Growing Pains (Zuko/OC)

Chapter 1: Hope

Agni, save me. I could just die like this. How could anyone willingly live under these conditions?'

Never in Kona's life had she ever been so cold. She had lived in many miserable conditions in her life, but the bitter cold of the South Pole was second to none. She felt her cheeks burning with the biting wind and her hair slipping out of her braids and bun. It was difficult to take comfort from the shining sun, its glare reflecting off the icy water below the ship. No, this was not where she would choose to be, if she had a choice–which, of course, she didn't.

"You look a bit uncomfortable, my dear, Kona. Would you like some more tea?"

Kona turned her gaze to the old man who was calmly playing Pai Sho and sipping tea. She immediately straightened up at his piercing stare. She willed herself to halt the shivering that she hadn't even taken notice of before her sulking was interrupted.

"No, Master Iroh. I am fine."

His sharp gaze didn't falter. "There's no need to push yourself, Kona. You are not a firebender. You will catch your death standing out here like this," Iroh chided, but ultimately returned his gaze to his game board, placing another tile whilst taking a sip of his own warming tea. She idly wondered how he could play the same game over and over without an opponent to offer a new variation.

"Prince Zuko gave me this station, Master Iroh, and I will not disobey him." Kona returned her gaze to the icy sea that stretched endlessly around their ship, missing the displeased look that Master Iroh sent her way.

Truth be told: what she was looking for was a bit unclear, as she had no idea what a "sign of the Avatar" would look like, but she wasn't in the mood for the sour look the young prince would send her way by asking.

Throwing his displeasure aside, Iroh hummed and turned his sights to his nephew, the prince, who stood at the head of the ship. "I think he often forgets that you aren't a bender, my dear. He will not fault you for not being able to regulate your body heat as he can."

Kona nodded in response, but did not otherwise respond, still watching the waters that seemed to stretch on forever. From time to time, she found her gaze wandering back to the brooding figure at the head of the ship. He could stand there for hours, seemingly unaffected by the cold. It was pretty impressive, considering most of his head was shaved. The only hair on his head was his pony tail and one of his eyebrows. The other, of course, was burned away during his accident.

She shook her head to throw herself out of her thoughts. As she looked back out at the blinding sea, she steeled her body. This was the least that she could do for the prince; he was just asking her to stand somewhere and look. If she couldn't do that, there was no point being on the ship at all.

Iroh shook his head with a short, quiet sigh. 'Teenagers. Always so stubborn. Prince Zuko will not be happy with his oversight.'

Kona and her master stayed that way for a long while, just as they did every day on this ship. They wake up, search for the Avatar, eat lunch, search for the Avatar, maybe train, search for the Avatar, eat, sleep, repeat. It could get boring, but they saw some beautiful sights on the way. Kona was partial to the air temples they had visited nearly three years ago. Even in ruins, the architecture was beautiful and the lands serene. Much better than this terrible frozen wasteland.

She let out a barely perceptible sigh, before a bright light entered her vision. Across the frozen waters that she had just cursed, a pillar of light erupted into view, casting its white glow across the already bright landscape. 'What in Agni's name...?'

"Prince Zuko!" She nearly yelled, so shocked by the sudden change in scenery that her voice left her without thinking. 'What could have caused this? There was nothing down here!'