It has been a few days since we all became fugitives. Zuko and Iroh changed their Fire Nation clothing into light green clothing, while I wore a long sleeve brown dress with my knee high boots. We made camp in a Earth Kingdom forest, and we've been living of on scraps of food we found in the forest. Saying that living like this is hard is an understatement.

"Hey Uncle Iroh!" I greeted as I entered our camp with some berries I found. As I entered the camp, I froze when I noticed him squatting in front of a bush that had a white flower with red on the petals. "Why are you staring at that flower as if its delicious tea?" I asked when I noticed the way he was staring at the flower. Before he could answer me, Zuko emerged from the bushes with Kai on his shoulders. The second I saw him, I couldn't help but blush.

After Zuko cut off his ponytail, his hair started growing back naturally, and let me tell you, he looks so handsome with his head covered in hair. Don't get me wrong! Zuko was handsome before that, but Zuko with short hair, looks way better than Zuko with a bald head ponytail. So if anything, Zuko just got more handsome.

"I didn't find anything to eat!" Zuko said as Kai jumped off his shoulder and came over to me. "I can't live like this! I wasn't meant to be a fugitive!" He exclaimed in frustration as he kicked the ground before he raised his fists up in the air and started yelling at the sky. "This is impossible!" I chuckled softly at his tantrum as I kneeled down and picked Kai up before placing him on my shoulder.

Zuko turned to me when he heard my chuckle and glared at me, before his eyes spotted the berries I was carrying. "At least you were able to find something to eat." He said as he walked over to me and picked one of the berries up and inspected it. "How do you know if its not poisonous?" He asked before looking down to me. Instead of answering him, I picked one of the berries and offer it to Kai.

Kai immediately perked up when he saw the berry before grabbing it from my hand and ate it. "That answer your question?" I asked with a smirk. Zuko rolled his eyes at me before nodding. "Yeah, it does." He answered and petted Kai behind the ear. "Good thing that we have him to help us find edible plants to eat." I said while Zuko continued petting Kai. "You can say that again." Zuko said before frowning when he realized that he didn't hear his uncle say anything for a while.

Zuko and I turned around to where we saw Iroh last, and saw that his uncle was still staring at the white and red flower. "He's still staring at that flower?" I said with a frown, making Zuko look to me in question, but I just shrugged, being just as confused as him at his uncle, while Kai yipped his confusion. "Uncle, what are you doing?" Zuko asked as he and I walked over to the retired general who was still staring at the flower.

"You're looking at the rare white dragon bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious, it's heartbreaking." Iroh answered with a voice full of excitement, making Kai yip in excitement for this delicious tea. I chuckle at the ferret's excitement and shook my head in amusement. "That, or it's the white jade, which is poisonous." My eyes immediately widen in shock and took a step back and looked down at the bush in worry.

"I don't think you should take that risk Uncle Iroh." I said to him, getting a yip of agreement from Kai, who looked at the bush in fear. "We need food, not tea." Zuko said to his uncle with a glare before turning and walked away. "I'm going fishing." He said before picking up a handmade spear and headed to the river. "Wait! I'll go with you!" I called out to him, but before I run after him, I put Kai down on the ground.

"Keep an eye on Iroh for us Kai." I whispered to Kai, both of us looking to Iroh for a moment, who was still looking at the flower, before we looked back to each other. "Try to get his attention away from that flower. We have enough problems as it is. Last thing we need is a dead Iroh." Kai nodded to me before turning around and walked to Iroh. "Good luck." I said with a smile as before grabbing a spare spear and run after Zuko.

"Hmm... delectable tea? Or deadly poison?" I heard Iroh said, before hearing Kai squeak in warning. "Stay away from that flower Uncle Iroh!" I called out over my shoulder as I continued running after Zuko. "That is not a risk worth taking! I mean it!" I quickly added as I saw Kai grabbing Iroh's shirt and tried pulling the retired general away from the flower, but Iroh stayed sitting there in front of the bush. I have a bad feeling about this.

***

"I really hope your uncle leaves that flower alone." I said as we got to the river. "Last thing we need is a poisoned Iroh." I said as I raised my spear up, ready to strike a fish. "Don't worry!" Zuko said before I threw my spear, missing the fish. I sighed in frustration before picking up my spear while Zuko got his spear ready. He concentrated hard before throwing his spear, but unfortunately he missed the fish as well. Zuko stamped his foot in anger for missing before picking the spear up again.

