Little Soldier Boy

Pathetic

"Here I thought this ought to get you through a few meals," Sela gave Zuko a small wicker container as Zuko checked his bag to make sure he had everything.

Zuko was about to take it but they heard a rumbling in the distance and saw dust from soldiers riding in on their ostrich horses.

"What do you think they want?" Gansu asked annoyed seeing the thugs.

"Trouble," Zuko put his hand on the blade handles.

The soldiers rode in quickly and stopped in front of the family and fire bender, no one there looked happy from either side.

"What do you want gow?" The father spat harshly.

"Just thought someone ought to tell you your son's battalion got captured," the leader smirked a little looking down at them.

"You boys hear what the fire nation did to their last group of earth kingdom prisoners?" Gow chuckled looking at the others.

"Dressed them up in fire nation uniforms and put them in the front line unarmed way I heard it," another man smiled cruelly at them. "Then they just watched,"

Zuko glared knowing that was a lie. It sounded as if they were monsters.

"Watch your mouth," gansu barked.

Gow glared and his animal took a few steps towards gansu but Zuko stepped in front of it looking gow in the eyes. Challenging him.

"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" Gow rolled his eyes and pulled back as Zuko stood his ground.

"What's going to happen to my brother?" Lee asked behind as his mother and father comforted each other.

"I'm going out to the front, I'm going to find sen su and bring him back," gansu told his wife and kissed her cheek softly before hugging her as she cried into his arms.

The parents went inside but Lee stayed out with Zuko, walking over to the teenager.

"When my dad goes will you stay?" Lee asked sadly.

"No, i need to move forward," Zuko told him without looking at the boy.

"Remember what I taught you, it applies to all weapons," he said before walking down the dirt road to leave the family behind. They were kind but he couldn't stay.

—

By mid day Zuko found a stream to get water from but laid down to take a break, he watched the clouds above remembering the avatar traveled by the sky, his bison blended with the clouds. He wondered if he'd see the avatar in the clouds again.

To capture the avatar to finally do something Azula never could. For her to eat her own words. He needed to find the avatar to return to his troops, to claim his revenge for their fallen brothers. He hoped commander Xai could forgive him. He missed Xai, and even Jay, he missed his troops. He never thought he'd feel so homesick.

Zuko sat up hearing an ostrich horse and a cart his way and saw sela heading towards him in a hurry.

"You have to help! It's lee, the thugs came back as soon as gansu left, when they ordered us to give them food Lee- he grabbed one of the knives and use it as a threat," sela ran to him as Zuko blinked surprised.

"I don't even know why or how-" she stopped when Zuko stood up and brushed his pants off.

"Then they took him away, they told me if he's old enough to fight he's old enough to join the army," she hiccuped a sob and covered her mouth. Zuko looked at her guilty. He couldn't get involved.