A/N: In canon, Jeong Jeong only agreed to teach Aang because Avatar Roku appeared and made him.

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The next day, Appa flew fast with Katara at his horns. Sokka marveled at the disappearance of his bug bites, Aang held Momo out to show Katara how silky his fur was, Iroh luxuriated in his new robes, and Zuko stared over the side of the saddle with his back to everyone else and a glare on his face. Again. Iroh sighed and stopped luxuriating. He was more concerned than anything else, but he was really beginning to see why the Avatar's friends found Zuko to be an unpleasant companion.

He joined Zuko at the side of the saddle. He expected to have to pry, as before. Thankfully this time was different. "I can't believe I let them force me to do that," Zuko spat. "How could I?"

"What's wrong with telling a few jokes?" Iroh asked.

"Aside from how dangerous it is?" Zuko looked at him sideways. He was referring to the very specific danger they had discussed a couple nights before. "And humiliating. Ugh."

"How could it be humiliating?" Iroh asked. Seriously. What was so bad about telling three jokes? "You're acting like you bombed, when you were greatly successful."

"It would have been better if I'd bombed," Zuko said.

Iroh put a hand on his shoulder. "Zuko. There's nothing humiliating about having hidden depths, talents that may prove useful in the most unlikely circumstances. Nothing humiliating about that at all!"

Zuko shrugged him off. "No. I'm a prince. I'm not supposed to make a fool of myself telling jokes like some common comedian. That's not what I should be."

Iroh replaced his hand. "Just because you can tell a joke doesn't mean you have to. You won't be reduced to a performer by telling one joke. There is a middle ground between being unable to do something and letting your ability define you."

Zuko did not shrug him off this time. His head dipped. Iroh smiled and took his hand away. "I'm not going to tell any more jokes," Zuko muttered.

"That's alright," Iroh said, though he hoped that promise wouldn't be kept. "It's enough to know you can."

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After Iroh left, Zuko did not turn around. He did not engage. He continued to look over the side of the saddle.

He no longer glared. Instead, he pined. I've always wanted so much to be a dragon. To fly wherever I want with my own wings, to be powerful, to be free… It's my dream. He could almost feel wings on his back, horns on his head, claws on the ends of his fingers. He almost wanted to leap over the edge of the saddle and fly away. In fact, he did want that. He just knew he couldn't.

The short period of time he had spent as the Blue Spirit before going to sleep last night had not been enough. He wanted more. More freedom, more power, more anonymity, more… If I was a dragon, I wouldn't have to care about what anyone thought of me. I could fly wherever I wanted, be friends with whoever I wanted. Nobody could tie me down.

I could be more me.

His head itched where phantom horns should be. Zuko flapped his imaginary wings and sighed. Sometimes he felt very, very trapped.

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They landed after only a few hours. Momo looked around and chirred in confusion. "We need a new map," Sokka said, holding up the old one and letting it fall to the ground. "We've been flying north so hard we've gone off the edge."

"And you didn't get one when we were in the vast trading hub?" Zuko asked.

'I was busy finding dinner," Sokka said. "I didn't hear you complain."

"It's alright," Katara said. "It's really easy for us to find new maps. People are eager to help the Avatar travel." She picked up the old map and placed it in a compartment of her pack. Other sheets of paper could be seen inside. "We just need to find people."

An hour of walking later: "This is not what I had in mind."

They stood in front of a signpost. A large, colorful poster advertising the Fire Days festival swallowed up one side of it. "We're not going to find a map in a town full of firebenders," Katara said. "We'd better move on."

"Wait," Aang said. "I want to check out this festival."

"What?" Sokka said. "Why? It's a few days away. They don't even have food yet."

"This could be my only chance to learn from real firebending masters," Aang said.

"...Aside from the ones we're traveling with?" Sokka pointed at Zuko and Iroh.

"Who are definitely not going to help the Avatar," Zuko finished. "Do we look like traitors?"

"You're already traveling with us," Katara shot back. "I don't know what you are, but it's not loyal Fire Nation citizens."

Zuko growled. Iroh grabbed his shoulders to stop him from lunging. "That's another thing," he said. "You're right. Walking into a Fire Nation town would be too dangerous for us. If you're going to go to this festival, we can't go with you."

"It's dangerous for all of us," Aang said. "We'd all have to disguise ourselves. It's not any worse for you than it is for us."

