Too Far Away

Chapter Sixteen: We Carry What We're Able

The first thing that greeted Zuko as he found himself waking up was the nagging presence of pain. His entire body felt sore and fatigued, which was made worse by the various points of stinging over the surface of his skin. For a moment, he was completely paralyzed.

Then, he remembered the explosion.

He groaned as he came fully conscious, barely able to pry his eyes open. It was difficult to see; the only eye he could actually see out of had swollen tremendously. He was greeted by the sight of his Uncle, who waited on the other side of a dying campfire.

"Uncle," he said, hardly able to get even that word out. His throat was dry, and it felt like a thousand shards of glass had been forced down his throat while he slept. As he sat up, though, the world flashed, and he almost collapsed again. Every movement took a hundred times the effort they normally would have, and the ache seemed to penetrate his very bones, even though he knew that, miraculously, none of them had been broken in the explosion.

Iroh was by his side in a moment, helping his nephew sit up the rest of the way and stay in that position. Before Zuko fully knew what was happened, a cup of tea was pressed into his hand. "This will help with the pain," Iroh said. "It will also assist in your recovery."

"Am I going to be fine?" asked Zuko as he took a sip of the tea, and then he made a face. The warmth of the tea itself was okay, and it did help soothe his torn-up throat, but it tasted like dirt and ashes and half-rotted leaves. "This is terrible."

"This tea is the strongest blend I can make to help with rejuvenation," said Iroh, glancing away. "It is... very difficult to make it taste pleasant. But you will be fine."

Zuko took another sip, and then his eyes caught on a shape in the branches trees surrounding the small clearing they had ended up camping in. It was Tongyi. He was asleep, actually, his head tucked under his wing, and his bright red coloring made him stand out against the green of the evergreen needles, even in the dim light of the early morning.

"The letter," he said suddenly, as if the sight of the falcon had jump-started his barely functioning memory. He shifted, ignoring the stabbing pain that shot through his side. "Uncle—"

"I have writing supplies right here," said Iroh, the tone of his voice enough to cause Zuko to relax. "There was a market near the dock. I went while you were asleep."

Zuko didn't smile, but he didn't feel nearly as tense as he had mere seconds before. "Thanks."

Iroh helped Zuko get situated, a brush in hand and a rough ink stone by his side. Then he left him there alone, wandering off while speaking of a stroll through the forest. In the back of his mind, Zuko wondered if hid Uncle has slept at all.

Song Lee,

My replies to you weren't confiscated, and Tongyi wasn't attacked or intercepted. I just didn't reply at all. I'm really, really sorry. In the cases of both the seventh and eighth letters, I was stressed and busy. That doesn't excuse my lack of a reply, though. Please forgive me.

Admiral Zhao (he's been promoted again) is planning an invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. Right now, that is where the Avatar is with his friends from the Southern Water Tribe. Zhao has already taken my crew, so I'm alone except for my Uncle right now. He probably sent word to your father's naval base, too.

After he took everyone, Zhao got the pirates I ran into a couple of weeks ago to blow up my ship while I was still on it.

I'm fine now, even though I'm still pretty hurt. My Uncle wasn't on the ship at the time, so he's fine, too. Right now, Admiral Zhao is my greatest competition in terms of capturing the Avatar. Luckily, I have a plan. Since Zhao thinks I'm dead, it should be a little easier to pull off, but it's still going to be difficult.