"I don't know Zuko..." I said with a small frown as I got my spear ready again. "Your uncle really loves tea and he was staring at that flower as if it really was the white dragon." I said and threw my spear, missing the fish again. "The wat?" Zuko asked while I sighed in frustration for missing again and picked up my spear. "The rare white dragon bush. The bush who's leaves make a tea so delicious, that it is heartbreaking." I answered while Zuko got his spear ready.

Zuko roll his eyes and shook his head at me before he concentrated at his target in the water. "You worry to much Asami." Zuko said and threw his spear before he stomped his foot again in anger when he missed the fish again. "I'm sure Uncle Iroh isn't that desperate for tea." Zuko said as I got my spear ready to strike while he got his spear out of the water.

I frowned when his words repeated in my head, before looking to Zuko with a raised eyebrow as I lowered my spear. "We're talking about the same guy, right?" I asked Zuko with a frown. Zuko raised his spear up and was about to strike when he stopped in thought for a moment. He turned his head to me and looked at me with wide eyes. "Yeah... maybe we should just go back and just check up on him." He said, making me nod in agreement.

Before leaving, Zuko threw his spear one last time. After he threw his spear, we both soon realized that his spear has hit a fish. "You caught one!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Yeah! I did!" Zuko said just as excited, before shaking his head and did a shrug as if its nothing. "I mean... of coarse I did." I just smiled at him and shook my head.

Zuko picked up his spear with a proud smirk but it soon fell when he saw how small the fish was at the end of his spear. I immediately burst out into laughter when I saw the teeny tiny fish on the spear, and continued laughing even though Zuko shot a death glared at me for laughing. "Not one word Asami!" He said with a pointed glare. "I didn't say anything!" I said as I continued laughing, making him roll his eyes at me.

***

"I can't believe you kept the fish!" I said as I shook my head with a smile. Zuko shot me a glare as we walked back to the camp with our spears, with the teeny tiny fish still at the end of Zuko's spear. "We need food!" Zuko exclaimed as he glared at me. "Fish is food! We got a fish!" He added, making me shake my head at him. "How do you expect the four of us to eat on that teeny tiny fish?" I asked as I pointed at the tiny fish on the spear.

Zuko opened and closed his mouth for a moment as he thought on what to say before he shot a glare at me again. "It's not that small!" He finally said as he glared at me. I laughed in amusement when I heard his words before shaking my head and stopped right in front of him. "Zuko, sweetie..." I started off as I gently placed my hand on his left cheek, slightly under his scar and looked him in the eye.

"That fish is so small, it will be seen as an appetizer... for Kai!" I said with a playful smirk. Zuko scoffed at me before moving his head away from my hand and continued on marching back to camp. I just chuckled in amusement as I followed after him. "What? It's true!" I said with a big smile after catching up to the hot tempered prince. Zuko just rolled his eyes at me as we continued walking back to our camp.

It wasn't long until we reached the camp. When we entered, we were met by freaked out Kai. "What's with Kai?" Zuko asked as we both frowned in confusion at the fire ferret's behavior. "I don't know." I said as I kneeled down to him and picked Kai up after putting my spear down on the ground. "What's wrong buddy?" I asked him as I gently petted his head as I tried to calm him down from whatever freaked him out.

"Zuko, Asami, remember that plant I thought might be tea?" Iroh said to us with his back to us. Kai's reason to freak out finally clicked in my head when I soon realized what the retired general has done. Both Zuko and I looked to each other with wide shocked eyes before looking back to Iroh. "You didn't..." Zuko said while I shook my head in disbelief while Kai glared at Iroh in disappointment.

"I did..." Iroh answered and turned around to face us. "And it wasn't." He said, showing his swollen up face and red rashes covering his face as well. "Ahh!" Both Zuko and I screamed in shock while the scarred prince dropped his spear. I soon snapped out of it and shot Iroh a disappointed glare. "Uncle Iroh what were you thinking!" I asked as I shook my head at him. Iroh looked down in shame while he scratched his cheek with his hand and his back with a branch.

