[ the odd times zuko's been recognized outside of the fire nation, there was never a favorable reaction. for so long, he's been the banished prince, exiled to capture the avatar --- or a traitor on the run from his own sister. his time as actual crown prince (as much as he claimed otherwise) was short before he willingly cast himself out to join the avatar and end the war, and though he has an inkling this man may be a firebender himself, it's really not the reaction he's expecting. he knows he's easily recognizable to anyone from their world, but this kind of greeting takes him so by surprise he's legitimately speechless for a moment. ]
[ it's quickly followed by an. ]
Uh.
[ an honor??? um, wow, that's his thing, mako. but more importantly, zuko's currently a fugitive from the fire nation, the ex-prince, technically, (mako's mostly right in his guess) so he can't fathom what exactly is it that would be such an honor to meet. if this man is (or was?) a firebender as he'd suspected, he'd expect to be hated for choosing to leave his country (to save it), not..... honored..... and even if mako isn't from the fire nation, it's not like the rest of the world (especially the earth kingdom, after zuko had helped azula conquer ba sing se) would have liked him any better. even when he was on the run and lived amongst the earth kingdom commoners, they'd turned on him as soon as he revealed his identity. and now, with perspective, he didn't blame them for that. he's fully aware of the atrocities the fire nation has committed. ]
Thanks?
[ it's really more of a question than a statement, but he clears his throat after an awkward beat. ] Who are you?
[ maybe that will clear this mystery up. timeline shenanigans don't occur to him, despite the fact that he's dealing with them with katara. ]
[ (mako should never meet his heroes, they're disappointing. or, at least, this one is. ) ]
no subject
[ it's quickly followed by an. ]
Uh.
[ an honor??? um, wow, that's his thing, mako. but more importantly, zuko's currently a fugitive from the fire nation, the ex-prince, technically, (mako's mostly right in his guess) so he can't fathom what exactly is it that would be such an honor to meet. if this man is (or was?) a firebender as he'd suspected, he'd expect to be hated for choosing to leave his country (to save it), not..... honored..... and even if mako isn't from the fire nation, it's not like the rest of the world (especially the earth kingdom, after zuko had helped azula conquer ba sing se) would have liked him any better. even when he was on the run and lived amongst the earth kingdom commoners, they'd turned on him as soon as he revealed his identity. and now, with perspective, he didn't blame them for that. he's fully aware of the atrocities the fire nation has committed. ]
Thanks?
[ it's really more of a question than a statement, but he clears his throat after an awkward beat. ] Who are you?
[ maybe that will clear this mystery up. timeline shenanigans don't occur to him, despite the fact that he's dealing with them with katara. ]
[ (mako should never meet his heroes, they're disappointing. or, at least, this one is. ) ]