497Wandering Prince
Avatar the Last Airbender, Zuko SI
24
Commissioned by darkestcalling.
I circled around and put us on the Fire Navy cruiser's port side, lowering my ship enough that we could easily jump down. "Yue, could you toss them the line from the bow?" I asked, as I gathered the one from stern up and flung it over to a waiting sailor on the deck below. She nodded and hurried forward, securing the second line at the bow and likewise tossing it over, where it was quickly secured.
"So, we're just gonna go over there?" Toph asked as Yue rejoined us. "And that's gonna be okay?"
"Yup," I confirmed. "You good to jump, or…?"
Toph grinned and jumped up, forcing me to catch her. "Carry me."
Yue giggled, rolling her eyes at Toph's antics. "You're spoiling her."
"Like you don't?" I countered, raising an eyebrow.
"That's different!" Yue huffed, sticking her nose up in the air and looking away, but I caught the edges of her lips twitching as she fought a smile down.
Leaving it at that, I moved up to the side of the boat. "Come on, let's go."
Hopping down, I slowed my descent and 'slid' down to the deck, earning a brief yelp from Toph before we set down. I eased her down onto her feet and turned to see Yue step off of the ship and onto an ice-topped column of water rising up from the ocean below, which lowered her easily to the deck, where she hopped down to land beside us. A group of sailors met us on the deck. There were eight rank and file men wearing standard Fire Nation uniforms, though they were technically out of regulation at the moment given they had their helmets off, and in front of them stood two older men. One of them wore the uniform and markings of a lieutenant, while the other wore a simple robe in Fire Nation colors.
I'd had Army and Navy protocol and etiquette drilled into me by various instructors over the years, so I knew the score here. If the lieutenant was standing there with a retired general, then they were the two highest ranking officers on board. Given that Uncle was retired, that made the lieutenant the highest ranking officer among the crew, which granted him the title of captain but not the rank by the same name. Regardless of their rank, proper etiquette demanded you address the commanding officer on a ship by the title of captain, unless the rank outstripped the title—as in the case of an admiral, where an admiral acting as captain would be addressed as admiral formally, but could be addressed as captain less formally such as in the case of acknowledging orders or passing along reports. That is, if the admiral gave an order in combat and someone responded with an "Aye cap," the admiral had no official grounds to complain about the brevity.
Looking to the lieutenant, I saluted. "Permission to come aboard, captain?"
The lieutenant smiled and returned the salute. "Permission granted, your highness."
"Thank you," I nodded, before turning my attention to the much older man beside him. "Uncle, it's good to see you again."
"Zuko! Come give your uncle a hug!" the old man grinned, stepping forward and opening his arms. I quickly did as asked and let out a quiet wheeze as he squeezed hard enough to crack my back. He let me go and stepped back. "Let me look at you," he hummed, looking me over. One hand reached out and prodded my chest and when I didn't react, he raised an eyebrow. "Let's see it."
Sighing, I tugged my robe open and he winced at the scarring. "It's fine, Uncle. It's healed. This is all just surface layer stuff. Just… a reminder."
"Hmm," his frown deepened, resting a finger against against the raised scar tissue for a moment before letting his hand fall. Looking around me, he eyed Yue and Toph briefly, before his eyes cut back to me as I straightened my robe up. "Made a trip up north, did you?" he asked, and I nodded. "Come, introduce me to your friends! We have much to discuss, I imagine."
"Much indeed," the cruiser's captain murmured, and I sent him a questioning look. He nodded towards my ship and introduced himself. "Lieutenant Jee. My prince, if you don't mind, could we have a look at it?"
"How about I give you the tour in a moment?" I suggested, and he nodded. Turning back to the girls, I grinned and patted Uncle on the shoulder. "Ladies, this is my uncle, the Dragon of the West, General Iroh."
"Please, nephew. No need for all that. I'm retired now. Just an old man spending his days enjoying his tea and Pai Sho," he waved a hand dismissively, grinning.
"Uh huh. Pull the other one Uncle, it's got bells on it," I rolled my eyes. Gesturing to the girls, I continued, "Uncle, these are my friends, Yue of the Northern Water Tribe and Toph Beifong."
