I know, I missed my last 2 regular updates. Holidays and IRL obligations took a chunk of my time.

After going over the LN scenes where the village is sparsely described, I've decided to make some changes to both the canon and my original portrayal. No need to go back a reread, everything from here on it shall explain it. Enjoy!

The time the woman spent elsewhere in the house gave Zuko some time to think. He was inland, if that woman was to be believed. He wasn't familiar with a village named Westwood, but then again, he didn't know any of the local civilizations. The woman said she had found him in a river, which was strange, since he had been at least half a day's travel from shore when he fell out of the boat. What was more concerning was that he remembered seeing the distinct color of her hair before he passed out. And then there was the matter of that glowing circle…

Zuko shook his head, wincing as the motion revealed an aching in his neck. It wasn't debilitating, but it served as a reminder of his current weakness. The woman—Tiffania, his mind helpfully reminded him—seemed to be a simple-minded commoner. Her physique resembled nothing like the Kiyoshi warriors he'd encountered prior, so he felt safe assuming that she was harmless, at least physically. Testing himself, he found he could still produce palm-sized flames. Against a warrior he would still be at a disadvantage, but as she was, he could threaten her if needed.

The thought brought a bitter taste to his mouth. He still remembered the screams of civilians as his forces tore through Kiyoshi Village. It was one thing to target the Avatar, his companions, and anyone else who stood in his way, but a random woman? Especially one who had taken him into her home and tended to him despite not knowing who he was?

Zuko let the fire in his palm sputter out of existence. No, that was not who he was.

The sound of hurried footsteps alerted Zuko of his host's return. She carried a tray with a refilled pitcher and cup. "Here you go," she said, handing the cup to him.

Zuko mutely accepted it, not wanting to risk another coughing fit. He took a quite sip and made a face, almost spitting the water out. "It's warm," he rasped.

"Warm water is easier on the throat," Tiffania said apologetically.

"If you're going to serve warm water you might as well serve tea," Zuko grumbled.

"I'm terribly sorry," Tiffania apologized profusely. "I would like to make you some a pot. Really, I would, but tea is hard to get right now with all that's going on."

She looked and sounded so pitiful that Zuko had to avert his eyes. "What is going on right now?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity. He hadn't heard of any major trouble in this area, aside from some pirates.

The woman didn't respond right way, so Zuko turned his head to face her again. He noticed that she was looking at him with a mixture of concern and pity. "What?" he snapped.

"You forgot about the war?" she asked him.

"What war?"

"With the Reconquista?"

"The who?"

"Oh dear." Tiffania learned over him, prompting Zuko to lean back against the pillow to prevent his head from coming into contact with her. A slender hand was placed on his head. It was a delicate touch, but he could tell that her hands were not dainty in the way a typical noble girl's would be. "You don't have a fever, but you must have hit your head harder than I thought."

"I hit my head?"

"Yes, in the river."

"The river you found me in?"

"Mh-hm," she hummed in affirmation, but looked away from him while fiddling with her fingers.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "What were you doing at the river before you 'found' me?" he asked accusingly.

Tiffania's hat twitched as she pointedly did not look him in the eyes. Zuko's suspicions appeared to be well founded; Tiffania opened and closed her mouth several times without saying a word in explanation. As the young woman's face slowly turned red, a triumphant smirk appeared on Zuko's face.

Before he could call the woman out on her lies, she softly answered, "Bathing."

Now Zuko was the one to blush as his open mouth became slack jawed. Did that mean that the brief moment he saw her…?

The boy shook his head. He wasn't going to dwell on that. Especially not while she was in front of him, still leaning over, invading his personal space.

"You're too close," he muttered.

He could feel the displacement of air from how fast Tiffania pulled away from him. "Sorry, sorry, terribly sorry," she apologized repeatedly before he could say anything else. "I'm used to taking care of children, and, well, you're not a child, but I wasn't thinking—"

"Fine," Zuko cut her off. "It's fine, just stay away and give me my space."

"You're rude!"

Both Tiffania and Zuko turned to the sound of the squeaky voice. Standing in the doorway was a little girl who couldn't be older than six. Her plain features and the simple brown dress she wore did little to help Zuko identify her nationality, but between her brown hair and bright green eyes, Zuko suspected that she was from Earth Kingdom descent. Which narrowed down his search by… pretty much nothing.

"I, what?" Zuko asked, surprised by the child's appearance.

"Big sis Tiffa is nice. You're being bad!"

