The Ruka Wild ↠ Book 2 > A:TLA

30

Ruka (2)

As we were getting close to home, I noticed something off about Zuko. His walking started to drag on and sweat started to drip down his forehead.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked him.

He slowly nodded. "Yeah. I'm just feeling a little hot."

I grabbed his arm and placed it around my shoulder to help support him. "Well you're a fire bender. Don't you always feel hot?"

I thought that maybe the exhaustion was getting to him. We haven't slept in almost twenty-four hours.

I opened the door of our home and walked in. It felt like Zuko was getting heavier and heavier.

"You did the right thing," Iroh said as he closed the door behind him. "letting the Avatar's bison go free."

Zuko dropped his dual swords before holding his head. "I don't feel right."

Zuko started to put more of his weight on me, making me stumble. "Here, let's lay you down before y-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Zuko went unconscious. As he fell to the floor, a pot on a small table fell with him, breaking it into pieces. I went down with him, but I didn't land on the mat like he did. I landed on the pieces of glass.

"Zuko!" Iroh ran over to the both of us. Not realizing I had shards of glass in me, I got onto my knees and looked down at Zuko. 

"Ruka, you're bleeding." Iroh pointed out. I lifted up my shirt and several small pieces of glass were in my skin, blood dripped down from each one.

"It doesn't hurt yet." I gulped while I pulled my shirt down. "Let's take care of him first."

Together, Iroh and I picked up Zuko with one of his arms around me and the other around Iroh. We walked to the room as fast as we could.

I let Zuko's arm go back to his side then ran over to where we keep the mattresses. Once I rolled one out, Iroh gently laid him down on it.

As Iroh went to the kitchen to get water I assumed, I felt Zuko's forehead and arms. I put a pillow under his head before I looked over my shoulder so Iroh could hear me better. "He's burning up! Bring some towels!"

I lifted up Zuko's shirt then got his arms out of the arm holes. I felt my cheeks get warm of embarrassment/ awkwardness when my hands would softly brush his skin.

This isn't at all what I pictured. I thought that the day I took his shirt off, we'd be doing something a little more romantic.

I carefully sat him up to get the shirt over his head then laid him back down.

Iroh rushed back into the room with a bucket of water, white towels, and a blanket.

When I scooted closer to Zuko, I winced in pain.

"You need to take care of that glass in your skin. Now." Iroh demanded. I stood up slowly then walked over to a mirror. I lifted my shirt up and one by one, I slowly took out the pieces of glass. When I finished, my bottom lip had teeth marks due to how hard I was biting it through the process.

From a plant next to me, I bent the water out of it then moved it onto my stomach. My body relaxed as the water glowed a bright blue. When it finished healing, I put the water back into the plant's pot then pulled my shirt down.

When I walked back over to the Uncle and nephew, Zuko's eyes were open and Iroh patted placed a wet towel onto his forehead that dripped in sweat.

I placed my hand on his arm, "You're awake."

"So thirsty." He said before he slowly sat up. Iroh pushed him back down then leaned over to get him some water. "Here's some clean water to drink. Stay under the blankets and sweat this out."

Iroh helped Zuko sit up then placed the large spoon of water to his lips. Zuko grabbed the spoon himself then chugged it down, letting some water spill down his body.

He threw the spoon to the side and reached over for the bucket of water. He drank from it, not caring that most of the water spilled all over him. Zuko threw the bucket to the other side then laid back down.

As he coughed into his hand, Iroh wrapped Zuko in the blanket.

I sighed before getting up. "I'll go get more water."