"When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing." Iroh said calmly, to calmly if you ask me, while standing up. "But look what I found!" He soon added excitedly and showed us a branch with berries on it. "These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade." I sighed in relief as Iroh walked over to us. "That, or maka'ole berries that cause blindness." He said as he stopped in front of us while scratching himself.

"What?" I asked shocked, before my eyes widen when I saw that he was about to scratch himself with the berries. Before Zuko or I could do anything to take the berries away from Iroh, Kai squeaked in alert as he jumped out of my arms, onto Iroh and grabbed the branch with the berries out of his hand. Kai shot Iroh one last glare before jumping down to the ground and threw the branch with the berries into the bushes.

"Kai's right!" Zuko said as he looked down at Kai, sending the ferret a thankful look before looking back to his uncle. "We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need to get help." He said and he shot his uncle a pointed glare. "Serious help." I said as I eyed Iroh's rashes before picking Kai up again and placing him on my shoulder. I looked over to the retired general and saw that he was scratching his rashes, and they were getting worst.

"Stop scratching, you're making it worst." I said to him, as I walked over to Iroh, grabbing his hands and pulled them away. Iroh frowned at me for a moment before he nodded. But not even a minute later, he started scratching again, making me roll my eyes in irritation and Kai groan in frustration. "Stop scratching!" I repeated before softly slapping his hand that was scratching. "But it is so itchy!" He exclaimed as he scratched again, making me groan in frustration as I rubbed my forehead.

Before I could snap at him again, Kai yipped his frustration before jumping over to Iroh's shoulder and slapped Iroh on the head. "Hey!" Iroh exclaimed and shot Kai a glare, but the fire ferret just returned the glare. Iroh went to scratch again, but Kai hit the retired general's hand with his paw every time Iroh went to scratch. "Stop hitting me Kai!" Iroh moaned making both Zuko and I roll our eyes in annoyance.

"Kai will stop hitting you when you stop scratching." I said as I crossed my arms. "But it is so itchy!" He exclaimed, making me roll my eyes in annoyance. Iroh went to scratch again, but got hit on the hand again by Kai, making Iroh moan in frustration. "Like I said, serious help needed." I said to Zuko, shaking my head as we both watched Iroh trying to scratch, but keeps getting slapped by Kai's paw on the hand.

"But where are we going to go?" Iroh asked us after hearing my comment. He started scratching his knees, before getting hit on the head by Kai. Iroh shot Kai a glare before looking back at his nephew and I. "We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom and fugitives from the Fire Nation." He continued speaking before he furiously scratched his right leg that was full of rashes. Kai yipped his anger and slapped Iroh even harder this time on the head.

"Ouch!" Iroh exclaimed and shot Kai a glare, making me sigh in irritation. "If the Earth Kingdom discovers us, they'll have us killed." Zuko said in thought while Iroh tried to scratch his rashes but got his hand slapped by Kai every time. "But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula." Iroh said, making me shiver in fear when I heard Azula's name and thought about what she'll do to us.

"So it's either death or Azula." I said with my arms still crossed. "I think we all know which one is the right choice." I said and looked to the two firebenders, waiting for their answer. Zuko and Iroh looked to each other for a moment before they both nodded in agreement. "Earth Kingdom it is." Zuko said, making me sigh in relief, happy that they didn't choose Azula, before we started heading towards the Earth Kingdom village.

***

We luckily got to the Earth Kingdom village before the rash got to Iroh's throat. Unfortunately, Iroh's swelling didn't stop, and he was as swollen up as a ball while his face was covered by rashes. Luckily, we got to the clinic soon enough, and a girl around my age, immediately came over when she saw how swollen up Iroh was and the rashes covering his body. She asked us what happened and immediately started treating the retired general when she heard he drank white jade tea.

As she treated Iroh, Zuko and I sat on a chair and watched her treat him while Kai sat on the bed next to Iroh, hitting the man's hand every time he tried to scratch. While we waited for her to finish helping Iroh, I mentally sighed in relief that she didn't realize that Zuko and Iroh are firebenders. But to be on safe side, Zuko wore a hat that help to cover up his scar a bit.

