The Fire Prodigy {ATLA}

{17}: The Impenetrable City

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace..." Iroh looked away for a moment, before looking back at the horizon with a bright smile. "As a tourist!"

"You don't seem too conflicted about going back to the Earth capital," I said with a giggle.

"Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees," Zuko complained, before taking a sip of our rather unlikable meal. He cringed before spitting it out. "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!"

"Aren't we all?" a young man said, appearing out of nowhere. Honestly, he startled me quite a bit. "My name's Jet and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot."

"Hey," Smellerbee said.

"Uh... Hi," I said awkwardly.

"Here's the deal. I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" Jet said.

"What sort of king is he eating like?" Iroh asked with a frown.

"You're missing the point," I sighed.

"The fat, happy kind. You want to help us 'liberate' some food?"

"Uh... No thanks. I think we'd rather stay out of trouble for now," I answered, before being abruptly interrupted by Zuko.

"I'm in."

Well, I think we all know that this couldn't possibly end well for any of us.

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"So, Smellerbee. That's an unusual name for a young man," Iroh said.

I widened my eyes. "That's because she's a girl."

"Oh, now I see. It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!" Iroh said, as Smellerbee stood up and walked away angrily.

"From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall," Jet said, passing some food to all of us while we sat together.

"It is a magnificent sight," Iroh said, probably reminiscing about his six-hundred-day raid.

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked with a frown.

"Once. When I was a... different man," Iroh sighed sadly. I knew he didn't enjoy talking about his fighting days in the war. It was a very hard time for them.

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se: for a new beginning. A second chance," Jet said, sounding strangely nostalgic himself.

"That's very noble of you. I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances," Iroh said, the faint hint of a smile framing his wrinkled face.

"After all, the hope for a second chance is all some of us have left," I muttered, but I noticed that Zuko heard me.

He either didn't know what to say or didn't want to say anything at all. And after everything we had been going through... Maybe that was for the best. All I knew in that moment was that hope was the only thing keeping me going right now.

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"So, Miss Hatty, Mr. Lee and Mr. ummm... Mushy, is it?" the ticket woman asked, narrowing her eyes.

"It's pronounced Mushi," Iroh corrected her with a grin.

"You telling me how to do my job?"

"Uh, no, no. But may I just say you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating," Iroh said, while Zuko and I exchanged disgusted faces.