A/N: I don't own Avatar: The Legend of Aang.

The Third Lesson, Part One

Iroh paused before leaving the tree. "But where do I go?"

"Try climbing me," suggested the tree with a smile in its voice. Iroh, though puzzled, had begun to get accustomed to the odd (and often implausible) events that occurred at every turn in the Spirit World; he accepted this piece of advice with a simple nod.

"Thank you," he said, though those words sounded far too simple; how could he put into words the profound experience the tree had helped him through? Instead of trying to elaborate, Iroh briefly touched the tree's bark, closing his eyes for a second. It was as though he was proving his sincerity.

Then, Iroh looked up hopefully – and wanted to take back his thanks. How was he supposed to scale this tree? There were no footholds that he could see, just a mass of roots at the bottom, and then a trunk that shot straight up so high that just looking at it disappearing into the sky made him dizzy.

He gulped. "How?"

Instantly, he knew he'd get no response; the tree, now, was just as lifeless as the others surrounding it. Iroh had no idea where the tree's spirit was, but it had left him alone. He'd have to figure a way up by himself.

After a lot of scrambling and grunting, Iroh managed to get himself on top of the network of thick, snakelike roots that gathered around the foot of the tree, surrounding the little hollow where he had been a moment before.

Now for the hard part. Pressing his fingers into two small crevices he found in the bark, Iroh tried to lever himself up on finger strength alone, but after only a moment of trying, he saw the attempt for what it was: futile. Perhaps he should abandon the climb, and go about finding his son another way. Wouldn't that be easier?

But the tree had helped Iroh, even when he had not trusted it, and it would be ungrateful to disregard the last piece of advice he had been given.

No, he simply had to find another way up.

Easier said than done, of course.

Over the course of the next hour, Iroh tried every way he could think of of getting to the top of the tree; these attempts ranged from a complicated pulley system involving vines and branches from other trees, to simply asking the Spirit World to reveal a way to him. None of them worked. Iroh told himself to be patient; to take a step back; he jumped off the roots and stood a way away, and peered at it, trying very hard to imagine a way to climb the tree. He couldn't see one.

Next, he tried pressing his face so close to the bark that his eyes crossed. He wasn't sure what he was looking for – a lever, perhaps, that would reveal a ladder, or maybe instructions written into the whorls on the wood – but it seemed like as good an idea as any other he had tried so far.

The only thing he saw, though, was a tiny spider crawling across the bark. Watching its progress, Iroh shuffled backwards – his eyes were aching. He sighed as the spider crept purposefully around the tree. At least one of us knows where it's going, Iroh thought bitterly. Why couldn't finding Lu Ten be easy?

No. No. That was a horrible thought; he was a father, and like any father, he would move mountains for his child. It didn't matter how difficult it was, how much it hurt him or challenged him, the search for his dead son would be successful. It had to be.

The spider disappeared around the trunk, out of sight.

Wait a second.

Around the trunk.

Maybe the problem wasn't with how far Iroh was from the tree – maybe it was simply that he was looking at things from the wrong angle.

Tentatively, as though this was his last chance (and it might be), Iroh crept around the trunk as furtively as the spider had a moment before –

And nearly banged his head against a branch. A thick, accessible branch that looked as though it would hold the weight of several men his size. Looking up, Iroh realized that the other side of the tree was easily climbable; more branches of the same size and sturdiness protruded from the trunk at regular intervals. Amazed at how much help such a tiny insect could offer, Iroh scanned the bark for the spider, only to realize that it had disappeared.

Iroh began to ascend. It was easy and repetitive – he started to focus less on the climb, and more on his surroundings.

As he got further and further up the tree (forcing himself not to look down), Iroh noticed that the branches were warmer and rougher beneath his fingers. All around him there were leaves, green and bright, set on fire at the edges by bright sunlight. Flowers bloomed from branches in every shape and colour conceivable; their scent was intoxicating, even a little dizzying.

Iroh shook his head. At this height, the last thing he needed was to be dizzied. Dispelling all thought of flowers and leaves and sunlight from his mind, he gritted his teeth together and forced himself to focus less on the scenery and more on his mission.