"You three must not be from around here. We know better than to touch the white jade, much less make it into tea and drink it." The girl said to us while she treated Iroh's rashes with a washcloth. "Whoops!" Iroh giggled before he went to scratch again but stopped when Kai gave a warning growl and pointed glare. "Alright! I won't scratch anymore!" Iroh pouted, making the girl and I giggle while Kai yipped in victory.

"Good fire ferret." The girl said to Kai with a smile and petted him on the head. "You should have seen Kai on the way here!" I said to her with a laugh. "Uncle has been trying to scratch his rashes on the way here, but Kai here kept hitting uncle's hand or head every time he tried." I said to her with a smile, before laughing when my fire ferret did the very thing I just told when Iroh tried to scratch when no one was looking.

The girl giggled as well before she petted Kai one last time. "So where are you traveling from?" She asked us as she continued treating Iroh after rinsing the washcloth in water. "Yes, we're travelers." Zuko answered quickly and nervously, as he shot up from his chair. I shook my head slightly at the now standing Zuko, mentally rolling my eyes at him while I stayed sitting on the chair.

"Do you have names?" She asked as she looked over her shoulder at us with a smile while she treated Iroh. "Names? Of course we have names." Zuko answered, making me shake my head slightly again at him. "I'm, uh... Lee and this is my Uncle, uh... Mushi?" Zuko said, making me giggle and Kai yip softly in amusement at Iroh's fake name while the man himself shot a death glare at his nephew.

"Yes, my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior." Iroh said, sending Zuko a cheeky proud smirk while the girl open a lotion jar and started spreading it on the rashes. I covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing while Zuko death glared at his uncle before he moved his finger across his neck, signaling that he's going to kill Iroh. But when the girl turned to Zuko and I again, Zuko moved his hand behind his back. "And what is your name?" She asked me with a smile.

"Her names Emiko."

Zuko answered before I could. I looked over to him in shock before smiling to him. He looked down to me from the side of his eye and smiled back before sending me a wink, making me blush. Out of all the names he could have given to me, he gave me the one that meant a lot to me. Emiko was the komodo rhino Zian saved me from when she charged at me on the day Zian and I met. She was the reason we got together, and I will always be grateful to her for helping us meeting each other.

"Emiko, Kai, Mushi and Junior, huh. My name is Song. You three, four if you count your cute fire ferret, look like you could use a good meal. Why don't you stay for dinner?" Song asked us as after she finished spreading the lotion on Iroh. Song's over caught me by surprise for a moment before I snapped out of it. I smiled kindly to her and was about to accept and thank her for her invitation, when Zuko answered after he looked away from her. "Sorry, but we need to be moving on."

I shot the scarred prince a slight glare while Kai silently groaned in sadness when he heard we were rejecting a free meal. "That's too bad." Song said as she closed the jar with its lid before smiling innocently. "My mom always makes too much roast duck." She said, making Iroh's and Kai's eyes brighten up in excitement. "Where do you live exactly?" Iroh asked excitedly, making me giggle softly in amusement.

***

So you guys can already guess where we are now. If you guessed Song's house, you are right. After Song treated Iroh, the four of us stayed at the clinic until Iroh's swelling stopped and has disappeared along with the rashes. When we were 100% sure that Iroh was okay, we left the clinic with Song and went to her house for dinner. Song's mother immediately greeted us kindly and warmly before showing us to the dining room.

The men, Kai included, sat down at the table while Song, her mother and I got the food ready and placed it on the table. After setting the table, Song and I sat down and started eating with the men while her mother got the roast duck. "My daughter tells me you're refugees. We were once refugees ourselves." Song's mother said as she placed the roast duck on the table before sitting down.

"When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away. That was the last time I saw my father." Song said as she looked down in sadness. I frowned when I heard her story before looking down in sadness as I realized Song and I had that in common. I started thinking about my people, how the Fire Nation slaughtered the Airbenders, leaving Aang and I the last of the Airbenders.

"I haven't seen my father in many years." Zuko said as he looked down at his bowl of noodles. I looked to Zuko in sadness before taking his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, which he returned. "Oh, is he fighting in the War?" I flinched when Song innocently asked that question to Zuko. Iroh and Kai looked nervously to Zuko while they continued eating their noodles while I gently squeezed Zuko's hand again.