"It's nice to meet you," Yue gave a short bow as she smiled. "Zuko's told me a lot about you."
"First time I'm hearing it," Toph shrugged. "Still, uh, yeah. Nice to meet you, I guess."
"So," Iroh drew the word out, before turning a curious look my way. "I would much rather spend some time catching up, but… a flying ship? I would never forgive myself if I passed up this opportunity, nephew. Surely you understand?"
"Of course, Uncle. Come on, why don't the five of us take her up for a few and you can see how it works?" I suggested, and Uncle's face lit up in a huge smile. I couldn't say I blamed him, as I was pretty sure I was wearing that same expression the first time we went up in it.
"Thank you, nephew. Come lieutenant, let us have a look!" Uncle chuckled.
I picked up Toph again, much to her pleasure, and made the leap up to the boat. Yue shook her head and made a set of stairs out of ice for herself, Uncle, and Lt. Jee. The three of them stepped onto the small ship and the lieutenant sent me a smile. "Permission to come aboard, captain?"
"Granted, lieutenant," I chuckled.
Uncle and Jee followed me to the back, where the engine sat chugging away while Yue moved to the front. A moment later, the cruiser's crew cast our lines off and we pulled them in and set them back in place. Yue rejoined us just as I was taking my seat and opening the valve to increase altitude. Throttling up a bit, we slowly climbed as the ship pulled away from the cruiser.
"Mm, I see," Uncle mused, studying the mechanisms. "You fill the balloon with hot air and it rises, like a paper lantern."
"Precisely, Uncle," I confirmed.
"And the propeller up there works just like the ones on our ship?" Jee asked, and I nodded.
"It's thinner to be able to work better with the air, but it's the same principle. This is just a standard coal-fired steam engine. We've got water tanks on the sides and coal storage here," I thumped the box in question. "Exhaust to the rear. Steam flows through the pipe and cools in the return lines and tanks, allowing it to condense. It pipes hot air up through the cabin to the balloon on top when the vent is open. It really is just a standard boat I slapped some spare parts on, did a bit of welding to put a cabin on it, and tied a hot air balloon to."
As we rose, Uncle and Jee moved to the sides and looked over, taking in the cruiser below, the water stretched out around us, and the distant coast. Uncle sighed contentedly, leaning against the railing. "Amazing."
"It really is," the lieutenant nodded. "This could change the war entirely."
"Yes. Which is why it's going to stay safely out of father's reach, until I'm ready to deal with that problem."
Jee cast a glance back at me before nodding once. "Understood. I'll make sure the men know."
"Thank you, lieutenant."
We were up roughly an hour just circling before I brought us back down as the sun started to set. This time, I came in behind the cruiser and set her on the water. Uncle and the lieutenant watched with interest as I shut down the engine and Yue and I rolled and stored the balloon. With some help from Yue creating a platform for us, we were quickly back aboard the cruiser and I had my ship tied off at the rear where it could be towed.
"How about some tea while we talk?" Iroh suggested and I nodded.
"Sounds good. If we could have it inside? It's still a bit too bright out for Toph," I suggested, laying a hand on the shorter young woman's shoulder as she shifted and bumped me with her hip.
"Of course," Uncle agreed and we quickly made our way inside. He led us through the ship's narrow hallways to a room that had apparently been made up as a casual sitting/meditation room. Jee excused himself citing duties and Uncle busied himself with the tea pot for a few moments before joining us at the table, putting the pot down between us to steep as it steamed away.
"Now," Uncle began, setting out some snacks as well and taking what looked like a rice cracker for himself, "tell me of your travels, Zuko. How did you meet these two lovely young ladies?" He shifted his amber gaze to Yue, focusing on her neck—specifically, the necklace there, tied on by its Fire Nation red ribbon. Leaning forward, he studied it and quietly asked, "Is that what I think it is?"
"How about you let me tell the story and stop trying to skip ahead, uncle?" I sighed, even as Yue giggled and nodded, pressing herself into my side.
"It is!" she gushed, a happy smile on her lips.
