The instincts of Healers and Nomads

by Thisisentertaining

Summary:

Zuko is, surprise surprise, on the run once again. At least this time he has Uncle, someone to watch his back and someone he can trust to know absolutely everything about his past, his identity.

Now he just has to find his friends before they do something stupid.

He isn't holding his breath.

Especially since apparently, Uncle is no better than him at identifying what plants are good to make tea out of, and which ones are poison.

Notes:

I'm back!!!! Thank you everyone for your patience with me, but busy season is over and I am happy to be back to writing!!! As the Blue Spirit Howls is going to get an update soon as well, so if anyone also follows that story that should be coming soon.

Also, exciting news!!! I got engaged!!! So I'm pretty much dancing on air right now!
Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Also, You guys if you want, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND looking back at some of the other stories/ chapters in this series. I have been getting some amazing fan art from CountessRose and Naiya Dyani! Also, Countess Rose has made an INCREDIBLE Podfic of several of the first few stories, so go check out her work!!

CountessRose has done podfics/ fan art for the following:
-Instinctual
-Divided Instincts
-Instincts to Guide in the Storm
- A Spirit's Instincts
- A Fortuneteller's Instinct
-Bato's Instincts
- Some of A Deserters Instincts

Naiya Dyani made some art for these chapters:
-Chapter 2 of The Instincts of the Airwalkers
-Chapter 6 of Cold Hard Instincts
- Bonus Chapter of Cold Hard Instincts

Chapter 1

Zuko grinned as a quick snap of his wrists brought the fish on his hook flopping onto the shore of the riverbank. Thank goodness he had spent so much time fishing with Sokka, otherwise he would have been stuck trying to figure out how to stab the fish with a pointy stick of something stupid like that, and who knows if he would have gotten anything at all. Now though, this fish wouldn’t be a feast, but it would make a good meal for both Uncle and him. It would be difficult to scale and eat the fish without any kind of knives or utensils… but they’d made do on the raft, they could make do here.

At least they didn’t have to worry about cooking it, Zuko was pretty sure they had that handled. 

And it was so good to know that again, to be able to trust his flame to come on command, a security that he had missed dearly and desired desperately. It was back, and sometimes Zuko had a hard time believing he had it again. Sometimes, he would feel that pulsing flame and wonder how on earth something that was so central to him had ever been gone. Zuko paused, a glimpse of white out of the corner of his eyes. He smiled as he walked through a grove of familiar large red and white flowers.

Well, at least Uncle would get a kick out of this story. He didn’t think he had mentioned it on the raft, but it was funny. Kinda.

It sounded funny when his friends teased him about it, at least.

Uncle was quietly feeding a small fire as Zuko walked up to their makeshift campsite, his back to his nephew. The teen laid the fish out on a flat rock, starting to hack at it with a sharp rock that he had sanitized earlier through life-giving flame.

“Uncle, I just saw a huge grove of these white flowers, and I don’t know what they’re really called, but the first time I saw them I thought they looked like the illustration on that one type of tea you kept on the high shelf. I tried to make tea with it, but none of the others would drink it, they said it smelled weird. It must be a different plant though, because I got super sick, I ended up puking in the fishing hole because I wouldn’t sit down. Luckily Katara has her healing powers, otherwise I think it could have been really bad.” He chuckled, despite being certain that he was not framing this story in a way that would have made it funny like he’d intended. He was… not always good at picking up what was funny or why. “The others, uh, they tease me about it because I had shouted ‘I’m fine!’ Um, anyway, I’m not going to make that mistake again, those flowers can just be left alone.”

“Ah, nephew, I am glad to hear that your botany skills have improved on your travels. Unfortunately… mine are apparently still subpar.”

Zuko turned, horror striking in his heart to see familiar splotches scattered across his uncles skin, elderly hands already moving to scratch what he knew to be painful rashes. “Uncle!” He shouted, jumping to his feet and angrily tossing out the teapot. Where had uncle even- it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting help.

The man winced, but smiled. “No need to worry, Nephew, look what I found!” He brandished a branch with a few unfamiliar berries clinging to it. “These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the White Jade, the flowers that we discovered. That, or maka’ole berries, which can cause blindness.”

With a growl of frustration, Zuko snatched the berried from his grip and threw it onto the dying fire that had been used to brew the tea. “We’re not taking any more chances on these plants!” He snarled, frustration-fear brewing through him. “We need to get help.”

“But where would we go? We’re enemies of the Earth Kingdom and fugitives from the Fire Nation.”

Zuko scoffed. “What else is new? Welcome to my life, Uncle. Come on, we need to hurry. If we follow the river we are bound to end up in an Earth Kingdom town eventually, and I learned better than to wait on getting Fire Nation medicine. We just have to hope we can get there in time.” With that, he began stalking through the trees, following the lake.

“But wait!” Iroh called from behind. “What about your fish? Can’t we stop for lunch?”

Zuko snorted. “You decided to take afternoon tea instead. Come on , Uncle!”

---

Sokka flopped to the ground as Chong started up another round of annoying music. They didn’t have time to waste and- and sing stupid songs that weren’t even good. They started babbling about special worms and waterfalls, and all Sokka could think of was Zuko trying (and failing) to pretend to be impressed at the Great Divide. “I wish Zuko was here.” He mumbled. “One firey temper tantrum and we’d be left alone to actually go .”

