Part 3: Under the Crystals' Glow
Chapter 1: Opposing Elements
Aang, Sokka, and Toph rode away from the abandoned town on Appa, Sokka glancing back every minute. His thoughts lingered on Katara. Alive, she's alive, he thought, a pleased shock reverberating through him. For once, at least, the universe had been kind to him. But just when they had been reunited, she had chosen to stay with Zuko and his uncle. Sokka frowned as he thought of the two firebenders. They chased us around the world, trying to capture Aang. And now she calls them friends? He felt a nervous nausea in his stomach as he thought of Katara alone with them. He felt a hand on his knee and turned his head to see Aang.
"She'll be alright, Sokka." Aang was smiling; no doubt thoughts similar to Sokka's were going through Aang's mind regarding Katara's survival.
"She's alone with them," he replied. He crossed his arms. "Doesn't she understand that they're dangerous? They're the enemy."
"She knows. But she seems to trust them." Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but Aang quickly continued. "She's been with them for the past couple of months, Sokka. Don't you think she knows them better than we do? If she thinks they're trustworthy…" He smiled at Sokka, scooting closer and tossing an arm around Sokka's back. Sokka sighed, shaking his head.
"I thought she was dead. And the moment I get her back, she left again." He could hardly believe it.
"But now we know she's alive," Aang said. "And we know where we can find her again."
"Ba Sing Se," Sokka said. He had sort of wanted to go there since he was a kid. The greatest of the Earth Kingdom's strongholds. "I guess we know where to go now. At least we won't just be aimlessly wandering around." Sokka had always liked plans.
"They'll be going by land," Aang noted. "Since we're flying, we can probably take our time." He grinned. "I know some places that are loads of fun! We can visit them along the way. Like a vacation!"
Sokka raised an eyebrow, but he offered Aang a small smile. "Like Kyoshi Island? And Omashu?" It was nice to Aang acting like the kid he was again. It was unfair, Sokka noted, how the world had been dumped on Aang's shoulders, when he was so young. But then, he wondered, were the rest of them so different?
Once again, he wished his dad was here.
Aang nodded. "Except, hopefully without any fights…"
"Great," Toph said. She was still clutching Appa's fur tightly, looking vaguely nauseous as they flew. "But can we find somewhere to stop now? I'm sure we're far enough that those girls won't find us again. And I'm tired." As if to emphasize the statement, she let out a large yawn, joined by Aang and Sokka. "You brought me along to teach you earthbending," she reminded Aang, "and if those girls are still going to keep following us, you'll need it." She rubbed her arms absently. Sokka frowned, thinking of what had happened when Toph had fought the pink girl. He hadn't known that it was possible to disable someone's bending by touching them. An incredibly useful skill, he noted, but not great when you're on the receiving end. Especially not for Toph, who used her earthbending to see. Toph scowled. "Training starts tomorrow, and we shouldn't be half asleep during lessons."
Agreeing, they had Appa land. The place they found was perfect for earthbending practice, Aang said, and Toph agreed. It was a bare canyon with little sand or grass. There was a small pond, with enough water for Aang to practice his waterbending, too. There were no nearby settlements to cause distractions, attract trouble, or be disturbed by any rock-throwing that could happen during the training. The exhausted trio set up only what they needed to sleep, before quickly falling into dreams.
Katara used her waterbending to heal Iroh as he slept, the liquid glowing brightly as she bent it. She had used it previously to heal Iroh after speaking to her brother and Aang, making sure that Iroh was out of immediate danger. She and Zuko had moved Iroh to shelter for the night. Zuko, admittedly, had done most of the moving; Katara kept her waterskin open and ready to use, her eyes looking far forward and around, seeking any sign that Zuko's sister was still in the area. Finding none, the two of them settled down for the night in a run-down old home. It was small and dusty, with large holes in the ceiling and every wall. But it was out of the way from where they had been, with a stream not far away.
Katara moved the water, feeling the flow of Iroh's chi as she worked to finish healing him. There was still much redness around the wound, and Katara doubted that she could fully prevent scarring. Still, he was much improved from the previous day. Iroh was now sleeping peacefully, his mind lost in some dream. At least it seemed to be a pleasant one. He was mostly quiet as he slept, but there were a few times that Katara thought she saw him smile momentarily. She withdrew the last of the water, placing it back into her waterskin.
