Again, just an extension of the note before. If anyone's interested I can continue this, but not for no reason, so let me know.

Zuko blinked his eyes as he lay there, the heavy rain running down his face, trying to regain his eyesight. When he had climbed the mountain he had expected lightning, in fact he had hoped for it, eager to test the new skill his Uncle had taught him. Redirecting lightning. Though he couldn't generate his own, being able to control the flow of electricity, take the world's rage and give it back, it was undeniably tempting. But, apparently he couldn't even do that, what with him being knocked on his back, blinded, and with a ringing in his ears from the sudden yellow lightning that had split the mountain top. He snarled and smashed his fist into the rock beside him.

He sat up, breathing heavily, and waited miserably, soaked to the skin. His hearing returned first, registering the continued crash of lightning and hammering of the rain. Then, slowly, his eyesight began to return. As a firebender he had a natural, albeit slight resistance to fire, so he supposed that was why he was able to recover his vision at all, even if at the moment it was dim and shadowy. He closed his eyes and waited some more. The rain was beginning to die down, now, and he felt like he was able to see well enough to make his way back down the mountain. So he stood, took a few steps, and promptly tripped.

Somehow Zuko managed to land so that he didn't eat a mouthful of rock and dirt. In fact, he was surprised to find that he had landed on something soft and wet and breathing. Weird, he thought. Maybe some mountain creature climbed its way up here and was killed by the strike of lightning? But Zuko didn't smell burnt flesh, and the being didn't feel like it was feathered, scaled, or furred. In fact it felt surprisingly like a human.

Had he been followed? Was this an enemy, or… Zuko made a start when he felt the being breathe under him. He quickly scrambled off, getting a little distance and trying to get a better look. With vision now relatively clear he could see that the figure wore a dark robe with red trim around the hood. They weren't very large, maybe Zuko's height, though slimmer in the shoulders, and it had what looked like the handle of a sword jutting up over its shoulder. He moved closer and rolled the figure onto its back. It was a girl with long black hair and soft features; she looked like she might have come from a life of luxury except for the weapon on her back and the armoured bracer on her arm. But Zuko couldn't for the life of him figure out how she had wound up on that mountain. She might have followed him, but he didn't recognize her at all and there wasn't anyone at the summit when he had arrived… It was a mystery.

He sat on a rock and contemplated her for a while, rain drumming down around him. What should he do? Should he leave her? It had been hard enough climbing the mountain by himself, getting down would be tricky… Zuko grimaced. Moving over to the figure he bent down and pulled her arms over his shoulders, one on either side, then grabbed her knees, bent forward, and began his way down the mountain.

General Iroh was surprised when his nephew returned with an unconscious stranger hanging from his back.

"Zuko! What happened? Who is this?"

"I don't know, uncle," Zuko spoke as he approached the ruined building which they had taken refuge in. It did a poor job of keeping out the rain, which had now calmed to only a mild torrent, but it was the only one left not burned to the ground.

Zuko placed the girl on a relatively dry spot on the floor.

"Where did you find her? Is she hurt?"

"I don't know, uncle."

"Quickly, dry her out. We don't want her to catch her death of cold. I'll get a pot of tea brewing."

While Iroh busied himself setting together a fire upon which to brew his tea, Zuko worked on drying the girl out. Taking a deep breath he laid his hands on the girl and as he moved them steam rose from both Zuko and the unconscious girl. It was a strange experience for Zuko, roaming his hands around an unconscious body, and at certain points he had to raise his hands away and use hotter flames in order to avoid any embarrassment. He grimaced.

As Zuko moved down her arms he became fascinated with her strange bracer. From the outside it should elicit no remark, but inspecting the inside showed a complex mechanism and some sort of hooked blade. He was about to reach out to remove the bracer when a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. He fell back with a yell, nearly crashing into his Uncle.

Zuko and Iroh both watched the girl slowly rise to a sitting position. She rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her shoulder before turning to look watch uncle and nephew from under her hood. Her voice was quiet, but polite.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name is Mushi, and this is my nephew, Lee. Right now you're in… Lee where are we?"

"I'm not sure uncle, some ruined Earth Kingdom village."

"Earth… Kingdom?"

"Yes, Earth Kingdom, what were you expecting? Fire Nation?"

"No, I was expecting somewhere real. Instead, you tell me a fantasy."

Zuko and Iroh looked to eachother. "So, what? You think she got hit on the head?"

"Zuko… Where did you say this girl came from again?"

"I didn't say because I don't know. I was just out on the mountain when there was a lightning strike. I-"

"Did you say lightning?" the girl asked, moving forward. "What colour was it?"

"… Yellow… Why?" Zuko asked, but the girl ignored him.

She raised her hand to her chin then she frantically patted herself down as if looking for something.

"What are you looking for, young lady?"

"A box. When you found me did I have a small wood paneled box?"

"No."

The girl deflated. "Oh no… It couldn't be… Am I in the world of the box? Please, can either of you draw me a map of the world? The countries?"

"What, why?"

"I may be able to recognize it."

"Of course young lady. I'll do what I can, but later. We have no paper, and I'd rather not get completely soaked."

The girl just looked out the window of the dilapidated building. "… I suppose it can wait."

"Excellent. Now, please, have some tea. I've made it myself."

The girl hesitated before pulling down her hood. She reached out and took the steaming cup from Iroh's outstretched hand. She nodded in thanks and took a sip. "Thank you," she said. "This tea is excellent."

"Oh, you're very kind," Iroh said, smiling widely and pouring another cup for Zuko. "So, if I may ask, what happens to be your name young lady?"

The girl took another sip before answering. "I'll answer," she said." But I'd like to know your names first."

"We already told you." Zuko said flatly. "I'm Lee and he's Mushi."

"No. You are Zuko."

"How-"

"Your uncle slipped and called you by your real name," she said with a small smile as Zuko glowered at his uncle who gave a bashful grin and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oops. My bad," Iroh said grinning. "Oh well, we may as well come clean. It seems that our friend here is lost, and being dishonest will only serve to misguide her. My name is Iroh."

"Thank you. My name is Shao Jun."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Shao Jun."

"Please, call me Jun."