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The window of the library facing the inner courtyard gardens has the best reading light. Izumi lays sprawled on a fluffy rug, a bowl of fire flakes by her hand and a scroll laid on the floor. Ty Lee and one of the other guards are by the entrance to the library, close enough to hear but far enough away to give her privacy. Suki stands post by the open window, her golden weapon gleaming as she idly fans herself in the early fall heat. It's been a good day.
Then Baba comes in.
Izumi doesn't look up until Baba kneels next to her, drawing her attention.
“Sunshine,” he says, oddly serious, and the look in his eyes has her sitting up.
“What's wrong?” she asks immediately and Sokka quirks his lips at her and brushes the back of his hand against her cheek.
“Your father got a letter. It's… Uncle Iroh took a bad fall and he hasn't been doing well. His shop manager wrote to us so we're going to go see him.”
Her heart stutters as she clambers to her feet, clinging to Sokka as they exit the library.
“What does that mean? How is he?”
Solka wraps an arm around her as they walk to their rooms. “Ms. Liu just said he wasn't feeling well. I'm sure he'll be a lot better as soon as we go visit him, right?”
She nods but only so her father can't hear the tears in her voice. She throws clothes in a bag quickly, barely paying attention to the things she grabs before she's out the door. She nearly runs into Sokka emerging from his own room, who laughs as he grabs her shoulders.
***
The airship docks are on the edge of the city, and even in a carriage the ride takes a while. They're not in one of the fancy ones, covered and shimmering in gold paint, but a plain, sturdy one, the ostrich-horses clicking away.
She doesn't wait for the carriage to stop when they reach the docking port. She spots her other father leaning against the railing, watching the engineers bustle to get the balloon ready. She hops from the carriage, ignoring Sokka and Ty Lee's shout to run over to him, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“Oto-san!” she cries, burying her face in Zuko's stomach. He runs his fingers through her hair.
“Hey, snowflake,” he whispers to her, squeezing her close.
“We're all good to go,” Sokka says, meandering up to them and stroking a hand down Zuko's back.
“Did you get the-” Zuko asks
“Yes, I did, your Lordly Fire-ness,” Sokka interrupts, shaking a second bag hanging off his shoulder. Zuko huffs a quiet chuckle. “And you-” he turns to Izumi, pointing a finger at her. “Stop hopping out of carriages while they're still moving, it's dangerous.”
Izumi draws back from Zuko to shoot Sokka a bemused face. “And flying around on a sky bison isn't?”
“Appa knows better than to hurt you. Your father's right, you have to be careful,” Zuko says, tucking some of her fly-away hairs back into her braid.
An engineer appears then, bowing to Zuko promptly before announcing the ship is ready. Zuko bows back. He looks behind him at the Kyoshi warriors, nodding towards Suki. “I'm not officially declaring a regent while I'm gone, but I want you to keep an eye on things. Make sure none of the ministers get out of hand.”
Suki smirks. “Always,” she says. Then, her smile softens a little. “Send my well wishes to Uncle.”
“I will,” Zuko says. He gives Izumi a light nudge, turning towards the dock. “Time to go.”
***
The trip takes only two days, but it's two of the most nerve-wracking days Izumi has ever had.
Minus the time her Oto-san got poisoned. She doesn't like to think about that time.
She gives him space for the days they're in the air. He takes all his meals in private and rarely ventures outside of his room. She doesn't know what she's supposed to do; she's only a room apart from her parents, but she's never felt the distance between them so keenly. None of her scrolls were packed in her haste, so she spends a lot of time in the cockpit, asking the pilots and captain about their experience and the workings of the ship. Baba would be more than happy to talk her ear off about the inner workings of the balloon, but he's subdued too during their meals together.
She's relieved when they finally land in the docking port of Ba Sing Se, vibrating impatiently through the slow process of unloading. She's in Earth Kingdom greens today. Personal business requires discretion.
Thankfully, the walk from the dock to Great Uncle's tea shop isn't far, and no one seems to recognize them. Baba keeps a hand wrapped around her shoulder anyway as they walk into the elegant tea shop.
