Thanks very much to my reviewer from the last chapter, GF. cyber-books. You made my day.

Now things really start deviating from the series. And we get to find out a little bit more about Yin. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 – Lesson Number 1

Zuko's tenuous control on his temper snapped. "And you expect me to just believe that?"

Aang stepped between him and the source of his frustration. "Zuko, you need to calm down! Yelling at our hostess will get us nowhere." He turned and bowed formally to her. "I'm sorry for my friend's behavior. Please accept our apology."

"You don't need to suck up to me you know." She could see the blush creep up his cheeks. It was quite funny, actually. "It's fine, really. I understand his frustration. Come, there's something else to show you." She led them to a door on the far side of the room. "This is the bathroom. Hot baths have been drawn for all of us. Perhaps it is best if we relax before continuing our discussion."

This time, Zuko was too shocked and indignant to be mad. Not that he was a prude or anything but, somehow, being naked around another naked guy and a naked girl irked his sensibilities. "Wait, you're going to bathe in here WITH us? Can't we get some privacy?"

Yin was immediately apologetic. "I'm sorry but, I am not allowed to leave you alone for even a short amount of time. There are screens here that we can pull forward to undress and enter the baths. After which they will be pulled back again so I can continue to guard you. Is that a reasonable compromise?"

Zuko was about to snap again but Aang cut him off. "We don't have much of a choice, but thank you for trying to make us comfortable. I can handle the screens with my airbending."

"You don't need to bother. Servants will come in to do that for us and gather our clothes to be washed. There are robes for us all to use in the meantime." She rang a little bell by the tub closest to the door and three servants came in and pulled the screens around each of the tubs. Yin saw they were each with a servant before turning to her own bath. The woman who had come to serve her did move to draw the screen or help her with the ties on her dress. She simply stood there and scowled. Yin had to stifle a sigh as she woman took her clothes but made no move to help her as she nearly slipped on the wet stone floor. Though she had spent years on the island and had been approved by the masters some still considered her an outsider, this woman seemed to be one of those. Once the other two had settled into their baths, their clothes gathered, and robes placed within easy reach, the screens were taken away and the other two servants retreated.

"Do all of the Sun Warriors live like this? As either master or slave?" They looked at Aang. Zuko, confused because he knew not everyone could be equal otherwise the world would come to a halt. Yin, understanding because she knew that while hierarchies made the world work it was still nice to have that ideal of equality.

"No, this is the chief's home. Every Warrior takes a shift working in this house, or guarding it if there are visitors, but we all work and live here. There are some smaller houses that you didn't see on the way in. It's just a small part of the larger complex. Are your baths comfortable?"

Aang leaned back against the cushioned headrest. "I'm good. What about you Zuko?"

"It's fine. I'm used to it being a little hotter though", he said, feeling petulant.

"I can take care of that", she replied, taking advantage of the perfect opportunity to teach him just who he was dealing with. She had had about enough of his attitude, it's not like she was enjoying their predicament anymore than he was. So, feeling vindictive, she surrounded his tub with flames that nearly came over the sides. For the first time in a long time, Zuko felt real fear. Here he was in an unknown place without his firebending or even the most rudimentary of weapons, and he was surrounded by and at the mercy of the flames of someone else's creation. But before he could panic, the water heated and the flames disappeared.

She made sure to smile sweetly as she asked, "Is that better?"

"Yes. Thank you." Inwardly, he cringed. 'And, having decided I want to live to see the morning, I won't ask for any more favors.'

They basked in the hot water for a moment. Inwardly, Aang squirmed against the urge to ask the question that had been bothering him. Eventually, he couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. "How did you get here? I'm sorry but, I just can't believe that you were born here and lived here your whole life. You seem so different from everyone else."

"Is it that obvious? No, I wasn't born here. General Iroh brought me here when I was very young."

Zuko was shocked; he had never been told that story. "Uncle did?"

"His army burned down my village." There was a second where they just stared at her and she stared at the ceiling. She sat upright suddenly and turned to them. "Oh, wait! I just realized how that sounds and that's not how it happened at all. What I mean is: he and his army burned down my village after everyone died. See, everyone in my village died of an unknown, incurable illness. I was one of the first that fell ill but I was able to fight it off. My recovery gave people false hope for their loved ones. More and more people fell ill until I was the only healthy one left. Eventually, the Fire Lord ordered the village burned to prevent the spread of the disease. General Iroh was among those that patrolled the streets as they burned it down. He heard me crying and rescued me. He had already become the Dragon of the West so he knew about the Sun Warriors and thought they would take me in. And they did." She sighed and relaxed farther into the cooling water. "At the time, I didn't understand why he couldn't just let me die. I wondered, 'Didn't he understand what it would mean for me to have no one?' But, he talked to me and treated my burns and then I understood. I saw he was a good man with a good heart and not at all like the soldiers that had come through the village before. He actually wanted the fighting to be over." They passed the next half hour in companionable silence.

