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Post by Ikkin on Feb 16, 2007 1:41:02 GMT -5
This story continues to be awesome. Keep up the good work, Nandi. ^_^ Jeong Jeong's test was harsh. It made me want to step in and defend Zuko myself. XD But, I could see JJ doing something like that... and Zuko taking it, at this point. Chey's offhanded references to Ozai being awful and then apologizing to Zuko for it was great, though. XD (Plus, the parallel between that and Sokka and Iroh in the season finale was nice... )
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Feb 16, 2007 1:41:07 GMT -5
Thanks guys ;D
I'm gonna have to get my butt in gear if I want to finish this before season three comes out...especially if it turns out the March dates are correct. Off the top of my head, I think I have at least 8 more chapters to finish this baby...maybe more...and I'm averaging about one a month!
And my inability to watch the show continues...it's on right now and I don't even have to TV on...
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Post by Victim ~*of *~Circumstances on Feb 16, 2007 5:12:44 GMT -5
Awesome chapter! JJ was kinda harsh though but Chey made up for it. ^_^ It was also a pretty long chapter. Hope you finish this in time for the new season.
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Post by marsa on Feb 16, 2007 5:22:01 GMT -5
"Have you been talking to dead people again?" - Love it. Great story so far, can hardly wait for the next chapter..
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Feb 16, 2007 5:25:03 GMT -5
Jeong Jeong IS harsh. He didn't much care for Aang...do you really think he'd care for Zuko? But Zuko is working very hard to change people’s opinion of him...Ozai and Azula of course are not affected. And I shared this with the Fashikos...the coat Hana made for him back in chapter four...so basically what he's wearing now, minus the swords... I know his face looks kinda dirty...it's meant to be manly stubble...the boy ain't been able to shave a lot when this takes place...
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Post by Ryth76 on Feb 24, 2007 1:58:19 GMT -5
Yeah, Jeong Jeong is harsh... Awesomely harsh ;D
That pic is awesome ^^. His hair really starts getting long, doesn't it? I think it's longer than Jet's here.
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Feb 24, 2007 2:11:11 GMT -5
Well...it went from peachfuzz to scruffy smexiness in the space of three months...one month has already passed in fic-time (I place it as being very early summer currently)...and the pic above probably fits in a few weeks from current fic-time...
I envision it being at about his shoulder blades by fic's end...or have I said too much...
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Post by Ryth76 on Feb 24, 2007 2:20:49 GMT -5
^I don't think you have ^^
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Post by luthien on Feb 24, 2007 10:21:52 GMT -5
Sorry for being late to respond, but thanks for the new chapter - and the pic! It really helps me visualize the changes Zuko's going through, and I love the colors and scruffiness. Please continue, Nandireya - this is one of the best fics I've read!
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Feb 25, 2007 5:21:07 GMT -5
I'm working on chapter six right now...got some new OCs in it...and an unexpected guest star ;D
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Jenny Lee
Ba Sing Se Azula
Icon by me, sig by Catalyst
Posts: 2,765
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Post by Jenny Lee on Feb 25, 2007 12:42:31 GMT -5
^Guest Star? This should be worth the wait. ;D
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Post by conspiracytheorist on Feb 25, 2007 18:23:02 GMT -5
You need to get yourself a beta. The first couple chapters have a fair amount of spelling and grammar problems, and there are a few instances of repetitiveness there that having a proof-reader could easily cut down on. You have done a much better job with word choice and technical cleanup in your more recent additions, though, which makes it easier to focus on...
The story. It is outstanding. Zuko joining a refugee camp with such big names as Jeong Jeong and Chey is really a stroke of genius. On that note, seeing Lieutenant (whoops, Captain now! ;D) Jee again is nice, too. This is probably the only bit of fanfiction I've ever read that brings Jin back into the picture without being completely pointless, which I must commend you for. Your writing of Ozai seemed a little rough, but Zuko's half of the dialogue was good, and he is the focus of the story, after all.
