Bloopers And Directors Cut - Accidental Avatar Edition

Zuko Alone - Almost

A/N: Hello my lovelies~ This is actually running a bit late because my friends are insane and I've barely been home lately...on other news, I thought I'd post a bit of a voting poll here and SashaL will post one on the main story.
We need ships for Jin, since I don't really know who to pair her with. Pairings with Muteki or Mogui are off the table though, so my apologies if you shipped that...
So far the votes are
Jin/Teo - 2
Jin/Haru - 1
Let me know if there are other ships, and the winning ship happens :)

~~~~~

It had been a few weeks since he had left his uncle, Jin and Amaya, and the silence had been...well silent. Amaya wasn't chattering away, and his uncle wasn't adding to her babbling. But as he crossed the rickety old bridge over a ravine, he realized that he actually missed her voice, even come to miss her laughing at something his Uncle or Jin had said. Sometimes even him. He missed making her laugh, and he felt ridiculous for it. Half way across, the ostrich horse’s foot went through the rotting plank on the bridge, it’s frightened screechy neighs echoing out as it thrashed to regain its footing, his heart pounding at the thought he might fall. But the beast righted itself, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought he heard her voice, echoing how he felt. That could have been really bad.

“No kidding,” he mumbled.

Onward, and he tried desperately to keep his mind from wandering back to the people he had left behind. Was his uncle alright? Of course he’s fine, Amaya and Jin will help him, and he was once a mighty general. A master firebender. He’ll be fine.

But still his thoughts wandered. He recalled the first time he met the enigma that was Amaya. A dirty, small girl sitting in the middle of a forest, with a slightly frightened and slightly annoyed expression. Her hair, although darkened with water, was still light enough that he knew it wasn't a normal color. Normal hair was black or brown, and shades between. Not honey gold. And she claimed to be a waterbender. Her skin was pale, her eyes a green-brown, and then her odd hair. He hadn't believed her at first, but when she demonstrated her meager bending, he had to believe her. He remember the night, during a storm when she had unexpectedly barged into his room, and hugged him. No words, she simply hugged him from behind, then fled the room. She had been crying. He had never asked about it. She would simply dance around the question anyway. But his mind kept bringing them up, these memories. Then almost unbidden, the memory of her walking by in nothing but a towel flashed before his eyes, and he almost fell from the ostrich horse from the force with which he tried to dispel the memory. A delicious smell wafted past his nose, pushing the memory away as his stomach reminded him it was empty. He was a little grateful for the distraction.

He spotted some food cooking, a couple of Earth Kingdom folk sitting nearby. He reached for his blades, when another memory, this time accompanied with a vision of Amaya standing before him, her hands on her hips and face pulled into an unhappy scowl as she tried to flick a stray golden strand from her face.

If that’s the way you think then you will make a terrible Fire Lord!

He looked at the food, then his eyes flickered over to the man, who crouched before his very pregnant wife and rubbed her belly lovingly. His heart sank, and he released the hilts of his blades, and he turned away.

The longer he went, the more tired he got. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, and stay in the saddle.
Sleep! I need sleep!
He blinked, looking around, trying to locate where the voice came from, almost certain it had been...
“Amaya?”
No one answered him, and he felt foolish for even thinking it. How could she possibly find him now? She was probably the most directionally challenged person he knew, there was no way she’d be able to follow him. Also...lazy, she wouldn't follow him. He needed to focus. Stay awake. Find the Avatar. Focus... He tried to drink water from his water skin, but it was empty and he sighed sadly.