Chapter Text
The next day Zuko finds a spot where the river splits off into two streams, making the next bit upstream a little wider than before. Not long after he comes across a rundown path and then a field where he sees a man working in the fields. Seeing another person after an amount of days Zuko cares not to count is more relieving than it has any right to be. Zuko is still a prince. He won’t go and frolic with some peasant.
The man working the field is eyeing Zuko suspiciously anyhow, so Zuko ignores the man and keeps walking. Not long after he finds a house, probably the man’s, and there’s something resembling a road. Tired of wandering in the woods for the last few days, Zuko decides to follow it.
Zuko doesn’t really know where he’s going, but wherever it is it’s better than staying on a half abandoned road. To the Avatar, eventually. It will be tough to find him, harder than it was before now that Zuko doesn’t have a ship, but he’ll figure something out. He has to. For now he’ll just go to a small town or a village. Somewhere he can get new supplies for his search, but without too many people. Someone might still be looking for him and Zuko doesn’t want to deal with that right now.
Zuko would like to ask for directions, maybe there’d even be rumors related to the Avatar for him to follow. There are a few more houses scattered along the road, but all day the people Zuko comes across give him the same kind of looks the farmer from earlier gave him.
The next day Zuko arrives at a village. It's small and rundown. More a sorry collection of scrap wood than true civilisation. But at least there is a small market with a smell of food that is surprisingly enticing. There is little harm in simply taking a look. It would be nice to have a proper meal.
Ignoring the stares of the locals Zuko lets his nose lead him to a promising food stall. He just made his order when suddenly the vendor clears his throat and looks at Zuko expectantly.
Oh right. Money. Zuko didn’t have that anymore. As a child he could have basically anything he wanted, so long as it wasn’t too “improper”. Having to account for the cost of things had been a bit of a shock to the system. After a few mishaps Zuko had begrudgingly agreed to let his Lieutenant handle the financial side of things. Zuko would still look over the numbers of course. He knows what it should cost to feed a small crew.
How does that translate into a single meal again?
“Listen kid,” the seller says, “if you don’t have any money then scram. I don’t do charity, especially for the likes of you.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“I'm saying I don't have much goodwill left in me for yer kind ya hear?”
These peasants, how dare they! Zuko’s got half a mind to shove his knife in the man's face and show him just how much goodwill he ought to have for Zuko’s kind.
But then Zuko notices the eyes on him. It isn't just him and the seller. There’s other villagers watching. People behind him standing in line, an old lady watching from the windowsill, burly farmers bringing in the day's haul.
Being of royal pedigree Zuko of course has full confidence he could take these people on, but doing so would be… tedious. Not worth his time.
That was the only reason Zuko slowly and calmly backed off and moved on from the village.
By the time Zuko has finished dinner. — Yet again fish he caught in the river, no fruit this time. He couldn’t find any along the road. — It strikes him these people might not trust him because he looks Fire Nation. After all his is clothes are red and theirs are all green. It must be an Earth Kingdom thing. Zuko had seen a few people dressed like that in the ports he would occasionally dock his ship for supplies and repairs, though most of the colonials there wore brown.
If this keeps up, even in more civilized places, Zuko might have to steal some of these peasant’s clothing to blend in. It’s not something he would have usually resorted to, but needs must.
After all, why shouldn’t he steal? He is the prince! These peasants should bow down and thank him for the privilege! It doesn’t matter that they’re Earth Kingdom. It will soon all be Fire Nation anyways. In fact: that these barbarians keep resisting their own civilization is proof that Zuko is more deserving of their belongings than them and if they hadn’t resisted, then there wouldn’t even have been a need for the war and there wouldn’t have been a war meeting during which Zuko could have spoken out. There wouldn’t even have been a need for father to give Zuko a task as important as finding the Avatar if the war was already won! So really that fact that Zuko is banished is these Earth Kingdom peasants’ fault! They’re the reason Zuko has nothing more to his name right now than the clothes he’s wearing!
Besides, Zuko thinks as he makes his bed, it’s not theft. He’ll just be taking what he deserves.
So while the next few days Zuko ends up following the various rundown roads and avoids the various villages along the way, at night Zuko ends up not stealing, taking a lot. He never gets caught of course, he’s always been good at this sort of thing. Going places he shouldn’t. Not being seen. Zuko would call it child's play, but frankly stealing his toys back from Azula had been a lot harder.
First it’s clothes, easily snatched from someone stupid enough to let them out to dry overnight; then a bag to carry those clothes, that’s harder, then a mask – something to hide his face – then money. Money is harder to find. Most houses he breaks into only have a little. It shouldn’t have surprised Zuko that such backwards people are so poor. The only reason he’s not stealing more is because it's starting to weigh him down.
But that’s fine. Zuko can just take more according to his needs. It’s like a tax. Everything the peasants have is essentially the property of the royal family, its just that they’re gracious enough to let them pay out over time. All Zuko is really doing is cutting out the middle man. No-one likes tax collectors anyway.
