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Zuko Alone

Zuko was riding the ostrich horse through the empty, arid landscape when he caught the smell of cooking meat.

His stomach grumbled. He hadn't had anything to eat in days.

He pulled out his broadswords and followed the smell to a campfire, where a man and a woman were roasting some meat. He was about to attack when the man smiled and rubbed his wife's stomach.

Zuko sheathed his broadswords and continued on.

---

Days passed, and Zuko was growing desperate. He raised his canteen and tried to take a drink. It was empty.

The field of earthbending disks blocked the worst of the sunlight, but without water, he felt himself nodding off.

Right before he jerked back to attention, he saw a woman in the robes of a Fire Nation princess.

---

Finally, Zuko reached a town. A group of rowdy soldiers played a game of dice, but Zuko ignored them and found the merchant. He pulled out a few coppers. "Could I get some water, a bag of feed, and something to eat?"

"Not enough here for a meal. I can get you a bag of feed."

Zuko sighed and paid. Then the sound of laughter caught his attention. He turned and saw a kid giggle and throw an egg at the soldiers.

The soldiers got up. "Hey!" the lead one barked at Zuko. "You throwing eggs at us?"

"No."

"You saw who did?"

"No."

"That's your favorite word, no?"

"The egg had to come from somewhere," another soldier said.

"Maybe a chicken flew over." One of the soldiers laughed, but a look from the leader silenced him.

The merchant dropped a bag on the counter, but before Zuko could take it, one of the soldiers grabbed it. "Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support."

The leader tapped his hammer on the ground. "You better leave town. Penalty for staying is a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger. Trust me."

The merchant shook his head as soon as the soldiers were gone. "Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation, but they're just a bunch of thugs."

Zuko frowned. Why would they need 'protection?' The Fire Nation could save them from those awful men. He sighed and headed back to the ostrich horse.

"Hey, thanks for not ratting me out." It was the kid who threw the egg.

Zuko ignored the boy, but he continued on. "I'll take you to my house and feed your ostrich horse for you. Come on, I owe you."

Zuko's stomach growled, but he ignored it. He didn't need help from this boy. Then the ostrich horse cried out and stumbled from hunger. He stroked its neck and led it after the boy.

The farm animals created a racket so loud it could probably be heard in Ba Sing Se as the boy led Zuko and his ostrich horse into the farm. "No one can ever sneak up on us," the boy explained.

"No kidding."

A man, presumably the boy's father, came out of the house. He spotted Zuko immediately. "You're a friend of Lee's?"

Lee nodded excitedly while Zuko internally cursed the fact that Lee was his fake name. "He stood up to the soldiers! By the end, he practically had them running away!"