Chapter Text
With the supplies and children securely tucked in the back cart, Ursa helped Ozai push the rickshaw bike back to the mountain cabin. The trip was tensed and silent; a stark difference from the ride down. Even Azula grew quiet, sensing the heaviness in the air.
They arrived back shortly before nightfall. Ursa angrily yanked off her veil, letting her hair fall down in tangled strands. Ozai leaned against the bike handle equally tired. They still had to make dinner and get the children to bed.
“At least they’re asleep.” Ozai muttered.
Ursa pushed back her hair then sighed. “Think again.”
Ozai turned and saw his children huddled together and still very much awake.
“You two were so quiet we thought you fell asleep.” Ozai said.
“Are you alright?”
They didn’t respond. Ursa and Ozai exchanged glances. Something was clearly wrong, but they didn’t have the energy to do any more probing. Instead, they gathered up the children and headed inside, leaving the supplies to deal with in the morning.
Dinner was light that night; just the rest of the crackers and some beef jerky brought from the store. The children curled up in the blankets by the furnace straight after. Ozai didn’t get on them about brushing their teeth and washing like usual. One skip day was fine.
Ursa stared at her clawed hands with a faraway expression. She had been hiding her dragon features for as long as she could remember. Sometimes, most of the time actually, it got to her. She wished she didn’t have to cover herself from head to toe just to keep from being hunted down and killed. She wished she could fully pass for human like her pups and mate.
She wished she was normal.
Sensing her spiraling thoughts, Ozai took up her hand and kissed her knuckles. He then gently brushed her hair aside kissed her ruby scales.
“I love you.”
Silent tears ran down Ursa’s face.
Azula quietly watched. She had vague memories of her family being sad after leaving other human towns, but this experience stuck more. Seeing her parents stressed out like this made Azula both sad and angry. No wonder why Zuko said bad things happened at human towns. Azula vowed right then and there to have nothing to do with humans ever again.
~*~
Breakfast was also a quiet affair that morning. More beef jerky and porridge. They’ll have to go hunting again soon. The dragon pups couldn’t stomach too much processed meat. A lesson the parents unfortunately learned the hard way.
‘You right Zuzu.’ Azula growled while pawing at her bowl. ‘The human town is bad. It made Mama cry.’
Zuko pushed the beef jerky pieces back and forth. ‘Cause humans hate us.’
‘I’m never talking to another one again! Never! Never! Never!!!’
‘What about Daddy?’
‘Cept him. Duh!’ Azula held up her tail. ‘Let’s promise to never talk to humans cept Daddy ever again!’
Zuko linked the end of his tail with hers. ‘Promise.’
The dragon pups perked up when Ursa trilled. They raced to the front porch where their parents were waiting by the rickshaw bike.
“Children, we want to talk to you about the trip to town yesterday.” Ozai said.
The siblings looked at each other.
“First of all, are you two alright?” Ursa asked.
They nodded.
“Good. We wanted to tell you that not everyone is bad or out to get you. There are still good people, humans, out there.” Ozai said.
“Most of them have been lied to about dragons, which makes them think the wrong things about us.”
“So what we’re saying is, there’s nothing wrong or evil with either of you. Okay?”
The siblings chirped in response. Ozai glanced at Ursa who nodded.
“Okay. You two can go play now while we unpack.”
The dragon pups ran off, chasing each other in the tall grass. After some time, Zuko returned to the cabin when Azula ventured further into the woods looking for prey. He shifted into human form then sat on the porch and dug through an open box. It was prepacked with discounted toys and books Ozai picked up at the store fairly cheaply. There weren’t many good things. Most of the toys were broken and smelled weird. Zuko decided to bury them. Maybe they’ll grow back stronger.
When he was done, he sorted through the books. A faded cream color one with a bright red dragon on it caught his attention. Zuko’s heart leapt. The dragon looked just like him and Mama! Zuko excitedly poured through the book as Ursa went into the forest to fetch Azula and Ozai prepped tea. His excitement faded the further he read the book. Tears streamed down his cheeks by the time he reached the end.
“Here’s your tea Zuko. I brought your favorite. It’s not fresh but it’ll due until the jasmine bushes come up.” Ozai placed the cup down beside him then frown when he noticed his tears. “Zuko? What’s wrong?”
Zuko wordlessly showed him the book. It was a drawing of people celebrating around the body of a slain dragon. Ozai swore under his breath. He should have checked the box before buying it.
“Why are dragons always the bad guy?” Zuko whimpered. “Everyone’s always mean to them and they always get killed at the end.” He pulled his knees to his chest. “I wish I wasn’t a dragon…”
Ozai’s heart twisted. He sat down beside him and took the book. The Dragon Sword. Ozai tsked. He remembered his book as a child. It was filled to the brim with anti-dragon propaganda the Phoenix Clan told civilians. Ozai angrily ripped out the picture of the slain dragon and balled it up. Zuko looked at him startled.
“This book is trash. It’s like we said this morning, people have the wrong idea.”
“The book said we b-burned villages and k-killed people. D-Did we?”
"No Zuko. None of that is true. It's all lies."
"T-Then why do they hate us?"
“I don't know...” Ozai rubbed Zuko’s head. “What I do know is that dragons are pretty amazing. Even if everyone’s mean to them, I’m going to stick up for dragons no matter what.”
Zuko looked at him with watery eyes. He thought about how Daddy stood up for them yesterday from the other humans and knew he meant every word.
“Do you want to hear The Hunter and The Dragon again?”
Zuko nodded and scooted closer. Ozai wrapped his arms around him.