The scent of jasmine and pastries hits her nose immediately, and her muscles relax. Today, the shop is quiet, not bustling as it usually is in the late afternoon. Only a middle aged-man sits behind the counter, looking up from his writing when he enters.
“We're clos-” he starts to say before spotting their procession. He stands up quickly. “Lee!” he says, hurrying towards him, “my boy, how are you?”
“I'm fine, Mr. Park,” Zuko answers. “How's Uncle?”
Mr. Park shoots a quick glance at Izumi, biting his lip. “Not doing so well,” he responds quietly, turning towards the kitchen where the stairs to the upstairs apartment leads. “Suyin has been with him.”
They open the door to Iroh's bedroom and everything is quiet. Ms. Liu raises her head from where she was staring at her and Iroh's clasped hands. “Zuko,” she says, standing up to pull him into a tight hug. She releases him slowly, whispering to him quietly enough that Izumi can't hear. Izumi isn't really focused on them. Uncle Iroh is sleeping, blanket carefully tucked up to his neck. He looks a little pale, but otherwise fine.
“Look at you, you're getting so big now,” Ms. Liu tells Izumi, wiping her eyes quickly as Zuko takes her spot beside Uncle Iroh.
“Thank you, Auntie,” Izumi says. “I'm turning ten next month.”
“Ten?” Ms. Liu exclaims. “How did that little girl who used to waterbend the tea all over us grow up so quick?”
Izumi blushes, rubbing her cheek.
“At least she only did it to rude customers,” Zuko grumbles, fussing with the bedsheets.
“Let's make some tea now,” Ms. Liu suggests, taking Izumi's hand. “We'll be back up in a bit.”
Izumi only catches a glimpse of her parents as they leave, Sokka resting a hand on Zuko's shoulders as he starts to shake.
***
Two nights later, Izumi is shaken from sleep while it's still dark out. She feels fuzzy as she dazedly stares out the window, the inky blue of night staring back at her. She'd fallen asleep late - a nearly full moon tends to do that. It's hard being a night owl in a city of early risers.
She thinks for a moment, groggily, that she’s at the South Pole, tucked away into one of the rooms in Aunt Katara's house.
“Sunshine,” her Baba starts, then stops. Izumi knows before he even says it. “Izumi, Uncle Iroh’s passed away.”
***
The morning passes strangely, in a blue-grey haze. Izumi can barely pay any attention to what the adults say, too tired and heartbroken to care. She sobs loudly and curls up into Sokka’s lap. Just when she thinks she's calmed down, she remembers that Uncle Iroh is dead all over again and cries some more.
They all wind up down in the shop, and at some point Zuko has latched onto Izumi and refuses to let go. He won't stop trembling, and his tears only set Izumi off. She's never seen her parents cry before.
The grief-stricken hue over the whole shop is cracked by a loud, familiar roar. She's out of Zuko’s arms before anyone realizes, sprinting through the shop, out through the back, and to the open field in the back fenced off specifically for Appa to land.
She barely waits for Appa’s feet to touch the ground before she’s scrambling up the fur to reach the basket. She throws herself into Aunt Katara’s arms, surprised she can start crying again.
“Oh, snowflake,” Katara whispers, squeezing Izumi tightly.
“I see who the favorite Aunt is,” Azula says loudly and Katara makes a scolding noise.
“Zumi!” Kya cries out, climbing into her mother’s lap to latch onto Izumi.
Azula and Katara are the only ones who don't cry when they find out Iroh is gone, though Azula’s eyes look a little misty. Even Toph, sitting next to Zuko with her head buried in her hands, can't hide her tears.
She gains two roommates that night, Kya in the bed with her and Bumi in a pile of blankets on the ground.
“It's the cycle of life,” Bumi tells her when Kya has finally resisted the lure of the moon and fallen asleep. Bumi and Izumi both stare at the ceiling. “That's what Mom and Dad tell me. The cycle of the elements and the way of the water. It all ebbs and flows.”
Izumi is quiet. “It still sucks, though.”
“Yeah,” Bumi sounds choked up. “It still sucks.”