#iroh chooses to face his niece. he wants to give zuko the choice as to whether or not he will become his heir

[discordiansamba]

anyways some more thoughts about the zuko jet roleswap au because it's apparently A Thing now:

zuko's father was an earth kingdom soldier who infiltrated the fire nation royal palace in an attempt to kill fire lord azulon. it obviously did not work.

zuko's mom truly was just like. I have a strong suspicion that everything I've been fed since childhood is a pack of lies and you just tried to kill my father. let's talk. I'm sure this won't lead to anything more complicated down the line.

(spoilers: it did)

princess ran is ozai's older twin sister, making him originally third in line of the throne- and then fourth, after lu ten was born. he viewed her supposed untimely demise as a blessing.

ran never spoke of her life in the fire nation to zuko. she doesn't want to complicate his life with the knowledge that he's a prince by birthright. she put that life behind her when she helped her future husband escape and fled to the earth kingdom herself.

the soldiers who raided zuko's village did not recognize the supposedly dead princess. they just saw she was clearly fire nation, and a firebender as well. she tried to fight back, but was quickly overwhelmed and killed as a traitor.

zuko's father died in the same attack.

zuko was taken in by distant relatives on his father's side of the family for awhile, but it was obvious they were always uncomfortable with his presence. he learned to hide his firebending quickly.

when he was thirteen, he decided he'd set out on his own- and no one stopped him.

the orphan acquisition started with, of course, The Duke. shortly thereafter, he befriended Pipsqueak. pipsqueak ended up bringing the second orphan kid into the group and it just kind of snowballed from there. by the time the gaang meets him, his little gaggle is eight orphans strong, excluding himself and pipsqueak.

zuko needed something other than his firebending to defend himself with, so he taught himself the dual dao. which he stole. he is no stranger to petty crime if it keeps himself and his kids fed, though he tries to be smart about who he targets.

(the blue spirit is famous for his hit and runs on fire nation supply convoys. they don't know he's taking what he steals back to his kids.)

he actually doesn't mean for the blue spirit to be A Thing. it's just a way to hide his face in case things go wrong. he doesn't realize people are going to end up making a big deal out of it.

when the moon abruptly turns red, zuko decides its time to bite the proverbial bullet and take the kids to ba sing se.

jet vs zuko swordfight in the catacombs of ba sing se.

azula forges an alliance with jet and even gives him the credit for killing the avatar. jet is instantly suspicious of this. there's no way the princess would do that... unless she has some kind of game.

maybe the avatar isn't actually dead. he asks longshot and smellerbee to make absolutely sure he is.

zuko follows the gaang into the fire nation, while pipsqueak and the duke stay behind with hakoda to help gather invasion forces.

[attackfish]

AU where Iroh is given a choice by an ancient spirit to bring his son back from the grave in exchange for his nephews life.

The first time he has the dream is mere days after Lu Ten died. The spirit never shows his face, and with the logic of a dreamer, Iroh never questions it. The spirit asks him to trade the life of his nephew, little more than a fond memory after the long years away, for his only child. Of course he says yes.

He doesn't think about the dream. A grieving mind does strange things. He goes home to find his father dead and his brother's wife gone, the throne in Ozai's hands, the world turned upside down, and everything dark and gloomy as he feels. That night, he has the dream again. He begs the spirit for his son back, whatever it takes. He sees Zuko's fear and pain as death comes, and for a few moments of dream, Lu Ten is in is arms, a child Zuko's age. He wakes in the middle of the night with tears on his face.

The next morning, his nephew knocks on his door, and he turns him away.

The dream plagues him. It comes back again and again. He always says yes.

It comes the night Zuko is banished. Iroh sits by his bedside as he shivers and cries out in fever and pain, and doesn't know if Zuko will wake. He seems so terribly small. When he falls asleep at his post, he dreams, and the spirit asks him. Iroh can barely speak, he is so angry. Why does the spirit ask this? Zuko may be dying, why would he put his life in Iroh's hands? The spirit laughs. Isn't Zuko's life already in Iroh's hands? Iroh sees the spirit's face for the first time. It's Ozai's.

The dream comes back again and again, every time Zuko is particularly difficult to deal with, every time one more potential lead on the Avatar turns out to be nothing. Iroh has the dream every night. He doesn't always tell the spirit no.

When he tells the spirit yes, he gets Lu Ten back, sometimes as a child, sometimes as he was just before riding off to battle. The spirit keeps his bargain. Zuko dies.

When he tells the spirit no, Zuko only spits in his face.

