Carved In Rock || ATLA

The Day I Left The Womb

Zuko Alone Fin

"Mother, where are you today? You took a piece of me the day you went away. No recollection nor the smell of your perfume, I took a piece of you the day I left the womb. Brother, put your needles down, the best thing for you is to leave this awful town. Pretty soon, you'll have kids to feed, if you see mother, tell her I can sing. Please don't worry, I am doing fine, you're much to busy to even find the time. So use your chemicals and take this to your grave, the boys you left are men you didn't raise." - Escape The Fate

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The morning seemed to come just when Zuko had finally managed to tune out his demons long enough to sleep. As the sun peaked through the holes in the barn he knew it was time to move on. The whole family was waiting outside by the time he sheathed his swords and gathered his too-few belongings.

If Sela had it her way she wouldn't give that boy the option to leave but Gansu insisted she'd be overstepping. It broke her heart to see someone that reminded her so much of her own son alone in this sad, war-stricken world. As she watched him climb atop his ostrich horse she prayed the spirits would keep him and Sensu both safe.

"Here." She said as she handed him a pack filled with all they could spare. "This ought to get you through a few meals."

Knowing the mother wouldn't take no for an answer Zuko was about to accept when they saw the cloud of dust barreling towards the farm. It was Gow and his band of thugs with a look of smug arrogance so obvious it could be felt.

"What do you think they want?" Gansu pondered, his brow set.

"Trouble," Zuko said honestly, hyper-aware of the blades he carried. The crew stopped just before the family and didn't bother to get off their own rides.

"What do you want, Gow?" Gansu asked.

"Just thought someone ought to tell you that your son's battalion got captured." The cruel man glanced over his shoulder to talk to his men as if no one else were there. "You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"

"Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms and put 'em on the front line unarmed, the way I heard it." One of them answered, spitting in the dirt. "Then they just watched."

Gansu couldn't take it anymore. "You watch your mouth!"

Amazed anyone would dare speak to him that way Gow moved to trample over the peasant when the stranger from the day before rode between them. If looks could kill then the war would've been the last of Gow's worries. This wasn't a fight he was ready for right now.

"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" The thug scoffed and spat at the feet of the farmers. He turned his ostrich horse around and lead his band back towards the town, leaving a trail of tears and turmoil behind him.

Zuko was lost in his own world. The feeling in the air had his mind drifting back to the day the letter came to tell them his cousin Lu Ten had died in battle. The tension in the palace back then was so similar to the haze that covered the farm right now.

"What's going to happen to my brother?" Lee asked his parents. He was still far too young to truly understand and accept the fact that Sensu may never come home.

"I'm going to the front." Gansu decided easily. "I'm going to find Sensu and bring him back." He tossed an arm over his crying wife's shoulder and lead her back into their home.

"When my Dad goes..." Lee fumbled with the hem of his shirt before looking up at the traveler. The desperation in his eyes was enough to break even the toughest of hearts. "Will you stay?"