Post by nandireya on Jul 23, 2007 4:53:04 GMT -5
I actually planned for this chapter to run longer than this, but as it's already the longest one I've written I decided to split it and give you all something now...
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Chapter Eight
Zuko awoke to the sound of someone singing, which surprised him because he hadn't expected to awaken at all. He didn't recognise the song...something about clouds and freedom...but if was a light and breezy sort of tune, so he had to assume he wasn't imprisoned somewhere, he couldn't imagine anyone singing so brightly behind bars. The softness of the palate he lay on only and the softly fragrant air only added to that belief.
He began to take stock of himself. The last thing he remembered was the cool caress of the ocean, before that, Rough Rhinos, pirates and a lot of pain. He tried fisting his right hand and found it impossible due to the thick dressings that covered the wound he knew was there. He could feel similar dressings on his left shoulder and around his ribcage. There was a lot of padding under his back making it impossible for him to lie completely flat, no doubt to keep the pressure off the arrow wounds on his back. Whoever had tended to him had done a very thorough job.
He risked opening his eyes and found himself in a small, darkened room, the curtains, which shifted slightly due to the breeze wafting through the open window, were drawn, for his benefit he assumed, the whitewashed walls would have been dazzlingly bright if they hadn't been. It was small, sparsely furnished, but very neat. A low shelf laden with pots, urns and various other paraphernalia ran the length of the opposite wall, which he probably could have reached with an outstretched arm if he'd felt up to moving. A small table by his palate was covered with rolls of bandages and pottery bowls. He let out a soft breath and shifted slightly.
"Welcome back, young one." The singing voice spoke. "We were beginning to think you would not return."
'We...so there's more than one...' He filed the information away as his eyes focused on a face that seemed to have been designed to do nothing but smile. She was a woman of indeterminable age, neither young nor old, though her heavy braided hair was more grey than any discernable colour. He guessed she may have been older than she appeared.
She gently touched his face, her cool hands bringing an involuntary sigh of relief to his lips. "You're still awfully warm, though." She said. "I guess the poison is not completely out of your system." She rose gracefully to her feet from where she'd been kneeling beside him, turning to retrieve a pitcher from the shelf. "We weren't able to fully analyse its composition so knew not what to use as an antidote." She explained. "But we were able to determine that it wasn't deadly so we saw little harm it just letting it run its course..."
He hissed in pain as he struggled to raise himself. These people, whoever they were, had shown him great kindness, he couldn't lead his troubles to them. She turned back at the sound, her hand pressing against his shoulder. "No, child." She shook her head as she gently but firmly pushed him back down. "You need to rest..."
"I can't..." Zuko began, pushing himself up again. "I have to..." He looked at her with wide eyes. "My presence here could put you in danger...there’s a price on my head...FOR it, actually..."
"You are a criminal?" She arced a sceptical brow.
"No..." He sighed. "Just a disappointment..."
The movement and sound of his voice caught the attention of the room's other occupant, one whom Zuko hadn't been aware of. Itoko raised his head and snorted disapprovingly at Zuko's stubbornness. He positioned himself next to the woman, dropping his head heavily on the bedding, blocking Zuko's passage with his own body.
"I get the message." He muttered, running his bandaged hand through Itoko's mane while the animal gazed at him with liquid eyes.
"A most remarkable creature." The woman smiled. "If not for him we would not have found you in time. He has barely left your side."
"He rarely does..." Zuko whispered.
"Has he a name?" She asked.
"Itoko."
"An unusual name." She commented.
"He is like family to me." Zuko smiled, a smile that faded quickly. "He may very well be the only family I can claim..."
"A sad way to live." She commented. "Have you no true family?"
"Most of them think I'm a joke." He said softly. "And to gain their favour I may have lost the one that accepted me as I am."
"He'll forgive you." She said. He frowned. He hadn't mentioned a gender. Did she know something or was it merely a lucky guess. "If he does accept you as you are then he accepts your faults...and your mistakes..."