I'm especially impressed with the exchanges between Azula and Iroh, and Zuko and the FN couple (the wife's name was Hana - can't remember the husband... something starting with a 'G'). Really nice work with your diction in both of those instances. You write Toph and Sokka very nicely, and your Katara is believable. Aang hasn't had much to say, but that stoic side of him seems to be right at home in this fic.
I wish to encourage you to keep updating this piece even if the third season comes out before you wrap it up. The direction you're going in is fantastic, and you somehow manage to branch away from the canon while simultaneously remaining true, at least in part, to its roots.
Jeong Jeong 4 lyfe!!!
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Feb 26, 2007 0:27:48 GMT -5
Yeah...I find mistakes after I've posted...I should go and fix them. I plan to put the whole thing up at my own webspace with all the errors corrected at some point. It's really hard to proof-read your own stuff...you read what you meant to write, not what you actually wrote...and my brain does tend to get way ahead of my fingers when I'm on a roll.
I don't have anyone in my physical life to turn to as a proof-reader...but I'm sure I can find a few virtual volunteers...
Hana's husband is Gishi...don't worry...even I had to look it up ;D
Ozai is hard to write because he's had, what, five lines in 40 episodes? Toph and Sokka are a breeze because, well, they're a lot like me. Sarcasm and stupid nicknames...
And though I know it's kind of ambitious of me...I'm planning on bringing in many guest stars...probably just about everyone who's appeared on screen...except maybe foamy...can't work out a good way to bring him in...but then I don’t suppose he really has a place in a Zuko fic...
Thanks for the comments...very well thought out and constructive...I do listen to what people say...except about my ellipses...I LOVE my ellipses...it's a hard habit to break...and I don't want to...so there...but then you didn't complain about them anyway...
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Mar 11, 2007 6:08:20 GMT -5
I guess double-posting is permissible here...
This one's pretty long...and contains some suggestive dialogue... _______________________
Chapter Six
Zuko was quiet as he walked back into the village, lowering his eyes against the rising sun, a bundle of dry branches slung across his shoulders. He smiled to himself as he approached one of the most ramshackle of the huts, one that looked as if it would blow over in a strong gust of wind. It had become something of a daily occurrence since his arrival.
"Here you go, Shurui." He said as he shouldered his load next to the firepit. "This should be enough for the rest of the day."
Shurui, the elderly woman he had assisted on his very first day in the camp, grinned her almost toothless grin at him, and dusted off a tree stump for him with an old rag. "Come...come..." She ushered him towards it. "Join me for breakfast."
"I keep telling you, Shurui...you don't have to feed me."
"Pwah." She snorted. "Fair's fair. If not for you I wouldn't be able to cook. This way, we both eat."
It hadn't taken him long to learn the story of most of his fellow residents. Despite Jeong Jeong's claims, they had accepted him as one of their own, Shurui had all but adopted him. She had lost her husband and son to the war, her farm and livelihood to the Fire Lord's taxes. She'd never held it against him that he was the son of the source of all her misery.
"Besides..." She said as she bustled about. "How often does a craggy old thing like me have such a handsome young dinner guest?"
"For just about every meal." He reminded her.
She chuckled as she handed him some freshly baked bread. "Well...someone has to fatten you up a bit..."
~~~~~~
Jeong Jeong watched him, as he always did, though he still had not spoken to the boy since that first evening. Nor had the boy approached him. Though he didn't seem to be aware of the fact that he was under constant surveillance, the creature, that rarely left his side, was. It would gaze at him with those strange dark eyes, neither making a move against him nor alerting the young prince to his presence. But there was something unnerving about its gaze...it was looking at him even now...
