Katara and Sokka get up to take care of the dishes, and Chit Sang excuses himself, but nobody else seems interested in leaving.

Zuko ignores their audience and shifts into position, closing his eyes. A moment later his breathing follows suit, taking on the deep, steady quality it always does when he's meditating.

Aang fidgets for a moment before closing his eyes as well. He tries to match his breathing to the firebender's with limited success. It's one thing to practice in front of Zuko. It's completely different with a small group of spectators looking on.

He's a little worried about trying to reach out to the fire in front of him with this many people seated around it. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt.

Zuko's breathing changes beside him, just a little, and Aang knows he has to at least give it a try if he wants to avoid rousing the wrath of his firebending teacher.

Aang takes a deep breath and reaches out.

He panics when one of the logs pops and he feels a sudden flare of heat. His eyes fly open and he throws himself backwards.

Zuko doesn't open his eyes until Aang falls and smacks his back against hard, cold ground, and then it's only one eye, checking to see why his student isn't doing what he's supposed to.

Aang blushes and pushes himself upright.

"Sorry," he says. "I-"

Zuko opens both eyes and lets out a long, slow breath.

"You don't have to sit as close as I do," he says, and by now Aang has been studying with him long enough to recognize the statement as Zuko-speak for "Scoot back a little if you're uncomfortable sitting this close."

He scoots back and wiggles a little, readjusting. Then he looks up. "Do they-uh-"

Zuko looks around. "They don't need to be sitting this close either if it's going to distract you." There's a growl not quite present his words, one that says that he's humoring them and letting them stay, but if they continue to be a distraction he has no problem with asking them to leave.

There's a couple minutes of awkward shuffling as people move, but Zuko ignores it and closes his eyes again.

Aang closes his eyes as well and tries to focus.

Several torturous stops and starts and near panic attacks later, Zuko surges to his feet. Relieved, Aang follows him.

"Are you going to teach me how to redirect lightning now?"

"Forms first." Zuko says, and Aang's heart drops into his stomach. "No fire. Start with the first form."

Aang does as he's told. At least he's not expected to summon fire. He wishes people would stop watching them, though. Even Katara and Sokka are staring, now that they've finished cleaning up.

It makes Aang nervous.

A sudden spark shoots from Aang's fist without him trying and nearly hits Zuko in the face.

Aang's halfway through an apology before he realizes that his firebending teacher never even blinked at the spark, and that he's currently frozen halfway through the kick that should have followed Aang's punch, watching him with raised eyebrow.

One leg in the air, his other bent at the knee and perfectly steady, the held pose would look silly if Aang didn't know from personal experience how hard it was to stand like that and not fall over.

"I wasn't trying to use fire," Aang says, the confession coming out in nearly a whisper, and if he's being honest with himself, the thought of summoning flames without even thinking about it is terrifying.

Zuko lowers his leg. "But you're breathing just the same as if you were. And going through forms that are designed to channel your inner fire."

"But I know how to do them without fire," Aang argues. "That was one of the first things we did."

"And then you learned to summon fire without the forms," Zuko explains with uncharacteristic patience. "And once you got the hang of that, you learned to put the two together. This is simply the next step."

"It is?"

Zuko nods.

"It's different now that you know what it feels like to connect your chi to each form. Before you didn't have to worry about separating them, because they were already separated. Now you're learning to do that at will. This is just another exercise in control."

Aang considers this, but Zuko's never been the sort to say something just to make him feel better, so it has to be true. "So I should expect to accidentally shoot fire anyway, even if I'm trying not to?"

"When you're training. Not when you're sitting there eating breakfast. Or sleeping. Or-whatever."

Zuko's answered Aang's question, at least. Even though he never actually got it out. It does raise other questions, though.

"But you do that sometimes, when you're upset."

Zuko looks at him. "Do you want to feel better, or do you want the truth?"

Aang huffs at him, slightly insulted, but he's self-aware enough to realize it's because he's already feeling defensive. "The truth."

