Chapter 2

"Oh..." Smellerbee slowly lowered her arm from the now open door. For a moment, all she did was stare awkwardly at Lee, who was giving her a sour look. "Is your uncle here?" she finally asked, twisting her fingers nervously. The last time she saw Lee, things didn't end all that well.

"No," Lee answered her in what she could only describe as a growl. "He decided to clean up the shop today." That was usually Lee's job. "He wanted me to get you started." Oh. That made more sense. And even though Smellerbee didn't know him very well, it sounded exactly like something that Mushi would do.

"Right," she said, still standing in the hall of their apartment building.

"Oh. Come in." Lee moved aside to let her in, and Smellerbee noticed a candle on the floor, its wick never been burnt. The shutters were closed, which was good, because while Smellerbee was sure Jet hadn't seen her come this way, there was no telling if he decided to stalk his favorite person tonight.

"So, um..." Lee closed the door and made a full circled around the room, probably trying to find something for him to do. He scratched his head and looked around wildly, as if his uncle would appear out of the walls. If the situation was any more awkward, Smellerbee thought she'd just might burst. Didn't this guy have any social skills whatsoever? Sure, Smellerbee wasn't that big of a people person herself, but at least she knew how to make conversation.

"So how'd two firebenders end up in Ba Sing Se?" Smellerbee finally asked, just to break the ice. After the whole big fiasco two nights ago, she had left as quickly as possible, and never actually got to ask. She didn't consider that this could, quite possibly, be a dangerous question, or at least uncomfortable for the hopeless tea server in front of her.

"We're refugees," Lee replied, before realizing how lame that sounded. "I mean, we're trying to escape the Fire Nation too. Our story is just a bit...different." There was an awkward pause (of course it was awkward, everything about this entire situation was awkward), before he asked, "What about you? How does a firebender end up in the company of a crazy jerk who hates everything about fire?"

"Jet's not a crazy jerk!" Smellerbee quickly defended. At Lee's look, she amended, "Okay, he's been acting a little crazy, but he's not a jerk." That wasn't entirely true either. Yes, Jet was like an older brother to Smellerbee, but older brothers always loved to pick on their little sisters. "And he doesn't know that I'm...y'know." She didn't want to say it. It occurred to her that she'd never actually said it aloud. Inferred it or referenced it, but never outright admitted it. I'm a firebender. Even in her own mind it sounded wrong.

"I figured that," Lee answered. At least they were having a somewhat normal conversation now. "Does anyone else know?"

"Longshot," Smellerbee answered, all the while wondering if telling that was a bad idea. Although, she couldn't see how that would hurt her in any way, so she dismissed the notion. "But he won't tell anyone. I promise."

Lee frowned. "Does he know about me and my uncle?"

Smellerbee shook her head. "No." She refrained from adding, Not yet.

"Ok. Good. Well, um..." Lee was uncomfortable again. He suddenly shrugged off his outer robe, leaving him in a simple shirt and loose-fitting pants. He nodded towards the candle and sat before it, his legs folded in the lotus position. He gestured for her to sit across from him, and she did, copying his form. "Firebending is all about the breath," Lee began. "It comes from here." He pointed at his stomach, just below his rib cage. Smellerbee nodded, so he reached out and pinched the wick of the candle, and suddenly a flame burst to life. She couldn't help the small jump. She had never been so close to firebending and not attacked.

"Sit up straight." Smellerbee looked up in surprise, but complied. It felt weird. She'd never worried about posture before in her life. "Even something so small as not slouching can make a difference," Lee explained.

"Got it," Smellerbee said, simply to let him know he was listening.

"Good. Now focus on the candle." Smellerbee narrowed in on it, and noticed it was rising and falling rhythmically. It took her a moment to realize it was the rise and fall of Lee's own breathing. The wax wasn't even burning. Lee had complete control over the candle. "Breath with it," he instructed. "Try to feel the heat of the flame."

Smellerbee nodded, pausing for a moment as she watched the little yellow light, before taking in her next breath with its rise. Then it fell, and so did she. She didn't realize that her shoulders were moving with the candle as well until Lee told her to sit still.

At first, Smellerbee had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but she wasn't going to speak up or complain. At this point, she was willing to do nearly anything to get her firebending under control, and if breathing was the way to do it, then breath she would.

Despite it, however, Lee's words actually made some sense to her. Firebending is all about the breath. Those were his exact words. Take the air away from a fire, and it would die out. Smellerbee supposed it was the same with actually bending the element. Even if she still didn't 'feel the candle' or whatnot.

But then Smellerbee did feel something. Not the candle, but in herself. Deep down, in the pit of her belly where that warmth always was. After a moment, she realized that the warmth was rising and falling with her breathing. Lee did say it came from her stomach. Maybe this was what he meant?

