Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar, but oh, if I did...

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Chapter 2: The Council of Omashu

Aang shifted uneasily is his seat, glancing down at the floor and around the high ceilinged room. Katara and Sokka sat quietly on either side of him, all three facing King Bumi, who looked at them with a slightly insane expression he so frequently wore. The meeting had been arranged to address the issue that now faced the young Avatar: learning Firebending.

"Now, young Avatar, I know you have come to me for wisdom and advice as to where you can learn your Firebending. However, I regret telling you that I do not know any Firebenders that I am on friendly terms with, who will teach you what you seek to know. I cannot give you the name of a place to search, or a name of someone who might be able to help you. All I can tell you, Aang, is that you might find what you are looking for in the least likely of places. Look at the world from a different perspective once in a while, it can work wonders!" Bumi sat with an etched grin on his weathered face, waiting for a response. His advice was greeted by silence, and he then then bowed and excused himself from the room. Sokka sat with one eyebrow raised, a critical expression painted on his face.

"That's it, that's all the King of Omashu can do? Tell us to look in unlikely places! What does he mean, we should go search the Water Tribes or something?" Aang ignored the elder teen, and sat with his knees tucked up, staring intently at a speck of dirt on the table. Katara, on the other hand, was trying to make sense of the King's words as well.

"I think what King Bumi means is we shouldn't just look in an obvious place, like the Fire Nation."

"That doesn't help us a whole lot, Katara! That basically leaves the rest of the world to search in order find a willing Firebender, and we're kind of on a time limit!

"I know that! We just have to figure out where to look first, and do it. We've got to begin somewhere!" She retorted, as she grew more frustrated with her brother. He could be so difficult sometimes. He had grown increasingly irritable since they had left the North Pole, with no explanation on his part. He had always been somewhat of a thick headed pig (in her opinion), but things were getting ridiculous.

"Well Katara, since you seem to know so much about what King Bumi was talking about, why don't you tell us where we should galavant off to first, O wise one!"

"GUYS!" Aang finally snapped out of his trance and held his hands up between the bickering siblings. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything, what we need now more than ever is cooperation from everyone! I don't know where we should start either, but I agree with Katara; we have to just pick a place and begin."

Katara gave her brother an "I told you" look, and crossed her arms triumphantly. "We should pick a place and get going in the morning. We certainly can't expect a Firebender to just walk into Omashu."

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"Uncle, remove that hat at once, you look ridiculous." Zuko whispered hoarsely as Iroh fondly patted the wide-brimmed hat on his gray head.

"Ah, I used to wear this hat when I was young. It was quite fashionable in my day.." He said with a touch of nostalgia.

"Well it certainly isn't fashionable anymore! I know we need to be in disguise when we enter Omashu, but that hat will draw more attention than we can afford." Zuko meanwhile, pulled on a gray travelers cloak, and pulled the hood up around his face. Iroh sadly took off the hat and pulled up his hood as well. The two firebenders wore all gray and green, with no trace of firenation clothing on them, so they wouldn't be recognized in Omashu, which the Prince had finally consented to search. Iroh had worn Zuko's resolve down with continuous comments, and as they weren't far from Omashu, Zuko gave in.

"If he isn't here, Uncle..." Zuko said with a slight trace of menace in his voice (as much as he would risk using to his uncle) as the two set out walking towards the city.

"I have a feeling he will be, Prince Zuko. Trust me. Do you have a plan?"

Zuko stopped walking. He knew he had been forgetting something..

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Back in their own room, brother and sister were mulling over what the King had said. "Where can we possibly find a Firebending Master who's willing to teach Aang?" Katara asked as she put her head in her hands resignedly and sighed. Sokka stood calmly in the doorway, leaning leisurely against it and offering no real help at all.

"I don't know Katara, I don't know. I'm going to go out to practice my training, we can figure this out later." Sokka took up his boomerang and walked out, ignoring his sister's protests.

Katara, left alone in the room, got up from her chair and collapsed on the bed. Bright sunlight shone through the window, telling her it wasn't even midday yet. For a few minutes she lay still with her eyes closed and eyebrows knit together, thinking hard about the King's words. Then, it hit her like a sack of papayas in the head.

AUNT WU!

