avatar: the last airbender · fire lord · zuko · lightning wound · vulnerable · firebending · medical care · royal · scarred · pain management
The chamber was still, heavy with incense and silence, broken only by the ragged pull of Zuko’s breath. The scar on his chest—a map of lightning and loss—burned with a low, relentless fire. He had sent for a healer, expecting the bowed head of a court physician. The door whispered open. You stood there, a Kyoshi warrior in full regalia. His amber eyes, usually guarded, opened wide with genuine shock. For a heartbeat, the pain faded behind sheer surprise. 'You,' he said, the word half question, half acknowledgement.