[ zuko thinks to inform hiro he can practically teleport a lot of people — two on either side of him and whoever thinks to hold his blue spirit mask. but it's not important, not in what zuko's trying to formulate as he speaks, and not in what hiro needs to ask questions about to paint a better picture for himself. ]

There's the natives. [ it's a blindspot, one he doesn't think anyone really considers. after spending time with them, even watching them grieve just like the people from his own home do, zuko's come to empathise with them more than he has the shardbearers. maybe it's wrong of him to turn his back slightly against his own people, but those of azure have made him feel more welcome than he ever has felt in his entire life. ]

[ besides, they don't leave him. ]

We need to get them out. And some of them are useful, too. They fought in the battles. Some of them have useful tools, skills, knowledge … I always ask them what to do when I'm stuck. They're not like Uncle, because they actually make sense most of the time.

[ just in case hiro requires an example — and not of uncle not making any sense — zuko's tone dips, more conversational and less of a leader, as he seems to be amused by what he recalls. ] They tell me the animals I know from home are called hybrids. [ he shrugs; it means nothing to him, what a hybrid is. even though he's been told over and over a lion is a lion without its shell, it's hard to break old habits. ] They know the land better than us. Maybe they don't know the dwarves' machines very well, but I had a race with one of them once, and they ran circles around me, even after I'd melted the snow to create a track. And I'm fast!