Flying up from the bed, she tore through the hallways of the palace, yelling for Aang. Breathless, and her hair in a complete mess, she finally found him at the lower stables with Appa and Momo.

"Aang.." she managed to say as she gasped for breath. "We can ask Aunt Wu where to look for a Master!"

Aang knew how much Katara believed in Aunt Wu, and although it seemed like a good idea, he remained doubtful.

"I don't know, Katara."

"But she was right about everything!" She knew it was a good idea. In fact, it was their only idea so far, and it would have to do. Aang thought for a moment, and apparently realized this as well; and he consented.

"Tomorrow morning we can leave for her village."

Katara nodded and then left him to go buy food and supplies for their journey. Aang meanwhile, leaned against the stable wall and patted Appa's rough fur. Sensing the boy's troubled feelings, Appa let out a giant groan and licked him, leaving Aang covered in Bison spit. A smile leapt across Aang's face and he hugged the bison, though his spread arms only covered a small part of the bison's enormous body. Aang made a mental note to himself that he would have to remain positive, no matter the circumstances. He was the Avatar, and he knew the people turned to him for hope.

Katara walked in contemplative silence to the food market, slowly placing one foot in front of the other, her mind doing walking of it's own. Hazily, she examined fruits and vegetables, paying for and collecting them mechanically; and in her daze she forgot to wave to the cabbage man. Early summer surrounded her, a constant reminder of the time passing before them. So much they had been through, to get to this point. Aang mastered Waterbending fairly quickly, and then Earthbending with almost as much ease. Now the question that no one could answer hung tentatively about them: would Aang be able to master Firebending in time to defeat the Fire Nation before Souzen's comet arrived? It was the quiet fear that gripped them all lately, though it was rarely discussed. The Four Nations' existence depended upon Aang, when you boiled it all down. It depended on all three of them, in a sense. When Katara had set out from the only home she'd known, she could never have comprehended the things that would come to pass. Ever since she had met Aang, the world had become her first priority. No more thinking of herself; no, now the world and Aang came first. Oh, how she wished she could see her father again. A small part of her wished that she and Sokka had taken that map from Aang long ago and found their father. Snap out of it! She told herself. This is no time to be selfish, especially not now, no, not now. Dutifully, she packed up the food and supplies, readying them for the next day, and stole quietly away to practice her bending.

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"State your name and business." The burly earthbender guard barked in a rough voice. Having the Avatar in the city meant tough security, and he wasn't about to let his King and city down. He would be tough. He eyed the two travelers warily, narrowing his gaze into what he hoped looked like an intimidating face.

"My name is Kiro and this is my Grandson, Tarin." Iroh said smoothly, cutting off the Prince before he could speak.

"What is your business in Omashu?"

"I have heard that Omashu is highly praised for it's tea, and I wish to do a little shopping, as well as visit some friends whom I have not seen in quite a while."

Giving the two one last scrutinizing look, the guard nodded to the five others who earthbended the gates open for them. As Zuko passed through, a malicious smirk spread on his face. There, at the stables, was the bison the Avatar always escaped on. They were here. Zuko was about to go attack it, but his uncle held him back.

"Prince Zuko! Think about what you are doing! If we attack in broad daylight, we will be caught! We must wait until night time, when they are unsuspecting. The best thing we can do now, is stay out of sight and wait until nightfall."

Waiting. There was always more waiting. He had been waiting for over two years, and it seemed as though it was never the right time for him. The prince stood stiffly, his feet pressing against the ground, and he willed himself to listen to his uncle.

"Until nightfall, then." The Prince growled, and didn't protest as his uncle dragged him into a tea shop.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Deep blue invaded the sky, as night wrapped its arms around the city. Stars were quite visible in the dark, and sweet air breezed through the streets. Katara breathed in deeply, letting the cold air refresh her. Aang, Sokka and Katara sat on the balcony outside their room, taking in the sight of the city before they departed in the morning. The cool night took the edge off of all of their sour moods they had been in earlier in the day; and they stood in quiet content. Meanwhile, Zuko shivered on a street somewhere below them. He had always hated the cold.

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A/N: For those of you awesome people who reviewed, thank you kindly! Well, I hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, I sure did! Writing is fun, even if you're not good at it!

Now, tell me what you think & review..