The attic was just as dark and dusty as Zuko remembered. The last time he'd been up here, he'd been looking for firewood. There hadn't been much in the way of that, so he had left it mostly untouched. Zuko found himself regretting that as Azah explored.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed, holding up a doll with hair cropped almost to its scalp. "Kids, am I right? My cousins used to do this to all of their dolls."

"That was my sister's," Zuko responded, looking away. "She told me... never mind."

Azah set down the doll and continued searching. "Do I hear a story coming on? I'd love to hear something about your childhood!"

"There's not much to tell. She convinced me to cut its hair and then got me in trouble with our parents. My childhood isn't really the best topic for stories."

She gave him a look like she wanted to say something, but then she was distracted by something in the box she was searching. "Whoa." She pulled a rusted sword from its ornate sheath and waved it around. "This thing looks ancient!"

"Water damage."

"That explains it." She stood and took a stance, swinging the sword like... anything other than a sword.

"Stop," Zuko commanded. "Just... stop. That's not how you're supposed to move it... or hold it... or stand."

"Oops." She smiled at him cheerfully. "Want to give me some pointers?"

"No."

Azah slid the blade back into its sheath and set it back in the box. She leapt back from it a moment later with a strangled noise. Zuko instinctively adjusted his stance, but she was back at the box almost immediately, lifting out the source of her discomfort: a dead elephant rat.

"Don't touch that," he started, "it's—"

"Not dead," she interrupted. "See?"

Against his better judgement, he moved closer to examine the little heap of fur in his wife's hands. The tiny animal was breathing shallowly, its ribcage showing through in between breaths. The whitish crust around the end of its trunk made him cringe in disgust.

"I was going to say diseased. And it's filthy," he pointed out. "You're probably going to get yourself sick."

"I'll wash my hands," she replied, reaching back into the box with her free hand and retrieving a smaller box that must have held something at some point. "Here, it can stay in this for now."

"You want to keep it?"

"Just until it's better!"

"It's an elephant rat."

"They're not so bad when they're cleaner." Round, golden rabbaroo eyes pleaded with him. "Please?"

Zuko shook his head. "Fine. Sure."

"Great! I'll be right back—you can keep looking for the Pai Sho set."

Azah slipped the beast into its new home and disappeared down the ladder with it. Good grief. Zuko knelt next to another box and began sorting through its contents. A few scrolls, a decorative wooden fan, and a familiar-looking mask greeted him. He lifted the mask from the cobwebs clinging to the box.

"The Dragon Empress," Azah's voice said from behind him, taking on a reverent tone.

Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Sorry!" she whispered, then, holding up her hands, "I washed my hands. No diseases here. Probably."

He ran a finger over the curves of the dragon's face. "You like Love Among the Dragons?"

"I used to see it every year with my cousin," she answered. "It was his favorite."

"My mother took us every summer when I was little," Zuko said quietly. "It's hers, too." Silence reigned for a minute, neither meeting the other's eyes.

"We'd better keep looking."

I received news this week that an online friend of mine passed in December. We met through this site in 2014, and her advice and encouragement both in writing and in spiritual life did a lot to shape me in the time since. She was a role model and a great mentor, and I can't imagine what her family is going through. I wish I had paid more attention a few months ago and found out then rather than at the same time her other blog followers did, three months later. She was fighting for a long time, and it's comforting to know that now she can rest with God. We'll see each other again. I have so much to tell her.

I will be completing this fic. I had given up yet again after some of the snark I got over the latest hiatus, but it's time. I won't be consistent, and chapter length likely will stay as short, but I'll get it done.

Please don't hesitate to message me if you ever want to for any reason. My Tumblr url is lizbettywrites. I don't post a lot of my own original content there, and it's largely reblogged sociopolitical content, but if I start getting asks for content then I'm happy to oblige. My inbox is always open. Also, I draw sometimes, so if you have a doodle prompt then feel free to send that in on Tumblr as well.

-Liz