"Yeah." Zuko answered after a moment of hesitation. Both Song and her mother frowned in sadness while Zuko squeezed my hand back. Song's eyes flickered over to mine and Zuko's hands before she frowned in confusion for a moment before her eyes sparked in realization. "You and Emiko are together!" She exclaimed in realization while her mother looked to mine and Zuko's hands as well before realization showed on her face as well.

I frowned at her exclaim before I soon realized that Zuko and I never introduced ourselves as a couple and with me calling Iroh 'uncle' the whole time, so they must have thought that we were brother and sister. "Yeah, Junior and I are together!" I answered with a blush along with Zuko, who shot me a silent glare for the name while still holding my hand in his, while Iroh and Kai chuckled at us in amusement.

"How long have you two been together?" Song asked with a smile. Both Zuko and I blinked at her in surprise before looking to each other in question. "How long have we been together?" Zuko asked me while I shrugged slightly as I tried to figure out how long has it. "It really actually depends on when our relationship actually started." I answered as I soon realized that we don't actually know when our relationship started.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Zuko asked as he frowned at me in confusion. "Well think about it! When did our relationship actually start?" I asked as I started adding reasons why I wonder. "Did it start when we confessed our feelings for each other? Or on our first kiss? " I questioned him, making his expression change into realization. "I almost forgot that we kissed first then confessed our feelings after a few days." Zuko said, making me roll my eyes at him.

Iroh chuckle even more in amusement when he heard that, which made Zuko and I frown at him. "What's so funny Uncle Mushi?" I asked Iroh, making him sent me a silent glare while Kai yipped in amusement at Iroh's fake name. "You're relationship started on the day you two met each other." Iroh answered as he pointed his chopsticks at us.

"What?" Both Zuko and I asked with wide eyes as we stared at him in shock. "No it didn't! We fought way to much to have started a relationship at that time." I quickly said while Zuko nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Emiko and I hated each other when we met each other." He said as he pointed at the two of us, making me frown at his comment.

"I wouldn't say hate, hate is a strong word." I said, making Zuko look to me. "You didn't hate me at that time?" He asked me in surprise. "Of course not!" I immediately answered, making him smile before I added, "I just strongly disliked you." Zuko's smile disappeared while Kai and Iroh burst out laughing in amusement while Song and her mother giggled softly.

"And there goes the moment." Zuko said with a neutral look, which made me laugh along with the other. He frowned for a slight moment before he slowly smiled at me. "You see!" Iroh laughed as he moved his noodles around with his chopsticks before looking back to Zuko and I. "You two argued like a married when you met. Everybody knew you two like each other and would end up together with the way you were arguing." He said before taking a bite of his noodles.

Both Zuko and I frowned again at Iroh before shaking our heads and rolled our eyes. "Whatever." I said before looking to Zuko and smiled. "It doesn't when we got together or how long we have been together. What matters is that we are together." I said and squeezed Zuko's hand in mine, which he returned along with a loving smile.

"So you don't regret meeting me?" He asked with a smirk. "Never!" I answered with a bright smile. "You sure about that?" He asked with a knowing smirk. "Absolutely!" I answered with an even brighter smile. Zuko smiled brightly as well before leaning down and gently kissed me on the lips, which I quickly returned. Song and her mother 'awed' at us, while Iroh chuckled in amusement at us and Kai, who groaned in disgust, but we just ignored them as we kissed softly.

***

After dinner, Iroh and I helped Song and her mother clean up while Zuko and Kai sat outside on the front porch. We were all talking on common topics until Song suddenly asked how Zuko got his scar. Both Iroh and I froze while Song's mother scolded her for asking such a sensitive question. "It's alright, we unfortunately do get that question al lot." Iroh said as he looked down in sadness while I sighed. "We should be used to it by now actually." I muttered as I continued drying the dishes.

"Were you there when it happened?" Song asked innocently, making her mother send her a scolding look before looking to with a 'sorry that my daughter is asking sensitive questions' look. I just nodded to her mother before looking back to Song. "No, Junior already had his scar when we met." I answered before finally drying the last bowl.