"Yes it is," Zuko said. "I stranded Zhao, so there's still a chance that nobody knows we're traveling with you. If any of us are discovered, we'll all be, and everyone will think I'm a traitor. I am not risking that."

"Uh huh." Sokka raised an eyebrow. "You still believe you have any plausible deniability? Face it, Scarface: you're with us. If Zhao survived that, he had all his soldiers with him. Nothing to stop him from sending a message to your dad some other way. They have to know you're with us by now."

Zuko growled again. Iroh squeezed his shoulders. "I'm afraid he's right," Iroh said. "You can't keep pretending you're not traveling with the Avatar, Nephew."

"I am still not walking into a Fire Nation festival with them," Zuko said. Iroh agreed. Whether or not they were known to be with the Avatar, it was a bad idea.

Aang's shoulders slumped. He had known that they wouldn't teach him, but the thought of them not accompanying him… It was starting to feel normal to have Zuko and his uncle around. Just the three of them wouldn't feel right. "Maybe not," he said. "It is a few days away. We'd have to give up all the time we've gained."

"Maybe we could find someone to watch as they're setting up," Katara said. Aang brightened. That was an idea! Firebenders had to practice, right? If he watched one practice, he would learn so much more than he would if he just watched them perform.

"A stakeout?" Sokka asked. "You know how stealthy we are, right?"

Aang slumped again. Katara started to walk around the signpost. "Well, there's got to be something." She gasped.

"What is it?" Sokka asked. "Did you see something?"

Katara stepped back, as if frightened. "I'm not sure." She mustered her courage and stepped forward again to tear down one of the Wanted signs. "Look at this. It's someone on the run from the Fire Nation. An outlaw! But the poster says he's a firebender."

"What?" Aang snatched the poster from her. "'Wanted: Jeong Jeong, former general of the Fire Army. Skilled at firebending. Extremely dangerous.'" He studied the drawn face on the poster. "He's a master! A real master!" Aang looked up with a giant grin. "If I find him, I can ask him to teach me firebending!"

"Give me that." Sokka took the poster and looked at it. "How do you know this guy's not on the run because he went nuts and hurt people? Or committed a crime? It doesn't say anything here about why he's on the run; he might've gotten kicked out of the nation for not being a murderous jerk, or he might've gotten kicked out for some other reason."

Katara sighed. "Outlaws from the Fire Nation aren't magically different from other outlaws, I guess." She raised her head. "But it's worth a shot. Even if he is just as bad as every other firebender we've met, he doesn't have access to a ship or backup from soldiers. One firebending master, alone, is safer than going into this festival. I think it's a good idea to look for him."

Sokka groaned. "I hope he serves food before barbecuing us."

Zuko stepped back, pulling Iroh with him. They whispered together. Aang hugged the poster to his chest. "Thanks, Katara. Look, the poster's fresh. He has to be around here. Momo and I can find him in no time." He held the poster out for Momo to study.

"You've been practicing your waterbending a lot lately," Katara said. "I know you must be stressed about having to defeat the Firelord by the end of summer. If this master can help you learn firebending…" She didn't finish her sentence. Stopping to learn from a real master would use up the lead she'd won them, and probably then some. They wouldn't reach the North Pole any sooner than they would have otherwise. Aang knew that she was scared that something would happen if they didn't get there as fast as possible. She was giving up her own comfort just to make him happy.

"Don't worry," Aang said. "I'll practice my firebending just as hard. I'll get it in no time!" She smiled. A fire ignited within him. He had to keep his promise now. He would practice as hard as he could.

Iroh and Zuko came back. "We are not going to help you look for him," Zuko declared. "But if you find him, we're coming."

"I was a general myself. I know of Jeong Jeong," Iroh said. "He left a long time ago. The fact that this poster is fresh means he must be very close."

Aang's eyes widened. Zuko wanted to find the master too? The inner fire flared higher. His hand tightened around his staff. He was the Avatar. He'd mastered every move Katara had to teach him on the first try. He wasn't going to fall behind. He would do just as well as or better than Zuko! He twirled his staff and opened the glider. "Come on, Momo. We've got a master to look for."

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Everyone immediately got into battle stance. Out of the gloom, a figure in a brown cloak emerged. With difficulty, he made his way through the bushes to them. "Wait!" He had to turn around to unsnag his cloak from a bush. When that was done, he held up his hands. "Wait. I know where the master is. I'll take you to him."

