Zuko entered the tea shop cautiously. He didn't know if it was a trap or not, although he was getting his hopes up a bit, but he still had to keep watch on what was going on around him. The tea shop owner, named Bom, motioned him to an area of the shop that Zuko wasn't even allowed at. It was the stove where his Uncle made the tea daily. Bom shoved the stove over and there was a trapdoor, right below it. Zuko looked at Bom with wide eyes, bent down to open the door, and jumped down. It was completely dark, musty, and damp. Bom jumped down after him, smiling.

"Follow me."

Zuko nodded, closing the trapdoor behind him. He wanted to bend so badly, yet he hadn't for so long. Tonight he decided to not tell his Uncle where he was going. He wanted to make sure it wasn't some sort of trick. If it was, he didn't want him to be caught up in it. Zuko's eyes widened even more when they arrived in a huge room, where three girls with burns on their arms sat, talking among themselves. A young man sat in the corner, his hat over his eyes. He lifted his head slightly when he saw Zuko enter. Another girl with a white moon on her right cheek, blue waves on her left, looked Zuko up and down, seemingly trying to figure out what his bending gift was.

"Everyone, this is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. He is pretending to be an Earth Refugee so he and his Uncle can get away from things he might not wish to reveal just yet," Bom explained, telling Zuko to sit down in a chair at a lonely table. "He is a Firebender, obviously. Celeste, you will show Zuko respect. I know how you get when I have new recruits."

The girl with the Northern Water Tribe insignias on her cheeks looked at Bom with a blank face, but in her eyes was anger. Apparently she wanted to take down Zuko. She gave him an evil glare, mouthing the words 'I hate you' to Zuko. He gave a shocked look, wondering what he had done to her. He actually had never seen her before in his life. But her name was beautiful. Celeste. Like celestial, as in the stars and heavens above. That was what the Waterbenders looked up towards.

"Zuko, these three girls are refugees from a Fire Nation town in your country. They were orphans at the age of ten, and are now your age. This one here is Fiora, a very powerful Firebender. She received this burn when she was fourteen, from a Fire Nation soldier on her way here. Yuna here was burnt in an attack at the age of six, but was hurt on her leg as well when she was ten. She doesn't show that one off anymore," Bom put his hand on the shoulders of the girl with jet black hair that was in a long ponytail, with a crown in the shape of a flame at the top of it. She had this look in her eye that meant she was still frightened about this whole idea. "Zulu has been here for seven years, the longest of them all. She escaped that attack with her mother, who died about two years ago of an illness. She is very strong. I wouldn't underestimate her."

Zulu gave a nod to Zuko. She still respected the royalty of her homeland. Bom walked over to the young man in the corner, who stood up, taking his hat off and bowing to Bom. He gave a smile to the young man, and bowed back.

"This is Haku. He's an Earthbender. Pretty strong as well. He escaped Kyoshi a few years back with his parents. He's seventeen. He keeps to himself a lot, but I'm sure you and him will click. He's been through a lot," Bom clapped the boy on the shoulder, who nodded.

Zuko smiled at him. Maybe they would get to know one another better. But he couldn't seem to figure out why Celeste was still looking at him curiously. He kept ignoring her, but she kept urging him on by giving him a death-like stare. Finally, Bom said it was time for Celeste to start her practicing.

"Tonight it's for her. I want everyone to give her your fullest attention," Bom smiled at Celeste. "She's worked hard for years, and is finally going to show you her most powerful attack."

Celeste moved forward, blowing a strand of dark brown hair out of her blue eyes. She focused all her attention on the pool of water in the center of the room. Zuko watched intently. He hadn't seen anyone but that girl the Avatar pulled around with him Waterbend. He wanted to see this girl do her gift. Celeste gave a high kick, bringing the water up as she did so. She then twirled it about her body, forming a tornado-like feeling in the room. She froze the rest of the water in the pool, and all of a sudden, the water tornado dispersed. It went all over the room, but no one was wet. Zuko was confused. How did she do that?

"Well done, Celeste."

"Thanks," muttered the girl, heading back to her corner.

"Celeste, we wanted you to do some more, but is that all you wish to show us?"
"Yep."

"Well, then, Zuko, I think you should show us what you can do. Introduce yourself through your bending."

