"Like this?" Aang inquired as he leaped gently from one foot to the other and delicately threw a perfectly rounded ball of fire. His gray eyes widened and shone as he watched the golden flames of his creation flicker for a while before disappearing into the blue sky. He grinned broadly and turned to face his teacher.
"It's magical, Sifu Hotman. It's just like air, except colourful and vibrant and…alive."
Zuko nodded grimly. "Well, sure. Except fire comes from within you, from the energy of your heart, your soul, your passion, while air is just…there. Its just wind."
Aang glared at him.
"Special wind, of course." Zuko coughed.
Sokka stood up and folded his sleeping bag. "Technically, there is air within you, in your lungs, but you can't prove that there's actually fire in your body. I mean, how ridiculous is that…if there was a fire in your heart, well, you would die because…"
Toph groaned, shifted her feet, and sent Sokka flying into the marsh below.
A large splash filled the air followed by a sharp cry from Katara. "Why you INFURIATING little MONSTER…no respect…can't you see I'm a little busy here, without you flying out of no where and drenching me, Sokka? And WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE TOPH, I know you're behind this…just wait until I find you, you filthy little earthworm…"
Toph cleared her throat, "Um, well, it's been nice chatting with you all, but I've really got to go..."
As soon as Toph disappeared behind a patch of trees, a drenched Katara trudged up the hill, her face creased with mud, wearing dripping brown clothes that Aang supposed used to be her bright red fire nation disguise.
But it was hard to tell.
She dragged Sokka, heavily coated in mud and slime, behind her, along with a water whip sloshing about threateningly.
Her blue eyes flashed, her eyebrows knit together. She held up her water whip.
"Where. Is. She."
Something in her voice prompted Aang and Zuko to just give the information.
Aang giggled as Katara stomped by. "Hmm. Is Katara's fire in her body, or out of it? What do you think, Sokka?" Sokka grumbled underneath the mud, and Katara spun around abruptly to face Aang.
"What was that?" She hissed, glaring at him.
"Huh? Oh—nothing, Katara! Just commenting on how lovely you look in your new clothes. Very unique colour. You'll surely…blend in."
Zuko crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
Katara frowned and glanced from Aang, to Zuko, and then back at Aang. Then, softening her voice, she instructed Aang that it would be wise to resume his training, and then made her way into the forest.
Aang nodded, "She's right, Sifu Hotman. We should get back to training. More fireballs?"
Later that evening, the gang sat around the campfire while Katara served the soup and Zuko poured the tea.
The soup was more popular than the tea, and so Zuko soon found himself sitting beside Aang and blowing on his hot soup. Sokka, Toph, and Suki sat at the other end of the campfire, obviously having forgiven each other for the afternoon riot.
"Thank you, Zuko." Aang said, suddenly.
"Excuse me?"
Aang blushed. "Thanks. You know, for helping me. It's fun. I love learning from you. You're really good, and—"
"Uh, you're welcome." Zuko swallowed a big spoonful.
"I just can't believe it, how fast everything is happening, you know? The summer's almost over, and…and…" Aang sighed. "It's a lot of pressure on me. But helpful and wise people like you really give me faith and hope that I can do it all. You know, make everything okay again."
"Yeah. It's great when people can give you hope and faith." He briefly touched his scar, which was aching and hot due to the growing flames of the campfire. He shifted his position to avoid the heat.
"You mean your uncle?"
"Oh. Yeah."
"Did he train you?"
Zuko nodded, remembering.
"He must have taught you so much, then. All of his wisdom, as well. You are so fortunate to have such a dedicated teacher. Just like me." Aang smiled, "I can't even imagine how powerful he must be. I mean, if you, his pupil, are so amazing. Like, you can even breathe fire, and it's so cool how you—"
"Cut it out, okay?"
"What?"
"I'm not that good. I've never been good. I've had to work hard just to keep up. And you're one to talk, Mr. Avatar, master of all the elements, prodigy, and youngest monk to ever earn airbending tattoos. I've almost run out of things to teach you, you're mastering everything ten times faster than I ever did or ever could."
The bright smile faded from Aang face and he looked at the ground.