Smellerbee didn't realize she had closed her eyes until she heard Lee speak softly from across the room, definitely not in front of her like he was before. "Wow," he commented softly, not quite praising, but certainly not condescending either. Smellerbee opened her eyes and found him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. He must've still been in control of the candle, because it was still in its rhythmic pattern of up and down.

"What?" Smellerbee asked.

"Nothing," Lee replied with a shrug. "I've just never seen anyone so eager to do breathing exercises. You didn't even notice when I got up."

Was that a compliment? Smellerbee was having a real hard time deciding if it was or not. "Thanks?" she said, more of a question. She glanced around the room, wondering if she was supposed to go back to breathing again, and asked, "How long was I, uh, breathing?"

"About an hour," Lee told her.

"And hour?" That didn't sound right. It only felt like a few minutes, ten at tops. She glanced at the candle, still burning, with hardly any wax dribbled down the sides. "Then how come the wax is barely melted?" she asked. By the size of it, it looked to be about an hour-long candle, and should've spluttered out by now.

"That's part of the exercise," Lee answered, pushing off against the walling and coming to sit in front of her again. "The idea is to have complete control of the flame, for as long as possible. I've been holding it the entire time, so it doesn't burn the wax." He frowned at the few dribbles of melted candle and said, "Apparently, I'm a bit out of practice. I used to be able to handle four with ease."

"So breathing exercises..."

"Always good to do," Lee finished for her. "Even masters meditate. You should never get out of the practice, either."

"I can't practice on my own," Smellerbee pointed out. It would be a bit suspicious if she decided to suddenly start sitting in front of candles, trying to keep the wax from burning.

"Well, we aren't at that point yet," Lee replied. "For now, just focus on your breathing. Which you're doing fine on."

"I didn't know anyone could be bad at breathing," Smellerbee remarked a bit sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised," Lee remarked with a sigh. "Although, it's not so much that you can be bad at it, but simply most don't like to do it, especially at a young age. You didn't seem to care I made you breath for an hour."

"I'm not a child," Smellerbee growled softly at his comment.

"No you're not," Lee agreed. "Maybe that has something to do with it. Most firebenders start at very young ages. Four and five year olds do not like to be sat down for hours on end to breath." Smellerbee didn't comment on his extensive knowledge of how other firebenders train. She kind of just had to accept at this point that these two were Fire Nation, or at least were, but whatever their reason was for running from them wasn't her business.

Just like they had no business looking into her own past.

"You should probably...get back home," Lee said after a moment. Smellerbee was positive he was about to say 'leave.' "Before you're missed," he added, in case he had sounded rude anyway.

"Yeah..." Smellerbee stood and wondered how she was supposed to leave. Did she say goodbye? Did she just turn and walk out the door? Should she say thank-you?

Lee solved that problem by fisting his hand beneath his palm, and bowing to her formally. "Until next time," he said. "Smellerbee," he added, as if he was only just remembering her name.

"Um, yeah." Smellerbee gave a sloppy mirror of his bow, and ended up folding her hands in the way of the Earth Kingdom style. "Thank you for teaching me," she said, because it sounded good and was probably what she was supposed to say. Lee nodded and headed for the door, opening it for her and patiently waiting for her to leave. Still a little awkward, but certainly not nearly at the levels they were an hour earlier. "See you later," Smellerbee found herself saying as she left, leaving a slightly alarmed Lee behind her. What? Did she say something wrong?

Oh well. It didn't matter now. Now, she had to get back to the tiny apartment she shared with Longshot and Jet before one of them realized she was missing.

-0-

Smellerbee stared at the little candle that burned on their table, a steady light that occasionally flickered if she breathed too hard. She was leaned forward, her chin resting in her folded arms, as she wondered what it was like to actually feel the flame. Was it hot? Did it feel weird? With a sigh, she straightened on the floor pillow, quickly glancing at the door even though she knew she was alone. Longshot was still at work, would be for at least another hour, and Jet had just left to play his favorite game: stalk Lee. No one would walk in on her. And even if they did, she was fairly certain there'd be nothing to see.

Smellerbee situated herself on the floor pillow, so that she was sitting the way Lee showed her the night before, taking care to keep her back straight. Then she placed her hands on her knees and concentrated. Time to breath.

It took Smellerbee a moment to realize that without Lee regulating the flame, she had nothing to breath to. But that was silly, it was just breathing! She should be able to stay steady. It was a simple rhythm, after all.

Smellerbee took a deep breath, holding it for a brief moment before letting it out. She then set a pace, counting the seconds in her mind until she found her rhythm, and her breaths became even. The candle in front of her did nothing, but after a while, she felt that familiar warmth deep in her stomach begin to grow, and then rise and fall with her own breaths. It grew warmer, and stronger too, until Smellerbee felt like there was a fire in her belly. But it wasn't unpleasant. It actually felt rather nice. Like she was cuddled up on a cold winter's day, sitting close to the fire while sipping hot tea.