Everyone relaxed their battle stances, but only by a little. Carefully, the stranger lifted the hood of his cloak to reveal a perfectly friendly-looking face. He tried to smile at them, and it came out looking kind of stupid. He didn't have the face of a threat.

Aang lowered his staff and walked up to the stranger. "Who are you?"

The stranger scratched his head. "I used to be a Fire Nation soldier. But then I heard of Master Jeong Jeong, and I met him, and he's the smartest man I've ever met! I saw the error of my ways immediately. Now I'm on the run with him."

"You'll take me to him?"

"Yes. Come on!" The stranger waved for them to follow him. "He's a genius. As soon as I saw you, I knew he would be the perfect person to teach the Avatar. You'll learn so much." Zuko silently gagged at his uncle, and Iroh shrugged. They followed anyway. The stranger led them downslope, dropping into a dry streambed as soon as possible.

Suddenly, out of the woods leaped people with spears! All seven travelers were surrounded. So was the goofy stranger, but he didn't look scared at all. "Hey guys! Look who I found!"

"What has the master told you about exposing ourselves to outsiders?" the leader of the spearmen growled.

"But it's the Avatar!"

"Ugh." Their faces were covered, but it was obvious that the spear leader was rolling his eyes. With a gesture, he commanded the spearmen to form up along the side and back of their party, and started marching in the same direction the stranger had been going.

The goofy stranger continued to protest. "He's got to be happy to get the chance to teach the Avatar! I'm not gonna get in trouble for this." The spear leader just shook his head.

"You guys know each other?" Aang asked.

"Yeah! Lin Yi's an old buddy," the stranger said. "Right, Lin Yi?"

"Shut up and keep moving."

Soon the entire party crested a hill. Below them was a lake, fed by a large river. The lake glowed golden in the sinking late afternoon light. Next to the lake crouched small, dirt-colored huts, connected by paths of dirt worn down by feet. It would have been hard to spot anything unusual about this area unless they had flown directly over the huts. For being out in the open and on the water, it was a surprisingly good hiding place.

The spear leader pushed the goofy stranger forward. "He sees you only."

"Is that where Jeong Jeong is?" Aang asked. "I have to see him immediately!" But the spear leader lowered his spear, barring the way.

"Don't worry," the stranger said as he walked down the hill. "He's a great man! A great man!"

The spearmen led them to one of the outer huts. It must have been a converted barn; the door was just large enough for Appa to fit through. He stopped on the threshold and made low noises. "It's okay, buddy," Aang reassured. "You can stay right outside and keep an eye out for me." Appa lay down next to the door, facing the dirt path leading down to the lake below.

Momo scurried around the hay-strewn floor inside, scattering piles of loose hay in his search for bugs. Sokka sneezed. "There's something wrong with that guy," he said. "Is a-a-achoo! Jeong Jeong running a achoo! cult here?"

"Why did he want to see that guy first?" Aang fretted. "Is he going to train me, or not? I have to start as soon as possible!" He could not let Katara look sad for a single second more than he had to, and he wanted to make Zuko's jaw drop.

"All in good time," Iroh counseled. "Now we have time for a proper tea!" He rubbed his hands together and started clearing a place on the floor for a fire.

Aang continued to pace. "Tea isn't going to help me learn firebending. It's not going to help me defeat the Firelord. I need practice!"

"Avatar," Iroh said. "Impatience will not help you learn. In order to firebend well, you must be patient. Sit down. Enjoy your tea."

Aang sat down. Katara took his hand. "I'm sure he's right, Aang. You shouldn't worry too much."

"Uh oh," Iroh said.

Zuko sat bolt upright. "What is it, Uncle?"

"Making tea for the Avatar during his training might count as helping," Iroh said. "I wouldn't want to accidentally do that!"

Zuko scoffed. "If tea magically made anyone better at firebending, I would be a master by now. It's fine, Uncle."

Iroh smiled. "That's a relief!" The fire was ready, so he put the pot on to boil.

By the time the tea was ready, Aang was pacing again and sighing. "How long is it going to take?" he asked.

"It won't feel so long if you stop whining," Zuko said. He poured himself a cup.

"That's ironic," Sokka said. "The guy who complains the most complains about other people complaining."