"How is he?" Zuko asked from behind her.
"As well as can be expected. Better even," she answered, standing and turning to face Zuko. He had filled Iroh's teapot with water and was now heating it with firebending. The tea leaves had all been placed inside before heating. Katara smiled; it was a kind gesture from Zuko. She sighed, looking out of the hole in the wall to look at the sky, thinking of her brother and of Aang. They'll be alright, she told herself. And at least they knew she was alive. At least she knew that they were alright. It was more than they had before. She looked back to Iroh. "I think he'll be awake soon."
"Are you staying after he wakes up?" Zuko asked. He looked down to the teapot as he spoke.
"My friends and I agreed on where we can meet. But first I want to be sure that you and your uncle are out of your sister's reach." Zuko scowled as he heated the teapot; Iroh twitched in his sleep, and a quick glance showed a small smile at his lips. Katara wondered what he was dreaming of.
For the first time in weeks, Aang's sleep had been restful, a deep sleep filled with pleasant dreams. As the sun rose, Aang woke up, a smile coming to his face as he thought of the previous day's events. Katara was alive, planning to rejoin them in Ba Sing Se. And today, Toph was going to begin training him in earthbending. He jumped up in the air, floating into a landing next to Sokka, who readjusted himself with a grumble. "Today's the day!" Aang cheered. "After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earthbending! And this place, it's perfect don't you think?" He motioned around. Sokka didn't answer, curling deeper into his sleeping bag. Aang looked down at him. "Sokka?"
Sokka groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Aang could see that he still looked half-asleep. "You can't just let a guy sleep, can you? After all that running over the past couple days."
Aang blinked and frowned. "You couldn't sleep last night?"
Before Sokka could answer, the rocks and ground began to rumble, and Toph's earth-tent was thrown apart. Toph stood where the tent had been, standing as tall as she could, hands on her hips. "Good morning, earthbending student!"
"Good morning, Sifu Toph." Aang gave a small bow to her. The girl seemed to be in a better mood than she had been the day before. He was glad she didn't seem to be too disturbed by the action of the previous days.
"Great," Sokka said, getting up and letting out a yawn. His eyes had purple rings under them and he rubbed them as he looked at the two twelve-year-olds. "I'll just be setting up our campsite and making dinner." Aang grimaced. "You two just have fun training and don't accidentally bring down the rocks on our heads." Sokka walked away and Aang frowned as he watched. Something was bothering his friend. Aang felt a pebble hit him on his arm and turned to see Toph waiting.
"The first lesson starts now."
Aang grinned, excitement overtaking him, and he began listing crazy moves, culminating in suggesting a land-whirlpool. Wouldn't that be a cool move? And if anyone can to that, Toph can. But she swatted just him with her hand, trying to bring him back to level.
"Let's start with 'move a rock.'" She walked away.
"Sounds good, sounds good," Aang said, following her.
Toph spent the next few minutes instructing Aang on the basic stance and motion of moving a rock. She displayed the basic form, correcting Aang's stance. She explained the element's nature and gave an example of moving a rock before asking Aang to move one himself. Aang listened, though something didn't quite feel right in his understanding. But he had listened and observed Toph, and he tried to do what she did.
On his own attempt, Aang not only failed to move the rock, but instead sent himself flying backwards.
Iroh was slowly coming around and Katara watched as Zuko spoke to his uncle, coaxing him to consciousness. Finally, Iroh awoke, gazing at his nephew, who was leaning over him. As Iroh adjusted himself into more of a sitting position, he noticed Katara standing to Zuko's side; he momentarily looked surprised before she offered a smile.
"I'm glad to see you're awake," she told Iroh. Iroh returned her smile.
"Azula did this to you," Zuko told Iroh. "It was a surprise attack." Katara's smile dropped; she was beginning to think that Azula's involvement should automatically discard the possibility of a 'surprise' attack.