Zuko shifts and starts going through what Aang recognizes as their cooldown routine. The twelve-year-old frowns but follows the older boy's example.

"Firebending training starts at a young age. Even before we ever get our fire, we start learning how to meditate. We learn simple poses, and very basic forms. Nothing useful in an actual fight, but that's not the point."

"What is the point?" Aang asks.

"Control. We learn to control our breathing. And we learn to control our bodies. Even the very youngest students are expected to pay strict attention to detail."

"So I'm getting a late start."

"Very." Zuko agrees. "But it's important, because while we're learning all that, we're also being taught to channel emotion through both."

Aang stops stretching. "Huh?"

"I don't know how it was before the war," Zuko admits. "Uncle always described fire as the element of power. He said firebending was about tempering overpowering force with your own will-or something like that. I never could quite figure out what he meant. I've never heard anyone else describe it that way, not any of my other teachers, or any of the other firebenders I've met.

"But we're taught to take our anger and use it. Rage, hatred-we learn to breathe it, to channel it, and to fight with it, even before we ever even get our fire."

Aang stares at Zuko in horror for a moment. "That's awful."

Zuko shrugs. "That's why control is so important. If all of your anger and fury is tied to your firebending-and you've been taught that from an early age-it can be hard to separate the two. I suspect it's why most firebenders have a reputation for being short-tempered. We've been taught to indulge those emotions-to encourage them even-and to use them to make our firebending even stronger.

"I guess it makes sense from a military standpoint," he admits. "We've been at war for a hundred years. The Firelord wants to win. But when you've been taught from an early age that the two go hand-in-hand, fire and anger, it makes control that much more important, and it makes losing your temper that much more dangerous."

He looks at Aang. "But I haven't been teaching you any of that. Control, yes, because it's still important when we're talking about bending literal fire. But not to fuel your bending with rage, which means that you shouldn't have issues with your firebending getting out of control if you get angry. Or upset."

Zuko shoots him a terse smile that Aang has by now figured out is meant to be reassuring. "But a stray spark or two during practice is nothing to worry about. If anything, I expected more sparks. More training accidents in general, really. You're catching on fast."

Aang beams at him, prompting a scowl from the older teen.

"You'd do even better if you'd actually apply yourself," he grumbles.

Zuko's only half serious, though. He struggles to find balance in their lessons, Aang knows. Zuko is not his uncle, and doesn't know how to be, but he's also admitted that he doesn't think Aang would do well with a more traditional approach. Now that he's learned more about how most firebenders are taught, the airbender has at least a vague idea of why.

Chit Sang approaches as they finish cooling off, ignoring the audience they still haven't managed to get rid of, and bows low, first to Aang, then to Zuko, who immediately looks uncomfortable.

"Don't-"

"I must apologize for earlier-" Chit Sang begins, and Aang thinks he looks nervous.

"It was an accident." Zuko cuts him off sharply. And Chit Sang bobs into another bow.

"You trusted me-"

"He's fine." Zuko interrupts again. "It's fine. I'm not going to demand satisfaction or whatever." Chit Sang looks relieved, and starts to go into yet another bow. Zuko scowls and steps forward to drag him back upright.

"I'm not royalty," he says. "Not anymore. We're out here in the middle of nowhere. I'm nobody here."

Chit Sang stops trying to bow and looks Zuko over briefly. "If you insist," he says mildly.

"I do," Zuko snaps, and the older firebender spreads his hands in a placating gesture.

"Then let me just say I'm sorry for what happened this morning and I'm glad the Avatar is all right." Chit Sang glances briefly toward Aang as he speaks.

"It's okay," Aang says. "It was an accident."

Chit Sang turns back to Zuko and gives him another once-over of a completely different sort. "You're looking better."

Zuko sighs. "I'm fine," he insists, then continues in a different voice. "A little tired, still."