"I want one," Toph sighed, eyeing the necklace in question with a bit of jealousy.
Yue leaned over to look at her from my other side. "Then we should get Zuko to make you one!" she grinned, earning a smile and a nod from Toph—and a raised eyebrow from Uncle Iroh, who then turned a speculative look on me. "I think green would look better on you though."
"I like green jade," Toph nodded. "I always liked the way it felt, before. Smooth in the hands and easy to 'see' through with my other sense."
"We can get you a red band to go with it so we match," Yue suggested, and Toph nodded.
"Sounds good."
I sighed. "Toph. It's a betrothal necklace."
The girl turned green eyes on me and glared, her cheeks turning pink. "I knew that!"
"If I get you one—"
"I know what it means, shut up~!" the girl growled, punching my arm with a solid thump.
"So violent," I hissed, rubbing my arm as Uncle chuckled.
Taking up the pot, I began pouring us tea. "So, as you know, I left after father lost his temper…"
The retelling took a couple of hours and by the time we were finished, the sun had set outside. Uncle had fallen silent in thought for some time as I finished up. "…And that's when you spotted us. So, what were you doing out here, Uncle?"
"Mm," he pulled himself from his thoughts and took a sip of his tea. "We were initially here searching for you, Zuko. Then, much like you, we saw evidence of pirates and investigated. Now, we are here hunting pirates. Something has them riled up. This is the worst I've ever seen it." Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet. "You've given me much to think about. In the meantime, let's go up and see if you've been keeping up with your forms. And then… music night!"
Yue giggled as I stood and offered her and Toph a hand. "Are you going to play for us, Uncle?"
"Of course! I play a mean tsungi horn! I'm pretty good with a pipa, if I say so myself. Just ask Zuko," the old man grinned.
"He really is," I nodded. "And that reminds me. I found something you might like, Uncle. Took a nice tsungi horn off of some pirates a while back."
"Hoh?" he asked, reaching up and stroking his beard as we made our way down the halls towards the hatch leading outside. "That does sound nice. You should play with us tonight, Zuko."
"Only if I get to play my pipa." I still wasn't sure of the name of the thing I'd found, but it wasn't actually a pipa—having more in common with a guitar instead. The name didn't matter, I just didn't want to spend the night blowing a damn horn. I could do it, and I was actually pretty good at it according to Uncle—I just didn't really like the instrument.
"Of course, of course," Uncle waved me off. "Do you ladies play anything?"
"Zuko's been teaching me to play the pipa," Yue nodded. "And I sing."
"Uh," Toph murmured, and I sent her a look. "Actually, yeah."
"Really?" I asked, surprised. "I didn't know."
"You didn't ask," Toph stuck her tongue out. "It's one of the things I could do entirely by feel. I couldn't read the notes or anything, so I just memorized things and played from memory."
Uncle nodded at that. "Very impressive. What do you play?"
"Flute and the drum. Drums were really good for making more vibrations," she admitted. "I brought my flute with me. Should I…?"
"I'll get it when I get my pipa," I told her and she grinned.
We stepped out onto the deck and Uncle waved to one of the sailors nearby. After a quiet word, the man hurried back inside and Iroh and I made our way out into the open space in the middle while Toph and Yue kept a respectable distance from the sparring match that was about to take place.
"You should warm up," Uncle advised as he began stretching, and I heard his old bones popping from where I stood.
Taking the advice, I began going through my own warm-up stretches. "It's been a while since I've fought another firebender. Lately, it's just been Yue and Toph."
"Are they any good?" Uncle asked, turning a considering eye on the pair.
"If I said they weren't, Toph would kick my ass and Yue would throw me overboard," I chuckled, then waved at the earthbender. "She can hear us from there, you know. Vibrations through the metal."
Uncle nodded. "She was really blind?"
"She was," I confirmed. "I healed her. Surprised you haven't said anything about that."
"I'm still thinking it over," he murmured. "You really made someone my age young again?"
"You aren't that old Uncle. She was almost twice your age." Grinning, I lowered my voice and quietly asked, "Want me to introduce you?"