THAT certainly sounded suspicious. Did she know who he was? He studied her face, trying to look as if he wasn't. There was something familiar about her large, playful eyes, but he couldn’t quite identify it.
"Who are you?" He asked finally.
"How rude of me." She gasped. "Of course, introductions are important. I am Guanyin...I..."
There was a commotion without and a young boy all but exploded into the room.
"Guanyin!" He cried breathlessly. "Rafu and Joochan are heading over to Kujirashippo and they said I could go with them as long as you said it was alright because I need to get a new fishing lure and maybe some line too because I was fishing and my line got snared and broke so I lost the lure and I couldn’t get it back because Haneul said we shouldn't go swimming in the fishing grounds because of the rocks and the tides and Rafu swears he saw an unagi in the area and...oh..." The boy finally paused when he noticed Zuko staring at him.
"Yes, Kanaye..." Guanyin sighed. "You may go..."
The boy traced a crack in the floor with the toe of his light shoe watching what he was doing intently, glancing shyly at the silent stranger who was yet to take his eyes off him. "Would it be alright..." He began quietly. "...if I got a little something from Sumi?" He looked up hopefully. "She makes the bestest cakes!"
"Have you enough coin for both?" She asked.
"I think so." He answered with very little certainty. "But Sumi doesn't usually charge me...she's too nice."
"It is not right to take advantage of her generosity in such a way." Guanyin said sternly. "If you cannot pay you should go without."
"But she's like that to all the kids." Kanaye protested.
"Very well then." Guanyin sighed. "I guess that is her business..." She looked at the hopeful boy. "You may go."
"You're the best!" He grinned and disappeared in much the same way as he'd arrived.
Guanyin frowned as Zuko continued to stare at the spot where he’d been. "There are children here?" He said in a barely audible whisper.
"Yes." She confirmed with a smile. "Though few are quite so rambunctious as Kanaye...the boy's a two-legged tornado..."
Zuko had struggled back to a sitting position, his teeth gritted. The bedding fell away from his mostly naked torso as he did so.
"Where are my clothes?" He asked as he discovered just how little he was wearing.
"They were damaged and stained with blood." She informed him. "We have them soaking in salted water in hopes to remove the stains."
"Have you anything else I can wear?" He asked.
"You cannot be considering leaving." She raised a disapproving brow. "You are in no fit state to be going anywhere."
"The people that are hunting me are relentless." He said. He was fully aware of the Rough Rhino's reputation, and he doubted the pirates would be too willing to give up such a valuable prize. "They'll have no qualms in destroying you to get to me. I will not risk the lives of children."
"You are perfectly safe here." She assured him. "No one has found us in a hundred years..."
"A hundred years!?" He echoed, his eyes wide. Now he knew what it was that had seemed so familiar about her eyes. He'd seen eyes like hers before, though they had rarely been so compassionate.
"You’re Airbenders..." He whispered.
"No." Guanyin said with a sad shake of her head. "Though the blood of the Nomads flows within our veins, the gift of bending has been lost."
"I'm sorry." Zuko said softly. Bending was such an integral part of who he was, to loose it was unthinkable.
"There is no need to be sorry." She smiled. "You cannot miss what you have never possessed."
"I guess not." He muttered unconvincingly as her words made him think of his father.
~~~~~~
It was another two days before Guanyin allowed Zuko to leave his bed, and even then she wouldn't let him walk very far, or alone, she walked on one side while Itoko walked on the other. The room he had been in led out onto a wide ledge that ringed the inside of what appeared to be an extinct volcano. Looking up, which unfortunately made him rather dizzy, he could see the circular opening. It was only a small aperture and several hundred feet above their heads, and as he could see no obvious openings at ground level he understood how they had managed to remain undetected for so long. The only way to spot the encampment would be from the air.