"Cold as well?" Chit Sang shoots a pointed glance toward Sokka's jacket, and Zuko shrugs. He was wearing it this morning, but he took it off before they started practicing, and doesn't seem in any particular hurry to put it back on again.

"Would it make you feel better if I started shooting flames from my fingertips?" he asks, and Chit Sang chuckles.

"Only if you're feeling up to it."

Something passes between the two of them, and suddenly Zuko is shifting back into one of their practice stances.

"Don't overdo it," Chit Sang advises, shifting into a stance of his own.

Aang offers Sokka his coat, and then sits down between Toph and Katara.

The entire camp is watching, ready for a show.

Zuko is waiting while Chit Sang stretches. Katara takes a moment to study the former prince, not entirely convinced this is a good idea, but he seems fine from here, and she doesn't really want to go over there and ask if he really thinks he should be firebending again this soon.

Chit Sang finishes stretching, and the two turn to face each other. Chit Sang bows and, after a brief second's hesitation, so does Zuko.

Zuko throws the first punch, only for Chit Sang to turn it aside easily and throw a punch of his own. Zuko neatly side steps it and retaliates with a swift kick.

Katara's fought Zuko enough that it's painfully obvious that he's not really trying. Right now the two are just exchanging blows, getting a feel for each other's style and ability. It's interesting, but not particularly exciting.

At least he doesn't seem to be having any trouble producing or maintaining a flame.

Something changes, and suddenly the two have gone from a polite exchange to actual sparring. Sokka and Suki abandon their former conversation in favor of studying the sparring match before them.

Zuko seems to be holding his own, and he doesn't seem to be struggling, which is good. Chit Sang is bigger, and stronger, and older, and seems to favor power and strength over technique when it comes to bending.

Not that his technique isn't good. Even Sokka can tell that the man's form is clean. Not quite as crisp and precise as Zuko's, but still correct.

Zuko's bending is not the wild, rage-fueled assault it was back when he was still hunting them. Every movement is deliberate, the embodiment of the sort of control he's always preaching at Aang. He's fast, too. He's having no trouble keeping up with his sparring partner, and Sokka isn't completely sure, but he thinks Zuko might actually be holding back.

They've been at for about ten minutes or so when Sokka abruptly notices something else.

So far he has not seen Zuko use a single move that wasn't a part of one of the basic forms he's been teaching Aang in their lessons. Chit Sang's form, his footwork, every punch, every kick, and every sweep-all of it is recognizable, but clearly more advanced than anything the younger firebender has done so far.

Sokka's impressed that Zuko's holding his own in spite of the difference. He can tell, now, when something Chit Sang does offers just a little more power, or a little more speed than he would get otherwise.

He wonders if Zuko's sticking to the basics for Aang's benefit. Maybe he wants to prove a point.

It's still impressive, especially when Chit Sang flawlessly executes some sort of spinning high-kick that sends flames hurtling at Zuko at an alarming speed and the teenager simply redirects the attack with a basic arm block. He immediately throws a punch that nearly catches the man in the chest before he recovers.

The match is getting interesting now. Chit Sang is throwing increasingly complex attacks in Zuko's direction, and Zuko is stubbornly refusing to use anything other the same forms he's been teaching Aang. Both are scowling.

"Stop toying with me!" Chit Sang roars suddenly, throwing a wall of pure flame at his opponent. His face is red and his eyes are blazing.

Zuko's eyes widen, and for the first time since the match began he sinks into a different sort of stance. Beside him, Katara's breath catches as the firebender brings his palms together and splits the curtain of fire so it passes him on either side.

Zuko's eyes are blazing too, now, as he glares at his opponent, but Chit Sang is already hurling more fire at him, and suddenly their audience is aware that they are no longer watching a friendly sparring match.

Zuko is by the look of things now too busy defending himself to even think about retaliating, and nobody watching is certain they can intervene without someone getting hurt.

"Can't you, I don't know, drop some water on them or something?" Sokka asks, his voice low. Katara shakes her head, her eyes never leaving the fight before them.