Katara rolled her eyes, though she kept her head steady so as not to disrupt Lily’s braiding. “I don’t think that would go how you’re thinking.”

“Yeah,” Aang laughed, straightening the flower crown on his head. “Zuko probably already knows all of these songs.”

Sokka groaned. “I hate that you’re right. Look, I hate to be the wet blanket, but since Katara is busy, I guess it’s up to me. We need to get to Omashu, no sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows.”

“Wow,” Chong said breezily. “Sounds like someone has a case of destination fever. You’re worried too much about where you’re going.”

Lily nodded, accidentally pulling on Katara’s hair as she contributed, “You got to focus less on the where and more on the going.”

Sokka growled. “O. Ma. Shu!”

Katara sighed, freeing her hair from the other woman’s grasp. “Sokka’s right. We need to find King Bumi, so Aang can learn earth bending somewhere safe.”

Chong brightened. “Sounds like your headed to Omashu.”

Sokka facepalmed.

Katara hummed. “Okay, so maybe you were right about Zuko.”

---

Zuko pulled Iroh into the clinic, entirely certain that the man was playing up his sickness, but also entirely not willing to risk it, especially as the rash grew higher and higher. “Excuse me!” He called out as they neared, pushing through the doors to the crowded room. “Please, help my Uncle! He drank a bad tea.”

“The tea was actually delicious.” Iroh protested. “Just not worth the cost.”

“Not helping, Uncle.” Zuko ground out as a girl Zuko’s age broke from where she had been grinding something in a mortar and pestle.

She led Iroh to a bed, asking rapid-fire questions to determine that it really had been tea, and was not some sort of contagious disease. By the time they made it to the bed, she finally seemed convinced that it had actually been the poisonous plant. “You two must not be from around here. We know better than to touch the White Jade, much less make it into tea and drink it.”

Iroh moved to scratch at his face and the woman smacked the hand away without hesitating, showing surprisingly adept reflexes. The old man chuckled. “Woops! My Nephew did recognize them and tried to warn me, unfortunately by then it was too late.”

The girl cast Zuko a large smile that had him squirming. “Good thing one of you recognized the local flora. So, where are you traveling from?”

“Gaipan.” Zuko said, at the same time that Uncle answered ‘Kyoshi island’.

There was a small moment of awkward silence before Iroh hummed ,though his expression was hidden behind the swelling in his face. “We had been separated for many years. We only just were able to reconnect and begin travelling together again.”

The woman nodded. “I’ve heard of refugees accidentally getting separated before. That must have been scary.”

Zuko squirmed again. He hated being deceptive, but he had learned that sometimes it was best to just be silent and let people make their own wrong assumptions. That had helped both inside the cave and since he left it. Especially as he had to lay low and hide his identity, Luckily, the woman didn’t seem to want a response, as she soon followed it up with “So, do you have names?”

“Lee.” Zuko answered immediately. “And this is my Uncle…….” Why was he blanking on every name? What was a name? Did names exist? “…Mushi.”

Iroh made a face at Zuko, the closest thing to a glare he’d sent the boy since reuniting, before resigning himself to his fate. And name. Maybe Zuko should have let him introduce himself.

“Mushi and Lee, huh.” The woman continued, not seeming to register anything odd about the names. “My name is Song. So, uh, Lee did you hear about what happened in Gaipan?”

Zuko’s mouth went dry, as the first wave of terror flashed through him at the name of the town. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so honest. “You mean the flooding?”

“Yeah. If you hadn’t heard yet, everyone made it out! So that’s good. A lot of people are trying to settle into new communities though, instead of trying to rebuild. One of them is actually my new apprentice! Maybe you’ll know him, he should be back soon with some herbs I sent him out for.”

Zuko shrugged, uninterested in meeting anyone from the town. They wouldn’t recognize him anyway. The teen rubbed at the wrist that had once been covered in shackles and was still encased in scars. He was oblivious to how Iroh’s gaze sharpened on him, a protective sheen in them.

With her eyes locked on Iroh and the medicine she was applying, Song completely missed Zuko’s reaction. She instead continued her friendly chatter. “You two look like you could use a good meal. Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

Iroh opened his mouth, clearly ready to agree, but Zuko steered him back on track. Er, at least he tried to. “Sorry, but we need to be moving on.”

“That’s too bad.” The woman cooed. “My mom always makes too much roast duck.”

Iroh straightened. “Where do you live exactly?”

“We have a timeline, Uncle. The more time we delay the further away my friends get. Roast Duck is not a good excuse to change plans.” He was nearly yelling at the end, but not quite, wanting to get his point across, but not necessarily willing to become  an attraction for the other patrons to laugh at.

Iroh’s eyes twinkled, and he opened his mouth to reply, but they were interrupted by a crash from outside the buildings, followed by the sounds of rushing feet running towards them. Zuko blinked in surprise, eyes shooting to the doorway as the running feet came ever and ever closer, only for his heart to freeze in horror as the door slammed open.

From the archway, Meddi-Man stared at him as shocked and horrified as the day Jet had dragged him to the cave. 

 

Chapter 2

Notes:

Hey Everyone!! Next Chapter up!!