Then they find the Avatar. Zuko throws himself into danger. And worse, he's fighting against what is right, against what the world needs. And Lu Ten died fighting for that same cause. That night, Iroh sees the spirit's face again. It's the young Avatar's.

Zhao captures the Avatar. Zuko goes to steal him. Iroh tosses and turns, and finally sleeps. The spirit comes to ask his question, and Iroh lunges for him. His hood falls away, and his face is Zuko's own.

It's been three long years since Zuko was banished, and Iroh's niece comes to take them both prisoner. Iroh stops her from killing her brother with lightning. The spirit wears her face that night.

They sneak into Ba Sing Se. The spirit wears the face of an Earth Kingdom Soldier. Zuko fights off another teenage boy, Jet. The spirit wears Jet's face that night.

Zuko joins his sister beneath Ba Sing Se. Iroh sleeps in his cell and screams at the spirit to leave him be. The spirit laughs at him. It has his own voice.

It never matters which he chooses. He still wakes to a world with Lu Ten dead and Zuko alive.

It matters so much which he chooses. Why should he be forced to choose? How can he?

He goes back to Ba Sing Se. His nephew rules wisely and well, as he cannot. The world is at peace. Lu Ten was part of the old world, the world people like Ukano want to bring back. Knowing that he died fighing for what Iroh taught him to fight for, and that it was wrong hurts. It hurts more than Iroh knows what to do with.

When he dreams of the spirit now, he gives it no answer. Eventually it stops asking.

[ohsweetflips]

Pls give us the AtLA rant, I have a mighty need!

askjskjsdkjdskj i copy and pasted my rant from last night bc imo the raw energy of “i am genuinely shocked and angry (in a good way)” is something i cannot recreate right now

so here is the rant i went on in my groupchat + the secret side conversation i had in DMs bc, in my 3 person gc, 2 of us are watching it for the first time and i already knew some stuff going in so i didn’t want to spoil

it’s all under the cut bc it’s long as fuck (like almost 2k words if not more) 

but basically i go into my own type of avatar-state while talking abt zuko!!!!

(I HAVEN’T STARTED BOOK 3 YET, PLEASE NO SPOILERS)

groupchat:

but i just finished book 2 and it took a completely different turn from what i thought it was going to like i am actually in shock and have officially reached my point of "zuko what the actual fuck" because the choice to do good was right there after everything he and iroh went through and after all that he saw and letting aang go multiple times and he was starting to be happy in this new life and saw that he and iroh could be free and he still went back to azula for his pride and honor, turning against aang and katara after he and katara could have finally reached a moment of understanding

but like what the fuck i am more mad at s2 zuko than i was at s1 zuko bc, in season 1, the avatar and his honor was the only thing he thought about, but in s2, he met people who had their lives ruined by the fire nation!! and he worked with them!!!! iroh was showing him what it was like to live completely free, doing what he wants!!!! and he was starting to understand!!!!! but im so pissed and so fucking shocked bc, this entire fucking time, i was like "oh yeah the end of s2 is going to be when zuko joins, right? bc i mean book 3 is fire, so zuko has to teach him fire bending" but no, he willingly chose to keep pursuing the avatar after fucking everything he has seen, after knowing how people were affected by the fire nation, after everything iroh did for him

and he knows what he did!! he knows!!!!! he told azula that he betrayed iroh!!!!!!! he fucking knows

when iroh showed up to fight both him and azula, i was fucking losing it bc iroh's love has been so unconditional for zuko, he supported zuko through everything and even helped him try to capture the avatar at times, but that was the final straw

zuko willingly walked into world domination. he doesn't even fucking trust azula! he never has! but she brought up his pride and honor, and she's powerful as all hell, and he sided with her! after everything!

i really thought he was learning that his quest for the avatar was fruitless! it's not going to bring him happiness! his life in the fire nation will never return to normal

aang has saved his life so many god damn times, him and katara were reaching a point of understanding! they fucking talked about how the fire nation took both of their mothers

and i'm so floored bc this was all willing

when zuko was exiled, he had no choice! it was either find the avatar or have no home. but he was finding a home! he finally seemed so happy with iroh! it really seemed like iroh's teachings were getting through to him! that he was learning what he really wanted (freedom)! but he still went back to the fire nation except this time he chose to. he looked at the people he was starting to understand, at the man who has been a better father than ozai ever could, and willingly chose to turn away for the sake of pillaging and conquering and "honor" in a family that doesn't care about him

at first, i was like "this has to be a trick, right? he's fighting them now so that he can backstab azula later, right?"