Iroh appeared to agree. "Somehow that's not so surprising." Iroh groaned, and Zuko momentarily reached out to him, before drawing his hand back. He glanced at Katara, who observed Iroh.
Zuko handed his uncle one of the cups of tea he had poured; the other one was offered to Katara. His way of thanking her for helping Iroh, she suspected as she took it. "I hope I made it the way you like it," he told his uncle. Katara watched as Iroh took a sip from his cup and let out a surprised sound of disgust, his face making a comical expression, before he quickly schooled his face into a more neutral appearance. Katara raised an eyebrow at Iroh, before glancing at Zuko; the teenaged firebender was still looking expectantly at his uncle, having apparently not noticed his uncle's reaction.
Iroh grimaced before speaking. "Good. That was very…uh, bracing." Katara stifled a snigger as Zuko took Iroh's cup and refilled it. Zuko looked at her, raising the teapot.
"I'm fine," she told him. Seeing that her cup was still full, Zuko frowned. Katara inwardly groaned but took a sip of the tea and struggled not to gag. It didn't taste like any tea she'd had before; it was over-steeped—bitter and it had a vague, strange taste mixed in. Katara wondered about the water quality. But then, after a couple weeks of eating poorly cooked fish, she supposed that Zuko didn't need help in messing tea up.
She quickly faked a smile. "It's…almost as good as my brother's stewed sea prunes." It wasn't exactly an insult; it was much further away from a compliment. Sokka had attempted it once—and the family had quickly agreed that Katara or Gran-Gran should be the only ones attempting the recipe.
But Zuko gave a small smile at the faked praise of his companions. As Zuko was distracted, Katara saw Iroh pour the second cup of tea out, just before Zuko turned back to him. "So, Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before we run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her." Katara found herself nodding, arms folded, as Zuko spoke, recalling her experiences with Zuko's menace of a sister. If the princess had been simply rude and cruel during the first encounter, she had certainly proven herself to be a threat during the second. Katara thought of the eerie blue fire that Azula had bent and Iroh's injury. If Zuko wished to continue his training to face his sister again, then he was not the only one. "I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her—"
"No," Iroh said. "She's crazy and she needs to go down." Zuko momentarily looked surprised before nodding. Katara smiled as Iroh stood. "It's time to resume your training." Zuko stood. "Go and prepare with your breathing exercises," Iroh instructed. Zuko gave a stiff nod, glanced at Katara, and walked out of the run-down house to prepare alone. Iroh looked at Katara. "I am surprised you're still here," he admitted. "After all this time separated from your brother and friend, I would have thought that you would have left at the first opportunity."
"I was going to," Katara agreed. "I would have, but you were hurt. I couldn't just turn my back on the two of you when you needed me. And we have a plan, now. My friends and I will regroup in Ba Sing Se." Iroh smiled, dipping his head.
"Thank you, Katara. For everything."
She smiled, then motioned to his shoulder. "Speaking of your injury, how is it? Does it hurt still? I did everything I could, but there's only so much that I know…" She didn't regret learning waterbending from Master Pakku. But she had spent far more time learning combative waterbending than she had spent learning healing. She hoped she wouldn't need more knowledge than she had—at least, not until after the war, when she would hopefully have more time to explore the art of waterbending.
Iroh moved his arm around a bit. "For being shot with Azula's fire, it feels quite good." He frowned. "You may wish to practice your own bending," he suggested. "Though the way to Ba Sing Se is not so long from here, there is no telling what dangers we may encounter along the way, or once you are reunited with your friends."
"Azula," Katara muttered. She crossed her arms. "You really weren't exaggerating how dangerous she is."
"No," Iroh agreed. "But there are others yet who may wish to stop us from reaching our destination; the threat of discovery is ever-present. Foes from the Fire Nation may be the easiest to detect. But my country has made many enemies over the past century. As I believe you and Zuko learned in that village," he raised a pointed brow, "People in the Earth Kingdom may not look so kindly upon a pair of Fire Nation royals seeking shelter in the Earth Kingdom." Katara frowned. Iroh placed a hand on her shoulder momentarily. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared for trouble from unexpected sources."
