Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Avatar or Its Characters
It was like every other days as the young prince serenely sat on top of the rock with his legs crossed, admiring the view of the sun slowly rising up to the sky whilst taking a sip at his freshly brewed tea. As a firebender, the young man always wakes up hours earlier than the rest. He couldn't help it. Every day, the moment the sun appeared on the horizon, that automatically woke him up from his slumbers. Zuko however wondered why Druk was unaffected by it as the dragon's simply snoring next to Appa.
The young man has already completed his routine tasks, meditate, physical training, close combat training, sword practice, firebending practice, and the dragon spirit. Once he's done with those, he went to a nearby river and took his bath. Now, Zuko's silently inhaling and exhaling deeply as he felt the energy of the sun seeping into his body and flowing through his veins, bolstering his inner flame. After that, he took out the folded letter from his inner pocket and read it. "Mother...I hope you're safe and well..." He muttered to himself. "Oh, you're up early again." The firebender jolted and turned his head towards the waterbender's direction when he heard her voice. As he quietly tucked away the piece of paper, he nodded his head once and said "Morning." to her. "Good morning. Umm, what are you doing over there?"
"...Drinking tea while enjoying the sun." He replied shortly. "Umm...mind if I join you?" Zuko stared at her of a second before he scooted to the side to give her some space. She thanked him as she sat next to him. The two of them watched the sunrise as the silence ensued them. Not knowing what to say to her, Zuko secretly took a peep to her side only to notice the waterbender was staring at the teapot with interest. "You...wish to try some?" He offered his cup to her.
Katara reddened a little after she realised he caught her looking at his kettle. "May I?" She asked timidly. He briefly nodded before placing the cup on her hand. "Careful, it's still a little hot." He warned. The young waterbender brought the cup towards her mouth and blew it a few times before she sampled it. Her mind felt eased when her nose caught onto the therapeutic aroma of the tea. "Oh, this is actually nice. It's...calming?" Wondering if she has expressed it correctly, Katara tilted her head to a side and looked at Zuko in questioned as she returned the cup to him. "This is jasmine tea. It is used to calm one's mind and nerves. Apparently, it is also good for circulation and stress relief." He explained.
"Wow. You sure know a lot about tea." An uplifting smile formed on her face as she said it jokingly. Zuko merely chuckled as he glanced into the horizon. "My uncle taught me that. He taught me so much..." He murmured as his mind drifted to Iroh, Chief Tai and the rest. "...You care for your uncle." Katara pointed it out. "He's like a father to me..." He replied in short without ever removing his sight from the skyline.
"...Uncle's been looking after me ever since my mothe–!?" Zuko went on without thinking much, but the minute he became aware on what he's about to say, he cut off the conversation. "W-Wait, Zuko." Feeling a bit uneased by his sudden quietude, Katara tried to reach her hand out for him. But the young prince simply stood up and left. Leaving her and his tea behind.
Katara sighed sullenly as her eyes rested on the cup. Weeks have passed since Zuko joined them. Although she was grateful that the firebender helped her with the chores more often than her brother or Aang, she knew Zuko wasn't much of a talker. However, there were so many things she wished to ask him.
She was curious about what his life was like as the Prince of the Fire Nation. Why the Prince of the Fire Nation was banished. What made him so eager to find them and join their quest. How he met Druk. What's the deal with his retractable horns. And most importantly...what happened that led to him carrying the scar on his face.
She knew he wasn't like Aang. Aang opened up to her and told her about his past. That happened back before Zuko found and joined them. During a stormy night, when she was sheltering in a cave along with Aang and Appa while Sokka stubbornly went off fishing with an old fisherman. During that time, she learned about the airbender's past. How he ended up in the Southern Water Tribe. How he was encased in the ice. Why the Avatar disappeared for 100 years.
But for Zuko, 'I know nothing about him...' she thought to herself. "...At least I know he makes decent tea, right?" She smiled wryly at the teacup as she tried to convince herself by being optimistic.