Zuko couldn't remember the last time a child had spoken to him like that. When he was a prince, everyone respected him because of his father. When he was banished, children feared him because of his scar. He remembered more than one occasion that simply looking at his face had made children burst into tears. And this child, who was barely any higher than his waist, was not only not scared of him, but lecturing him?

"Dotty, please don't yell at our guest," Tiffania requested.

Unfortunately, her pleas only summoned more kids to pop into the doorway. Boys and girls, with the youngest looking about the same age as the first little girl, while the oldest looked only a couple of years younger than Zuko himself. Their hair came in a sea of colors from muted brown, to fiery red, and even shimmering blond just like Tiffania's. Their eyes were similarly varied, stretching from green, blue, amber, grey, and more, making Zuko completely revisit his theory about being in a known Earth Kingdom settlement. He'd never seen or heard of so many varied hair and eye colors in his life, let alone within the same village. If this truly was the Earth Kingdom, then it must be an isolated village where unusual hair and eye colors were the norm.

"You're weird!"

"And stupid!"

"Where did you come from?"

"Stop being mean to our big sister!"

"Meanies don't get treats!"

"Why do you have a scar?"

That last question, asked by a boy who looked almost as old as the Avatar Zuko was hunting, managed to knock the banished prince out of his shock. He snarled as he straightened up in bed.

Tiffania clapped once to get the children's attention. "Everyone, this Zuko, please be nice to him," she said. "Also, give him some time to rest. He'll talk to you when he's ready."

Zuko's glare at the kids spoke louder than words. Slowly they filtered away, casting suspicious looks at him.

Tiffania sighed. "Sorry," she apologized. "They're great kids, but they can be overprotective at times."

Zuko grunted in response. It wasn't like the children were wrong. That being said… "Why did they call you big sister? Aren't you acting like their mom?"

"Mom?" Tiffania squeaked. She looked away as she blushed. "Well, one or two of the kids sometimes call me that, but I'm way too young to be a mother."

"Really?" Zuko questioned. "You look…" He stopped himself there. He had enough sense not to directly ask or comment about her age. She did have a youthful face, but with her figure, there was no way she was any younger than at least her mid-twenties, if not thirties.

"Really!" Tiffania insisted. "I only started growing two or so years ago. I'm only sixteen!"

"…"

"Zuko?"

"…"

"Zuko? Can you hear me?"

"Nothing makes sense."

The next morning, Zuko rose with the sun. The young firebender got out of bed and slowly headed to the door of the room he had been staying in. His body was still a bit weak, but he felt well enough to move. And he didn't want to fall behind on his training. Even if Iroh wasn't around to train him, he still had to practice what he knew, the fundamentals.

As he exited the room, he quickly realized that the house was smaller than he thought. He had assumed that the doorway had led to a long hallway, but the "hallway" only had one other door next to it, before quickly opening up to a large main room. The main room had four long tables with benches, much like a mess hall. On the other side was another hallway, mirroring the one he had just exited.

His nose caught wind of the smell of cooking oil and warm milk. He walked through the main room and found that it was attached to a kitchen, which had a door on either side and a wide serving window that stretched across half its length. The shutters on it were closed, so he carefully walked around to the nearest open door.

There, standing in front of a large pot was the young woman—girl his age, his mind corrected—stirring some kind of porridge while humming an oddly nostalgic tune. She was still wearing that dangerously impractical outfit, making him wonder if she wore it because she didn't have any other clothes. Now that he was looking at her while standing up and getting a partial side profile, the dress did look rather crudely made, with the way it didn't quite fit—

Zuko shook his head to dismiss the thoughts. "What are you making?" he asked.

Tiffania jumped, dropping the ladle she had been using as a serving spoon and backpedaling away from him. At least, until she caught sight of his face. "Ah, you're awake!" she said, clearly still rattled but putting an effort to not show it. "How are you feeling? Are you well enough to stand?"

"I'm fine," he grunted. "What are you doing?"

"Making breakfast," she replied, maintaining the same calming voice. "You're up surprisingly early."

Zuko shook his head to dismiss the thoughts. "Rising with the sun is a matter of discipline," he said.

"Are you a soldier?" Tiffania asked. "You look a little young." She tilted her head to the side in a questioning gesture, revealing a pointed ear from underneath the curtain of blond hair.

"Discipline and honor are for more than just soldiers," he said with a scowl. Then, he took notice of her ear and stared.

"Ah?" Tiffania responded awkwardly. It took her a few seconds to realize that his eyes were trained just next to her face, and she started to tremble. She quickly put her hands up to cover them. "You noticed?"

