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Ozai sighed wearily as he watched the island slowly come into view from the ship’s railing. He mentally braced himself for what was going to come.
“Would you relax? You’re going to get wrinkles from all that scowling.” Ursa said as she playfully poked his forehead.
“No I’m not.” Ozai said defensively. “Hinata said her family’s facial treatment reduces wrinkles up to 10 years.”
Ursa rolled her eyes. “We’re supposed to be on vacation. What’s wrong?”
“Zuko’s going to drag home another creature he caught. Again. And I’m going to have to explain why we can't keep it or why it ran away. Again.”
“Ozai he’s five. He’ll learn.” Ursa laughed. “And it is kind of cute.”
This time Ozai rolled his eyes. Ursa did not hold the same sentiments last year when a pregnant rat spider Zuko brought back to the beach house gave birth in the living room. Ozai received the silent treatment three straight days for laughing at her cries of disgust.
“Besides, we finally got him to stop bringing the turtleducks into the palace. This time will be different.”
Ozai hummed in agreement.
Maybe this time would be different.
~*~
Ozai knew events were going to repeat themselves as soon as Zuko proudly showed him a blue coral crab he promptly named Blue. Azula giggled and lost the small spark Ozai was helping her grow as she reached out towards the crab.
“Zuko go put that back in the ocean.” Ozai ordered as he pushed Azula’s hands away from the pinchers.
“But Dad! Blue’s da Sand Lord!” Zuko pointed towards the lopsided sandcastle he was building with Lu Ten. “He can’t abandon his nation! Dat’s un-honorable.”
“Dishonorable.”
“Yeah! Cuz Blue’s da most honorablist Sand Lord ever!”
“Put it back.”
“I promise I won’t bring him inside like Queen Oolong. Please Dad pleeeaaasseeee?”
“I’ll keep an eye on him Uncle Ozai.” Lu Ten promised. “Animals stay outside right Zu?”
Zuko nodded furiously. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Please?”
“Fine.” Ozai caved in.
Zuko gasped dramatically. “Thank you, Dad! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!”
Despite knowing he was going to regret it, Ozai couldn’t help but smile at his son scurrying off while holding the coral crab over his head.
Spirits, he was going soft.
~*~
The crab lasted longer than Ozai expected. The children played with it all day and he caught Azula trying to shove it into her mouth only once. Lu Ten helped Zuko reinforce the sandcastle walls so the crab would be protected during the night. However, the next morning was when all the chaos broke out.
Blue was gone.
“Darling, Blue probably just went back home to the ocean.” Ursa tried to soothe over.
“No! Dis is his home! We have to help him!”
Zuko was determined to find his friend and soon dragged the rest of the family into combing the beach for the missing blue crab. Iroh and Lu Ten spun the search into a grand rescue mission to keep Zuko at bay for the moment. Ozai and Ursa sat under the beach umbrella watching them.
“We have to tell him.”
“Just give it a little while longer.” Ursa suggested. “He’ll wear himself out soon. Like I said the crab probably just went back to the ocean at night.”
“Birdy.”
“What’s that dear?” Ozai looked to where his daughter was pointing and saw a large gull lobster pecking at something in the sand. “Yes, that’s a bird.”
“Birdy eatin’ boo.”
What was she talking about? Ozai glanced at Ursa who merely shrugged. Just nonsense toddler babble.
“Birdy eatin’ boo!” Azula repeated more urgently as she tugged on Ozai’s pants.
“Azula gull lobsters eat nuts, berries, and small creatures like fish and crabs…”
Ozai trailed off as he and Ursa look at each other in horror. He quickly got up and chased the bird away. Sure enough, a half-eaten blue coral crab laid motionless in the sand.
Ash and cinders.
“What are you doing?” Ursa whispered shouted as Ozai started burying the crab.
“What does it look like?! If Zuko sees this we’ll never hear the end of it!”
“Okay but don’t burry it here, he’ll might dig it back up. Go throw it in the ocean.”
“What if it washes back to shore?” Ozai asked while he scooped the dead crab up.
Ursa paused as she considered what to do next.
“The jungle!” It was the perfect hiding spot. After the tea leaf incident, none of the children nor Iroh were allowed to enter. “Hurry I’ll distract them!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Lu Ten walked up behind them carrying Zuko on his back.
