the birds in the bell tower

Zuko is supposed to be finding the Avatar. Everything depends on it. But a few weeks into his banishment, he finds himself trapped in a tower with an excitable spirit-bird, a myriad of issues, and a livid, raw scar that hasn't yet settled into the past where it belongs.

Something pecks him again. Zuko opens his eyes and finds a blurry bird looking at him, head cocked. It isn’t the same fat bird as before.

Zuko groans to himself. “How many of you are there?”

This bird is small, about the size of Zuko’s hand. Its plumage is sandy and bright, but there is a darker patch on the top of its head that looks almost like a large arrow, pointing down to its beak.