My first Avatar fic! So this story takes place after ATLA, and Zuko has two kids, Ursa and Iroh (this is not the Iroh in LOK; that is Zuko's GRANDSON). Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I WISH I was as dang brilliant as Mike and Bryan to be capable of creating something like Avatar. But I'm not.
The tense silence just before battle never fails to unsettle Ursa. She always hated the excruciatingly long moment of pretend peace whilst staring straight into the unforgiving eye of your enemy, the two of you waiting to see who dares to make the first move.
But Ursa had never been a daring person.
The coal color of her eyes are set aflame as a fireball brighter than the sun is hurled towards her. Ursa is quick to deflect it, but not without the sheer power of the move taking her back a few steps. She pauses briefly to put her focus aright, only to find she has nothing to focus on. Where was her opponent?
It's just at that moment when Ursa feels a sudden sensation of warmth on her back. She barely makes it halfway around when a rope of fire loops around to her feet, knocking her to the ground. Hard.
Once the quick bout of dizziness faded, Ursa moves to get up again. However, she is impeded by a fist pointed directly into her face.
And now the foes are back to where they started, each looking into the face of the other. Then Ursa's adversary smiles, offering a hand to help her up.
"Sorry about that, sis," the boy says once she's back on her feet. "It was just such a perfect opening to fit in a Flaming Snake. I couldn't help myself."
"You can never help yourself, Iroh," his twin replies. While she manages to keep her tone serious, her eyes dance with mirth.
"Well done, Prince Iroh," an elderly man commends as he approaches the two eleven-year-olds. "With such perfect form, it will only be a matter of time before you join the great legacy of your family."
But as he turns to Ursa, his smile disappears. "As for you, Princess Ursa," he says gravely. "Your technique leaves much to be desired."
On most occasions, the two siblings are taught firebending by Zuko. But during the times when the Fire Lord is too preoccupied with work, Sifu Wei Zhu takes his place. The mere fact that the teacher was not her father would've made Ursa dislike him. His cold, harsh attitude towards her certainly helped, though.
"You are free to go, Prince Iroh," the aforementioned crab stated. "But you, Princess, must perform fifty hot squats in order to improve your stance. A fire hawk has better footing than you."
"Yes Sifu," Ursa answers wearily.
Iroh gives his sister an apologetic glance before darting out of the room.
Ursa begins the exercises, one eye trained on the retreating master. But the moment his billowing robes vanish through the curtain, she defiantly sinks to the floor and folds her legs into a meditating position. A few hot squats weren't going to magically give her the talent she sorely lacked.
Ursa had never understood how Iroh managed to steal all the natural ability, leaving his twin hardly able to be defined a bender. It's as if the two were born to be complete opposites.
Iroh is outgoing, passionate, and lively. Ursa is timid, stoic, and reserved. Iroh, though not nearly as prone to anger as him, takes after their father. Ursa, though not emotionless to the same degree as her, is more similar to their mother. Iroh is the beloved prince to all who met him. Ursa, no one knows quite what to think of.
Their father always joke how the twins are like Yin and Yang, complementing one another perfectly. And it's certainly true, for they love each other greatly, but at times Ursa can't help but feel slightly jealous of Iroh receiving all the positive attributes.
Speaking of whom, what was that move he had been talking about... the Flaming Snake? Yes, that was it. She had caught a glimpse of its form just before she was hit by it. Maybe she could give it a try.
The Fire Princess began working so hard to imitate her brother, she didn't even notice a middle-aged, scar-faced man enter the arena.
Zuko quietly observes his daughter from a distance as she continually tries and fails to get the moves right.
Zuko hates to admit it, but the way his son is able to learn with such ease reminds him of the boy's aunt, Azula. Meanwhile, Zuko sees himself in Ursa's struggles as well as in her determination to catch up with her brother. Although Zuko believes that overall Iroh is more like him of the two, in some ways Ursa is more similar.
An ear-splitting cry suddenly shoots through Zuko's thoughts. He looks up just in time to see his daughter crumble to the ground, clutching her right leg.
"Ursa!" the father cries as he rushed to her side.
The girl turns her head up weakly, attempting to hide her grimace of pain. "Dad?"
"Yes, I'm here," Zuko says soothingly. The girl lets her head fall on her father's shoulder. "What happened?"
"I lost control of my bending, and it whipped around and got the back of my knee."
Zuko inspects the injury and finds the area not in very good condition. "We need to get you to the infirmary."
He tries helping Ursa up, but she can barely move her leg without yelping from the pain. So in the end Zuko picks her up, as though she were two years old again, and carries his little girl to the door.
Just before leaving, Zuko takes one last glance around the Agni Kai Hall.
Does this place do anything besides leaving scars?
This is going to be a three-shot, and I'm trying to get these chapters out quickly. Part Two should be up either tomorrow or the day after.
On an unrelated note, who's stoked for the LOK season finale? I know I am! :D