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Some time after talking with Steph, Zuko still has no idea how to go about approaching the many people who he should proably talk to.

Instead, he's focusing on something that puts it all off very nicely, and practicing firebending forms out in the training field. They really do make much more sense after visiting the Masters - without having to spend to much effort on brute force and anger to produce the flame, everything flows more, and that in turn is levelling out his thoughts.

So. Another version of him had children. And they're here. They also seem to think he's their father- at least, the version that they knew. He should talk to Mel first, then. He's not sure what she thinks, but he should ask, in any case. And Iroh should know.

Later. He finishes off a form, and moves onto the next.

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Zuko nods. "I'm not sure how many of them there are," he says. "Only one attacked me, but I'm sure I heard more."

That's a pretty good thing, actually, as firebender or no, he might be a bit toasted now if there had been a lot.

Mel's still smirking, but she leans down again on the handle of the buggy.

"Were they hurting anyone? Apart from you."

"No. I was the only one there."

BUT THEY WOULD HAVE DONE!

"Probably kinda weird to hunt them just for sport."

Mel is sad. There goes her distraction.

Zuko makes a face, then sobers up, and shrugs.

"They did, in the Fire Nation," he says. "And in the Four Nations, they were were intelligent."

Sentient, and wiser than most humans. It hurts, thinking about the centuries of suffering they caused. Just for glory.

Zuko finds it easier to conscience turning against his people every day.

"Your people were crazy," Mel points out, nicely matter-of-fact.

"Some of them, yeah."

Read: The Royal family. Iroh and Zuko are raging anomalies.

"One day I'll meet the rest of them."

Zuko winces.

"Oh, you don't want to meet Father or Azula. Trust me."

"I meant, one day I'll meet the sane ones."

Mel loses her smile, and while her knuckles on one hand whiten around the buggy handle, the other drops, hovering around her belly.

"Already met Azula."

"I... there aren't really many others. Uncle. Me - eventually. Mother." Zuko says, eyes flickering away, then glancing back, unsure whether asking is wise or not.

"Bad luck," he settles for saying. He might hate not being there to fight, but not being in the same world as Azula is one of the few upsides to coming here. "I hope she didn't cause any permanent damage?"

That - probably depends on your definition of sane. Mel lets the joke fall unnoticed.

"No," she says instead. "I had a good doctor."

Well, that's not good. Zuko's expression tightens slightly. Even if, as he's constantly reminded, it wasn't him him, he still has a pretty good idea why Azula would target Mel. And the-

His eyes flicker to the buggy.

"Crazy bitch," he mutters.

Hana stirs slightly in her sleep, and starts to suck her thumb.

"Yeah," Mel says, "but we kinda knew that. And she didn't get away with it."

"Good," he says, pauses, and then pointedly doesn't ask what happened to her. It's different. It's irrelevant.

And so Mel doesn't volunteer. It's how things work between her and Zuko...es.

They don't tell each other things.

Instead, she leans over the buggy in time to see Louise wake, and drops a reassuring hand down to her.

"Hey, Loo. Time for lunch now?"

Healthy!

Zuko nods, and steps back, looking down at the little girl, but not saying anything.

It's still weird, seeing the familiar features on them, knowing what he does now.

Mel steps around the buggy and pulls out her daughter, resting her against a shoulder after pulling a face to make her smile.

"Do you want to..."

But then her eyes flit back to the field.

"...guess you have training to do."

What? What?! He can do something tell him what he can do!

"I've got time for a break," he says, almost instantly.

"Do you wanna have lunch with us?" Mel asks. "I can always use someone else holding a spoon."

The smile that gets is not quite so Stepfordian as the icon, but seems pleased nonetheless.

"Sure," he says. "I'd like that."

He may regret that later, when getting spattered with mush.

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