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authorjoydragon · 2 years

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For @yuten-week prompt: spirit world

(Long post, so I’m putting the rest of the ficlet under a cut)

Fateful Encounter

Yue swirled her fingers in the pond, bored out of her mind. She didn’t realize becoming the moon spirit would be so…empty. Time passed slowly but also quickly somehow, and she had less duties now than she did as a Princess. There was just a lot of sitting around as a spirit.

She sighed and laid down on the soft grass, staring into the water. Sometimes she would use this portal to look into the mortal world, checking in on her loved ones. She could be there to help them when they needed it.

But now with the war over, things were peaceful. Yue watched as their lives went on without her. It was a different kind of torment.

She watched as they grew older, and yet her reflection never changed. She was forever sixteen. Sometimes, it was hard to watch. She almost didn’t want to look. But she was lonely here.

Yue gasped as another reflection appeared in the pond.

She spun around, sitting up quickly. The stranger held out his arms peacefully, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

He looked to be around her age (as far as she could tell, maybe he was also frozen at sixteen). He was handsome, with sharp and strong features, golden eyes and long black silken hair. He wore long robes of red and gold, looking almost regal.

“Who are you?” Yue asked, her brows furrowing. She thought she had met all the other spirits.

“I’m Lu Ten.” He smiled kindly at her. “And who are you?”

“Princess—or well—I’m not a Princess anymore. I’m Yue, the new moon goddess.”

He nodded in understanding. “Ah, yes. I heard about that. Very admirable of you, Lady Yue.”

“Thank you.” Her cheeks burned for some reason at his praise.

“I was a Prince, too, once.” He trailed off, looking at the pond by her feet.

Yue felt herself perk up. So he was like her?

“Are you a spirit now, too?” She questioned.

Lu Ten shook his head. “No—well, not yet. I’ve been chosen to be the next sun god, so I’m just…wandering around really. Until I’m needed.”

Yue blinked. “Chosen?”

“Yes, my family was blessed by Agni once, we have to return the favor.”

She nodded. “Tui saved my life as a baby, I was giving it back.”

“May I sit with you?” He gestured to the bank. She nodded, watching as he folded himself next to her.

“Thank you for your sacrifice, I’m so glad the war is over. I must apologize for my family’s actions, up here I’ve come to see just how very wrong we were.”

Yue glanced at him sharply. “Your family?”

“I was the Fire Nation Prince, heir to the throne. Before I was killed in the war.”

Yue felt herself gapping a bit. She shook her head. “My tribe was in the wrong as well. Instead of defending and helping others, we simply hid away and did nothing.”

“You were only protecting yourselves from the terror we inflicted on everyone.” He sighed sadly, “I wish I could say if I had lived I would have changed things, but…I don’t know if I would have.”

“Death changes perspectives a bit.” Yue joked, pleased when he chuckled—it was a lovely deep sound.

He sighed and looked into the pond. “I like to come here sometimes, and watch my father. And my cousins.”

She vaguely remembered another Fire Nation Prince with golden eyes and marred features, angrily challenging Katara to a fight. “I met a Fire Nation Prince. He wasn’t very nice.”

Lu Ten laughed loudly. “No, we aren’t known for being nice. My cousin, Zuko, has quite the temper.”

He touched the pond, it shimmered for a moment before focusing on said boy—a man now. His features looked far less angry, and there was even a smile on his face as he reached out to someone.

“Wait—that’s my friend!” Yue gasped, leaning closer to the pond. “Katara. They were fighting against each other at the North Pole, at this same portal.”

Lu Ten grinned, “Well, it seems they’ve both had a change of heart.”

They watched as the two kissed, and Yue noticed a crown perched in Katara’s hair. “Oh, they’re married!”

“Yes, I watched their wedding. It was quite an ordeal.”

Yue smiled, happy for her old friend. What a good queen Katara would make. She’d have to try to visit her soon, before time slipped away from her again.