but when katara said to him "i thought you changed!" and he said "i have" i was fucking besides myself

im so angry but im also fucking exhilirated bc this i did not expect

i would've put so much money on there being a meaningful moment of zuko stepping up alongside aang

like, i was so sure this would happen

i was convinced

but holy shit

and fucking!!! zuko knows what iroh went through at ba sing se with the loss of his son (and probably the realization that what the fire nation was doing was fucked up) and zuko still turned against iroh

after everything iroh did for him! iroh was the only person who stood by zuko's side during everything. he pleaded zuko's case over and over, he seeked out the gaang bc he needed their help and he was so sure that zuko would make the right decision!!! he saw zuko let the avatar go before, but when zuko was faced w/ azula's assistance and the avatar right there, he just went back to his old ways except worse bc this is willing

and like

am i discounting the manipulations of azula and ozai? no!!!

that definitely had a hand in it, bc azula has been dangling honor and ozai's love in front of zuko the entire time

but i really thought that the end of s2 would be when zuko sees past all of that

except he turned back to the family that doesn't even love him, betraying the only person who truly cared for him and loved him unconditionally and wanted the best for him, and now he has a direct hand in the collapse of ba sing se and world domination

like okay let it be known that this is some of the best writing ive seen and im fucking obsessed and im living for this and it's so fucking good so my anger is fueled by excitement and shock

and also i fucking love negative character development

like. i love zuko. and literally i think that's part of this too bc i was so sure that he was going to make the right decision

and instead i had to face the dawning realization that he wasn't

and now he and azula are teaming up to end the earth kingdom

like i thought i knew where this was gonna go and now i'm genuinely lost (in a good way)

and like i haven't even touched upon aang's chakra being locked bc he went back to katara

(also don't even get me started on the painful irony of iroh telling aang that sometimes it's better to choose love and friendship over power)

(like really don't get me started because i'm about to combust)

after everything iroh did for zuko!!!

after the gaang has saved his life!!!!!!!

and the best thing is, it was shocking but still not out of character

that's the beautiful thing

this was always an option for zuko

it's the point of the crossroads!!! you can go either way!!!!!!!

i just thought he was gonna go...................... the other way

and like literally the fact that he sided with azula after obviously not liking her basically his entire life (or at least his adolescence) is so fucking telling for how he made this decision bc. unless there's some behind the scenes stuff, he saw the avatar and his pride and his honor so clearly, and he saw how powerful azula was becoming, and decided that he would still take it even in the face of azula's manipulations and violence

if that makes sense

if you can't tell, i'm kinda reeling right now

like, apparently zuko wants his honor/power so badly that he'll side with azula!!!

after they spent an entire season fighting her

but also....... azula finally gave him that option of working together. before, it was always azula vs. zuko

now, though, azula was offering a world dominating olive branch

so now like im thinking....... what if that happened earlier? would zuko always have turned? or is it just because everything he ever wanted was so close to him?

and it's wonderful bc it's still so in-character. like, even siding with azula, it's not bc he suddenly cares for his sister or whatever, but it's because he chose honor/pride/the fire nation over freedom/giving up what he always wanted. i don't think he was choosing azula, he was choosing his pre-written destiny over making his own

god is any of this making sense i am literally so fucking shocked

i literally need like 3 episodes solely on iroh at this point bc you know what probably fucking sucks??? losing his first son to the war in ba sing se, and then losing his nephew (who he saw as another son) to starting war in ba sing se

like? that has to feel like a fucking slap in the face ten times over

especially bc iroh left the fire nation with zuko (and probably for zuko), most likely giving up his full title there

and like? the fighting sequences are so cool but it was so fucking heartbreaking to hear iroh tell aang "you go on ahead! i will hold off both of them!" because like. iroh can't wait any longer! he thinks (and knows) that zuko is making the wrong choice, but he can't wait any longer! he can't stand by while zuko dominates an entire city and say "oh, he's really complicated, he's going through something"! because zuko did go through it and he came out of it and he still made that choice! iroh probably feels like all his patience, all his efforts, all his teachings and love, went to fucking waste! because it didn't get him anywhere!

like, iroh probably still loves zuko but he probably feels so fucking betrayed and hurt and disappointed because, after seeing zuko let the avatar go before and seeming so happy, he probably thought that zuko was changing for the better! and now, he has to fight his niece AND his nephew! this no longer is zuko insulting some other general or his crew that iroh can fix by explaining what happened w/ ozai and how zuko is very conflicted! this is a situation that zuko willingly walked in, even after hearing and knowing all of iroh's teachings!