"Noticed?" Zuko echoed, confused.

"My ears."

Zuko noticed that she sounded sad, which only compounded his confusion. "They're… different," he said hesitantly. He'd never seen anyone with long pointy ears before, but then again, he hadn't seen anyone of her hair color or proportions either.

"Are you scared of me?"

"…why would I be scared of you?" Zuko couldn't hide his befuddlement.

"Because of my ears," she said, as if resigned to the fact.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Zuko asked. "You're as terrifying as a koala sheep! And your ears aren't the weirdest thing about you!"

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

Zuko was starting to wonder if they were even having the same conversation. "If you need me to tell you that, then you've spent too long in this backwater place," he snapped.

"Ah," Tiffania said, her happiness deflated.

The two stared awkwardly at each other. While meeting Tiffania's eyes, Zuko noticed that she was barely any taller than he was. She had looked bigger when he had been lying in bed.

The smell of burning milk caused Tiffania to break the silence. "Oh! The porridge is going to burn." She moved to grab the ladle, then realized it was on the floor, so she started digging through the cupboard for a new one.

Zuko made a chopping motion towards the fire, dampening the flames, before leaving her to it. "What a weird girl," Zuko muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

Stepping outside the building, he was greeted by the smell of the forest. Looking around, he could see that the village he was in was small. Comically small. Less than a dozen small cottages were built in two rows. The building he had just left stretched across both rows on one of the ends, forming a cul-de-sac. The trees of the forest surrounded the village on all sides, making it unclear how one would enter or exit.

Zuko decided to worry about that later. He found an open patch of grass on the east side of the building and took off his borrowed shirt. He let fall to the grass as he lowered his stance and began going through the firebending forms, though he was careful not to bend any fire. He still hadn't figured out where he was, and outing himself as firebender would not be wise if he was in an uncolonized part of the Earth Kingdom, like he suspected.

"What are you doing?"

Zuko paused his motions. He turned his head to see a redheaded boy with green eyes sitting down on the grass behind him. It was one of the older kids, who was almost his height, but seemed to be 14 at most. "I'm practicing," he said through gritted teeth, before resuming.

"Is that a dance?"

"No," Zuko said, not stopping his movements this time.

"Is it exercise?"

"Yes."

"Show me how to do it!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why don't you go bother someone else?" Zuko snapped.

"I'm just asking!" the younger boy protested. "You don't have to be such a jerk about it."

"Who are you calling a jerk?" Zuko shouted, whirling around. Unfortunately for him, as he turned, his foot got caught in a vine that had been hidden in the grass. Normally, catching himself would be easy, but with his weakened state, and his distracted mind… he ended up falling onto his back.

"Serves you right," the kid scoffed. He stood up and dusted off the front of his paints—a futile effort, especially since the grass stains were on his behind—before wandering off.

Zuko let out a hiss as he slowly climbed to his feet. He felt tempted to chase after the boy and give him a piece of his mind, but he knew that he'd be just as likely to fall on his face as he would intimidate him. With renewed concentration, he restarted his katas.

"Breakfast is ready, everyone!" Tiffania called out.

"Thank you, big sister Tiffania!" the kids chorused.

Zuko remained silent as he looked at what was on his plate. A milky soup of some kind of grain, with honey drizzled on top and slices of an unknown fruit on the side, as well as a soft-boiled egg sliced in half. He looked along the two occupied tables, seeing that the children were eating similar meals, though of smaller portions. Even Tiffania hadn't served herself as much as she'd given him.

"Is there something wrong?" Tiffania asked him with concern as she took her seat across from him.

"No," he said. He was irked by being served peasant fare, but he had already figured that he was surrounded by peasants. What was more surprising was, "Where are all the adults?"

Some of the kids continued to eat with gusto, but the majority had stopped. Some were looking at him, while others…

"Mama!" One of the older boys, who looked about twelve, cried as he ran out of his seat to dive headfirst into Tiffania's chest, which Zuko to be both incredibly immature and inappropriate.

"There, there, Gim," Tiffania said soothingly.

Some of younger kids started to cry, which caused a reaction as other kids started to put down their spoons and either cry, sulk, or try to comfort others.

Amidst the chaos, Zuko noticed several glares being shot in his direction. He quickly slurped up his—surprisingly delicious—breakfast before making a quick escape from the mess hall.