Yumi soon joined them, as was usual, nabbing some of the fresh bread for himself. The pair seemed to have forged quite a friendship, Shurui looking at them both as her sons. It could have been due to the fact that Yumi, at twenty three, was the closest thing Zuko had to a peer amongst the villagers, or it could have been due to their shared, and very obvious, facial markings...though Yumi’s had been voluntary.
~~~~~~
Yumi sculled his tea and handed Shurui the empty cup. "You ready, then?" He asked Zuko.
"We should help clean up..." Zuko said.
"It's only three cups..." Shurui snorted. "Go...we need meat for the table..."
"Anything particular you in the mood for?" Yumi asked as he tossed his quiver over his shoulder.
"Anything but hog-monkey." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Look after him..." Zuko ruffled Itoko's mane before retrieving his own bow and arrows. "He doesn't like the hunting..."
"See you for lunch." Yumi beamed over his shoulder as the pair walked off. "What?" He frowned at Zuko's glare. "You know she's gonna make it for us."
"I know..." Zuko sighed. "But you shouldn't just assume she will."
"I'd have thought you'd be used to being waited on." Yumi teased.
They reached the river where an older man was perched on an overhanging branch, a line dangled in the water below him. He turned his head towards them, his sightless eyes hidden beneath a strip of cloth, as they approached to fill their water-skins.
"Did you practice here this morning?" He asked.
"You know I never practice this close to camp." Zuko told him.
"Fish not biting this morning, Hocho?" Yumi asked.
"No." The blind man frowned. "Something must have spooked them good."
"Maybe Hageshii's been practicing for music night again." Yumi suggested. "That'd scare anyone."
"I heard that." A fierce-looking, mountain of a man snorted as he emerged from the trees.
"You know I kid, Hageshii." Yumi grinned. "I kid..."
"...because I love..." Hageshii and Hocho chanted with him.
"It would seem I am becoming predictable." Yumi arced a brow as he leaned on his bow.
"So...you talked to the boy yet?" Hageshii asked, jerking his head towards Zuko.
"Talked to the boy about what?" Zuko asked curiously.
"We're planning on heading into town tomorrow night." Yumi said. "We thought you might like to come along."
"Are you insane!?" Zuko's eyes widened. "Aren't we just a little bit recognisable?"
"You're only saying that because you've got a massive price on your head." Yumi scoffed.
"Though you have to admit..." Hocho mused. "That IS a very good reason."
"Why would you want to go into town anyway?" Zuko frowned.
"Because man does not live by bread alone." Yumi said with great seriousness. "For a little wine, woman and song..." He added when Zuko just looked at him blankly. "All we've got around here is song...and not very good song at that."
"Too many tenors and baritones." Hageshii nodded sagely.
"You do realise he's too young for wine." Hocho pointed out.
"Do you sing?" Yumi asked.
"Not if I can avoid it." Zuko muttered.
"So I guess that just leaves woman..." Yumi wriggled his brows suggestively.
"Don't we have some hunting to do?" Zuko asked.
"Hmmm...changing the subject..." Hageshii smirked. "Sounds like he's long overdue. Is he blushing?"
"No..." Yumi said as he leaned in to check. "But he's a firebender...can't they control their body temperature?"
"Yeah..." Hageshii nodded. "I think I heard that somewhere..."
"Or maybe he just doesn't like girls." Yumi suggested.
"Maybe he's got a girl." Hageshii added.
"Could you please just drop it?" Zuko asked testily.
"Yes, boys..." Hocho said evenly. "That's enough. You do, after all, have some hunting to do. Go and get the supplies."
"Yes...FATHER..." Yumi snorted.
When the pair had moved off, Hocho put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "So what's her name?"
"What?" Zuko frowned.
"When I lost my sight I learned to see with my other senses." He explained. "You didn't really have a problem with their teasing until Hageshii suggested you had a girl..."
"There is no girl..." Zuko sighed, absently twisting his silken collar in his fingers. "There never was..." He looked off over the river, the sun setting it alight with flashes of silver.
"Just a might have been..."
