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"Good morning, Uncle," Zuko mumbles in return as he enters.

He makes a beeline to the kitchenette area to not just set down the tea supplies, but gets straight to work searching Iroh's cabinets for cups and a tea pot and all these things, making himself right at home without regard or comment. He's much improved at making tea on his own, and is eager to show that off, too. He's become far more appreciative of tea in Iroh's absence, not just because it has been a tender way to honor his uncle's memory when he's feeling wistful, but also because his roommate took up an obsession with terrible syrupy commoner tea, so Zuko now has more investment in good tea as a reaction to his personal vendetta against Tamaki's passion for Arizona... It may not be the ideal entrance into this appreciation, but perhaps Iroh can be proud of him that at least the door to the world of tea is open now, even on his own.

Curious, he followed Zuko in. "Are you looking for something, prince Zuko?" he asked, sounding amused as he tucked his hands into his sleeves. Was the boy even fully awake?

“I brought tea,” he says shortly, as if it’s so obvious, not even turning his gaze away from his search as he speaks. He manages to find cups quickly enough, a flash of surprise and triumph washing over his face as he does before settling back into his comfortable scowl of discerning focus. He pulls two standard mugs out, at least, but a proper teapot as a default item in an inn is perhaps less reliable, though not at all impossible. He pauses his blind search to just ask at last.

“Teakettle?”

He glances warily to the microwave, the ghost of a dark expression crossing his face at he does. He does not like the microwave. He does not trust that machine. But he knows he can heat up water in it, too, even if it’s not ideal. Convenient and fast, maybe — but at what cost? They are far less dangerous than Zuko imagines. The real danger is an idiot who doesn’t know not to continue microwaving metal after it begins to spark; and the more dangerous danger after that is three more idiots who don’t know throwing flour on fire will spread it. With these forces of dire ineptitude combined, what should have been a small kitchen fire landed four rich boys homeless in the first experience any had ever spent in a 24-hour, pay-by-the-hour, cheap, skeevy motel... Zuko wasn’t keen to risk his uncle’s fate here after that. But he’d microwaved water plenty of times before that, and it had been fine, if it must come to that. He’s a brave boy who seldom shies away from doing reckless things, and has done far many more reckless things than using a microwave. But somehow he also suspects Iroh could manage to procure a teapot even if stranded on a desert island, let alone a welcoming inn, so he’s taking his chances one way or another.

Edited 2021-04-15 03:12 (UTC)

Zuko had brought him tea...? He was glad that he had already had some proper tea, so that he cold endure what his nephew would make for him. Hopefully.

"Ah. Under the sink," he said. He had a rather nice tea kettle already, just... perhaps don't ask where he got it. He had arrived with tea, which was lucky, but without kettle or cups, which was less so.

Zuko notices that it's a nicer teakettle than he's expecting from someone who'd just arrived. But he also won't ask questions. He'd given his uncle some teapots of questionable origins, himself, after all. But the tea leaves, this time, were at least hard-earned and honest gifts. He goes about busying himself preparing it, filling the kettle with water to boil on the hot plate provided in their rooms, then leans against the counter casually as the waiting begins.

"I brought a ginseng blend — I thought it'd wake us up, so our minds can be sharp for learning about the phones," he explains, subtly showing off 'hey, I know stuff, I listen, I'm considerate.' He's made progress. In general and in tea.

"I see," he said, considering Zuko as he spoke, stroking his beard lightly. He almost asked if the tea here was of good quality, then considered who he was asking. Ah well. He still had a fair amount of what he arrived with.

"I would like very much to learn more about these devices, prince Zuko. I appreciate you being willing to teach me," he said warmly. And he hoped, encouragingly.

It's true that Zuko only happened across a good variety; he didn't know how to select between differences, and generally just went with the most familiar and the most expensive. In fact, Zuko operated this way with many of his financial decisions, which is no wonder why he has less than he should. He just assumes the best quality is the highest price. He wouldn't know any better, really, truth be told. He has much to learn still. But luckily, it often works out for him, even if he's oblivious that he could find tea leaves just as good or even better for lower cost. At least it also comes in a pretty, fancy-looking tin, so... there's that?