She led him down the spiralling pathway to the large patch of green at its bottom. It reminded him of the oasis in the middle of the North Pole, but on a much larger scale. Of course, as soon as he recalled that island of green nestled in the ice he remembered all that had passed there, and that it had been his uncle's last known whereabouts. He absently reached for the lotus tile only to remember it was not hidden within the folds of what was left of his clothes.
There was a large pool of water, fed from an underground spring Guanyin had told him, where several young children were splashing about. The boy he'd encountered a few days previously dove in with the force of a cannonball raising many protests from the other children as well as a few adults that had been passing nearby as they suddenly found themselves drenched in the wave of the boy's passage. The boy surfaced with a grin plastered across his face and Zuko envied him his innocent exuberance.
He looked down as he felt something attach itself to his leg, tugging on the fabric of his tattered hakama. A pair of large dark grey eyes gazed up at him with wonder.
"Are you really a prince?" The little one asked.
Zuko's eyes widened and the colour drained from his face. He looked to Guanyin who smiled a little embarrassedly.
"So you DO know who I am?" He voiced the suspicion he'd had ever since awakening.
"It is hard not to recognise you." She admitted.
"Yeah..." Kanaye said as he walked up, digging water out of his ear with his finger. "Your poster's EVERYWHERE."
Zuko lowered his head as he absorbed this.
"And you still helped me...?" He whispered.
"You were in need." Guanyin said simply. "How could we not help you?"
"But my people...my family...they've caused you so much pain..."
"You have committed no sin against us." Guanyin told him. "You cannot be held responsible for something that happened before you were born."
He sat down heavily on the soft grass. Itoko settled beside him resting his head on his thigh as he looked up at him with sympathetic eyes. Of all the people he'd encountered in the past three years these had the most cause to truly despise him and everything he stood for...but they didn't. They were the first to not judge him by the actions of his ancestors. All they saw was someone who was injured, someone who needed their assistance, and they had given it without a thought. His own people had never been that generous. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt his grip on his emotions begin to slide.
Tiny arms wrapped around his neck and a smooth cheek pressed against his scared one. Zuko flinched a little, he had never been comfortable with anyone touching the angry mark, and the warm body brushing against his injured shoulder sent a sharp pain through his entire body. But to turn away the child's comfort was unthinkable, so he placed his bandaged hand lightly against her back offering her some support in her precarious perch, and buried his pain.
"Genji..." Guanyin said soothingly, noticing the expression on the young man’s face. "The prince's shoulder is still very sore..."
"It's alright." Zuko cut her off. "It doesn't hurt that much." He sighed. "And I'm not really a prince...not any more..." He looked away, those few simple words causing him far more pain than dull ache in his shoulder.
~~~~~~
Zuko woke early the next morning, earlier than Guanyin it would seem as, for the first time since he'd awoken in the midst of the small group of non-bending Air Nomad descents, she wasn't around to keep him from over-exerting himself, or for exerting himself at all for that matter. Though Itoko let out a displeased snort as he grabbed a wash cloth and headed towards the door.
"I'm fine." He grumbled as his animal companion moved to block his path. "I bet she paid you off with something." He muttered under his breath as he pushed past him and stepped out into the early morning light.
He found a fairly secluded spot by the settlement's pool where he could wash with some amount of privacy and gingerly pulled his shirt off over his head, favouring his left shoulder. He removed the bandaging and examined the burn, and was relieved to find it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd feared. The skin had blistered and was obviously reddened, but it more closely resembled a bad sunburn than what he'd revealed after he’d first torn off the bandages after the Agni Kai. He shuddered at the memory at what he'd seen then.
He absently rolled his shoulder and though this brought with it a certain amount of pain, he was gladdened to find that he'd retained full range of movement and his bending wouldn't be compromised by the injury. He turned then and studied the arrow wounds on his back in the water's surface. They had been well cleaned, neatly stitched and barely bothered him at all. He had to admit, whoever had treated him certainly knew what they were doing.
