Burn Me *Prince Zuko Fanfiction*

Haru

We left the kingdom the next day. Currently, we were camped out in the middle of nowhere near a stream. I was currently folding my sleeping bag along with Katara as Aang lounged around on the ground. The air was peaceful and calm. I felt a sense of tranquility here. A sloshing sound pulled my attention. Sokka was walking through the stream holding his sack.

"Great, you're back! What's for dinner?" Aang asked, zooming over to him.

"We've got a few options. First, round nuts," Sokka threw them on the ground, "and some kind of oval-shaped nuts, and some rock-shaped nuts that... might just be rocks." Sokka threw the rock over his shoulder. "Dig in!"

"Seriously, Sokka?" I questioned looking at the "food".

"What else ya got?" Katara asked.

Sokka turned to search for other things to eat, while I picked up the few good pieces of food he managed to find. I turned to my sister and gave her a couple of nuts, then I passed the rest to Aang. The two looked at them closely before trying to break them open. Suddenly, there was a loud noise ricocheting in the distance.

"What was that?!" Sokka asked startled.

I stood from my spot and looked in the direction of the noise, not seeing anything. I still kept my guard up. Loud noises don't occur for no reason. Moments later, another loud bang sounded in the same direction.

"It's coming from over there!" Aang hollered.

He and Katara broke off in a sprint towards the noises, and I followed close on their tail. Sokka complained as he trailed behind. The group of us approached a fallen tree and knelt behind it. Peering over, I saw a boy dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes. He moved his body in a rough motion and lifted a large boulder slamming into the side of the empty river bed, causing dust to fly in the air.

"An earthbender!" Katara breathed.

"Let's go meet him!" Aang cheered.

"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously," Sokka warned.

Ignoring Sokka, Katara ran forward. Her body slid over the fallen tree and into the riverbed. As she approached the body, she called out.

"Hello there, I'm Katara. What's your name?"

The boy turned around with a startled expression. He was cute. He looked about my age, maybe a little older. He had long dark brown hair that hung around his shoulders. Two loose strands poked over his headband. His brown eyes looked bewildered as he spotted us. Then, without warning, he ran.

Katara's shoulders fell as the boy fled.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang hollered with a smile.

"We just wanted to say 'hi'," Katara whispered.

I quickly ran over to my sister and wrapped my arm around her shoulder for some comfort.

"We probably just startled him," I hummed. "Come on," I motioned for the group to follow as I made my way down the empty riverbed. "He's gotta be heading somewhere. And where there's a village, there's bound to be food."

The group quickly fell in step with me as we made our way down the empty river. The sun was shining down on us as we journeyed closer to the town. As we made our way through the bed, we came to a ledge. Looking over, I saw a large city down below. Excitement picked up in my body and I quickly began to pick up my pace. My siblings and the Avatar trailed behind, hollering for me to slow down, but I couldn't. I needed to see this place. The wind rushed in my ears as I pushed aside any vegetation that stood in my way.