Also, sorry that I haven't been replying to comments, I did fix the Flora/fauna typo last chapter, thanks to everyone who pointed it out!! Unfortunately, with wedding planning and the holidays, I can't promise I will be able to respond to them as much as I would like, but I'm going to try to start again, and I want you all to know I appreciate every single one so so much, so please continue leaving them!!

ALSO!!! FANSTASTIC FANART/PODFICS for older chapters!!!
CountessRose has done podfics/ fan art for the following:
-Instinctual
-Divided Instincts
-Instincts to Guide in the Storm
- A Spirit's Instincts
- A Fortuneteller's Instinct
-Bato's Instincts
- Some of A Deserters Instincts

Naiya Dyani made some art for these chapters:
-Chapter 2 of The Instincts of the Airwalkers
-Chapter 6 of Cold Hard Instincts
- Bonus Chapter of Cold Hard Instincts

TW: References to half-fire-nation-half-Earth-kingdom kids, and it is implied that the mothers were not necessarily safe in those instances. It is not in detail, but if you would like to skip that section, I recommend skipping from "What story?" to "And Meddi-Man?"

Zuko immediately stepped backwards, widening his stance to block Iroh from the newcomer until he was crouched in an offensive pose, hands clenching and unclenching impotently. Faced with a specter from his past, Zuko couldn’t even be of sound enough mind to summon flames. For so long when facing Jet and his ilk, his flames had been beyond his grasp. Like a dog domesticated out of its bite, his captivity had rewired his instincts to the point that he no longer responded to the threat correctly. Instead he snarled, a sound closer to dragon than human as he clenched his hands into fists and roved his eyes over the small hut in search of any weapon greater than his bare hands.

From behind him, Iroh’s jovial manner immediately fell, and the man straightened. “Do we need to leave, Nephew?” The man asked, his voice slightly hoarse as his throat swelled. From behind Zuko, Song gasped, spouting out denials and insisting that the man stay, but the words were little more than indistinct gurgles to Zuko’s ears.

The scarred teen couldn’t reply, trapped between two nightmares, a haunting from his past and the possible destruction of the future he fought for.

However, the noise seemed to shake Meddi-Man, who suddenly blinked out of his mannequin-like stillness and immediately stepped back, stumbling on legs that seemed entirely numb until he fell, crashing to the floor. “N-n-no!” He yelled from the ground, throwing out a hand that Zuko flinched away from before he forced himself to face the threat. “No, don’t go, he needs more help. I wasn’t-I’m not- I won’t do anything, I swear! You can stay here!”

Suddenly, Zuko was done with this, and a snarl left his lips once more. “We can stay, can we? We can stay long enough for you to tell the rest of your band of criminals. We can stay for long enough for Jet to try and take me back, or decide I’ve seen too much and kill me outright. I’m not falling for that! Why do people keep assuming I’m gullible or- or trusting?” He growled out, nearly shaking at fury at the now-cowering teen, though he didn’t move from his spot.

He felt like he couldn’t move.

Song stepped forward from behind Zuko, and the teen immediately whirled, fists raised and body poised for an attack as he ensured both strange teens were in his eyesight. Uncle had moved even before him, throwing up an arm to prevent the girl from moving any closer.

Song looked nervous, but determined. “I don’t know the story, but Meidi isn’t going to hurt you. He may come from a… troubled past, but he’s worked hard to improve himself here. He has taken the Healers Oath to do no harm. Whatever you’re afraid of, you don’t have to be scared here, I promise.”

Scared? Zuko wasn’t scared. He was angry. Furious. Incandescent with rage. Seething.

Terrified.

“It’s true!” Meddi-Man, Meidi now apparently. The boy hadn’t moved from his spot on the ground, hands held up non-threateningly. He looked the picture of meekness, as if that mattered. As if an oath mattered. Even if one of Jet’s men had the honor to keep to an oath, it made no difference to Zuko. “We split up! After everything in Gaipan we couldn’t- we all split up. The kids scattered, even most of the Freedom Fighter left Jet! I don’t have any reason to- I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You never did.” The oath didn’t matter. Meddi-Man had never had to hurt him. He just had to stand by and watch everyone else do it. The younger teen flinched back at the venomous words, catching the meaning behind what Zuko said as easily as if the firebender had said them outright.

For a moment silence hung in the clinic, not even the sickly daring to cough as the standoff continued.

“Nephew,” Iroh suddenly broke the silence, moving to stand. “Let’s go.”

“No!” Song suddenly broke out, moving in yet another fast movement that had Zuko moving in anticipation of attack. “No, Mushi, you need more of the medicine. The rashes are only uncomfortable, but if you don’t drink the medicine once an hour, then your throat may still close. Please, I swear to you nothing will happen here.”

Meddi-Man nodded vigorously, but had been cowed against speaking. Zuko scowled, looking between the teen on the ground, and an Uncle that was standing strong but already starting to breathe heavier, and he growled. “Fine.” He finally allowed, tension in every line of his body. “But he doesn’t get near my uncle, and he doesn’t leave my sight.”

The woman pursed her lips, no doubt tracking the added complications of complying with such a request, but Meddi-Man quickly agreed so she nodded as well. She went back to applying the medicine to Uncle with slightly shaking hands, though her expression remained steadfast.

