Aang sat still and calm, his hands resting lightly in the center of his folded lap. He had awakened before the sun rose, feeling restless and on edge, as though the blood in his veins simmered with latent fire. Iroh had said to expect this each morning as he embraced and became more comfortable with his fire bending abilities, and had told him that meditation would help him harness and focus that energy throughout the day.

But apparently, this connection that fire benders felt to the sun was something he'd eventually be able to ignore, for Iroh and Zuko were both sound asleep when he got up. He had decided to leave it that way, and now he sat alone in the clearing, taking in the coming dawn with each breath.

Eyes closed against the brilliant array of purple and gold sweeping across the sky, the Avatar remembered a time that, to him, was not so long ago.

"Aren't you done yet?" Aang asked his friend impatiently.

"No," the slightly older boy answered calmly without opening his eyes.

The two sat in a lush garden lit by the pale orange glow of daybreak. Aang was quite visibly bored, his chin resting on one hand in a slumped posture that was the complete opposite of his companion's dignified meditative pose.

"Well how much longer do you have to do this?" persisted the air bender.

"Until the bell chimes," was the serene reply. Again, his eyes remained steadfastly closed.

Aang looked over at the small mechanical device, whirring and clicking nearby, and a devious grin lit up his face. Checking to make sure his friend was still intent on his meditation, Aang innocently flung a small stone through the air on a gust of wind, forcing a sharp clang from the metal bell.

"Time's up!" he stated brightly, breezing to his feet. This time, the other boy opened his eyes, and he shot Aang a knowing look.

"That doesn't count," he smirked.

"Oh, come on, Kuzon!" the air bender whined irritably, "You've been at this all morning! Gyatso says we may be leaving today, and I don't want to spend the rest of my time sitting here watching you breathe."

"Fire bending comes from the breath and-"

"And it requires focus and concentration, blah blah blah," Aang interrupted.

"Hey, just because you've already mastered your element, doesn't mean the rest of us have it so easy," Kuzon retorted good-naturedly, before letting out a small sigh. "I still can't believe you already got your tattoos, and here I'm still learning my basics," he added glumly.

"Don't worry, Kuzon," Aang said with sudden compassion, "some day, you'll be one of the best fire benders around."

"You think so?"

"Of course!" he replied happily, then smiled mischievously, "but not without a proper breakfast."

At this, the faces of both boys broke into impish grins.

A short while later, they were literally flying out of the kitchen, the furious cook hurling pans and utensils after them as they made their escape on Aang's glider with a basket of freshly baked fruit dumplings for their prize.

"And stay out of my kitchen!" the woman shrieked.

Laughing as they sailed over the courtyard, the two boys landed behind a copse of shrubbery to enjoy the ill-gotten snack. But no sooner had they started shoving the gooey pastries into their mouths, a pair of hands descended upon them from behind, eliciting a terrified yelp from both boys.

"Ah, there you are!" said the old man gently as two startled and guilty looking faces stared up at him.

"Monk Gyatso," Kuzon sighed in relief, "how'd you know we were here?"

"I followed my nose," he replied amusedly, deftly taking a dumpling from the basket and biting into it.

Aang and Kuzon grinned as they went for seconds, and Gyatso sat down with them to enjoy his pastry. Once they were finished eating, the two boys leaned back on their hands with a satisfied sigh and Gyatso brushed the crumbs from his robes as he stood up.

"Come, Aang," he smiled, "it's time for us to be leaving now."

"So soon?" complained the young fire bender, as he and Aang also got to their feet.

"I'm afraid so," replied the old monk kindly, "we only came for the Solstice Festival."

"But you'll be back for my birthday, right?" Kuzon turned and asked his friend optimistically.

"You bet!" answered the air bender with a huge grin. Kuzon laid a hand companionably on Aang's shoulder.

"Then I'll see you in the fall," he stated in lieu of a farewell.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

As the small fleet of bison took to the sky, Aang leaned out over the back of saddle, waving to his friend as he disappeared from sight, secure in his promise to return in four months for Kuzon's fifteenth birthday.