Up and up and up. After Iroh had been climbing for an hour, he found himself losing strength. What was he expecting to find up here, anyway? A tree house, perhaps, like the one he had built for Lu Ten in his seventh summer? Iroh remembered that house; Lu Ten had even tried to knock in a few nails himself, nearly bawling the palace down when he'd hit his thumb instead. On the day when it had been officially 'opened', Lu Ten had insisted on an opening ceremony; his friends from firebending training had squeezed in, along with Iroh too, after much commotion.

They had had tea; jasmine tea, which was the only sort that Lu Ten ever liked, anyway. The house had been the source of much entertainment for summers on end.

Before Lu Ten had left for war for the first time, he had dismantled the tree house and – much to Iroh's surprise – burnt it. When Iroh asked Lu Ten what he was doing, his son didn't reply immediately. Lu Ten simply stood there, gazing into the flames, the firelight tingeing his skin with an eerie shade of orange. "There goes my childhood," he said, with a sad little smile on his face, as the smoke curled up into the air, lost against the dark night sky.

Suddenly, Iroh found himself coming to a place where the branches were thinner; they bent under his weight. He had reached the top of the canopy. Forced to stop by the increasing youth and weakness of the branches, Iroh sat himself on the thickest branch he could find, leaning back against the tree trunk.

"Hello?" he called, though he was mortally sick of the word by now. "Is there anybody here?"

Just then, wind rushed through the leaves, making them rustle against each other to give the rather sinister impression that they could talk to him. In fact, he was almost sure they were whispering his name. "Iroh," they murmured. "Iroh…"

"Who's there?" Iroh stood up on the branch, grabbing another for support; he braced himself against the wind, which was getting stronger now, colder, and shut his eyes against the sting of the freezing air. It howled all around him like an animal in pain, tearing at him from the inside out –

And then, just as rapidly as it had started, it stopped. There was complete silence. Slowly, carefully, Iroh opened one eye –

And almost fell off his branch. A woman was standing at the end of his branch, so light that the thinner wood did not even bend beneath her weight. In fact, when Iroh looked closer, she seemed to be made of nothing but light and air and freedom; he could see the pale green leaves of the canopy through her, slightly distorted by her shape.

"Sorry about the entrance," she said kindly, smiling apologetically. "I find it grabs people's attention better than just saying 'hello'. Quite sad, really." She took a step closer – Iroh pressed himself harder against the wood of the tree. "Don't be afraid," she said gently. "I don't want to hurt you, love…" She extended a slender, transparent hand towards Iroh. "What's your name?"

"Who are you?"

"Now, dear, please answer my question. It's quite important, you see; I don't like to talk to people when I don't know their names."

Iroh didn't reply. He was simply too shocked to say anything – this woman was far stranger than the talking tree had been. Somehow, although she was more humanoid, she lacked something in her eyes; this made her seem less of a person than the tree had sounded.

"Well, all right." She sighed, disappointed. "You don't have to tell me your name. Now, dear – would you like to come on a little journey with me?"

"A journey?" spluttered Iroh. "If I didn't want to tell you my name, why on earth would I go on a journey with you? I'm… I'm not even sure you exist."

The spirit-woman gazed at him with sad eyes. "Your son," she murmured. "I didn't want to bring it up, but I'm supposed to help you – by taking you somewhere."

Iroh looked into the strange woman's face; it was oddly blank, and he didn't like it, but it was kind, too – and he would do anything to find Lu Ten. "I'm not sure," he said again, slowly. "Where would you be taking me?"

"You'll see," smiled the woman. "All I need is for you to say yes."

Iroh paused for a moment, stumbling between yes and no. Surely there were other ways to find Lu Ten, without going on a 'journey' with a strange air-spirit? "Why?"

"I can't do anything without your permission, dear. Or, at least, I wouldn't want to – but please, come with me. I have some very important things to show you." Her hand was still extended towards him, and now Iroh took it uncertainly. It was surprisingly solid, the air pressing firmly against his skin.

"…Yes." Anything to find Lu Ten – anything at all.

The wind started up again, but it seemed warmer now, less of a threat. Instead of murmuring his name, the trembling leaves were making a different sound – one that was entirely incongruous with their surroundings. As the balmy air engulfed Iroh and the spirit-woman, he could swear he could hear the sound of a…

Then, in a rush of air and light and noise, Iroh and the spirit-woman disappeared, leaving a silent canopy, bright with sparkling sunlight.

