𝙊𝙗𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 ᪥ 𝙄𝙧𝙤𝙝 𝙄𝙄 ˡᵉᵍᵉⁿᵈ ᵒᶠ ᵏᵒʳʳᵃ

𝚃 𝐰 𝚘

After a two hours soak, Iroh is summoned to the navigation deck. He takes his time dressing himself, feeling like a whole new person now that his body temperature has returned to normal. Though, his balance is still a struggle, and he has to keep his hand braced on the wall beside him as he trips through the halls, and the stairs are no help as his knees are still very stiff and ache with every step.

Upon Iroh's arrival, every set of eyes in the room, except one, locks onto him and the buzz of conversation comes to a halt. Halah sits off to the side with multiple blankets around her and a steaming cup of tea in her hands, yet she never lifts the beverage to her mouth. Already, her skin is much more clear and clean, and her hair is still damp from a bath of her own, but tidied up at bit more since they left the Equalist base. She remains completely still as the crew begins firing accusations at their superior, her long dark hair hangs like a curtain around her face, shielding her eyes from those around her. Although they have done nothing but show concern and care for her so far, she refuseas to let her guard down to any one of them. Not a word was uttered from her when she was drilled with curiosity from the crew earlier, or even when the sweet healer only wanted to tend to her injuries.

The clash of voices ceases when Iroh shouts for silence after his frustration reaches its boiling point. His soldiers are no help to his pounding headache, and the dark circles under his eyes show for it. The behavior from his crew just now and upon is arrival irritates him beyond belief, even if he hadn't been in his current state of being practically half-conscious.

Iroh shuts his eyes, releases a long, wavering sigh, then opens them once more. "I understand you are confused, but this behavior from my crew is unacceptable. You are trained to remain calm and collected in every situation, and even in my distress, I expect better. With that aside, you all know that if it were up to me, I would never leave you in the dark, and your questions will be answered when the time is right—"

"How can you say that when you've been leading us on a mission we had no knowledge of? You've been lying to us this whole time! While we've been fighting your battles against the Equalists, you've been on a wild goose chase for the supposed missing Avatar!" The crew erupts in agreement with the man who spoke up, who then turns around to direct his words toward Halah. "And who the hell even is she? How do you really know she's the Avatar, huh? A-And what about your friend, Sorren—isn't he the Avatar?!"

"I was given orders by the Fire Lord and the White Lotus. And when you are enlisted by such authority, you obey!" Iroh shouts over them, resulting in quiet once again. "Many years ago, they had put their trust in me to see this through. I chose all of you as part of my team for a reason, and if I could have told each of you what all of this was really for, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I apologize, truly, for hiding this from everyone. But in the end, I did what needed to be done, and I couldn't have done it without such a crew as yourselves. In the meantime, we lost three good men today, and I hope you find the time to pay your respects."

Another man by the name of Chosu scoffs a few seats away, his strong accent booms throughout the room. Though being twenty years Iroh's senior, the two have quite the history going back to Iroh's childhood. Chosu trained Iroh harder than anyone, forced him to his lowest points countless times throughout the years. They are civil with one another, respect each other as equals, but aren't afraid to put each other in their place when necessary. Chosu shaped Iroh into the man he is today, but Iroh still can't help but hold a hint of bitterness towards the elder for his treatment of Iroh as a child.

          "Well, looks like you did it all without us anyway, young lad. So, tell us again what exactly we were here for besides wasting our bloody time and resources? It was my only son's birthday recently—the third one I've had to miss. Hell, I could be home with my family right now!"

This time, Iroh decides to let his soldiers go on their various tangents because, for one, he lacks the energy to stop them again; and two, he cannot give less of a damn if they spend the rest of the journey back to Republic City bickering in his face, so long as the Avatar is safely on his ship. And the last thing Iroh wants to do is tell a man who happens to be ten times bigger and stronger than him that finding the Avatar was ten times more important than his son's birthday. Respectfully.

After a minute or two, Iroh turns on his heel and heads for the door, only to be stopped in his tracks by a firm hand on his shoulder. Iroh expects it to be Chosu. His brows draw together in frustration, at the ready to defend himself, but instead he whirls around to meet the soft amber eyes of the ship's captain, Esunee, the kindest woman Iroh had ever met and always seems to be the mediator in every situation. Not only that, but she would take anyone's darkest secrets to the grave. Iroh knows she was the only one he could inform of his mission and she did a damn good job keeping it to herself. She is the captain of the ship, after all, and Iroh felt she has a right to know their purpose if she is in control of the vessel. Though, Iroh is unaware of the consequences should his grandfather find out another soul knew of Iroh's mission.

With a gentle smile and a slight nod, Esunee pats Iroh's shoulder and sends him an understanding wink. "Take her to her cabin and get some rest. I've got this, General." Esunee steps aside to hand Halah off to Iroh, to which the girl still refuses to take her eyes off the floor. He nearly forgot she was still in the room. He almost left her there, alone.

Iroh thanks Esunee wordlessly and guides Halah away from the chaos. Once the door clicks shut behind them, Iroh releases a long, heavy sigh that momentarily relieves the tension from his body, only for it to return once he resumes his normal breathing pattern. He glances over at Halah, briefly catching her stare, and tilts his head to motion to follow him through the ship. He decides to have her cabin set up directly next to his, for safety reasons, and leads her inside. She slowly trails her eyes across the room, the soft orange glow of candles and wall sconces flickers across her skin and casts a sheen across her tangled midnight hair. A glass of water and a plate of food is set up on the night stand next to her bed.

          Iroh decides to keep his stay brief and says: "I'll be in the next room, directly to the right when you walk out. We'll be arriving in Republic Citty tomorrow afternoon, so get lots of rest... and, uh... let me know if you need anything. I can fetch the healer at any time."

          He doesn't expect her to give any sort of response and figures it's best to just leave her to process the day's events. As he's about to shut her door, he pops his head back in frame. "Oh, and keep this door locked at all times—and don't open it for anyone, except myself or the healer."

          Halah's head tilts up and down in the slightest. The acknowledgment surprises Iroh, but he conceals any reaction to her subtle response. Instead, he sends her a half smile and closes the door. When he turns away from Halah's room, Esunee is there, awaiting him in the hall. Before she can say a single thing, Iroh orders for two guards to be posted outside of Halah's door and heads off to bed. He doesn't care to deal with his crew or anything related his ship any longer.

          The amount of relief he's feeling upon completing his secret mission increases exponentially the moment his body sprawls flat on his bed. Never did he think he'd be so desperate to meet the warmth and comfort of his bed in his entire life. And finally, as his thoughts quiet down, he lets the gentle sway of the ship rock him into a deep sleep.

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