[ Oh fuck, two weeks ago, for real?! Zuko is out. of. his. depths, oh boy. This is far beyond sleep tricks, meditation tips, or pep talks about ~*~DeStiNy~*~ for this traumatized teenager himself. But now he feels some vague connection, already bonded to helping this kid in smaller ways, more responsible now for having drawn out this information in the first place... He's not the comforting type, exactly, but he's the caring type, who wishes he were the comforting type, and even though he's still so young himself, he's got an early paternal streak growing in him. He doesn't like to see people in pain — or hear them, rather — and even for a stranger, he's honor-bound to his own compassion, as shaky and new as it is natural instinct for him, even if, yes, he's out of his depths... He doesn't want to tell her not to cry cuz as he sees it, she has all the reason to, but— he certainly wasn't expecting this. Plus something about monsters. And the nightmares. Poor kid. ]

N-No, don't say sorry, um—! I, uh— ...I'm sorry. That you lost them. So recently, and then arriving here, too... That's a lot to deal with. No wonder you're having nightmares. Um... It's complicated mourning bad people or, uh— loving people even if they're bad... I don't get it, but I do— sort of. My dad's killed a lot of people, too, in war, and even after he hurt me and I left home when I was thirteen, I still missed him for years... And, um— I lost my mother. When I was eleven. So— ...yeah, I sort of get it.

[ "Yeah, I sort of get it" is not the profound line that matches the drama its tone is drenched in, but you get what you get with this guy. He's fumbling but, clearly, he means as well as he can, for two kids who have clearly seen much more than any kid should. ]


((ooc: no worries at all, not even late! i'm technically on hiatus anyway but hhhhh i'm loving this whole thread, so I couldn't resist replying hehe))