"You wanted to see me, Uncle?" Zuko said as politely and as disciplined as he could in his restless skin.
"I did, Zuko," Iroh replied, hiding his smile behind a thick beard. "I wanted to show you something while your mother was away." The old man held out his hand, in which lay an object wrapped loosely in black satin.
Zuko edged closer. "What is it?" he asked.
"Open it and see for yourself." The General dropped it into the young boy's waiting fingers.
Anxiously, Zuko unfolded the fabric and revealed the treasure within. It was a golden chain with a small red and black pendant attached in the middle. "A necklace?" the boy asked, trying to hide his disappointment. His uncle's presents had never let him down before this; maybe there was some hidden secret he hadn't seen.
"Yes," Iroh said, rolling onto his heals in satisfaction. "That was the necklace my father gave to me when I learned my first Firebending set. I think you should have it now."
Zuko looked down at his toes. "Shouldn't you have given it to your own son?"
"No. Lu Tien received a different honor for his accomplishments," Iroh said stiffly, a distant look in his eyes. "I want you to have this."
The young child bowed and lay the pendant back in his uncle's hand. "I do not deserve this, Uncle," he said. "I cannot complete the Beginner's Set."
Iroh looked down at the necklace, sadness on his face, then back up at his nephew as he was walking away. "I did not say I was giving it to you for your first accomplished set. I was giving it to you because you are my nephew, and you have accomplished far greater things than simple firebending."
Zuko looked back at him. "Really?" he asked skeptically.
"Any Firebender can firebend," Iroh said. He laughed, "Even your sister."
Zuko smiled. "Yes, she can."
"But very few Firebenders can truly say that they've mastered themselves."
"And you think I have?" Zuko asked, turning bodily to face his uncle.
Iroh nodded with a grin. "I think you're on your way, anyway."