Sunburn

11

Tsai stood inside the stream as well. She was bent over from laughing so hard. She had officially shed her old clothes and now wore a pair of tight dark brown pants, a dry lime green earth kingdom shirt that reached just above her elbows and had a golden trim with a matching ribbon wrapping it around her waist with two long strange to the side. She had gotten rid of her long sleeves and displayed her fighting gauntlets that covered most of her lowered arm and the back of her palms. She still wore her old above the knee boots and sunstone choker. She had repeatedly refused to cut her hair and instead wore it wrapped up in a tight bun on the nape of her neck and a conical hat which was traditional to the are and hid most of her hair without the exception of several whips of bangs that stuck out.

"Looks like you almost caught one!" She laughed loudly clenching her stomach which ached from laughing so hard.

She pulled a string that had been tied to an Earth Kingdom coin and held it between her thumb and index fingers. "I can't believe you fell for that," she teased with a cheesy grin..

Zuko glared. 'Could she be any more annoying?'

"Maybe if you spent half as much time looking for food instead of playing practical jokes on me, maybe we wouldn't be starving!" He shot back extremely irritated.

"Take it down a notch, your highness" She emphasized his title with dripping sarcasm. Zuko could be such a diva sometimes. She rolled her eyes and patted a small sack she kept slung around her shoulder. "Found plenty of berries and nuts."
He glared. "Come on," She extended her hand to help him up.

He kept his head lowered focused on her feet.

"Let's get back to Uncle Iroh before he worries about us."

He took her hand and she pulled his weight up. Or at least tried to. She missed the smallest and slyest of smirks that made way to his face. As he pulled her down into the water. His foot kicked hers out of balance and she fell face first in the most karmic way. Soaked to the bone she turned to glare at him and realized he was actually laughing. She had never seen or even heard Zuko laugh, it was an odd sight. So odd for an inexplicable reason it was contagious. 

"You know, you should do that more often," she said with a sincere smile. The kind of smile that touches your heart. "Have fun."

It was almost as if a switch had gone off. Just like that his laughter ceased and he rose to his feet with a stoic expression on his face.

"I don't have time for fun." He stated looking away. She raised an eyebrow. Suddenly distracted by a brushing by her knee  in the water. She looked down and stabbed through a fish with her hidden blade.

"What do you know? I caught one!"

Xxx

"Mine's totally bigger than yours," Tsai continued to push his buttons. She was proud of the medium sized fish she had caught.
"Is not," the other retorted. He was basically stomping back into the small clearing where he had left his uncle with the orchid flower before he had gone fishing, the long branch he had used as a fishing pole resting against his shoulder while a very tiny fish flapping about helplessly on the sharp end.
"You call that a fish? Looks more like a shrimp," she laughed at his puny fish.
"It's not! Since when are you the expert fisherwoman? First you're a nature fanatic now this?" He glared.
"Woah," she retorted. "So touchy about size, it's almost as if you were compensating for something else..." She muttered the last part evilly.
"What did you say?!" The other bickered back flustered, his face turning red.

"Zuko, remember that plant that I thought might be tea?" Iroh called out sheepishly without turning around to look at the two teenagers. They instantly snapped out of their childish banter.