Broken of whatever had been holding him still, Zuko stalked closer to the younger teen, crouching down until he was barely above him as he spoke softly. “And if I hear so much as a single note of any of those sun-cursed whistles, you’ll see exactly how much I had been held back.”

The boy nodded vigorously, and Zuko stood, positioning himself in a stool that allowed him to see into the yard, giving the boy a bit more freedom to move. Meddi-Man shakily got to his feet, constantly looking back at Zuko as he moved back into the yard and collected the supplies that he had dropped in his mad dash to follow the hauntingly familiar voice.

All throughout two golden eyes, one creased into an ever-present glare, tracked his movements without faltering.

“So…” Iroh said from behind, lightheartedness returned to his voice though not his posture nor his laser-sharp gaze. “I take it that offer for roast duck is off the table.”

---

Sokka grumbled to himself, stumbling over an uneven patch of cave. Of course the Fire Nation had catapults now. Also, apparently, helping the Water Tribe almost decimate the Fire Nation navy had ruined their somewhat lower profile. It hadn’t been much of one, but apparently there actually had been a difference between one overly determined mutton-chopped freak and a few feeble wanted posters, and the entire army and nation being after them.

Go figure.

Oh, and of course, it wasn’t enough that they were on the run from the Fire Nation, in a labrynth that had apparently confused enough people that it was infamous, and was apparently ‘cursed’. No. On top of all that, the nomads were still singing.

Zuko could have fried that guitar-banjo-thing with a single breath. Hmm…. Could boomerang do it?

Of course, Zuko also could have provided infinite-light, which these 2-hour torches definitely didn’t promise.

That is, assuming they could have gotten him in the cave in the first place. Which was… unlikely. He probably would have insisted on going around it alone and meeting them somewhere or something. Which Aang wouldn’t have stood for and Katara would have hated and even- AGH WHY WASN’T THIS MAP WORKING?

Okay, it was fine. It was fine. No one had to know, he just had to play it cool and-

“Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you’ve led us to.” Katara complained.

Crap. Little sisters were the worse. “This doesn’t make sense.” He said instead, showing basic survival instincts. “We already came through this way.”

“We don’t need a map.” Chong said in the same exact tone he said everything. “We just need love. The little guy knows it.” He nodded at Aang.

“Yeah,” the Avatar said sheepishly. “But I wouldn’t mind a map also.”

Sokka scowled at his map. “There’s something strange here.” This didn’t make any sense. He knew how to make a map. His father and other elders had passed cartographer skills to him that his people had been honing for generations. But something about this… it was like he was taking the tricks for mapping out inland plains with little precipitation and changes, and trying to apply them to the shorelines where the shifting ice and blowing winds could change the land by the hour, and you had to rely on something other than landmarks to mark the way.

Wait…

“There’s only one explanation. The tunnels are changing.”

The nomads immediately started panicking, and in his fear and frustration, Sokka fired back sarcastically, their voices raising until Katara hushed them.

“Everyone be quiet. Listen.”

For a moment, Sokka didn’t hear whatever his sister had, but then, a low snarl ripped through the cavern, heralding the approach of a gigantic wolfbat. Sokka yelped as the creature came straight for his face, swinging the torch at the beast and accidentally flinging ashes onto the bison’s rear. Aang’s familiar reacted to the pain, roaring and thrashing until rocks began to fall. As the dust cleared, Sokka glanced up to see that where there had once been a tunnel, there was now a solid wall of rocks. They were separated, and trapped in a cursed labyrinth hundreds of feet below the mountain and away from the sun.

For the first time since they split, Sokka thought that it was a good thing that Zuko wasn’t there.

---

Zuko grumbled and leaned against the outside wall of the clinic, watching Meddi-Man with a discerning eye. Amazingly, Song hadn’t taken the offer of roast duck off the table, but both he and Uncle knew that they could never take her up on the offer. Even if it was perfectly safe like the young woman promised, Zuko could never turn off the alarm going off in his head that screamed ‘danger’, not for long enough to eat a pleasant meal. The firebender had quickly gone outside after that conversation, ostensibly to watch the apprentice healer better, but more to sit in the sun.  

It made Zuko guilty, made him anxious, made it unbearable to be in the room, knowing that Iroh was disappointed. Not disappointed in him, Iroh had made that clear, but still. They’d had nearly nothing to eat since escaping the spa, and had little to look forward to beyond what they could forage for the next several days or weeks. This was the last good opportunity that they would have for fresh food for a while, and Zuko had ruined it.

He wished he could take it back, make it okay, but everything about this place felt like an enemy now, and he felt like he was crawling out of his skin. Which was why he was able to turn to face Song when she stepped out, despite the fact that she had moved nearly silently. The young woman handed him a small jar.

“What’s this?” He asked suspiciously, glancing inside to see an off-white paste.

“It’s a salve. It should soften your scar a bit, make it so it doesn’t pull as bad.”

Zuko blinked in surprise, touching the mess of red skin. “Really?”

“Yeah, it… it works really well.” She shifted her skirt, pulling it up to reveal ropey scars spanning her leg. Zuko inhaled sharply in shock. “When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away. That was the last time I saw my father.”

Zuko glanced away, unable to look upon the sins of his people. His family. His father. “I haven’t seen my father in many years.”

“Is he fighting in the war?”

