China: Oh my gosh thank you so much to the 6 people who faved this story and the 9 followers. I was surprised that this many people would take interest after the first chapter along with the 3 people who reviewed. I hope everybody enjoys this chapter and tell me what you think about it.
"Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good." —Charlotte Whitton
Mani's POV
The ride back to my family's shack was uneventful and just plain awkward between the two of us. Zuko simply refused my attempts to make conversation.
"So...what's it like in the Fire Nation?" I inquired.
No response.
Apart from Zuko's occasional grunts when I directed him to my home and apart from the meow-hoots of Cat Owls, it was completely silent. It felt like months had passed when we finally reached my empty home. Papa was still in town handling our stall and I doubted he would be back anytime soon after the chaos Zuko and I unleashed in town.
"This is it?" At least Zuko sounded mildly impressed, maybe because he expected something more run down.
I dismounted off his ostrich horse and got to work fetching water from the well on the lawn.
"Obviously." I rolled my eyes, pulling the bucket up and watched Zuko tying the animal to the fence. "By the way, do you want any tea and the answer better be yes because my arms aren't suffering for no reason."
Zuko folded his arms, his swords jingling around his waist. "Do you need any help?"
"If it isn't any trouble 'Mr. Future-Ruler-of-the-Fire-Nation'." I almost lost my grip on the rope, I really should be focusing on this instead of heckling Zuko.
He lent over the rim from behind me and grabbed hold of the wet rope, assisting me in pulling it up. The muscles in Zuko's arms rippled beneath his skin from the weight of the bucket.
"What's this bucket made out of?" He groaned, "Lead?"
"Sorry I'm not a Waterbender." I said sarcastically, "All I can do is set shit on fire and I don't have to do that as often as you think."
However once the bucket reached the brim of the well, that was when I noticed a long yellow beak and a scaly black back. Oh spirits, not again...
"What is that?" Zuko's grip loosened on the rope in shock, forcing me to bare its full weight.
"You're telling me you've never seen a cranefish before?" I exclaimed. Then again, cranefish are only native to the Earth Kingdom. For some reason, this particular animal really loves to build a nest in my bucket and if I had a gold coin for every time this happened...
The sudden noise frightened the bird and it chose to roost on Zuko's head, aggressively pecking his ear and I had to suppress my laughter.
"Ah!" Zuko swatted at his head, releasing the bucket and spilling the water all over the ground. "Get it off me!" The bird on his head cawed loudly, flapping its wings in frustration.
I frowned, picking up the bucket and almost swung the bucket at him. "Do you know how hard it was for me to get that?! And don't hurt Kiko!"
Zuko and the cranefish stopped flailing around, looking at me with quizzical eyes.
"The cranefish, it's his name." I pointed out, throwing the bucket back into the water.
"But why Kiko?" Zuko insisted, trying to pull Kiko off but his feet managed to get themselves tangled into Zuko's hair.
I shrugged, "Why is the moon called the moon and the sun called the sun? And besides," I cradled Kiko under my arm and stroked his long neck. "Isn't he a cutie?"
After three more attempts (Kiko kept pecking at Zuko and scaring him away from the well), we finally managed to fetch enough water to start dinner.
Zuko was aggressively rubbing the side of his head, "What is wrong with that demented bird?"
I poured some Jasmine tea into a cup and slid it towards him. "Kiko is not demented, he's just misunderstood. Now shut up and enjoy the free tea, Papa is coming home soon and dinner isn't going to start itself."
He eyed the steaming brown liquid and shuddered, "Why can't your mother cook it? Isn't that her responsibility?"
I almost dropped the teapot, having to choke back my tears and save face. "She's...not in the Earth Kingdom right now. And besides," I had to force a smile on my face. "I can do anything she can, now where were we on you becoming my firebending teacher?"
Mama was a bit of a personal topic, she taught me everything I needed to know to survive in this world but at the same time, I lost her.
Prince Irritable tentatively sipped the tea, choking on it. "How about...never in a million years? And you seem to be doing fine, you did win that fight against those soldiers. And your tea needs work by the way."
I snorted in indignation, snatching the cup out of his hand and taking a swig of it. "First of all, there is nothing wrong me with tea! Your Fire Nation palate just can't handle it, what with all your servants and imported tea. Secondly, even a beginner bender could have taken them down. Haven't you noticed how predictable their fighting style is? I wouldn't have even needed to firebend if I have my fans on me, I'm not the best at unarmed combat."
Zuko eyed my waist, "What fans?"
I crossed my arms, "Well of course I'm not going to wear them in my house, what's the worst that could happen?"
