After Zuko had been settled in and dinner was ready, I went looking for Katara to clear the air with her. I was willing to apologise if I'd upset her somehow and made her snap at me, wanting to just put an end to the argument, but Katara apologised first when she saw me coming towards her, saying that she was angry at Zuko and took it out on me. "I didn't mean anything I said, I know you'd never turn your back on us. That was a really horrible thing to say, I'm sorry." After I'd fished the words out of my mouth after they'd been stopped from being spoken, I smiled at Katara and offered her a hug.

"Hey we're tribe kin, we're bound to fight from time to time. Makes things more exciting, right?" I brushed it off, glad that Katara wasn't mad at me anymore. "I want you to know that no matter what, I will always put you guys first before anything else. If you're right about Zuko, even though I hope you're not and I believe he's changed, then you won't be the only one who'll be taking him down. I've already warned him I'd put him through so much pain if he puts a toe out of line he'd even prefer to be thrown on Azula's mercy." Katara giggled at that, rubbing her eyes as we pulled back from one another.

"I'm not ready to trust him, but I trust you Kayo. So if you think Zuko deserves a second chance, then that's what we'll give him."

"Thank you Katara. Really, I appreciate it more than you now." Hugging her again, I suggested we go back for food before Sokka eats everything. "I made your favourite, call it a peace offering." Leaning against me for one last hug, we'd returned to the others who had all breathed an audible sigh of relief when they saw that everything was calm between us. When morning came around, I eagerly sat to watch Zuko's very first fire bending instruction lesson, Aang dutifully paying attention as I smirked with anticipation, hoping for an interesting display. What cracked me up the most was the fact that Aang insisted on calling Zuko Sifu Hotman, which gave me more laughs than I cared to admit.

"I know you're nervous, but remember, fire bending in and of itself is not something to fear." Zuko began with a strong start so I dipped my head approvingly as Aang repeated hesitantly.

"Okay. Not something to fear."

"But if you don't respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino!" Maybe not so strong, since Aang looked even more petrified now then when he'd started. He looked like he didn't want to fire bend so much as an ember, let alone an actual flame. "Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make." Following his instructions, Aang breathed in nervously and attempted to create fire, but only succeeded in creating a puff of smoke.

"Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration?"

"Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back." Giving Zuko space in order to demonstrate some fire bending, Zuko took in a deep, steady breath, but when he punched forwards with a heavy sound to make some fire, all he managed was a rather pathetic burst of flames before it died out. Aang applauded politely, whereas I spluttered with laughter and fell on my back, rolling as I hugged my stomach at just how pitiful that tiny flame had been. "What was that?! That was the worst fire bending I've ever seen!"

"I thought it was nice." Aang offered as I continued laughing, beaming as I sat back up and wiped the tears from my eyes as Zuko glared at me before refocusing. He tried several forms but each time he could barely produce a flame, barely more than a spark and I'd laugh all the more for it.

"Looks like somebody's lost their gusto." I teased as Zuko grew all the more frustrated.

"Why is this happening?!"

"Maybe it's the altitude." Aang suggested which Zuko accepted might be the problem, so they moved to a place lower to the ground and not so high up, but they still ran into the same problem as I leaned back with my arms folded, enjoying the show. Zuko looked so full of concentration, taking deep breaths to try and nurture the chi in his body.

"Just breathe, and…" Still no success.

"That one kind of felt hot."

"Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like!" Zuko yelled in frustration, not understanding what was going on.

"Sorry Sifu Hotman."

"And stop calling me that!" Probably at the worst moment possible, Sokka happened to walk by biting into an apple and decided to poke some fun at the stewing Zuko.

"Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending?"

"Get out of here!" Shaking my head with a sigh, I pushed off my leaning post in order to walk over as Sokka left, looking rather pleased with himself. "Kayo, what is going on? I can't make a decent flame at all!" Zuko turned to me, making me laugh again.

