***
In an unnamed, small town in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko was on the side of a street, wearing dirty green clothes, with Iroh singing next to him. The Fire Nation's Prince, or now ex-prince, wasn't happy with the desperate situation that was very humiliating. But the old general, Iroh, didn't seem to mind.
Suddenly a tall young man around Zuko's age walks by. He suddenly stops and looks at Zuko, which causes the firebender to look down, to hide his face from the other man's view.
But the stranger seemed insistent and crouched down. Zuko sneakily pulled out a knife and was ready to attack, just in case. But Iroh intervened and grabbed his nephew's wrist, stopping him from doing anything reckless, while the old general smiled at the stranger. "How can I help you, young man? Or do you have some change to spare for two old beggars?"
The stranger smiled and looked at Iroh. "Old man, and the other guy. Follow me, I have some work for you."
Iroh narrowed his eyes at that and was ready in case anything happened, but he kept a smile on his face and nodded. "I am thankful that you were willing to hire people like us."
"Sure. But next time, if you want to be beggars, this place isn't the best," the stranger instructed them. "There are too many poor children around, and people would rather give money to them, than a young man with a working body and an old man."
"Ahahaha, thank you for the advice," the old general kept his friendly demeanor. "Kind stranger, but I don't think I got your name?"
"You can call me Kuzon, I am somewhat of a traveler," the man smiled. Revealing his identity without missing a beat. Iroh's eyes turned sharp within an instant.
"I heard that Princess Azula's ship got overturned. What's her right-hand man doing all the way here? Shouldn't you be with your missing princess?"
Sokka shrugged, "People call me her right-hand man? That's flattering."
"Rumours say that you're more than just her right-hand man," Zuko added. "Though I don't think Azula would ever feel anything for you. Sorry to break your heart if you're in love with her. But that girl is colder than ice."
"Prince Zuko, please be mindful of your words," Iroh said as they entered an empty alley. Warning his nephew, signaling that the man guiding them, wasn't that simple.
"Hahahaha!" Sokka laughed out as if he had heard the funniest thing today. After a minute, he tried to hold on, but chuckles kept escaping his throat. Taking a deep breath, he was able to calm himself down. "Don't worry too much about my relationship with Azula. We get along quite well."
***
-Zuko POV-
What a suspicious guy. That was the atmosphere that radiated off Kuzon. There was something strange about him, and it was quite clear he was hiding a lot of things. Still, I kept taking deep, and regular breaths, making sure that I was ready in case this ended up being a battle. Uncle's instructions about firebending coming from breathing had stuck with me.
"Don't worry, and think of me as an angel of love," Kuzon whispered, just enough so they could hear him, as they arrived at a bar in the sketchy alley. It was covered by shadows so if anything happened here, no one would see it. "The situation is getting a little bad on our side, so we might be able to cooperate."
"So Azula is alive?" suddenly uncle asked, the polite smile never leaving the old man's face. "If she is, then it seems like you're working behind her back."
"Also, she was the reason we ended up like this. Azula just came and took my ship, no permission needed." I added, supporting my uncle. Whatever Azula was up to, it wasn't bound to be good for us. Also, Kuzon didn't seem like the kind of guy you would want to meet in a dark alley, his whole demeanor screamed that he was dangerous.
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But the suspicious guy only smiled at us and opened the door of a bar. Since we had come so long, I decided that there was no use not entering. Getting inside, I could smell the draft alcohol in the air, even when no one seemed to be here.
The clattering of our feet on the wooden floor was the only sound that rang out. Barely any light seemed to enter the place and visibility was low.
Okay, this might have been a terrible idea. With such low visibility, and not knowing how our enemy fights, could end up being our grave. Uncle made a small fire in his hand and lit up the place. I followed along and did the same. Kuzon didn't seem to mind as he went behind the counter and took out a couple of bottles of what can be assumed to be alcohol.
"Do you like wine or some stronger alcohol?" Kuzon asked, taking out three glasses and clattering them on the table.
"Tea is okay," uncle Iroh intervened and stopped him from pouring the alcohol. "My old body can't handle liquor at this age, and Prince Zuko is too young to get such bad habits."
Kuzon shrugged and took out a kettle of steaming tea from under the counter as if he had already predicted this. "Jasmine tea, right?"
Uncle nodded, the smile on his face not faltering for a second, even though Kuzon had mentioned uncle's favorite tea, that only those to him knew.
Wasn't uncle gonna do something now? He just revealed that he had some spies close to us! They could have been our cooks or ingredient providers on the ship. Or what used to be our ship. Poisoning us would have been child's play.
But why is he telling us this?
"Don't overthink it," said Kuzon, staring me in the eyes, as if he could read my mind. He turned towards uncle, and the latter's smile seemed to be infectious as it caused the sketchy guy to smile back too. "Jasmine tea is my favorite too."
Iroh chuckled. "Is that so?" without any doubt he took a sip of the tea, not even checking if it was poisoned. "You remind me of another young man. A very troubled young man, he is traveling with the Avatar."
Oh, I knew who uncle was talking about. That guy named Sokka was very dangerous, and there have been some rumors about him going around, saying that he was the one that thwarted the Fire Nation's plans.
"Hm? How could I remind you of someone like that?" Kuzon enquired curiously, a look of amusement adorning his face. The smile that was there previously had grown wider too.
"You both have that feeling of someone who's lost, can't find their way home," Iroh said, glancing at the young man's hand which had a cup of jasmine tea. But Kuzon seemed unbothered by the words and offered the cup to me, pouring a third one for himself. "A home doesn't necessarily mean a place with four walls and a bed. A home is a place that protects you from storms," uncle looked sad for a second, glancing at his cup of hot tea. "...all kinds of storms."
"Loneliness adds beauty to life, it puts a special burn on the sunset that makes the night air smell better," Kuzon drank the hot tea in one fellow gulp, not even minding its heat.
"Being alone is good," Iroh refuted. "But being lonely is the worst."
What the hell were they talking about? I could tell that they were talking about something I had no idea about.
I tried to decipher what their words meant, but the sudden creak of the entrance door interrupted my thoughts. Someone unexpected came in.
"What took you so long?" Kuzon chuckled. "Having an old man pick you apart isn't what I would call a good time."