She giggled suddenly, “You know, if we were still alive, we probably would have met there.”

“Maybe fate led us to meeting anyway.” Lu Ten smiled charmingly at her as she flushed.

“Yes…I suppose it did.”

#yuten #YuTen week #yue x lu ten #minor zutara #spirit world #princess yue #prince lu ten #sun x moon #aethestic

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gettingovershame · 2 years

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Fire Nation Royal Academy/Fire Cousins Headcanons:

In no particular order…

The Fire Nation Royal Academy for Boys (and likewise the Academy for Girls) completes primary schooling at “Year 8”. After that, the young nobles either become scholars by pursuing specialized secondary schooling, or become apprentices to their H.O.H. to take over the family business.

Classes will often have a little age-range depending on when a child begins (some people hold out for their child being a super late-blooming bender… and sometimes children will have to try more than once on the entry exam) (the gate-keeping only really happens for less influential noble houses/nouveau-rich families).

Zuko - by a miracle of Agni - begins school at the “typical time appropriate for a Royal” (Age 6) and was known by the older students as “Prince Lu-Ten’s cousin” for the first five years… even though Lu-Ten had graduated 2 years prior.

Lu-Ten was popular for being second in line for the throne, of course, but he was also a charming kid and an extraordinary bender… teachers and peers alike loved him.

Azula, being prodigious, was sent off to school “a year earlier than usual” at age 5. (Which is why Ozai f*cks up her age in “The Search Part 2” — younger siblings/little kids are usually proud when people think that they’re older than they are but in hindsight Azula HAS to be like “WTF!?! He doesn’t know how old I am?!”)

Instead of a long Summer Vacation, they have a long Winter Vacation because the days are shorter (and less sunlight = less life-force for the bending students… bending supremacy is a systemic issue).

Cousin Lu-Ten was 10 years older than Zuko and 12 years older than Azula.

Winters used to be the best when Zuko was pre-K aged and Azula was a toddler and Lu-Ten was in school … because when he was home for Winter Vacation he’d play with them. Zuko would be especially happy because Iroh would come back from overseas to spend time with him too…

Also during the Winter Break, the Fire Nights Festival would happen the week leading up to the longest night of the year as a harbinger of lengthening daylight… so it was mostly good times all around.

Winters started to suck a little more after Lu-Ten graduated, he became a lot busier on the war effort with Iroh — less time to play and more time abroad. But they had some time together…

After Zuko struggled through his first year at the academy Ozai started to go more H.A.A.M. with Zuko & even 4yr old Azula’s training… especially in Winter time.

Little pre-K Azula would have to try hard to retain a decidedly grumpy demeanour and resist laughing at the way Lu-Ten would PERFECTLY IMITATE Li & Lo when she was tantrumy/experiencing “after-practice restraint collapse” — because those two miserable old bat-bears used to be his tutors, too. She’d threaten to tell on him. He’d always pretend to be scared and agree to “be her servant” for the rest of the day in exchange for her silence.

It gets harder and harder for Lu-Ten to connect with her after she starts school… she begins to sound more and more like creepy Uncle Ozai…

Prince Lu-Ten died at age 21 when Zuko was 11 and Azula 9… then Grandfather died… and Iroh abdicates and goes MIA for a little bit… and mother is banished… and though Azula had been a bit more prepared (as the designated sounding-board to her father’s murmurs and monologues/a sneaky rascal who eavesdrops) the changes happen overnight… Zuko and Azula wake up in a world where they are the next-two in line for the throne and they only have Ozai and each other left.

Zuko is burned and banished at 13 just before finishing his last year of school… he never got to graduate… he was - even by cultural standards - a child.