"Let's go back to the main room. Our clothes should be delivered by now." This time she didn't argue as Aang airbended the screens into place. They pulled on robes and followed her into the main room. "Ah, here are our clothes." She picked them up from the table where a servant had left them along with a tray of tea and some food. "Come, we'll change in the bathroom and then have dinner. It's not a lot, but it looks like enough for the three of us." Once done they put the screens back and she settled them all at the table poured the tea. "Now that we're all relaxed and in clean clothes is there anything about firebending specifically that I can help you with?"

Aang stared solemnly at his bowl of rice. "Well, I can't firebend at all."

"Really? That's strange. You seem like a very passionate person." She took a bite while he looked at her, confused. "Let me clarify. Each element has its own… characteristics. Air is flighty, always changing itself, and fearsome when angry. Water is healing, flowing with the changes made to it, but it can be cold and unforgiving. Earth is stubborn and usually changes gradually but when it does change rapidly you either get out of the way or die. Fire is the passionate element. It can give power and life but it can burn and damage when out of control. You are a passionate person, fire should come naturally to you." They continued to eat and she watched them both absorb this information. Eventually, Aang finished his bowl and set it down. The ceramic clicked softly against the tray.

"I promised I would never use firebending again after I burned Katara. Now I have to break that promise." She raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. "I guess I feel a little bit better that it won't come easily now."

"Katara? Is that your girlfriend? Travelling companion?" She finished her bowl, too, and poured them all new cups of tea.

Zuko's laugh turned into a cough as he choked on his last bite and Aang blushed. "Uh, she's a traveling companion."

It was Yin's turn to blush and find her tea cup suddenly very interesting. "Oh, that's right. You're a monk; I guess you wouldn't be allowed a girlfriend. I'm sorry."

"Actually, back when I lived with the monks, there were sometimes betrothals between kids at different temples. There was one or two while I was there, usually the much older kids. But there were always things like field trips to other cities and temples so all the younger kids could meet each other." He laughed. "I remember all my friends used to make fun of me because this girl, La Yin, and I were good friends and we always made sure to visit each other. Even her friends used to say that, if we weren't careful, the monks would arrange our marriage and that would be the end of our friendship!"

Zuko, though he had been crowned prince of his country for most of his life, hadn't thought about arranged marriages. Or even marriage in general, except where it concerned his own parents and that wasn't a very happy union. So he asked, "Is a good marriage based on friendship first?"

"Well yeah, but that's not how kids see it. We were still at the "girls are icky" stage." They all laughed, easy and relaxed, each remembering a childhood that was far less complicated than the lives they were living now.

Wanting Aang to talk about his past more, they pressed him, "Was Lo Yin a good airbender, too?"

"Of course! She was the best at the Eastern Air Temple. Since I was the best at the Southern Temple they had us train together a lot. Honestly, it wouldn't have been too surprising if they DID match us up."

Yin frowned, suddenly. "She didn't get the tattoos though, did she? And… she was a year or so older."

The boys looked at her, wanting to inch away at the mysterious look clouding her eyes. Aang asked, "How did you know that?"

Yin bowed her head put her fingertips to her forehead like she had a headache. "Lo Yin was my grandmother's name. I was even named after her. She raised me for the first few years of my life because my mother died in childbirth. She used say that she was the last airbender and when she died there would be no more, ever. She used to show me airbending tricks in secret and tell me stories about a boy she knew as a child. He was the best airbender at the Southern Air Temple and she loved to play or spar with him. He was her best friend but she never said his name. She said he ran away one day and never returned but he would, eventually. And when he did she'd kick his butt to the Northern Water Tribe and back, just to teach him a lesson for worrying her."

She lifted her head and looked Aang in the eye. To him it seemed as though her eyes were a shade of grey-green he remembered from long ago. "You traded gifts once, didn't you? The day she became eligible for marriage was the same day you graduated to the highest level techniques."

He snapped out of his trance and saw that her eyes held no hint of grey. It made him stumble a moment for his words. "Yeah… we did. She made me a new whistle for Appa. And I gave her the first glider I ever made. She had to repair it after its first flight but she said she didn't mind. She wouldn't even let me switch with her."

"Of course not, she loved that you made it for her. She loved that you took the time to sit still and create something for her. She loved you. Look," Getting up, she moved over to the armoire and rummaged in the back, eventually pulling out a much worn looking staff "she even passed it down to me. It was one of the few things I managed to save from the fire."

Aang sat and cradled the staff for a long time. Yin and Zuko sat and sipped their tea and watched him get lost in his memories until late. Then they all went to bed.

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