What was that roaring sound? It sounded like the rumbling growl of a huge animal; Iroh wanted to look around, but his mind was still spinning. Where was he? He wasn't up the tree anymore – the ground beneath him felt more solid and rougher than wood, like rock. He blinked once, twice, to stop the world from blurring and tilting beneath his feet.

"We're at our first stop, dear," murmured the spirit-woman in his ear. "You might want to look around." Iroh did.

He was standing below a great mountain waterfall. Cold spray misted his face; moisture hung in the air like a solid thing. The rush of the water was roaring deafeningly; the sound filled the entire mountainside, ricocheting and rolling off grey rock like thunder. Water, the deep grey of a storm cloud, gushed down from a place so far above that Iroh was sure it must come from the clouds itself. Where sunlight struck the silky cascade, rainbows bounced off the water at sharp angles. It was a truly beautiful and awesome sight; Iroh, for a long time, was too mesmerized by the sheer power of the image to speak.

When he had regained some of his wits, he searched for the air-spirit, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you? I thought you were helping me find –" Iroh realized that, for a moment, he had forgotten about Lu Ten. He turned away from the majestic waterfall, guilt bitter in his mouth. "Where are you?"

"Isn't it wonderful?" the spirit called back, but he still couldn't see her; her soothing voice (which was, oddly, not drowned out by the sound of the waterfall, as though it belonged to a different dimension altogether), seemed to be coming from the thick, misty air itself. "The waterfall; isn't it brilliant?"

"Yes – very wonderful – but are you sure you were meant to be taking me here?"

"Oh, yes! Don't you agree that this is a truly magnificent sight?" Now the spirit's voice was closer, as though she were speaking in his ear.

"Listen, I'm trying to be patient, but –"

"Look at it, just look at it!" Her voice was further away again, now; she seemed to be rippling through the air, drinking in every bit of the scenery.

Iroh balled his fists and shouted as loudly as he could. "I don't need to see this waterfall! I need to find my son!"

All of a sudden, the air before him seemed to thicken and gather in on itself, like a blanket being bunched up, and there was the spirit-woman, with her sylphlike form and her soft eyes. "I know. I know you do, Iroh, but can't you see? I'm taking you one step closer!" She gestured up at the waterfall as though it held the single answer to all his problems. Iroh didn't look at it, afraid he wasn't going to be able to tear his eyes away again. Instead, he lowered his gaze, focussing on the grim grey rock beneath his feet, and imagining he could see his son's face.

"I don't understand."

The spirit floated closer. "Don't you?" Gently, she put a hand under his chin and stared directly into Iroh's eyes, giving him the uneasy impression that she could read all his thoughts. "Oh, but you used to, I can tell! Before you went off to war…"

Iroh jerked his chin away sharply. "How do you know about that? How can you know about that when you don't even know my name?" He took a step back, his breathing heavy and harsh. This was too strange…

"Shall we continue on our journey?"

"No! I –" Lu Ten. I have to find him. "Yes."

The wind, thick and humid this time, swallowed them up once again, and when Iroh, coughing and spluttering, disentangled himself from its clutches, he was lying on his back in a meadow, the spirit-woman nowhere to be seen.

He took a deep breath in, then out again. The air was crisp and clean; it stung the back of his throat. Stalks of long grass climbed up above him, striping his face with their shadows. He squinted up at the sky – the sunlight was bright and clear – and spotted a lone hawk, wheeling through the wide blue heavens.

Iroh groaned. His ears were ringing from the sudden silence after the waterfall, and his limbs felt like lead. Suddenly, his adventures all caught up with him – the monkey, the tree, the fact that he had travelled further than he'd ever gone before – and all he wanted to do was sleep. Just to slip into nothing and forget, and to gain strength while he was doing it…

He couldn't, though. It was one thing to be patient, another thing entirely to deliberately stop. Wearily, Iroh sat up – or, at least, he tried to. As soon as he started to move, however, a pair of invisible hands pressed down on his chest, gentle but firm, forcing him to lie back down. "Stay for a moment, dear," murmured the air-spirit in his ear, and suddenly she was there, lying next to him. The stalks of grass seemed to grow straight through her body.