Yumi and Hageshii returned, breaking him out of his reverie. He slung his weapon over his shoulder in the same manner as Yumi.
"I never understood why you wanted to learn how to use that thing..." Hageshii muttered as he gestured towards Zuko's bow. "You're a bender...can't you just...you know...WOOSH!" He held his hands out in front of him as if to conjure flames himself.
"Firebending is not a practically useful skill when it comes to putting meat on the table." Yumi snorted. "Besides...have you smelled burning fur?" He pulled a face. "Not pleasant!"
"I don’t have the precision to make a clean kill." Zuko said softly. "And you never know when a new skill might come in handy..."
"Come on, kid..." Yumi slapped a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go see if we can find that herd of fox antelope we spotted up on the north ridge yesterday."
~~~~~~
Yumi, Hageshii and Hocho stepped into the dim interior of their favourite watering hole.
"A blind swordsman, a giant and a Yu Yan Archer walk into a bar..." Yumi began with a grin.
"You know..." Hageshii sighed. "That might have been funny the first time you said it...but it's getting pretty old."
"I really thought we'd have a fourth tonight." Yumi said as he led the way to their usual table, acknowledging the owner, a man who obviously didn’t have a problem with the customers he served, as he passed. "That kid really needs to lighten up. He's like sixteen going on sixty!"
"I reckon it's too much time spent around his uncle." Hageshii imparted as he flopped down on the hard wooden bench.
"It's almost as if he doesn't think he deserves to have some fun!" Yumi snorted.
"He has his reasons for doing what he does." Hocho said softly. "He's been through far more than we can possibly imagine."
None of them noticed the woman in black as she picked up her drink and moved to follow them until she sashayed right up to their table. Hocho frowned as he heard her pull out a chair, joining them without invitation, though he companions didn't protest, especially when she leaned across the table to smile seductively at Yumi.
"I like your tattoos." She informed him in a husky whisper.
"Thanks." He grinned. "I like yours." He returned gesturing to the coiled, scarlet snake on her exposed upper arm...
~~~~~~
Zuko sighed contentedly to himself as he stepped into the cool waters of the tiny falls. It always helped to sooth away the aches of his early morning workouts, and, for a while at least the ache in his heart. The people here had taken him in so easily, accepted him as one of their own, with the exception of Jeong Jeong who would 'humph' in his general direction should their paths come close to crossing. But still he didn't feel like he belonged. He worried about his uncle, and missed him more than he thought possible, he'd even asked Chey to see if he could find a lotus tile whenever he went to the markets.
A sudden sting in his shoulder sent him crashing against the mossy rock face. He twisted to examine the painful spot. He touched the angry red mark, his fingers coming away bloody for a second before the water washed it away. Something struck the rock, dangerously close to his face. He spun, squinting through the falling water in an effort to locate the source of this attack.
"I gotta tell you, Angry Boy..." A familiar voice teased. "I'm loving the new look!"
Feeling very vulnerable and, literally, very naked, Zuko dove into the deep pool his shower emptied into just as Jun's whip cracked the air above his head. He surfaced near the rocks, not allowing the woman a clear shot at him, though it didn't stop her racking the stones with knotted leather.
"The scruffiness...the interesting fashion sense..." She smirked seductively. "The complete absence of chaperones..."
He reached for his clothes only to have the whip find the tips of his fingers.
"I lost my shirshu the last time we met." She growled, cracking the whip just out of anger. "And I don't recall getting paid...just getting pawed by that lecher of an uncle of yours. You owe me!"
"Do I look like I'm in the position to pay you my uncle's weight in gold?" Zuko snapped at her.
Targeting by the sound of his voice, a well aimed flick of the whip sent Zuko, and the pile of rocks he'd been hiding behind, tumbling into the water. He came up spluttering, sitting waist deep in the now murky water, the only thing protecting his modesty, as Jun studied him with a look far more predatory than anything he'd seen from Mai.