"Of course, Uncle," he says with a certain uncharacteristic brightness, one Iroh surely has not seen since life was calm in Ba Sing Se. With Zuko's hair short like this again, the lack of weight on his shoulders, something in him was reminiscent of that time in itself. He's eager to be able to help his uncle, to have an upper hand on him in life experience for once. What a rare chance to be able to pay something forward for what to him seems the first time. He's no clue that the helpfulness between them has been a two-way street, discredits himself much too much. But for now, he's excited to be able to teach him about the modern things Zuko has learned abroad.

"First of all— it's not made with ink and paper, and there's nothing inside it but little metal parts," he begins to explain while the water boils. "I guess it powers itself using magic and controlled surges of lightning somehow... I don't understand it, but my friend Hikaru's father makes this stuff in their world, so he explained it a little bit to me once."

"A device that lightning bends?" he asked, pulling out his device and eyeing it dubiously. Under other circumstances, he would have wanted to speak to this Hikaru person. There would be a higher chance of getting accurate and useful information, of actually understanding.

However...

He knew his nephew, he could see how much Zuko was looking forward to this, to being able to be the one to teach. So he would let Zuko teach him. And he would figure out the rest later, on his own. If he had to.

"Essentially, yes. I think. Hikaru can explain that part better," he offers automatically, apparently already planning on introduce them soon regardless.

"You can contact anyone here with it from far away... You can use writing, your voice, or— you see the little circular lens, right there?" He takes his own phone out to demonstrate, pointing to the front-facing camera. "That thing looks at you as if it were the other person's eyes, so whatever you point that at, they can see. So if you point it at yourself while you talk, they can see you even from afar."

Yeah, Hikaru can probably explain all these parts better. That sounds much creepier than it needs to, your highness.

"I... see. And when I do not wish to be seen or heard, prince Zuko?" He might be considering binding the thing in cloth and burying it in the back of the closet.

"Oh— it only works when you want it to. When you're trying to contact someone, it turns on, and then turns off when you're done. You can even re-record things if you don't like it and want to do it over. It's not always in real time. People aren't watching you when you aren't talking to them... But there is a public network you can post to that everyone can see, if you want."

"I have to say, prince Zuko," he started. Then waited for a beat. A longish one. As if he was about to say something profound. "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

"Here— Press that button, then that one," he explains shortly, drawing closer to him to point to the home button and then the messenger app. "Okay, then this. See how the little letters come up? Type 'fireprince.' That's my username. That's how to reach me. You need a username, too, Uncle. Have you set it yet?"

"I do not even know what a username is," he said, patiently, so unless I did so by accident, no I have not set one up yet."

"So— it's kind of like your title...? Or a nickname? It's whatever name you want to be shown to everyone on the network when you say something online, even to people you don't know," he explains. "For example— Azula's fireprincess, like mine, whereas Sokka's username is boomerang-guy, and Gokudera's is smokin_bomb... But our friend Yamamoto's username is just yamamoto. Doesn't matter how straightforward it is. Whatever alias you want. There— type it in and it'll remember it." He leans in once more and exits quickly to go to the settings page so that Iroh can create his name on his own, as the teakettle starts to slowly whistle. "Pick something you won't regret, though, because anyone can see it," he warns. "Strangers online ask me if I'm a prince all the time now..."

He turns away to attend to the water, grimacing weakly. He'd regretted his username, apparently. Twice over. He'd made it without any forethought or warning about what it was, under poor instruction on his first day in the other world, before he'd decided he'd rather conceal that part of his identity, and now just has to live with this awkward question dishonestly and embarrassedly. He'd even had the chance to change it to something else upon his arrival in this world, but not keen on calling himself plainly 'zuko' either, for lack of a more creative name, he just went with the same username he'd had before, dooming himself to more dweeby false introductions online. Why'd he do that?!

"What exactly is the network? On what line?" You need to start with the fundamentals, Prince Zuko.