But a few days after arriving at the Southern Air Temple, the monks informed Aang he was the Avatar. And less than two weeks later, he ran away, to be caught in a storm and then frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years.

He never saw Kuzon again.

A rustling in the clearing shook Aang from his thoughts, and he opened his eyes only enough to determine who was there. He was surprised to note that the sky had lightened considerably and absently he wondered how long he'd been meditating as Zuko sat down beside him. Neither of them said anything for several long moments, and Aang nearly jumped when the prince's soft voice broke the silence.

"There's still time to get some fire bending practice in before the others wake up."

The Avatar stared at Zuko in shock. Ever since they'd left Omashu, his two teachers had insisted on meditation exercises only, forbidding him to do any real bending due to his lack of control over the element.

"Really?" gaped Aang. "You're going to let me do fire bending today?"

"Down by the stream," Zuko clarified firmly, and then with a wry grin added, "…just in case."

Iroh stood on the shallow ridge overlooking the stream and watched the scene below him. He smiled as Zuko demonstrated a correction to the kata Aang was learning, and instructed the boy to try it again, going through the exercise with him to reinforce the lesson. It amazed Iroh how much patience the prince displayed as a teacher considering how little he'd had when he was learning that same set.

With a satisfied nod, the old fire bender left the two boys to their practice and went back to the camp to have some tea. Toph was just beginning to stir, so Iroh grabbed her cup from the pile, knowing she'd want some as well.

"Mmm, nothing like waking up to the smell of tea," she remarked contentedly.

"I'm just glad to have someone else around who enjoys it as much as I do," he replied happily, handing the cup to her as she sat down beside him. "Zuko doesn't have much taste for it. He's even worse than Lu Ten was," he said with a musing chuckle.

Toph smiled with him, but then her face became serious as she took a sip of her tea.

"What was he like?" she asked with soft timidity.

"Who?"

"Lu Ten."

A long, grave silence followed as Iroh reflected on the question. Toph was beginning to regret asking when he finally answered.

"He was everything a prince of the Fire Nation was expected to be," he replied sorrowfully. "Born and bred to the craft of war; a talented bender, and a brilliant military tactician. He was just like me...the way I used to be.

"I was not always the man you know," he continued somberly, "Lu Ten and I conquered countless towns in the name of the Fire Nation before setting our sights on Ba Sing Se. We were an unstoppable team. It never occurred to either of us that what we were doing was wrong. I only learned that lesson after I lost him."

"I'm sorry," Toph apologized quietly, "I shouldn't have asked."

"No," answered Iroh with calm conviction. "It is only right that I tell you these things, even if it changes your opinion of me," he added remorsefully.

"It doesn't," she replied matter-of-factly. "If anything, it just makes me appreciate who you are now…even more than I did already."

"That makes two of us," Sokka chimed in candidly from the other side of the fire where'd he'd been listening.

"Three," added Katara compassionately.

Iroh blinked in surprise as he looked around at the trio. Each of them was smiling at him with reassuring acceptance, and he couldn't help but respond in kind. And when Momo flew over and landed on his shoulder with a purr, while Appa added a low, rumbling vote of his own, Iroh chuckled.

"I guess that's five then."

The others only laughed.

Aang stepped quickly through the series of moves, the bursts of flame coming from his fists carefully controlled and accurate. Watching from nearby, Zuko nodded approvingly.

"Much better."

The Avatar let out a short breath of relief and fatigue as he dropped from his stance and settled his chi. While executed perfectly, the concentration he'd been forced to maintain during the set had worn him out.

"And to think I used to give Kuzon a hard time about learning this stuff," he groaned tiredly, collapsing into a sitting position.

Deciding they could both use a break, Zuko walked over and sat down next to Aang, whose gaze was now distant with memories.

"Kuzon," murmured the prince thoughtfully, the name sounding familiar. Then he remembered, "Your friend from the Fire Nation?"

