Too Far Away

Chapter Two: Since You Let In

Song Lee, began Zuko's reply.

Your letters are accepted whenever you send them. I don't find it irritating that you sent the letter, so I don't accept your apology. After leaving the naval base, I have continued searching for the Avatar. It has continued to be an unsuccessful search, but as you wrote in your letter, it has only been a little over a day.

Tongyi tried to bite me. Is that normal? Does he ever try to bite you? If you ever do end up learning Falcon, please let him know that I don't appreciate almost being bitten while I try to read your letter. Also, what do falcons eat?

I don't care how long your letters are. The days are long on this ship, and there's little to do other than meditate or sulk in my own room, like Tongyi. It's not like I have anyone else to write to, either. Plus, I can promise that I'll always do my best to reply to your letters.

He didn't know what else to write. He felt like his reply was missing a fundamental element that he was just missing. Finally, he just shook his head and signed his name at the end of the letter, wondering if it was okay that it was so brief.

I await your reply,

Zuko

He thought it would be better not to add his title. He didn't think that Song Lee would mind.

After the letter was dry, he rolled it up and looked to Tongyi, who was still waiting patiently for him. Zuko slid the letter into the falcon's carrier, careful to avoid his beak. "Thanks," he told him, and then felt stupid for talking to a bird. He could almost imagine Tongyi rolling his intact eye at him.

Tongyi willingly hopped onto Zuko's offered arm, and the two of them returned to the deck. The cold air wasn't as refreshing as it had been before he'd gotten Song Lee's letter, and he decided he was just going to go back inside after he sent Tongyi off. He launched Tongyi into the air, and the bird hovered in the air for a moment before circling the ship once and flying north. Towards Song Lee.

Zuko watched him until he disappeared, and then he turned and made his way back to his room. He wanted to read her letter again.

"I didn't find anything to eat!" yelled Zuko, struggling to extract himself from a bush he'd gotten stuck in. Once he managed it, he added, "I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive." He kicked the ground. "This is impossible!"

Zuko looked at his Uncle, already expecting to hear some long-winded speech about the joy of nature or something stupid like that. Instead, Iroh was crouched down in front of a flowering shrub. He said nothing, choosing in the place of words to sniff deeply at one of the flowers.

It had been a couple of days since they had escaped Azula, and they were struggling to provide for themselves. Zuko had taken to scavenging, which was a lot harder than he'd thought it would be. Iroh hadn't done much at all, other than set up and break down camps and campfires.

Iroh said, "I wonder if Song Lee would know what to do in a situation such as this."

"What do you keep bringing her up for?" asked Zuko. When Iroh didn't reply again, he asked. "What are you doing?"

Iroh smiled and said, "You're looking at a rare White Dragon bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious, it's heartbreaking!"

Zuko didn't know anything at all about heartbreaking teas, so he didn't know how to reply. That was when Iroh added, "That, or it's the White Jade bush, which is poisonous."

Whatever the case, Zuko decided that his Uncle needed to sort out his priorities. "We need food, not tea," he said.

"I wonder if Song Lee would know the difference between a White Dragon and a White Jade."