Finally feeling good about himself Zuko enters the next decrepit village with a spring in his step. He ignores the looks of the peasants and makes a beeline for the nearest enticing food stall. He picks his order and lets a gold coin fall on the countertop with a satisfying clunk. If the food is as good as it looks Zuko might even allow the vendor to keep the change, he’s in a gracious mood after all.
“How’d ya get that gold kid?” the vendor asks Zuko. Instead of giving him the food he ordered.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Zuko asks, his mood ruined, “I’m paying you with it aren’t I?
The vendor raises his hands. “Oh well in that case~” he says in a mocking tone, before crossing his arms, turning serious, “You’re gonna have to add another gold one kid.”
“What!?” Zuko shouts, outraged at the blatant attempt to swindle him, “On the sign it says two bronze!”
“Wow, someone taught a kid like you how to read?” the vendor laughs, “Well here’s another lesson for you kid, free of charge: Crime doesn’t pay, especially for an ashmaker’s kid like you.
“What did you just say.”
“Exactly what I did.” the vendors says defiantly, “Look around you kid and put that knife away. You really think people will just stand around and let you rob them blind?
Zuko looks dumbfounded at the knife in his hand. When had he–
“I wasn’t~” Zuko sputters as he put his knife away. “Forget it! I’ll just buy from someone else.”
Then he walks off. Just like last time.
“Han, did you really need to antagonize him off like that? He was just a boy. Everyone knows you let people haggle down to half the written price.”
“So what if I do? Those prices are for honest hardworking Earth Kingdom folk, not thieving snakes like him. Kid wants to earn his keep so bad he can fight in the war and help defend the Kingdom from his own kind, not rob our neighbours blind and expect a fair price. He’s lucky I didn’t turn him in.”
Zuko ignores the vendor’s argument with his wife as he starts leaving town when suddenly he finds himself staring at the second reason as to why he might wanna stop stealing.
There's a wanted poster of him.
Well not him, it doesn’t have his name or his picture. But it lists his thefts, roughly his height, his blue spirit mask.
Zuko fights the urge to grab his mask out of his sack to compare it.
Should he have gotten a less distinctive mask?
No. It’s irrelevant what kind of mask he wears, so long as it’s not too impractical the only thing that matters is that people don’t see the person behind the mask. Besides, Zuko was only replacing the one he took out of his mother’s collection that had likely sunk with the rest of his ship. It’s not like some uncultured earth rabble would know how to properly appreciate it. They clearly have no regard for the fine arts around here. The shoddy craftsmanship on the mask alone is proof enough of that.
It doesn’t matter. Zuko rips his wanted poster off of the post and puts it in his sack before leaving town. These people are too stupid to figure out its him. That food vendor just made a lucky guess. Zuko’s not going to get caught. He just needs to keep a move on. It’s not like he’s gonna find the Avatar here anyways.
Zuko’s stomach growls.
Some food would’ve been nice though.
Zuko doesn’t sleep well that night and he ends up waking early. To Zuko's dismay his feet still hurt from the day's prior. By the time the sun’s started to rise he comes across a farm. He hadn’t had any luck finding food up till then. The thought strikes him to just take something from the farm. Earth Kingdommers are obviously too lazy to get up in the early dawn. Not that Zuko sees anything to take but wheat, but wheat is used to make bread right? Zuko could probably figure out how to do that. How hard could it be?
“Hands off kid, that isn’t grass.”
Zuko retracts his hand as he snaps toward the old man who called him out and tries not to feel chastened. He didn’t do anything wrong.
The old man frowns. “Those clothes are military, how did a kid like you get them? Stole ‘em off a corpse?” then he looks Zuko up and down seemingly noting every rip and tear in his clothes, “Looks like it.”
“I didn’t steal anything,” Zuko defends, his confiscated clothes had gotten grimy, so was wearing his regular clothes. Not like he was planning to visit any villages anytime soon.
“So what? You telling me them ashmakers are conscripting kids now? I can’t even say i’m surprised.” The burly old man says, rubbing his chin as if in considering the matter, “Guess they must be getting desperate. They sending kids like you out as scouts or something?”
“What?” Zuko asks, trying to remain calm. He knows what they do with captured soldiers in the Earth Kingdom and he prefers his hands stay whole.
“I have nothing to do with them.” Zuko denies.
“Oh so you’re a runner? Well, I can't blame ya. Not too fond of them ashmakers myself.” the man laughs, waving his arm which ends in a scarred stump where the hand should be.
A burned stump.
“Yeah some fire benders tried to give me a taste of our own medicine,” the old man explains like it was nothing of consequence. Then he laughs to himself. “Joke was on them though…”
The old farmer seems to look at something else as he says that, though the strange man doesn’t move his gaze. For a split second Zuko is filled with the urge to walk away, but just then the old man’s focus returns.
“Oh don't look so sad about it.” the mans tells Zuko, “We're hardly the only two that match around here. Tell ya what. I could use a hand to help with the farm and you look like you could eat a meal or three. How about it? You wanna take that deal?”