Green Eyes & Fiendfyre

Word Count: Aprox. 3 700

CHAPTER 7 – THE WINTER SOLSTICE (PART 1)

ALERTNATIVELY: ENCOUNTERS WITH EARTHBENDERS

{ 26 } SPRINGS

The Earth Kingdom was a beautiful country, Harry had to admit that. It was full of rolling hills and sprawling forests with the occasional bamboo patch and lake, and for the first time in several months the air did not have the tang of nearby ocean. They had travelled inland tracking the Avatar's trail, which meandered back and forth, and Zuko was plowing ahead like an ostrich-horse chomping at the bit.

Now, they had taken a nice break to catch their breath, and Harry and Iroh wandered down a twisting path that led them through a small bamboo forest. The old man was chattering on about the different types of tea available in the Earth Kingdom, excitedly talking of chamomile, mint-ginseng and tao-flower varieties.

Scratching his chin, Harry said idly, "You know we can't actually go into any of the markets like we are now right? They'd drive us Fire Nation folk out in seconds."

Iroh paused and then glanced at him. "You could go in and buy it; you do not have a topknot, and have green eyes." Which had always been a silent point of contention between the three of them, as Harry only had the pale skin and sharp tongue to show his Fire Nation 'heritage,' but he ignored the comment and gave Iroh a flat look.

"I'm not going to buy your tea unless we're heading in for a supplies run," he said.

"If you do, I will bargain down the next sake shipment we get."

"…I'll think about it."

The silver-haired man chuckled and rubbed his hands together, already anticipating the fine foreign teas he would get to try. They left the cover of the bamboo forest and passed by a series of small mountain pools. Under the stone basins he could feel the quiet hum of warm rising up from the ground and he paused when he realized what it was.

"A natural spring!" He exclaimed, hurrying to peer into the crystal clear waters within.

Harry followed and dipped a hand into the liquid. "It's not quite warm enough to soak in," he said, letting the water droplets cascade from his fingers. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it was nowhere near as cold as the liquified iceberg that had been the Black Lake, he thought fondly.

"Ah, Harry, you forget the greatest skill of a firebender!" With a wink Iroh let out a long sigh and steam wafted out of his mouth. His hands, dipped into the luke-warm waters, let out ripples of heat. In moments steam wafted from the pools. "Perfect," he said happily, already stripping his robes (7).

Harry rolled his eyes and left him to it, not in the mood for a soak. On a ship full of firebenders warm water was not hard to get, so he could indulge any time he felt like, which beat any of his adventures into muggle seafaring. Shuddering at the dark memories of too-cramped holds and damp smelling beds, he climbed to the top of the small hill where a large flat rock sat in full sunlight and settled down for a nice nap.

{ 27 } CAPTURE

Iroh sighed deeply and smiled, content. Ah, wasn't life wonderful? A hot bath, the promise of future tea and the beautiful Earth Kingdom countryside – what else could a man want? The woods rang with the sounds of chirping birds and croaking badger-frogs and the rustling sighs of the wind passing through the trees and bamboo. It was so peaceful; a nice break from their usual steel home and rushed lives on the ocean…

"Uncle!" Ah, there came the rush. Feeling the familiar snapping embers of his nephew's inner fire approach, he cracked open an eye to watch the young man come crashing out the bamboo with all the grace of a komodo-rhino. "It's time to leave! Where are you? Uncle Iroh!"

"Over here," he called.

"Uncle?" He smothered a smile at the bemused note in Zuko's voice, for once sounding like every other teenager on the planet. The moment passed as he continued, "We need to move on; we're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him."

Iroh sighed (rush, rush, why was it always a rush with the younger generation) and raised his arms to gesture to the steaming water around him. "You look tired, Prince Zuko. Why don't you join me in the springs and soak away your troubles?"

"My troubles cannot be soaked way; it's time to go!"

