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[elfuego]

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[hookswords]

[ was this an enormous mistake? probably, but he's got a history of them. tracking the avatar and his team isn't as easy as he'd hoped it would be, but he figures it makes sense: now more than ever they don't want to be found.

it just figures that most of the team would be gone when he finally arrives at what he guesses is their campsite. ]

Heard you defected. [ jet, why are you addressing zuko from a tree, how are you such an insufferable poser. ] Surprised you've held it together this long.

[elfuego]

[ Zuko didn't have to look to figure out who the voice in the tree belonged to. Instead, he sighed wearily and stayed quiet for a while before finally electing to respond. ]

Aang's not here.

[hookswords]

I'm aware.

[ jet waits until he's sure that zuko isn't going to send a blast of fire his way, before he slips from the tree and lands in a slightly defensive crouch. ]

I wasn't talking to him.

[elfuego]

Why shouldn't I hold it together?

[ There's no reason to bend. He's bested Jet before without it, and they both know that. ]

[hookswords]

Firebenders tend to be volatile. [ he's holding still, not approaching. ] How long 'till they're back?

[elfuego]

[ Jet's question was met with a shrug. With this group, there was no telling, but even if he knew, he wasn't going to tell Jet and give him an advantage. ]

Katara's not gonna be happy.

[hookswords]

Why not?

[ he knows- but he wants to know what zuko knows. ]

[elfuego]

[ Unwilling to indulge him - let Jet find out for himself in time - Zuko stays quiet, looking at Jet plaintively. He should know why, and they both know it. ]

Why are you here?

[hookswords]

[ why is he here? fuck, if that isn't the question of the year. ]

... I had intel I thought Aang's group could use.

[elfuego]

Well Aang's not here. [ Zuko repeated, his voice quiet and flat. ] And I know you won't tell me.

[ He shrugs again. ]

Want some tea?

[hookswords]

[ his throat tightens slightly. there was no intel, and - he thought he'd be able to handle it, but the way zuko was snidely playing at hospitality made his blood burn. ]

Fuck off. Maybe I'll just leave a note.

[elfuego]

Sure Jet. [ Zuko breathed out what might have been a chuckle, but for him - was more like a slight disruption. ]

No guarantee I won't read it.

[hookswords]

[ why!! did it have to be zuko!!! he makes a grousing sound, neither getting closer nor stepping away. ]

... how were they? The ones from my crew.

[elfuego]

Good.

[ His shoulders untensed just a little when he nodded. ]

Real good. They fell in with some kids from the Northern Air Temple. Everybody's helping the Avatar.

[hookswords]

Yeah. Knew they would be.

[ he's not trying to keep the pride out of his voice. he's not looking at zuko, either. ]

Why'd you get left behind? Must not trust you yet. Good for them.

[elfuego]

[ The question made him tighten up again because he knew where it was going to lead the conversation, and he did not want that to happen. Not with Jet. Not with anybody - except, maybe Aang.

It was almost comical, how much trust he put in the Avatar now. ]

I had a lead on something. My uncle. It wasn't.

[hookswords]

How'd you manage to lose track of the old man? He's not exactly a subtle presence.

[ jet finally finishes approaching the campsite, and he does a very good - but not perfect - job of hiding how much he's favoring one of his legs. his swords are also nowhere to be seen. ]

[elfuego]

[ He saw the limp, but for the moment, he said nothing about it. He wasn't going to call out Jet's weaknesses if Jet left his alone.

And as luck would have it, of all the questions he might have to field about Iroh - that one actually made him smile - sort of. ]

He busted himself out of jail without me.

[ During an eclipse, without his bending - which was incredible to think about, but Zuko held those details back, knowing it would set Jet off again. ]

[hookswords]

[ that almost-smile rankles the hell out of him. ]

He belongs in jail.

[elfuego]

If the Avatar can't do it, he's the only one who stands a chance against my father.

[ Aang was making progress, but they still needed to find Iroh. ]

[hookswords]

[ jet lapses into silence, frowning at - well, nothing in particular. he's just upset. ]

What do either of you get out of it? I can't figure it out. [ he hates not being able to figure people out. ]

[elfuego]

Get out of what?

[ He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ]

[hookswords]

Defeating the Firelord. Your uncle wants to take over for him?

[elfuego]

My father's going to try and end the war once and for all when Sozin's Comet returns. We have to stop that from happening.

[song_of_fire]

It wasn't unusual for dignitaries or curious wanderers to seek out Daenerys and her dragons. From Qarth to Yunkai, the dragons always seemed to draw a crowd. Such requests had settled for the most part since she had conquered Meereen, but questions still arose in her audiences, mainly by merchants or foreign dignitaries. It had been so long since someone came asking to see her dragons that Dany was open enough to hear such a request. The audiences were public, where any may enter to speak with her, but for this occasion, she dismissed all but Ser Barristan at her side.

The day had been hot and uncomfortable. Despite the cushion provided for her ebony bench, she still was squirming a bit, trying to get comfortable. Set against the backdrop of the giant stairs, she was a small girl, somehow attempting to be regal after a long day. When he entered, he would see that she kept her throne on the same level as the people visiting her. She was dressed in the finery of the city, but removed all of the regalia that belonged to the former rulers of Meereen. There were no dragons in the room, specifically for safety as well as her efforts to keep the populace protected from random attacks.

She was amazed to see someone her age. A boy with dark hair and a telling scar across his eye. She had imagined someone older, more severe. Whatever his age, he was worn and weathered by experience. That much was obvious at first glance. That alone settled her, raising her curiosity even more.

"You are welcome to Meereen." She did her best to sound official. "I understand you have come seeking dragons?"

idk this went down a path

[elfuego]

He had walked, lost, for so long that when the dragons started appearing in his dreams he reached for the thin thread of hope the sight of them gave him.