Zuko scowled. The worst part was, he wasn’t really. Other than his 13 year old sister, Ozai was the only member of the royal family who had never even seen combat.  He commanded a battlefield while never stepping foot out of his palace. “I’m glad I haven’t seen him.” Zuko spat. “My father… isn’t a good man.”

The woman’s eyes softened in a painfully familiar way. The way the blacksmiths eyes had back in the village with Aunt Wu. The look of someone who thought that they knew his story. Someone who could never know how wrong they were. “I have heard that story before as well.”

Zuko eyed her warily. “What story?”

Song bit her lip, clearly searching for words. “Kids with bad fathers who are fighting the war… but not in the way we wish. Kids with eyes like yours.” Zuko inhaled sharply. “They don’t always have scars like you, but… a lot of them do. We usually have to hide them, and their mothers. The Fire Nation has hurt you. But…”

“But what?” Zuko asked, voice raspy as he tried to process what she was saying.

“But the Earth Kingdom has hurt you too, hasn’t it?”

Zuko flinched back, holding his arm protectively to his chest, gripping his wrist and looking away.

Song’s eyes were so soft it was almost painful again. “It’s dangerous, looking like one of them in the Earth Kingdom. Especially if you’re young. And alone. We’ve seen… a lot here, in this clinic, refugees of all ages, some which looked even more Fire Nation than you.”

Unlikely, as part of the royal family he was technically he was legally the face of the Nation, but he understood her attempt at… comfort? “What happens to them?”

“We try to help them when we can, send them on their way as safely as possible when we can’t.”

“And Meddi-Man?”

“I… I know Meidi comes from- from something bad. He said as much when he came to our clinic, that he was running away from a life where he… wasn’t a good person. We watched him very carefully those first few weeks. At first he was very wary when working with people with Fire features, but he was eager to help. I know that I don’t know the whole story, and that it must be… it must be really bad, but I assure you, he has proven himself trustworthy here. He’s changed.”

Zuko met eyes with her, searching the young woman’s gaze. “If that’s true, then why did he sneak away the second I stopped watching him.”

Her eyes widening, the woman whirled, scanning the now-empty garden. She jumped to her feet, worry in her eyes. Zuko simply shook his head. “Go, take care of your patients. I’ll handle him.”

Zuko stood, moving directly to the area of woodland where the younger teen had disappeared as Song ducked back into the clinic. He had to hurry before Song told Uncle what had happened. Uncle needed his rest.

Also, Zuko wasn’t entirely sure exactly how protective the retried general was and what he would do, but Meddi-Man wouldn’t want to find out.

Zuko stepped through the tall grass, fully prepared to try and track the healer, only to freeze immediately. The grass gave way to a large pond with a thin, shallow shoreline that was naturally clear of any plant or brush. Meddi-man was on the small shore, bowed fully prone facing Zuko. The Fire Nation teen, who had been moving as silently as he ever did, snarled. “What’s this?”

Meddi-Man jumped, clearly not realizing how close Zuko had gotten. “I’m sorry.” He blurted. “I-I know it’s- I know that’s not enough after what I- What we- what you- after everything. It’s just- it’s just words but I don’t know how else to- I’m so sorry. It was- Keeping you captive like that, make-making you fight- It was a bad thing to do and- and I’m a bad person for doing it and that sounds so incredibly stupid and trivial b-but I don’t know what else to say. It was bad and it was wrong and I regretted it every day that I did it, and I regret it more with every day when I think about what it must have been like. I’m just- I’m so sorry.”

Zuko paused. This… was not what he had been expecting, but apparently, Meddi-Man had been practicing this little speech. He’d even slipped away so that he didn’t accidentally out Zuko to Song. The Firebender sighed, flopping onto the ground and sitting sieza-style. It felt right, having a distinctly Fire Nation pose for this conversation. “You’re sorry, huh?”

“It – I- I don’t even have an excuse, or at least not one that is actually good I just…”

“Then why did you do it?” Zuko asked, burdened by the question. Meddi-Man… had confused him more than the others, in a way that was almost worse. The others clearly had no sympathy for him, no care or worry or concern. He was a tool at best and an enemy at worst. Meddi-Man though, he always had an uncomfortable look, a hesitation. He hadn’t helped Zuko escape, but he had made sure that the damage to him was minimal. He had insisted on dulled weapons and had done what he could to bring Zuko from the brink of death when he lost his bending. He had insisted on the medical care and food that had kept Zuko functioning. The kid was no saint, but… he had been different, and it had been hard sometimes to reconcile that with someone who left him to get tortured.

“I was scared.” The younger teen said, still in his formal bow. “I was scared of- of you. That you would be like the soldiers that killed our parents and destroyed our homes. B-but I realized you weren’t like that, after a few days. But then I… I was scared of Jet, and of speaking up against him.”

Zuko sighed heavily. Maybe he really was as soft as his father complained, because somehow, despite the lingering fear, his anger had fizzled. He understood that fear. He had overcome it once, and had suffered for it. “That makes sense.”

For the first time, the other boy looked up. “What?”

“Maybe I’m biased because I hate Jet, like really hate him, but I mean… he was obviously willing to kidnap random kids and torture them, which you saw. Who knew what he would do to you?”

“I-I mean, I was part of his team. I shouldn’t have been so scared to argue with him. He wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“How would you know?”