"What if one of the stops and the other doesn't?"

The way Chit Sang is throwing fire around, they both know Zuko is the more likely of the two of them to get hurt.

Toph is scowling and tapping her foot unhappily, but she too knows better than to intervene.

"Enough!" Zuko suddenly bellows, punching through a blast of fire like it's nothing. Flames spit from his mouth, and his hands are suddenly both on fire.

Chit Sang stops moving. He's breathing heavily, and his face is still flushed as he stares at the other firebender. Zuko glares back at him, fists clenched, still breathing fire.

Chit Sang eyes the other firebender warily, but remains still. Sokka wonders if one of them should intervene.

"Should we do something?" he asks. His voice, though hushed, sounds loud in the sudden stillness.

Toph cracks her fingers and her neck and shouts across the courtyard.

"Hey Sparky, catch!"

She hurls a boulder at him with her usual deadly accuracy. Zuko turns and lets loose a blast that completely vaporizes it, but at least he's no longer trying to set Chit Sang on fire with the mere force of his glare.

"Nice," Toph says, impressed in spite of the situation. Zuko stares at her blankly for a moment, then turns around and storms off.

Katara looks conflicted. "Should someone go after him?" she asks.

"No!"

They startle at the sudden outburst from the older firebender, and Chit Sang takes a breath, collecting himself. "No. Let him calm down first."

"What happened out there?" Sokka wants to know. "What did you do?"

Chit Sang scowls. "Nothing!" Katara shoots him a withering look, and he backtracks. "He was the one playing me. I'm the one that should be angry."

"Playing you?" Katara echoes. "How was he playing you?"

"He wasn't taking our match seriously," Chit Sang insists. Katara stares at him blankly, but Sokka thinks he gets it.

"Because he was only using basic forms," he guesses, and Chit Sang nods.

"It's insulting," he insists.

Toph snorts. "Sparky only uses basic firebending forms," she says.

Chit Sang blinks, and for a moment he forgets to be angry. "He only uses basic firebending forms." He repeats. He doesn't sound like he believes her.

Aang chooses that moment to join the conversation. "He only knows basic firebending forms." They all turn to look at him. "What?"

Sokka is the first to recover. "I could have sworn you just said your firebending teacher only knows the basic firebending forms."

Aang screws up his face. "Well, he knows like one advanced form. Or he was working on it. His uncle was teaching him, but they hadn't gotten very far."

"So how's he going to teach you enough to take on the Firelord?"

"Is that the most immediate concern right now?" Suki asks. "I get the feeling he doesn't usually storm off like that."

"Oh he storms off," Katara admits. "He's just not usually on fire when he does it."

Suki takes a moment to digest that bit of information. "Should someone go after him, then? Or will he come back on his own once he calms down?"

Chit Sang shakes his head. "Better to let him calm down. Teenage firebenders are notoriously hot-headed, and especially unpredictable when they're angry. Are you sure he's never done this before?"

"Zuko's pretty good about keeping his temper," Aang says, as if his firebending teacher doesn't regularly yell at him through most of their lessons. Chit Sang looks skeptical.

Toph stomps her feet and puts her hands on her hips. "If Sparky didn't have an iron control over his fire, none of us would be here. Somebody go talk to him."

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Sokka asks. "You may have missed it, but he was breathing fire."

"I stopped him from killing Hot Stuff over there." Toph reminds them. "I've already done my part. Besides, I don't do feelings."

"I'm a guy," Sokka points out. "I can't talk about feelings to another guy."

Aang looks confused. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because guys don't talk about their feelings," Sokka retorts.

"Well that's dumb," Aang decides. "I'll go talk to him. He's my firebending teacher, after all."

"Too late," Suki says, and that's when Sokka realizes his dad is no longer with them.

Author's Note: This an entirely self-indulgent piece, but maybe you guys are enjoying it too.

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me.