"You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little. The temperature's just right. I heated it myself." He let out another burst of steam to reheat the water, and gestured to where Harry's idle form rested at the top of the hill. "Look, even Harry is relaxing!"

A green eye opened lazily and regarded the two of them with a distinctly predatory gaze as the retired bodyguard stared down the hillside. They were pinned by the strong gaze for a moment before Harry grumbled and turned on his side, facing away. A hand waved limply at them over his shoulder.

Iroh and Zuko exchanged amused glance, well aware that a nap in a sun beam could turn Harry into a veritable owl-cat no matter where they were. The younger of the two gave the tiniest roll of his eyes and said, "At least get out of the water, Uncle, so we can leave soon."

With a sigh he stood and stretched. He watched, amused, as Zuko recoiled and looked away in the hopes of preserving his modesty. "You know what, why don't you take your time. But be back in the ship in half an hour, or I'm leaving without you."

Iroh chuckled and settled back into the water; atop the mountain Harry let out something remarkably close to an appreciative grumble. Unknowingly weariness began to creep into the edges of his psyche, and within ten minutes he was out cold. Time passed quietly until…

Among the trees, something moved. Green eyes slowly slid open, staring into the now silent woods. Harry felt the quick approach of heavy, ancient-flavoured auras with the tang of crisp mountain air and endless green fields, and he slid out of sight behind a large boulder.

Moments later he heard Iroh start awake, the old man's range on par with his own but his sensing skills not quite able to pinpoint what had made him flinch. He heard him grumble something about a meadow vole and chuckle quietly. Seconds after the ground rumbled and Harry heard the sound of shifting earth – something he hadn't heard in a while. Below him, Iroh's aura took on a distinctly perturbed flavour.

"Fire Nation soldier!" He heard one of the earthbenders say. A different voice said, "He's no ordinary soldier; this is the Fire Lord's brother, the Dragon of the West. The once great general Iroh. But now, he's our prisoner." He could practically hear the smirk in their voices as they moved forward. There was the jingle of shackles as Iroh was securely bound and escorted away.

Harry followed like a shadow among the underbrush, and began to plan.

{ 28 } EARTH

There were spikes in the hot springs.

Zuko warily stepped forward, eyeing the scene and knowing it had been untouched since the disturbance. Earth spears rose up from the basin Uncle had been resting in earlier, thankfully devoid of blood. The tops were neatly crumbled away like someone removing cinders from a half-burnt piece of paper, and shallow furrows ran up the hill in relation to the spikes.

"It looks like there's been a landslide, sir," one of the guards said.

He narrowed his eyes at the familiar traces. "Land doesn't slide uphill," he said coldly. "Those rocks didn't move naturally. My uncle's been captured by earthbenders!"

{ 29 } SUBTERFUGE

Much to Iroh's annoyance, his captors apparently intended to ride through the night. After he had managed to leave behind his sandal for Zuko, who would be on his trail soon, he had nothing to scheme about and keep him occupied. The earthbenders, obviously part of a routine patrol, rarely spoke and when they did it was in low voices and about terribly boring things, like how Lieutenant Jo-Sing had finally asked out Jasmine. It made him want to beat his head against something hard, but the only thing available was the earthbender's back in front of him, and he was fairly certain the man would not appreciate it.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long for some form of distraction to appear, as a lantern-light emerged from the gloom as they rounded a bend in the road. "Who goes there?" The leader of the patrol called.

The lantern light turned towards them, and a startlingly familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

It was Harry's voice. What was the man doing?

"Identify yourself," the patrol leader barked as they cautiously approached. The lantern light bobbed aside until they could see a figure sitting astride a grey and green eel-hound, dressed in simple gray and green robes. Harry's green eyes cut through the night with a strange sheen, but the expression on his face was entirely innocent.

"My name is Hiroshi," he said, speaking with a soft lilt that Iroh had never heard him use before. It made him seem like an easy-going civilian – all soft edges and quiet stillness. Damn, Iroh thought, realizing what Harry's plan was. He's good.