"Yeah," Aang answered with a soft nod.

From what the prince remembered of the brief exchange, Kuzon lived a hundred years ago, and Zuko found himself wondering just how different things might have been back then. At last, curiosity got the better of him, and he cast an inquisitive glance in the other boy's direction.

"What was he like?"

"In a strange way, you remind me of him," answered Aang thoughtfully. Seeing Zuko's puzzled expression, Aang continued.

"He was a couple of years older than me, very serious about his fire bending," he said with a meaningful grin at Zuko, before continuing with a far-off smile, "and when we got into trouble he was always the one to step forward and take the blame," he turned to the prince with an expression almost of wonder, "even when it wasn't his fault." Looking back out at the stream, he added softly, "His honor was so important to him."

Zuko frowned at the comparison, unable to shake the thought that it was his desire to regain his honor that led him to hunt down a child, this same boy who sat beside him, across the entire world. Catching the haunted look on the prince's face, Aang cocked his head to one side with concern.

"What?"

The scowl deepened for a moment before Zuko turned to regard Aang thoughtfully, his expression unreadable. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the uncomfortable thoughts.

"It's nothing," he said, looking away.

Even though Aang knew better than to believe that, he decided not to press the issue, and was almost glad for the interruption of a pair of footfalls behind them.

"Why does it not surprise me that you're sitting around shooting the breeze," Toph remarked dryly. "On your feet, Twinkle Toes, before Zuko lets you go soft."

The two boys couldn't help but grin at each other as they got to their feet and Zuko started heading back to camp.

"Not going to stay and watch?" the girl asked lightly. Zuko turned and shot a small smirk over his shoulder.

"I think I'm a little old to be playing in the dirt," he teased.

Toph's only response was to blow a raspberry at his retreating back before launching her sparring attack on Aang.

From the camp, the group could hear the earth-bending match going on at the nearby stream while breakfast was being prepared. Finishing up the meal, Katara looked over in that direction.

"So who wants to break those two up and tell them to come eat?" she asked, just as the all the rumbling stopped.

"Sounds like they may be done actually," Sokka answered.

"Good timing," replied his sister as she started spooning rice into the bowls.

But a shout from the creek caused everyone to pause for a moment, glancing at one another with puzzled expressions before looking toward the source of the noise. No sooner had they turned their attention that way, Aang came stumbling into the camp with one of Toph's arms draped over his shoulders, her feet dragging limply along the ground.

"What happened?!" asked Zuko, springing to his feet and hurrying over to help.

"I don't know," answered Aang as the prince took Toph's other arm and helped carry her over to Appa's side where they laid her down.

"Did you accidentally hit her with a rock or something?" inquired Sokka with concern as he came over to stand next to them.

Katara pushed past her brother and knelt down next to the unconscious earth bender, pulling out a stream of water from her pouch as she did so.

"I don't know what happened," Aang insisted with a tone of worry and panic, "she told me stop for a second, and then she just…collapsed."

With water-encased hands glowing over Toph, Katara frowned in confusion as the others hovered anxiously behind her. Drawing the liquid back into her pouch, she got to her feet and shook her head.

"I can't tell what's wrong," she said fretfully, "if I didn't know better I'd say her chi is blocked, but I can't find out what's causing it."

The group was so focused on their friend, that none of them heard the footsteps entering the camp until the person who walked in spoke.

"Did I find you all at a bad time?"

They spun around quickly, already dropping into attack stances as they formed a protective barrier around Toph. But time slowed to a standstill as they all stared in shock at the intruder. For several long heartbeats, no one moved or said a word. Then Katara gasped.

"Jet!"

commercial break

Author's note: I just to thank everyone once again for all your encouragement and support, and to apologize for putting you guys through the rigors of my self-doubt. I really don't deserve such dedicated fans, but I'm definitely not complaining!

OH! And please be sure to go back and re-read chapter 2...it has some minor changes from the original...