foot alongside it. When Prince Zuko asked why, I had pointed out that being on the ground would help us both; if we were ambushed by Earthbenders, then one of us could at least fight back. He seemed conflicted by my response before settling into the saddle with a hint of reluctance. I walked alongside the beast, my eyes glancing from the blur of forested area we passed by to the prince's profile. I tried to piece together the focused tracker and the angry prince into one image, but I also saw something else. Something he wouldn't dare admit aloud. Prince Zuko was afraid. Not of fighting against Earthbenders, but of losing his uncle. I understood his stress. If Aang had been captured by Firebenders, I would be just as tightly wound, just as intently focused on rescuing him before it was too late.

The footprints continued up towards an incline in the hills. The trees were no longer on either side of us, and walking by the rhino was not a safe option, unless I wanted to roll down the hillside and get myself hurt. I picked up my pace, careful to not tread on the ostrich horse tracks and ran uphill. At one point, something had gotten Prince Zuko's attention, and it prompted me to run slightly ahead. As I crested another hill, a sight I couldn't ignore caught my attention. The ground in front of me was scorched. The fire had burned itself out. Around the burn patch were ostrich horse prints, and down the hill was disturbed earth. The amount of gravel at the crest downhill was too big to be an accidental slip.

"Your Highness?" I called over my shoulder. "You might want to look at this!"

When I looked over, the prince was looking skyward, his eyes narrowed into puzzled slits. He looked back at me, waiting at the edge of the crest. He spurned the beast over finally, coming to stop by my side.

"What is it? What did you find?"

"The ground here's burned. And look, that's not gravel from something slipping. Your uncle and his captors were here."

Prince Zuko nodded. He looked at the hill. "Looks like we have to go downhill from here."

"We're losing daylight," I said. "Let's make our way down safely while we can."

Running downhill was easier said than done. The rhino may have had deft claws to lock into the ground but even with its tail, it struggled to go down the slope. The backs of my legs burned slightly, but as the ground evened out, the muscles seemed to breathe evenly. We cut through the forests, the trees growing in patches of thick and thin. At one point, the rhino refused to go further, and so Prince Zuko tied the reins to a tree. We continued our pursuit before coming across a series of rocks that made a semblance of a staircase. It was not a natural formation; the rocks were too smooth to have been created as such. We slowly descended into the lower valley. As we reached the bottom, we found him.

Iroh was laid across a large boulder. He was only wearing a brown loincloth and his skin was covered in dirt. His shackled hands were spread out on the rock in front of him. He was held in place by two Earthbending soldiers, identifiable by their green uniforms laden with golden brands. Two other Earthbenders were seemingly standing watch at various points in the makeshift valley. A fifth soldier took a stance, stomped once, and lifted another boulder into the air. He carried it into the air, growing closer to Iroh's own hands.

Prince Zuko and I had rushed forward almost at the same time. I reached the boulder before it could be dropped onto Iroh's hand. The force of my swing had turned the patch of rock into tiny pebbles which sprayed around every which way. I faced the Earthbenders, hearing a loud grunt and the satisfying sound of metal breaking away. The three of us stood back to back, eyeing our competition

"Excellent form!" Iroh complimented.

"Surrender yourselves!" The Earthbender called to us. "It's five against three. You're outnumbered."

"Ah, that's true. But you are clearly outmatched!" Iroh's voice carried confidence.

Rocks were ford from the lead Earthbender stomping the ground. The four on the edges sent large rocks that they had prepped. Iroh was using his now broken chains like a metallic whip, breaking apart the smaller projectiles and turning them into rubble. Prince Zuko took out two soldiers with well timed Firebending kicks, the rocks dropping down and breaking apart. A rock was fired at his head, but I swung my staff to intercept the blow. While I was occupied with swerving and knocking down soldiers with my staff, yet another rock had been aimed at Prince Zuko. This time, Iroh caught it with his chains. The elder threw it back at the soldiers who tossed it, knocking them down. Three rocks were fired by the leader towards Prince Zuko and myself. We both dodged, and my companion countered with fire blasts that were dodged or completely disintegrated. I closed the gap and went for a strike to the head, only for my root to be shaken by an Earthbending stomp. I was able to spin away just in time. When I turned back around, the captain had used both hands to raise two massive mounds of dirt and rock from the ground, creating seemingly large walls of earth bent on burying us. I braced my staff and lifted it over myself and Prince Zuko, awaiting the inevitable blow…

…but the leader was taken down by Iroh;s chains. The elder general had looped them around our opponent;s ankles, sending him toppling down, the rock pile meant for us falling on him.

The three of us stood side by side. I put my staff in its hilt. Iroh was beaming over at us. "You two make an excellent team," he said. Pride was evident in his tone.

An excellent team. In a way, it was true. We had been able to get along without Iroh acting as a mediator. We all had fought in sync, our movements complementing each other. But was that all there was to it? Was it possible to forge a genuine connection with Prince Zuko, despite our differences? A part of me longed for it, for the easy camaraderie I saw between Iroh and Zuko. But another part of me, the part that remembered his relentless pursuit of Aang, remained wary.

Zuko redirected the topic by simply asking, "Will you please put on some clothes?"