He gestured to his own swords, "You should be prepared for anything. And what makes you think that I could teach you firebending anyway?"
I pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, resting my chin in my hands. "Because seeing you bending fire with your swords is something I've never seen before. When the Fire Nation attacked the neighbouring village, I heard they used ordinary firebending. You know, with punches and kicks. But you were able to concentrate your fire blasts with your swords which can't be easy to do. Whenever I use my fans to fight, I feel like it's an extension of myself and it comes so naturally to me. But firebending? Studying from a few firebending scrolls isn't the same as studying from a skilled firebender. It doesn't come as naturally to me and even now, all I can do is make fireballs or use it to cover my hand."
I demonstrated by squeezing my hand into a fist and swinging it into a downwards motion, setting my hand on fire. Although I quickly blew it out, the last time I practiced this close to the table, I set the cloth on fire.
"How did you attain a firebending scroll?" Zuko looked generally interested, he even leaned in. "This village isn't a Fire Nation colony and outside the Fire Nation, they're almost impossible to come across."
A small smile broke out on my face, "My Aunt Rin works in the Fire Nation. Besides my parents, she's the only one who knows I'm a firebender and she wanted me to learn how to control them because she's seen what happens when a firebender loses control and it's not pretty." I shuddered, remembering the burns that decorated her right arm.
"My aunt works for some general's family and his youngest son once had the biggest tantrum over something so trivial. I heard that the entire household was filled with candles too. He unintentionally enlarged the flame of one of them and it caught onto her sleeve, setting it on fire."
Zuko took another tentative sip from his cup, this time managing to not look disgusted. "But that still doesn't explain how she obtained the scrolls. She didn't steal them did she? Because the punishment for stealing from your master's house is either banishment, prison or being sent to the colonies."
I scratched my head, I didn't think about that. In fact, I don't know how she gave them to me at all. "Uhhh, well I doubt she got caught because I've had them for around five years and nothing bad has happened to her."
Zuko rolled his eyes, "Then can I see it? It's been two years since I've even looked at anything from my nation."
"Sure," I rose up from my seat. "But close your eyes, I don't want you seeing my hiding place."
"But-" he protested before I gave him a scathing look. "Fine." He complied and started to murmur something under his breath.
I hastily stood up on the kitchen countertop and took my firebending scroll from the top of a cabinet. I jumped down and handed it to him. "Here."
Zuko snatched it out of my hands, unravelling it.
The first line exhibited a man twisting the top half of his body before punching the air, letting out a fire blast. The second line was different yet still had the same aggression of the first line, the figure lifted up his foot while lifting his arms up and stream of fire emerged from his foot. The remaining two poses were the defensive moves. The third line showed the figure punching the air, then lifting his foot over his head while a fire stream arched over his body and he was either creating a fire wall or pushing it towards his opponent. The last line was evidently the most complicated move out of the others. The figure summoned a ball of fire in front of them, pushing it away before pulling it back towards him and used it to create a shield of fire across his upper body.
His eyes dancing across the page, using his index finger to trace the inkings. "Breath, energy, fire." He read out, seemingly more interested in the defensive moves then the attack moves. "Can you do any of these?"
I could feel my collar growing a bit hot, "Not exactly. I can only do two of them, the first and last one. I have no problem using my hands or punching...But using my legs or kicking is another matter entirely." I confessed.
One of the things I've noticed about firebending is that most firebenders rely on sweeping legs and kicks to attack. However, when I try to practice that way I tend to lose my balance or pull a leg muscle.
Zuko leaned back in his chair and observed me. "Then show me what you can do."
I interpreted this as a good sign, maybe he's warming up to the idea of teaching me. I better not mess this up, I need to be in my top form. I took a deep breath, widening my stance so that my feet were shoulder width apart. I straightened my arms in front of me, pushing them out while exhaling and producing a small fire ball in front of me. I used circular arm motions to enlarge it, focusing on it the entire time and trying to monitor my breathing. I wrapped my right arm across my torso, my remaining arm pointing in the opposite direction and attempted to pull it towards me.
I was internally panicking, this was the part where I usually messed up by making the flame so big that it lost control or making it too weak that it didn't cover my body or protect me against incoming projectiles.
'Come on Mani, you can do this.' I thought, 'Just focus on your breathing, it needs to be stable deep breaths instead of shallow breaths.'
Once I deemed the flame to be large enough, I quickly pulled my right hand back to my right hip while pulling my left hand above my left shoulder to hold the stream across me. At first it was going well until I looked smugly at Zuko's face, my fire shield started to splutter until it completely went out. Needless to say, Zuko laughed at my shocked face and even wiped a tear away.
