Mountain Path

Within the Fire Nation a boy strode along a worn-down mountain road, well concealed by the trees and terrain around it. A heavy downpour soaked everything around him, a blessing in disguise as it slowly washed away the soot and mud that covered his face and arms. He seemed completely out of it, empty violet eyes that showed neither intelligence nor emotion staring unblinkingly towards the ground in front of him. He completely ignored the sound of heavy footsteps hitting the ground and carriage wheels rolling through the mud.

"Hey! You damn brat move out of the way!" He heard a shout from behind him, but the boy continued to ignore the noise and just kept walking mindlessly forward. After all, that was what he was told to do. As long as he did everything would turn out okay, right? A man wearing hard leather with metal plating came up from behind him. His uniform was dyed crimson, and on his head sat a gruesome helmet with a skull-like face mask concealing his facial features. He came up from behind the boy, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him to the side of the road as if he were nothing but garbage. "All clear. Keep moving." The soldier called back to his comrades, who were stationed around a bullhorse-drawn carriage with similar crimson coloring to that of their armor. However, what set it apart from everything else in its vicinity was not its vibrant color, but rather the gilded gold patterns running along its mostly wooden surface, depicting the royal seal of the Fire Nation.

"What happened?" A voice emanated from inside, calm and collected. The speaker no doubt was used to having authority, judging by the confident with which he spoke. "Just some trash in the middle of the road. Nothing of concern, General Iroh." The soldier responded. The carriage, which had stopped, started moving again with a wave of his hands.

"Halt." Iroh called out, sounding exasperated. The servant driving the carriage once again stopped it with a tug of the reins. Iroh stepped down from the carriage and began looking around. Turning his gaze from where they had come, he could make out a boy slowly getting out from a ditch on the side of the road, breathing heavily as he once again started walking. The boy now clutched his left side tightly and wheezed every time he took a step. His left arm now hung uselessly at his side.

The boy's hair and skin were caked in mud and dirt, he wore grey, torn rags and his feet were mangled and torn. He was slouched over, his unkempt hair obscuring his face from view. Iroh ran to the boy, taking off his outer robes and wrapping them around him gently.

Wordlessly, he picked up the trembling boy and brought him back to his carriage, lamenting at how thin the child felt in his arms. It was as if he were carrying nothing but a few twigs held within a burlap sack.

"But Sir…" The head guard spoke tentatively, stepping aside as Iroh walked past him. Iroh gave him an glance. "How can one be so heartless as to throw an obviously suffering child to the roadside? Furthermore, how heartless could I have been if I were to let it happen? Now get a move on. We still have a few miles to go before we reach the Capital.

The guard looked hesitant, but eventually sighed and bowed. "Yes, General Iroh."

Iroh glanced at the carriage's driver, taking in his bloody palms. "And someone please switch with Li Peng to let him rest. Driving a carriage for three straight days without sleep can't be easy." With that, Iroh opened the carriage's wooden door and stepped inside, leaving the guards to stare at the now trembling Li Peng.

Then, straightening his back, the guard's leader looked to the servants and other guards. "You heard him! Get a move on!" He yelled over the rain and thunder, personally jumping up into the drivers seat and taking the reigns from the driver. The guards glanced at each other before turning forward once again, the procession moving towards the Fire Nation Capital. Li Peng passed out once he was sure it would be okay to do so.

Meanwhile, Iroh sat in the carriage with the boy. He removed the robe, revealing the child curled up in a ball and wearing nothing but a thin cloth that barely did its job at concealing anything. To prevent the boy from feeling uncomfortable, Iroh once again covered up his body with the robe, leaving only the boy's face exposed. He was trembling in fear.

"Thank you, sir." The boy rasped, his voice barely audible as it seemed to tear through his throat and out his mouth, like an out of tune string instrument it was almost painful to listen to. "You are very welcome! My name is Iroh, what is yours?" Iroh asked with a smile. He was trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

Opening his squinted eyes slightly to see the boy's reaction, he saw that he had brushed his hair to the side, revealing a nasty scar on the top left side of his forehead. It took all of Iroh's self-control not to grimace at the thought of what had caused it. It was a burn scar, something he'd grown much too accustomed to for it to be anything else. Besides that, the boy's looks were average, apart from his violet eyes that is. They were unique, surprising even. Never before had the so-called 'Dragon of The West' seen anything like them.

Realizing that it was painful for him to speak, Iroh handed the boy his flask of water, allowing him to gulp down a few mouthfuls before pulling it away.