Uncle chuckled, straightening from his stretching. "If we're ever up that way, I'd be delighted."
I straightened as well, glancing back and seeing that someone had brought out chairs for Yue and Toph, and most of the rest of the crew had joined them in waking up positions to watch. "Seems like they're expecting a show."
"Then let's give them one," Uncle grinned, sliding into the opening stance for most firebending katas.
Shifting into the same stance, I nodded, watching his form and reaching out with energybending to feel the chi flows around us. Watching. Waiting. I would let him have the first move to set the tone for this spar—
Iroh moved, flying through the motions of a firebending kata, his arms whipping out in fast punches and his legs snapping out kicks—all of which launched watermelon sized fireballs at me. Despite being on the older side, Uncle was still strong and fast, and he went hard right from the start as he poured on a barrage of fire and sprinted at me to close the distance.
I countered with my own barrage or fireballs, striking those he sent my way with every step out of the air—green and orange flames colliding and exploding like fireworks between us. I didn't try to close range as the standard firebending forms dictated, however. Instead, I began falling back, my return barrage slowing as I limited myself to one hand and both legs, my left hand collecting a ball of green flame that turned into a stream that I directed to flow around myself as I moved, falling into a modified waterbending kata as I drew him in.
The barrage from Uncle stopped as he closed to hand to hand range and the old man sprung at me in a kick aimed at my head. I raised the wave of green fire over myself to shield and he drew a breath, slapping his palms together and exhaling hard as he tucked his leg back in. Exhaling a stream of fire, Iroh managed to both give himself enough lift to clear the shield and bathe the shield in his orange fire, which was swept away under the weight of the tide.
He landed and I flung my left hand out at him in an arc, sending the entire wave out, expanding and growing taller as it rolled over the deck and threw off flaming droplets. He jumped to clear the wave, then had to counter as I began raining down my own hard and fast barrage as the green wave splashed over the side of the ship and onto the water below, where it continued to burn, like spilled oil. When Iroh landed and found the deck he'd touched down on covered in flames that began to catch his robes, he took another deep breath, then created a much larger fireball. He jumped, slamming the larger fireball into the deck where it exploded. The green flames flickered for a moment before dimming, then going out as they were deprived of oxygen.
Landing in a clear area, Iroh took a moment to cut off the hem of his robe, letting the burning piece fall to the ground before he closed again. This time, I met him head on with fists and feet. The old man outmassed me by almost twice over and had more than thirty years of experience on me. My only saving grace was that he had lost a step or two in letting himself go—he wasn't any weaker, but he was slower. It was enough of an edge to keep him from outright handing me my ass, but only just.
Every punch and kick he threw was shrouded in fire and ended in what should have been a blast that would force me to counter or send me reeling. The look on his face when they did nothing and instead fizzled out as I jerked the chi out of them was priceless. He figured it out when the first chi orb formed over my shoulder, waiting ominously.
Iroh kept a wary eye on the orb as he stopped feeding it, instead switching to purely hand to hand. I grinned and fell back, allowing him to push me—back the direction we had come from as I began collecting the leftover chi hanging in the air, making more orbs as I went. The old man began to sweat as he did the mental math and apparently realized that all of the chi we had just been throwing around, I was collecting and about to rain down on his head. He pushed harder, trying to end the fight decisively, but I was just fast enough to stay a step ahead of him.
I also quickly realized that while I had stamina for days—and more besides, if I started consuming chi orbs—Uncle did not. He hadn't just lost a step in terms of speed, his stamina was diminished as well from what I remembered just a few years ago. He seemed to realize that as well, but his pride wouldn't let him call it quits, and I could tell the warrior in him was curious to see this new type of bending in action.
Deciding to cut the math short, I shot one of the orbs at him and detonated it practically in his face, making him flinch back at the sound and light of it. That gave me a moment to jump back and make space and, by the time his vision cleared, the air was full of little white spheres of chi flying his way. The old man yelped and began to duck, dodge, and weave through the barrage—contorting himself in ways I was pretty sure I heard made bones pop from where I stood.
Finally, the barrage stopped and Uncle stood huffing. He sagged, planting a hand on a knee and holding up the other, signaling for me to stop. "How, huff, about we stop it here," he gasped out.
