Burnt Out - Zuko x OC

Dual Swords

With a simple point of his fingers Zuko lit the two oil lanterns ablaze. He sucked in a deep breath of air and dipped under the water, exhaling slowly. As the bubbles rose to the surface, Kai could feel the lukewarm water steadily heating up.

Up popped Zuko's head, he wiped the water from his face and lay back against the rock siding. He couldn't deny it, this was nice.

"How did you know?" He asked with his eyes still closed.

"You didn't get that scar from an earth bender. I could only assume."

Zuko cut his eyes at the cocky girl. She wasn't making fun of him, but how was he to know the difference? All he'd known since being banished by his father was rejection. Most people took one look at his face and assumed the worst.

"Yeah, well you didn't get yours from a fire bender. That much is obvious."

Kai smiled at his response and in that moment she reminded him of his uncle. It was a simple smile of infinite wisdom, he could tell that her mind was much older than her physical age.

"Where are you traveling to?" He asked while tuning down his aggressive tone.

She shrugged, "I'm not sure. Wherever I end up, I guess."

"Must be nice." Zuko found himself feeling jealous of Kai, how she seemed to have so much freedom, "Having nowhere to be and nothing important on your plate."

But that wasn't true. Kai glared at Zuko through the steam that had started to rise above the water. She had somewhere to be, she just didn't know where that place was yet. And she had loads on her plate, tons of wrongs to make right, she just didn't know how.

"How did you get those scars, if you don't mind me asking?" Zuko asked. Her marks weren't as dark or obvious as his, but there were so. many. He wanted to ask what she'd done to deserve them too, but then he'd have to fess up about his own. And he could lie, but something told him that her jade colored eyes would see right through to the truth.

"It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. A woman's past is her business."

Kai recited the words that she'd heard her host say to his son earlier in the evening, when she'd caught Zuko spying on her as she got undressed. His cheeks blushed pink when he realized that he really had been caught in the act. She laughed and continued, "Let's just say the last time I saw my father, he was pretty pissed."

"Pissed enough to nearly stone his daughter to death?"

She didn't answer this time, not wanting to reveal too much about who she was — or atleast who she used to be. Those words were true, that a person's past was their own business. Theirs and no one else's.

"Can I see them?"

The words escaped his lips quietly. It was an uncharacteristic trait of Zuko, to ask someone for such intimate access to them. He'd never allow a stranger to touch his scar. But that was exactly why he wanted to get a better look, he wanted to see up close how people viewed him daily.

Kai nodded and pulled her loose, damp braid over her shoulder. She crossed the hot spring, growing closer to Zuko as he remained sitting against the far edge. When she got as close as she thought necessary, she stood up. Completely this time, revealing every baseball sized scar that littered her flesh.

Not every rock that she'd felt hail down on her that night had left a mark. Seven or so, the worst of them coming from the foot of her father as he kicked her while she was already down. Zuko felt a slow building sort of rage deep in the pit of his stomach as he counted them, it grew hotter the higher that number got. He reached out and stroked the darkest one. The others would likely fade over time, but not that one. It was right on the small of Kai's back, she winced when she felt his fingertips.