"Actually..." She grinned, as her eyes travelled down his muscular torso. "I think you're in a position to give me something a lot more satisfying than gold."
Zuko's eyes widened. He may not have been particularly worldly, but he wasn't totally naive either. He sent a rapid series of fire burst across the pool's surface, instantly vaporising the water, separating himself from her with a thick curtain of steam.
"Who would've thought...?" She chuckled as he scrambled for his clothes. "That under all that anger and armour you were hiding such a perfectly delicious bod..." She stepped through the steam to find him already tying his hakama. "Oh...poo..." She pouted.
She twisted the whip above her head and sent its lash flying towards him. He surprised her by actually catching it, not even flinching as it curled around his arm and cut into his flesh. His whole attitude had changed. The skittish little boy had been replaced by a stern-faced warrior.
"What a difference a layer of cloth can make, huh?" She teased.
"Let's even the odds a little." He said evenly as he pulled the whip from her hand, pulling her off balance and depositing her in the mud as he did so.
"Says the firebender." She snorted, wiping muck from her face.
"I don't use bending when I’m in a one on one fight with a non-bender." He told her.
"Well...that's awfully honourable of you." She grinned. "Me...I use every dirty trick in the book." She scooped up a handful of mud and hurled it at him before charging. She expected him to dodge, but he stood his ground, rolling with the impact as she collided with him. He planted his foot in her belly and threw her into the trunk of a very solid looking tree.
She was on her feet in an instant, but so was he. So the kid wasn't going to be a pushover, even without his bending, but she had other weapons in her arsenal. If the physical didn't work there was always the psychological.
"You really should be careful about the friends you choose." She said as she began to circle him. "The blind guy was pretty tight lipped...but the other two." She chuckled mirthlessly. "They may not have used your name...or mentioned your very distinguishing feature..." She ran a hand slowly over her left eye. "But I know you far more intimately than the average bounty hunter, don't I Angry Boy?" She smiled. "Those idiots couldn't have led me to you more easily if they'd taken me by the hand."
She could see the anger building behind his narrowed eyes. The kid made mistakes when he got angry, mostly because he didn't seem to be able to think when he was annoyed.
"Though I must admit..." She cocked her head to one side as she studied him. "It's such a shame to separate that head...from that body..." She sighed dramatically. "But daddy's put too big a price on you..." She pulled a rather long concealed blade from her boot. "Well...just on your head actually..."
She lunged at him, blade aimed straight at his throat.
This time he dodged, parrying the blade with his forearm, earning a deep gash for his efforts but disarming her at the same time. The blade fell from her hand as he bent her arm back at a painful angle. Though he put the pain out of his mind he could feel the blood oozing from the wound, hear it dripping on the ground. He had to finish this now.
"My father is going to have to wait for my head..." He said through gritted teeth. "And you're going to have to wait for your gold."
Though he had an aversion to striking women, if it was a choice between that and his life he was willing to be a little flexible with his own moral code. He lay her unconscious form gently against the same tree he'd thrown her against, tying her to it with her own whip. He knew she’d be able to get out of it, she was a resourceful woman, but it would give him a bit more time to get to safety.
He then sat down by the pool, gently washing the wound on his arm, before covering it with his hand. He hissed slightly as he used his bending to cauterize it, then thrust his arm into the cool water to deal with the burn.
With one last glance at Jun he gathered the rest of his belongings and headed into the trees.
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Mar 11, 2007 6:08:44 GMT -5
~~~~~~
Chey frowned as he flipped back the woven curtain that served as the door to Yumi's dwelling. The young man was lying flat on his back, snoring loudly and reeking of alcohol. With a snort of disgust Chey nudged him, none-to-gently, with his foot.
"WHAT!?" Yumi growled at the rude awakening.
"Did Zuko go with you guys last night?" He asked.
"No." Yumi sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Why?"