anyways! poetic cinema

like also pls dont think im ignoring everything else in the episode, like aang's chakra being locked was fucking wild and that entire episode was so good, with the fight sequences and everything abt azula, and toph’s metal bending, just forgive me bc im a little uhhhhh distracted by a twist that i genuinely did not expect

i feel bad for how focused i am right now on zuko but also how can i not be bc that feels so connected to literally everything else

also tho on a brighter note, true serotonin was when appa finally returned :')

it's so wonderful that appa broke out by himself. he did it all on his own! no one else was there. at all :)

(im kidding that was actually a very important moment in zuko's character)

(or at least i thought it was going to be)

(well actually it still is, but it's come to the question of "you can always say what you're going to do in a situation, but what happens when you're actually faced with it?”)

DMs:

i know that zuko gets redeemed, right? like i know, in the end, they will all team up

but the fact that it didn't happen now

holy shit

like.......... a whiiiiiiile ago on tumblr, i saw a post that was like "zuko has a great redemption but he needed to work for it bc he did awful things" and like? tbh yeah i got that s1 zuko was the antag and he did shitty things but like...................... this feels so much more poignant

like zuko literally has a direct hand now in the collapse of the earth kingdom

literally not to be dramatic but this is like. taz-reveal levels of shocked right now.

i thought i knew the zuko arc

bc i know he gets redeemed!!

so, after watching this season, i was thinking "oh okay it's gonna be this season! makes sense!"

but.... deep down

deep down..............

a part of me was kinda like "so is season 1 zuko....... it? is that the end of his antagonisms? is season 2 meant to be his redemption? i dig it, but i thought it would be more...................... dramatic"

well!

got what i wished for!

and i am in the best kinds of hell

like i almost feel bad bc so much other stuff happened in the finale (like, for example, aang's chakra being locked, which i screamed at, it was so good) but like. i genuinely did not expect this.

like. holy fuck.

like, now i really understand why people say that zuko needed to really work for his redemption bc he and azula are tag teaming the end of the earth kingdom

[myfandomrambles]

Iroh & Zuko: A study in change and healing.

Uncle Iron and Zuko’s relationship is one I find truly interesting. It shows an interesting look into how people can change, how people can help others, the nature of wisdom and addresses healthy relationships that can survive toxicity. 

So first change, this is obviously Zuko’s main character arch change and redemption, that’s been talked about ad nauseam, but Iroh also changed beforehand. We can infer he had a period of time that changed him the same way Zuko did over the course of the show. 

Iroh isn’t a magically better person, but one of the main reasons he can be a good force in Zuko’s life is his past change. Iroh always had a tendency towards knowledge and mastered the more spiritual part of Firebending. He also seemed to be more comfortable playing Pai Sho and tea than being a leader. I think his quest for knowledge and lack of political ambition allowed for the death of his son to be a moment that pushed him to end his military campaign and not challenges Ozai’s power grab. We also know somewhere around this time he joined the Order of The White Lotus connecting him to a force trying to bring back balance. Had he not dealt with the reckoning of the destruction of his own family and past, as well as work through tragedy he would not have been able to as effectively help Zuko. He understood the pain and trauma but he had learned acceptance. He was of course not perfect but having known the hate and found the peace he wasn’t leading Zuko blind. This means that not only can Ioh mentor him from a place of age, be fatherly after having lost his own child, but more than most people also have an inherent connection to the struggle being had. 

Iroh’s important role within the show is as a sage and mentor to primarily Zuko but others as well.  Iroh is calm, accepting, generally level headed and steadfast in his beliefs allowing him to be a guidepost and foil to Zuko’s own erraticism. He loves Zuko deeply and wants nothing more than for him to be able to heal and choose his own path but does challenge him as time goes on knowing if Zuko just lives in pain he can never move forward.

He gives education about the cultures, people and bending of the people they see. He tries to give Zuko the power to work through his own issues. This act is crucial even though Iroh knows Zuko can be a danger to himself and others he doesn’t try and totally strip his autonomy or leave him unable to defend himself. I think this is evident with Zhao in the first book and then the Zuko alone arc in book two. Allowing Zuko to fight for himself when possible, and fail when he has to allows learning and gives real power. This is reinforced when multiple times he tells Zuko that in the end he has to choose what he wants, chose his own destiny and honour. If he wanted Zuko to make good choices reinforcing the life of little choice they came from would have done more damage.

