The Avatar and the Fire Prince

Book 3: Earth, Chapter 8: The Bitter Chase, Part 2

Following their second hasty escape, Iroh had taken it upon himself to choose a specific location for their next campsite: an isolated area in the Xishaan Mountain range that separated the Si Wong Desert from the southern Earth Kingdom.

The location was far from any major points of civilization; in fact, the only signs of human activity in the area could be seen in the ghost town of Tu Zin that sat in the valley to the south, its manmade walls standing in contrast to the barren plateaus that surrounded it. While they didn't have the tree coverage this time to keep from being completely exposed, they had managed to find an abandoned farmhouse—its roof mostly intact—to serve as a decent shelter for the next few days.

To Zuko's relief, he'd somehow managed to sleep well until the late morning the following day, as had the rest of his companions. Despite not feeling completely well-rested, he still felt better than he had the previous two days, and he could tell his friends did, too.

"Hey, this is pretty good," Toph praised, her mouth full as they sat around the house's fire pit for a very late breakfast. "I never thought camp food could actually be decent."

"Well, Iroh is an excellent chef," Katara replied, nodding to the former general.

"Aww, that's very sweet," Iroh replied kindly. "But I'm afraid I can't take all of the credit. Katara's contributions are often what make the difference between a dish being 'good' versus 'great'."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed, scarfing down his food as his sister beamed at Iroh's compliment. "She may have her faults, but Katara's a dang good cook."

Katara gave her brother a deadpan look. "...Thanks, Sokka."

"And I have to admit... It's nice to sleep with a real roof over my head," Toph added. "Well, at least one that's not made of cold stone. The fire is nice and warm."

Zuko smiled, nudging the small girl gently with his arm. "See?" he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "Relying on other people sometimes isn't so bad."

"Yeah, yeah," Toph grumbled, shoving another several spoonfuls of rice into her mouth.

"So... how much more food do we have left until we need to restock, exactly?" Sokka asked Iroh. "It's only been a couple of days since we left Gaoling, so we should be good for at least a couple more, right?"

"We should have enough food for at least three more days, though we may need to dip into our moo-sow jerky and mixed nut rations at some point," Iroh replied thoughtfully. "Azula will likely be prowling the valley, so we won't be able to venture too far to find supplies, and we shouldn't use Appa to travel unless absolutely necessary."

"Great," the Water Tribe warrior grumbled sarcastically. "So we might be stuck with eating moo-sow jerky and mixed nuts in the next few days?"

"If you're so unhappy about it, maybe you could try and do some hunting while we're here," Katara said.

"Maybe I will," Sokka replied, smirking as he rubbed his palms together. "I bet I could rustle up some good meat for us. Well, most of us. Sorry, Aang."

"I'm honestly okay with mixed nuts if it comes down to it," Aang shrugged.

"So, the plan is to just rest and lay low for the next few days?" Zuko asked Iroh. "To throw Azula off our trail?"

Iroh nodded. "If we haven't seen any signs of Fire Nation activity in the area after three days, that will likely mean we are in the clear. You know how impatient your sister is—she won't want to wait around for long."

"That's true," Zuko replied, nodding as well.

"We can restock at a small town to the north of here once we're ready to leave," Iroh said, setting down his bowl and reaching over to unfurl their map. "....Misty Palms Oasis, on the other side of the Xishaan Mountains. It would be difficult for anyone to follow us there, if we're careful."