Burning Souls - Book 2 // Zuko

chapter 8

Raven sighed as she inhaled the fresh sea air. She had missed being out at sea since it seemed to emit a fresh freedom in the air, no matter what kind of ship you were on. Whether you were hunting down the avatar or journeying away from prison, the sea never changed.

"Who knew that I would be returning to the place of my worst military defeat...." Iroh muttered from beside her. "AS A TOURIST!"
The girl quickly covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, but it came out as a snort at the old man's enthusiasm. Zuko meanwhile who stood on the other side of her just glared at the bowl of soup in front of him.

"We're not tourists. We're refugees."
Raven smiled and jostled his arm with her elbow, "Look on the bright side. You could either go to a nice earth kingdom for safety or get locked up in prison in the fire nation."
Zuko turned to look at her with an expression that read 'not helping', but Raven didn't fail to notice how the expression didn't reach his eyes which were smiling warmly down at her.

"What are you two saying?" Iroh insisted, leaning over so far over the railing to look at them that Raven feared he would fall in the water.

"We didn't say a word," Zuko replied, shooting his uncle a scowl.

Iroh raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "You two lovebirds. have been giving each other looks as if you are talking through your eyes."

"WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" Zuko yelled, not exactly disliking his uncle's term for them but finding it embarrassing that his uncle was pointing it out so bluntly.

To calm his flustered state, Zuko took a deep swig of his soup and immediately spat it into the sea. "Disgusting! This food sucks."

"Sure does," a voice remarked from behind.

The three turned to see a teenage boy about Zuko's age standing behind him, a twig of weed in between his teeth. His brown hair flopped over his forehead and he was not bad looking but with a mischievous look about him.

"The name's Jet," the boy remarked. "And you know what the captain is doing? Eating like a king!"
"What kind of king is he eating?" Iroh asked, his eyes glistening with hunger.

"The fat happy kind," Jet replied, causing Iroh to drool.

Raven chuckled, "It is just a day's journey to Ba Sing Sa. Once we're there, the food will be much better."
Jet's eyes locked on Raven and they widened a moment before he smirked, "We're planning on improving the food standards down here. Interested?"

Raven immediately looked at Zuko to see that the boy had already considered it before Jet even spoke. She reached out and touched his arm but Zuko had already moved it to throw his bowl overboard.

"I'm in."

-----------

When Zuko returned with Jet, Longshot and Smellerbee, he found Uncle Iroh where he had left him but there was no sign of Raven. He helped the others to hand out the food to the other passengers before he approached his uncle.

"Where is Raven?"
"She is out on the deck," a man remarked from where he sat next to his wife who was holding a brand-new baby, "She took my son out for fresh air and to look at the stars."
Zuko had to admit he was not the least bit surprised by that piece of news and he nodded before turning to his uncle, "I'll be back."
Iroh nodded, quite content in just sitting with Smellerbee and Longshot, eating his heart away. Zuko grabbed his jacket before heading to the door that went out onto the open deck. Just as he did, he sensed a presence nearby and turned to see Jet standing near the door with his arms crossed leaning against the wall.

"Cute girl you got with her. Who is she? Your sister?"
Zuko opened his mouth to state that Raven was his girlfriend, only to realize that neither of them had actually spoken about what they were in terms of their relationship.