"You know, that wasn't half bad." He commented, "Your stance was correct and so were your motions, but it was a bit stiff. Plus I take it you've never had breathing lessons?"
Well...at least it wasn't a complete insult. "What do you mean my motions were stiff? I did it just like the scroll demonstrated and of course I've never had breathing lessons! I'm the only firebender in this village!" In my anger, I shot a fireball at Zuko but he was easily able to defend himself by widening his arms and dispersing it with a circular movement.
"You're on the right track but that was far too easy to block. It's like the scroll says, firebending comes from proper breath control and correct forms. If you can't master your breathing, how do you expect to firebend correctly." Zuko clarified, "Watch this."
He directed his hands at the stove top, guiding the flame from under the cooking pot and using it to lit all the candles in the room.
"Whoa..." I was in awe, I had never seen anything like this before.
Zuko shushed me, rising his hands above his head and abruptly swung them down, all the candles in the room suddenly went out. The smell of burnt wicks lingered in the room, smoke slightly obscuring my vision.
"How...how did you do that?" I hadn't realised that my breathing had hitched in my throat until I exhaled. Noticing that the cooking pot was now unlit, I pulled my right arm back and shot a fireball to reignite it.
"It's just flame manipulation, no big deal." Zuko was trying his best to sound nonchalant but that was clearly a move for experienced firebenders. "Producing fire from within is more of a struggle then manipulating pre-existing fires, the problem is just making sure the flame doesn't go out. Plus you need to be careful, if the flame is too small it'll go out but if it gets too big, it's harder to control."
"Let me try." I spread both my hands in front of me, focusing on the stove top and the existing flame. I tried to mimic his hand movements but to no avail, the fire kept flickering but it wasn't moving.
Zuko sighed, "You're not going to be able to get it straight away. First of all, the movement should be all in your wrists and don't be so rigid. Maybe you should just focus on-"
"Shhh!" I silenced him, breathing in deeply while closing my eyes. I tried to sense the warmth that was in front of me, feeling inner peace. It's peculiar, every time I close my eyes and focus on every flame that was in the room, it's like I can feel them without seeing them. I centred myself on the fire that was under the cooking pot, I imagined and willed myself to make it go out.
I took another deep breath, holding it in and thought about how the fire had done a good job staying lit despite the draft in the room. I opened my eyes and brought my hands above my head, trying to keep my wrists steady like I did when I practiced with my fans. While exhaling for the final time, simultaneously brought both hands down and at the last second - the flame went out!
"Yes!" I congratulated myself.
Zuko leaned back in his chair, shrugging his shoulders. "Took you long enough and if you didn't act so much like an earthbender, I would almost say you had potential."
After deciphering the compliment wrapped in the insult, I had to resist the urge to throw myself across the table and throttle him. "What do you mean I act like an earthbender?! Maybe you're just confusing normal Earth Kingdom behaviour."
He summoned a fireball between his fingers and threw it at the stove once again. "Trust me, I know what I'm saying. Earthbenders are stubborn and headstrong because they have to be, haven't you noticed how rigid their forms are? The earth is a stubborn element so to move it, you have to have a similar mind set and force it to listen to you. But you don't have to be like that when you're firebending. After all, fire is the only element that doesn't need a pre-existing source to be able to bend it, fire comes from within you. You shouldn't be afraid of it and act cowardly around it like it'll hurt you. But make no mistake, fire also deserves respect. You just need to channel all the rage inside you."
I thought I misheard that last line, "My rage? But I don't have an-"
The front door opened before slamming itself shut, revealing my weary father.
"Papa, what are you doing so late home? Sorry about dinner, it'll be ready soon." I ran to his side to help sit him down, until he froze at the sight of our guest.
"What is he doing here?" Papa started as Zuko rose to his feet, "Don't worry I'm just leav-"
This is ridiculous! I just spent goodness knows how long trying to get Zuko to stay and he's about to leave?!
I pointed my finger at Zuko, "You, sit down! Papa, why don't we go talk in the other room?" I shot Zuko a warning look as I pulled my father out of the room.
Papa sat down on the nearest chair, resting his face in his hands. "Why is this happening to me?"
I was trying my best to reassure him, rubbing his back. "Papa it's okay. Zuko is only staying here until tomorrow morning, I couldn't just let him leave when the sun was setting and he can't be any older than me. Plus he's been teaching me so much about firebending too-"
That was when he burst into tears in front of me, leaving my mouth hanging wide open. I have only seen my father cry one other time in my entire life, and that was three years ago when he found out that Mama was never coming back home.
"I can't lose you too." He coughed out as he took hold of my hand.
"You're not going to lose me." I smiled for his sake, "Look I'm right here next to you. I'm not going anywhere."
