Author's Note: Reviews are appreciated, guys! They really help me out! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Fourteen

Maya, Zuko, and Uncle stood far from the ghost town they had been inhabiting, atop a cliff. They'd been looking for a spot up high, so that Zuko could practice his breathing, and found the perfect place when they had come across an old abandoned house that overlooked the town. Maya wondered what had caused everyone to leave. From this new vantage point she could only assume it was because… well… they were literally in the middle of a desert, surrounded by dry mountains and sand dunes. It wasn't the sort of place that flourished. The person who had decided to build their house up here on the cliff had been the smartest. There was a forest tucked between two mountains about a hundred feet from the front door.

Uncle began his next lesson as Maya lagged behind, keeping the ostrich-horse company. His voice echoed back to her as if he were much farther away than he actually was. Being here, in this desert, up on a cliff, surrounded by mountains… It did funny things to the way sound worked.

"There is energy all around us," he said. "This energy is both Yin and Yang, positive energy and negative energy." He turned to face Zuko. "Only a select few firebenders can learn to separate these two energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in the moment the positive and negative energies come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning."

Maya was fascinated by Uncle's explanation. She had been witnessing the amazing feats of benders all her life, and due to the treatment of her father, had always envied them – firebenders especially. So anything new that she learned about how bending worked always set her mind to thinking hard. She kept her ears perked for any new information, continuing to pat and rub the ostrich-horse's side.

She watched as Uncle put out a hand, silently telling Zuko to back away. Almost immediately, blue-white lightning sparked in his fingers as he moved his arms and body around, as if he were dancing, perhaps. The lightning arced around his body and both hands, before he released it with a loud boom of energy. The lightning grew in size then, forking into separate arcs, before disappearing. It was a spectacle that left the ostrich-horse nosing his distress and Maya and Zuko staring in awe.

"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko said, before the booming echo had even stopped.

Uncle rubbed his wound as he spoke. "Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first."

Zuko closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and then began to imitate Uncle's "dance," but even Maya could tell he was rushing the steps. In half the time it had taken Uncle, Zuko was already trying to shoot lightning from his fingertips. All that resulted from his attempt was a fiery explosion that threw him backwards and scorched the ground. A large plume of black smoke rose and wafted through the air and Uncle turned away and shook his head in disappointment.

It had been over an hour since Zuko's first attempt at creating lightning. And, once again, he found himself sprawled on the ground and fire exploded from his fingers. Maya didn't think the ground would ever return to its natural tan color again after all of these explosions. There were black scorch marks all over the place. At this point, she just wanted him to stop and take a rest, but he refused, and he was only growing more angry with every failed attempt. She and Uncle had taken refuge from the heat by sitting against the shaded wall of the abandoned house. Maya's forehead rested against her knees. She had long since stopped flinching at every boom, and had drowned out Zuko's noises of anger and constant yelling.

"Why can't I do it?" Zuko asked, speaking to no one in particular. It was the first coherent thing he had said in the past hour and Maya's ears perked, wondering if this was going to go anywhere, or if he was just going to go back to yelling wordlessly. He continued. "Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face! Like everything always does."

Maya looked up, her neck complaining from so much time spent bent over her knees, and looked at the boy she loved. She said nothing, however, knowing that he would not listen to her. Besides, she didn't really know what to say. If he was determined to wallow in self-pity she knew from experience that the only thing to do was wait until his dramatic episode was over.

"I was afraid this might happen," Uncle replied, standing and walking over to Zuko. "You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."

"What turmoil?" Zuko yelled, spinning to face Uncle.

Maya shook her head and rolled her eyes. Yep. He was gonna go off on one of his fits of anger, yelling about how the world sucked and no one loved him. Instead of trying to talk him down the way she had before, she let Uncle handle this. She would comfort him later, when he was in more of a mood to listen to her.

"Zuko," Iroh began, "you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

"I don't feel any shame at all," the Prince replied. "I'm as proud as ever!"

"Prince Zuko… Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

Zuko's voice was quieter now, closer to despair than anger. "Well… my life has been nothing but humbling lately."

There was a pause, and then Uncle said, "I have another idea. I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know."

Maya's brows furrowed, wondering where this was going. What on Earth could Iroh teach Zuko that Azula hadn't already mastered years ago?

"Because I made it up myself," Uncle finished, and Maya looked at him in surprise, and a bit of awe.

Zuko turned to the old man and smiled, and the training began.