"And it's not just you either. Look where I am! I'm sitting around a campfire with the Avatar, a waterbending master, a metalbender, and some warrior girl who took out a whole fleet of prison guards and captured the warden in a matter of minutes. I've grown up alongside a firebending prodigy, with a father who is supposed to be the greatest firebender in the world, and I've traveled the world with an uncle who has more wisdom and knowledge than I could ever comprehend."
Katara noticed Aang's discomfort and sat down beside Zuko. She reached over and squeezed Aang's shoulder.
"Aang, it's getting late. You should go to bed; we have a lot of training to do tomorrow. It's okay."
Aang nodded and walked away, along with the other yawning members of the gang.
"Zuko, you don't need to be great."
"It's not about being great! It's about living a good, happy life, it's about things actually working out for me, it's about things actually coming easy to me, it's about my mind actually being clear, it's about things not blowing up in my face!"
"What do you mean? We're living a peaceful, calm life now."
"Yeah, now! But you know what's coming, don't you? We have to go into battle again. I have to battle the best firebenders in the world. Alongside the greatest benders in the world! And then there's just…me. I'm tired of working so hard. I'm tired of fighting so hard, just to be good enough to keep up. I wish that I could just…do something worthwhile, not because of the work and practice and discipline, but just because I have enough goodness and raw power inside me to accomplish something wonderful."
"And why is it that you can't seem to harness that goodness and raw power inside of you?"
"Because I'm not good enough!" he shouted, "Katara, just watch!" He jumped up and ran to a clearing just beyond the fire. "My uncle was trying to teach me how to create lightning. My whole family can do it, even my little sister can do it, but can I? Separate the energies, let them come crashing together, then provide release and guidance…" Zuko moved his arms around carefully, energy twisting up all around him.
Katara held her breath.
He put his hands together and a loud and ugly crack tore the air and a huge cloud of dark smoke sent Zuko sprawling to the ground beside Katara.
Zuko was ready to explode, his eyes swelling up with tears. But as he turned, his conflicted gaze locked upon Katara's deep blue eyes that somehow always managed to burn right into his soul.
He sat up, closer to her. He took a few deep breaths and said quietly,
"I can feel the raw energy and power inside of me. But every time I try to bring it out, it gets lost in the conflicts of my mind. My head is always spinning, and I can't seem to find peace and clarity. So I focus on study and discipline, because through it, I can get some results. But then everyday I'm here…" He turned to face her. "Every time I see you, I can feel it, the energy and passion inside of me. It's like you make me want to…be a better person."
Katara lightly placed her hand over his clenched fist.
"But being a better person is not about working harder than everyone else. It's about harnessing more power and goodness from inside your heart and having the serenity and courage to bring it to reality." Katara gently told him. "What's going to make you a more powerful bender, Zuko, the number of famous instructors that you have trained with or the amount of willpower you have to make a difference in this world?"
"You have passion Katara, and I can feel your passion. It ignites mine." Zuko sighed.
"But my passion is always being released as anger and rage."
"Because it's not pure. It becomes corrupt because of the conflicts in your mind." Katara realized.
Katara slowly stood up, biting her lip. She reached down and took hold of Zuko's hands and pulled him up to face her. She saw sadness and pain in his eyes. She placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him around. Then she carefully took cool water out of her flask, allowing it to spin on her hands and glow, and she placed her hands on top of his head. The water came alive, swirling and twisting, and Katara could feel immense energy twisted up inside his mind. She closed her eyes and began breathing very deeply, and Zuko found himself breathing in time with her. Her heart pounded loudly and rapidly, and she summoned all of the energy and passion from within her and fiercely concentrated on untangling the conflicted energy within Zuko's mind. Her body began to shake, and she could feel tremendous pressure swelling from deep within her and traveling through her arms, to her hands, and through the water.
After awhile she whispered breathlessly, "Do it again."
Zuko bright eyes opened and he took a deep breath, Katara breathing right along with him. He slowly and gently separated the two energies in the air. The tension and pressure made Katara's teeth chatter, and she desperately urged every muscle in her body to keep still. Zuko could feel the raw passion swelling within him, though far more powerfully than ever before. He carefully allowed his hands to touch, and the two energies in the air came crashing back together. Suddenly, all of that passion and raw power within Zuko jolted cleanly right through him, and as he outstretched his arm, a fierce bolt of lightning flew from his fingertips and sprinted through the air, and for a brief and powerful instant, the thick darkness of the night fled away to make room for the warm blue light.