𝔸𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕒 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝔸𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟: ℤ𝕦𝕜𝕠 𝕩 𝕆𝕔

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟜- 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝔹𝕒 𝕊𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕖

After a long journey, the trio arrived at a hidden Earth Kingdom refugee port and boarded a ferry bound for Ba Sing Se.

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace," Iroh said, turning away for a moment. When he faced the teens again, a floral hat perched on his head, he grinned. "As a tourist!"

"Look around, Uncle. We're not tourists; we're refugees." Zuko sipped the food and immediately spat it out in disgust. "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!"

"I really miss taking a proper bath and washing my hair," Aeyenna sighed, leaning against the balcony railing.

"Aren't we all?" said a tall, handsome guy with bushy hair as he approached. "I'm Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot."

"Hey," said the shorter girl, while Longshot nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hello," Zuko replied, eyeing the newcomers warily.

"Hi," Aeyenna said with a slight wave, her eyes flickering between Jet and his companions.

Jet smiled at her, a piece of straw dangling from his mouth.

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

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

"The fat, happy kind," Jet replied. Iroh's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open as he began to drool. "You want to help us liberate some food?"

Zuko flung the bowl of spoiled food into the water with a determined gesture. "We're in."

Later that night, Aeyenna, Zuko, Jet, and Smellerbee crept towards the food storage area. Jet used his twin tiger hook swords to force the door open, and he and Zuko quickly began gathering the supplies.

"Grab some desert!" Aeyenna whispered urgently to the boys, while she and Smellerbee kept watch outside the door.

"Guard's coming!" Smellerbee warned.

Longshot fired an arrow with a rope attached, allowing the four of them to slide down quickly. He retracted the rope just before the guard could spot them.

They quietly returned to their spot on the ferry. "Did you manage to grab some dessert?"

"Yeah, I got it for you," Zuko replied.

⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

Jet handed out food to the other travelers on the ferry as Aeyenna, Zuko, Iroh, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters gathered together.

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

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man—I'm a girl!" Smellerbee retorted, grabbing her food and walking away, with Longshot quickly following her.

Iroh called out after her. "Oh, now I see. It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!"

"Oh," Aeyenna winced. "Iroh, we talked about this. You really need to be more careful with pronouns. People are getting canceled nowadays."

"What?" Iroh said, chomping on his noodles. "It was just a misunderstanding."

Jet soon joined the trio. "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."

"It is a magnificent sight."

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked Iroh.