"Because it's almost noon and no one's seen him." Chey looked around the hovel. "I was kind of hoping he'd crashed here with you..."
"He probably just lost track of time or something..." Yumi said as he pulled his shirt on. "But we better go look for him..." He squinted and groaned as they stepped out into the sun.
"You look like you had a pretty big night." Chey commented.
"Yeah." Yumi smiled at the memory. "I had a little...encounter...with this woman. Kind of dangerous looking...with tattoos."
"Is that right?" A rather battered and bleeding Zuko mumbled.
"Jeez!" Yumi's eyes widened. "What happened to you?"
"I had a little...encounter...with this woman." He replied sarcastically. "Kind of dangerous looking...with tattoos."
"Oh?" Yumi smirked. "Guess she likes things a little rough then, eh?"
"Her name is Jun." Zuko said flatly, ignoring his friend's innuendo. "She's a bounty hunter...we kind of have a history..." He explained. "Now...if you'll excuse me..."
Chey grabbed his arm. "You need to have those injuries looked at."
"They're not bad..." He said as he pulled away continuing towards his own newly constructed hut. "I'm fine..."
"You don't look fine." Chey commented.
Zuko turned on him. "I just had a run in with a woman who made it abundantly clear that my father wants me dead!" His raised temper caused the fires around him to flare. "How should I look?"
He stalked off, away from the village, suddenly feeling the need to be alone.
Shurui, Itoko at her heels, came up to stand beside Chey. "What happened?" She asked with concern, running a hand along the creature's spine as he followed the troubled young man.
"I guess it's still hard for him to accept the truth about his father." Chey sighed.
~~~~~~
Zuko found himself a secluded spot and released his emotional pain in the same manner he always had...with firebending. He expended a lot of energy, just hurling flames around in his rage and turmoil.
But his anger didn't last long. He sank to his knees, physically and emotionally spent. Itoko sat down beside him, nudging his shoulder. Zuko wrapped his arms around the creature’s neck, burying his face in his fiery mane.
"Why can't I just accept it?" He whispered. "Why do I keep hoping for something from him when I know it isn't there?"
He didn't know if it was the creature's presence, or some unconscious decision of his own making brought on by admitting the truth about his father to himself, but he felt strangely calm. He rose slowly to his feet and began to go through his usual workout, only more focused, more controlled. There was no unnecessary expenditure of energy, no overly critical analysis of his own performance. He moved without thinking, stepping through the forms he knew by heart. From beginner's moves to the more advance, to those of his own making, adaptations of the other bending arts.
"You are very good."
He spun to find Jeong Jeong standing at the edge of the trees.
"I'm nothing special." Zuko said softly.
"What makes you say that?" The old firebender asked.
"My sister...my uncle...I can't hold a candle to them..."
"They are who you compare yourself to?" Jeong Jeong frowned. "Your sister is a prodigy...your uncle, a legend. You are a candle comparing yourself to a bonfire...of course you come out looking second best."
Zuko just looked at him, not sure how to respond.
"But even a candle can become an inferno...given enough time and the appropriate fuel." A tiny smile quirked the old man's lips.
"Are you offering to train me?" Zuko frowned at his attempt to translate the old man and his words.
"No." Jeong Jeong shook his head. Zuko lowered his own in disappointment. "There is nothing you can learn from me."
"But...I'm not a master..." He protested.
"Master?" Jeong Jeong questioned. "Pah! It is only a word. No matter how much someone may claim to have mastered there is still so much they do not know. A true master knows that he can never claim to be a master..."
Zuko sat down heavily, no longer sure what to think...or what to believe. Jeong Jeong sat down beside him.
"Your problem is not in how much you know..." He explained. "It is in how much you feel. You cannot hope to master the fire without until you can master the fire within."
Zuko nodded. Uncle had told him as much. "It's hard..."
"Yes..." Jeong Jeong agreed. "You were in a position of power and of privilege...but with that came certain obligations...to your nation and its leadership...even though you knew what they were doing was wrong..."
