Blades and Fans

The Arrival

When the Gaang finally arrived in the Fire Nation, it didn't take them long to find a change of clothes. However, the group still wanted to pick out some extra supplies before they left, so they headed into town. After arriving, Aang seemed to run off somewhere, and Sokka and Toph were too eager to check out the food vendors, leaving Zuko and Katara to find what they needed.

They both walked together for a couple of hours, browsing the shops for supplies they could afford. Despite not being recognized, Zuko felt a bit self-conscious about his disguise – a tunic and trousers from a military uniform, with white bandages wrapped around his head, covering his left eye. He figured disguising himself as a wounded soldier coming home from the war would at least give an excuse for his attire. Even then, he kept his hood up as much as possible to obscure his face further.

As he walked, some people gave him sympathetic looks, and others even thanked him for his service, which made him uncomfortable. But he did his best to shrug it off, knowing survival was all that mattered for now.

"...We should probably pick up some red threads too," Katara said, going through the shortlist in her head what they needed. She glanced down at the red top and skirt they had stolen, realizing that the blue thread she usually used wouldn't work for these clothes if they tore. As she continued talking, she noticed Zuko not listening; he seemed to be staring off into space. "Hanzo? Hanzo, are you listening?"

Zuko shook his head, brought back to the present. "Hmm, what is it?" he asked, turning to face Katara.

"I was asking if there is anything else you want to get?" Katara repeated her question as she waited for a response.

"Hmmm well, I think that's everything," Zuko said, not paying attention to what she was saying.

"Hanzo... if you want to go off like everyone else, you can. I can finish the shopping on my own. It is no problem," she said, knowing he was distracted. And truth be told, she was used to doing the chores and shopping on her own anyway. Usually, when Sokka or Aang did end up coming along, they would get distracted and buy frivolous things.

"No, no, I'll finish the shopping with you," Zuko sighed as he shook himself off. "Just feeling a bit out of it being back home is all," he said as he adjusted the sack thrown over his shoulder, carrying their goods.

"I can imagine... is the Fire Nation any different than you remember?" Katara asked curiously as they walked by a few more vendors.

"A bit... for some reason, I remembered places like this being more lively," he noted as he looked around the town. Everything seemed rather dull, with people just going about their day. He remembered how when his mother would take him and his sister to different places around the Fire Nation, everything felt so bright and welcoming. There was a sense of joy in the air. Now he's starting to wonder if it was really like that back then or simply because his mother was there.

"Well, things change. I doubt when I and Sok - I mean Li - eventually return home, it'll be the same place we left," Katara said, trying to picture the makeshift huts and the igloos that she once called home. A part of her wondered if things had changed since Master Pakku and his men headed to the South Pole. Maybe there would be actual houses there now, instead of the things they scrounged together to keep out of the cold.

"You miss home?"

"Yeah, I do. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy traveling with Kuzon, my brother, and Ishi... but sometimes I miss just staying in one place," Katara said as she continued glancing between the various merchants and venders.

Zuko silently agreed with her. He spent so many years traveling the world on his ship, that when he was in Ba Sing Se in that apartment, it was almost surreal that he had a bed to call his own. He and Katara continued to grab some things and finish up the shopping. Once they were done, they walked around town to see if they could find the others before heading back to camp.