He then turned his attention to what had to be the worst of his most recent injuries. He careful unwound the bandage from his hand to examine where the poisoned arrow had passed right through his palm. The skin surrounding the wounds, both entry and exit, was no longer discoloured, and both had been cleaned and stitched with as much care as those on his back. He slowly fisted his hand, winching at the pain it brought, but coming to the conclusion that this, like his shoulder, would not impede his bending, in due time, when it had properly healed.
He had just finished his wash when he caught the reflection of another in the water, the boy he'd encountered several times already. He was perched in a tree that overhung the water and obviously felt he was well hidden. He smirked to himself as he ran his hand through his hair in an effort to tame it
"Kanaye...isn't it?" He addressed the boy without looking up. His reflected eyes widened in surprise.
"Ah...yeah..." He admitted, dropping down from the tree to sit on the grass beside the older boy. He had a lot in common with the Avatar, Zuko noted, the same easy smile, open face and wide, curious grey eyes, but, he guessed, he was a couple of years younger.
"You're a bender, aren't you?" The boy asked.
"Yes." Zuko confirmed. These people knew who he was, they had to know what he was capable of.
"I've never seen a bender before." Kanaye said. "They get some on Kujirashippo sometimes, you know, just passing through, waterbenders mostly, being this close to the pole and all, but never when I've been there, but then I don't get to go a lot. Rafu said he saw one once." He looked as Zuko a little sheepishly. "It'd be really cool to see one in action..."
"I'm afraid I'm not really up to a demonstration at the moment." Zuko said, gazing at his injured hand.
"Oh." His disappointment was obvious. "Maybe when you're feeling better?" He prompted.
"Maybe." Zuko said softly.
They sat in silence for a while, staring across the still water, a gentle breeze sending a sudden series of ripples across its glass-like surface.
"How do you know?" Kanaye asked as the ripples subsided. Zuko looked at him with a slight frown though the boy continued to gaze across the water. "How do you know if you're a bender?" He added in clarification as he turned to look at him.
Zuko's frown deepened as he considered the boy's question. He could remember his lessons, his years of rigorous training, but he couldn't remember when it had commenced or what had started it. He vaguely remembered a time when he was very young, just after Azula had been born and she was getting all the attention, when he'd been alone in his room and had been delighted at the way the candles seemed to dance in time with his breathing, rising and falling as if they’d been breathing themselves.
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Is it something in your blood?" He asked, looking at his hands. "I mean, 'cos we're descended from the Air Nomads. We share the same blood, so the ability should be there, right? If we can just figure out how to use it."
"It has to do with your spirit." Zuko said. "With an innate connection to your native element. I'm not really sure how it works, why some people are benders and some aren't. Why some have a natural affinity and others have to struggle every single step of the way."
"Sounds kinda hard." Kanaye noted.
"Yes." Zuko lowered his head sadly. "It is."
"There you boys are"” Guanyin said with a relived sigh. She raised a disapproving brow at the piles of bandages and Zuko's exposed wounds. "It is almost time for breakfast." She addressed Kanaye. "Go and clean up."
She watched the younger boy leave before sinking slowly to the ground beside the former prince.
"So..." She began, gesturing at the coils of cloth. "Is this the result of some sort of morbid curiosity?"
"I guess." He admitted softly. "I needed to know how bad it all was. I needed to know if I'd still be able to..." He trailed off, not sure if he should even mention the word. Despite what she'd said, he still felt strangely guilty at being able to bend when his people, at the order of his great-grandfather, had all but robbed hers of the ability.
"Bend?" She supplied.
"Yeah..." He said softly.
"And?" She prompted.
With a simple twist of his left wrist a flame sprang to life, cupped in his palm. Guanyin's eyes widened, but, he noted, she was neither appalled nor afraid. If anything she looked impressed.
He repeated the move with his right hand, winching a little as the flame ignited above the stitches in his palm. But it was a fleeting pain.
"Whoever tended me did an excellent job." He said.
"Thank you." She said, confirmed what he'd surmised, that she had been the one who had cleaned and dressed his injures. "But you'd best not strain yourself." She rose gracefully to her feet.