Zuko looked at him, the expression of deep sadness on his face, though he refused to meet the younger man's eyes. In his own way, he had been through what Zuko was going through now.
"So...what do I do...?" Zuko prompted.
Jeong Jeong studied the young man’s face, saw the earnestness in his eyes.
"I judged you harshly..." He said quietly.
Zuko shook his head. "You didn't say anything that wasn't true."
"I said you had done nothing to prove you were not your father's son." He countered. But you have shown regret, remorse for your actions. You have shown genuine care and concern for these people...I cannot imagine your father carting firewood for an old woman." Zuko smiled at that. "I can see now that you are not like your father." It was Jeong Jeong’s turn to smile. "You are more like your mother..."
"You knew my mother?" Zuko asked.
"Not very well." He admitted. "She was only with us for a short time..."
"WHAT?!"
Jeong Jeong was startled at the volume of the boy's response. He was even more surprised when Zuko grabbed him by the shoulders and fixed his wide golden eyes on him.
"When was she here? Where did she go? Was she alright?" He demanded in a quick string of barely coherent words.
"It was several months ago." He told the anxious youth. "She was in good health. As to where she went...I only know that she travelled south."
"South..." Zuko echoed.
~~~~~~
"I know you're worried about what happened..." Chey said when he found Zuko packing up his meagre belongings. "It's not the first time we've had problems with bounty hunters...you're not the only one with a price on your head around here. You don't have to go...you SHOULDN'T go...we can protect you...safety in numbers and all that."
"This has nothing to do with Jun." Zuko told him. "Though...I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened. It's about my mother."
"How did you...I mean..." Chey bit his lip realising he'd said too much.
Zuko looked at him with the slightest hint of anger in his eyes, then pushed past him. He let out a shrill whistle which brought Itoko trotting to his side.
"Which way's south?" He asked.
"That way..." Chey pointed, answering without thinking. "But you shouldn't be going...it's not safe for you out there...you're way too recognisable. And you've got no idea where you're going. You've just got a general direction!"
Yumi watched as the trio walked past.
"Wait!" He called after Zuko. "Where are you going?" He caught up with Chey. "Where is he going?"
"South." Was all Chey could say.
"Zuko!" He jogged to catch up with the swiftly moving former prince, stepping in front of him and blocking his path. "I know I screwed up with that bounty hunter..."
"And I don't hold it against you." Zuko told him.
"You don't?” He boggled. "I almost got you killed."
"If I can't forgive you then how can I expect those I've wronged to forgive me?" He smiled. "This has nothing to do with this morning..."
"Oh..." He frowned. Zuko stepped around him and continued on his way. "Wait!" He ran after him. "If that's not why you're going...then why ARE you going?”
"Because I have to..." He said softly.
"I can't let you go, kid." Hageshii folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "Chey told me what you're trying to do. It's hopeless...you'll never find her..."
"I have to try." Zuko said. "And it's not that hopeless...I have tracking skills...and I know her...what she's likely to do..."
"You're not going to be talked out of this are you?" Nobody had heard Hocho walk up.
"She's my mother..." He whispered. "She's one of the few good things I have left in my life..."
Hocho smiled grimly. "Then take these..." He held out a long, cloth wrapped package.
Zuko pulled back the cloth to reveal a pair of dao in a highly lacquered scabbard, much like the set he'd used in his guise as the Blue Spirit, but of a much higher quality. He looked up into Hocho's passive face. "I can't...these are..."
"...of little use to me." Hocho sighed. "I haven't seen anything since the North Pole. A blind swordsman is a much a danger to himself and his comrades as he is to his enemies. Besides..." He smiled knowingly. "I know you'll take good care of them."
"I will return them to you." Zuko said, bowing respectfully as he accepted them.
"I will hold you to your word." Hocho bowed in return.
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