the avatar, and that one good firebender, lee

earth, part four

the jasmine dragon waits another day at the docks while delivering final shipments, packing clothes, and helping daito bake snacks for jee.

the lieutenant was prohibited from entering ba sing se, most likely due to his false 'robbery' charges from his teens (or perhaps his profile as a fire nation lieutenant, one or the other), and so he tasked himself with keeping the ship locked down while the crew was gone. mara vowed, in the middle of folding the chairs and tables to the side, that they'd all find a way to send letters outside ba sing se.

the next morning arrives quickly, after one last music night together, and jee waves down at the crew on the docks. "come back soon," he urges with a smile. "or else you might find that i've run off with a pretty lady."

"in that case, we better hurry back," feng jokes. "jee knows a way with women."

-------

"you know, as much as i like having a bunk bed, this seems nice, too," jang comments, diving into a bed in one of the guest rooms. the rest of the crew does the same, with the two girls taking one room and the five boys in the other, all resting their aching feet and shoulders in the soft mattress. "kook--please, let's buy these mattresses for the ship."

"as much as i'd like to save money, yeah, that seems nice," she replies, voice muffled in her sheets. "i mean, it's possible, too, it's like--"

the door swings open and shut. rising from his bed, zuko checks the living room, to find iroh gone. kook peeks out of the guest room. "did he leave? already?"

zuko picks up the note left on the table. "i think it's best we leave him alone."

kook nods, grabbing a glass from the kitchen cabinet to fill with water. mara follows shortly after, digging in her luggage for the bag of snacks she snuck on the train. "well, in the meantime," mara says, biting into daito's almond biscuit. "we can explore the city. we've never been inside here before."

"there's not much to see in the lower province," daito remarks. "i heard they have a bunch of ponds and stuff in the main city. oh, to be rich." altogether, the crew sinks into the couches. admittedly, their earnings from the teahouse only landed themselves in the lower region, but compared to what the refugees pouring into the city could afford, this place was a luxury in of itself.

"where do you wanna go today?" zuko asks, laying his head back.

"might as well buy some food, you know, to cook," kook mumbles against mara's shoulder, who yawns and pops another dessert in her mouth. "i saw a market on the way here."

"yeah, zuko, you can make your special soup," jang suggests. zuko's soup--more commonly known amongst the crew as prince lee's stew --was a recipe of his mother's, cooked for him every weekend, and, on the jasmine dragon, served as a special every week. a mix of spinach, chicken and bok choy (amongst other ingredients) in a mouthwatering broth that often raised requests for the recipe from many customers.

"mmh, a bowl of prince lee's stew," feng comments, rubbing his belly. "let's hope iroh comes back soon, surely it'll lighten him up."

with that in mind, they stretch and head out, stalking towards the market kook spotted down the street. feng, kook, and daito wander off in an antique and pawn store--feng, for the swords; daito, for the wooden bowls; kook, for the souveniers--while mara, jang, haku and zuko scour through the food stalls--mara, for the fruits; jang, for the pork dumplings; and zuko and haku, with reasonable purpose, for the soup ingredients.

"how is it, we spent an hour searching for these, and they're still not done?" haku sighs, zuko following along. the two return to their place with the ingredients, and haku heats up a pan while zuko chops the vegetables.