A/N: hello my lovliess! its been forever since i have updated anything ^^; but any who-ha I really tried hard to get into the character of Zuko in this chapter, it was a hard chapter to write because of it but i hope i did ok and that you all enjoy!

The next morning seemed to come quicker than most, the sun already fully in the sky by the time Zuko lazily stretched out and unwillingly opened his eyes.

Sitting fully upright he noticed something was different, the camp was quite. Looking around he found that he indeed was the only one there, both Amaya and his uncle's sleeping mats already rolled up neatly by the rest of their traveling gear. Quirking an eyebrow he stood and tried to stretch the sore-ness of the hard ground from his muscles, golden eyes glancing around the camp for any sign of the others.

When he found none he mentally shrugged and headed toward the river 'maybe their down there' he thought to himself, hopeful that they were and that he wouldn't have to spend his day out looking for them.

As he approached the river a glint of white caught his eye 'one down one to go' he noted mentally. Stepping forward he noticed she was sitting at the river's edge in almost the same shallow spot they were last night. "

You're up early" he stated as he approached her.

Turning over her shoulder to glance back at him the girl smiled lightly "Good morning Zuko, and yea. I didn't sleep long last night after the healing wore off so when Iroh got up this morning he gave me a ride down here before he left. You were sleeping heavily and he didn't want to wake you"

Dipping his hands into the cool water to wash them he was surprised at himself that he didn't realize the ostrich-horse was missing as well "So where did uncle go?"

Amaya shrugged at him and nodded in the direction a few tracks could be seen in the dirt "I think he said he was going to get stuff for tea or something?"

Zuko gave her both a questioning, annoyed and worried look to which she just laughed lightly and waved her hand at him "Don't worry I told him no more strange plants" Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncles odd obsession with the heated beverage and continued to wash his face off with the cool morning water.

As he dried off he turned to face the spirit intending on asking her when his uncle said he would be back, his question lost in his mouth when he focused on what she was doing.

She was waving her fingers in a fluttering motion as her hands circled up and down her lower injured leg several times.

Cocking his head slightly he asked "What are you doing anyway?"

The girl didn't bother to look up from her strange work to answer him "healing"

Now he was confused.

She continued her strange motions for a few more minutes before making an arch with her palm and fingers, as she pulled her hand up a strange pink-ish liquid proceeded to follow her fingers from the wound. Zuko swallowed hard in an attempt not to gag as she flicked her wrist and the pink-end water fell suddenly lifelessly into a bush.

Waving her hands over the river she called another stream of water to her lighting it up in a healing glow and lowered it to her leg, Zuko watched intently as the inner side of her wrist pushed down and her fingers curled into a light fist. The water on her skin now being absorbed into the wound itself and her fluttering motions returned.

Scrunching his nose a little he didn't take his eyes off her injured leg as he spoke "Doesn't that feel…weird?"

The little spirit still didn't look up obviously content on her work but nodded once as her shoulders gave a light shrug "Yea, it's different. But I am hoping that it will help it not to sca-"

Catching herself at her last word she quickly shut her mouth and looked up at him remorsefully.

Zuko saw the look on her face and hastily turned his gaze to the flowing river "not to scar." he finished for her.

Amaya lowered her eyes and bit her bottom lip guiltily as she nodded and went back to her fluttering motions. Both were mute for several moments before Zuko's dry voice broke the silence, slightly startling her out of her quite trance as she registered his words "So how does it work?...what you're doing that is.."

She could hear his voice trail off at the end, she wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment of asking or an impulse of curiosity.

Looking up she pulled the now colored water from her leg, discarded it and brought a new string of water to her gently playing with it between her fingers as she started "Most water benders who know how to heal can do so very well with the basic techniques, however there is another technique that the more advanced masters know. Unfortunately I don't think this technique has been used in so long that it is nearly unheard of in this world by now" Amaya turned her body to face him, placing her leg in front of him in clear view for him to see. Flicking her blue eyes to him and back to her leg she continued "Most healers only heal from the outside, what this technique allows me to do is to use the open wound to start healing from the inside. That's the funny thing about scars, technically because they never fully heal some are kinda like masses of open wound"

Making the soft fist once more she soaked the water into the wound on her leg "It allows me to go to the deepest crevasses of the wound and begin the healing there. The tricky thing about scars is the fact that they don't heal, and they won't heal if you try to treat them from the outside in. You have to work from inside out. Healing the damaged tissue inside even just a little can have a huge effect of the outside-"

Looking up toward him Amaya once more quickly shut her rambling mouth.

