When everyone split up, Yun grabbed the journal Tigok had gotten her and went towards Aang.
"Hey Aang, tell me about the dragons," she said excitedly.
"Ummm, they were big," he said, his pitch rising towards the end of the sentence as if asking a question.
"That's all you got," Yun asked in disbelief. After meeting one of the most majestic creatures in the world, that was all he had to say?
"One was red, and the other was blue, and they breathed fire on me and Zuko," Aang said.
"That's all you got," Yun repeated in disbelief.
"Hey, I was scared I was going to get eaten or something," Aang protested. "Ask Zuko."
"Ask Zuko," Yun mocked grumpily, moving away from Aang.
"Real mature," he called out.
"Real mature," Yun mocked again. Sighing, she walked over to Zuko's room. Everyone got along better with Zuko now, except maybe Katara, but he still chose to stay in his room. Sometimes, dealing with Zuko was tiring; his anger really reminded Yun of her sister's. Were all firebenders angry all the time? General Iroh wasn't, so maybe not. And her father wasn't, so maybe it was just a teenage firebender thing. Yun knocked on the door. Zuko opened it cautiously.
"What do you want," he asked suspiciously. Yun wasn't sure what she had done to warrant such suspicion, but she soldiered on.
"Can you tell me about the dragons you met," she asked, clutching her journal to her chest. Zuko narrowed his eyes at her, but then opened the door and invited her in.
"What do you want to know," he asked, sitting on his bed. Yun didn't see anywhere else to sit, so she sat on the floor.
"Um," Yun said, stalling for time as she opened her journal. "Behavior, appearance, that sort of stuff."
"Why," he said. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone about the dragons' existence."
"But you and Aang told the whole group already," Yun pointed out. Zuko's shoulders slumped forward.
"That's true, I guess," he mumbled.
"So you'll tell me," she asked.
"Why not Aang," Zuko asked.
"I already tried with him. He wasn't very specific," Yun said, trying to keep her exasperation at bay.
"Ok, fine," Zuko acquiesced. Then he started to describe the dragons. His whole demeanour changed. His back straightened, and he used his hands more. His whole face brightened up. Yun couldn't help but look at his face while he was talking. He looked so much younger without his almost permanent scowl. She could tell that meeting the dragons was life changing for him. She then remembered that she was supposed to be writing about his dragon findings in her journal. She started scribbling away. She then attempted to draw a dragon based on Zuko's description. She held it up to him.
"Is this somewhat how it looked like," she asked. Zuko studied it, a hand on his chin.
"Yeah, pretty much," he said. "How did you get it to look so accurate?"
"Well I have a theory that dragons and ocean dragons are somehow related, and Tigok already had a drawing of an ocean dragon on here. There are only a few differences that make an ocean dragon more suited to water. No wings or arms and legs being a few of them."
"Ocean dragons," Zuko scoffed. "There are no such thing." Yun's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Of course there are," she said. She moved onto the bed, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Zuko, and opened up her journal with vigor. "Look, here are the drawings and observations that Tigok made. He actually saw one, you know? And my father used to talk about them all the time." Yun shoved the journal into Zuko's hands and got up. She pointed at the journal and looked at Zuko. "You should look over the journal. You can give it back to me later in the day. After you've slept and all. And read it, obviously." With that, Yun left Zuko's room. She wandered back to the main area and saw Appa napping in a sunny spot. He looked so fluffy and warm and inviting that Yun couldn't help but cuddle up to him and take a nap.
She woke up to see Aang's face over hers.
"You're going to mess us your sleep schedule," he commented before walking away. Yun admitted he was probably right, but she wanted to nap with Appa and she did what she wanted. She got up to see that the sun was shining directly overhead. She cracked her back before helping Katara with chores. Together, they washed the bowls and clothes, letting Aang dry them and Sokka lay them out.
"I'm bored," Sokka whined, laying out clothes on the edge of the fountain. When he didn't get a response out of anyone, he huffed and crossed his arms.
"I'm bored," he whined louder. Then Zuko walked over, and a mischievous look appeared in Sokka's eyes. He rushed over to get his sword, and ran over to Zuko.
"Hey Zuko, up for a little swordbending," he asked excitedly.
"No. That isn't even a real word. Come on, Aang," Zuko said impatiently. Aang was about to leave his drying duty, when Sokka blocked his path.
