Iroh glanced up at Zuko as the boy flopped down next to him. As Champion, and Sifu, they had their own separate table away from the other slaves, on a small, elevated platform, fenced off from the rest. It allowed them some semblance of privacy, a rare thing for the slaves.

"How goes the training?" Iroh asked, taking a sip of his tea.

The boy shrugged, but his typical scowl was absent, so it must have been going relatively well.

"They'll do fine. Toph is a bit rough –she's only been up against other Earth Benders –but she's got a lot of raw power. More than I've seen in a long time. She makes Haru look like a kid learning to crawl," He admitted. "The girl is a good healer, but she doesn't have the stomach or skill to make it in the arena."

Iroh nodded thoughtfully. "So what are your thoughts of matches?"

Zuko shook his head. "I think the girl should be put under Yugoda; she isn't getting any younger, and we'll need a new healer soon."

"And the Earth Bender?"

"If I can have a few months of training with her, I'm going to ask Ozai if we can be paired in the arena together for the Capital games."

Iroh raised one eyebrow. "Really? You usually do not like working with others, much less other elements."

The boy shrugged again. "She's good. Honestly… She's easily the strongest Earth Bender I've ever seen. I had her doing practice drills with the Earth plates. You know how we thought it was impressive that Haru could control eight of them, and make an 'x' pattern? Toph can control twenty of them, and make them dance around her like fireworks… While raising and lowering a platform she's standing on," He added with a wry smile. "She probably could have done more, but the Ozai and Azula were watching."

Iroh glanced around, making sure the Chi-Blockers were preoccupied down below, before taking a sip of tea, keeping his eyes on the other Benders below as he said, "That is good, Zuko. You are learning. How much stronger do you think she is?"

The boy leaned back, almost lounging staring out at Agni setting in the sky. "Much. I talked to her afterwards; she was smart enough to know why I kept her from continuing. She said she could have easily done double, or even triple what she was doing. And before you say it, yes, she could be boasting. But I don't think so."

"Why?"

Iroh nearly spit out his tea, barely composing himself, keeping his face blank at Zuko's next words.

"She can bend metal."

"That… That is impossible, Zuko," He hissed, leaning forward. "It has never been done. It's never been heard of! She is lying."

Zuko shook his head slowly. "No, she's not. She demonstrated for me, Iroh. She can Bend metal as easily as I bend Fire."

Iroh sat back, stunned. To have such an ability… If discovered, Ozai would order her killed immediately. Whether he discovered how strong she was, or that she had a special form of bending, it wouldn't matter.

Obviously the Masters wanted strong Benders for the arena. Those that weren't up to par were given menial jobs under the close supervision of the Chi Blockers; Earth Benders were put to work in the fields, planting crops, landscaping, worked in the mines, or road construction, and the like, Fire Benders were blacksmiths, fueled their steam machines, factories, and warships, and Water Benders were used as Healers, or in the fields with the Earth Benders. Occasionally, an odd Bender would pop up who was allowed to live, like the plant Bender who was slightly mad and worked out on one of the farms, or the lava benders who were kept on the scattered islands, chained but cared for, used only when the volcanoes erupted.

But those who were too strong, too unique… They were killed as quickly as possible. Once, long before Iroh had been born, there had been a revolt. The Benders had tried to rise up, and claim an equal place amongst non-Benders. According to the story, millions of lives had been lost before the Chi Blockers had put down the rebellion. Since then, the world had been far more cautious in its approach to Benders, and their slavery. In some regions, there were rules regulating a certain amount of Chi Blockers for every Bender, while others had specific laws for the keeping and imprisoning of them.

Ozai continued in the 'grand' Sozin tradition, and relied on brutality and fear to keep his Benders in line.

So most Benders had either figured out, or been taught by their Sifus, to hide just how strong they were. To hide any unusual talents they had. To evaluate how much power was needed to be considered special, without crossing the line into the 'dangerous' category.

"I… You must explain to her, Zuko. As her Sifu, you must explain to her exactly how much danger she is in. That she must keep it secret; she is to tell no one. It is dangerous enough that we know. Ozai will make death look like a pleasant vacation to Ember Island Beaches if he finds out what she is. And our ends –if he discovers our part in hiding her secret –will be little better. Probably worse, given who we are."

Zuko shrugged, almost carelessly, his already dark amber eyes turning darker. "Undoubtedly. Although I'm not sure how it could get worse."

The last part was whispered under his breath, but Iroh had long learned to take advantage of people assuming his age meant deafness.

He frowned at the boy, but quickly plastered over it with a smile when the boy looked up. Continuing to eat dinner as normal, Iroh couldn't help but wonder.

In the last year, Zuko had become increasingly irritable, and withdrawn. Granted, the boy had never been particularly 'pleasant' or forth-coming, but it had gotten worse. He always looked exhausted, except for the week leading up to a fight. Large, black circles under his eyes had become so common as to be unremarkable any more. He'd become more reckless, taking stupid risks in the arena –risks that were bound to get him killed, sooner rather than later.

Outside of the arena as well. The fact that he had left after receiving his two trainees, ignoring Iroh –his Sifu –and the Air Bender was incredibly rude, and the boy knew it. He was pushing the boundary, and if he kept it up, Ozai was going to draw him a boundary line in his own blood, and leave the boy nothing but another broken husk.