He left to train Zuko, and as Katara walked to the nearby stream, her thoughts wandered from Azula, to Zuko, to a boy of the same age, with a charming smile and commanding voice; a boy with a heroic visage hiding hate, deception, and murder in his heart.
She could taste straw in her mouth.
Toph frowned as she felt Aang collide with Appa. His form had been fine. Unrefined and unpracticed, but decent enough that it should have worked. She felt Sokka looking over at them as they practiced, himself carrying a pot as he set up camp. Toph felt Aang get up from Appa, returning to her and the rock she wanted him to move.
"I don't get it," Aang said. "I thought I was doing what you were…the stance and the motion…" She nodded. "Then…maybe if I come at the boulder from another angle?" She felt Twinkletoes dancing around the rock, trying to find some perfect position to bend the rock from.
And that must have been what went wrong. "No," Toph told him, grabbing onto his clothes to stop him from moving. "That's the problem. You've got to stop thinking like an airbender." She lightly knocked her fist against Aang's head a couple times. "There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickety-trick that's going to move that rock." She pushed him to the ground; his stance was infirm, not at all like an earthbender's. "You've got to face it head on. And when I say head on, I mean like this!" She jumped upon the boulder, smashing it with her fists and feet as Aang let out a surprised shout. This, she felt, captured the essence and spirit of earthbending. Before anything else, Aang had to understand this.
She walked away as she began planning new exercises for Aang. She just needed to push him. He needed to learn to stand his ground—no compromise, or third option.
Thinking fast, she brainstormed the lesson. Soon enough, they were back to training, in slightly different form. Training went smoothly as her new exercises pushed him and he seemed to respond well. But they did not yet reattempt moving a boulder. From afar, Toph felt Sokka watching them; though he hadn't said anything, Toph couldn't help but feel that there was some disapproval in him.
Katara practiced her bending along the stream. She relaxed at first, rehearsing basic katas and forms. She breathed deeply and let the breath out, trying to calm herself from recent events as she practiced. She performed the water whip, the first true technique she had learned. She flowed through the forms and techniques that Master Pakku had taught her, and rehearsed more advanced ones that
As she practiced, her mind wandered through the events of the past couple of months. The raft, slowly bonding with two former enemies. Understanding Zuko, the passionate firebender who never gave up, who displayed his honor time and again while believing he had lost it.
Azula.
Katara gritted her teeth as she thought of Zuko's sister.
"He always had a thing for inferior beings."
Katara clenched her fist in the middle of her kata; the water rippled and splashed down.
"The last time I saw her was after the agni kai. She was smiling."
"Azula always lies."
Katara pulled some more water from the stream. She attempted the kata again.
"I see you brought your pet."
"Ugh!" Katara swiftly turned the water to ice and launched it into the trunk of a tree. "How can a teenaged girl be so vile? And how can anyone treat their own brother like that!?" She thought of Sokka, who was a massive, immature pain at times; she couldn't imagine treating him like Azula had been treating Zuko. She couldn't imagine smiling as he was horrifically maimed in front of her. She whipped her arms up as she ranted to the stream. The stream rippled and shook and from the corner of her eye, she thought saw a patch of flowers move to the direction of her arms. Katara blinked, distracted from her anger by the innocuous movement.
Although a storm was coming in, there had been no wind to match the movement.
Katara walked closer to the plants and knelt down. She touched them. Years ago, her father had taught her and Sokka how to create fresh water from salt water. "You need water to drink," her father had said. "There is water in all living things, and without it, you cannot survive for long." Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she put her troubles out of her mind in favor of her experiment. Katara tried to feel the water within the plants, to connect with them in the way she always had with water, snow, and ice. A small breeze blew her hair.
She moved her hand to the left; against the wind, the flowers followed her movement.
Sokka watched as Toph tried to teach Aang, a frown forming on his face. He crossed his arms as Toph launched a boulder downhill at the Avatar. Sokka stood up and began walking towards them as Aang, instead of earthbending, jumped out of the way at the last moment. Sokka shook his head as Toph began shouting at Aang while he apologized.
