The Blue Spirit ღ (Zuko x OC)

Chapter Ⅹ: The Scent of Flowers

The ship was still as Nala woke and she figured it must have made port at some point in the night. She looked around groggily for Zuko, finding him sprawled out fast asleep on the floor. Using the blanket as a curtain, she dresses herself, wrapping the bindings around her and pulling on her loose trousers. Mimicking a mouse, she gathers her belongings, makes the bed and lays the mask and scimitars upon the blanket. She gets to her knees beside him, feeling the damp trail of a single tear as she leans in to paint a kiss of sorrow upon his scared cheek.

"Goodbye, Zuko."

The night is cool out on the dock, and the darkness is as still as a lake. Her body breaks into a brisk run, feeling how it had longed for open air. She let's the sounds of the night fill her ears and the blood in her body rush. She runs hard and long, crossing an open field, and through a rice paddy. Hearing voices in the distance, she comes to a halt and tries to quiet her breathing.

"That fruit merchant paid out pretty well." Came a man's voice.
"I told you patrolling up here was easier money." Came a woman's voice.
"We should pay another visit tomorrow ... maybe try to squeeze some money from the smithing guy, too."
"Nah, he was a bust. I could only 'persuade' him into parting with a few daggers. Mine were all scuffed."
"It's funny what people are suddenly willing to part with ... when you set their shop on fire."

Nala's jaw clenched. She crept along the ground, slinking behind a tree, then into it's branches for a better view. They were two smug looking soldiers, but not Firebenders, counting their gold until the woman took a pouch for herself and stood up.

"Watch the gold. I need to answer nature." She announced, stretching.
"Don't get eaten by an Armadillo Lion." The man teased.

Nala took her chance, springing into motion in frog-like leaps, tracking the woman with the eyes of a firehawk. She followed the woman a far enough ways from the camp, then unravelled a wrapping as she flung herself from her hiding place, taking the woman out with a gentle 'thud' before stuffing the wrapping into her open ready-to-scream mouth. She landed a palm into her stomach, making her 'huff' air and a stifled groan. With lightning fingers, Nala frisked the woman, grabbing the sack of gold and a couple daggers. She pulled off the woman's shoes and headband, securing everything to her body. She snatched the wrapping from the woman's mouth, allowing a string of cuss-words to fall from her tongue, before clambering back into the trees and disappearing, leaving the woman completely dumbfounded.

Nala stopped to sit upon a branch and examine the dagger, turning the blade over in her hand. The apathetic metal of the blade reminded her of Zuko's room.
She held it behind her head and gathered her hair. With a sharp inhale, the dagger cleaved clean through, her wild red hair drifting to the ground as if they were petals from a tree in Autumn. The cold air pressed into the skin at the back of her neck. The winter had closed in, and it was high time to embrace the change in the air. Now all she needed was black ink.

*✧*

The night grew darker as Nala found herself strolling through a sleeping village who's shops had been singed just as the soldiers in the woods had described. She slid some gold pieces beneath their door, too. Then, she walked to the edge of the village, just before the treeline, and began scattering some seeds. She took a pose and concentrated hard. She thought of her brother ... of her people. She thought of the gentle bear that would come and walk through their lush forests. She thought of the smell of the food, the creaking of the bamboo ... she began take swan-like steps around the seeds. She willed them to grow, and thrive with her love. Now, she thought of Zuko as she danced and dipped.
She thought of his face, and she stumbled. She thought of his smile, and his eyes ... she felt her eyes watering as she moved with vigour. She felt the seeds take the form of sprouts, then push up into roots, then vines and branches. She thought hard on how she could flourish, how she could be brave and strong alone, and she felt the garden flourish beneath her feet.