one | Tui contemplates some of her life decisions

Shivering, Tui accepted the cup of steaming tea that Iroh was offering her, as she sat on the deck of the ship. Why they were in the southern waters was unknown to her and why she was sitting on the deck of the ship was also a mystery. It was too cold.

"Are you cold, my dear?" Tui nodded. Unlike most born in the Fire Nation, she did not have fire bending abilities, meaning that she could not regulate her body temperature so that it was higher than normal. "Drink some more tea, it shall warm you up."

"Sure..." Tui's teeth chattered, as she gulped down the hot tea. Turning, she watched Zuko pace at the bow of the ship, his entire form tense. "He looks more angsty than normal?"

"My nephew has not yet mastered the act of patience," Iroh said, as he poured more tea into Tui's cup. "But in time, he might."

A bright burst of light bathed Iroh's face in a blue glow, as Tui turned to look at the beam of light shooting from the horizon.

"Uncle, Tui," Zuko called, as the teenage girl turned her gaze onto her angst ridden best friend. "Do you realize what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my conversation with Tui?" Iroh deadpanned, as Tui took another sip of the warming tea, her body finally starting to recover from the cold. Even though, dare Tui say it, she was an accomplished healer, she still had yet to work out how to warm her body up without any fire bending abilities.

"It means my..."

"Our!" Tui called, cutting in to Zuko's speech. She had been travelling with the uncle and nephew for near on three years. She was emotionally invested in this search as much as he was.

"Fine, it means OUR search is about to come to an end," Zuko relented, throwing his arms in the air as Tui took another sip of tea. Iroh was sighing in despair ahead of her, as Tui put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from spitting the tea out everywhere. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him."

"Oh, it's just the celestial lights," Iroh replied, laughing, as Tui struggled to swallow her tea, trying not to spray it across the older general. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing."

Tui finally managed to swallow the tea, watching as Zuko began to smoke in annoyance, dark clouds rolling off him in waves.

"Please, sit," Iroh was still talking to the annoyed teenager. "Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea with us?"

"I don't need any calming tea!" Zuko thundered, as Tui raised an eyebrow. "I need to capture the Avatar!"

"Are you sure? Absolutely positive," He huffed, glaring at her, before going back to ordering people around.

"Helmsmen, head a course for that light," Zuko commanded, before storming off in side, Tui following along behind.

"Zuko," The teenage prince stopped, anger rolling off him in waves and warming the girl up. One good thing about spending a lot of time around fire benders was that they were practically human radiators. "How are you planning to capture a 100 and something year old Avatar who's practically a master of four elements? You are like kind of not that good in comparison."

The teenager crossed his arms, turning to glare down at her. Tui held her hands up in surrender.

"Just saying," His glaring got more vehement, as smoke began to roll off of him once more. "But, if you burn me, I am going to end up stabbing you."

"Please, like you could," Zuko laughed, as Tui mocked it and then kicked his shin as she continued past. "Hey!"

"What?"

"You kicked me!" Tui shrugged. "Healers help, not injure."

"I didn't have my full healers training, remember?" Tui grinned at him, before Zuko rolled his eyes and caught up, the two teenagers going further into the ship for their own rooms.

"When we capture the Avatar, we can go home and you can get your full training," Zuko promised. "Then, when I am Fire Lord, you can be the palace healer and do what you please."

"If we capture the Avatar," Tui reminded, as she reached her room. "You've got to work out how to get him first."

"I'll think of something," Tui highly doubted that his plan would even work. Zuko was known for a lot of plans, but most of the time they didn't truly work, and the rare times that they did, something normally went wrong. It was a special skill of his that Tui hated, cause she had to patch everyone up afterwards. 

"Good luck with that one," Tui waved, before slamming the door in his face and running her hands down her face. Her cabin was warm, a lot warmer than the other cabins due to her non-fire bending abilities. 

One wall was covered with boxes of medicinal herbs, and a go bag in case she was dragged off of the ship for anything along with a few books on medicine and healing that she had picked up along the way. A closet sat on the other side, overflowing with blankets and warmer outfits. 

Opening it, Tui fingered the traditional Fire Nation garments at the back. She had been wearing them the day she left, with Iroh and Zuko. They didn't fit her anymore and it was sort of a harsh reminder about why she left and what the Fire Lord had done that day.

Slamming the door to the wardrobe shut once more, Tui pulled off her shoes and outer clothes, before sliding under the thick covers and blankets that made up the nest she called a bed and trying her best to go to sleep.

When she had first got on the ship, Tui had some trouble falling asleep, but it had gotten better over time. Unless it was an incredibly stormy day, then Tui hated it once more.

Hiya,

So, just a little first chapter to get you introduced to Tui properly and so that you can start to see her interaction between Iroh and Zuko. I actually really like her, she's kind of adorable.

Anyhow, thanks for reading and let me know what you think,

Love Li xx