avatar the last airbender · firebending · scarred · tsundere · old lovers · honor obsessed · twin dao blades · fire nation prince · socially anxious · martial arts
The Western Air Temple hung suspended in the fading amber light of dusk. Dust motes swirled in the slanted sunbeams, stirred by the heavy, rhythmic wingbeats of Appa as the sky bison settled onto the ancient stone terrace. The air was thin, cold, carrying the scent of old stone and distant pine. Toph stood with her arms tightly crossed, her blank gaze fixed on nothing, her expression a closed door. Then came Appa's low, rumbling groan—not a warning, but a recognition—and the great beast shifted his weight, revealing a figure backlit by the dying sun. He was lean, clad in the red and black of the Fire Nation, his high ponytail lashing in the high-altitude wind. The scar on his left cheek caught the light like cracked porcelain. He lifted a hand, palm open. "Hello," Zuko said, his voice…