"If you're not tough enough to stop the rock, then you could at least give it the pleasure of smashing you instead of jumping out of the way like a jelly-boned wimp! Now, do you have what it takes to face that rock like an earthbender?"
"Sure, he does," Sokka said as he reached them. Aang had been in the middle of saying that he didn't. Sokka put a hand against Aang's shoulder and glanced at the Avatar's dejected face. "Ever since I met you, I watched you face down the Fire Nation and pirates and all sorts of other maniacs, all without running away or compromising." Aang opened his mouth. "No. Just because you don't get it yet, doesn't mean you won't."
"Nice pep talk," Toph said. Her arms were crossed. "But Twinkletoes needs to face the rock—"
"Head on, yeah, yeah." Sokka rolled his eyes. He turned back to Aang. "Go practice your waterbending. You can face the rock later." Aang nodded, glancing at Toph, before running to the water to practice.
"He's never going to learn if he keeps thinking like an airbender," Toph told Sokka. "He can't keep jumping out of the way!"
"And your shouting and launching boulders at him has been so helpful." Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose and then crossed his arms. "Look, Aang needs to practice his waterbending. He's still learning and he needs to practice." He looked over to see Aang frowning as he practiced. "I can't teach him any sort of bending, but I can make him stay on task. It's all I can do." Sokka sighed. "Can't you just go a little easier on him? You've got to find a way to teach him that doesn't involve tearing him down." Toph frowned and crossed her arms, but she seemed to be considering Sokka's words. Sokka grabbed his boomerang, "I'm going to get something to eat. Do you eat meat?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Aang doesn't. Says it goes against his spiritual beliefs. Which means I have to cook separately for us." He frowned, glancing at Toph. "I shouldn't be gone for long. Just make sure Aang stays on task. And when you try another lesson, maybe don't terrorize him too much."
Katara heard explosions from camp, prompting her to bend the water she been bending back into her waterskin, and run back to the two firebenders. The area had seemed to be entirely deserted, but as she heard the explosions, she worried that the previous assessment had been wrong. What if Azula had returned? She heard another explosion as they came into view.
"Why can't I do it?" Zuko exclaimed, frustration apparent in his voice. "Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face…like everything always does." He was frowning. Katara quickly considered the situation, and frowned as she understood; Iroh had attempted to teach Zuko to bend lightning, but Zuko's attempts had only been failures. The ground was smoking in several places.
"I was afraid this might happen," Iroh admitted. "You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."
"What turmoil?" Zuko shouted. Katara crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She wondered if he had even noticed her return yet.
"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."
"But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever!" Katara shook her head; Zuko truly must have mastered the art of self-deception.
"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame," Iroh explained.
Katara watched as Zuko hesitated. For a moment Zuko glanced at her. He seemed to deflate. "Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately."
"I have another idea," Iroh said. "I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself."
Zuko smiled eagerly at his uncle. Katara walked up to him. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"Only my pride." Zuko frowned. He folded his arms, glaring at the smoking ground around them. He let out a heated breath, then took another one, shaking his head.
"You'll get it someday," Katara said. "You're too stubborn not to figure it out at some point. Unless you're actually giving up now?" She said this with a teasing smirk.
Zuko jerked his head up. He shook his head. "And you? How did your practice go?"
"I've had more productive sessions," she admitted. "I was…distracted. But I think I may've discovered something unique of my own." Zuko glanced at her with interest. "I think I can waterbend plants." Zuko's eyes widened and Iroh, who had been making tea, looked over to her. "Well, sort of. I just noticed that some plants followed my movements, and I figured that since all life has water in it, then maybe I could bend them."
"An astute inference," Iroh told her. "Though I haven't heard of plants being bent in such a manner."
Zuko was still staring, a light frown returning to his face. Katara glanced at him, wondering if he was, once again, comparing his bending with hers. "It wasn't much," she admitted. "I'll have to practice a lot more, if I want to use it in any way." She hoped that Zuko would understand that she hadn't instantly mastered it.
Zuko just frowned harder and opened his mouth to say something, but then shook his head. "So, Uncle, what is this move you want to teach me?"
Iroh grinned.