The earthbenders relaxed when they saw the middle-aged man in simple robes astride the eel-hound, and the leader smiled at him. "Heading inland?" he asked.

Harry nodded, shifting the pole holding his lantern aloft so that it was wedged into the saddle. Iroh realized it was a familiar brass staff that held the lantern, and nearly laughed. Harry looked the simple part of a travelling citizen even while having his most deadly weapon close at hand. "Yes, I'm heading farther in to help take care of some family members; he and his nephew always get into trouble so I figured that I should help keep them out of it."

Iroh silently grumbled at that, but the leader ate it up like it was a sugar-root hotcake and laughed. "Family, eh? Why don't you ride with us; we're just escorting this prisoner to Ba Sing Se – I'm sure we'll be on the same roads for a while."

Harry smiled and expertly turned the eel-hound to the side so their ostrich-horses could ride alongside it. "Of course; it's nice to see officers on patrol." The eel-hound huffed quietly as they set out, and Harry soothed it with a gentle pat. He sent a glance at Iroh with nothing more than idle curiosity on his face, no sign of any recognition at all, and asked, "What did he do?"

"Ah, nothing much; just toyed with the wrong people." The leader grunted, obviously smart enough to not start blabbing to 'random strangers' about the Fire Nation general they had slung across their saddle.

(Where had the man gotten the eel hound? There were wild packs running about in these parts of the Earth Kingdom, but they were notoriously difficult to tame, and were known to hiss like a snake and run off if approached.)

Harry shrugged and continued on, all easy smiles and casual conversation. Iroh could only watch as he played the part of a regular civilian that could fit in just about everywhere and charmed his way into the guards' good graces. By the time dawn came, and with it more of Iroh's strength, the guards were comfortable enough in his presence to sleep in the saddle.

Harry was obviously intending to wait until he gave the signal; against three earthbenders, on the edge of a long slope, even a surprise attack could go wrong. With him in shackles, Iroh would only hold Harry back if he went on the attack. So he would have to make the first move. It was nearly noon when something came along to trigger his action, and it came in the form of the Avatar riding a dragon right of their heads.

He started at the sight, recognizing the blue tint of the spirit world but not knowing why the boy had any reason to exit the earthly realm on the back of a dragon. Interestingly he also saw Harry`s head twitch slightly, small enough not to alert the earthbenders but noticeable to him. So Harry could somehow see the spirit world as well? That was another subject to add to his ever growing list of things he would have to have a talk about with Harry…

"Is there something?" asked the earthbender, eyes narrowed.

"Ah nothing," Iroh was quick to say. But after a moment he paused and said, "Actually, there is a bit of a problem. My old joints are feeling sore and achy, and these shackles are too loose."

"Too loose?"

"That's right," he continued, realizing he had the man's attention. "The cuffs are loose and they jangle around and bump my wrists. It would help me if you could tighten them, so they wouldn't shake around so much?" He attempted a bashfully pleading grin.

His heightened senses heard Harry's smothered snort, but the leader didn't seem to be against the idea and said, "Very well. Corporal, tighten the prisoner's handcuffs."

They stopped, and the young man approached him with caution in his eyes. Iroh approved, but nevertheless, they were on opposite sides and he felt little remorse when he heated the cuffs and clamped the man's hand down on the hot metal. His cry was ear piercing and he stumbled to the ground, clutching his hand. Iroh quickly moved forward and shot a blast of flames to scare off the ostrich-horses and threw himself down the slope. He rolled, tensing his muscles to lessen the impact of hard rocks and packed dirt, and heard the rumble of approaching earth behind him.

Unfortunately one couldn't do much maneuvering while hurtling down the side of a mountain, so Iroh could only growl as the landslide over took him and slowed him to a stop. "He's too dangerous, Captain," one of the earthbenders said as they came to a halt around him. "We can't just carry him to the capital! We have to do something now."