"I don't complain," Zuko said. "I only remind people of problems we can actually do something about."

Sokka struggled not to laugh. Zuko looked ready to throw scalding hot tea at him. "Would everyone please calm down," Iroh asked. "Tea is more than a drink. It is a moment of peace and tranquility. You must not fight when drinking tea."

Aang sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. Katara was right. He felt so worked up he could hardly sit still, much less meditate. Monk Gyatso would agree with Iroh. He would not approve of the way Aang was acting. There was more to being the Avatar than mastering all the elements. He also had to bring peace. And, he remembered, he had to set an example for his friends so they would get along with Zuko better.

So much to do! And he had to do all of it before the end of summer. Aang remembered the vision of the comet that Ruko had shown him, and shivered. So much pressure. He'd never had to deal with time pressure before, and now if he didn't, the world was going to end. The thought made him want to get up and pace more. He wasn't pacing out of frustration. it was from nervousness.

He drank his tea and waited for the peace and tranquility Iroh talked about to kick in. It did not. Zuko was right; tea didn't do anything.

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Iroh sighed. The delicate fragrance of tea, the warmth of it, the ritual of preparing and pouring it… Tea was nearly a form of magic. Nobody could resist its influence. Zuko and Sokka no longer looked about to start a fight. Even the Avatar, if he was still fretting, was doing so silently.

Iroh did not believe his nephew was correct. Tea, when combined with training, enhanced firebending skill enormously. Without it, he believed Zuko would not be so aware of how to use his fire, or when, and would not be so graceful with it when he did. The magic of tea was subtle, as delicate as the elements. And, of course, tea was delicious. All of which were excellent reasons to be concerned that providing tea to the Avatar might violate Zuko's rules. Iroh wondered if he should say so. He thought Zuko's rules were overly harsh, but Zuko might be angry if he found out Iroh had knowingly disrespected them.

Iroh decided not to say anything. Some rules begged for disrespecting. Any rule that prevented him from serving tea was one of them.

He left some tea in the pot and put the pot on to rest over the warm coals. When the stranger returned, there was warm tea waiting for him. Aang immediately accosted the man. "What did he say?"

The stranger lowered his head. "He refuses to see you," he said. "He says you're not ready because you haven't mastered water and earth yet."

"How can he know that?"

"He saw the way you walked into camp. He can tell." The strange fervor was back.

"I have to defeat the Firelord by the fall! I don't have time to wait until I'm ready." Aang picked up his staff and stormed out.

The stranger shook his head. Then he saw the pot. "May I?" he asked.

"Of course!" Iroh gestured for him to come closer. "You've been a great help. Some tea is the least I can give you."

"You're really nice," the stranger replied. "I heard you say earlier that you used to be a general, like Master Jeong Jeong. Did you two leave the army as well?"

Zuko snorted fire. "We haven't left! We're just...taking a break," he grumbled. "Some stuff happened that makes it a bad idea to go back to the Fire Nation, so we're traveling north to get it fixed. That's all."

"You should really talk to the master," the stranger advised. "He saw the madness in the army, what it was doing to him. He left because he couldn't take it anymore. If you talk to him, you'll see the madness too, and you'll make your break permanent."

Iroh continued to shake his head at the stranger, as he had been doing for the past several sentences. Anyone with sense could see that was the wrong thing to say! Sure enough, Zuko sat up, and the fire rose. "I am not going to betray my father and my entire country!" he snapped. "They might think I'm a traitor, but I'm not one! I want the best for my people. I'm not going to give up and abandon them!" Zuko stood up and leaned forward, bending over him. "And if this master of yours is going to convince me otherwise, then I won't see him. I won't listen to anyone who tells me to abandon my people."

"We aren't just army people," Iroh told the stranger. "I am the brother of the Firelord, and my nephew is the crown prince. He has great responsibilities, ones he does not intend to shirk."

"If there's one thing I'm not, it's lazy and careless." Zuko returned to his seat. "I'll do whatever it takes to ensure the welfare of my people."

"O - oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know," the stranger mumbled.

Zuko crossed his arms. "One meeting, Uncle. We're having one meeting with this Jeong Jeong guy. If he acts like a cult leader or a manipulator, we're out of here."

