So the next chapter is here. This is mostly exposition... sorry but it had to happen. I promise there will be team bonding soon!
Zuko sighed with relief as Appa touched down. They had been flying almost nonstop for the past two days in their hast to get away from Jet, and everyone was getting restless. He jumped down and went to go get wood with a nod to Sokka.
&&&&&&&
Sokka lay still, blinking his eyes. He strained his ears, listening for what had woken him up.
"Come on Azula, you can't just leave in the middle of the night."
That peaked Sokka's interest. He slowly rolled over so he was facing the fire and the two figures sitting around it.
"Fine, we'll leave in the morning."
Zuko sighed.
"No LaLa, we shouldn't leave at all. I know things have been a little tense but it'll get better. Besides, Aang will need you to teach him fire bending."
Sokka started, he hadn't even thought about the potential of having two fire benders to teach Aang.
"Zuko what makes you think I would be a good teacher?"
"Well Ill help you with the explaining and you can do the practical bending."
Sokka heard a movement to his right and saw that Katara was awake now.
"I don't know ZuZu you'd be a better teacher all around"
Zuko seemed to be getting impatient.
"Well we both know I can't do it, quit harping on about it!"
Katara sat up before Sokka could stop her.
"Well why can't you" she challenged, she seemed to be mad about something. Then again she had been mad ever since Sokka had brought the siblings with them.
Zuko glared at her and stalked of, muttering something to Azula as he left.
Katara turned her glare on Azula, who returned it with equal force.
"Well, what was all that about. Are you leaving?"
Azula sighed "I would like to but dumdum has a point, it would be useful for the Avatar to have a fire bending teacher traveling with him."
Katara scowled again.
" Why would you be the one teaching him anyway, what's wrong with Zuko, thinks he's above teaching?"
This time there was real anger in Azula's face.
"Zuko doesn't fire bend" she snapped.
Katara scoffed, " He clearly fire bent to get himself out of the ice."
"Yeah and did you see how much effort that cost him! He passed out!"
Sokka gaped at her, he thought that Zuko had passed out because of the cold. Not from fire bending. Was that even possible?
Katara didn't seem to think so.
"That's ridiculous! You can't pass out from bending, especially from a simple move like that."
"You can if you have ice imbedded in your chest!" Azula was standing now, looking livid.
Katara looked just as confused as Sokka felt.
"What? Ice in his chest?" Sokka asked.
Azula day back down on the log and sighed, "I'll tell you the story if you promise not to bother Zuko about it"
Katara and Sokka exchanged confused looks but nodded.
"Fine. Our mother was Fire Nation but she moved to the Earth Kingdom colonies when I was born. She raised us there. I never knew our father, and Mother and Zuko wouldn't speak of him so I've assumed he was terrible.
We were happy, playing in the large fields behind our house and making friends in the village. Mother worked as an actor in a theatre troop. We probably would have grown up and married in that town.
When I was eleven and Zuko was thirteen we were playing out in the field. Practicing our fire bending. Suddenly a man approached us, he was water tribe. Apparently he had overheard someone in the village talking about fire benders and found out where we lived.
He ran up to us, ranting about how we made the snow black and how we had murdered many people. Then he said we would pay. He was a water bender,"
At this Katara gasped and then looked apologetically at Azula, who nodded and continued.
"He formed huge icicles and slashed Zuko's face. That's how he got the scar. He then made a dagger out of ice and flung it at me, it would have killed me if,"
She trailed off, like it was hard to get the words out.
"If Zuko hadn't pushed me out of the way. I was so terrified for him I didn't think, I just let the fire out. I killed the man. When I went to Zuko, he was badly injured. The ice had sunk into his chest and although his inner fire melted the ice before it killed him, the healers were unable to remove it for fear of piercing his heart.
When I returned to our house to tell our mother what had happened she was dead, speared through with Ice."
Katara looked horrified, Sokka didn't fell much better.
"The ice is still in Zuko's chest, the water bender must have done something to it because it refuses to melt, no matter how much heat it is subjected to.
It dampens his inner fire. He is colder than a fire bender should be and he can't bend without exhausting himself immensely.
The ice sucks so much heat and energy from him that even sword fighting can be difficult.
It's not fair, he can do Katas perfectly but never with fire. He lights campfires several times a month and nothing more, anything else can make him sick."
Katara made a muffled sound,
"A water bender did that?"
She sounds like she isn't sure she believes it.
Azula nods, staring into the fire and looking lost in thought.
Katara gets up and walks into the woods, Sokka let's her go.
He's thinking back over the past few days, how Zuko would flinch almost imperceptibly every time Katara bent. He thought of how easily Jet had captured him and how out of breath Zuko had been. He thought of the determination with which Zuko had run around the town, saving people and agreed with Azula.
It wasn't fair.
But then again, life never was.