The Blue Spirit ღ (Zuko x OC)

Chapter ⅪⅠ: Bitter Medicine

Smoke still billowed from the top of the ship from fires burning within it. Nala could see Iroh standing on the docks and felt her stomach drop. She felt around for her daggers, remembering she'd dropped them and reached instead for the red mask. She let the moonlight catch on the tusks, angling it toward the docks. Iroh's head turned to see Nala trying to pull herself to her feet, collapsing to her knees clutching her sides. He hurried over to the willow which had strangely taken root on the shoreline.

"Iroh ... I have him ... I don't know what happened ... But ..." She was stammering, clearly in insurmountable agony. Iroh helped her walk back to Zuko, finding his legs giving up from beneath him. His wrinkled hands touched his nephew's face.

"You saved my nephew." Tears were brimming in his eyes and a hug lingered in his arms, but he resisted injuring the girl any more. "I can't thank you enough..."

"It's not done." She groaned. "I need ... at my camp ..."

Iroh puts a hand on her gently seeing she was about to force herself to stand.

"Rest with my nephew. I am not too old, yet." A warm smile comforted Nala.
"Thank you ... it's a willow like this, up the hill. Everything is on Junji, my Eelhound. Follow the green twine."

Iroh nodded in recognition and left as instructed. Nala let herself lay beside Zuko, her breathing sharp as she tried to soothe her own pain. She felt Zuko's hand reach out to her's.

"I'm sorry, Nala." His voice crackled.

*✧*

Iroh returned before long with the eelhound, securing the beasts to the tree and hurrying to make Nala and Zuko more comfortable. Nala tore pieces from the clothes to use as tourniquets and bandages, the pain in her shoulder screaming. She helped Iroh dress Zuko's wounds, having him sit upright. Nala chewed a few leaves in her mouth, then spat them back out to use with the bandages. Zuko gave her an apprehensive look, but she wasn't having it applied it before he could protest.
When they were done with Zuko, Nala pulled the sleeve up on her shirt slowly, stifling a shriek as the shirt refused to pull back any further. There was a horrified look on Zuko's face as he bit down his own pain to move behind her. He breathed a string of cuss words.

"Is your stomach that weak?" Nala said, being deliberately facetious. There was silence, except for Iroh getting to his feet.
"We're going to need stronger medicine ..." He said, and left in a hurry.
"I ... need you to take your shirt off." Zuko's panic was only matched by the bashful tone of his voice. Nala felt her face grow hot  and was about to whip around, but felt a stabbing in her shoulder. Without vacillation, she picked her shirt up and began to lift it with difficulty, Zuko coming to her assistance. Another string of cuss words came from behind her. Nala pulled her knees to her chest.

Zuko seemed to be lost in his own morose ruminating as he absent-mindedly let his fingers trail down her back, making her shiver.

"I'm sorry, Nala." He whispered, taking pieces of torn cloth and gathering some of the leaves she'd been chewing. "I never wanted you to get hurt."
"In a perfect world ..." She mused, taking deep breaths. "What's the fuss about back there?"
"There's ... some metal in your shoulder." Now she understood why it had felt like she had a very painful extra appendage. Cuss words slipped through her teeth as she took a few hard breaths, then one extra loud cuss word for good measure.

"I'm gonna gag myself ..." She growled, trying her hardest to keep the panic down for both her and Zuko. "When I do, you're going to pull that thing out, then put pressure on it. Apply those leaves and clean it as best as you can but keep pressure. I need you to be strong, Zuko, do you promise? Because I can't do it without doing it wrong."