He was now faced toward the river glaring intently as if staring down an invisible enemy. Amaya's shoulders dropped as she mentally groaned and resisted the urge to kick her own ass 'why did you have to go on explaining the anatomy of the scarring, he obviously knows what you're talking about without you so rudely reminding him. Idiot.'

Wincing at her own inner voice's scolding she shook her head lightly attempting to silence it and tried to make a mental note to work on her habit of not thinking before rambling.

Dropping the water into the grass Amaya turned to face the river as well, lightly padding her toes in the shores of the water before them. He was giving off a weird vibe making the air around them stiff and completely uncomfortable as his unmoving stare across the water continued, Amaya was aware that he could change the atmosphere within mili-seconds of the wrong words being spoken but usually it was more of an angry ambiance.

This awkward vibe was completely unnerving and for once she just wished he would yell at her or storm off like his usual self normally would, at least then she would have an idea at what was going on in his head. Pulling one knee to her chest she spoke in broken confidence "Zuko, I didn't mea-"

"Don't! just don't" came his harsh reply effectively cutting her off.

Amaya flinched at his words and resisted the urge to back away, instead keeping her ground. Backing away would only further piss him off at this point so she settled for resting her chin dumbly on her knee, icy eyes flickering from him to the water from time to time.

"What's done is done, there's nothing that can change the past" he stated as she wondered if he consciously knew he had brought his finger tips to the scar on his left side.

Amaya cleared her throat lightly and tried to push the remorse from her voice, keeping it as mutual as she could manage "Maybe nothing can change the past, but the future can still be altered"

This caught his attention "What?"

Pulling all her confidence she could muster at the moment she clapped her hands loudly together making the prince flinch slightly "That's it, I'll do it"

Zuko's face twisted in confusion "Do what?" he asked eyeing her suspiciously.

Amaya carefully stood up, wobbling a bit at first, and proceeded to take her long sleeved outer shirt off leaving her in her shorter undershirt and breast bindings. Tossing it to the side she rolled her skirt up and tied one end of it into a ball at her thigh "I'll try my technique on your scar Zuko"

To this his face turned into a downward hard scowl "It's too old and too damaged to be helped, even with your new trick" he stated bitterly.

Amaya waded ankle deep into the river before him. Bending down to eye level with him, her long hair falling gracefully over one shoulder as her blue eyes bore into his golden ones "You don't know that, and it's worth a try"

Turning away Amaya wadded a bit deeper into the water pulling her hair up into a make-shift bun as she made his mind up for him

"Come on Zuko, get up"

Zuko groaned at the female species ability to see behind their heads, but she had a point and it might be worth a shot. Taking a closer look at her leg as she limped into the water he had to admit it looked much better than it should have, as if it might be able to be rid of completely. To be rid of this hateful mark, that would be the day.

Standing up he too stripped off his long outer shirt and wadded into the water after her, not bothering to roll up the leggings of his pants in the process. The water was cool and reached up just to his knees

"Do we really have to be in the middle of the cold river for this?" he asked her trying to hide a shiver by crossing his arms over his chest. Amaya rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to do the same with her arms "Water bending, including healing, works best IN the water Zuko"

He just huffed as she smirked victoriously, letting her fingertips touch the surface of the running water. "Ok so just relax" she breathed as she attempted to feel the energy of her element around her.

Zuko rolled his gold eyes but proceeded to breathe as if meditating on his ship, eyes lidded halfway. Amaya smiled when she saw his muscles relax slightly, knowing that the coolness of the water would help to calm his usually heated attitude. Calling a strand of water to her with her finger tips she closed her eyes momentarily as the water lit up in a healing glow, gently raising her hand toward his face something began to change. Every inch closer her hand got to his wounded side his muscles tensed increasingly until finally he growled and violently pulled away, stepping backward and out of her reach by a few feet.