Azula - at 11 - must work extra hard to Save Face enough for 2 generations of shame. “Her Uncle retreated at Ba Sing Se… He wasn’t even injured!” “I heard that Iroh deserted but Lord Ozai forgave him.” “Her brother got exiled after losing an Agni Kai to the Fire Lord.” “I heard he flunked out of the Boys’ Academy” “But Azula’s still not Crown Princess, though.” “Her mother’s banished - not exiled - banished!” “It’s because she killed Fire Lord Azulon.” “The Princess will probably challenge her Dad to an Agni Kai, too… or maybe she’ll just kill the Fire Lord like her Mom did…” Azula has to be perfect.

The murmurs continue behind Azula’s back … but to her face everyone suddenly wants to suck up to the “second in line for the throne” even more than before… However, Azula only entertains the friends that she had BEFORE the power shift: the two non-benders Mai & Ty Lee. Yet the dynamics between them begin to change as Azula begins to change… and not for the better.

Azula graduates alongside her friends at 12. Then Mai moves away with her family and Ty Lee runs away from her family… Azula does not have the luxury of either option. Ozai is responsible for the former, but the latter… Azula convinces herself it’s because she allowed it. That she could have stopped it if she wanted to and that she could call Ty Lee back to her at any time. It’s how she copes, and it’s part of the reason she was such an arse when recruiting Ty Lee from the circus.

#lu ten atla #fire nation royal family #fire siblings #princess azula #prince lu ten #prince zuko #atla headcanons #fire nation siblings #fire nation #royal fire nation academy #dangerous ladies #azula analysis #let azula be happy.#cousin Lu Ten #azula character study

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thiscryptidischronicallyyours · 2 years

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Any YuTen crumbs? I hc that they only have one, maybe two kids. Just one daughter. Probably named after some spirit or relative.

Oooh, I like that. I could definitely see them just having one daughter. I think I mentioned this one somewhere else, but with Yue being the moon and Lu Ten's name (depending on your interpretation of meaning) being something like a journey of flight, I think they'd they'd be likely to pick something astrological/celestial for her name.

I've actually never given too much thought to them having children, because in my mind it's always been them meeting in the spirit world. My main hc for the two of them is hanging out together on the living-side so they can watch how the Gaang and Zuko, and everyone else progresses along the journey without them.

There's a lot of mixed emotions from it. Sometimes they laugh over popcorn, other time they rant about the silly or dangerous or infuriatingly stubborn things the living do.

They have a bingo board and a betting pool of ridiculous situations (Yue is ahead, because Lu Ten said there was no way Zuko would ever agree to do a dance with Aang-he was wrong). Lu Ten's eyes get misty every time he hears Iroh sing Leaves from the Vine. Yue squeezes his hand to comfort him. They hold each other back from interfering too much, but pass their time by scheming outlandish divine interventions.

Okay, I think that's enough crumbs to make a small muffin, so I'll stop for now 💚

#enrichment!!!#thanks joy!#crumbs #avatar the last airbender #headcanon asks #princess yue #prince lu ten #lu ten #yuten #asks answered #always up for asks #add enrichment to my enclosure!

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thebxghag · 2 months

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@mugentakeda really making me wanna draw Lu Ten. as;kldalsdkf

#my art #thebxghag #fanart #atla #avatar the last airbender #lu ten #prince lu ten

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badlucksav · 2 years

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YuTen Modern AU vs YuTen Canon Compliant?

....canon compliant means they're dead xD

I actually can't pick between a modern AU or alternate canon. The possibilities are really very endless. Fluff, angst, slice of life, arranged marriage, etc etc etc. I just love them.

#yuten #yue x lu ten #princess yue #prince lu ten #atla #avatar the last airbender #ask #sav answers

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eleni-anz · 1 month

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best worst family

#zuko #uncle iroh #atla zuko #lu ten #atla jee #azula #princess azula #prince zuko #avatar the last airbender #my art

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asiriyep · 2 years

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Atla Gen Week 2022.

Day 1: Family.

PD: Well, we have an au about this, it's called "Breakfast Royal Family" (”Familia Real del desayunito”), and it's too random to explain it, because that's it, just random.