“Hey we’re hungry so… uh…” Lu Ten faltered some when he spotted the half-eaten crab in Ozai’s hand. “Is that…?”
“This is a different crab!” Ozai said quickly.
It was too late. Zuko’s eyes were as big as saucers and already filling up with tears.
“NOOOOOO!!!!”
~*~
“We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Blue the coral crab. Sand Lord of Ember Island. Tamer of Waves. Collector of Pretty Shells. Someone who meant much to us all. He was family. A victim of... uh...” Lu Ten paused to think of the right words. "Bird related accidents."
Zuko cried even harder as he clung to his mother.
“Um, anyway, we only knew Blue for a day when he was tragically taken from us. Azula, would you like to have words?”
“We eat birdy as revenge!!!”
“…Fun choice.”
Ozai rolled his eyes. “This is ridiculous.” he muttered.
“Don’t be rude.” Ursa hissed at him. “We’re at a funeral!”
“For a crab.”
“Sand Lord.” Lu Ten corrected.
“This wouldn’t even happen if you just let me burry it in the first place!”
“He was going to dig it up!”
“You don’t know that!”
Iroh stopped playing the tsungi horn. “Enough! Both of you! You dishonor Blue’s legacy.”
Ozai scoffed. “What legacy? It’s a crab!”
“That’s not you said when your first Komodo rhino died.”
“You leave General Hardrock out of this!”
“Uncle you had a Komodo rhino named General Hardrock? That’s an ashen lit name!”
“Lu Ten! Not in front of the children!”
"Ash-it!" Azula giggled causing Ursa to sigh wearily.
“Sorry Aunt Ursa.”
Zuko covered his ears. His best friend was dead and nobody cared! If that’s the way they felt then he didn’t need them anyway!!! Zuko grabbed Blue off the tiny makeshift pyre and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him.
“Zuko!”
Ozai sighed. “I’ll get him.” It was his fault for not making Zuko return the crab to the ocean in the first place.
He found Zuko kneeling at the waters’ edge not too far away. His shoulders shook as he held the crab close to his chest.
“Zuko.”
“I didn’t bring him inside I like promised! Why did he still die?!”
Ozai knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Everything must die someday, regardless what you do. It can’t be helped.”
Zuko looked up at him in horror. “Even you Dad?”
“Yes.”
Zuko hugged Ozai's side and hung his head.
“I don’t want you to die…” he whispered shakily.
Ozai swore under his breath. He didn’t intend to be so blunt with the child.
“What I’m trying to say is it’s not your fault the coral crab died. Dying is a part of life.”
“But why?”
“Because…” Ozai racked his brain for an answer. He caught a glimpse of the clouds floating above. “Because life and death are like clouds. They’re made up of steam from the ocean. When it rains, the water returns to the ocean. So, when something dies, it becomes nutrients to help other things live. Like a circle.”
Ozai drew a circle on the sand.
“Understand Zuko?”
Zuko scrunched up his face as he looked at the circle.
“When you die you become rain? So everything dat dies comes back?”
“…in a way.”
Spirits what was he saying?!
Zuko looked down at the crab then at the ocean. He got up and waded into the water some. After a moment, he let Blue sink into the waves then sat back down beside his father. Ozai rested a hand on his head.
“I’m proud of you, son. That was a very noble thing to do.”
“He’ll come back as rain, right?”
“Well you see-“
“Will you Dad? When you die?”
Ozai swallowed hard as his heart pricked. “Yes Zuko.”
“Okay.” The explanation was enough for the five year old. “I’m ready to go back now.”
“Alright.”
Ozai lead him back to the beach house where Ursa was already waiting.
“Everything okay, darling?”
“Yes. Dad said dead dings come back as rain so I’ll see Blue again den.”
Ursa gave Ozai a confused look. He cleared his throat and looked away.
“Okay… Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Now go wash up for dinner.”
“Come back as rain?” Ursa asked after Zuko went inside. “You know metaphors don’t work on him.”
“I know. I know. He was really upset so…” Ozai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think we don’t have to worry about the animal problem anymore.”
“That’s good because Azula sparked her first flames by herself today.” Ursa said nodding to the burnt pieces of the wooden porch surrounded with scattered feathers.
“I see.”
Looked like Azula got revenge on birdy after all.
Screaming came from inside the beach house followed by giggling and the smell of burnt fabric. Ursa and Ozai side eyed each other.
They were going to need a vacation from this vacation.