Hello again! Ahh, six reviews. XD Sweet. Hopefully this chapter will actually have some action in it, even if I think this chapter is way crappier than the first two…Though now we'll have expansion on some of the other characters! Namely Aang and Iroh. : ) (I always imagined that they'd get along very well, sharing philosophies and embarrassing stories about Zuko and Sokka, haha.)

Avatar is © Mike and Bryan.


The earth, despite being from the Fire nation, was all that Zuko longed for. When the giant flying thing came close enough to the land, Zuko jumped off. Any longer in the air and he would've killed the fool.

"Pft, show off," Sokka told Momo. He waited for Appa to descend the remaining ten feet, like a normal person, before he dismounted with his comrades. He was glad to be on a beach instead of in the air, despite Katara's eventual punishment.

"Here Sokka, you carry the remaining tent!" Katara screamed, throwing the wrapped bundle at her brother, who fell over in the process.

Sokka stood up clumsily, clutching the tent to his body. "What about him?" He whined, gesturing at the prince with a tilt of his head.

Zukko grumbled and turned on his heel. "I'm going on a walk. A long one." He disappeared into the trees silently.

"What! I was going to do that! I thought of it first," Sokka yelled after him, receiving no reply but not really expecting one.

"Sokka, you've got a lot of work to do before I forgive you for losing a tent," Katara snorted.

The older, more experienced man sighed and looked up at the sky as the bickering continued.

"They're siblings, that's normal behavior for them," Aang told Iroh, noticing his unease.

"Ahh, I have a younger brother and he is very, uhh, unique himself…"

"Zuko's father?" Aang asked.

Iroh sighed again, hoping to let out more stress.

"Yes. It's my nephew's well-being that I am concerned about."

"I can see why," Aang stared at the trees.

Iroh turned and smiled at the child. "You must tell me where you acquired such an extraordinary beast!"

Aang grinned in return, patting Appa's side and preparing a long story in his head as Sokka yelled at him to help too. Katara smacked his arm.

"Even if you don't want to apologize to Zuko right now, at least show some respect for the rest of us, especially your elders." She was becoming an expert on rebutting her brother's weak complains.

"Since when am I apologizing to him? He started it," he grumbled, tying one corner of the tent to a stake. "And I'm older than you!"

"Well Zuko is older than you," She made her finishing statement, going to help Aang carry supplies to their makeshift campsite for the approaching darkness.

Sokka had to admit that his sister was excellent at arguing, but he moaned, tormented, none the less.


He yelled again in rage, throwing a fiery punch at a nearby tree. He couldn't believe what his uncle had dragged him into. He dug his pink fingertips into his skull. And that boy, he was worse than the Avatar! Zuko did not want to spend another minute with any of the terrible threesome, especially Sokka. Even his name was agony to the ears.

"Sokka," he tried the name on his lips. That was worse than imagining it! He'd have to pretend he didn't know the boy's name to aggravate him even more. Zuko was obviously the better fighter and probably better at everything else as well. He made it his goal to prove this to the moron.


"It's dark out. He better come back," Sokka poked a stick into the fire but dropped it in a huff, acting indifferent.

Iroh smiled and closed his eyes. "He will be alright."

Aang nodded and watched the fire in amazement. It seemed tame coming from Iroh's aged hand.

"If he doesn't, I get his berries."

Katara scowled at her brother but decided to drop it. Instead she turned to Iroh and asked him to explain more about himself. Aang flew a few inches into the air and drifted back down onto his wooden seat.

"Yeah, tell me how you learned to fire bend so well! Uhh, if you wouldn't mind that is, sir."

Iroh chortled and decided it would be harmless enough to give them at least part of the story.

"I started training at a very young age, all fire benders do. Training is hard work that takes up many hours of your day and great discipline, though I still found myself with free time. Maybe because I skipped out of lessons so often… I still worked hard enough, but I feel that my brother surpassed me in bending. He was very dedicated and treated it far too seriously I'm afraid."

At this point he stopped and sighed. Aang stared in wonder at the man, imagining his life to be very difficult though interesting. Katara was leaning forward, on the edge of her seat but still perfectly arranged. Sokka was interested as well, though stared over Iroh's shoulder and into the darkness. It was Sokka who noticed the orange glow first.

"Finally!" Sokka yelled, standing up and ruining the mood. "What were you doing for so long? Trying to cool off?" Sokka snickered at his joke.

Zuko glared but marched forward with etiquette, throwing a large unknown animal onto Sokka. Sokka yelped and backed away from the long-dead creature.

"I brought dinner."

Katara oohed over the catch as Aang reached for Zuko's forgotten berries inconspicuously. Iroh smiled proudly.

"No offense young Sokka, but this is much better than berries," he laughed.

Zuko smirked at Sokka, feeling that it said more than words. So he was the better hunter as well.

Well, I can't eat that anyway since I'm missing part of my tooth. Even if it does look delicious…


Sokka's stomach rumbled, but he hoped no one could hear it over the dying fire. His side was cramped and he held onto it tightly with his right hand. Zuko grinned to himself, very pleased. Katara yawned loudly, stretching.

"It's time for bed I think," she stated. "Who's going to sleep in the, now singular, tent?"

Iroh turned down the offer, claiming to enjoy the stars much more than the confining spaces of a tent. Zuko stared at nothing and any offer made by Sokka was ignored. Aang grinned sheepishly.

"I guess that leaves you and me Katara."

She smiled in return to his innocence, standing and walking towards the tent. Aang floated after her loyally.

Iroh stood slowly, his limbs creaking. He stretched with relief and scanned for a nice area to sleep. He "ahed!" and bid both his nephew and young Sokka a good night. He chose to lean against the big fluffy creature, Appa, and seemed to fall asleep instantly. The teenagers were left watching the ashes turn to black, waiting one another out.

Sokka cleared his throat, wondering if Zuko was still there, to interrupt the eerie silence.

"What?" He heard the darkness shuffle.

Get this over with… "I, uhh, sorry I yelled at you earlier…"

Silence.

"Which time?" Came a scruffy reply.

Do not punch him, Katara will kill you... He snorted. "You pick."

A boot stomped on the ashes as Zuko moved closer.

"I want more," he whispered, so close that Sokka fell over the back of the log. He could feel Zuko's heated breath, a familiar yet strange feeling that made him blush.

"What do you mean?" He barely managed to squeak out, his breathing quick and restless. He tried not to think about the scenario or possible outcomes, yet he found his mind drifting.

"I mean, I want more than just an apology." The voice was now coming into Sokka's other ear, which made him feel uncomfortable and defenseless. He gulped.

"Like what?" He squirmed without sitting back up.

He heard a maniacal laughter out of the night that erupted into his face.

"You're too easy," Zuko said, back in his seat. Sokka sat back up slowly and shuffled his feet nervously.

"You're odd," he told the ground.

Zuko chuckled. Apparently only the stupid could make him laugh. Sokka was a very entertaining play thing.

His laughter ceased as he sorted out his thoughts. Play thing?

"What?" Sokka asked quietly. Zuko swore he could hear concern in the fool's voice. He turned onto his side, facing away from Sokka. He crossed his arms, realizing for the first time how cold he was.

"Nothing. I'm going to sleep now. Don't make any noise."

When he woke up early the next morning, as he usually did, he found himself under what appeared to be the tarp for the tent. Sokka was asleep much closer to him than he thought. Too close.