Azure's near Quendi. The people there are nice. [ to him, at least. zuko doesn't know how they are to other shardbearers, but everyone who has come to see him has always been met with warmth. he doesn't want to think of it being due to them knowing him. he understands they feel indebted to him for what he'd done, but wearing his blue spirit mask and frightening a spirit away is really the smallest thing someone can do to help a village. ]

[ zuko doesn't understand people who are overly nice to him when he's done nothing to deserve it. but given he believes most of the time he deserves nothing, it's something he'll never be able to accept. ] I can take you there. They won't want to cook you and eat you if they know you're with me.

[ it's a joke, even though zuko doesn't smile nor deliver it with any pep. he's working on that. ]

[ he sighs, unable to help himself, ] I wish Toph was here. She'd be able to stop them. [ if anyone can stop the metal machines, it's toph. it's not the avatar — as much faith as zuko has in aang, toph is the master of metalbending. aang would be good with the natives, if zuko hadn't won them over. sokka would be excellent with brainstorming how to take the machines down. katara would be so hopeful they'd never feel like failures. and zuko would be able to cook for them. he has no doubt toph would be able to assist them; she's toph, for spirit's sake. ]