"Oh..." Song said with a frown. She stayed quiet for a moment before asking another question. "Does he talk about what happened?" Iroh and I looked to each other before looking to her and shook our heads 'no'. "Junior's scar is a sensitive subject for all of us." Iroh said while I nodded in agreement. "Only time he ever talked about it to me was when he told me how he got it in the first place. He never talks about that day." I said as I put my drying cloth away.

Song frowned at us before leaving the kitchen. Song's mother sighed as she watched her daughter leave. "She feels a connection to burned victims." She said as she put the now dried dishes away. "Why?" I asked curiously. "Because she is one as well." She answered, surprising Iroh and I, before continuing to add more to the story. "When the Fire Nation raided our village, Song was caught in the cross fire. Her whole right leg is scarred with burns."

Iroh flinched slightly before looking down in shame for what his Nation has done to this family. I softly patted his back before looking to the mother apologetically. She just smiled sadly at me before she placed the last bowl away. I sighed through my nose before telling Iroh that I'm going to check on Zuko and Kai.

Once I got outside, I saw Song sitting next to Zuko and was showing the burn scars on her leg to him and Kai, who was on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko looked to her leg before looking up to her in surprise while I looked at her leg in sadness. The Fire Nation has done so much damage to the world from the 100 year World War, and the Prince of the very nation doesn't even know how much damage.

I took a step closer to them, catching their attention. Song smiled to me, while Zuko still had a shocked look. "Hi Emiko!" Song said with a small smile, which I returned before walking over to Zuko's side and sat down next to him. Sensing that we wanted to be alone to talk, Song excused herself and left us alone on the porch. Zuko, Kai and I sat in silence for a moment before I spoke.

"Its different, isn't it?" I asked before I looked to him. "What is?" Zuko asked as he looked in front of him while petting Kai, who moved from Zuko's shoulder to his lap. "The war on their side." I answered as I looked to him with sadness, but he kept looking forward with a neutral expression, making me sign. "You know about the war, you know what happens in it. But only on your side." I said as I started petting Kai as well.

Zuko stayed quiet while I continued speaking. "You don't know what happens on the other side, you don't know what happens to their fellow shoulders or the innocent bystanders." I said, making him look down to Kai on his lap for a moment before looking back to me. "She is the enemy, but she's just a kid and not a soldier. Why would my Nation burn her as if she was a soldier they were fighting against." Zuko asked as he looked to me with a frown.

I frowned sadly back to him before looking down to Kai and petted him. "I don't know Zuko..." I said without looking up. "I ask that every day ever since I found out that the Fire Nation has killed all my people." I said, still without looking up. Zuko sighed in sadness before taking my hand in his and gently squeezed it, which I returned. I sighed as well before looking up from Kai and laid my head on Zuko's shoulder.

***

It was getting late, and we were getting ready to leave. The four of us were standing outside with Song and her mother. We were getting ready to say goodbye, when Kai jumped off Iroh's shoulder and started chasing the fireflies that was lighting up the night sky. We all laughed at the fire ferret as he tried to catch the fireflies.

"Silly fire ferret!" I laughed as I shook my head at Kai's silliness. But Kai just ignored us as he continued chasing the fireflies. Iroh chuckled again before looking to Song and her mother. "Thank you for the duck. It was excellent." He said with a kind smile. "You're welcome. It brings me pleasure to see someone eat my cooking with such... gusto." Song's mother said with a smile while she gave us some leftovers.

"Much practice." Iroh said with an amuse smile as he patted his stomach, making me giggle before he and I bowed to Song and her mother. "Thank you for having us! You are very kind people!" I said with a smile, which they returned and also bowed. Zuko then turned and started walking away from the house, which made Iroh and I frown.

"Junior, where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people." Iroh said, making Zuko stop in his step. Zuko turned around and bowed. "Thank you." He said before turning around again and started walking again. I sighed softly at him as I shook my head. I know he that he isn't always the nicest person, but these people only showed us kindness today. The least he can do is return it.

"I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is hope." Song said as she watch Zuko leave. I smiled at her, happy that there are still people with hope, but I soon flinched when I heard her next words. "The Avatar has returned." Zuko stopped again before he answered her. "I know." Zuko said bitterly before he continued walking. Luckily, Song and her mother didn't hear the bitterness.

