Burning Souls - Book 2 // Zuko

Chapter 5

Azula was cornered. Zuko was surprised to say the least when he saw his uncle in the small abandoned town. Of course, when Zuko saw Aang with Azula, he knew Katara and Sokka would follow but there was a new girl with them: an earth bender.... But no sign of Raven.

"Would you look at this," Azula smirked. "Enemies and traitors all working together. I admit, I'm beaten."

The princess raised her hands in surrender and for a moment, no one moved, not sure if Azula would fire if they moved or looked away. However, Azula had noticed Iroh's attention wasn't solely on her but rather on the small earth bending girl who stood with the Avatar and his friends. Azula took his distracted state to her advantage and fired lightning at her uncle.

However, something seemed to prevent it from reaching Iroh and Azula paused a moment only to see a petite form standing in front of Iroh.... A shield of some sorts held strongly in her grip.

"Raven!" Zuko and Toph both gasped together, everyone else present looking at them in confusion.

The girl had created a shield of ice that was almost as tall as she was and about two feet wide. It now had a dent in it from the lightning strike but just before Raven could mend the dent, Azula fired again. Raven's grunts and groans could be heard over the eruption of lightning, trying to recreate the ice shield but Azula's attack was too strong.

Raven flew back when her shield finally burst and she rolled across the dry ground before she slammed into a nearby post, blacking out.

"NO!" Zuko yelled but he was too late when he saw another blast of blue lightning fire from his sister's fingertips and strike his uncle.

Zuko felt something in him snap and he, along with the Avatar and his friends fired at Azula but the girl repelled it and when the dust settled.... She was gone. Zuko was instantly at Iroh's side, feeling his neck for a pulse and trying to shake him awake.

Toph meanwhile had run over to Raven and had turned her onto her back. The girl's eyes fluttered open and she groaned.

"My head feels like iron," The girl groaned.

"You just hit your head," Toph told her. "But your friend..."
Raven shot up into a sitting position and spied Zuko kneeling over Iroh. Jumping to her feet, Raven ignored the pain in her head and stumbled over to Zuko. Falling onto her knees next to him, she placed her hand on his shoulder and Zuko stiffened at her hand but when he saw who it was he relaxed before turning back to his uncle.

"Zuko, I can help," Katara said from behind.

Raven looked at the girl and was about to oblige when Zuko stood up, firing fire blasts at them, "LEAVE!"
The kids all jumped back before scurrying off, Toph looking back once to see Raven placing her hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"Zuko," Raven whispered. "He'll be alright. He's your Uncle Iroh. He's always alright."
The boy weakly nodded before he felt Raven's hand slip from his shoulder. He looked at her, half expecting her to have moved or stood up, only to see the girl wavering before she toppled backwards.

"RAVEN!" Zuko cried, lunging forward to catch the girl's shoulders in his arms.

The girl's head flopped back limp; her eyes closed.

"So.... Tired," the girl panted.

"Sh," Zuko whispered, slipping his hand under her legs and lifting her into his arms, "I'll get you inside. You need to rest."
"Iroh...." Raven whispered.

"I'll get him," Zuko replied. "But you're about ready to pass out on me."
With that, the boy carried the girl into one of the empty buildings that still had a roof and laid her down in one of the corners that was covered in old sheets. He then rushed outside and gently dragged his uncle in, placing him in the opposite corner. After making sure his uncle was covered and comfortable, Zuko looked over at where Raven lay, her eyes closed and her breathing even.

Quietly and slowly Zuko crossed the room till he stood over the girl and he didn't have to try and rouse her to know that she was sound asleep. Sighing, the boy knelt down next to the girl and reached out. He hesitated just as his fingers were about to touch her hair.

"Please," the girl whispered. "Zuko...."
The boy froze, his hand dangling over her face. Raven reached out without opening her eyes and took his hand. She gripped it tightly in hers, holding it close to her body. Zuko's eyes widened.

"I like your hair," the girl whispered. "It suits you."
Zuko felt the edges of his mouth turning up but he resisted it. Especially when he felt the girl's grip on his hand loosen, he realized that this time she really fell asleep. Zuko could easily remove his hand from her grip but he chose not to. Quietly he moved to lay next to the girl, on his side so he was facing the sleeping girl.

Gently he reached out with his free hand and ran his fingers through her hair, his hand coming to rest against her cheek. The sleeping girl sighed at the feeling, leaning closer to Zuko's warmth that his body radiated. Zuko bit his lip to keep from gasping and it came out in a shaky breath.

"What are you doing to me?" he whispered, leaning over to press his forehead against hers, breathing in her scent and feeling the coolness of her body. "I honestly don't know... but every day for the past few days that I have been gone... everywhere I looked, I saw you."
The boy sighed, closing his eyes and nuzzling closer to Raven, feeling his body relax in sleep. He never realized how tired he was until he laid down, falling into a deep sleep.... This time they weren't plagued with dreams like they had been while he had been alone... dreams full of the girl laying next to him.