When Zuko returned from his long walk, he came back to the campsite while dragging burnt hog by its foot. Aang and Sokka were already up and they're eating Katara's breakfast. He however didn't join them as he silently passed by the camp and headed straight for Druk. "What's with him?" Sokka asked while the airbender simply shrugged his shoulders. Katara said nothing as she watched Zuko in silence.
Upon sensing Zuko's presence, Druk immediately lifted his head up from the ground. "Hey, bud. You hungry?" He salivated a bit when he saw the hog. "I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled lightly and rested the meat in front of the dragon. Zuko patted his pal as Druk blissfully scrunched at the hog.
"...Zuko?" The young man froze right after he heard her timorous voice again. It took him a while to finally turn his attention towards Katara. There she was, standing just few steps away from him with his tea pot and cup on her hands. "I umm, hope you don't mind. I kind of finished your tea. I...I also washed them for you." She lifted them up to show and return them to him. "Right, thanks..." he awkwardly accepted it. Though part of him wanted to address the situation earlier, the other part of him simply didn't know how.
"...Zuko?" He glanced back to Katara once more. But the girl was speaking while she gazed at the ground to avoid meeting his eyes, "I umm, I was wondering maybe next time umm, we could talk more? I wish to know more about you..." she maffled at the last part. "If you want...you could always join me when I'm having tea…" Katara raised her hastily and saw his stony face softened up. She immediately beamed and nodded her head in great anticipation. "I've made breakfast for you as well. You should come and have it before Sokka finishes it off." Those were her last words before she briskly walked back to the camp.
"Why are you up so early anyway?" The young water tribe man asked. "Not by choice. I'm a firebender. I rise with the sun." Zuko gave his reason as he drank the porridge. "Oh, that's right! Then you can teach me firebending! We can start after you're done with breakfast!" Aang suggested it merrily. Zuko merely studied at the young Avatar for some time, before giving the boy a short reply "...No.".
"Why?! I thought you're here to help us?!" The exiled prince raised a hand to stop Aang's protest. "Yes, I am here to help you end the war. But that does not mean I'll blindly teach you firebending the minute you asked me to."
"But Zuko, it technically is the Avatar's duty to master all the four elements. So why do you refuse on teaching Aang?" Katara joined. "Because he's not ready to learn firebending." The prince firmly stood by his decision. "But I am ready! I'm willing to learn! Katara taught me some waterbending moves, so why won't you?" Zuko frowned upon the boy's persistence. "I will only teach you firebending when you've learned waterbending and earthbending. Before you're capable of doing that, don't bother asking me." Without waiting for the young Avatar'a reply, Zuko ended their conversation and walked off to the river to clean his bowl.
While he's by the river doing the dish, the young prince heard the rustling sound of the shrubs. He could already guess who it was. "...Zuko?" The young man mentally sighed when he heard the waterbender's voice again. "No. I will not change my mind." He said it sternly without even bother turning his head. "I know..." He heard her exhaled softly.
Seconds passed, Katara crouched next to him as she handed out a soap to him. He took it with a curt nod and proceeded cleaning the bowl once more. "I...I wish to understand your reason behind that decision. Why won't you teach him? He was determined to learn." She blurted out. But the young man remained silence and as he dipped the soapy bowl into the running stream. But once he's done cleaning and set the bowl aside, he opened his mouth. "...Katara, willing to learn and capable of learning are two different things. When I said he's not ready, I meant it literally. He lacks both discipline and control." He paused momentarily to see if she's still with him. "Look, Uncle used to say that fire is the element of power. Unlike you and Aang, who use water and air around you to bend," He pointed at the river and the sky, "I create fire from within." He placed his right hand on his stomach. Zuko then demonstrated his point to her as he brought up his left hand. Katara watched in an awe as a fire abruptly emerged and danced gently over the top of his palm. "To bend fire, you need proper discipline and control. If not..." Katara quickly pulled herself back when she saw the flame started to flicker violently. "...you will risk burning and hurting others. Right now, Aang clearly lacks those two." He said it bluntly.
