COLLISION - a zuko and yue centric tale

Chapter twelve

Iroh flops back onto his makeshift raft of driftwood, held together by seaweed and strips of cloth from his pants. His body is sunburnt. He had been sure, so sure, that he would be able to find Zuko. But he hadn't. It was as if a spirit had whisked him away. Perhaps, Iroh would reach land, only to hear that the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe had demanded a ransom for Prince Zuko. Iroh hated to think of what his brother would do if that happened. A chill goes through his body, despite the blistering sun. Spirits... he would not let that happen. No, Iroh would return to land and find Zuko. If he didn't take care of Zuko, who would?

///

Yue enters the shelter after dark. Zuko is staring at her.
"Where have you been?" He demands.
"There was a banquet, I had to stay." Yue grabs a piece of bannock and hands it to Zuko. "They're not as good as the other ones, I didn't have time to go back."

A/N: I just realized that I forgot to mention Yue deciding to skip going back to see Mrs. Huemodo in the last chapter because she probably would have seen her at the banquet but wouldn't have gotten bannock from her then??

"Thanks," he says roughly, taking it.
Yue nods. "I also got a razor."
"What for?" He asks, biting into the bannock.
Yue gestures at his head. "Your, um, hairstyle. I thought you might want to maintain it."
Zuko runs a hand through the longer stubble on his scalp. "Yeah." That was all he said.
"The banquet was nice," Yue offers, like she's trying to start a conversation. "Most of my people thought I was dead so I was able to reassure them."
"My people think I'm worthless."
"Oh I'm sure..." Yue begins. How are you supposed to answer something like that? Yue could see how Zuko's people would dislike him, at the very least. But then again, she didn't know what the Fire Nation did or didn't like other than liking to go to war for apparently no reason.
"I was banished from the Fire Nation. They think I'm a joke."
Yue swallows. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"I don't want you to say anything. Just leave me alone and shut up about how you're such a perfect princess. Probably a waterbending prodigy too." Zuko grumbles.
Yue crosses her arms and stomps her foot. "I have only been able to waterbend for like, a week! And I can't tell anyone about it because that's not supposed to be possible and they wouldn't teach me how to waterbend anyways!"
Zuko bolts upright. He's too angry to process what Yue has just told him. "That's ridiculous! Then your people don't really care for you at all!"
Yue gasps. "Monkey feathers!"
Zuko narrows his eyes. "And of course you're friends with the Avatar." He had heard the airbender say that expression several times just before managing to escape from him. He had never heard anyone else say it before.
Yue is about to angrily retort that she is not, in fact, friends with the Avatar but is friends/crushing hard on the Avatar's friend Sokka, but she stops herself. "I've barely talked to the Avatar." She sniffs.
Zuko clenches and unclenches his fists at his sides.
"I think that I'm going to go for a walk." Yue drops her bag in the middle of the floor, spins on her heel, and leaves. Zuko throws himself onto his blankets.

///

Iroh had fallen asleep by accident. He is woken by a rumbling sound, coming from the water. Groaning, he slowly opens his eyes. Land. Green, lush, beautiful land. Iroh looks suspiciously from side to side. It appears to be an island. Iroh looks behind him. Water, endless water. Cautiously, Iroh paddles closer to the island. He reaches out and presses a hand to a tree. It certainly feels like a tree. Giddy, Iroh jumps aboard and pulls the raft up with him, in case he needed it later.

Leaving his raft by the shore, Iroh sets off to explore the island, deciding to head towards the top first. He relishes the cool shade. Birds chirp from the trees, singing their sweet songs. Some of the trees have colourful fruit hanging from them and there are berry bushes along the way. Iroh is perhaps a bit less careful with eating the fruits and berries than he ought to, considering his limited knowledge of them. Luckily, Iroh didn't appear to be experiencing any weird side effects yet.