She wasn't sure how long she sat like that, calmly breathing in and out as the warmth deep within her grew into a charming little flame, flickering its own shadows and thoughts as her chest slowly rose and fell. She suddenly felt bold, the fire in her belly urging her to be a little reckless. Smellerbee opened her dark eyes and stared at the candle in front of her for only a moment before reaching out and taking some of the flame in her palm. For several long seconds, all she did was stare. And then she couldn't help the content smile that grew over her features.

Smellerbee had never once tried anything like this before. It was always a struggle within herself to make sure her firebending didn't show. In her thirteen years of life, the most she had ever done was make some fires act a little weird. And buffer the flames consuming their little hidden house so that she and Longshot could escape. But now that she was actually doing it, holding a little ball of flickering yellow and orange in her hand, she realized a huge weight she didn't even know she had was suddenly gone. It was like she could breath again after coming up out of the water, having stayed down too long. She suddenly understood what Mushi meant when he said that bending wasn't just a martial art. It was an extension of oneself, and to deny your bending would be denying who you were.

Tentatively, Smellerbee used her other hand to cup the flame in both her palms, gently breathing in. When the fire rose with her, she couldn't help the satisfaction that welled up within her. Logically, she shouldn't be enjoying this. She shouldn't feel pride in what she was able to do. Fire was dangerous. It burned and scorched and left everything dead. So many lives lost, so many families torn apart. And yet, Smellerbee wondered why she had never tried this before. Fire...it wasn't bad at all! It was bright and warm and cooked your food and was actually rather...pretty. The little flame she held, casting its light over her features, illuminating the rather bare apartment she still didn't think of as home...

It was like a heartbeat.

Smellerbee could feel it. It's steady pulse, the thrum of life. Wasn't fire just like any person? It needed to eat, it needed air, it could do great things if handled properly, but disastrous in the hands of the reckless. Just like any other human being. Just because there were bad people out there doesn't mean everyone was bad. Just like not all fire was evil. Like Lee. And Mushi. Two simple refugees, running from their past, just like so many others here in Ba Sing Se. How are they any different? So what if they had gold eyes instead of green, or threw fire instead of rocks. Because they aren't hurting anyone. They're just...living.

For so long, Smellerbee had hated the Fire Nation. Hated it with a passion fueled, ironically, by the fire deep within her. For years she followed Jet without remorse, taking and hindering and hurting the Fire Nation in any way possible. Like that town they tried to flood, did flood. Full of civilians. Just living their lives, like how Lee and Mushi lived theirs. At the time, she thought they deserved to die. They were Fire Nation. Of course they did.

But now...now Smellerbee wasn't sure what to believe. The Fire Nation was still bad. They still did horrible things and this war was destroying the world. But she simply couldn't believe that in an entire country, not one of them was a decent person. Life wasn't that black and white. If it was, then Smellerbee probably wouldn't be able to live with herself.

Smellerbee closed her palms, quenching the flame and throwing the room into shadows, the only light coming from the candle once more. She found herself wanting to talk to Mushi. Or even Lee. She had questions, so many questions, and absolutely no idea where to begin. It surprised her how much she was looking forward to her next session with the firebenders. Not just to talk to Mushi or Lee, but to learn more, to discover every secret her own mind had kept hidden from herself.

But, for now, the sun's glow was beginning to wane for the coming night. Longshot should be home any minute and Jet was still stalking Lee. Smellerbee would just have to wait, to hide her secret, to hide their secret. At least it was something to look forward to. It had been too long since Smellerbee felt this much anticipation for the new day.

Okay, so I said this would be up by December 28th, but then the FCP writing contest date got extended, so that's why I'm posting this today.

Anyway, so we've got Smellerbee's first lesson. Yes, Iroh purposely set it up so that Zuko would have to teach her. Sounds like something Iroh would do. But, they start simple. Zuko is at first a little lost on how to begin with Smellerbee, so he goes to the most basic part of firebending: the breathing. Also, when Aang learns under Jeong-Jeong, he made him breath all the time at first, so I think this is how all firebenders start. Ideally, Zuko would have Smellerbee do this in the sun, while in a horse stance, but that is just a bit too suspicious to do in Ba Sing Se, especially with Jet always on the lookout.

Smellerbee begins to question things here. She actually has been for a while, but this is the first major step she takes towards accepting who she is. In later chapters, I will go more into her past and her struggle with her firebending, as well as her intense hatred for the Fire Nation.

At the moment, Smellerbee knows that there's probably a very epic story behind the two tea makers that she also probably doesn't want to hear. If you think she's too accepting of two firebenders in Ba Sing Se, it's because she's decided to ignore, for the time being, whatever past 'Mushi and Lee' came from, and just accept that she has a chance at learning her bending. Again, you'll see just how desperate she's become in later chapters. Remember, she's basically gone thirteen years of suppressing her bending, which is never a good thing. That's why she feels such relief when she actually bends for the first time.

That's it for now. Until next time!