"I can't," insisted Iroh. "I can't just stop. I need to find Lu Ten."

"But you're tired, sweetie. Rest a second." The spirit's mellifluous voice was terribly persuasive.

"No." Iroh knew that if he let himself relax for even a second, then those short moments would spin out into hours – days, perhaps. "No."

"Lie down, be quiet, and listen."

"But –" Iroh tried to stand up once again. To his distress, he found he couldn't move – the same mysterious force that had held him in place with the monkey now kept him lying here. Patience, Iroh reminded himself, thinking of jasmine tea. Then he thought of the people he had met in the tree; how he had been sure they wouldn't make a difference, but they did. I'll listen to what she has to say.

"Can you hear the hawk?"

Iroh listened. Now he tried, he could hear it; a far-off cry, lonely and harsh. "Yes." He turned to look at the spirit. "But I don't see what –"

"Don't you think," interrupted the spirit as though she had not heard, "it's the saddest sound you ever heard?"

"Listen –"

"Have you smelt the air?" the spirit inhaled deeply, shutting her eyes with relish; Iroh, reluctantly but without much of a choice, followed suit. The air smelt of flowers, strangely intoxicating. As the scent filled his chest, Iroh felt his mind clog up; most of his coherent thoughts blended together, so that it was hard to concentrate on anything, and his eyelids were unreasonably heavy…

"Right. It's lovely. Really wonderful… but…" Iroh couldn't help it; he yawned. Feeling treacherous, he continued. "I need to find… I need to…" Another yawn. "What I'm saying is… I mean…"

"Why don't you sleep now?" asked the spirit kindly. "Patience is important, yes, but so is stopping to enjoy the world."

And oh, Iroh wanted to sleep so very much. How wonderful it would be, to pretend he was back in his bed in the palace, with Lu Ten (in his dreams, a boy again) sleeping just down the corridor… "Lu Ten," he murmured, and as quickly as drowsiness had come upon him, it fell off again like a badly fitting robe. "I'm sorry, but I can't sleep."

The spirit nodded. "All right. I understand, dear. But don't you agree that this place is so peaceful? So calm?"

"It is," Iroh replied guardedly, "but I can't just lie here and appreciate it."

"Why not? You'll never be here again, will you? You'll only have this one chance to admire it, ever."

Iroh stopped, and thought about it. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Of course you do," replied the spirit calmly. "I just hope you make the right one. Enjoy the moment."

Iroh sighed. The sun was warm on his face and, although he wasn't hopelessly fatigued like he had been a moment before, he wouldn't mind a bit of peace. Just some peace, so that he could think about what he was going to do next – and enjoy the meadow – and maybe, to wonder just what exactly this spirit was supposed to be helping him with…

After an hour of sitting, Iroh was feeling much better. Calmer. Stronger. Ready to find Lu Ten. Steady determination shone through his eyes as he tried to sit up, and found that this time, he could. He called for the spirit. She materialized in a moment.

"Are you ready to continue?"

"Yes." Iroh paused. "And thank you. You're right; the meadow was beautiful. And peaceful. And… and I'm glad you made me stop."

The spirit-woman laughed airily. "I never made you! Now come along." Abruptly, the smile dropped from her features, replacing itself with an expression as solemn as a sage's. "Things are going to get harder, now," she warned him quietly.

Iroh gulped. "What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you, just like you couldn't tell me your name. It wouldn't be right." The spirit smiled. "But you're going to find out – and it isn't bad news! It's the most wonderful, the most amazing –"

"Can we carry on?"

"Of course." And in a rush of clear sunlight and cool air, Iroh was taken somewhere else.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what I'm doing wrong/could be doing better, especially about pacing etc, which is hard. It was difficult to get Iroh to have the proper reactions to what was happening, while balancing it out with the fact that he's got more used to the weird things that happen, and also trying to keep the pace up to stop boring the readers. The description was fun!

Sorry about the length of time between updates. Part Two of the Third Lesson will be up sooner, and is probably more interesting/relevant than the first part ;)

Have a nice day!