"Now let's get those redressed so we can have some breakfast." She smiled.
______________________________________
Chapter Eight
Zuko awoke to the sound of someone singing, which surprised him because he hadn't expected to awaken at all. He didn't recognise the song...something about clouds and freedom...but if was a light and breezy sort of tune, so he had to assume he wasn't imprisoned somewhere, he couldn't imagine anyone singing so brightly behind bars. The softness of the palate he lay on only and the softly fragrant air only added to that belief.
He began to take stock of himself. The last thing he remembered was the cool caress of the ocean, before that, Rough Rhinos, pirates and a lot of pain. He tried fisting his right hand and found it impossible due to the thick dressings that covered the wound he knew was there. He could feel similar dressings on his left shoulder and around his ribcage. There was a lot of padding under his back making it impossible for him to lie completely flat, no doubt to keep the pressure off the arrow wounds on his back. Whoever had tended to him had done a very thorough job.
He risked opening his eyes and found himself in a small, darkened room, the curtains, which shifted slightly due to the breeze wafting through the open window, were drawn, for his benefit he assumed, the whitewashed walls would have been dazzlingly bright if they hadn't been. It was small, sparsely furnished, but very neat. A low shelf laden with pots, urns and various other paraphernalia ran the length of the opposite wall, which he probably could have reached with an outstretched arm if he'd felt up to moving. A small table by his palate was covered with rolls of bandages and pottery bowls. He let out a soft breath and shifted slightly.
"Welcome back, young one." The singing voice spoke. "We were beginning to think you would not return."
'We...so there's more than one...' He filed the information away as his eyes focused on a face that seemed to have been designed to do nothing but smile. She was a woman of indeterminable age, neither young nor old, though her heavy braided hair was more grey than any discernable colour. He guessed she may have been older than she appeared.
She gently touched his face, her cool hands bringing an involuntary sigh of relief to his lips. "You're still awfully warm, though." She said. "I guess the poison is not completely out of your system." She rose gracefully to her feet from where she'd been kneeling beside him, turning to retrieve a pitcher from the shelf. "We weren't able to fully analyse its composition so knew not what to use as an antidote." She explained. "But we were able to determine that it wasn't deadly so we saw little harm it just letting it run its course..."
He hissed in pain as he struggled to raise himself. These people, whoever they were, had shown him great kindness, he couldn't lead his troubles to them. She turned back at the sound, her hand pressing against his shoulder. "No, child." She shook her head as she gently but firmly pushed him back down. "You need to rest..."
"I can't..." Zuko began, pushing himself up again. "I have to..." He looked at her with wide eyes. "My presence here could put you in danger...there’s a price on my head...FOR it, actually..."
"You are a criminal?" She arced a sceptical brow.
"No..." He sighed. "Just a disappointment..."
The movement and sound of his voice caught the attention of the room's other occupant, one whom Zuko hadn't been aware of. Itoko raised his head and snorted disapprovingly at Zuko's stubbornness. He positioned himself next to the woman, dropping his head heavily on the bedding, blocking Zuko's passage with his own body.
"I get the message." He muttered, running his bandaged hand through Itoko's mane while the animal gazed at him with liquid eyes.
"A most remarkable creature." The woman smiled. "If not for him we would not have found you in time. He has barely left your side."
"He rarely does..." Zuko whispered.
"Has he a name?" She asked.
"Itoko."
"An unusual name." She commented.
"He is like family to me." Zuko smiled, a smile that faded quickly. "He may very well be the only family I can claim..."
"A sad way to live." She commented. "Have you no true family?"
"Most of them think I'm a joke." He said softly. "And to gain their favour I may have lost the one that accepted me as I am."
"He'll forgive you." She said. He frowned. He hadn't mentioned a gender. Did she know something or was it merely a lucky guess. "If he does accept you as you are then he accepts your faults...and your mistakes..."