“What?”

Zuko shrugged. “I never saw anyone really defy him. Did you?”

“Well- I, no…”

“Then we can’t know what he would have done when someone did.”

Meddi-Man was quiet for a moment. “He was different, around you. Normally he wasn’t so… he was just different.”

The Fire Nation teen scoffed, but didn’t see a point in arguing. “So that’s it, then? I escape and you have a sudden change of heart?”

“Not… exactly. It wasn’t you. It was Gaipan. I- we- no one understood how far Jet was willing to go, what he was willing to do. Even the Freedom Fighters who were helping with the flood, I don’t think any of them realized just how bad it was, or what it meant. Not really. I just… it was a wake up call, for all of us. We split up as soon as the kids realized Jet was behind it. I actually… I came to let you out, you know? Pipsqueak and Smellerbee were both there already to do the same thing. It was like, when we saw how bad Jet could be, we realized how bad he’d been the entire time. But you were gone, obviously. I helped some of the kids find places to go and then I just… wandered. Until I showed up here. Song and her mom are wonderful people, they are actually trying to help people. I… I changed, I swear. I just want to… do better. Be better.”

Zuko watched him steadily, then nodded. “I’m… working on that too. Sometimes, you can go your whole life thinking that you know how to be good, only to realize… you were wrong. Then you have a lot of work to do what’s really right.”

“Yeah…”

Chapter 3

Notes:

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! Praise to the Lord for the savior, come to Earth!

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

For my readers who do not celebrate Christmas, I hope that you are able to enjoy the season, spend time with loved ones, or at least curl up with some choice seasonal 'fake date for the holidays but what if we really fell in love? lol just kidding... unless' fanfics and enjoy the day!

QUICK SHIPPING NOTE: I am not really a romance writer, and all of my fics most romance, if any, is very much a B (or maybe even C) plot to the story and I don't focus on it. So, this fic will be 75-80% Gen, with a couple of soft nods to canon relationships thrown in for season, because they're already established. I apologize to the Zukka fans. I wanted to point it out here because it is the Cave of the Two Lovers, and characters like Mai are coming in soon.

Also, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND looking back at some of the other stories/ chapters in this series. I have been getting some amazing fan art from CountessRose and Naiya Dyani! Also, Countess Rose has made an INCREDIBLE Podfic of several of the first few stories, so go check out her work!!

CountessRose has done podfics/ fan art for the following:
-Instinctual
-Divided Instincts
-Instincts to Guide in the Storm
- A Spirit's Instincts
- A Fortuneteller's Instinct
-Bato's Instincts
- Some of A Deserters Instincts

Naiya Dyani made some art for these chapters:
-Chapter 2 of The Instincts of the Airwalkers
-Chapter 6 of Cold Hard Instincts
- Bonus Chapter of Cold Hard Instincts

Zuko looked out to the pond, thinking about what to do next as they shared a moment of silence and understanding. It was broken by Meddi-Man after a moment. “So uh, sometimes people come through who I’m pretty sure are actually, er, who remind me of you.”

Zuko froze. “In what way?”

“Um, in the” He made a punching motion, finished with jazz hands as though to indicate flames. “Way.”

“You’re sure?” Zuko questioned, mind casting back to Song’s comment about people who looked even more Fire Nation than him.

“Yeah. Not a lot, but they’ll come through and… well I know what Fire Nation soldiers wear under their armor, we looted from them enough. And they always have bags that they won’t let us look in after a few days they suddenly just disappear. And Song always has them in bed for way longer than they need because they always seem to be running a fever. I just, like I said I changed. I want to help them, really help them, so… whats the best way to treat them?”

“Like people.” Zuko snarled, the earlier anger simmering back up. It settled back down away when the other boy flinched back. He sighed. “Citrus fruit is good for them if you can spare it. If they have bad sneezes or hallucinations, make sure the bandages aren’t too flammable. A chill hits us worth than a fever does. Also, whatever you are considering a ‘fever’ add like 5 degrees. We just run warmer than non-benders.”

Now the teen looked quizzical. “You didn’t. Not for a while at least, I guess you were warm for the first couple months, but…”

Zuko scoffed, looking away and refusing to answer. He would not give the boy everything. Some secrets were still his to protect.

Awkward silence hung for several moments before the banished prince spoke again. He… still wasn’t sure that he trusted the younger teen, not really. He was pretty sure that it would have been smarter not to trust him. But sometimes… you had to take a risk. “You said that you did what you knew was wrong, because you were afraid of what would happen if you spoke up, right?” 

The other teen looked away, shamefaced. “Yeah…”

“In the Fire Nation, we know exactly what would happen. In the Nation proper, far away from the conflict and the people, they can spin the war. They make it seem just, honorable, and right. We’re lied to. By the time soldiers get somewhere that they can really see… punishment for defecting is death. Usually one that is painful and public. The families of deserters are shamed, looked down on, and neglected. There have been so few successful deserters that the Fire Nation knows each one by name.” The 41st division didn’t count, they were presumed dead because of extreme circumstances. Zuko doubted that was a common occurrence. “Any member of the Fire Nation who would try to do the right thing faces near certain death for themselves, and extreme hardships for their family. They don’t have to wonder. They know.”

“O- oh.” 

