Work Text:
In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have come to a dead stop in the middle of the busy marketplace. There was a faint oomph from behind him as Xia-Su collided with his back, but he barely paid it any mind, too focused on a sight he definitely hadn’t expected to see this far into the Earth Kingdom.
A turtleduck.
It looked a little different from the ones that had been at the palace, with fluffier feathers and a darker coloration, but there was no mistaking it for anything else. He hadn’t seen one since he’d been exiled. Turned out they were indigenous to the Fire Nation.
Or so he'd thought.
“Li?” Xia-Su frowned. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
“Oh, uh,” Zuko started, the sound of his long adopted alias prompting him to snap back to himself, “-I just- it’s nothing-”
Xia-Su’s frown only deepened, tilting her head back to look at what he was. He tried to avert his eyes, but it was too late- she’d already zeroed in on the turtleduck.
“The pet seller?” She asked.
“Is that what they are?” Zuko asked, secretly feeling a little relieved. With all the animals set up around their stall, he’d almost been afraid they’d been selling them for… well, something else. Pets were a much better alternative.
Xia-Su hummed in acknowledgement, before her lips quirked in a faint smirk, a mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes, “-so, you want to hold one?”
Instantly, Zuko flushed. “W- no! I mean, we couldn’t even get one. The Beifongs’ don’t allow their servants pets.”
Not to mention the cost, Zuko thought, his eyes darting towards the wooden plank where the price of the turtleduck had been written. That was three months salary right there, and if there was one thing his time in the Earth Kingdom had taught him, it was the value of even a single copper piece. There was no way he'd be able to afford it, never mind the costs of actually feeding it and taking care of it.
(He wouldn’t lie though. Some part of him was tempted. There was always Toph’s winnings from the last Earth Rumble…)
“It’s fine,” Xia-Su shrugged, “-you don’t have to pay to hold them.”
Before he could so much as protest, she’d already dragged him to the stall. “Mister! Can we hold that one?”
The shop owner glanced up, studying them with skepticism before he eventually shrugged. “Suit yourself. He nips sometimes though.”
“See?” Xia-Su nudged him, the mischievous look on her face for a brief moment mirroring one he’d seen on Azula- but without any of the malicious intent behind it. “Easy.”
Zuko just frowned, watching as the shop owner opened up the cage. He handled the turtleduck carefully, nearly handing the chick to Xia-Su before she gestured towards him. The man did a double-take at the sight of his scar but otherwise kept his mouth shut as he passed the chick to him.
It was even softer than he remembered.
Zuko swallowed, savoring the feeling. If there was one thing he missed from the palace, it was this. That turtleduck pond had always been a source of solace for him, especially after his mother had vanished. He wondered how the family that lived there was doing now. Were they doing well? Had Azula chased them all off by now?
He hoped not.
(He also hoped she hadn't done something worse.)
"It's kind of cute." Xia-Su observed. "What's it called?"
Zuko internally flinched, realizing that of course Xia-Su had never seen a turtleduck before. They weren't supposed to exist in the Earth Kingdom, in so far as he knew.
"Called a turtleduck," the shop owner said, "-breeder's family got 'em from the Fire Nation before the war, been breeding 'em ever since. Got a thicker coat of feathers to adapt to the colder winters we got here."
Well, that solved that mystery at least. Savoring the sensation of it's fluffy feathers for a second longer, Zuko reluctantly passed the turtleduck back. The shop owner took it without comment, placing it back in it's cage. Something in his gut twisted at the sight, but realistically he knew there wasn't much he could do about it. It would be better off under the care of an owner that could actually take care of it, rather than hidden away in secret by someone who couldn't.
"Thanks," he said, "-for uh, letting me hold it."
The shop owner just shrugged, before turning to another customer- one who probably looked like they'd actually buy something. Xia-Su patted his back, before gesturing in the direction they'd been heading before he'd gotten distracted.
"Come on," she said, "-better get those ingredients before Old Lady An starts wondering where we are."
"You know I could have gotten them myself, right?" Zuko frowned.
"And when you stop mixing up ginger and turmeric, you can." Xia-Su said. "But until then-"
"-you're here to babysit me." Zuko finished.
"Something like that!" Xia-Su chirped. "Come on, if we get there early, we might be able to get the good vegetables."
Sighing, Zuko followed behind her- but not before he spared another backwards glance at the turtleduck. It had been a small piece of home- even if it wasn't actually from there.