[ID: Mini comic with four vignette in color monochrome magenta. In vignette one, Azula as a little girl is slightly disheveled, Zuko also a child tells her "Do you know your’e messing up you hair while your’e triying to fix it?". She replies "I want it to be like father’s". Zuko replies "Father doesn’t even know potatoes, Lala", while Azula claims "If you know how to do it, help me!". Ozai stands in the background waving his right arm shooing away a falcon as he replies "As if combing hair was so simple! And get your falcon out of here, Zuko!".

In the second vignette, several journalists are surprised and confused by the scene. Two of them, a man and a woman, are holding notepads.

In the third vignette, Lu Ten is shown in the foreground saying "Not again" with a slightly doubtful and resigned expression, with a straight mouth, one eye narrowed, and a small frown.

In the fourth vignette, Lu Ten slides in from the right side saying "The fishing industry this year regarding..." side trying to hide Zuko who grabs the detached bun from Azula's head as she flails, and Ozai grapples with the falcon that is attacking him on the head. At the lower left corner of the vignette you can see part of the journalists' heads with question marks above them. End ID]

@atla-gen-week

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singswan-springswan · 12 days

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ficlet under the cut

The crate tipped with a sudden lurch and broke open on the ground. Zuko spilled unceremoniously with the motion. Inelegant. Graceless. Normally his movements held much more regality, but he'd been kidnapped and stuffed in a scratchy box and out of the water for some indeterminable length of days, so cutting himself some slack here felt appropriate.

It wasn't much brighter outside the stupid box. His scales were dry, his head was killing him, and the floor held a pleasant cool against his mounting fever. He really needed water soon. Every part of his body felt... scratchy. Discomfort would escalate into pain, and then asphyxiation. He would suffocate if he dried out. Idly, he wondered how long it would take. The humans seemed to know. They hadn't acted worried yet.

"Our latest bounty." The voice looming over Zuko was muffled in weird places. "I thought it might spark an interest. You collect fire fish, isn't that right?"

Zuko bit down a hazy groan and fumbled to prop himself up. The loss of the tile's cool against his cheek was one he mourned, but there would be time for relaxing when he found a way out of this mess. He could barely think straight. The humans—the pirates who'd ransomed him from the girl in blue—were standing guard around him now. He could see their boots. They were facing all the same direction, same way the voice was talking towards, and Zuko turned to observe.

The surrounding space was large, a room, and very dimly lit. This wouldn't normally be an issue, being that he was a mer, but his headache made his eyes lazy and bad at adjusting to the dark. If he squinted, he could see the ripple of light along the walls. Blue. Weird. In the direction of the pirates' attention, something like the outline of a table was visible—as large and imposing as the room itself. A single shadowy figure occupied a seat on the far side. He looked weird with the backlight. Zuko's vision was getting spotty.

He didn't get much chance to scan the rest of the surrounding space, because the pirate captain decided to be a jerk and grab his hair. It'd long since escaped its neat topknot, now bunching and sliding strangely in dry heat. The pain and the change in angle made Zuko rapidly lose sight of the shadow man.

"This one's quite a specimen." The pirate tilted Zuko's head back, baring his throat—maybe as a joke; it was always hard to tell if humans knew the significance of such a display—and lifted him enough to catch the light. So their potential buyer could get a better view.

Zuko would like to rip the pirate's skin off and feed it to him, but he was weak with dehydration, and his previous struggles against the man's crew had left him exhausted. All he managed was a low hiss. If humans could understand mer speech, he’d be cursing them as soundly as possible. Someone was standing on his tail. Not that it made much difference. He doubted he could have swung it if it wasn't pinned.

"I've seen a lot of the fire mer in my day, but this one's real pretty. Don't feel bad turning the offer down. We'll keep 'im if you won't." His crew laughed. Bastards. Zuko could hear the leer in the pirate's voice. It made him dizzy with anger.