Aang practiced his waterbending without enthusiasm. He thought of his failures with the rocks, before his thoughts wandered to Katara. She had always been fun to practice with, even before she had surpassed him in waterbending. Waterbending had been nowhere near as difficult for him. Not so easy as air, his native element, but it had come to him without much effort. Why was earthbending so hard?
A stone flew by him, landing with a thwump in the water. Aang turned around to see Toph carrying his glider along with a bag. Aang frowned. "What was that for? And what're you doing with my glider?"
"Just keeping you awake, Twinkletoes. And I figured you wouldn't mind sharing your fancy nutcracker, since you're such a pushover."
Pushover? Nutcracker? Aang flinched as she removed a nut from the bag and hit it with his glider. "Actually, I'd prefer if you didn't…" Crack. "That's an antique, handcrafted by the monks…" Crack. "It's a delicate instrument!" It was one of his only possessions left from his old life—did she not understand how important his glider was to him?
"It's not the only delicate instrument around here," was Toph's response. She turned and walked away, whacking the glider against rocks and weeds as she left. Aang stared after her for a moment before gritting his teeth and tossing down the water he had been bending.
He wanted Bumi. Crazy, brilliant Bumi, who was one of his greatest friends. He wanted Gyatso. He wanted Katara.
He didn't particularly want Pakku back, but still.
Toph was supposed to teach him earthbending, but he just couldn't learn. He couldn't do it. "You have to face it like a rock!" But it was so contrary to his every instinct. Finally, Aang came out of the water, looking around for Sokka. Failing to see him, Aang felt a moment of panic, Aang quickly looked around again before running up to Toph.
"Have you seen Sokka?" he asked her. She took her time chewing on a nut. Aang gritted his teeth before shouting. "I said, have you seen Sokka?"
"Hello, blind. I've never seen anyone."
"You know what I mean! Where is he?"
She chewed on another nut. "He said he was going hunting, to try and find something to eat." She pointed. "He went out that way." Aang shot her an irritated glance before running off in search of his friend.
Toph smiled behind him.
Zuko sat on the dirt across from his uncle, who had grabbed a stick in preparation for the lesson. Iroh glanced at Katara and waved to her. "You may wish to listen to this as well. Perhaps you will learn as well." Katara sat down across from Iroh, Zuko moving a bit to the left to make room.
Iroh took the stick and began drawing in the dirt as he spoke. He began with the symbol of the Fire Nation. "Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want." Katara glanced at Zuko, thinking of his pursuit of Aang, not giving up after three years in the name of returning home—to a father who didn't deserve him. Iroh continued, drawing each symbol as he spoke of the element. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had a pretty good sense of humor!" Katara smiled, thinking of Aang. "The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything." Katara smiled and nodded at Iroh's description of her people. She thought of her father, gone for two years to fight the Fire Nation. She thought of her mother, who had been the only one lost in that last Fire Nation raid. She thought of Gran-Gran, born in the North and fled to the South.
"Why are you telling me these things?" Zuko asked.
"It is important to draw wisdom from many places," Iroh said. "If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." Iroh drew lines separating the elements and a circle around them. "Understanding others, the other elements, and other nations will help you become whole."
"Like the Avatar!" Katara said. Zuko had been beginning to say something, but he glanced at Katara and just nodded.
"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too." He was now looking solely at Zuko. "You see, the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders." Zuko's eyes widened for a moment, glancing at Katara. She smiled for a moment.
"Do you know many waterbenders?" she asked.
"I've gotten to know a few over the years. And waterbenders have made for some of the best pai sho players I've ever gotten to play with."
Zuko blinked. "Pai sho?" he asked Katara. She just shrugged.
Toph followed Aang as he searched for Sokka. Close enough for her to have a clear feel of what was happening, far enough that Aang wouldn't know she was there. Aang had been closer to the mentality he would need earlier and despite Aang's desire to find a third option or run away, she was certain that he could find his footing. Aang looked for Sokka around the area of the camp before venturing further away. Finally, she felt Sokka—somehow stuck partially underground. Nearby, there was a saber-tooth moose-lion cub. She snorted, shaking her head.
