My POV:
"And that is Orion," I pointed into the sky again, "See his belt?"
"Oh, yeah," Katara said, "I see it."
"How do you know he's an Orion and not an...Ophelia?" Aang asked.
"See the star between his legs...?" Sokka joked.
I punched him in the arm, while the others groaned and Katara rolled her eyes, "You're disgusting."
There was a long silence as we stared up at the stars. "Guys..." I said finally, "I hope things never change between us."
"I know what you mean," said a familiar voice to my right. I turned to see Zuko, his amber eyes practically glowing in the dark. When I turned back to my friends, they were suddenly a long ways off. I felt Zuko put his lips on my neck.
"Let's stay together forever,"
"Um..."
"We can go back to the Fire Nation together. We'll have a big feast..."
"What about my friends?" I turned back to him and screamed. Fire poured from his mouth and consumed each of his fingertips, before traveling down his arms and igniting his whole body.
"Of course! They'll be the feast!"
I whirled away at the sound of another voice, this time Aang's. "I wish Y/N was here," he said, sadly.
"We just have to believe she's in a better place," Katara offered, curling into him.
I raced forward, Zuko still a fiery inferno behind me, "Guys, I'm alive! I'm right here!"
I ran fast and hard at them, but they just seemed to get further away. Meanwhile, Zuko ignited the trees around us, the flames finally licking towards my friends. "No! Guys! I'm right here! Guys!"
Guys
Guys
Guys
I jerked awake as the cart gave a jolt.
"Sorry!" Iroh sounded far away.
I sat up, slowly, body aching from sleeping in the back of the cart, sweating from my feverish dreams. Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes on me. Zuko was watching me thoughtfully from the other side of the cart.
"What?"
"Nothing," he frowned, "You were moaning in your sleep. Are you feeling okay?"
"Just weird dreams," I said as he poured a cup of water and held it to my lips.
As I drank, I felt the cart take a sudden right and heard Zuko snap, "Uncle, we don't need to turn here."
"Yes, we do. It's getting late and we need to find a place to stay,"
"We can sleep in the cart, its fine. We have to keep moving,"
"Y/N is injured," Iroh said, levelly, "She needs a good bed and a hot bath...and I need those things too."
"We don't have any money,"
"Easily remedied," he looked over his shoulder pointedly at his nephew, who groaned, though I wasn't sure why.
Begging wasn't that bad. The early spring weather was pretty mild and the people-watching helped take my mind off my dreams.
If only Zuko wasn't in such a sour mood.
We had one of the empty food crates laying open between us to collect coins. Iroh and I both profusely thanked anyone who threw some down, but Zuko avoided everyone's eyes, even mine. To think, this salty, moody man was some villain in my dream—give me a break!
I tried to cheer him with stories and jokes, but nothing worked. I finally resigned to sliding closer and resting my hand on his leg, hoping—maybe for my own sake—that would help.
Just then, a few coins plunked into our crate and the sound gave me a thought. Using my free hand I emptied out our coins, ignoring the men's protests and flipped the crate upside down, before beating on it with the heel of my hand.
Thump-thump-thump
"Oh, what do you do with a drunken sailor,
What do you do with a drunken sailor,
What do you do with a drunken sailor
Earl-y in the mor-ning..."
Eyes started to turn our way curiously. Even Zuko sat up straight and his mouth dropped open. Coins thudded down in the soft sand to the beat of my singing. Only a few songs in, Iroh collected the money and climbed to his feet, divvying the coins between himself and Zuko.
"I'll get us a couple rooms, you get dinner, and Y/N—keep singing!" he chuckled.
Gladly.
"...thieves and beggars,
Never shall we die."
The crowd dispersed slowly, coins landing on the ground beside me as I thanked the givers. Finally, all the onlookers had left—
Except one woman, tears streaming from sightless eyes.
"I'd recognize that voice anywhere...but it can't be,"
Toph.