Iroh doesn’t leave him without backup ever either. He’s always there for Zuko either physically having his back in battle, talking to him or even trying to help their crew understand where Zuko is coming from. No one has really had his back since his mother left, and it’s debatable how much she was even capable of doing. Trying to help him understand he isn’t alone is so powerful. Someone just being there for you is one of the most healing things a person can have. And I think more than any of the actual lessons just giving unconditional love was one of the strongest legacies you can leave.

Iroh also modelled what he wanted Zuko to learn. Rather it is Firebending being able to take it with your head held up, letting down walls, enjoying the small things, or brewing the best tea. Iroh lived his ideas making it do as I say and as I do in almost all circumstances. This irked Zuko of course as it was periodically embarrassing for him but I think it was why everyone who met him respected him or at least liked him. Even when Iroh was a man of layers and did have a few secrets he wasn’t duplicitous. Being a model of what you want increases trust and can help it easier to actually learn new ways of being.

Iroh is an example of Wisdom and not just knowledge. I think this difference does matter. Iroh was, of course, a master Firebender knew much of history and culture and was at least a decent military man from the way others spoke of him, but his understanding of the intangible is what makes him powerful. He always knew to watch and learn, he invented multiple bending techniques because he let down the arrogance and took in other ideas. Being a member of the White Lotus he knew and respected the connection of all four elements. He was often a third party within the first book, during the siege of the north we see him chose not to fight really for or against the Fire Nation. He acts to protect the spirits, to keep the balance. He is not averse to using violence (even against his brother or niece) but has a respect for the life of all peoples. This kind of understanding and wisdom is more powerful than any spewing of facts. Because this plays into the level of acceptance he has, makes him a formidable foe and gives him an ability to convey complex ideas.

Trying to find your centre and accepting who you are is an act of connection to the world and yourself. He can help many people Toph, Aang and a street beggar can all listen and understand where he comes from. He can help Zuko through his metamorphosis moment because he understands the connection of identity, health and spirituality.  When you can bring a whole connection to someone it will always be stronger then listing facts or platitudes.

Zuko and Iroh have a relationship that is a blur of found family and blood ties. He is Zuko's biological uncle but they don’t seem to have been exceedingly close when Zuko was very young but after Iroh returned from war become closer. In the world of ancestors, destiny and bloodlines their relationship matters, but their connection was born from love, time, care, compassion, struggling, loss, fighting, and forgiveness. Neither the story or Iroh force Zuko to forgive Ozai or Azula. Iroh recognizes that his brother was abusive and horrible to his children, and recognizes that Aula can’t be left in power. Zuko chooses how he confronts both of these people, disavowing his father, and facing his sister with Katara. Their relationship comes out of this history of abuse and toxicity but is forged forward because of how much they have grown to care for each other in their own right and how much they grow. Iroh is Zuko’s real father in any important way and Zuko is as much his son as Lu Ten ever was.

Real World Techniques:

Through writing a mentor to someone who is clearly dealing with mental illness (C-PTSD, BPD) real-world psychological and coping strategies end up being employed in a strong connection.

-Radical acceptance. I skill taught in the framework of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Iroh has learned to accept his past, and the loss he has shown. Iroh works hard to drag Zuko out of obsessive behaviour by trying to get him to accept that past happens, you can not fix that. Iroh himself embodies this behaviour. He doesn’t force non-action though, the acceptance makes you better able to manage future stress and build better lives.

-Meditation A common skill suggested across mental health and general health practice. He tries to instruct Zuko in this ability as one that is key to being able to properly Firebend and to reach in and use innate human power. This concept also connects people to the spirit world built into the mythology of the world.

-taking responsibility w/out victim blaming. Iroh knows Zuko’s backstory built him into this damaged person, but Iroh doesn’t allow him to hurt others through this. Iroh works to teach him to respect his crew, let down boundaries of pride and learn a new way of working in life. But there is never a time Iroh blames Zuko for the abuse he faced. Ozai’s treatment was never Zuko’s fault. They create an ability to simultaneously own your shit but not stew in self-hate

-We also see the structure we often see in productive de-radicalization programs. Zuko is exposed to the people he was taught to hate, facing the humanity and real-world effects of hate usually begin to break through narratives. Iroh lets him into his own point of view that connects all life, he learns the practice of living within balance instead of the belief system jammed into his brain, doesn’t let Zuko uses his past as reason for his behaviour, and acts and expects Zuko to let the humanity of The Earth Kingdom colour his view. The dissidence from his childhood beliefs and the new ones he can’t integrate into his life. This is crucial to his being able to learn the history of the fire nation, even describing the earth kingdom people favourably before his complete transformation.

