Chapter Text
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❝ Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath. ❞
Eckhart Tolle
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SHIA WATCHED FRIGID GLACIERS GLIDE PAST HER THROUGH DARK, deep water, undeterred by the wake of the iron boat as it ploughed through the current. Her breath misted the air in clouds of white, heated by the tea she'd been indulging in. It was cold in the South, unfathomably so, the sort of cold she'd never experienced further north in the Fire Nation. She'd adapted to it like a fish to water, though – it was the only option, seeing as she'd spent over two years trawling the world with her mentor, Iroh.
Iroh was in his later years, warm and soft, with arms that could embrace the world, merry eyes, a robust beard, and a nearly unhealthy admiration for tea. Hence why Shia was sampling some of the beverage now, seated to his right as the two of them watched his nephew standing at the bow of the ship.
Ah, yes. His nephew – Zuko, the prince of the Fire Nation, and the person for whom they were conducting this endless voyage. He was much like his element, fierce and filled with rage, fuelled by destruction. For the most part. He'd occasionally seem somewhat reasonable, maybe even calm, but those moments were few and far between (to be honest, they scared Shia more than his anger).
"Enjoying my tea, Shia? I used a new blend," Iroh smiled at his apprentice. She broke out of her reverie and nodded, earning an even wider grin from the man. "Excellent! At least someone on this ship appreciates my brewing skills."
Shia stifled her laugh, and set the empty cup of tea down on the low table in front of them before sliding her faceplate into her helmet completely, concealing her face from view before anyone could look. Being a non-bender in the army was hard, but being a non-bender female with a foreign appearance even worse. Hence why the only person on the ship who knew her identity was Iroh, her revered mentor, and why she never revealed her countenance to anyone else. She didn't want to deal with the hazing she'd receive from the men aboard the ship if she were to reveal herself.
Besides, they'd all fallen for Iroh's elaborate story anyway. Something about her face being ruined in a battle, so terribly that a mere glance at her visage could stun armies. She thought that was a bit much, but his words had done the trick. The only downside was that she couldn't speak around other soldiers without giving herself away – and so, she was established as the terrifying non-bender soldier who had never been seen nor heard. Iroh's shadow.
"... finally."
Shia glanced to her right at his words and saw that Zuko had turned to address them for the first time in an hour of silence. Behind him, far off in the distance, a beam of light – pure energy – rippled through the sky.
"Uncle... do you realise what this means?"
Iroh placed down a piece for his board game, before looking up to frown at his nephew. "I won't be able to finish my game?"
"It means that my search is about to come to an end," Zuko corrected.
Sighing, Iroh glanced at Shia through the corners of his eyes, sending her an unsaid message which made her smile beneath her helmet. Zuko noticed Iroh's scepticism.
"That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!"
"Or, it's just the celestial lights!" Iroh gestured to the sky with his left hand, using the right to place another tile down. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing."
Patting the unoccupied cushion to his left, across from Shia, Iroh called Zuko over. "Please, sit – why don't you enjoy a nice cup of calming jasmine tea?"
"I don't need any calming tea!" Zuko's face twisted into a snarl, his burn scar growing even more prominent as the skin surrounding it flushed a furious crimson. "I need to capture the Avatar! Helmsman, head a course for the light!"
Iroh returned to his board game silently, looking mildly upset, his clothes ruffled by the wind. Shia looked to him with sympathy in her eyes. Despite Iroh's boundless patience, Zuko was difficult to manage – Iroh should have been considered a saint at this point, having put up with the prince's temper for so long. Zuko's mind was fixated upon one thing and one thing only; capturing the Avatar.
Everything else, even his supportive uncle, came second.
Shia disliked that about him. If she were Zuko, she'd have long since abandoned the notion of pleasing the Fire Lord in favour of Iroh, who was more of a parental figure than anyone she'd encountered in her life.
At the same time, though, she felt empathy for Zuko. He'd done what he had thus far to regain his father's love and his honour as the Fire Prince. She'd been the same way, when she was young and blind. Now, she knew better – she was naïve to pine after her family. To them, she'd always been disposable.
"I'm going to bed now," Iroh said after a time, closing his eyes wearily. "A man needs his rest."
There was no response from Zuko. Instead, he stood against the wind and sea spray alone, solid and unmoving like a figurehead, gaze riveted upon the beacon of hope in the distance. Looking away from the forlorn prince, Shia carefully packed away Iroh's board game, tea set, and table for storage below deck.
"Prince Zuko," Iroh began, "you need some sleep. Even if you are right, and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather and great grandfather all tried and failed."
"Because their honour didn't rely on the Avatar's capture," Zuko responded stubbornly, still facing away from them. "Mine does. This coward's hundred years of hiding are over."
The Fire Prince may have been ruthless and temperamental, but something about him had always seemed melancholy. His mother was gone, his father unloving – and his sister, a prodigy. He at least had Iroh, though he was so short-sighted he couldn't see what really mattered.
With a soft sigh, Iroh turned away from Zuko and entered the corridor descending to the lower quarters. Shia followed after him with, their belongings balanced precariously in her arms... though she couldn't help but sneak a glance back at the prince.
Why did his lone silhouette against the darkening sky seem so unbearably sad?
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"Again," Iroh demanded.
Shia rolled beneath a searing blast of flame and redirected Zuko's fist away from herself, ignoring the waves of heat rolling past her. Another attack came for her side, this one a blazing roundhouse which she avoided cleanly. Before he could attack her once more she'd kicked him in the back of the knee, bringing him to his knees – only for the prince to spring upwards immediately with the assistance of his flames, prepared to fire another blow at any second.
"No," Iroh interrupted their sparring session. "Power and firebending come from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body, and that energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire."
Iroh emphasised the meaning of his words with a solid punch, creating a swirling, gorgeous mass of fire that stopped just short of Zuko's face.
"Get it right this time—"
"Enough!" Zuko huffed, shouldering past Shia so that he could glare down at his uncle. "I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set, I'm more than ready."
"No." Iroh frowned at his nephew disapprovingly. "You are impatient. You have yet to master the basics – do it again!"
Shia side-stepped instinctively when she noticed Zuko visibly tensing up and was glad that she did so when he spun around with a yell and unleashed a blast of flame. If Shia had stayed where she was she would have ended up burnt to a crisp, armour be damned.
"The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now; he's had a century to master the four elements! I need more than basic firebending to defeat him," Zuko stomped his foot against the metal floor for emphasis. "You will teach me the advanced set!"
Iroh seemed to give up, reaching for the bowl of food to his side. "Very well... but first, I must finish my roast duck."
Then he proceeded to inhale the roast duck, leaving Zuko and Shia to look on – mostly disgusted, but also slightly amazed.
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Sunset veiled the metal ship in dying rays of gold and crimson, setting the unfathomably deep water below them aflame. Tendrils of cold dug their claws deep into Shia, reaching down into her heart and chilling her thoroughly. She enjoyed the chill, but she resented the exhaustion that came with it. She wanted to return to her cabin and shed her stuffy armour, but no – Zuko was staying up late, and a guard was always expected to be stationed nearby to the prince should he need assistance. Iroh had long since left to rest, leaving her to accompany the brooding prince.
Zuko wasn't exactly the most amicable of people.
It was the screaming silence between the two that made the piercing screech of a flare being released even more evident. Far off in the distance, a radiant light sparked to life in the ebony sky.
As soon as he heard it, Zuko snatched up his telescope and peered through it. The wicked grin that appeared on his face was more than enough to let Shia know that he'd found what he was looking for.
"Wake my uncle, and tell him... I've found the Avatar, as well as his hiding place."