Zuko and Aang stood on the balcony of an upside down pagoda in the temple. I sat, watching.
"I know you're nervous, but remember, firebending in it of itself is not something to fear."
"Okay. Not something to fear." Aang repeated.
"But if you don't respect it," He raised his voice, "it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino!"
"Gah!" Aang yelped.
"Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make." Zuko said. Aang inhaled nervously and tried to firebend. A small cloud of smoke appeared, and is dissipated, from his palm.
"Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration?"
"Good idea. You might wanna take a couple steps back." Zuko said. Aang walked back. I watched Zuko's face as he inhaled deeply. Zuko grunted, and his fist let out a very small flame. Aang applauded at this display.
"What was that? That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!"
"I thought it was... nice." Aang said with a slight smile and a shrug. Zuko grunted again and tried firebending again, with all three attempts resulting in very small flame similar to the first. He grunted and looked at his palms.
"Why is this happening?" Zuko said, frustrated.
"Maybe it's the altitude?" Aang said.
"Maybe."
We moved to couple of pagodas, where Aang and I sat on broken pillars and Zuko was standing. Zuko attempted firebending, which resulted in a similar small flame again. He grunted and delivered another similar blast, as Aang yawned and laid down on his pillar.
"Just breathe, and..." Zuko delivered another blast with no improvement. Aang sat up.
"That one kind of felt hot."
"Don't patronize me! You know what it's supposed to look like!"
"Sorry, Sifu Hotman." Aang said. Zuko raised his arms to his head, and threw them down back, and shouted in frustration, causing Aang to cringe.
"And stop calling me that!" Sokka walked toward the teacher and his pupil, eating an apple. Sokka then sat down near the two, as they turned their heads toward him.
"Hey, jerks! Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerkbending?" Sokka asked. I rolled my eyes.
"Get out of here!" Zuko said.
"Okay, take it easy." He dropped his half-eaten apple. "I was just kiddin' around."
"Yeah, well, you suck." I muttered. He got up and turned around, laughing as he adjusted his shirt.
"Jerkbending, still got it." Zuko dropped his head, dejected, and moaned.
"Zuko, you need to relax, okay? Stressing yourself out about this isn't going to help." I said, getting up and moving to sit next to him.
"I know, but... I don't get it!" He said. I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"How about you two take a break?" I suggested. "Aang, work on your earthbending. I want to hear those rocks slamming from here."
"Yeah, yeah."
"What was that?" I said, smirking. He grinned.
"Yes, sifu shirshu." He ran off and I chuckled.
"I see you two have bonded." Zuko said. I gave him a look, knowing the tone in his voice.
"Hey, I'm not going to pull and Ember Island on you, capishe? I'm not interested in anyone here."
"Not anyone?" Zuko said. I pursed my lips.
"Don't push your luck, Pouty. I'm still mad at you."
"What, should I grovel at your feet?"
"Sure." I said, crossing my ankles with a smirk. "Grovel. I'm sure I'll fully forgive you soon enough."
"Come on." Zuko said, leaning towards me. I grinned, and placed a hand over his mouth.
"I'm mad at you." I said, getting up. Zuko pouted and I laughed, heading for the main room.
Everyone was settled for dinner, except for Zuko, who was lounging against a pillar. He got up and walked towards us.
"Listen everybody, I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." Zuko said. Toph raised both her arms above her head.
"Don't look at me," she folded her arms. "I didn't touch your stuff."
"I'm talking about my firebending. It's gone." Zuko said. I frowned. Katara laughs, and everyone's attention is focused on her in confusion. I glared in disgust.. Zuko looked at the waterbender with an annoyed expression.
"What's so funny about that, Katara?" I asked in a steely tone.
"I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know, how it would've been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago." Katara said.
"Well, it's not lost. It's just... weaker for some reason."
"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are." Katara remarked, picking up her bowl.
"Ouch." Toph remarked, smiling sarcastically.
"I bet it's because I changed sides." Katara scoffed.
"That's ridiculous."
"No, I've actually heard of that happening." I said. "It happened to my mom. She used to be able to earthbend whole mountains, then she went good, and she could hardly bend a pebble."
"I don't know. Maybe it isn't to that extreme. Maybe your firebending comes from rage and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to." Aang said.
"Sooo, all we need to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough." Sokka poked Zuko with his sword's hilt in the head and waist several times, laughing.
"Okay, cut it out!" Zuko said. I frowned, earthbending the ground under Sokka so that he fell over. Zuko then rubbed his nose. "Look, even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."
"You're gonna need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source. I recommend the original source." Toph said.
"How's he supposed to do that ? By jumping into a volcano ?" Sokka remarked.
"No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is." Toph corrected.
"So, is it jumping into a volcano?"
"I don't know." Toph placed her bowl down. "For earthbending, the original benders were badgermoles."
"Really?" Aang asked. I nodded.
"My dad learned from them too, when he was a young pup and fully blind. I picked up the natural gift from my mom and dad." I said. I looked to Toph. "You learned from the badgermoles?"
"Yeah. One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me. So we understood each other. I was able to learn earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world." Toph finished, smiling.
"Toph, that's amazing." I said.
"I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison. Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime, buddy." Aang called back to Appa, who growled.
"Well, this doesn't help me. The original firebenders were the dragons, and they're extinct." Zuko said.
"What do you mean ? Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid." Aang said.
"Well, they aren't around anymore, okay?" Zuko said loudly.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."
"Aang, you have to remember that your childhood was 100 years ago." I said calmly. Aang nodded.
"Right, I forgot."
"But maybe there's another way. The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors." Zuko said, walking away
"Sun Warriors? Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid." Aang said.
"No, they died off thousands of years ago. But their civilization wasn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins."
"It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."
"So, what?" Aang and Zuko looked back at Sokka. "Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?"
"More or less. Either I find a new way to firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher."
"So, what'd you learn on your little adventure?" I asked as the boys returned from their trip.
"We learned this really cool firebending form!" Aang said. "Wanna see?"
"Sure. Let's round up the GAang first though." I said. I cleared my throat. "Hey! Guys! Front and center!"
"Wha- Oh, you're back." Katara said, beaming at Aang. She then sent Zuko a dark look.
"They learned some sort of firebending trick." I said. Everyone gathered around to watch. They began and I smiled, watching them go with amusement and pride.
"With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable." Aang said. The two went into their final postures and Team Avatar applauded.
"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka said sarcastically.
"It's not a dance. It's a firebending form." Zuko said.
"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord." Sokka went on. I smirked and shoved his shoulder.
"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!"
"Oh, yeah ? What's your little form called ?" Katara asked.
"The Dancing Dragon..." Zuko said. We laughed and Zuko closed his eyes, cringing in embarrassment.
"Aww, we're just teasing ya, Pouty." I said, ruffling his hair in a playful manner. He swatted at my hands and I opted for placing them on his shoulders. I leaned up and whispered in his ear. "Besides, you're supposed to be groveling."
"I'll make you grovel later." He growled back. I pulled away from him and busted out laughing running away in the process.
"Try making me, Pouty!" I called.
Oh my Spirits, did Pouty make a sex joke? Seems like Avery's attitude has rubbed off on him.
Disclaimer:...
So, I know it's short, but what'd you think?