"But Uncle, I'm not done. Look behind you," I grinned.
Slowly, Uncle turned and looked over his shoulder, where the spheres were looping around from the other side of the deck and coming back at him. "Oh dear."
Chuckling, I jerked my hand up, sending most of them into the air above us and letting them detonate, giving our audience a flashy end to the fight. Bringing one of the orbs down, I absorbed it and sighed as I felt my chi topped off and my capacity stretched just a little. Stretching where I stood as Uncle caught his breath, I asked, "So? What do you think?"
"Give me a moment," he huffed, moving towards the hatch leading inside as everyone began going back in.
"Sir," the lieutenant spoke up, and Uncle sent him a questioning look, "dinner is ready, if our guests would like to join us?"
Uncle perked up at that before nodding. "Yes, of course." Sending a smile towards Yue and Toph, he asked, "Would you be so kind as to humor this old man with your own tales over a meal?"
"Of course!" Yue nodded, beaming a happy smile.
Toph chuckled, nodding. "Sounds good. I was getting hungry enough to see if I could find a kitchen to raid anyway."
"Yeah, don't let her size fool you. She packs away more than me and Yue put together," I shook my head, earning a stuck out tongue from Toph in reply.
"Zuko, you said you had an instrument? Why don't you go get it now? Give me time to talk with them for a minute," Uncle suggested—in that tone that told me he was telling, not asking. Politely, but it wasn't a request.
"Sure. Toph, where'd you leave that flute?"
"It's in my pack," she answered and I nodded, making my way to the stern of the cruiser and jumping off, jet-stepping my way across the distance and landing on the roof of my own boat. Heading inside, I took my time gathering our things, then digging through our spoils before finding the horn I'd promised Uncle.
I did make a note, after digging through Toph's bag, to talk to Yue and do Toph's laundry again. She had a bad habit of letting her dirty clothes just pile up in her pack instead of taking the time to clean them. I got it—sometimes you just wanted to be lazy and not worry about it. But I'd long since gotten to the point where I'd rather just do it and get it taken care of while the task was still small.
I decided to give them a few more minutes before making my way back. I had my suspicions on just what it was Uncle was asking them and I didn't need to be there for that conversation. In all likelihood, he had just come right out and asked what their intentions were. What Yue's plans were specifically, actually.
I was pretty sure that Uncle had her figured out the moment he saw her. I hadn't introduced her as the princess, but I didn't exactly need to. Yue's bearing and presence was enough to give her away. She would never be able to hide what she was. Unlike Toph, who had immediately devolved into a belching, nose picking, ass scratching in public absolute gremlin of a street kid the second we were out of the city, and while she was being polite now that we were in mixed company, she was still much less formal than Yue at her most relaxed.
It was a conversation we'd had more than once and I didn't particularly feel like revisiting it. Instead, I took a few extra minutes to tune my not quite pipa, sort of guitar and make sure it was good to go. When I felt like I couldn't reasonably delay any further, I made my way back onto the cruiser, putting out our instruments where I saw someone had already put out chairs and most of the instruments the crew would be using—apparently, they had themselves nearly a full band here.
Heading inside, I found the officers' mess and entered to the sound of Yue, Toph, Uncle, and Jee laughing. They went quiet as I entered and I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
That got another round of laughter, and given the way Toph pointed at me, I realized Uncle had been telling stories again. Shrugging, I made my way over to the open seat between Toph and Yue. "Look, it was one time and I only did it to make Azula feel better. It's not my fault they thought I looked better in that dress than her."
The room fell silent at that and I began putting food on my plate. After a few moments, Toph asked, "Wait. Hold on. What?"
"Hm? Oh, Uncle wasn't telling that story? Don't worry about it then."
"No~! You can't bring up something like that and then just not tell it! I want to hear it!" Yue protested and Toph nodded.
"Nah, you don't wan to hear that. So anyway, what lies has Uncle been telling you?" I asked and Uncle chuckled.
"Nephew, you hurt my feelings. You know I don't need to lie when the truth is so much more embarrassing," he grinned.