She watched and listened as Aang found Sokka. He couldn't pull him out of the ground, nor could he airbend him out. Finally, Sokka suggested that Aang go get her—the only good idea so far.
"I can't do that either," Aang told Sokka. Toph crossed her arms as she listened.
"You can't? Why not?"
"It would just be really…uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable? Well, I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable." Toph smirked as she heard the comment. "Look, I get that she's kind of crazy, but Toph is your teacher and you have to listen to her. You can't avoid her forever just because she demands a lot."
"Can I avoid her for an afternoon?"
"No!"
"She just expects me to get it right away. But I can't!"
"Well, you can't just leave me here, either. And since you can't get me out, that means you need to talk to the person who can." Toph felt the saber-tooth moose-lion cub walking between the boys. Not far off, she felt the mother, much larger and in a frenzy. She heard Sokka introduce the cub to Aang with a truly ridiculous name. Aang commented on the creature being a saber-tooth moose-lion, wondering where its mother was.
As if on cue, the mother appeared, large and in a rage, charging at the boys. Toph momentarily considered helping them—after all, Sokka was entirely helpless. But then she sat down to watch how Aang would handle it. He had shown promise before, in his badgering her to become his master, in his decision to confront Azula after she had chased them all night, and when he had demanded to know where Sokka had gone. Perhaps, she thought, he may find his will to stand his ground with his friend trapped and in danger.
Aang initially attempted to dodge the beast's charges, knocking it over his head with airbending. Aang leapt onto a nearby rock, trying to distract it from Sokka. Aang jumped back to Sokka, landing beside him.
"Please don't leave me again," Sokka said, helpless fear in his voice.
"I won't," Aang promised. Toph smirked. Instead of running or jumping away, Aang braced himself, planting his feet firmly on the ground next to Sokka. This time, when the saber-tooth moose-lion charge, Aang waited until it was close, then blasted it away with air. The beast backed off, choosing to leave rather than face Aang again.
Toph clapped and she felt Aang turn around to look at her. Sokka, for his part, tried to turn his head in her direction, but his movement was too restricted to fully look at her. "What are you doing here?" he asked anyways.
"Just enjoying the show," she told them.
"What?" Aang sounded indignant and mildly outraged. "You were there the whole time?!"
"Pretty much."
"Why didn't you do something? Sokka was in trouble! I was in trouble! You could have gotten him out and helped us get away."
"Guess it just didn't occur to me." Toph grabbed a nut from the bag, tossed it to the ground, and prepared to whack it with Aang's staff.
But before she could do it, Aang grabbed ahold of the staff. "Enough! I want my staff back!" He yanked it out of her hand.
This was it, Toph felt. He was ready. "Do it now!" she commanded.
"What?" Now Aang had switched to confusion.
"Earthbend, Twinkletoes. You just stood your ground against a crazy beast. And even more impressive, you stood your ground against me. You've got stuff."
"But—"
"Do it!"
Not arguing with her anymore, Aang slammed his foot to the ground; a rock shot out against the canyon wall.
"You did it! You're an earthbender," she congratulated him. Granted, he wasn't a particularly good earthbender—yet—and she was now beginning to understand that teaching Aang earthbending may not be as easy as learning it had been for her. Still, Aang had at least managed to move a rock.
"I can't believe it!" Aang was excited, and Toph couldn't help but feel happy for her student. It was the most basic of lessons, and he had a long way to go, but at least he had proven capable of channeling the mentality of the earth. It was a start.
"Aww, this is a really wonderful, touching moment," Sokka interrupted. "So could you get me out of here so I could give you both a big, snuggly hug?"
Now reinvigorated, Aang turned to Sokka. "No problem, Sokka!"
"Actually," Toph quickly intervened. "you should probably let me do that. You're still a little new to this. You might accidentally crush him."
"Yeah, no crushing please," Sokka said.
With ease, Toph slammed her foot down, forcing the earth up and apart to release Sokka. Once freed, he immediately fell to the ground. Aang knelt beside him.
"Are you okay?" Aang asked.
"Well, my legs feel like snow slush," Sokka responded as he got to his knees. "I'll be fine Aang."