Maybe it wasn't a sign, but Zuko needed it to be one. The more the dreams came, the more his course shifted out of the Earth Kingdom, following the path of the Skahazadhan River to Meereen. A person didn't need the connections that came with being Crown Prince to hear about what was happening there - to hear about her, the girl they were calling the Mother of Dragons.

What a title - part of him believed it was symbolic. It was the only explanation he had for why there had yet to be any rumors of any Fire Nation trying to hunt whatever dragons there might have been down.

Walking into her throne room he wasn't prepared for the slight shape of the pale-haired girl sitting on the ebony bench. The titles she went by, the accolades that came on the heels of the mention of her name all built her up to be bigger than she was, and older too.

Stopping when she spoke he lifted his fist, pressing against the heel of his palm in a low, respectful bow. "Thank you for seeing me, your majesty." He straightened up, dropping his hands as he swallowed hard. Zuko had not planned past this point. He believed that he needed to meet her, and her dragons, but he didn't know why, or what he expected to get from it.

Planning was something he had still not quite gotten a handle on.

"I'm a refugee from the Fire Nation," he began, knowing he had to say something and feeling a pang of guilt that it had to be a tilted version of the truth. "A bender who defected. We're taught that firebending comes from the dragons, but there are none left." Because of his father and grandfather, he knew, but he didn't know what she would do if she was privy to this information, and he had come this far. He didn't want to fail now because he said the wrong thing.

"But, um - I've been dreaming about them. I think that I've been dreaming about yours. I think your dragons have something to teach me." Until the moment he said it, Zuko had not realized that was exactly why he had traveled so far to meet her and her children. His dreams had pulled him for reasons he could not put a finger on, but now, he was sure he was being called to meet real firebending masters.

So did this

[song_of_fire]

Refugee. That was a term she had sympathy for. Not only for the plight of those forced to flee their homes, but for the idea that they were alone, lost and searching for something. Having grown up far from the home country, she could empathize. Defected as well meant others would want to bring him to harm, much like she had faced several potential assassination plots. As it stood, this man had evoked her interest and sympathy.

She knew what Ser Jorah would say, if he was still present. He would object, warning her that someone who defects can't be trusted. That if she took him in, he would turn on her as well. Fire Bending would trouble him all the more, as it could be deadly and destructive. But he was no longer at her side and she had no interest in listening to someone's jealousy. The boy before her had clearly suffered enough, if his scar was any indication. Further, he had dreamed of her dragons.

There had been some debate among Maesters whether the Fire Nation shared similar blood to the Targaryens, whether through marriage or otherwise. Largely, it was not known. If such secrets existed, they were destroyed along with Valyria, where the Dragon Lords first lived. Hearing that he had dragon dreams, as she did before she birthed her dragons from the flames, it made her wonder if there was some connection.

"I welcome all refugees to my city and if you have defected, so long as you reside in these walls, you are under my protection. As for my dragons," she pursed her lips. Drogon was still missing, but Rhaegal and Viserion were here. One was more gentle, the other more aggressive. It was hard to say how they would respond, but she would still show him the dragons, if he had interest. "Two of my children are locked away for the safety of the citizens. I can take you to them, once you have settled."

[elfuego]

Relieved that she extended her protection to defectors like him, Zuko brushed aside a pang of guilt that came along with the feeling. He knew he wasn't telling her the whole truth and while it didn't sit exactly right with him, for the moment he felt it was a low-risk decision. Besides, if Azula did come it might be better for the young queen if she didn't know anything about who he was.

He brought his arms up, his balled fist meeting his curved palm as he bent in a deeper bow. "You're very generous," there had been times when he had taken advantage of people's kindness, had stolen their ostrich horses, or their tea sets - but he was trying to be better. If his dreams were right maybe he could be better, maybe there was wisdom to be gleaned from these dragons. They still were firebenders, weren't they?

"Fire was given to mankind by the dragons, along with the knowledge of how to bend it," Zuko began his voice was quiet but he spoke without hesitation. He would be deceptive about himself at least for now, at least to some degree, but he wasn't going to mislead her about what brought him to her dragons. They were sacred after all, it felt wrong to tarnish something sacred with mistruth.

"The Fire Nation disgraced themselves, hunting them for glory in the last few generations," he lowered his head, the shame of that fact compounded by the knowledge that it was his great-grandfather who popularized the tradition. "Dragons are the original firebending masters, and I wish to meet yours and learn whatever they might be able to teach me," he bowed briefly. "With your permission, your highness."

[song_of_fire]

She's not so naïve as to doubt that her kindness might be taken advantage of, but if and when that came, she would deal with it as a queen should. For now, he looked weary and likely had traveled far. She wasn't about to turn him away because there was the possibility of betrayal. A queen who trusted no one was as foolish as one who trusted everyone. If he kept something from her, if he had ulterior motives, they would appear in time. For now, he could rest, regain his strength and enjoy her hospitality.

Hadn't she done the same in other cities, before they turned sour and she was forced to leave? That thought made her smile, even knowing Ser Jorah would be urging her to be caution. The queenly disposition was gone for the moment, replaced by her girlish amusement and interest in the stranger before her.

His request though brought a bit of sobriety back to her mind. "I'm afraid I don't know very much about the history of the Fire Nation or the benders, but what I know of dragons is that while they are untamed, they are capricious and unpredictable. I don't have the books that were at the disposal of my ancestors. I'm still trying to train my children." It was going rather poorly at the moment, along with many of her decisions, it seemed.

"If you wish to meet them, you have to understand the risk. Dragons are intelligent, but they are still-" monsters, "wild. If you still want to meet with them and learn from them, I will allow it, but it's no small matter. It could be dangerous for you."