So this is my entry (?) for *shayerahol22's contest with the five abstract themes. I say (?) because I feel like I could do something else to this...

Anyway. Unless someone has some awesome advice for me tomorrow, I'll send this in

This has a story! I'm gonna write it up now, so forive me if it makes no sense. It takes place when Zuko's about eight or nine. Yes I realize neither of them actually look like them but you know what? SCREW YOU.

It was early morning. Princess Ursa had been bedridden for several days with influenza, caught when tending to her eldest son who had the same. Princess Ursa and Prince Zuko were always sicklier than the other half of the family. Maybe their fraility was what really had made them closer; the doctor didn't know. What she did know was that whatever it was, the mother and son had a bond as strong as their immunities were weak.

She had dismissed all of her nurses and the servants, knowing that Princess Ursa needed her rest. Prince Zuko, however, had refused to leave, lovingly tending to his mother's needs. At the moment, the doctor was pulling back the drapes to let in the morning light and air while Prince Zuko sat next to his mother, holding a cold, wet rag to her forehead. Her fever had broken a while ago, but she was still overly warm. As the doctor let the sunlight stream in, Prince Zuko whispered, "Don't leave me, okay, Mom? I don't want you to die."

His mother cracked her eyes and smiled, sliding her hand from beneath the sheets to grasp his free one. "I'm never going to leave you, Zuko. Never." He grinned and hugged her neck fiercely, both of them laughing quietly.

The doctor looked back at the mother and son and smiled. She turned back to the window to see the younger daughter Princess Azula standing far below the window, looking up expectantly, worried. The doctor gave her a bright and successful smile to let her know of her mother's progress, but all the girl heard was her mother and brother's secretive laughter, so she pursed her young lips and stomped off. The doctor shook her head as she pulled the drapes back all the way. The royal family had too many secrets for a simple healer to worry about.

How does this relate to Fire-Perseverance? Well, lately I've taken to this idea that Zuko was a lot like Theodore Roosevelt - very sickly as a kid, but worked hard to overcome his natural disposition to become badass. So I went to draw Ursa taking care of Zuko but then Zuko in the bed looked like Ursa and I just decided to reverse the roles this once