Then a low grind echoed softly, and the humans cut their chatter short. Zuko distantly registered the shadow at the table moving. What made that noise? Was it his chair? He stood, rounded the massive table, and drew closer. All Zuko could see was a dark, unfocused blob. Vaguely humanoid.

"Yeah, don't be shy! Come get a closer look!"

The fist in his hair tightened. His scalp burned. The fins all down his back shuttered, and a stinging ache began to form in his gills. He needed water. He needed to get out of here. He shouldn't have wandered so close to the shore, even if that pretty girl in blue seemed so friendly at first glance. She did sell him out to these pirate scum. He should have known way better.

Even standing an arm's length away, the lighting continued to cast shadow on the pirate's potential client. It could be reasoned, then, that Zuko and the humans around him were washed in the room's best luminance. Certainly his scar could be seen clear as day. Maybe his tail was pretty, but there were parts of him imperfect. Maybe the stranger wouldn't want to buy him for that. Maybe Zuko would be stuck with these idiot pirates forever.

A smooth voice came from the stranger. "Release him."

"Sure, sure."

The pressure on Zuko's scalp vanished. He collapsed to the cool tile with no more grace than before, even further disoriented, and with a worse headache. He grit his teeth in frustration. That bastard was still on his tail.

Cool fingers tilted his chin up before he could lift his head on his own again; he hadn't seen the shadow man crouch down. Startled, Zuko yanked back and hissed a second time. He made sure to reveal far more fang and fan far wider with his fins; he just wanted these stupid humans to stop poking and grabbing him however often they pleased. Was that too much to ask? He wasn't an ornament. And he sure as heck had no intention of being a pet.

The stranger's face was close, and shadowy, and out of focus. Zuko's head was killing him. The room spun.

"The shape of the fins—” The stranger’s voice began.

“Really something, isn’t it? Never seen a mer so fancy before.”

There was a beat of silence, then the cool fingers returned to Zuko’s jaw and held him firmly in place. He growled. It didn’t make a difference. He was exhausted and hot and vulnerable, and everyone could tell. There was no way to stop them from doing as they pleased.

“There’s a scar.”

“Wasn’t us, mate. Looks like the beast’s had it for a while. I think it adds to the aesthetic, don’t you agree?”

Zuko glared. It was the sort of one-sided remark he’d only accept from Uncle Iroh, though Azula had made attempts to express similar sentiments in that weird way of hers. He’d always hated the scar. At least the monster who put it there was dead now.

The stranger gave no comment. He reached another hand out and pushed Zuko’s hair aside, away from his eyes. Zuko did his best to meet the unfamiliar gaze as steadily as possible, despite the awkward backlight. He was being stared at. He refused to show how unnerved it made him. His trembling and fever didn’t help much in that regard.

Finally, after a dreadful length of scrutiny, the shadow man spoke. “How much do you want for him?”

Zuko could hear teeth in the pirate’s smile. “How much are you willing to pay?”

“Ten-thousand.”

Zuko didn’t know how humans calculated their currency. He’d assumed mer in general to be expensive, but they called him a stupid something fire fish, and it sounded like exotic. Even so, the pirate captain seemed shocked. He let out a high chuckle.

“Well! Show me the gold and you’ve got yourself a deal!”

The stranger waved an uninterested hand over his shoulder, and another grinding sound reverberated through the floor. Zuko couldn’t see the source of the sound with multiple different shadows clouding his vision. Judging by the pirates’ hushed tithering, their payment had been offered.

“Excellent! Pleasure doing business with you, as always.”

“Zaheera will see you out.”

The group broke formation around Zuko and floated away, whispering excitedly. Though they’d been awful to him, he couldn’t help a flicker of fear at their absence. At least with the pirates, he knew they’d avoid causing permanent damage. He knew they’d want to sell him for the highest price possible. Now, he had no idea what to expect. This stranger could have any number of sinister plans in mind; Zuko had certainly heard the horror stories. All young mer were warned about the brutality of humans, and now he was at the mercy of someone who really wanted him. This was bad.