"How long were you in there?" Toph asked.
"It happened almost immediately after I went looking for food." Aang help Sokka to his feet. "I guess we're all eating vegetarian tonight."
The trio walked back to their camp.
"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy," Uncle Iroh instructed. Zuko listened as Iroh explained it. To the side, Katara watched as the firebenders discussed her element. "A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponent's energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning."
"You can teach me to redirect lightning?" Zuko clarified. He had never heard of such a technique—not even by Azula. But then, Iroh had said that he had created the technique.
"That will be a very useful technique in the fight against Azula," Katara said. Zuko looked at her. There seemed to be a new resoluteness in her. She looked at him. "Azula can shoot all the lightning she likes at you, but if you learn to redirect it…"
"She won't know hits her," Zuko said. Katara smiled. Zuko looked back to his uncle, who was looking at the two teenagers critically.
"Indeed," Iroh agreed. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It's called the sea of chi. Only in my case it's more like an ocean." Iroh laughed and Zuko saw Katara give a small, amused smile. "From the stomach, you redirect it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly." Katara frowned at Iroh's warning, and her eyes met Zuko's for a moment. "You may wish to try a physical motion, to get a feel for the pathways' flow, like this." Iroh made a motion, guiding his fingers along the path; Zuko copied.
"You really did pick this up from my people," Katara noted. She smirked, folding her arms.
Zuko glanced at her, but focused on trying to feel the pathways of chi within him. They attempted this for a few minutes before Iroh said, "Excellent! You've got it!"
Zuko felt a surge of pride. "Great! I'm ready to try it with real lightning!"
At once, Iroh and Katara's expressions changed to bafflement and horror. "What, are you crazy?!" Iroh asked. "Lightning is very dangerous!"
"I thought that was the point!" Zuko snapped. "You teaching me to protect myself from it!"
"Yeah," Iroh retorted. "But I'm not going to shoot lightning at you! If you're lucky, you will never have to use it at all!"
But when had he ever been lucky? "Your sister was born lucky. You were lucky to be born." He thought of Azula, dangerous, deceitful Azula. She had already hurt his Uncle. He clenched his fist.
"Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning!" But before he could hop onto the ostrich-horse, a smaller hand had grasped his wrist. He whipped around, and found himself looking into Katara's eyes. Her grasp was light, but somehow firm. For a moment, he stared into her eyes; they reminded him of life on the ship, like the many months of staring out into the ocean. Quickly, Katara withdrew her hand.
"You can't just run off to find lightning! Where will you even—?" A sound of thunder came from the distance.
"I'll just follow the clouds."
"And then what?" Katara asked. "Stand around hoping to be hit? What if it doesn't work? What if—what if." She took a deep breath, shaking her head. Zuko hesitated, stepping away from the ostrich-horse. Her cheeks were pinker than they had been a few minutes ago.
"Are you okay?" he asked, frowning and avoiding looking at her eyes.
"Are you kidding me? You're talking about getting hit with lightning to practice a technique you just learnt!" She crossed her arms. Before Zuko could say anything, she continued. "Would you consider a different idea?"
Zuko crossed his own arms; a mirror of the waterbender in front of him. He blinked, suddenly noticing how close they were standing. Katara took a step back, looking to the side for a moment. "Lightning redirection works like waterbending, right? Well, I can't shoot lightning at you for practice, but I can walk you through the motions. And the flow of energy."
Zuko blinked. "So…you're offering to teach me waterbending?" It was an absurd sentence.
Katara hesitated before giving an odd shrug. "Or the firebending equivalent. And isn't that what your uncle was trying to teach us? We can both learn from each other." She frowned, serious again. "I'll teach you waterbending, if you teach me firebending." Zuko's eyes widened. "I'm not getting caught off guard again. And considering all of our enemies…"
Zuko looked at her and found himself nodding. "We can practice together."
"Lightning free?"
Zuko gritted his teeth, briefly looking out to the storm. "I'm sure my time will come."
Would you believe I had to upload this chapter 4 times? The document manager was not my friend today.
Anyways, onto the new stuff!