Olivia, Draft so far. Zuko's Lone Journey

Zuko’s Lone journey

As Zuko approached the small earth village, hunched over from fatigue, he felt another painful rumble deep in his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to enter the small township in peace; maybe he could share a meal with a kind stranger? He gripped the reins on his/the ostrich horse with his right hand and with his left he ran his fingers over the stamp across his face. Now his muscles quickly forced him upright once again. How could he let such a thought come close to entering his mind? He was branded, outcast by his own family! Why then would even a stranger want to share a simple, civil meal with him! Producing a large flame in his hand, Zuko fixed his eyes on the road ahead fuelling his mind to get back in the game; find the avatar, don’t hesitate to kill him and re-gain acceptance from all who matter.

On he went; the feet of his ostrich horse thumping a slow tempo against the rusty red road; the dust creating a constant red glow all around them. Suddenly the tempo quickened. Zuko looked all around trying to match the rumbling sound to something. They began to shake uncontrollably until Zuko found himself on the ground, dust blocking his entire vision.

 A woman’s voice cut through the haze. The voice was faint but sweet, “You shouldn’t be proud of that.” He stared straight ahead of him in hope of catching a glimpse of the person the voice belonged to. It came again, “You ought to be a little more careful with where you show that sort of thing. Folks around here don’t take to that very well.” 

Waving his hand around attempting to clear the air, he finally saw a pair of green eyes emerge. A breeze caused black hair to whip across the woman’s face as she stretched out her hand, beckoning for Zuko to take hold of it. He gripped tightly, in an attempt to be able to control the situation. He trusted no body. Now they were face to face. She was beautiful, a gentle and captivating woman. She was dressed in long, silk garments that made her seem angelic and everything froze for just one moment. He forgot his anger. When he remembered how to breathe again, he tried to demand a name from the mystery girl. He could feel his cheeks warming. A small chuckle confirmed that yes, he was blushing. This aggravated Zuko but at the same time it made him even more intrigued about who this majestic lady was. He decided to just stay quiet until she spoke again.

“What is troubling you? You seem to be in a rather pensive mood.  Well, I assume that, judging by the way that flame fueled you.”

Now he was on the defense again. Don’t trust anyone, especially not a woman! She knows I’m fire nation. Zuko remained quiet.

-Has meal with her, he can’t figure out who she reminds him of.

-he wants to reject her kindness but can’t help wanting to embrace her peacefulness.

-Zuko gets aggravated that he accepted it and sees it as weakness, he leaves in the night leaving a large fire to keep her warm and few coins.

-He reaches a river. Sees reflection and has a flashback. The water is disturbed by a falling object. It was the avatar flying low through the air on his byson. He had dropped something in the water causing it to ripple and break Zuko’s flashback.

-Zuko find the avatar’s camp.