Zuko spent much of the rest of the day alternating between resting and light exercise. The children's attitude towards him ranged from ignoring his presence or glaring at him, with a few of the little kids going so far as to blow raspberries at him. He didn't see much of Tiffania throughout the day. She seemed to be either cooking, cleaning, or coordinating with the kids. Even during lunch, she spent more time wiping up for the kids instead of eating. For someone who claimed to be only his age, she sure acted like a mother hen to the dozen children in her care.

"Where in the four nations am I?" he muttered to himself as he sat with his back against a tree, enjoying the light of the late afternoon sun.

"Is something wrong?"

Zuko turned his head to see Tiffania looking at him, looking kindly but wary. "Nothing," he grunted. "Unless you can show me where I am on a map."

"Ah, we don't have any maps in the village, Sorry," she said softly.

"I figured," Zuko grumbled. "This has to be the strangest village in the four nations."

"Four?" Tiffania questioned. "There are five major nations."

"Don't be ridiculous," Zuko scoffed. "Even if you count the Northern and Southern Water Tribes as two separate nations, the Air Nomads haven't been around for a whole century, and only are mentioned for legacies' sake."

"Tribes? Air Nomads?"

Zuko sat upright. "What did you think I was talking about?" he asked.

"Well, the five largest nations are Germania, Romalia, Gallia, Tristan, and Albion, where we are," said Tiffania. "I've never heard of any major Tribes or Nomads. Though, they live closer to Rub' ah Kahli."

Zuko stared at her, trying to see if she was making a joke. When he saw no trace of sarcasm, mischief, or deceit, he shook his head. "None of those names mean anything to me," he said. "Seriously, what part of the Earth Kingdom did I wash up in?"

"Earth Kingdom?"

"Air Nomads, Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, the four nations," Zuko listed. "This obviously isn't the Fire Nation if you don't know who I am. The Water Tribes are full of ice instead of trees. This isn't an Air Nomad monastery, so this must be hidden village of the Earth Kingdom!"

Tiffania stared back at him with worry and confusion plastered over her face. "Albion is famous for being the White Country, because it flies in the sky. Oh dear, hitting your head must have caused more damage than I thought," she said, falling to a mutter halfway through.

"I'm not crazy!" Zuko snapped, jumping to his feet. The sudden rush of blood to his head made him stumble forward.

"Be careful," Tiffania called as she caught him in her arms and supported him with her body.

Zuko pushed her away and took a step back for more distance. "None of this makes any sense!" he shouted. "You, this place, those kids, flying countries, this, this, everything! It's like one of the children's stories about spirits!"

"You know about spirits?"

"You're surprised that I had books read to me as a child?" Zuko spat. "I'm not stupid!"

Tiffania looked scared—good—but still took a hesitant step towards him, with one hand outstretched. "Zuko, I know you must be confused, but I think I can help you—"

"I don't need your help," Zuko snapped. "You, you…" his words faltered as he realized, he had no idea where he was going this. "You've done enough!" he settled on. "I'm going back to my ship."

"Wait!" Tiffania called out after him, but he ignored her as he ran—well, it was more of a jog, but far faster than Tiffania could move—into the forest.

"Good riddance," said one of the kids. Most of them had been piled up behind one of the houses, peaking at the conversation from around the corner.

"That's not nice," said Tiffania. "I told you all that he hit his head and is probably confused right now. Now he's running off into the forest alone. I need to go after him."

"Don't leave us!"

"Do you have to?"

"Stay here, big sis!"

"We don't need him."

"Hey!" one of the older girls piped up. "Tiffania took all of us in when she didn't have to. You're all selfish for wanting to keep her all to yourselves now!"

"Thank you, Bethany," said Tiffania graciously.

"But if he even looks at Tiffa the wrong way again, I'll hit him with a frying pan!"

"Yeah!" some of the kids cheered.

"Please don't," Tiffania pleaded. "He's suffered enough."

"He looks scary."

"Did you see his scar?"

"He's mean!"

"Sometimes people say mean things when they are hurting," said Tiffania. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't be kind to them. Zuko may not be… nice, but he doesn't mean anyone harm, so he can stay with us while he recovers."

"He doesn't even want to," one of the kids grumbled.

"If he wants to leave after he's regained his memories, then I'll send him on his way like all the others," Tiffania said. "But it's dangerous to wander the forest at night, especially since he doesn't know where he is."

"He's not going to reach the port the way he's going either," one of the older boys pointed out.

"What do you mean, Joseph?"

The boy pointed a finger in the direction Zuko had gone. "If he's looking for his ship, he's going to miss the road to the port and end up by the cliffs."

"Oh no, no, no," Tiffania said in rising panic. "Bethany, get started on dinner. Maria, find the younger kids and make sure they are inside before sunset. Joseph, you're in charge until I get back."