"I agree," said the captain. "He must be dealt with immediately, and severely."

They hauled him to his feet a moment later, sure to keep their hands away from the metal on his body. As they earthbent their way up to the ostrich-horses, Iroh could only wonder why Harry had not leapt into action. Hadn't he been ready for a signal?

They cleared the ridge and Iroh was faced with the sight of Harry keeping a prancing eel-hound under control, the creature's wild yellow eyes focused on the still-twitchy ostrich horses. Thin strings of saliva dripped from its long teeth as it writhed for a moment, caught in a battle between its hunting instinct and the stern human on its back.

Right. Eel-hounds had a tendency to pounce on panicking ostrich-horses, as it was their natural predator instinct. For Harry, sitting atop one, to be dragged along with the crazy chase in the split second he was supposed to react and help him get away – it wasn't quite possible. If Iroh could have given him some warning before hand, then maybe, but as it was…

He met Harry's irritated gaze and bit back a sheepish smile.

{ 30 } RESCUE

It wasn't hard for Zuko to track the earthbenders. They weren't covering their trail, which was strange because why would they think that a Fire Nation native would be out here alone? He couldn't complain and quick to follow, though for some reason a set of eel-hound tracks joined them. They were common in these parts, and could often be found in the untamed wilds nearby, but this one was definitely tamed. The trial led on for a long while, and Zuko tracked as quickly as he could. The eel-hound tracks separated from the ostrich-horses' after the mountain that bore signs of earthbending, heading down a side road, but he could spare no time to investigate.

It was good he didn't, as he just only arrived in time to stop his uncle's hands from being crushed. He shivered at the thought – a bender's hands were often their life. A good bender could use all their limbs, but the hands held a finesse that could be found nowhere else. If Uncle had lost them, he wouldn't have been able to do something as simple and fundamental as heat tea.

Obviously, he had a lot of anger to take out on these particular earthbenders.

He jumped forward and knocked aside the boulder before it could wound Iroh. With a swift axe kick he snapped the chain pinning his uncle's hands in two.

"Excellent form, Prince Zuko," a voice said as a shadowy figure dropped down beside them. Zuko relaxed when he realized it was Harry, though he was dressed in Earth Kingdom colours.

"I had good teachers," he said in return.

"Surrender," called the captain. "It's five against three; you are clearly outnumbered.

Iroh smirked. "Ah, that's true; but you are clearly outmatched."

The fight, of course, went quickly, and ended with them as the victors. Zuko and Iroh were quick to take care of two of the benders and the captain, and when they turned around Harry had his opponents halfway across the pit and unconscious.

"Good timing," Harry said, a smile on his face. Zuko returned and put a hand on Iroh's shoulder. They stood in companionable silence for a moment, then the young prince said, "Now could you please put on some clothes?"

{ 30.5 } SURVIVORS

The Earth Kingdom soldiers woke slowly several hours later, bodies aching and minds filled with cotton. The captain, one eye swollen shut and an arm clutched closely to his chest to protect its broken form, shuffled about wearily. Thankfully all his men were accounted for, though some with wounds worrying enough to demand a slow journey back to the nearest outpost. He could feel the bruises and scrapes from the brief encounter with the three Fire Nation men throbbing incessantly, and the constant reminder of his shameful failure set his teeth on edge. To think, Prince Zuko and the Dragon of the West, here in the gentle hills of remote Earth Kingdom! As well as the other man – the one who had dressed so casually in neutral colours and them all completely fooled about his true identity. In general Fire Nation natives looked the same – black hair, dark eyes and a fairly pale skin, with a sharp tongue and an even sharper temper. The man had had the hair and the skin, but his eyes had been too green for them to even consider him being anything other than a simple Earth Kingdom farmer with unfortunately pale skin.

