Author's notes: Well, ATLA OC Week is over, but I'm still gonna use these prompts for the next few chapters. This one took a long time, between my chronic procrastination and desperate attempt to get it just dramatic enough not to be melodramatic. I probably failed.

It was a year into Yun's Avatarhood when he first tried to say it.

"Yes, excellent!" Jianzhu said with uncharacteristic élan, walking slowly around him. "Even Kuruk didn't learn this technique so quickly. You are easily the most promising student that I have had the pleasure to teach."

As always, Yun's heart swelled at his teacher's praise. He gave a grin which seemed to light up his face.

"Thank you. That means so much coming from you..."

For a second his statement hung there, incomplete. He wanted to say it. But Jianzhu turned to him, and he wimped out.

"...Sifu," he finished lamely.

Yun was having a hard time sleeping.

This had actually been happening for several nights, but this one was particularly bad. It felt like he spent hours drifting in and out of a hypnagogic stupor. In his waking moments there was a tight knot of fear in his chest, brought on by dreams that he couldn't seem to remember.

One thing he could remember was Jianzhu. Whatever he had dreamt, he was sure that his old guardian had been haunting his nightmares.

Eventually he peeked out of the tent. It was still dark. He sighed, got dressed and stumbled out along the campground. He had too much nervous energy, he decided. Maybe he could sleep if he blew off some steam.

They were camping outside of Seomun, their last Earth Kingdom stop before flying to Quidong Island; the land to the east, away from the town, was rocky and bare. Yun headed that way, putting some distance between himself and the tents. Then he stopped, took a deep breath, and started with some simple earthbending moves.

There was a CRUNCH as small spikes of stone jutted up from the ground, then disappeared. Yun raised a fist to levitate a rock, then punched the air to send it flying.

He frowned. His earthbending felt off. Imprecise, when precision, more than power, had always been his specialty. It felt like he was trying to play darts with a hand covered in oil.

Yun raised another stone spire, then levitated a pebble lying by his feet. He shot it at the spike, aiming for a particular spot. He repeated the action a dozen times.

Only ten of the pebbles hit the rock at all, and three of those missed the target spot.

Jianzhu was still lurking in his former student's mind."What was that?" he asked, in an incredulous tone that Yun had never heard forced him to use in real life.

"Shut up," Yun muttered, and tried again, this time imagining that the target was Jianzhu's face. It didn't help his aim, though—the pebble only grazed the spire, flying so fast that it chipped a piece from the edge.

Jianzhu snorted. "Inaccurate and unrestrained, like a toddler throwing a tantrum."

"Shut up." He levitated three pebbles at once, and was so agitated that he didn't even aimed before shooting—two went wide of the spire, and the third hit far below, near the base.

Jianzhu's voice was sneering. "How did I ever believe that you could be the Avatar?"

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

In a sudden rage he threw up his arms, causing every loose rock in the field to rise and then slam back into the ground. It rained stones for several long seconds, and Yun felt a few pebbles hit him on the neck and shoulder. He stared down at his hands, one normal, the other black in the dim moonlight.

"What's wrong with my bending?" he croaked. "I can't lose that, too."

He let his arms fall by his side and tilted his head back, looking up at the stars.

Then he screamed.

"STUPID! Why did I EVER think it was me?!" And then, because images of Jianzhu were still floating through his mind, "It's YOUR fault! I was just your pawn, wasn't I?! Just a—tool for your stupid schemes! I HATE YOU! If I ever see you again, I'll—!"

"TRISHNA!"

Yun froze, turned, and realized that Truc was stumbling across the bare landscape, holding a lantern at arm's length.

He staggered over, held the light up to Yun, and looked him over with an incredulous stare. "What's going on out here? Are you alright? Hurt or anything?"

"No..." he said in a small voice. He suddenly noticed that his throat was raw from screaming.

"Okay. Good." Truc nodded, exhaling slowly. "So if you don't mind me asking...what in the world are you doing out here, screaming your head off in the middle of the night?"

"I was just...I-I couldn't sleep, so...I thought I'd try some bending practice to...tire me out..."

Truc continued to stare. Yun felt his face burn. He hadn't felt this awkward since the time he was caught skinny-dipping in one of the Eastern Air Temple's sacred pools.

A long silence followed. Yun looked down at his feet. In the light of Truc's lamp, he was surprised to see that he was bleeding. One of those flying rocks must have hit him without him noticing.

When Truc spoke again, his voice trembled a bit. "Who were you talking to just now?"

"Nobody," Yun said quickly. "Just myself."

"I'm not a fool, son." Yun was surprised at the stern tone—for a wild moment, all he could think was that it sounded like Jianzhu. When Truc spoke again, his tone was softer. "Just because you were alone doesn't mean you weren't talking to someone."

Yun looked away. By now his face was so hot that it felt like he could firebend from his mouth.

"My old sifu," he said finally.

Truc nodded, as though that gave him any insight into the situation. "You...seem pretty upset with him. Do you want to tell me why?"

Yun didn't respond. Truc shifted his feet and looked away.

"Was it the one who hurt you?" he asked quietly. "Before we found you?"

Yun began to laugh. He wasn't sure why. It was a harsh, humorless sound that hurt his throat. It turned into more of a sob when visions of Father Glowworm began to creep into his thoughts. He bent over, rasping painfully.

"He abandoned me," Yun finally managed to gasp. "Left me for DEAD, once he found out—once I wasn't useful anymore. But I shouldn't be surprised, should I?!" He kicked at the ground, voicing rising shrilly. "Gravedigger of the Zhulu Pass!"

"I don't—" Truc began, but Yun cut him off.

"You wanna know something sick? I wanted to call him 'Father!' I kept trying, for a whole year, but—I was too scared. Because what if he didn't feel the same way about me?" He gave a low, hysterical chuckle. "Sometimes I liked to think that he really was my father. And then he tried to KILL ME!"

Truc jumped as the entire field shifted under their feet, and a huge crack, as wide as a finger, suddenly split along the ground, running between Yun's legs and almost reaching back to their camp.

"Trishna, calm down!"

But Yun had already staggered backwards, snapped of his enraged trance. He stared down at the crack in confusion. Had he done that by accident? There really was something wrong with his bending.

He barely noticed as Truc took a hold on his shoulder and turned him around to face him. "Trishna," he began, then faltered, unsure of what to say.

Several long seconds passed.

Yun laughed. It was a fake laugh, but it sounded happy, unlike the mad, strangled sound that he had made just a minute before.

"Sorry. I must sound crazy right now, huh? I'm really tired," he added, pulling away from the older man. "I should get back to sleep."

"Yes," Truc agreed slowly. He put an arm around Yun's shoulders and began to guide him back toward the tents. "You shouldn't be sneaking around at night anyhow."

They were about halfway back to the camp when Truc said, "Trishna?"

"Yes?" Yun said tightly.

"Whatever happened before—well. If you need to talk—"

"I know," he said quickly. "I'll keep that in mind. And Truc?"

"Yes?"

"The stuff I said...it would be great if you didn't mention it to Jamyang or anyone else. Please."

Truc didn't respond, and Yun kept his eyes away, not wanting to see his expression.

"Anyway. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Trishna."

He gave the boy a kind, if slightly awkward smile, but Yun was still looking away. He slipped back into Norbu's tent without another word.

Truc hesitated for a moment, staring after him, then slowly made his way back to the big tent.