"Aang still has stuff to do. Anyway, we are the only swordbenders here. Let's duel."
"I've been training with Master Piandao since I was a child," Zuko scoffed. "You don't stand a chance."
"Hey," Sokka exclaimed, pointing his finger at Zuko. "I trained with Master Piandao too." Zuko's eyes widened in shock.
"How long," he asked.
"A day," Sokka mumbled.
"What did you say," Zuko said, his eyes narrowing as he tried to hear what Sokka said.
"A day," Sokka sulked. Zuko actually let out a short bark of laughter.
"And you think you can beat me," he asked.
"Well, Master Piandao said that Sokka was the most worthy man that he had ever trained. And if he kept training, he would become better than Master Piandao himself, so there," Yun said, defending Sokka. Sokka grinned at her and then straightened up his shoulders.
"Zuko, you leave me no choice," he said gravely. "I challenge you to a swordbending kai. . . do you get it? It's like an agni kai, but with swords."
"There is no such thing," Zuko started before he was cut off by Katara's death glare. 'Just go along with it', her look said. Zuko then turned to see that Sokka had turned his puppy eyes on Zuko. Yun struggled to hold back her laughter. The sibling tag team was amazing to witness.
"Fine," Zuko sighed before going to get his broad swords.
"I want to join in, but I'm not a swordbender," Yun pouted.
"We can make posters," Aang said excitedly.
"I'm team Sokka," Katara and Yun said simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned. They went to the corner to plan out their poster.
"We need a water nation sign and a sword," Katara reasoned.
"Why don't we make it so the water nation sign looks like it's holding a sword," Yun offered.
"Brilliant."
Katara and Yun went back to observe once both guys had gotten their weapons. Yun saw that Haru, The Duke, and Toph were Team Zuko, and Teo, Katara, and herself were Team Sokka.
"Go Sokka," Katara cheered, holding up their poster. Toph held up their Zuko poster, but The Duke had to help her show it right side up. Yun grinned; this was fun. Aang was refereeing.
"Alright guys, I want a good, clean swordbending match," Aang said, before whistling.
"There's no such thing," Zuko complained before rushing in.
"Let me show you how things are done down south," Sokka said, before his attack was dodged. Zuko then swiped at him, but as Sokka dodged, he fell backwards and into the dirt. Yun winced. Toph cheered, holding up her poster.
"Sokka, instead of just dodging, block with your sword," Yun advised.
"Rematch, now," Sokka said, getting up. However, he kept losing.
"Ouch," Teo remarked as Sokka fell on his face.
"Yeah," Yun hissed in sympathy.
"Why don't you just give up," Zuko said, triumphantly standing over Sokka. Yun had stopped giving tips at that point as well. There was an overwhelming skill difference. The number of times that Sokka stood back up was impressive, though.
"This coming from the guy who unsuccessfully hunted the Avatar for three years," Sokka taunted, getting up again.
"That was totally different!"
"Sure, 'cause it'll only take three minutes to defeat you," Sokka yelled, going in again. And again, he ended up on the floor. He got up, looked at his sword, and then dropped it. He took out his boomerang instead and threw it.
"Hey, no boomerangs in swordbending," Zuko protested before processing his words. 'I-I-I mean-." He was interrupted by the boomerang hitting him solidly in the back of the head, making him drop his swords. Katara stood up, shaking the poster in her hands wildly above her head.
"Zuko's still right. You cheated, so he still wins the match," Aang said.
"But I won the battle of words," Sokka cheered, while Zuko scowled at him.
"I want to fight too," Yun said, raising her hand. "I want to fight Zuko."
"Do you have any training with swords," Zuko asked sceptically.
"I'm not a swordbender," Yun explained. "But I have daggers. I've been trained by Master Piandao too, you know."
"How long," Zuko said, picking up his swords.
"A few months."
"I've trained under him for four years. I think you're better off fighting Sokka," Zuko scoffed.
"When I win against Sokka, will you fight me," Yun asked. Zuko nodded, and then sheathed his swords. Challenge accepted.
"Sokka, get over here," Yun said. Sokka shrugged and got his sword. He lifted it, read to fight before relaxing his hand.
"Okay guys," he said to their audience. "If you're Team Yun, sit on this side. If you are Team Sokka, sit over there." Everyone moved to the Team Yun side.
"Hey," Sokka said. Yun laughed.
