The Avatar and the Fire Prince

Book 2: Water, Chapter 1: The Village

(Originally posted May 20, 2023 on AO3)

Zuko woke up shivering. He winced as he sat up slowly, stretching his back in an attempt to release the tension that had built up from sleeping on the cold, rocky ground. Even after months of this, he would never get used to it.

It had been two and a half weeks since they had left Crescent Island for the South Pole. They had spent that time laying low, periodically moving around the islands that surrounded the Southern Air Temple. Iroh had suggested they do this in the event Zhao had managed to follow them, as they didn't want to lead the Fire Navy directly to the Southern Water Tribe.

"Zuko, remember your breath of fire," Iroh said, crouching down next to him. "Breathe in..." he instructed. "And hold for one, two, three... and exhale. Feel the heat generate from your lungs."

Zuko did as he was told, and a small burst of flames exited his nose as he breathed out. He did this a few more times until he finally was able to warm up somewhat.

He looked over at Aang, who seemed perfectly awake and somehow not cold at all as he packed up his things in Appa's saddle, and narrowed his eyes. "How in the name of the Spirits are you not freezing to death right now?"

Aang's head perked up, and he looked down at Zuko with a smirk. "Ah, if it isn't my old enemy: grumpy morning Zuko."

Zuko's eyes narrowed further in annoyance. I'm not that grumpy in the mornings. "Seriously. Is it an Avatar thing?"

Aang laughed and shook his head. "Nope, it's an airbender thing. I can use airbending to regulate my body heat. It's very useful."

"Must be nice," Zuko grumbled. His fire breath helped, but he wasn't able to make the cold feeling go away completely.

"Cheer up, hotman," Aang said as he hopped off of the saddle and floated down onto the ground next to Zuko. "Today's the day we're finally going to the South Pole!"

"Why would that cheer me up? The entire continent is a block of ice."

"Because it's a new nation to explore! Well, new to you guys. But I guess also new to me considering I haven't been there in nearly a century."

"Uh huh," Zuko replied while stifling a yawn, only half-listening. Despite the slightly grating nature of Aang's cheerful attitude this early in the morning, he had to admit that he was happy his friend was behaving like his usual self again. After everything that had happened the past few months, for a time, Zuko had been seriously worried that the airbender might not ever be the same.

He turned to Iroh, who was humming the familiar tune of "Four Seasons" to himself as he rolled up his sleeping bag. "Uncle, are you absolutely sure it's safe to go to the South Pole now?"

"Yes, I would say so," Iroh replied. "We haven't seen any signs that Zhao has followed us, nor that he is searching the area. We do still need to keep a lookout for Southern Raiders, however. With no more islands for us to stop on between here and our destination, we will be much more exposed."

"Right..." Zuko muttered. He wasn't thrilled about that. They weren't exactly being inconspicuous with a giant flying bison as their current mode of transportation. Thankfully, they had somehow managed to avoid the notice of the Raiders so far, even when they had camped on Whale Tail Island last week, which had been an amazing stroke of luck as far as Zuko was concerned considering that was where the Raiders' main outpost was located. "Let's get this last flight over with, then."

*****

Surprisingly, by another amazing stroke of luck, they did not come across any Raider ships on their journey, and it did not take as long as Zuko had dreaded before he spotted the white expanse of the southernmost continent in the world. He scanned its horizon for any signs of the village Aang had described from his dream, but the tundra appeared to be wholly devoid of life in general. How anyone would choose to live in such a cold, barren environment was beyond him. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to return to this part of the world after he had found Aang in the iceberg.