Zuko raised his hand and stopped Katara before she could defend the young airbender. "I don't blame him for that. I was told that airbenders are spiritual and carefree. So I know why he's acting the way he is. Therefore I want him to learn water and earth first. Waterbending will teach Aang structure and discipline, while earthbending will teach him stability and control."
When he's done voicing his thoughts, Zuko noticed the girl was staring at him with admiration. "...What?" He felt uncomfortable by her unreadable expression. "Nothing. It's just that, you're quite considerate and knowledgeable about the four elemental." Katara uttered. "Well, my Uncle is a great teacher." Zuko huffed proudly as he addressed it with pride. The waterbender couldn't help but giggled lightly at his demeanour.
Aang was secretly sulking while sitting next the river with knees to his chin as he thought how unfair the world was. Initially, Katara went to find Zuko to try and change his mind. But to his surprise, when she returned to the camp, she actually sided with the young prince. His best friend sided with Zuko and not him. His mood soured furthermore when Katara explained Zuko's view to him with fascination. In the end, he begrudgingly agreed with her to first learn waterbending, then earthbending before finally learning firebending. Though he accepted her wish, he did not acknowledge Zuko's idea.
The gang's spending time near the river as Aang and Katara were practising waterbending. The young waterbender called it "streaming the water". Sokka was fishing a bit further down the river while Zuko was observing their practice when the group heard loud noises nearby them. Because curiosity got to them, they decided to check it out. Three of them were witnessing the event in fear as they witnessed an old man was being attacked by a platypus bear. Strangely enough, the man seemed calm as he casually twisted and turned his body to avoid the beast.
Aang, Katara and Sokka started giving the elder various suggestions and advice to escape from the animal. "He seems fine, if you ask me." Zuko nonchalantly added as he silently praised for the old man's slick dodges. Without further ado, the young prince dropped down and dashed towards the old man.
"Oh. Hello there, young man. Lovely day, isn't it?" The elderly man greeted Zuko with a smile once the latter one got between him and the platypus bear. The young man curtly nodded his head as he diverted his attention back to the bear. As he glared at the aggressive animal, Zuko tapped into a portion of his dragon spirit. Sharpening his gold eyes into the eyes of a dragon. The platypus bear instantly has its fur stood up on its back as it sensed menacing killing intent was being emanated from the young man's eyes. The carnivorous fleetingly laid an egg and fled the scene.
"Thank you very much, young one. That was very kind of you." The elderly man inclined his back slightly. Sokka and the others met up with the two of them shortly after. The young water tribe warrior caresses the egg and spoke up, "Lucky for you we came along."
The old man calmly chuckled as he tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Thanks, but everything was already under control. Not to worry." He took a few steps towards as he continued, "You see, Aunt Wu predicted that I'd have a safe journey."
"Aunt Who?" Aang asked. "No, Aunt Wu." He corrected. "She's the fortune teller from my village. It is awful nice knowing your future." He said it blithely. "Wow, it must be. That explains why you're so calm." Katara perceived. However, Sokka disagreed, "But she was wrong. You didn't have a safe journey. You ran into a platypus bear. It nearly killed you."
"Aha, but I wasn't. All right, have a good day." Never losing his smile, the old man bowed and began walking away. "Oh, right. Aunt Wu instructed me to pass this to any travellers I have met." He handed two wrapped items to Katara and Zuko and left without any additional explanation.
"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun." Katara suggested as she unwrapped her gift. "Oh, come on. Fortune telling is nonsense." She stared at the umbrella on her hand with some confusion. But as if the world was trying to proof Sokka wrong, the sky darkened and roared thunderously within the next second. Rain soon poured down at them from above. "Well, that proves it." Katara grinned as Aang ran underneath her umbrella. She giggled when she saw Zuko has put on a dark hooded cloak. The water tribe boy suffered when he raised the egg over his head shield himself. Only to end up slipping and caused the egg to fall on his head.