Zuko stood up, taking a deep breath. He would use his breath of fire that saved his life many times in the North Pole. He focused on his inner flame like his Uncle Iroh always taught him and catching everyone on surprise, the flames came flying out of his mouth. The Firebending girls gave a squeal, clapping wildly. They were only used to doing flames out of their hands. Haku clapped quietly, in awe of what he was seeing. Zuko stopped allowing flames out of his mouth, gasping for air. He hadn't used it in such a long time it was unreal.

"Good job, Zuko. That was amazing, and you are quiet powerful!" Bom clapped, motioning him to sit down. "Zulu, would you like to display your Fire Dancing?"

"Yes please!" Zulu said, standing up.

Zuko noticed that her gown wasn't normal. It wasn't that of a refugee. She must've made it herself. It was of orange silk, showing the insignia of the Fire Nation. She must've only worn it for these meetings. It was beautiful, and then Zuko noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes, yet red bands were around her ankles. So that was what a Fire Dancer looked like.

Zulu went into a split, bending herself all the way back and her head touched her heel. Zuko's eyes widened as flames started to encircle her. She twirled herself up by the flames, not a single flame burning her. She swept the flames up by the palm of her hand, then tossed them all around her. She spun on one foot as the flames jumped around her. She did flips and cartwheels, causing her friends to give screams as the flames were so near to burning her dress. But apparently Zulu was skilled in her art. Finally, she did a mid-air somersault, causing Celeste to become rigid. She wasn't used to this. She had seen Zulu do her art before, but this was something new. Zulu landed perfectly on one hand, and then went back into a split, this time stretching her upper body forward.

Zuko stood up, clapping wildly. Everyone whistled, especially Haku. He loved Zulu, obviously. Zuko was falling madly in love with this girl. She was gifted, alright. Fire Dancing was a most difficult art to do and she had accomplished it. As Zulu walked past Zuko, her hair gently went against his face, and he smelled a beautiful scent. Sulfur. He loved that smell. It was so wonderful, and it always reminded him of home. She gave a wink to him, the orange specks in her brown eyes sparkling.

"Nice to meet you, Zuko," she muttered.

"Nice to meet you, too, Zulu," Zuko sighed to himself.

Bom gave a silent laugh to himself, noticing how Zulu was yet again entrancing another young man. Hopefully this time her gift would get her somewhere with Zuko. He seemed like a wonderful young man. Fiora gave her friend a high five, then stood up herself.

"I do something that is way more unique," she stated, looking at Zuko and blushing. "My mother did this when she was in your grandfather's court as a fifteen-year-old, Zuko."

"When was that?"

"Only twenty five years ago!" Fiora smiled at him. "I learned it from her when I was nine, a year before she was killed. Now, I'm a master."

Zuko didn't know what gift she was talking about. He thought the only gift a true Firebending woman did was what Zulu had just done. He was caught by surprise when Fiora started to twist in flames. They were going all around her. Zuko realized what she was talking about. Body Heat. It was an even more difficult power to learn than Fire Dancing. Fiora's body heat controlled the air around her, causing the air to catch on fire. Zuko was in more awe than with Zulu, but Fiora soon became dull as she just spun around in circles. Yes, it was entertaining, but being a first-timer, Zuko was bored with it.

"Fiora, you've gotten much better. I'm proud of you!" Bom gave her a hug. He must have been a father figure to her. "Now, Yuna, do you have something to show us?"
"It is just fighting, really. I'll need someone to fight against. My friends aren't quite the fighting type, so I'll call Zuko to be my opponent," Yuna gave a glare. She had green eyes. That was unusual for a Firebender.

"You're on!" Zuko said, smiling.

Yuna stood up, and he noticed she was wearing a uniform similar to his sister's. It was what the women wore if they wished to be a warrior. Her hair was short though, different than her friends' hairstyles. She also had a bit of red around her eyes, like paint or something. She was very supportive of the Fire Nation. Zuko went into a fighting stance as Yuna turned away from him, heating her hands up with flames that were a dark shade of red. She suddenly turned around, kicking the flames at Zuko, who immediately kicked them back.

Everyone was tense. They hadn't remembered the last time they had fought against another Firebender, besides Bom. He felt so exhilarated that he could let out all of his powers and allow himself to be free again. Yuna laughed as she finished up the short fight. Everyone gave a sigh of relief when Zuko sat back down, smiling still.