The stranger let him go, and the world tilted as Zuko crumpled. He was very dizzy. And angry. And he really wanted to sink his fangs into human flesh.

But when he turned (against his better judgment) to snap at his new captor, a firm hand was already pushing down the back of his neck. The same way one might handle an unruly pup. Zuko was too tired to be insulted by the gesture. He wasn’t a pup anymore, but a move like that with the human’s advantage was enough to subdue even a full-grown mer.

“Watch out with that one!” The pirate’s faint voice called back. “Quite a monster at full strength. He killed two of my men when we—”

“Get out.”

The heavy thud of the door confirmed their absence, though the human didn’t seem to pay any attention to it. He ducked another snap of Zuko’s teeth, and ignored his crackly snarl, and slid his arms beneath scratchy scales. The world tilted again. Zuko would consider puking if he wasn’t so close to blacking out. The human was carrying him. Impressive. Zuko was heavy outside the water. His fins trailed the floor as they moved, but he was very much in the air, solidly in the man’s grip. Almost cradled, even if he was too big for the pup-hold to have effect a second time. The use of such familiar techniques should have rung a bell in his mind. Zuko’s headache and exhaustion wouldn’t let him dwell on it.

After a dizzying stretch, something wonderful happened. Zuko heard water. The noise was still muffled, and it faltered clarity with every stray tilt of his head, but Zuko knew what water sounded like. He’d been fantasizing about it for the past few days.

There was a splash, and with distant elation, he felt his fins trail. He wasn’t lucid enough to hold back the happy trill.

“I know.” The man huffed, and it rumbled through his chest. “I know—those bastards.”

The water rushed up around him, deliciously cool, salty, clean. It took Zuko up to his gills to realize he’d been lowered into a pool of some kind. It was shallow, but not cramped. He drew a deep breath. That felt very nice. The hands were gone.

He didn’t bother confirming he was alone before passing out soundly.

<~><><~>

Zuko was alone when he came to, and his headache had finally retreated to the realm of faint discomfort. Incredible what a good long sleep in water could do for one’s health. The pirates hadn’t put him in a tank. They were mad about what a fuss he caused the first time they brought him aboard, and they’d rightly concluded he’d be easier to handle if he was dehydrated and exhausted and dizzy. They’d doused him with lukewarm buckets every few hours, just to keep him from dying. Zuko was relieved to be back in water now. Even if trepidation about the uncertainty of his new circumstances wouldn’t let him relax.

The pool he’d been placed in was shallow; he couldn’t move without some part of his tail skimming the surface. It was still comfortable in spite of that. The edges spanned a decent length, so he could turn with ease, and the basin interior was cut from smooth, white stone. His fins shone stark against it. The pool itself seemed to be laid into the ground, flush.

Zuko scanned his surroundings while he waited for something to happen. He still seemed to be indoors. The walls here weren’t as high as the one from before—from the sale pitch—and most of them were made of a clear material. It shone with sunlight from outside. The rest of the space was occupied by greenery. The taller ones reaching the ceiling had been planted in beds in the ground, surrounded at the base with bushy, leafy shrubs, and brilliant flowers, and crawling vines. The faint sound of water also trickled through the maze, but Zuko couldn’t see the source of it from where he was. It was peaceful. Uncle would love this place.

But Zuko hadn’t forgotten how he ended up here, and he had no illusions about being treated fairly, even if he’d been left undisturbed in such a pleasant area. He had to keep his guard up. He was being held against his will. He was trapped on land with no way to escape or get home. He didn’t have much experience with humans, but so far they’d only beaten him, used him, or treated him like a pretty ornamental object, and he had no reason to believe this behavior would change soon. He had to be prepared for the worst.

In truth, he really wanted to murder someone. The urge had become so intense during his captivity with the pirates, and he hadn’t had a real outlet, being close to dying of dehydration. Now that he was rested, his jaw nearly ached to bite through bone.