"Come along Kai!" Iroh called out to Kai while he and I followed after Zuko, while Song and her mother went back inside their house. Kai yipped in alarm when he saw us leave and run after us. As Iroh opened the fence, I bended down and picked Kai up before exiting the yard with Iroh, who closed the fence behind us. "Don't worry Kai, we won't leave you behind." I said to the fire ferret as we caught up to Zuko.

We walked down the road when Zuko stopped next to an ostrich horse. Iroh continued walking while I stopped and watched Zuko with Kai on my shoulder. "What are you doing?" I asked him with a frown. Zuko shushed me while quietly unfastening the animal from its post. "Zuko!" I quietly yelled at him in both shock and anger. But the scarred prince just ignored me while he mounted the ostrich horse.

Noticing that he was walking alone, Iroh stopped and turned around when he saw Zuko stealing the ostrich horse. "What are you doing? These people just showed you great kindness." Iroh asked in shocked and disappointed as he watched his nephew ride on the animal over to us. "They're about to show us a little more kindness." Zuko said with a neutral looked.

Iroh and I stared up at Zuko in disappointment while he looked down to us with a neutral expression. "Well?" Zuko asked as he offered his hand to us. Iroh sighed in disappointed and reluctance, before taking his nephew's hand and mounted the ostrich horse. "Asami?" Zuko asked and offered his hand to me. I stared at his hand for a moment before shaking my head. "No... This isn't right." I said while I shook my head. "This is someone's animal. We can't steal someone else's animal."

Zuko sighed softly before getting off the animal and stood in front of me. "Asami..." He started as he took my hands in his. "Try to understand. We need this animal. We can't continue moving on foot. If we ever run into any trouble, were going to need the ostrich horse's speed to help us escape." He said as he looked me right in the eye, trying to reason with me. But I just shook my head in disagreement.

"Taking their ostrich horse isn't right no matter what your reasons Zuko! If we take this animal, we are no better than those pirates that wanted take Kai from us, along with me and my brother!" I said with an angry frown. Zuko sighed softly to me before taking Kai from my shoulder and handed him over to Iroh while I frowned at him in confusion.

"Why did you take Kai?" I asked him with a frown, when I was suddenly hit by Deja vu. Last time Zuko suddenly took Kai from my shoulder, was when I refused to get on June's shirshu. He took Kai from me so that he wouldn't fall off my shoulder before he threw me on his shoulder and walked to the animal before throwing me onto Nyla the shirshu.

My eyes widen in realization. I opened my mouth to protest, when Zuko grabbed me and placed me onto the ostrich horse. "Zuko!" I snapped at him with a glare. Zuko just ignored my glare as he got up on the animal and sat behind me. "You okay back there Uncle?" Zuko asked Iroh, getting a nod from the retired general. Zuko then wrapped his arm around my waist before ordering the animal to move.

As we moved, I pouted through the entire way, and ignored Zuko the whole time. It wasn't long until we arrived at our camp. Iroh climbed down from the animal and walked over to his sleeping bag with Kai still on his shoulder. Zuko got off before I could and helped me down. "I can get down myself!" I snapped at him as I ripped my hand away from his before stomping over to our sleeping bag that we share together. Calm down your dirty thoughts, we just sleep, nothing else!

"Well at least you're talking to me again." Zuko said as he walked after me, making me roll my eyes in irritation. "Come on Asami! Be reasonable!" Zuko said as he stopped next to me. I just continued ignoring him while I got the sleeping bag ready. "Please don't start ignoring me again!" He begged as I got inside the sleeping bag. "Asami, we need the ostrich horse." He said, earning him a death glare from me, making him groan in frustration.

"It's not like I wanted to steal Asami! But look around you!" He exclaimed and pointed at our camp. "We have nothing! We need to survive and if surviving means stealing, then so be it!" He said as he glared back at me. I looked around us as his words slowly sank in before looking to the ostrich horse, who was now sleeping close to Iroh. I sighed before shaking my head at both Zuko and myself at what I'm about to say.

"Okay... I'll accept it." I said, making Zuko smile and was about to hug me, but stopped when I pointed my finger at him. "But only this time! Stealing is wrong! We can find other ways to survive. We are better than that." I said as Zuko nodded in agreement before he smiled brightly at me. He hugged and kissed me before getting in our sleeping bag and wrapped his arm around me before we fell asleep.