Dropping the water back into the river Amaya quirked an eyebrow angrily "What was that?!" she demanded placing a hand firmly on one of her hips.

Zuko didn't speak and willed himself to calm down as he stared down both frustrated and angrily toward the running water between them.

Seeing this Amaya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose "Ok, so maybe we need to come at this a bit differently" Zuko quirked an eyebrow as she began to move upstream slowly closing the distance between them. Amaya tapped her finger delicately against her chin as she slowly sauntered toward him, carefully considering how to best plan this out.

She knew that he was sensitive about the mark on his face, and in the few weeks that she had known him she had never seen anyone even come close to touching his face. In fact now that she thought of it she hadn't seen even him touch his own scar until a few minutes ago.

Stepping closer to him he automatically took another step away from her to which she sighed and ceased her travel forward "We don't have to do this Zuko, if It's too uncomfortable for you.." she lightly trailed off as he clenched his fists together and cursed at himself, looking up at the young spirit he hardened his golden gaze "It's worth a try" he stated.

Amaya only blinked at him unsure of if he was talking to her or as if he was trying to convince himself.

His glare didn't soften as he unclenched his fists "Well?" There was a challenge in his eyes as well as in that one word he spoke. Stepping upstream to him once more she called the water to her and nodded. He stood perfectly still as she approached, as she called the water and even when she stood just in front of him only when her hand raised did he feel his muscles contract and once more he was swiftly pulling away from her.

Amaya's shoulders dropped as she let go of the stream of water she previously summoned "Maybe this isn't such as good idea after-"

"No! Just do it!" he demanded staring down at the water in front of him, as if scolding his reflection for moving away.

Amaya crossed her pale arms as her mouth quirked into a small frown "Ok ok, but you move one more time and I am freezing your feet to the river bed" Zuko just rolled his eyes at her as she blushed lightly when she realized that he could just heat his body and be free and away from her even if she did that.

The girl shook her head and wasted no time in closing the newly put distance of water between them and before he knew it she was once more standing in front of him. He resisted the instinct to back up again when he realized how close she had gotten this time, instead of a good foot or two in-between them now only resided a few inches at best.

This was definitely an awkward feeling; he hadn't been this close to any living being in a long time especially a girl.

His muscles tensed and it felt as if someone had dropped a heavy weight into his gut, he never was one for close contact with other people, he wasn't a people person by far. He wasn't good with emotions or chit chat, simple things that made relationships between normal human beings. He inwardly scowled at himself for that thought, he was not normal he was the banished prince of the fire nation; one to be feared and distanced from.

Yet he was now standing close enough to the little spirit girl to hear every gentle intake and out take of breath she took, a definite uneasiness settling over him at this realization. He never wanted to run away from any foe or enemy as much as he wanted to run from this river right now.

Swallowing hard he stood his ground and waited for her to speak. Amaya blinked up at him through a few strands of loose hair waiting for his instant reaction to step backwards, she could feel that he wanted to but was surprised when he didn't. Zuko tried to distract himself from his own unease and dryly spoke "So now what?"

Amaya jumped a little as if surprised he was still there "Well I have an idea" tracing her fingertips across the surface of the river she covered her fingertips in a light coat of water and glanced back up at him "but I am not sure if you're going to like it"

He didn't reply back to her, keeping his mouth in a straight line he only nodded once, giving her permission to try her idea. Amaya took a deep breath and raised her hand toward him, this time not toward his face but came to rest on his exposed left shoulder. As her fingertips touched his heated pale skin he felt himself tense once more as if he was a frightened animal backed into a corner by its predators. Her voice was soft as she spoke "You need to relax Zuko, I am not going to hurt you"

He instantly closed his eyes tight and swallowed hard, those last words playing in his mind over and over I am not going to hurt you. As he mulled the words over he remembered the people who had spoken similar words to him in the past. His crew, I am not going to hurt you. His sister, I am not going to hurt you. His father, I am not going to hurt you. The people he should have been able to trust with their words all fell flat against the ground in time, betraying, mocking and banishing him in the end. He couldn't trust any of those people. But as he compared her voice to those of the past he found that there was no similarity in-between the two, her words had no taunting smirk behind them, no underlying trap, for they had no inner goal to be won.