“Once there was a boy who dreamed of becoming a great dragon hunter one day until he met a injured dragon in the forest…”
~*~
‘Azula!’ Ursa twilled while she trekked through the forest.
She soon picked up Azula’s scent and followed it to a thick patch of bushes. Her heart quickened, expecting the worse. There was no other human scents around but Ursa couldn’t help to worry. Bracing herself, she pushed back the bushes and drew her claws. There was no traps or snares, thank Agni. Just a tiny blue dragon pup digging in the earth. Ursa breathed a sigh of relief.
“Azula you had me worried sick. I’ve been calling you for 20 minutes.”
Azula lifted her head with a rat dangling from her mouth by its tail. It escaped and scampered into the foliage.
‘Hey get back here!’ Azula chased after it.
“Azula!”
Ursa soon found her daughter again clumsily pouncing the rat. Her laughter melted Ursa’s previous frustration. Tears formed in her eyes. Azula didn’t need to hide her dragon side here. She was free to be herself and enjoyed it so greatly.
‘What’s wrong Mama?’ Azula tilted her head as the rat squirmed under her paw.
Ursa wiped her eyes. ‘Nothing darling. I’m just so happy.’
The rat escaped again and ran towards Ursa. She dropped to all fours and bared her teeth at it. The rat swerved and ran further into the forest.
‘Don’t let it escape Azula!’
The dragon pup laughed as she and Ursa ran after it. The poor rat managed to dive into another hole before the dragons caught it. Azula pouted but Ursa assured her they’ll catch bigger prey. The forest was teaming with it after all.
Sure enough, they soon picked up a rabbit’s scent. Ursa taught Azula how to stalk in a way the creature didn’t pick up their scent until too late, how to pounce, and how to kill quickly with her claws. Azula soaked in all the information. Ursa caught two rabbits before letting Azula have her go. She performed the kill perfectly. Ursa’s never been prouder.
‘Good job sweetie! You’re a natural!’
Azula preened and soaked up the praise.
‘This should last us a few days. Let’s get back home.’
‘Ok Mama!’
Azula ran around Ursa as she walked back carrying the rabbits.
‘Mama grow big again! We can get home faster!’
‘No, what if someone…’ Ursa stopped walking.
Azula tilted her head and let out a confused sound.
Ursa took a deep breath. There was no one there. No need to hide. Not here at least.
‘You’re right sweetie.’
Ursa laid down the rabbits then took a step back. There was a flash of light as Ursa shifted into her full dragon form. Ursa stretched her limps then let out a mighty roar. Azula squealed and jumped around excitedly.
‘Mama’s so cool!!!’
Ursa laughed as she scooped up the rabbits with her mouth and lowered her head to the ground. Azula giddily hopped on. Ursa chuckled again at her tiny daughter.
Something suddenly felt off; like they were being watched. Ursa glanced around but she didn’t see or smelled anything alarming. There it was again. Whatever it was set off her instincts, urging her to flee. Ursa’s never felt something like that before in dragon form. Not even the dragon hunters set off such alarms.
‘Let’s go! We gotta show Daddy and Zuzu!’
Azula’s voice snapped Ursa out her thoughts. She was just being paranoid. Ursa rose to her feet then spread her wings.
‘Hold on sweetie!’
Ursa rose into the sky as Azula squealed even louder. Ursa was thrilled to be in sky and sunlight again after so long. But most of all, she was glad to be away from… whatever that was.
~*~
“See Zuko, if the hunter could learn to respect and love dragons, anyone could once they learned the truth.”
“Really?”
“I did.”
Zuko’s eyes widened with realization as Ozai smiled at him. Just then, a shadow fell over them before a massive red dragon landed in the clearing. Both Ozai and Zuko gasped.
“Ursa?!”
“Mama!”
She lowered her head as they ran up to her and gestured for them to climb on.
“Are you sure about this?” Ozai asked while helping Zuko up.
Ursa blinked slowly.
“Alright.” Ozai climbed on behind his children. Even he couldn't hide the excitement. It's been years since they've flown together. “Don’t show off any of your crazy fli-“
Ursa took off before Ozai could finish. She flew just above the tree line at a steady pace while staying under the shadow of the mountain. It was incredible to fly again, no matter how limited. Her family’s cheers echoed her sentiment.
“I LOVE BEING A DRAGON!!!” Zuko yelled.
Ozai spread his arms. “DRAGONS ARE AMAZING!”
Azula threw her head back and roared.
Ursa’s eyes became watery again. Despite all the hardships, this one moment made it all worth it. Dragons won’t go extinct after all. They will survive and be free starting with her beloved family. That alone was far more than she could ever wish for.
~*~
I’m not the one to spread gossip in our peaceful little town of Arrowwood but this cannot be ignored. Just this past week, a new family moved in. They did not take up resident in town but up in the untamed mountain. That place has been abandoned for decades. If that wasn’t suspicious enough, the wife was covered from head to toe in morning attire, children wild and rampant, and husband snapping at anyone who drew close to them.
Alarming behavior indeed!
What's more, while I was filming the black tailed goose migration for bird club, I caught a mysterious light flash from the mountain followed by a terrible scream. It sounded animalistic and raw, almost like an evil spirit! I’ll insert the recording here.
Something unnatural is going on up in that mountain. The new Fire Nation family (the man looked very Fire Nation at least) certainly has something to do with it!
My apologies for the tangent dear readers. I know you came for bird facts, but I simply had to get this off my chest! Spirits forbid, but if this blog ever goes silent, you’ll know who to question first!
Azulon zoomed in on the video. He’d recognize that flash of light anywhere. A scowl grew on his face.
“So that’s were you’re hiding.”