He spent the time waiting for an opportunity by pacing around the pool. The space didn’t allow for much more than tight circles. Still, it was better than sitting around stewing in all his problems.

Mother was probably worried by now. Him being an adult with a life of his own didn’t stop her from worrying that he wasn’t home every day. Azula didn’t feel the same. Azula would kill for him though; she’d done it before.

Eventually, after what seemed like an hour of thinking to himself and going crazy for it, the faintest vibrations thrummed through the water, and Zuko froze. Footsteps. Someone was approaching.

He lifted his head above the surface. The sound drew closer, brushing through the plants with a practiced gait. Zuko coiled his body. There was deliberation in the person’s movement. They knew he was here. They were coming to see him. The likelihood that he’d be attacking an innocent servant or something alike was low, and that brought him a hint of reassurance.

When the human came into view, bathed in green filtered sunlight, stepping out to the pool’s edge, Zuko took an entire second to appraise the figure. Tall. Male. Dark hair, luxurious silk robes in green and pale yellow. When he spoke, it was the same smooth voice from the shadowy stranger that paid for him.

“Hello.”

Zuko didn’t wait any longer. He launched himself at the human with a vicious snarl. His vision was red. His heart was pounding. How dare they treat him with such contempt? He wasn’t some prized bounty. He wasn’t an ornament for some rich knave’s garden. He wouldn’t take this insult and abuse lying down, and if these humans continued to assume so, they were in for a shock.

To some degree of satisfaction, the man did seem shocked to be bowled over. The air left his lungs in a massive wheeze, and his eyes went very wide. He was also—however—quick. He reflexively shoved Zuko’s head away when Zuko tried to bite, and he managed to lurch free enough to dodge an elbow to the face.

“Wait!” The man yelped.

But Zuko had a size advantage, and the man was on his back, and Zuko really wanted him dead. He slammed his shoulders into the grass, pinned his legs with his tail, made another attempt to remove the throat with his teeth. This time, the man brought his arm up in a hasty block. Zuko was too busy biting down to be upset he’d missed his target. Blood and the creak of bone filled his mouth.

There was a shout of pain. “Wait wait—Zuko, stop!”

The words pierced his hazy red anger like ice through fresh snow. Zuko froze. Even being slightly feral at the taste of blood and festered indignation, he rapidly came to his senses and dropped the arm. His mind spun.

How did this man know his name? The pirates didn’t know. The pretty girl in blue didn’t know. And he wouldn’t be able to tell them if he wanted to (which he very much had not). It wasn’t a lucky guess. No one shared his name that he’d ever met. So why—how could a random human—

“Get off!” The human fumbled to shove Zuko’s face away. His sleeve was ruined, and rapidly turning red.

Zuko slowly obliged. The man didn’t seem angry. He only seemed annoyed, even as he bled profusely from an arm that might be broken. There was something unnervingly familiar about the twist of his scowl. He shuffled sideways and sat up.

“Spirits, kid, you’ve got a strong jaw.”

“I’m not—” Zuko cut himself off before he could complete the retort. The human wouldn’t understand him. The human knew he wasn’t a kid. Zuko was very obviously a full grown mer.

“You could have let me explain myself before trying to kill me.” Why did his scowl look so familiar? The man untied a sash of his fancy outfit and wrapped his arm with clinical efficiency. Then he looked up to meet Zuko’s eye, and his scowl faltered. “Are you okay?”

What.

Zuko stared. Was he seriously… asking if Zuko was okay? There was blood in the grass and in his robes and he might have a concussion and his ribs might be bruised and Zuko would at worst have a sore jaw. He shifted back warily. In his experience, crazy men often did cruel things.

When he made no move to respond, the man sighed roughly and looked away. “Guess I should have waited on that tea. Zaheera will be by with some shortly.”

“What?”