"If you drink too much you'll get sick." He said as the boy looked at him with a questioning gaze.

Clearing his throat, Iroh asked again. "Can you tell me your name, young man?"

"Xiao." The boy said simply. Iroh quickly realized he wasn't going to get much more than that.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

Not receiving an answer, he reached out and touched the boy's cheek with the back of his hand. Feeling how freezing it was, he immediately channeled a tide of qi to his palm, holding it up towards the carriage's ceiling and allowing for a small ball of fire to ignite there. It was a rather concentrated ball of flame, so the heat it radiated was more than enough to make the entire carriage's innards toasty warm.

Xiao watched in fascination as the flame swirled and danced in Iroh's palm. "Why is yours... So small?" He asked. Caught off guard by the question, Iroh almost choked on air.

"Huh?" He grunted.

Iroh looked at the boy, confused. "What do you mean mine is small? Are you talking about this?" He nodded towards the fire he held in his palm, and Xiao, who was still staring at it, nodded affirmatively.

"You're a bender?" Iroh asked curiously. Xiao once again nodded.

—Five Years Later—

"Xiao! Come and get ready! My brother invited us to a feast!" Iroh shouted from the doorway before running to get dressed himself. He was acting a little too energetic for a man of his age and standing, like a child who had been promised candy. Xiao, who looked to be about thirteen years of age, stopped his training, wiping the sweat from his brow and looking at Iroh with a wry smile. "Yes Master!" He shouted, grabbing a towel from the side and walking into the residence, heading directly for the building's bathhouse that was connected to a natural hot spring, so he could wash the sweat and dirt from his body.

Xiao was short for his age, standing at only four feet, eight inches in height, approximately four inches shorter than what was considered the average. He had dark brown hair tied in a messy bun and bright violet eyes. A large and ugly scar marred the left side of his forehead, putting a stain on his otherwise relatively handsome face.

"Hurry! I want to have some tea before going!" Iroh shouted from above, his room being the only one on the house's second story. "Okay!" Xiao shouted back as he scrubbed himself clean and dried off.

Feeling refreshed, he then walked out of the bath house and to his chambers, where he slid on a black undershirt and pants, donning a violet and black checkered kimono on top that matched his eyes. He went to slide on his socks, pausing and staring at the scars covering his feet. His lips formed a sad smile, before he shook his head and slid the socks the rest of the way onto his feet, covering them up, before putting some sandals on over them.

Scolding himself internally to stop dwelling on the past, Xiao put on a large smile and went to the mirror, where he tied his long hair, which had been hanging damp by his shoulders once again into a messy bun.

He walked out of the room and went to the dining area, where Iroh was waiting with a pot of tea, steam coming out of it as he took off the lid and began to pour two cups. Xiao walked and stopped his master from continuing by resting a hand on the top of the teapot. He then took it out of his hands and began pouring it into the cups himself. "You don't need to do this, Master. I still don't understand why you banished the servants from this wing." He said as he poured them both a cup of tea.

Iroh sighed. "How many times do I have to say this? I'm getting older, yes, but I'm not that old yet. I appreciate your care but until I am unable to walk, I will always pour tea for a friend. As for the servants, well I knew that they were talking ill of you behind your back, and that was affecting your state of mind. As your master, I couldn't have that, so obviously either they had to stop it all together, or they would have to leave. It was their choice in the end, not mine." Iroh responded with a smirk.

Xiao nodded. "You're the reason I'm not dead in some ditch on the mountain side, so even if there are no servants, I will always do my part when it comes to protecting and caring for you, Master. No matter what excuses you tell me, this won't change." Then, his expression dimming slightly, he added, "I just wonder if this will be enough to repay all the kindness you have given me, or if I'll forever be in your debt.

Iroh laughed. "You are already well on your way to paying me back! After all, you've been living your life to its fullest, and hopefully enjoying it along the way. Besides, you are best friends with my nephew, that in itself should make you consider this debt paid, and I argue that he would agree. You must remember that after his mother left, Zuko had no one left. Luckily, you were there to force him through it, and thus bring him out of the pit he'd fallen into. By becoming his friend, you have given him one extra person to lean on."

After that, they remained in silence, casually drinking their tea until finally Iroh stood up. "Don't want to be late now! I heard they've prepared some roasted turtle-duck!" Xiao shook his head and smiled wryly, "What is it with you and that stuff?" He asked.

"What can I say? I developed a taste for it during my time in the military!" Iroh said while laughing boisterously. He walked out of the room with his hands in his sleeves, Xiao following right behind him while shaking his head.

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