"Also, do nicknames not change with who you are speaking with and time." The name most knew him by, after all, had not been his name as a boy and was rarely used now.

"It's more like a penname than a nickname, I guess," Zuko says with a shake of his head. It's hard to explain things he only knows the functions of, himself. "Imagine it like there's a tiny town bulletin board inside the phone — it's kind of like that. But everyone can interact from far away at any time by posting on it, or responding to things that were posted on it... Whatever you post, there's a name that appears beside what you say, like a signature. That's your username. And anything said that way is called being 'online.' I don't know what it means, that's just what everyone calls it."

The tiny town bulletin analogy has not flown over well in the past with others, but this is how Zuko's made it make sense. Maybe Iroh can jive with these same sensibilities. Truth be told, Zuko's proud of how much he's gotten comfortable with these things, though, that he's needing to backtrack to his initial 'ink, stamps, pamper roll, magic mini-bulletin board' mentality he'd first understood things by. It seems so long ago now, all of a sudden. He lets out an accidental little sigh at the feeling as he digs out the tea leaves he'd brought along and is now put to the test to really prove himself. Technology is not as impressive to Uncle as tea, that's for sure.

Tea was both more impressive and more preferred. But Iroh came from the same world and time as Zuko. The bulletin board analogy was probably better for him than a technical one. "People post all the time to bulletin boards without being seen. And signatures change over time as the person who signs them change. These.. names.. cannot change as well?"

"Well— you can turn anonymity on and off, which is convenient."

Indeed, when Azula first arrived, Zuko only communicated with her anonymously online; which was still perfectly transparent to her exactly who she was talking to, of course, but it gave him peace of mind to be able to have this function. He really likes the ability to be anonymous whenever he'd like to.

He whips his own phone out and opens up the AOL app, holding it up so Iroh can see while he deliberates on his username.

"This is the Network, Uncle," he explains, illustrating by scrolling slowly through some of the most recent posts. Best by example, perhaps.

He leaned close and squinted. "Who has ever heard of a bulletin board where the writing is so small?" And uniform. Much could be told by a person's handwriting, but that didn't seem to be the case here.

"Uncle, you're missing the point," he sighs. "It's not like a real bulletin board, it's like— a portable place..."

Oh, god, the metaphors are already getting away from Iroh's nephew and they've scarcely begun.

"I'll make the writing bigger on your phone if you want, I know how to do that, I think. But you can post to this 'place' and anyone can see what you say and reply, at any time, from anywhere in town, that's the point."

He's a good teacher in his way, wants to help, but patience and even-keel explanations are not his style.

"Bigger would be of help," he said. "But how can a place be portable?" he asked. "Well, I suppose a tent could be, or a hut if the circumstances were correct." Yes, his sliding off topic was mildly deliberate. He's in a strange new place having to learn fast. He has to have some fun somewhere. Plus it'll be good practice for Zuko to hold his temper, and be good for the boy to feel like the smarter one in the room for a bit.

"Uncle! The device is the place, the Internet is not a tent — a-and a hut isn't portable, anyway! Focus!"

He's putting his nephew to a good test. Iroh's unseen pai sho-like conversational moves with Zuko are always on-point. He shakes his head, setting the tea leaves aside to steep.

"Just think of your pseudonym... I'll add everyone you should have into your contacts list while you do, okay?" He reaches for Iroh's phone, keeping his own still in his other hand.

"This is a place?" he asked, looking at the device. "What? For ant termites?"

He looked at Zuko. "In the Earth Kingdom, I have seen people use Earth Bending to move their huts to higher ground to avoid flooding, and back down again when the rainy season has passed." You were really going to tell him a hut wasn't portable? And yes, he is still amused.

That look. Do you see that look Zuko's throwing? Because he's throwing a look.

He just lets the silence speak for him for a moment, then looks back down to their phones, taking one in each hand to set about adding in his contacts. He adds in his own first, "fireprince;" then: katara, boomerang-guy, kyoshiwarrior (wonder who these might be); less obviously, tenjikubotan and smoking_bomb; and finishes, after a moment's hesitation, with another easy guess — fireprincess.

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