What on earth was he talking about? Tea? Of all things? How did he know Zuko’s name and why was he so relaxed about the bite on his arm and why did the slope of his nose look so familiar and why was he talking about tea in the blood and the grass?

“You were always more civil with it around.”

Okay, now Zuko was thoroughly weirded out. He wished he had an exit. An escape route. He was stuck on land in an unfamiliar house and the closest thing he had to sanctuary was a fake pool of water barely deep enough to sleep in. This was freaking him out just the slightest.

“You’re nuts.” He said. Just to say it. The man wouldn’t understand the words or the insult in them, but Zuko was sick of just sitting around not saying anything, waiting for stupid humans to come to the right conclusions.

For his effort, he was rewarded with the faintest thaw of the man’s grumpy expression. It looked amused somehow. “And why is that?” He asked.

What.

A trace of alarm made Zuko flinch. “...Because you’re… talking to me.” He probed. Just to see. Humans weren’t supposed to understand.

“Why would that make me crazy? You’re real, aren’t you?” He glanced at his sleeve, now mostly red. “I’m pretty sure you are.”

Zuko blanched. He considered backing away, back into the pool. The safety it offered was purely psychological, but it would be something at least. It’d be better than lying vulnerable on the ground next to a crazy person. His fins twitched.

“What—but—you understand me?”

“Of course.”

“But humans aren’t supposed to understand.” From what he’d heard, humans interpreted mer speech as primitive and animalistic: nothing more than a series of harsh vocalizations strung together. Zuko had demanded an explanation for the phenomenon when he was younger. After all, mer understood human speech just fine. No one was able to give him a satisfactory answer.

“Well, I’m not human.” The human said. “Technically.”

“Then what are you?” Possibly a witch? Zuko had heard of their strange abilities. Or maybe he was a spirit. In which case Zuko was screwed. He probably couldn’t get away with attempted murder on a spirit; he’d totally be cursed or something. It could also be a shapeshifter of sorts, from the myths.

But the man quickly dispelled any outlandish theories. For the first time that Zuko had seen, a flicker of hurt crossed his features. It made him look older than he likely was. Haunted.

“Wow Zuzu, you don’t remember your favorite cousin?”

No.

No, he definitely didn’t mean that. Zuko didn’t have any cousins. Not for eleven years. And there’d only been—one. Just one. Now there weren’t any.

But looking closer, Zuko could see why the scowl looked so familiar. He saw the same face in the mirror. And this man wasn’t human, clearly, even if he had legs in place of a red streaming tail. In place of the gold ribbon fins their family shared—that he must have recognized when he first saw Zuko.

He knew Zuko’s name. Zuzu. Azula tried to call him that—maybe out of nostalgia—but it belonged to them both, and Zuko hated to hear her say it because there was only one person who tried to bring them together like that, and hearing her say it reminded him of… of… a dead man.

Except he couldn’t be dead. He was right here. His blood tasted very real.

“Lu Ten?”

He looked so much like his father when he smiled. “Yeah.”

Zuko gaped. That felt like the only appropriate thing to do. Maybe the dehydration actually got to him, and this whole series of events was an elaborate hallucination. Maybe Azula spiked his tea with a psychedelic for her weird sense of humor, and he was hallucinating. It was too strange. This didn’t make any sense. Zuko’s cousin was dead, and if he wasn’t, wouldn’t Uncle know? Would Uncle have cried so hard so many private times if this was real? It felt so real.

“How did you get that scar?”

“How are you not dead?” Zuko’s head was spinning, though thankfully not from dehydration. He wasn’t sure if this was worse, actually. “Uncle thinks you’re dead.”

The comment earned him a flinch. “There’s actually a good explanation for that.”

“Which is?”

“I’m cursed.” Lu Ten squinted into the middle distance, looking uncomfortably close to being emotional. “To live as a human. And I can’t… go near the sea. I tried. It almost turned me into sea foam.”

Zuko dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

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