Learning to use empathy across whole peoples is powerful to deprogram people, he is expected to verbally and through actions show contrition. Zuko is eventually able to connect to this over his indoctrination. The ability to come with humility and not expect the other side to forgive you. Often framed as seeking forgiveness from the people he does not deserve it from. This behaviour can work in reality and seeing played on screen is part of why this arc resonates across the media.

-Iroh helps Zuko find and construct meaning. The loss of a belief system Zuko experiences through his trauma leaves him in horrible confusion. Iroh helps him connect to his past giving a new lens to view the world from. He can’t do so from the position he held before having that structure built for him.

-I mentioned previously Iroh providing Zuko with a degree of control. Long term child abuse often creates either extreme self-reliance or sometimes learned helplessness. Offering both the ability to protect and control his life combined with having his back can combat both of these. Along with the deeply obsessive thought patterns around the avatar.

I truly belive their relationship is hugley important. Two characters who fit simple archetypes at the start are allowed to bloom into deeply strong and complex real feeling characters. Iroh is shown to be powerful, respected, incredibly kind and wise. We can all learn from him, and be shown a powerful love. Zuko’s own arch ahs been seen as groundbreaking for years but without Zuko we wouldn’t have had a person to guide and reflect this. Adding layers to the world and understanding ourslves. 

[Requested by nbj on AO3]

[firelxrdsdaughter]

A Foolish Undertaking Chp 8

Read it on A03!

We’re getting close to the end I think. It’s exciting!! This is the chapter in which Iroh has trouble reconciling with how Ozai has treated his kids 8D

Something inside of Iroh snaps. It rears its ugly head, making him nauseous and rage filled all at once.

VIII

Iroh

Azula is feverish. Iroh wrings out the cloth he has been using to blot at her forehead into the container of cool water that he’d sent Zuko to get the moment that they’d gotten far enough away to stop and make camp in the wood. He places it back on her forehead, and watches her wince at the sudden cold of it.

The slice of iris that he can see past her eyelashes is bright as it settles on him, watching. She’s waiting for something. Perhaps for the other shoe to drop. Azula has learned to be cautious of him and Zuko in the last eight hours of her life, and though Iroh doesn’t think he would have handled the situation quite like this…Zuko had done what worked best at the moment, he assures himself. It makes him feel no better about the state of things.

“How are you feeling,” he asks his niece. Her eyes slide closed momentarily, and he thinks perhaps the pain has finally caused her to lose consciousness, but her eyes open again not long after, wider and more alert than they have seemed since the three of them made camp.

“How do you think,” she answers after a moment. Her pale face is far whiter than usual, skin waxy, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Iroh feels the tight knot in his belly grow harder. His niece is not prone to admitting her weaknesses, or allowing others to see them, this much he knows. She’s cautious at best with her true feelings.

“Your wounds are not good,” he admits to her quietly, glancing down at his cursory splints where they keep her leg immobile to prevent further damage “They are far beyond my abilities to treat effectively. If we do not bring you to a healer then you will likely never be able to walk the same again. It could permanently affect you.”

Perhaps it is cruel to worry her, but Iroh wants Azula to understand the full gravity of the situation. It will make the next leg of their journey together easier on all parties, in Iroh’s opinion.

Azula’s eyes close again, but this time it’s obvious that it is merely because of the pain, and perhaps mental anguish, of her wounds. Iroh tries not to think about the pang in his chest. The sapling that’s grown out of the sympathy that he learned for his niece the moment he heard her say that her mother had called her a monster. It is foolish and sentimental, and he can afford to be neither where is niece is concerned.

Still, Iroh had not been a good man in his younger years, but none of his family members had ever called him a monster.

Perhaps this is exactly what Azula wants, however; this feeling of sympathy. The need to prove to her that he’s not all bad. He hates that it is a gamble with the child. He wants to treat her as a young girl, and not an adult threat, and yet he has little choice in the matter.

“You’re being very brave,” Iroh tries, watching her. Her eyes slide open again, steeled.

“I am a soldier,” she says flatly, “I have endured worse.”

A soldier. The word curls at the base of Iroh’s tongue. He thinks of his beautiful Lu Ten, and the words coming from his lips too. Too young. Too inexperienced in battle. He should not have sent him to command at the front. He had been too willing to let his son play soldier.