“The people that you treat that are… like me. If you think any of them want to do the right thing, if you think any of them are willing to risk it…  send them to the north. There is a Fire Nation colony in between the fork of two rivers. Tell them to say that they were sent by the boy who learned Pai Sho from his uncle.” 

Meddi-man blinked, eyes wide and intrigued. “Woah, is that some kind of secret Fire Nation code or something?” 

“Something like that. They should be able to get help disappearing there. And any Fire Nation soldiers off the battlefield is a good thing, right?” 

“Right! Wait, right? I thought you… why would you… all the time in the cave you went on and on about protecting your people and not giving up their secrets and stuff. To be honest, I don’t really get why I wasn’t like, fried the second we were alone.” 

Zuko snorted. “The Fire Nation isn’t the Fire Lord, and it isn’t this war. It was once… it is great. But all we are doing with that ‘greatness’ is making everyone else fear and hate us. The war isn’t right. In the cave, I thought I had no destiny, that I was going to die there and be forgotten.” Meddi-Man winced, but Zuko was hardly paying him any attention. “But now I know, my destiny is to teach the Avatar firebending and help bring balance back to the world. And that’s what I’m going to do.” 

“Cool.” The nerdy teen breathed. “You really think he can do it?” 

“I know he can.” 

The boy nodded, fixing his glasses. “I’ll- I’ll do what I can, make sure that everyone I send to that village knows that a firebender named Lee helped them.” 

The prince nodded. “Thank you. But… tell them it was Zuko.” 

“Who?”

---

If Sokka heard one more out of tune love song, he was Going. To. Scream.                             

“Even if you’re lost, you can’t lose the love because it’s in you heart!” Chong crooned.

Yep. Screaming time.

However, before he could so much as open his mouth, low growls echoed among the rocks. Suddenly, a verifiable pack of wolfbats streamed past them, squeaking and growling as Sokka flailed with his torch. The beasts didn’t spare him a glance, brushing past with heavy wings.

“Hey! You saved us, Sokka!” Chong cheered.

The boy shook his head. No, that wasn’t right. He didn’t know wolf-bats, but he knew seal-bats, and unless something was very wrong, or his torches had lasted way longer than expected, something was very very wrong for them to be moving like that. “No, they were trying to get away from something!”

“From what?”

Suddenly, the cave around them shook and crumbled, sending Sokka stumbling and nearly knocking him off of his feet. Suddenly, a beast the size of Appa just, burst through the wall like it was a loose snow drift, roaring and making the cave close off around him.

On the plus side, he wasn’t crazy and the mountains were changing.

On the minus side, no one would ever know because he was about to die.

The animal separated him from the other, swiping with claws nearly as long as his body and wicked sharp. Sokka frantically crawled away, until his hands accidentally brushed against a lute, sending a melody that had the badgermole pausing.

Well, here’s hoping that wasn’t a coincidence. Sokka grabbed the instrument, clumsily strumming vaguely-musical notes.

“Hey!” Chong yelled, for once quick on the uptake. “Those things are music lovers!”

Sokka nervously sang, “Badgermoles coming toward me. Come on guys, help me out!”

Of course, the nomads wasted no time in starting up an impromptu concert. Surprising, how that was suddenly less annoying now that it was potentially saving their lives. Sokka sighed in relief then grinned. Okay, it was time to see just how much music soothed the savage beast.

Zuko was never going to believe this one.

---

Katara huffed, fury running through her. Really, that story had been so lovely and sad, but inspiring all the same. She’d though, I mean, it wasn’t like she thought Aang liked her like that. Well, she thought he might. Maybe. And she thought she might, and it would have been nice to-

But apparently, she had been wrong.  Aang ‘definitely wouldn’t want to kiss her’ and now she was angry and embarrassed.

She was disappointed. It was easier to focus on the other two things, though, so that’s what she was doing.

“We’re going to run out of light any second now, aren’t we?” Aang asked.

Suddenly, all the anger and embarrassment flooded out of her, because more than anything, she was scared. He was right. They were on their last torch, and they were lost even without the light. She had no clue what would happen when the light went out, and it was terrifying. “I think so.” She admitted, pausing to make eye contact with him.

She couldn’t hold onto her anger, not now.

“Then, what are we going to do?” He asked, sounding so far from the all-powerful bender he was destined to be. He was just a kid. Her friend.

“What can we do?” She asked. She moved over, taking her friends hand. He smiled up at her, and the part of her that was so, so disappointed at his refusal burned. She felt herself moving closer to him, could see and feel him moving closer as well. As the torchlight faded to embers then ash, they were only inches from each other. Katara’s heart thudded in her chest as they leaned closer together, the world almost seemed bright.

Wait.

She looked up, gasping in wonder at a network of crystals that glowed a gorgeous light throughout the tunnel. “Woah.”

“They’re made of some kind of crystal. They must only light up in the dark.”

Katara gasped. Love shines brightest in the dark! Of course! Way to be literal. “That’s how the two lovers found each other! They just put out their lights and followed the crystals.” Her eyes roved the cave until she saw the path that the crystals made. “That must be the way out.”

She wrapped Aang in a hug, relief making her giddy, before she grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the exit. The feeling of sunlight on her skin was amazing, a relief after hours of being trapped deep below the earth. For a moment, her mind shot to Zuko and her heart panged in pain.