Growling, he tugged at his hair and scowled at the sky. They were hours from the nearest town, and their mounts had run off, so it would be a long and exhausting journey. Thankfully none of his men's legs had been injured, so they would be able to walk, though several of them had badly bruised ribs and would have to make frequent stops. By the time they managed to make it to a militia office and inform them of the presence of Fire Nation royalty, the perpetrators would already be gone.

"Captain," said his second in command. The man was clutching at his bruised ribs and had to hold his head carefully, for his neck had gotten an awful sprain when he had been thrown by the unnamed Fire Nation man. "We're ready to move out – we have to get word to the capital as soon as possible. The generals need to know about this attack immediately."

"I agree, but we can't move too quickly; I'd rather not loose any men due to exacerbated injuries."

"Yes sir." The man gave the tiniest nod and went to relay the orders, but hesitated briefly. "… I just can't believe we ran into Iroh, never mind the prince. Why do you think they're here, sir?"

"I don't know, Private, but it's not our job to figure it out. The Generals will take care of the Fire Nation royalty, as well as anyone else who accompanies them." Like the man who had so easily slipped in among them, wearing a mask so natural it was frightening.

As the private went and began to help the other soldiers to their feet, the captain pulled out his report book and began to shakily take notes with his good hand. Alongside the details he had written on the prince and general shortly after he'd woken up, he bit his lip and put the charcoal stick to paper. Unknown assailant – black hair, shoulder length, pale skin, green eyes, thirties; uncertain of Fire Nation descent; extremely skilled at subterfuge; advanced hand to hand combat knowledge; uncertain of relation with General or Prince; uncertain of bending abilities; possible roles – assassin.

BONUS:

{ 27.5 }

"Come back here you piece of shit!" Harry yelled at the sinuous green form scampering ahead of him.

The disgruntled eel hound, summoned by a convenient piece of modified parselmagic, spat back several crude words and continued to dart between the tall trees. Harry despaired silently at the situation – all he wanted was a useful mount to catch up with the Earth Kingdom soldiers and mock Iroh…

"Come on!" He shouted, puffing as he sprinted behind the lizard-thing. "It'll just be a day or so; I'll give you some food after and send you back!"

The eelhound stopped and warily turned to regard him at his hissing words. "Back? Food?" The creature inquired, eyes gleaming hungrily.

"Yeah, you fucker, I said that when you first landed. Two boars once I'm done and you'll be back with your scaly friends."

"Five."

"Three boars and a timed warming charm."

"Climb and go, slow man."

"Ugh, you mouthy piece of shit. Fine, let me just conjure a saddle."

"Leather trap?! Four boars then!"

"Just hold still!"

Notes: (7) In Eastern culture public bath houses were common and often a social gathering place, so modesty did not apply in the bathing sense.

AN - So, it's been a long while. A lack of creativity made it hard to write, and punching through that took time, but I figured I would put out a few chapters before I disappear again. I'm starting the uni semester in a new city so moving and getting adjusted to that will take up most of my time, so there will probably be radio silence again. However, great thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favourited! Seeing all the support definitely made me feel better. This isn't my best chapter, I personally don't like it all that much, but I'll post the next one once I've edited it.

Also, there's been lots of requests for pairings with Harry - this fic will remain firmly gen, as in no pairings for Harry, and none for the other characters beyond canon relationships. Romance is hard to write, and can ruin a story if badly done, and I find that Harry is far to old and mature for the majority of the characters people have suggested. Almost the entirety of the cast is under the age of twenty, and Harry is middle-aged; I always think of him as late thirties, early forties. He has also lived through a war and seen some shit, so the pairings would never work, for me at least. Sorry if that disappoints, but better a non-romantic fic than it be ruined by forcing it.

Reviews, questions, suggestions and opinions are wonderful to read, and I'm going to try and get back into replying personally if PMing is available. Lots of people really helped with putting down tentative plot points and ideas with their suggestions. I welcome everything, even if it's just one sentence.