"Of course she predicted it's going to rain. The sky has been grey all day." Sokka grumbled as he's still trying to rationalise the sudden change in the weather. "Just admit it you're wrong, and you can come under the umbrella." Katara chided humorously as Aang was holding the umbrella next to her. But her older brother was too stubborn for that. "Look, I'm going to predict the future. It's going to keep drizzling. See?" He smugly declared it. As if the heaven's against him, the rain immediately stopped and the sky went blue. "Well, what do you know. Not everyone has the gift, Sokka." Aang said it smilingly as he lowered the umbrella.
Upon reaching the Makapu Village, the group stood before a large abode with a man dressed in black and white tunic standing on guard by the entrance. "Please enter, Aunt Wu has been expecting you." He stoically welcomed them. Once they're in, they were greeted by the fortune teller's young female assistant, Meng. The young firebender was smirking from the opposite side when he saw Meng has developed a crush on the monk. Not long later, an elderly woman with grey hair and an ornamental headdress on her head exited from her chamber, "Welcome, young travellers. Now who would like their future to be read? Don't be shy." Her voice was quite motherly yet tranquil. Aunt Wu however, only saw the trio sitting before her as she failed to notice the scarred young man behind her. Both Aang and Sokka were avoiding her eye contact before they all turned to Katara. "I guess that's me." Katara answered and followed the old lady.
Feeling bored, Zuko decided to leave the house and toured the village. The young man shook his head in disbelief when he found out the village consisted only scholars and regular citizens. He shuddered at the thoughts of the Fire nation invading the village. They would be utterly defenceless. His stroll was cut short when he felt the sudden change in the heat flow around him and the village.
"…Excuse me?" A pair of young couple were startled when they saw a scarred young man with a broadsword strapped to his side approached them. Ignoring their nervousness, Zuko tried to speak as politely as possible, "Is there a volcano nearby this village?". The couple stared at each other for a short while before turning back to the young prince, "If you're talking about , it would be that one." The young man pointed towards the lofty mountain that near the village. "…What about the village's chief? Where can I find him?" he added. "Technically, there is no chief in this village. But everyone listens to Aunt Wu." The female commented.
After he thanked the couple, Zuko hurriedly ran back to Aunt Wu's house. The trio, Meng and Aunt Wu jumped when the entrance was forcibly slid open. "We have a problem. The volcano that's near this village. It's going to erupt within few days." He spoke in a weighty tone. "Oh, pish posh. I've read the cloud this morning. The village is fine. The volcano will not erupt this year." Aunt Wu carefreely brushed off the matter with a titter. The trio remained wordless as they stared at Aunt Wu then back to Zuko. "…I'm afraid you're wrong. As a firebender, I could sense the heat around this town is changing." He grumbly asked the group. "But that's impossible–" Aunt Wu was interrupted when the young Avatar jumped up from his seat, "Are you sure about this, Zu–". The young prince covered the boy's mouth in time. "Yes, Lee is sure about this." He hissed. Aunt Wu and Meng raised their eyebrows when 'Lee' referred himself as a third person. "If we're going to stop the volcano from erupting, you and I have work to do. Right now."
"Very well. As the Avatar, it is my duty to ensure that this village is safe from any disaster." Next the young man turned to the fortune teller. "Aunt Wu, please help us on this. I know villagers listen to you. While Aang and I are preventing the eruption from happening, someone needs to inform them about this catastrophe." Zuko implored. "…Very well, young one. I will speak to the villagers while you and young Avatar pacify the volcano." Aunt Wu nodded in agreement. They then heard screaming coming from the outside. "That's our ride, Aang. Let's go." Zuko came to a halt when Katara held him by the wrist. "What can we do?" She wanted to help. He stared at her briefly and shifted his eyes to Sokka. "For now, Aang and I will head towards the volcano. Sokka, you're our idea guy. Can you come up with a plan that would keep the village safe should the volcano erupts again in the remote future?"