THAT certainly sounded suspicious. Did she know who he was? He studied her face, trying to look as if he wasn't. There was something familiar about her large, playful eyes, but he couldn’t quite identify it.
"Who are you?" He asked finally.
"How rude of me." She gasped. "Of course, introductions are important. I am Guanyin...I..."
There was a commotion without and a young boy all but exploded into the room.
"Guanyin!" He cried breathlessly. "Rafu and Joochan are heading over to Kujirashippo and they said I could go with them as long as you said it was alright because I need to get a new fishing lure and maybe some line too because I was fishing and my line got snared and broke so I lost the lure and I couldn’t get it back because Haneul said we shouldn't go swimming in the fishing grounds because of the rocks and the tides and Rafu swears he saw an unagi in the area and...oh..." The boy finally paused when he noticed Zuko staring at him.
"Yes, Kanaye..." Guanyin sighed. "You may go..."
The boy traced a crack in the floor with the toe of his light shoe watching what he was doing intently, glancing shyly at the silent stranger who was yet to take his eyes off him. "Would it be alright..." He began quietly. "...if I got a little something from Sumi?" He looked up hopefully. "She makes the bestest cakes!"
"Have you enough coin for both?" She asked.
"I think so." He answered with very little certainty. "But Sumi doesn't usually charge me...she's too nice."
"It is not right to take advantage of her generosity in such a way." Guanyin said sternly. "If you cannot pay you should go without."
"But she's like that to all the kids." Kanaye protested.
"Very well then." Guanyin sighed. "I guess that is her business..." She looked at the hopeful boy. "You may go."
"You're the best!" He grinned and disappeared in much the same way as he'd arrived.
Guanyin frowned as Zuko continued to stare at the spot where he’d been. "There are children here?" He said in a barely audible whisper.
"Yes." She confirmed with a smile. "Though few are quite so rambunctious as Kanaye...the boy's a two-legged tornado..."
Zuko had struggled back to a sitting position, his teeth gritted. The bedding fell away from his mostly naked torso as he did so.
"Where are my clothes?" He asked as he discovered just how little he was wearing.
"They were damaged and stained with blood." She informed him. "We have them soaking in salted water in hopes to remove the stains."
"Have you anything else I can wear?" He asked.
"You cannot be considering leaving." She raised a disapproving brow. "You are in no fit state to be going anywhere."
"The people that are hunting me are relentless." He said. He was fully aware of the Rough Rhino's reputation, and he doubted the pirates would be too willing to give up such a valuable prize. "They'll have no qualms in destroying you to get to me. I will not risk the lives of children."
"You are perfectly safe here." She assured him. "No one has found us in a hundred years..."
"A hundred years!?" He echoed, his eyes wide. Now he knew what it was that had seemed so familiar about her eyes. He'd seen eyes like hers before, though they had rarely been so compassionate.
"You’re Airbenders..." He whispered.
"No." Guanyin said with a sad shake of her head. "Though the blood of the Nomads flows within our veins, the gift of bending has been lost."
"I'm sorry." Zuko said softly. Bending was such an integral part of who he was, to loose it was unthinkable.
"There is no need to be sorry." She smiled. "You cannot miss what you have never possessed."
"I guess not." He muttered unconvincingly as her words made him think of his father.
~~~~~~
It was another two days before Guanyin allowed Zuko to leave his bed, and even then she wouldn't let him walk very far, or alone, she walked on one side while Itoko walked on the other. The room he had been in led out onto a wide ledge that ringed the inside of what appeared to be an extinct volcano. Looking up, which unfortunately made him rather dizzy, he could see the circular opening. It was only a small aperture and several hundred feet above their heads, and as he could see no obvious openings at ground level he understood how they had managed to remain undetected for so long. The only way to spot the encampment would be from the air.
She led him down the spiralling pathway to the large patch of green at its bottom. It reminded him of the oasis in the middle of the North Pole, but on a much larger scale. Of course, as soon as he recalled that island of green nestled in the ice he remembered all that had passed there, and that it had been his uncle's last known whereabouts. He absently reached for the lotus tile only to remember it was not hidden within the folds of what was left of his clothes.