"You must really be desperate if you're coming to me. How should I know? I'm not a fire bender. I can't tell you how else to stoke up the fire inside you except to try eating some coal." Teasing him with a tug of his cheek, I stopped when I saw just how annoyed and unhappy he looked with the situation. "Look, why don't you go try and figure this out whilst I stay here and teach Aang some fire bending forms. I can help with that much at least, okay?" Deliberating over it, Zuko then nodded before walking off, leaving me alone with Aang.

"You're really going to teach me? But you're a water bender." Aang said as he air lifted himself onto his feet in order to teach me as I grinned.

"Sure am, but I was raised by a fire bender and I learned a lot from observing Zuko and Iroh. Now. First things first, where do you think fire comes from in the body?" Aang thought it over before pointing at his chest.

"Lungs?"

"No, the belly. Stomach. Fire is heat made into something tangible. It's like circling your chi and forming the fire in your belly before then pushing it up through your body and into your breath." I instructed, remembering everything that I'd learned from my mother when she'd taught me all those years ago, as well as all the times Iroh berated Zuko from using too much muscle in his fire bending instead of breath control. "But we won't worry about actually making fire for now. First, let's get the movements and forms down so you know how it should feel, okay?" Nodding his head, looking much happier with this option, I took up a stance and Aang copied me, watching my movements as I demonstrated basic fire forms one stage at a time before I let him follow me.

We worked all day on stances, forms and movement, teaching Aang what I knew whilst also lecturing on the properties of fire and the Fire Nation people. "But fire is really dangerous, if I'm being honest, it's scary. I hurt Katara before and I know you've been hurt by fire too. I don't want to risk hurting anyone." Aang worried as I watched him repeat a sequence as I occasionally corrected a movement, his stance or his hand position.

"Fire is dangerous, there's no question about it. Being burned is scary and it hurts, but it's not the only element that can cause damage." I reasoned with Aang as I sat watching him with a cup of tea in my hands. "Each element has its own capacity to destroy and harm. Earth can quake and rupture, devastating entire continents. Water can become tidal waves and tsunamis, drowning everything in its path, and air can become giant hurricanes and tornadoes, just as capable of tearing trees from the ground and destroying everything in its path." Aang blinked at me, never having thought of something. "Being able to bend an element is a power in itself, and all power is dangerous in itself. It is not the element that makes it dangerous, but the person. This is why you need to learn control, balance. Once you learn this, you won't ever hurt anyone you don't want to ever again."

"So you're saying that only when I master fire I can be fully in control?" Aang questioned as he continued.

"It's not about being master of the element, but being master of yourself. I spent sixteen years learning how to bend water on my own without being taught by a master. Sure accidents happened occasionally and once or twice there were a few snowball fights that got out of hand, but I never hurt anyone, because I knew that being untrained was dangerous and unpredictable, so I took precautions and never allowed myself to bend until I was confident in myself that I wouldn't lose control. I think it will be the same with fire. Aang…" Getting up I went over to him and placed his hand on his shoulders, giving him a smile as he stopped to look up at me. "You have already mastered this element thousands of times before in every lifetime you have lived. The capability is inside you, as is the strength to contain it. Don't be afraid, you will only be balanced within yourself once you master all four elements."

"You make it sound so simple, and I get what you're saying, but I still feel nervous when I think about creating my own fire. I can't help it." Rubbing his head, I let go of him and stepped back, indicated for him to continue.

"It's alright to be scared of something. Fear is what makes us human. So long as you don't let that fear overcome you, you'll learn how to overcome the fear instead." I paused a moment before laughing. "That one really sounded like Uncle Iroh. Anyway, how about we try a more advanced move? There's a lot of footwork involved so makes sure you pay attention to my feet." Deciding it was best to move on and not linger too much on the subject in case it got too much into Aang's head, he and I continued practicing together until it was dark out and we returned to the others, food waiting for us. Ah good, I'm starving!