When Druk finally brought the two youngsters to the top of the volcano, Zuko dropped the young Avatar off in front of the crater. "Aang, I need you the cool the volcano from this side while I draw the heat away from the opposite side." He instructed. "You got it, Zuko!" Aang wasted no time and began his work. He took a huge leap into the air as he waved his hand. Guiding the current around him, the airbender brought his hands down and unleashed a torrent of gale onto the lava. On the other side of the crater, Zuko was cooling the volcano by drawing the heat energy from the volcano, onto his left hand and redirected it out from his right.
The entire process took the two benders less than half an hour to finally quell the volcano. By the time they came down from the mountain, Zuko and Aang were greeted by cheers from the citizen of Makapu Village. The duo saw several villagers and earthbenders were digging and creating a giant trench around the village which led to the open sea. At night, they town threw a feast to celebrate and thank their heroes. Aunt Wu also reinstated the tradition of annually going up to the volcano to check for the volcano. "Come with me, young man." In the midst of party, Aunt Wu approached the young exiled prince and guided him to her house.
"Why did you bring me here?" Zuko asked as he watched the fortune teller lighting up her room with some candles. "To read your fortune of course. This is the least I can do after what you did for this town." She told him with a smile of content. Aunt Wu urged the young firebender to sit next to her while simultaneously requesting for his hand. It didn't take long for him to yield and sat next to her. "You're…not afraid of me? I'm a firebender." He asked cautiously. "Boy, I've lived long enough to know what a good man is like. You are the prime example." She chuckled at his question.
Zuko felt unpleasant when the elderly lady was keenly studying his coarse palm. "You've went through a lot for someone so young…" Aunt Wu uttered. "A competitive sibling…An unrequited love for your cruel and heartless father…" The young man froze at what she just said it with a frown. Aunt Wu however, did not notice and she continued, "An unending love from your mother…who sacrificed herself to the demon to protect you…Oh, you poor thing." Her gaze softened when Zuko hurriedly withdrew his hand from her in fear. "Maybe this is a bad idea." He tried to leave but was stopped by her. "I won't pry into your past any further. I'll read about your present and future now." Initially, he felt conflicted, yet he chose to stay and allowed her to continue her work. "Mmm…You've suffered greatly in the past, but you've seemed to come to terms with it." The young man curtly nodded. "…You are one powerful bender, young man."
Katara originally came to Aunt Wu's house in hopes of learning more about her love line. The young waterbender smiled when she saw lights coming from the fortune teller's chamber. "Mmm…You've suffered greatly in the past, but you've seemed to come to terms with it." The young lady ceased her movements after realising that the fortune teller currently seeing someone. She was about to leave and waited for her turn when, "…You are one powerful bender, young man." Katara's eyes broadened as soon as she heard that. 'What?' She immediately hunched down and leaned her ears against the wooden sliding door. "No…I still have a long way to go." Hearing Zuko's voice caused her to hold her breath. "You can't fool these eyes, young man. I know a powerful bender when I see one. Now stop interrupting me and let me do my job." The fortune teller rebuked at the man softly and he apologised to her for that. "…I see you have a benign soul, and a virtuous heart."
"I see that you are destined for greatness." From the tone itself, Katara could tell Aunt Wu said it with a smile. "Hoh, you will marry someone–" The elderly woman stopped when Zuko brought up his other hand. "I appreciate you telling me that, but you don't have to tell me my love line." Aunt Wu tipped her head to a side at his request. "Why?" She queried. On the other side of the door, Katara was curious about his love line as well. She couldn't help but frowned a little when the young man suspended their conversation. "Because I already know that no one is going to fall in love with a disfigured man like me." He answered with a stone-cold heart. The young waterbender's heart promptly ached at what she'd just heard.
Aunt Wu's softened her as she benevolently patted on the young man's hand. "The world is a big place, my boy. Never give up on finding your love. You are bound to meet someone who will fall in love with you." The young exiled prince smiled drily and thanked her. Being oblivious on what he should do, Zuko only nodded his head. Unbeknown to the two of them, a third person was present during that night and she left the house without alerting any one of them.
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