He pulled his face up, staring straight into my eyes and I could see the dark circles forming underneath his eyes. "You don't understand. The entire village. They want you gone."
I bolted up, my hands burrowing into my hair. "What do you mean they want me gone? This is my home too!"
Papa got up, resting his hands on both my shoulders. "You're a firebender and after that display, they think you're allied with the disgraced Prince of the Fire Nation who would do anything to regain his honour. I tried to reason with them but...they're giving you until tomorrow to leave. They said you had until noon or else they'll take matters into their own hands."
My thoughts were all over the place, my knees were even shaking. I couldn't believe it, I had been a resident in Plain's Village all my life and it was the only life I knew. I would never survive outside on my own.
Papa took both my hands into his own, "Don't worry little one, I have it all planned out. Your passport is in the pantry along with a small bag of coins, it should be enough to take you to Ba Sing Se. It's the only place free from the Fire Nation and do you remember your mum's brother?"
I cocked my head to the side, "Uncle Sal?"
Papa nodded, "Once you get to Ba Sing Se, find him. He lives in the middle ring and I know it's a long shot but I have to keep you safe. You need to pack a small bag, travel light and only take the necessities. I'll find your documents and anything else that can assist you on your journey. Leave at sunrise, that way you'll have plenty of time to avoid the other villagers. Take Babou with you, I don't expect you to walk the entire journey." On that note, he shoved me out of the room and somehow in my daze, I made it to my room.
Zuko was behind me, watching my movements. "Are you going somewhere?"
I pulled my bag out from under my bed, I don't know why but a grin broke out on my face. "Do you know how to get to Ba Sing Se?"
"How come?"
I sniffed, "You're not the only one who got kicked out of this village."
I stole a glance at him, it was satisfying to see his shocked expression. "Was it because you helped me?"
I snorted, "Don't be so self-absorbed, it's because firebenders aren't welcome here. I knew there was a chance that this day would come, I just didn't expect it to be this soon."
"What are you going to do?" Zuko inquired, analysing the room.
I shrugged, "What else can I do? I asked you, do you know how to get to Ba Sing Se? It's the only place untouched by the Fire Nation and I have some family there. Why don't you join me? It'll probably be safer than for either of us traveling alone. I mean, you're an experienced firebender and I'm skilled in tessenjutsu."
He insistently shook his head, "That's not an option. I left somebody close to me behind because I told them that I had learnt all they had to teach me, to travel with you would just disregard the whole point of my journey."
I picked up my two metal fans, unfolding them to inspect them. "No it wouldn't. You may have learnt everything you could have from that person but what about everything you could learn from me and vice versa? I need a firebending teacher and you're probably heading to Ba Sing Se. Why don't we kill two cranefish with one stone? Once we reach Ba Sing Se, then fine you never have to see me again. What do you say Zuko?"
Hopefully he'll consider my proposal, I really don't think I'll make it to Ba Singe Se by myself. I'm a young girl and there are a lot of bandits out there, I'll be robbed the moment I settle down for camp.
After what seemed like hours, Zuko stroked his chin and hesitantly nodded. "Fine. From a logical standpoint it does seem like travelling with another person would make the most sense. However I do have some conditions, every time I sleep you have to keep watch over everything. We travel on separate ostrich horses and carry our own weight. Plus the moment you start hindering me, our partnership comes to an end. If you abide by these, then I'll teach you everything you'll need to know about firebending. Deal?" He held out his hand in front of me and I shook it firmly.
"Deal but what makes you think that I'll be the one hindering you? After all, you're the disgraced prince of the Fire Nation. There's no telling what bounty must be hanging over your head. You may be putting up this tough act, but honestly? I think it's all a façade. I think secretly you're worried that one of these days, you're going to be ambushed. And it doesn't matter how skilled you are with those swords of yours because if you're significantly outnumbered, you've lost before the battle has even started and maybe having somebody by your side may increase your chances, no matter how little." I raised one of my brows at him, a small smirk breaking out on my lips.
"But don't worry, in her youth my mother was the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and the best at what she did. She passed her knowledge onto me the moment I was old enough to walk, so I'm the last person who would hinder you." I divulged, folding up my two fans before attaching them underneath the sash around my waist. "But enough talk about these serious matters for now, I think dinner is ready and an early night is in order for the two of us."
China: The next chapter will a bit of a filler because I want chapter 4 to be 'The Chase' which is where Zuko reunited with Iroh and if Mani is accompanying Zuko, she'll be joining the two of them for a while. However, Mani's firebending still needs some work and I want to use the next chapter to develop it a bit before she interacts with the main cast.