There was a large pool of water, fed from an underground spring Guanyin had told him, where several young children were splashing about. The boy he'd encountered a few days previously dove in with the force of a cannonball raising many protests from the other children as well as a few adults that had been passing nearby as they suddenly found themselves drenched in the wave of the boy's passage. The boy surfaced with a grin plastered across his face and Zuko envied him his innocent exuberance.
He looked down as he felt something attach itself to his leg, tugging on the fabric of his tattered hakama. A pair of large dark grey eyes gazed up at him with wonder.
"Are you really a prince?" The little one asked.
Zuko's eyes widened and the colour drained from his face. He looked to Guanyin who smiled a little embarrassedly.
"So you DO know who I am?" He voiced the suspicion he'd had ever since awakening.
"It is hard not to recognise you." She admitted.
"Yeah..." Kanaye said as he walked up, digging water out of his ear with his finger. "Your poster's EVERYWHERE."
Zuko lowered his head as he absorbed this.
"And you still helped me...?" He whispered.
"You were in need." Guanyin said simply. "How could we not help you?"
"But my people...my family...they've caused you so much pain..."
"You have committed no sin against us." Guanyin told him. "You cannot be held responsible for something that happened before you were born."
He sat down heavily on the soft grass. Itoko settled beside him resting his head on his thigh as he looked up at him with sympathetic eyes. Of all the people he'd encountered in the past three years these had the most cause to truly despise him and everything he stood for...but they didn't. They were the first to not judge him by the actions of his ancestors. All they saw was someone who was injured, someone who needed their assistance, and they had given it without a thought. His own people had never been that generous. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt his grip on his emotions begin to slide.
Tiny arms wrapped around his neck and a smooth cheek pressed against his scared one. Zuko flinched a little, he had never been comfortable with anyone touching the angry mark, and the warm body brushing against his injured shoulder sent a sharp pain through his entire body. But to turn away the child's comfort was unthinkable, so he placed his bandaged hand lightly against her back offering her some support in her precarious perch, and buried his pain.
"Genji..." Guanyin said soothingly, noticing the expression on the young man’s face. "The prince's shoulder is still very sore..."
"It's alright." Zuko cut her off. "It doesn't hurt that much." He sighed. "And I'm not really a prince...not any more..." He looked away, those few simple words causing him far more pain than dull ache in his shoulder.
~~~~~~
Zuko woke early the next morning, earlier than Guanyin it would seem as, for the first time since he'd awoken in the midst of the small group of non-bending Air Nomad descents, she wasn't around to keep him from over-exerting himself, or for exerting himself at all for that matter. Though Itoko let out a displeased snort as he grabbed a wash cloth and headed towards the door.
"I'm fine." He grumbled as his animal companion moved to block his path. "I bet she paid you off with something." He muttered under his breath as he pushed past him and stepped out into the early morning light.
He found a fairly secluded spot by the settlement's pool where he could wash with some amount of privacy and gingerly pulled his shirt off over his head, favouring his left shoulder. He removed the bandaging and examined the burn, and was relieved to find it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd feared. The skin had blistered and was obviously reddened, but it more closely resembled a bad sunburn than what he'd revealed after he’d first torn off the bandages after the Agni Kai. He shuddered at the memory at what he'd seen then.
He absently rolled his shoulder and though this brought with it a certain amount of pain, he was gladdened to find that he'd retained full range of movement and his bending wouldn't be compromised by the injury. He turned then and studied the arrow wounds on his back in the water's surface. They had been well cleaned, neatly stitched and barely bothered him at all. He had to admit, whoever had treated him certainly knew what they were doing.
He then turned his attention to what had to be the worst of his most recent injuries. He careful unwound the bandage from his hand to examine where the poisoned arrow had passed right through his palm. The skin surrounding the wounds, both entry and exit, was no longer discoloured, and both had been cleaned and stitched with as much care as those on his back. He slowly fisted his hand, winching at the pain it brought, but coming to the conclusion that this, like his shoulder, would not impede his bending, in due time, when it had properly healed.
