Hey! So the late update excuse is: chocolate overload Friday, and then no internet until now. But I have an entire week off from school, so you should have a chapter on time this week.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender, or any of the characters except Aiko. I just feed Bosco.

I wake up to the sound of Zuko's muttering. Rolling over onto my side and propping myself up on an elbow, I spot him messing around with fire. I yawn and sit up all the way.

"What're ya doin'?" I mumble, wiping sleep from my eyes.

"Trying to make tea," he growls. "but the leaves won't steep!" I stand up and stretch, then walk over to see what the problem is. I note that there's no fire.

"You know the water has to be hot first, right? Like, boiling hot." He mumbles under his breath, turning his back to me. "I'll take that as a no." I go outside, intending to find food for the ostrich horse. I gather more leafy shrub branch things and dump them on the leftovers from last night. The ostrich horse slowly gets to its feet before chowing down. I scratch its neck before heading back inside.

"Want some?" I jump a little when I nearly run into Zuko, who's holding out tea in one of our metal cups. I take it, and almost gag at the smell. The fact that it's a suspicious dark green color doesn't help. I take a small sip and nearly choke. Zuko stares at me. I swallow, my stomach protesting.

"It's…interesting," I say with a weak smile. Satisfied, Zuko turns away, and I immediately dump the rest out of the door.

"How's Uncle?" he asks quietly. I squat down next to Iroh, taking water out of my canteen and prodding the burn with it.

"Better than yesterday. He should be waking up soon." I lean back until I'm sitting. "I forgot to ask, were you hurt yesterday?"

"Not really," Zuko shrugs.

"Not really isn't the same as no. Now tell me where it hurts." Sighing, he shows me a small burn on his left wrist. I wrap water around it, and within moments it's healed.

"I forget how easily waterbenders can treat things," he remarks, turning his wrist over to look at it.

"Only injuries that are fresh. If a bone's started to knit itself back together, we'd have to break it again first, and scars are a hopeless case." Zuko turns his head, and I wince at my words. "I'm sorry, were you expecting-"

"No," he cuts me off. I can tell a tiny part of him was, though. I'm saved from any awkward silences by Iroh stirring. With a grunt, he shoves himself up with his good hand. I watch him anxiously.

"Uncle…you were unconscious. Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack," Zuko tells him.

"Somehow that's not so surprising," Iroh remarks drily. He groans again, and I move forward with water. He waves me off. "Later."

Zuko holds out a cup of tea to him. "I hope I made it the way you like it." My eyes widen, and I shake my head. Iroh drinks anyway, a long gulp that drains the entire cup. He swallows, grimacing.

"That was very…uhh…bracing," he comes up with. Zuko allows himself a small smile, and hands Iroh another cup. As soon as Zuko's back is turned, Iroh throws it out the window.

"So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her," Zuko says.

"No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down." With a little difficulty, Iroh stands. "It's time to resume your training." He shuffles outside, Zuko and me trailing behind. I glance up at the sun, surprised to see that it's already into the afternoon. We all must have slept late.

"You get two hours before you have to rest again," I tell Iroh. "I'm going for a walk." I head off into the desert, stopping about half a mile from the town. It's time to start my training, too. I stretch first, then go through push-ups and sit-ups. By this time I've lathered up a nice sweat. I move on to acrobatics, pushing myself into splits and backbends, handstands and flips.

Then I pull out my fans. I revel in the sound of flicking them open, the familiar weight in my hands. I move through the forms, familiarizing myself with them again. If I close my eyes, I can pretend that I'm back on Kyoshi, with us all in full gear despite it being the middle of summer. But eventually I finish the last form, and I have to open my eyes again.

I glance at the sky for the time to find that clouds have rolled in while I was training. Their heavy gray appearance encourages me to finish the day with a jog back to camp. I arrive, panting, to find Iroh alone, standing in the doorway. A few drops start to fall, and I hustle him inside.

"Time for another healing!" I announce. He sits down, and I peel back the bandages. The blisters are gone, leaving a bright redness. I pull water out and place it over the burn. "Where's Zuko?" I ask glancing around. Pulling the water back, I look at his skin, which is as good as new.

"He went for a ride," Iroh mumbles.

"In this weather?"

"He wanted to find lightning."

"Why?"

Iroh looks away. "To try and redirect it."

"Is he crazy?" I yell. "I'm going after him. Don't move." I run out of the house, the rain coming down in buckets now. Vague imprints in the dirt lead off in the direction I was in earlier. I follow them, clothes and hair soaked in an instant. Rain drips in my eyes, blurring my vision. I swipe it away angrily.

"Of all the selfish, immature things-urgh!" I mumble. I speed up, determined to find Zuko and maybe beat some sense into him. I smile at the thought. I run on, the trail leading me up into hills, which get steeper and steeper. I slow down, focusing on where I'm placing my feet. Eventually I'm forced to a walk, the only tracks appearing every once in a while on a small patch of dirt. How did they even get up here?

I crest a hill right as Zuko starts speaking.

"You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it, and now I can give it back!" I realize he's talking to nobody in particular. "Come on, strike me! You've never held back before!" My anger shrinks a little. He yells, and I back away, knowing this is a private moment. Rocks shift under my foot, and I let out a little squawk before righting myself. Zuko spins around, fire flaring briefly in his hands before dying down. "Oh. It's you," he says in a monotonous voice. I walk forward, sitting next to him.

"Yeah. Me." I stare out into the distance with him, not that there's much to stare at. The rain is still pouring down, maybe even more so than before. I look back at Zuko. Rain is pouring down his face, and his eyes are closed. Without really thinking, I reach up and wipe water from his face. But it's warm. That's when I realize it's crying. I wrap my arms around him.

"Do you know about panda lilies?" I ask. I feel him shake his head. "They're some of the most beautiful flowers in the world. But they only grow on volcanoes. They live in the harshest climates, but because of it, they come out the prettiest. You're a panda lily, Zuko. You're going through a lot. But you're going to come out the better for it." We stay in that one place for a long time, me hugging him as he silently cries. Eventually he sighs, pulling away. I let him.

We walk back to the ostrich horse, squishing along. I'm beyond cold now, into that sort of numbness you get. Well, that can't be good. I climb into my usual spot in front of him, immediately leaning back to soak up his warmth. The ostrich horse starts picking his way down the hill, and I drift off to sleep. My last thought was that for the first time, I didn't flinch at the sound of lightning.

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