As he took a breath and opened his eyes he could still feel the weight of her hand on his shoulder, glancing down at her he was met with a strong blue gaze that caught him off guard. Her wide eyes were open there was no wall, there was no read between the lines look to these eyes; they were only gentle and concerned. The look she gave was a foreign look that he wasn't used to receiving from outsiders and yet it sort of reminded him of his uncle.

He sighed heavily willing himself to forget his psychological battle and nodded his head giving her the signal to continue.

Her eyes fell to the place where her fingertips met his skin. Delicately moving her fingers across his shoulder alternating between the brush of her finger pads and the brush of the water on his skin, she could feel the confusion radiating off him. She didn't look up at him as she explained "In order for this to work I need you not to back away from me, I need to be able to touch your face and since going straight at it obviously isn't working maybe we should work our way up to it"

Her blue eyes flicked up to his face for half a second before going back to concentrating on the motions of her fingers controlling the water and moving them inward toward his collar bone.

He tensed a little at the movement and he could tell she felt it too, however after her dancing fingers lingered in the spot for a while he found himself slowly relaxing, to which he saw the corners of her mouth tilt up slightly. Slowly she worked her way from his collarbone and up his neck, her fingertips resting on his cheek just below the scar.

Amaya bit her lower lip as she felt his muscles tighten and his jaw clench when she raised her fingers centimeters higher, only a few breaths between the skin of her pale fingers and the mark of the banished prince. After what seemed like several anxious hours her fingertips finally met with the warm marred skin on his cheek. The little spirit quickly glanced him over, ready to pull her hand away if necessary. Blinking a few times she was surprised to find that he stood still, his eyes were shut a bit tighter than normal, his jaw was locked and his hands were balled into tight fists at his sides.

He was clearly uncomfortable but he stayed still.

Breathing a sigh of relief she rested her full palm against his scar and he immediately flinched at the sudden amount of contact, but determination kept him in place and he did not move. Amaya decided to stay still, her hand still lingering on his left side, to let him get a bit more comfortable.

The damaged skin of his scar was warm, much warmer than his shoulder and neck. It had many deep grooves that each seemed to hold a well of pain and memories as they stretched along the length of the boy's face from the edge of his eye back across his ear and to his short buzz cut hair. Her little mouth pulled into a frown; this was a lot of damage. She was brought back to reality by the slightest bit of pressure leaning on her palm and fingers.

Zuko breathed deeply, this much contact with another living being was almost more than he could take. He tried to use his meditating techniques to calm himself enough so that he wouldn't put her or himself in any danger.

As the seconds ticked by like hours he tried concentrating on the calming sounds of the river below them, it was soothing, rhythmic and gentle.

Allowing himself to relax he noticed through concentrating on the cooling river that there was a slight cooling sensation on the left side of his face. An image of a powerful water source running over burning coals chilling them as the inner fire in them was simmered down and under control came to mind.

Eyes opening slightly he found that Amaya's tiny water soaked hand still resided on his cheek and he snapped himself back into the present as he straightened his head back a few centimeters where it should be. Amaya smiled lightly to herself, he might have pulled away but the motion of leaning his head into her hand gave her the hope that he at least wanted to trust her.

He kept his gaze low as she closed her eyes and lit the water in a healing glow, taking a deep breath she curled her fingers into a light fist on his face. The water immediately obeyed her command and suddenly an awkward feeling of chilling intrusion invaded Zuko's senses. He could feel the water start to soak into his skin, it was a weird feeling he had to admit. It was if his skin all of the sudden became like a cloth as the cooling sensation went deeper into the injury, part of him wanted to pull away from the awkward feeling the other half of him demanding he stay and enjoy the cooling sensation for as long as he could.

Amaya could feeling the water starting to soak in, smiling inwardly as she noticed his features relax as his breathing became more stably calm.

Bending her wrist inward she tried to get the water to move deeper into the wound, her eyebrows pinching together when she found what she could best describe to be as a barrier of some sort. Closing her eyes she tried to focus harder on pushing the water down through to the deepest crevasses his scar, but to no avail. Tightening her fist she willed the water to do her bidding only to find that the barrier held strong against her power.