I raised an eyebrow. "More embarrassing than the time you—"
Uncle coughed into his fist. "Ahem. Yes. We promised not to speak of that."
Toph snorted quietly. "Okay, that sounds way too good to pass up."
"Oh, it is. And if Uncle's been telling tales, it's only fair that I return the favor. You see, Uncle only has three weaknesses: tea, food, and women. And when it comes to the third, he is willing to make an absolute fool out of himself."
Taking up his tea cup, Uncle took a sip and nodded. "A good woman makes every man a fool, Zuko."
"Then how is it that it happens so often, Uncle?"
The old man waved away my complaint dismissively. "I was in love!"
"You'd just met her!"
"Sometimes, that's all it takes," he smiled, and Yue nodded sagely. To my surprise, I found even Toph nodding along, but she stopped when she saw I'd noticed.
We ate and talked, sharing stories and laughter over dinner. Eventually, we finished up and made our way outside. The rest of the men soon joined us and after a few moments of checking over instruments, we struck up a tune. Uncle, being the ham he was, had apparently worked out our first song of the night and I rolled my eyes we I realized what it was and began following along.
"Oh, Water Tribe girl with eyes so blue~!"
Yue laughed and clapped and, having made the mistake of encouraging Uncle's shenanigans, he turned to Toph for the next one for a rendition of 'Girls from Ba Sing Se.' "—But the girls in the city, they look so pretty! And they kiss so sweet—"
A hand grabbed my robe and pulled me down, and a moment later Toph's lips were smashed against mine. Her tongue poked into my mouth for a moment before she pulled away and cackled as the crew wolf-whistled. "Was it sweet, Zuko?" she asked, and in the orange light of the fire in the middle of the group, I could see she was blushing.
"I'm not sure. I'd need another to confirm," I teased, and the girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You're not supposed to say that," Yue giggled, pulling Toph into a hug. "You're supposed to tell a girl it was the nicest thing you've ever felt."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, but that'd just open me up to you asking, 'What about me,' and trying to put me on the spot."
"Mhmm!" Yue and Toph both nodded.
"Why don't you try singing something instead," I rolled my eyes and picked up a tune, which the others quickly joined.
Yue grinned. "I've got hair like the moon above, it shines so bright when I smile for my love…"
I left the girls in bed as I rose early and got dressed. Closing up the cabin, I made my way up to the cruiser and onto the deck, where I found Uncle sitting with tea and breakfast. I joined him and poured myself a cup. We sat in silence as the sky slowly lightened.
"So," I finally asked as the sun peeked over the horizon. "Have you made a decision?"
"Mm," he hummed, taking a sip. "I've earned these gray hairs and scars. I'm not sure I would trade them away, even to have my youth back."
"Uncle," I sighed, sending the stubborn old man a knowing look. I knew what he was thinking, but I didn't want to say it outright and hurt his feelings. Instead, I worked my way around the subject. "You've spent much of your life in the army. On various battlefields. You haven't really had much of a chance to have a life of your own outside that. I just want to return what you've spent on our people. You deserve that much."
"I had my chance, Zuko. I've lived a long, fulfilling life and I've still got many more years left. I like to think it was more happy than sad, and I intend to fill my remaining days with more happiness."
"Damnit," I hissed. Setting my teacup down, I opened my mouth, the words on my tongue—that Lu Ten wouldn't want him to waste away his remaining years alone.
The words died on my lips as I met his knowing gaze. Letting the frustration out in a sigh, I turned away, shifting my gaze back out to the horizon and the rising sun. "If that's what you want, Uncle. The offer stands."
Uncle chuckled quietly and his hand reached out, patting my shoulder. "You're a good son, Zuko."
He put his own cup down and stood, cracking his back. "Come. Let's begin."
"Did we miss it?" Yue called as I stood, and I turned to see her and Toph approaching from the rear of the boat.
"We're just starting," Uncle grinned as we moved away from the table and settled into our stances. Humming, the old man stroked his beard for a moment as we prepared. "All we need now is an airbender."
"…I might know where we can find one. Or at least start looking."