Something inside of Iroh snaps. It rears its ugly head, making him nauseous and rage filled all at once.

“No,” he spits the word out, setting aside the bandages he has picked up to re-wind, the turf smacking under his wide palm, “you are not a soldier, princess Azula you are a child.”

The girl seems genuinely surprised, looking at him askance, leaning back into the bedroll that he’s set her upon to do his work. The words spill out of Iroh unbidden but he lets them come as they will.

“Your father has stolen your innocence from you and turned you into a woman before your time! When will you see that an injustice has been done to you and that you do not deserve to have been treated this way? That you are not a weapon, but a person who has yet to figure out who they are? Your brother already struggles with this but at least he had a fighting chance, with your father’s disdain. You have never had a chance in your life simply to be you. And you would go back there? To him? To the life you have been forced to lead so far?”

She searches his face still, swallowing hard. He watches the bob of her throat up and down with the motion.

“Is it so wrong to have a purpose?” She’s still defiant, her chin raised in pride for what has been done with her. Iroh’s grief threatens to overcome him. She is just a child. Agni she is just a child.

“There is nothing wrong with having a purpose, but that purpose should be decided upon by you,” he says. “You should have the right to choose what you wish for your purpose to be, instead of being told what it is by someone who does not have your best interests at heart!”

“You know nothing of my father’s intentions!” Her voice echoes around the clearing. This burst of emotion from Azula is new and unexpected, but it’s what Iroh has been searching for the entire time that he has had her under his care. He might have celebrated under different circumstances.

“Don’t I?” He gives her a pointed look, eyebrows raised as the level of her voice raises to match his previous one, denial thick in her tone. “I watched him grow up. When Fire Lord Azulon could not be there to raise him, I was the one to do it. I know your father very well, young lady.”

Iroh takes in a deep breath, levelling out his emotions, loosening his shoulders.

“You have two options before you, Princess Azula.”

She presses her lips together into a pale, thin, line, and fixes him with a look. Iroh forges forward.

“Either you can decide that you will not cause us more grief, that you will cooperate and not attempt to reinvent what happened in the village today, and I can find you a proper healer who will set the bones well, ensuring that you will have very few complications.” He sets the options out before her like a map, “Or, you can continue to be difficult and cause us problems, and I will leave the bones set as they are, and you can spend the rest of your life handicapped by this injury and likely unable to ever come back as you were. Useless to your father’s cause.”

This last has her face paling yet further, and Iroh nearly feels sorry for saying it, but he cannot afford this emotion, he knows. He has to push it away, and pretend that the idea that she might legitimately choose the second option does not cause him anguish.

“Well?” He sits stone faced, waiting for her answer.

Azula looks away from him, brow furrowed, her lips pursed in that familiar expression of displeasure that she has displayed so often since they kidnapped her. Then she takes a breath, lips parting.

“I will behave myself, uncle,” she promises, voice flat again.

“Good. Then I will take you with me into the next town over and we will find a healer.”

“And until then?”

“Until then, I can only hope that your discomfort will not be overtly intolerable.”

“That’s your drastic measure, is it?”

“I think you should count yourself lucky that it was your brother who took the drastic measures and not me.”

“Says the man who has just informed me that I may never be able to regain normal use of my leg again.”

“I only wish to arm you with the truth, so that you may make an informed decision on the matter,” he tells her truthfully enough. “I will not deny that Zuko’s solution was a little on the extreme side, but you were warned.”

Azula scoffs, disdainful, but does not argue back again. Iroh soaks the cloth in the water once more, wringing it out methodically, and placing it back on the princess’ forehead with a huff and then silence. His amber gaze turns pensively out toward the dark trees surrounding them beyond the scope of the campfire, searching the shadows for any signs of danger.

There are none. He is surprised that they were able to shake the soldiers that Azula had alerted, but he is grateful. He knows well enough that they have only hindered themselves more by wounding her. She cannot move quickly now, and it will mean that only one of them can fight at a time without a handicap.

It feels like the bars of a cage closing around him. Iroh shakes the sensation off.

There is a crunch of undergrowth, the slither of a footfall, and then Zuko reappears from the woods, looking between his uncle and his sister silently, grim. Iroh lets out a breath, and settles himself, smiling briefly at his nephew.

“Any sign of someone following?”

“No. I think we’ve finally lost them. For now.”

Iroh nods, feeling a sense of ease return to him despite his previous rage at the young girl lying at his knees. So he had been right.