“What about Sokka?” Aang asked, and the girl looked around frantically as she realized he was no where to be found. However, before worry could fully surface, the ground started to rumble. Sokka and his entourage burst though the very wall of the cave riding on the backs of badgermoles.

Well, no one ever accused her brother of failing to make an entrance. 

---

Meidi couldn’t stop grinning, he felt almost lightheaded with the relief that came from airing out a wrong and being forgiven. He had no doubts that following the Firebender- er Lee- er Zuko’s instructions would be scary and dangerous, but there was a relief that came with the possibility atoning for his crimes.

“Thank you for the duck!” Mushi said earnestly, smiling at Song’s mother. After their talk, er, Zuko had marched straight into the healing tent where Song had been nervously cleaning bandages, bowed and said that he accepted her offer for dinner if it was still available. The girl had been surprised, but the expression had morphed into excitement a moment later. Meidi was surprised to get an invitation as well, but then again, he should have known that the firebender didn’t do things half way. Apparently, when he forgave, he really forgave.

Mushi… didn’t seem to be of the same opinion, but he deferred to his nephew. (and hadn’t that been a shock, that the Firebender had any family. Had someone who had probably been looking for him the whole time. A family that they had separated.) The man’s eyes had been cold as he tracked Meidi all meal, and any interactions between the them had been… unpleasant, though not outright hostile. He was clearly playing nice only at Zuko’s request, and Meidi could feel himself hanging onto his not-good-but-not-bad graces by a thread.

Song’s mother had received a very different response from the man and smiled at him warmly. “You're welcome. It brings me pleasure to see someone eat my cooking with such ... gusto.”

Mushi laughed and pat his stomach. “Much practice.”

Zuko bowed, thanking them for the meal, and Song frowned. “Are you sure you can’t stay the night?”

“I’m sure.” The boy responded, “If I leave my friends alone too long, they start acting stupid and foolhardy.”

“Yes, and my nephew is never foolhardy.” Mushi said with fondness. Meidi’s heart panged in his chest. This was the family he had a part in separating. Zuko sent the old man a lighthearted glare as he continued.

“Besides, its safer for us to move when people won’t be able to easily recognize us.”

The three members of the earth kingdom nodded solemnly, knowing with disheartening clarity how important it sometimes was to remain unseen. Song was the only one to break the silence. “I know sometimes it can feel like there isn’t any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned.”

Zuko snorted, amusement in his golden eyes. “I know.” Then he turned to leave.

Meidi was suddenly struck with a bold of panic, of ‘not enough’. He had apologized, had promised to help other Firebenders and even send some to safety, but still it felt like a paltry thing compared to the suffering he had allowed on the other teen. Now he was letting them disappear into the night, apparently criminals and with nothing but the bags on their back. “Wait!” He called, rushing around the house to the stable, where his Ostrich Horse stood grazing with Songs’. “Please, take my ostrich horse.” He shoved the reins into Zuko’s hands.

The boy sighed, rolling his eyes as though the healer was being unreasonable. “I’m not stealing your ostrich horse.”

“You’re not! I’m giving it to you! Please, after everything… this is the least I can do.”

“I don’t-“

“Nephew,” Mushi interrupted. “Not everyone carries weight equally. Sometimes we must take on something, not because we need it, but because it lightens someone else’s load.”

Zuko groaned. “Speak plainly Uncle, you know I don’t understand your proverbs.”

“He’s saying, ‘take the dang ostrich horse’.” Song translated. The boy huffed, but did take the reins, petting the beast’s beak carefully.

“What’s her name?”

Meidi shrugged. “I don’t know, I didn’t give her one.”

Zuko’s face creased into a furious scowl. “What do you mean you didn’t give her a name? What do you just call her ‘the ostrich horse’?”

“Uh… yes?”

With another disgusted look, the teen jumped onto the beast’s back. “Come on, Uncle lets go.” He pulled the old man behind him and grumbled as the ostrich horse lead them through the gate. “Ridiculous. Even Sokka would have called her ‘Ostrich-y’ or something stupid like that.”

Meidi laughed at the childish reaction, but the sound ended in a sob. The firebender was just a kid. Never mind that he was older than Meidi, Meidi was just a kid too. They’d done all that, to a kid. He fell to his knees as Song rushed over to throw an arm around his shoulder, shaking as he cried. Oma and Shu, he was just a kid.

---

Sokka waved as the nomads walked away, feeling a little sad.

Mostly relieved. Like, a whole lot of relieved.

The teen shook his head, glancing at Aang and Katara, who were blushing and refusing to look at each other. Weird. But, whatever, they had places to be journeys to ignore so that they could get to the destination. It was time to get to Omashu, grab a king, and find Zuko so that they could start kicking Fire Lord butt. He called the others to order, and they began the final leg of their journey to Omashu. It was several hours more of walking, but finally, they were one hill away from the grand city and its insane ruler.

The boy grinned. “The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it’s really all about: the destination. I present to you, the Earth Kingdom of Oma-“ Suddenly, just eyes landed on the city, his words stuttering as he struggled to understand what he was seeing. A memory of a hidden room in an air temple playing at his memory, Zuko getting physically sick at the same banners and symbols he saw now. “Oh no…”

Omashu had fallen.  

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 11 of Always trust Sokka's instincts