Wild At Heart (Zuko)

Chapter Five

On a forest path, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Iroh is squatting and studying a pretty white and red flower that has bloomed. He's mesmerized by it. A bush begins moving behind him, followed by a series of grunts as Zuko emerges from it.

"I didn't find anything to eat" Zuko offers, frustrated. "I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive" He kicks at the ground angrily. "This is impossible!" Iroh sniffs the flower deeply. "Uncle... what are you doing?"

"You're looking at the rare white dragon bush" Iroh answers, sounding impressed and adoring. "Its leaves make a tea so delicious it's heartbreaking!" He then pulls a face. "That, or it's the white jade bush, which is poisonous" Zuko rolls his eyes a little.

"We need food, not tea" He draws off when he sees Kali leaving the forest, arms filled with fruits and berries. But it just makes him feel useless. "I'm going fishing" Zuko mumbles and then walks away. Iroh remains at the flower, debating if it's going to kill him if he attempts to make tea with it.

"Delectable tea? Or deadly poison?"

"Poison" Kali offers for him, he looks at her as she holds out an apple to him. He stands and takes it from her. "That plant is poisonous" He smirks a little.

"You would know, huh, Little Flower?" He teases softly, fondly. She hums and nods, blushing slightly at the nickname. She turns, looking for Zuko, to give him fruit too. She pulls a face when she notices that he's gone. "What else did you find?" Iroh asks, gaining her attention as he peers at the fruits and berries in her arms. She did well. He knows she is used to having to prove herself, a useless slave is a useless slave after all. But she doesn't need to work so hard with them. She saved them. They owe her.

......

Zuko stands at the edge of a river with a long fishing pole and a very sour expression. He glares down at the end of the line where a pitiful minnow wiggles pathetically. It isn't a good catch and in no way will feed three of them.

"Zuko, remember that plant that I thought might be tea?" Iroh asks from behind him as Iroh leaves the trees and walks towards his nephew, Zuko appears horrified as he realises what his uncle is implying.

"You didn't!"

"I did" Iroh turns around to reveal his red, swollen face which he is scratching. "And it wasn't."

"Yah" Zuko recoils in repulsion and horror.

"When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing" Iroh points out then turns excited. "But look what I found! These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant. That, or macahoni berries that cause blindness"

"We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need to get help" Zuko points out, losing his patience with his uncle.

"But where are we going to go? We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation" Iroh reminds him.

"If the Earth Kingdom, discovers us, they'll have us killed" Zuko muses.

"But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula" Iroh points out. They look at each other and nod in agreement.

"Earth Kingdom it is" Zuko voices just as a branch cracks close to them, Iroh and Zuko glance to the right as Kali appears, stepping through the trees with a dead duck in her hand. She looks up and at Iroh, notices his face. She gives Iroh a look and he smiles sheepishly at her.

....

Kali stands in front of Iroh who sits on a stool in front of her. She's studying the rash created by the plant that he stupidly made into a tea and drank despite her warnings. Zuko sits behind the Kali, against the wall of an abandoned and semi-destroyed hut. Just somewhere to hold up so she can help Iroh.

"Hold still" She scolds him as Iroh tries to shift away from her as she looks over the rash with a scolding expression. She sighs a little. "I told you that plant was poisonous" She adds as she crouches in front of him. "But I can fix this," She tells him and then holds her hand to his face, a green light erupting from her palm. "That angry girl must be pretty important" She muses, Iroh frowns at her. "To have so many Fire Nation guards with her" Iroh and Zuko share a look, realising that this girl has absolutely no idea who they are.

"Yeah" Zuko agrees and looks away. Iroh watches as tears gather in Kali's eyes, something she seems unaware of, as if it's subconscious. Iroh brushes away her stray tear and frowns.

"Why the tears?" He asks her.

"Nothing" She whispers and turns away, her free hand brushing over her face to stop herself from crying. She's not unaware of why she's upset. She remembers what the Fire Nation did to Raya, to her, to her home. She takes a steadying breath, changing her emotions in an instant. Pushing them away. Slaves don't have feelings. That's what she was taught. "Do you have names?" Kali asks them. Zuko turns and gives her a weird look.

"What?"

"If Angry Girl is looking for you" She offers. "You are going to have to change your names" She looks at Iroh and then at Zuko. "And your clothes" She adds. Zuko looks down at his clothing before he pulls a face. Iroh hums and nods in agreement.

"You've done this before" Zuko comments, she looks at him.

"No" She argues. "But Raya had"

"You didn't have to change your name?" Iroh muses, she hums.

"No one cares enough about some slave girl," She tells them and then finishes healing Iroh who reaches up to touch his face. "So you do have names?" She asks.

"Of course we have names" Zuko argues, Iroh gives a look that implies that they don't. Zuko takes a moment to think. "I'll be... Lee. And you, uncle, shall be, uh... Mushi." Iroh shoots him an unhappy look.

"Yes, but my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior" Iroh offers and then winks at Kali who smiles before letting out a little chuckle. Zuko curls his fingers into his fist in response to the nickname before his stomach rumbles loudly. He looks away and clears his throat. Kali smirks a little and turns to Iroh. 

"Let me cook this time," She tells Iroh, placing her hand on his arm.

"Zuko, why don't we see what was left behind" Iroh offers as he stands from his seat, motioning to the hut as he walks towards it, the dead duck Kali had gotten them hanging from his hand.