“We must discuss where we will go from here, Zuko,” he informs his nephew then. The young man nods in return, settling himself at the far edge of the camp, away from Azula and her sickbed.

Iroh glances down at her. “Don’t go anywhere.” He can’t help but smirk at his own joke. She rolls her eyes at him, but says nothing.

The old man stands, crossing the clearing to sit next to his nephew, a package of dried meat in hand to share with Zuko. The former prince of the Fire Nation murmurs his thanks and takes a bite of the jerky, staring over Iroh’s shoulder at his sister’s still form on the sleeping roll. Cautious.

Even injured, Azula can pose a threat.

“She seems to have seen sense,” Iroh tells him in low tones, “and to understand the gravity of her situation. We will head toward the nearest town starting in the morning. We need to find her a healer, and I must make contact with some old friends in order to make our way easier…”

“Old friends?”

“Yes. I have traveled the world before now, and I have made many friends and acquaintances in my lifetime. They will no doubt be happy to help us out. Especially now that we are truly fugitives from the Fire Nation and not simply…banished Royalty.”

Zuko closes his eyes, breathing out sharply through his nose. Iroh reaches across the short distance between them, squeezing his nephew’s shoulder. The boy cracks an eye open, staring at Iroh in a way that he has not seen before. The old man’s brow screws up in bemusement, wondering at the troubled look on Zuko’s pinched features.

“What is the matter, Zuko?”

For a long pause, the former prince does not answer, but then his lips part, and he takes a breath. “Nothing. It’s…nothing.” He looks away briefly.

“What exactly is your plan, Uncle?”

“To find us somewhere safe to live.”

“Okay but what does that entail? I mean where exactly do you imagine is safe for us now? We can’t really just waltz into any towns without the need for extreme caution. Even if the next town isn’t a Fire Nation colony, that doesn’t mean our wanted posters won’t be out and ready for any bounty hunters that want to bring home a big prize.”

“This is true,” Iroh agrees, “but it is unfortunately something we will have to face regardless. We either face death in the Earth Kingdom if discovered, or we face death in the Fire Nation if we are captured. There are precious few options left to us other than to disappear, at least for a while.”

“But I don’t — !” Zuko presses his mouth into a thin line, much like his sister has a tendency to do. Much like their father in his youth. “I don’t want to disappear into obscurity. I want my throne. I want to be forgiven for — “

“For what, prince Zuko? You never did anything wrong to begin with.”

“Yes I did! I spoke out of turn. Dad banished me to teach me a lesson, not to get rid of me permanently.”

Iroh feels himself sink a little. Zuko is still so naive about this. So blind to the truth. It feels wrong to dash his hopes, but Iroh cannot so easily allow him to continue living in an illusion as he had done before. There had been hope before. There is no turning back from what they have done now.

“I know that that is what you wish to believe, Zuko…But the truth of it is that your father sent Azula to come and arrest us. His intentions were to lock you away in the Fire Nation, not to bring you back into the fold.” He reaches out, pressing his hand to his nephew’s wrist. He squeezes.

“Your father…is not a good example of what a father should be. I know that it is hard for you to accept because you want nothing more than to please him. To be accepted for who you are…But your father is not going to do that. He has demonstrated as much. There are still those in this world who care for you, though, and you are not alone.”

“People like you?” There’s sharp anger behind the question, though it borders on dull and hopeless. Iroh’s brow furrows.

“Yes. People like me.”

Zuko is silent, staring off into the wood, his hands still as they hang over his knees. Iroh cannot quite read whatever slips over his beleaguered features, the conflict within him rising and falling like waves on a remote shore.

“Zuko…”

“I’m tired,” he says glumly. “I’m going to sleep. We should start early if we’re gonna make it to the next town over in good time. Wouldn’t want Azula to be permanently damaged now, would we?”

Zuko’s hand slips out from under Iroh’s grasp, and the old man retracts his touch, letting his hands settle in his lap as he watches Zuko unfurl from where he’d been seated to trudge over to his sleeping roll. The boy hits the ground with a solid thud, grabbing the fabric to pull tightly over his shoulders, a defiant ball staring off into the woods beyond their camp.

Iroh bites back a heavy sigh, taking a piece of jerky for himself, and then returns to his vigil at Azula’s side. When he sees her face he finds that she appears to have fallen into a fitful slumber. He will not bother her for now. She will need this rest and more if she is to heal.

Iroh settles his back against the tree, closing his own eyes.

He surrenders to the peaceful dark of meditation.