He had just finished his wash when he caught the reflection of another in the water, the boy he'd encountered several times already. He was perched in a tree that overhung the water and obviously felt he was well hidden. He smirked to himself as he ran his hand through his hair in an effort to tame it
"Kanaye...isn't it?" He addressed the boy without looking up. His reflected eyes widened in surprise.
"Ah...yeah..." He admitted, dropping down from the tree to sit on the grass beside the older boy. He had a lot in common with the Avatar, Zuko noted, the same easy smile, open face and wide, curious grey eyes, but, he guessed, he was a couple of years younger.
"You're a bender, aren't you?" The boy asked.
"Yes." Zuko confirmed. These people knew who he was, they had to know what he was capable of.
"I've never seen a bender before." Kanaye said. "They get some on Kujirashippo sometimes, you know, just passing through, waterbenders mostly, being this close to the pole and all, but never when I've been there, but then I don't get to go a lot. Rafu said he saw one once." He looked as Zuko a little sheepishly. "It'd be really cool to see one in action..."
"I'm afraid I'm not really up to a demonstration at the moment." Zuko said, gazing at his injured hand.
"Oh." His disappointment was obvious. "Maybe when you're feeling better?" He prompted.
"Maybe." Zuko said softly.
They sat in silence for a while, staring across the still water, a gentle breeze sending a sudden series of ripples across its glass-like surface.
"How do you know?" Kanaye asked as the ripples subsided. Zuko looked at him with a slight frown though the boy continued to gaze across the water. "How do you know if you're a bender?" He added in clarification as he turned to look at him.
Zuko's frown deepened as he considered the boy's question. He could remember his lessons, his years of rigorous training, but he couldn't remember when it had commenced or what had started it. He vaguely remembered a time when he was very young, just after Azula had been born and she was getting all the attention, when he'd been alone in his room and had been delighted at the way the candles seemed to dance in time with his breathing, rising and falling as if they’d been breathing themselves.
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Is it something in your blood?" He asked, looking at his hands. "I mean, 'cos we're descended from the Air Nomads. We share the same blood, so the ability should be there, right? If we can just figure out how to use it."
"It has to do with your spirit." Zuko said. "With an innate connection to your native element. I'm not really sure how it works, why some people are benders and some aren't. Why some have a natural affinity and others have to struggle every single step of the way."
"Sounds kinda hard." Kanaye noted.
"Yes." Zuko lowered his head sadly. "It is."
"There you boys are"” Guanyin said with a relived sigh. She raised a disapproving brow at the piles of bandages and Zuko's exposed wounds. "It is almost time for breakfast." She addressed Kanaye. "Go and clean up."
She watched the younger boy leave before sinking slowly to the ground beside the former prince.
"So..." She began, gesturing at the coils of cloth. "Is this the result of some sort of morbid curiosity?"
"I guess." He admitted softly. "I needed to know how bad it all was. I needed to know if I'd still be able to..." He trailed off, not sure if he should even mention the word. Despite what she'd said, he still felt strangely guilty at being able to bend when his people, at the order of his great-grandfather, had all but robbed hers of the ability.
"Bend?" She supplied.
"Yeah..." He said softly.
"And?" She prompted.
With a simple twist of his left wrist a flame sprang to life, cupped in his palm. Guanyin's eyes widened, but, he noted, she was neither appalled nor afraid. If anything she looked impressed.
He repeated the move with his right hand, winching a little as the flame ignited above the stitches in his palm. But it was a fleeting pain.
"Whoever tended me did an excellent job." He said.
"Thank you." She said, confirmed what he'd surmised, that she had been the one who had cleaned and dressed his injures. "But you'd best not strain yourself." She rose gracefully to her feet.
"Now let's get those redressed so we can have some breakfast." She smiled.