"Hey, how did it go? Did you make any fire today?" Katara asked as she handed Aang some food and then me as we sat down.

"No, but Kayo has been teaching me all these really cool fire bending forms. When I'm ready to make my own fire, I'll have a solid foundation for my bending." Aang said, making Katara blink in confusion before frowning.

"I thought Zuko was meant to be training."

"He…ran into a little problem." Saying nothing more on the matter, all of us ate together until later, Zuko came towards us, looking pensive and much more like the old Zuko I knew and was used to.

"Listen everybody, I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." He informed us all, though most of us didn't know what that meant and Toph raised her hands in innocence.

"Don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff."

"I'm talking about my fire bending. It's gone." For a moment everything was silent until Katara burst out laughing, though she was forcing it a little. Wow, usually I was the first one to crack up at a joke. What did she eat to make her go all loopy?

"I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know, how it would have been nice for us if you lost your fire bending a long time ago?"

"Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason."

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are." I nudged Katara discreetly, knowing that it wasn't a good idea to push Zuko too far in this kind of situation. She glanced my way then sat back.

"I bet it's because I changed sides." Zuko figured, though Katara told him that that was just ridiculous and I agreed it was highly unlikely that was the reason.

"I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your fire bending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to." Aang reasoned more sensibly and Sokka jumped at the chance to poke fun at Zuko.

"So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough." Using the hilt of his sword and laughing maniacally, Sokka prodded Zuko repeatedly at the waist until the prince couldn't take it anymore and bellowed for him to quit it.

"Okay cut it out! Look, even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"You're gonna need to learn to draw your fire bending from a different source." Toph instructed as she put food near her mouth. "I recommend the original source"

"How's he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?"

"No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of fire bending is." Pausing a moment, Sokka followed up.

"So is it jumping into a volcano?" Picking up a dumpling I threw it Sokka to make him shut up, hitting him square in the face as it squished, but then Sokka just shrugged and ate it.

"I don't know. For earth bending, the original benders were badgermoles." Toph said to us all as we listened. "One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn earth bending not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earth benders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world." She revealed, earning more than a few sounds of awe.

"That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks, but the original air benders were the Sky Bison." Aang announced before turning around and looking at Appa with a smile. "Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy." Appa growled in response, making me chuckle before Zuko spoke up again.

"Well, this doesn't help me. The original fire benders were the dragons, and they're extinct."

"What do you mean? Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid." Aang questioned however Zuko quickly grew defensive over it and I clamped my mouth shut, thinking that maybe now wasn't the best time to tell Aang what happened to all the dragons.

"Well, they aren't around anymore, okay?" Making an appeasing gesture to calm him down, Aang apologised so Zuko the thought for a moment. "But maybe there's another way. The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors."

"Sun Warriors? Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid."

"No, they died off thousands of years ago, but their civilization wasn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins." Zuko suggested as I finished off my food and searched for some more to eat, still being hungry.

"It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."

"So, what? Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?" Sokka did not sound like he believed this was going to work, so I threw another dumpling at his face which he also ate. Seriously, I'm half convinced he came out with this stuff just so I'd throw food at him.

"More or less. Either I find a new way to fire bend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher." People looked at me then, so I raised my hands, one filled with a dumpling.

"Hey, I might have been raised by a fire bender, but I'm still a water bender. Although, maybe between Zuko and I we might make one half decent teacher. Sorry Aang, looks like you're doomed." I teased him, sitting upright and folding my legs. "But you may as well go check out the ruins. You might find something interesting left behind there. Just be careful, and don't let yourselves be seen by anyone."

"Don't worry, we'll be extra cautious." Aang promised me before he pulled Zuko over to join us for food, which Katara wasn't all that happy about so I served him the dish as well as some rice and a dumpling, passing it around so that it would reach him and we all sat together in mostly blissful harmony, sharing dinner and talking about other subjects to pass the time peacefully.