"They just saw you get your butt kicked for the last few minutes," Yun said.
"I'll show them," Sokka said, grumbling. Aang was the referee once more. As soon as he whistled, Yun stepped forward, disarming Sokka in the blink of an eye. Turning around, she looked Zuko in the eyes and raised her eyebrows.
"Well," she asked. Sokka grabbed his sword and grumbled until he sat down with the rest of the audience. There were no teams this time. Everyone just watched. Zuko unsheathed his swords again and joined her in their ring.
"Well, at least I know you'll last a little longer than Sokka," he said. Sokka humphed loudly at that, crossing his arms. Aang refereed the match once again. When he whistled, Zuko and Yun began to circle. Yun never faced someone with dual wielding broadswords, so she wasn't sure how to start. Zuko took care of that problem for her, lunging with one of his swords drawn back. He swung down, forcing Yun to dodge to the side. After her sidestep, she went in, but had to stop short; she had forgotten about the other sword. Yun jumped back and then circled around the ring again. She needed to keep track of two differently moving entities. The best way to catch him off guard was go low; Yun was shorter than Zuko and needed to use that to her advantage. She ran and then slid in. However, Zuko's swords came down upon her in an x, forcing her to block with her daggers. Arms shaking, Yun held off the broadswords. With a quick twist of her hips and a jerk of her leg, she pulled one of Zuko's legs out of stance, forcing him to lose balance. With a push back at the broadswords, she offbalanced him. Zuko was off balance, while she was getting up, which meant that she finally had an opening. Unfortunately for her, just as she was getting up, Zuko swept her feet as he was falling. They both landed on their backs with a grunt. Yun leapt to her feet with Zuko getting to his milliseconds later.
He had no openings! His broadswords covered him from all sides, he could defend lower attacks, and his range limited her options. Yun would just have to create an opening. She charged forward, feinting a downward slash. Zuko raised one of his swords to block it, leaving his left side open. Quickly, she kicked the back of his knee, destabilizing him. Yun stepped forward and pivoted, pushing him forward while anchoring his left foot in place with hers. He fell forward with a heavy thump, the breath leaving his lungs with a pained gasp. Yun followed his descent, but more gracefully. She grabbed his left wrist, squeezing to make him let go of his sword. She held it behind him and straddles his lower back, making sure he stayed on the ground. With her other hand, she held her dagger close to the back of his neck.
"Do you surrender," she asked, breathing harshly. He made an aborted movement to lift his head off the ground, but Yun said, "I don't think that's a good idea. My blade's right there, behind your neck." Zuko growled in frustration.
"Do you surrender," Yun asked again. Zuko was silent for another moment, before he growled out a harsh, "Yes." Yun got off of him and sheathed her daggers. She then went back over to Zuko who was still lying on the ground, but he was now on his back. Yun held out an arm for him. Grabbing it, he got back on his feet.
"You're an amazing sword fighter," Yun said. Zuko scowled at her. "Honestly! You really are. There is no doubt in my mind that if we fought again, I would lose." That seemed to appease him; Zuko's scowl seemed less pronounced. Both of them turned when they heard clapping behind them. Sokka came up and enthusiastically flung a hand around Yun's shoulder.
"Excellent swordbending, both of you," he said.
"It isn't swordbending if I don't have a sword, is it," Yun asked. Sokka hummed thoughtfully at that, rubbing his chin. The others came up to congratulate her, and Zuko walked off. Yun watched him go but she was soon distracted by Toph thumping her on the back extremely hard.
Eventually, everyone calmed down and went to do their own thing. Yun roamed around the Temple with Teo, finding amazing rooms. One of them was full of mirrors, on every inch of the walls and ceiling. Teo wheeled around in awe, while Yun tried to get a good look at the back of her head. She had cut her hair herself with her daggers, and she was sure it was uneven.
"What are you doing," Teo asked, laughing.
"Trying to see the back of my head," Yun said, contorting in a way to see the hair on the back of her head. "I know it's uneven." Teo shook his head before doing another lap around the room.
"We should ask Aang what the room's for," he said.
Both of them headed out to the main area of the temple to find Aang. However, before they could find Aang, Sokka dragged Teo away for something. Yun shrugged and went to lie down beside Appa. She began to braid some of his fur, humming softly while doing so. She fell asleep with a hand firmly in Appa's fur and a gentle smile on her face.