"He got to be in charge last time!" Bethany protested.

"Stay safe and take care of yourselves, everyone!" Tiffania called out as she ran into the forest after Zuko.

Zuko hadn't made as much progress as he'd expected. The uneven terrain forced him to walk carefully lest he lose his footing. His body was still fatigued. His vision swam and his muscles ached when he pushed himself too fast. After about half an hour of travel, he also realized two things.

One. He had left his armor and clothes behind in the mysterious village.

Two. He had no idea where he was going.

He didn't know where to find the nearest road, the river he had been fished out of, the shore, or anything really. He could tell that he was heading west, which was generally a good idea when trying to find Fire Nation colonies, but without a map or any frame of reference, he was as good as lost.

Then again, he could ways go back and ask for directions…

Zuko shook his head. He wouldn't step foot in that place again. It was all too… strange. A rustic village in the small clearing of a thick forest? Full of children with strange appearances, with the oldest being the strangest looking of all? If his uncle had told him such a place existed, he'd accuse him of being drunk or telling stories.

But after living there for a day—or longer—Zuko wasn't sure what to think. Tiffania was a mystery that he couldn't figure out. He'd seen that the Avatar, who was supposed to be an ancient man, was only a young boy how barely reached his chin. He'd seen the power of the Avatar State when Avatar Roku had appeared in the Fire Sage's temple. Ever since he had been banished, his world had gotten so much bigger, and he wasn't sure what he should trust. Who he should believe. What he should do.

"This is all pointless anyway," he muttered to himself. "I need to capture the Avatar. Staying in a backwater village of freaks won't help."

He continued walking even as the sun set in the horizon. As the trees started to thin, he increased his pace. Further ahead, he could see the open sky. There, appearing in the horizon, were the moons.

Zuko's steps faltered. He rubbed his eyes, believing it to be a trick of blurry vision. But no matter what he did, looking with both eyes, or one at a time, the image didn't change. Through the sparse branches of the trees, he could see two moons in the sky. One was blueish grey, much like the one he'd seen all the nights of his life. The other, a rosy magenta, which he had never seen before.

"Where am I?"

The words escaped Zuko's lips as he continued shambling forward on the unsteady ground. It was all too strange. The village could be explained by strange genetics and hair dye—not that he believed that was the case—but there was no fathomable explanation for why there was a second moon in the sky!

"Zuko!"

Zuko came to a stop. Then he realized that the ground wasn't just uneven, it was also shifting under his feet. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back as he realized he had nearly walked off the edge of a cliff. The ground was starting to crumble and collapse, and they were high up enough for Zuko to see clouds below… as well as the land.

"What…" Words failed the banished prince as he looked down. There was a sea of clouds surrounding the base of the cliff, but past that he could see a stretch of ground below. And it wasn't rocky ground either, but farmland, with no signs of rocks or elevation. The ground below also seemed to be… moving? The clouds too. And the wind, it wasn't right. This wasn't a view from a mountain cliffside; this was a view from an airship.

"It's dangerous to walk around the forest at night," he heard Tiffania say softly. "It's hard to see the cliffs with only the moonlight to guide you. We were lucky that the twin moons provided enough light tonight."

"Why are there two moons?"

To her credit, Tiffania didn't even question why he was asking. "There have always been two moons," she said. "Some nights you can only see one though."

"Where am I?"

Tiffania hesitated before responding, "I'm sorry. I think I can help you, but right now, you need food and rest. Will you come back with me to Westwood Village? Please?"

"I—I," Zuko licked his lips and swallowed. "Yes."

Tiffania pulled him close. Zuko immediately stiffened. No had hugged him this tightly since, well, not for many years.

"Thank you," Tiffania said.

'I should be thanking you.'

But the words couldn't come out.

The reason I wanted Zuko from this point in development is because this is when he's started to open up to the idea that "I might be wrong" but hasn't made his biggest strides, which leaves room for his growth to happen in Halkegenia instead of Canon. While Zuko's recovering, he'll have greater incentive to get his bearings instead of wandering off to his death. He's not a bad kid, his dad just burned a giant chip into his face.

Westwood Village is a strange place by LN description. All orphans, new-ish buildings, and they've lived this way for years with Tiffania being in charge. Only half the named kids are canon, because they are usually referred to as a collective. I haven't developed every kid yet, but between this story and Brock I'll have ways to build the roster.

What do you think of the chapter? Remember, reviews are food for a writer's soul!