"That's not the Jeong Jeong I remember," Iroh assured. "He is very...unique, and his methods can seem odd, but they make sense in the end. Give him a chance." Honestly, even he found Jeong Jeong hard to understand sometimes. He was the sort of man you just had to have faith in. Iroh understood why the goofy stranger seemed like a religious zealot; the man had given himself completely over to faith, which wasn't that bad a strategy when dealing with Jeong Jeong. It wasn't a strategy Iroh would recommend for most people. Balance in all things was key to having a worthwhile life, including a balance of skepticism and faith. But he could understand why the man lived that way.

Now they waited for the Avatar to return. Zuko crossed his arms as tight as they would go while he waited. Then he started to dig his fingers into his arm. A week before, he would have already stormed out or started arguing with someone. Iroh waited to see who would lose their patience first: him, or Sokka. Meanwhile, he measured Zuko's increasing self-control in minutes.

Sokka broke first. "Okay, that's it," he snapped. "We're wasting hours of perfectly good daylight waiting for people to talk to this master. Why can't we just talk to him ourselves? It would save so much time!"

"One doesn't just go to see the master," the stranger said, offended.

"Why not?"

"It's better to wait to receive his wisdom."

"The war will be over by the time we finish waiting," Sokka protested.

"Wait," Zuko said. "The Avatar said he had to defeat the Firelord by the fall. What did he mean by that?"

Sokka and Katara went quiet. "Look around," Sokka said. "It's obvious that the war's going to end soon."

"No, he specifically said the fall." Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Do you people know when the war's going to end?"

They glanced at each other. Katara shook her head. They said nothing.

Zuko's arms fell to his sides. "You know exactly when it's going to end. You know when the Fire Nation is going to conquer the Earth Kingdom."

"Or be defeated once and for all," Sokka blurted out.

"How can you know that?" Zuko demanded. "More fortunetelling?"

Katara elbowed her brother sharply before he could blurt out anything. Iroh realized what they weren't saying. Sozin's Comet had been used to launch the war, and he knew it was due to come back this very year. Its power might just allow Ozai to end the war, as well. If the Avatar didn't defeat Ozai before the comet came back, even great cities like Ba Sing Se would be burned to the ground. Zuko hadn't even been allowed to sit at war meetings without an escort when he was last home, so he couldn't know about Sozin's Comet.

Zuko looked down. "So if the Avatar's training was delayed, that would ensure the Fire Nation wins the war," he realized.

And then he froze, realizing too late that he had just made a near fatal mistake.

The air in the room turned tense and volatile, as ready to explode as any room filled with gas fumes. Sokka's hand edged toward his sword. Katara's eyes stayed fixed on Zuko. Zuko, wisely, did not move. By realizing that, he had become Enemy No. 1.

Iroh reached for the pot, intending to try to diffuse the situation with tea. But nothing poured. When he removed the lid, he found that the tea inside was frozen solid. He dipped a finger in to touch the ice. It felt slick and of no temperature at all.

Fortunately, Appa made sounds at just that moment. A few seconds later, Aang came back in. His head was lowered and his eyes dull. He stomped over to the fire and flopped down with a sigh, so miserable that he did not notice the tension in the air at all.

Katara took her eyes off Zuko. "Aang, what happened?"

"He said I'll have to wait until tomorrow before he starts my training!"

"Are you kidding me?" Zuko asked in disbelief. "I thought he'd told you he was never going to teach you and he wouldn't even allow us to stay the night."

"Yeah, it could be worse," the boy admitted. "But it's so disappointing. I want to get this over with as fast as I can so we don't lose too much time, and now he's making me wait a whole day." He looked at Katara. "I'm sorry, Katara."

"It's okay, Aang. Take as much time as you need to learn." She patted him on the shoulder. "Mastering all four elements is more important than anything else."

Well, staying alive might be more important even than that. Iroh looked back down at the tea. To his surprise, it was unfrozen and liquid again. He carefully replaced the lid and put it back over the coals. The water spirit couldn't be that displeased if it hadn't even made its presence known.

"What was he like?" Zuko asked. "What did he say to you?"

Aang squinted and frowned. "I don't know. He said something weird about how I can't know what my destiny is, something about a river and an ocean, and some other stuff. Then, I think something happened that I don't remember, because he suddenly agreed to teach me!"

Zuko relaxed. "Doesn't sound like he'll ever convince me of anything," he said with a glance at the stranger. "We'll go with you to meet him in the morning."