Tightening her fist further her breath began to become labored as she tried pushing all her energy into the wound, calling upon the energies of the water rushing around them she tried hard but she could not get the healing water to move any deeper into his skin. Opening her eyes she focused on the oddly powerful wound, watching as Zuko's face suddenly tensed and she was suddenly abruptly thrown backwards. It felt as if the barrier she was pushing against fought back and pushed her out with immense force.

A shock gravitated in her fingertips as they left the marred skin and she swiftly fell backwards landing in the shallows of the river. She could feel a coolness rushing over her face before her lungs burned for the need of air and she quickly sat upright lifting her upper torso from the confines of the running river. As she sputtered and wiped her now loose and wet hair that was sticking to her face away she heard Zuko wade towards her. "What happened?" he asked as if he was just approaching the scene.

Amaya coughed and looked up at him through masses of wet tangled hair and river plants hanging in her eyes. "What happened is you shocked me" she stated curtly.

Zuko stopped in front of her, his eyebrows pinched together.

As her words sunk in he looked her sputtering form over, she was soaking wet and covered in mud and river debris. He couldn't help a small smile as he considered this view, a spirit with the uttermost pose and supposed grace was now sitting on the floor of the riverbed covered in its debris as if she were a mortal doll thrown into the river. There was no grace or power that a spirit was supposed to entail here, here she seemed helpless and ridiculous covered in her own elements power.

She watched as a smile played across his lips and a small chuckle escaped his throat. Amaya cocked her head slightly at the situation, this smile was not the usual devious smirk or scowl he bore but instead a genuine smile and laugh of a teenaged boy. It was a good look on him and even a small genuine chuckle was better than shouting any day. Shaking her head she narrowed her eyes at him when he stopped his short moment of exposure and pressed his mouth into a hard line offering her his hand.

"So what do you mean I shocked you?" he asked genuinely interested.

Rolling her eyes she grabbed his hand holding tight as he pulled her up "Pretty much just what I said, it felt as if I was shocked by doorknob…or rather quite a few doorknobs at one time" she stated rubbing the pads of her fingers.

Zuko's face pinched in utter confusion "I…shocked you? How could that…?" he trailed off as she shrugged her shoulders and pushed a lock of wet white hair behind her ear "Well long story short I am guessing that that scar of yours isn't just a physical wound. It's deeply rooted to your inner self, your emotions, your chi, your body, everything!" she explained as she picked a few slimy pieces of plant out of her hair and continued "And whatever that wall you have built up inside yourself is had made it very clear that I wasn't welcome"

Zuko swallowed uncomfortably as she leaned over to wring out the water from her hair, not bothering to bend it out as they stood there in silence once more.

Zuko was staring down at the running water for what felt like hours before they heard a soft cawing whinny and scratching footsteps. Looking up Amaya spotted Iroh and the ostrich-horse coming out of the trees, picking up her sopping wet skirt she started to wade/limp out of the water and onto the shore waving at the older fire bender and animal as they approached each other.

Zuko stayed in the water a moment longer, watching her make her way toward the shore. Even from the back of her head he could tell she was smiling.

she was always smiling.

Starting toward the shore he watched as the beast carrying his uncle nudged at her with its head and she petted him gently between the ears as she talked with Iroh.

Gentle.

She was always gentle as well, she could be pushy at times but she was never demanding like his sister or some of her friends he had the displeasure of meeting. By the time his feet touched the sands of the shore the spirit and his uncle were already halfway up the hill, probably talking about the tea Iroh had obtained. Zuko rolled his eyes at the thought. Making his way toward the base of the hill he turned his back on it facing the river once more.

Staring at the spot where he and Amaya previously stood in the water, closing his eyes he recalled the feeling of the gentle coolness on his skin and took a deep breath in. Exhaling he opened his eyes and fixated on that spot once more, maybe a bit of gentleness and smiling accompanying his life wouldn't be such a bad idea.

As his ears caught the sound of the running river his mind recalled her words 'I am not going to hurt you' they seemed to whisper along with the sound of the running water.

Shaking his head he pressed his lips into a hard line as he scowled out at the river 'yea we will see about that' he thought bitterly to himself as he swiftly turned on his heel and made his way stubbornly up the hill.