Chapter Four -The Firebending Masters:

When we returned to the fountain we found that the rice still wasn't done. Something had happened and Katara informed us that it had been moved back a bit. Zuko took the opportunity to begin teaching Aang the basics of firebending. The two disappeared for a while. Sokka wandered off to see if he could watch, and returned quickly saying that Zuko may have switched sides, but he was still crazy. He and I then went off to collect some hay for Appa, there'd been a large field near Zuko's old campsite that was filled with clover and alfalfa.

Katara and I then discussed the idea of moving everyone's stuff to the large balcony near the fountain. She said it would be an easier way to keep an eye on everyone in case we had any more surprise visitors. I helped her collect people's belongs and brought them back out into the main hall. I grabbed Zuko's stuff since his room was next to mine, I didn't think he'd mind since I helped him pack it all earlier. We laid the bedrolls out near the small fire Zuko had started for us to cook with. I put Zuko's bedroll down and wished mine hadn't been stolen.

When Zuko and Aang returned the sun had set and the stars were out. Katara and I had managed to cook dinner, and even though I'd done most of it, it turned out ok. Thankfully it was just rice and a few plants I'd convinced her to add for dietary supplements.

I brought a few armfuls of hay over to Appa and observed Zuko leaning up against a pillar watching the new group he was a part of. Everyone was gathering around the fire as Katara filled their bowls with rice. It was cozy, and I was glad to be surrounded by people again.

I sidled over to Zuko and realized he was worried about something. "They're not going to kick you out," I said, attempting to alleviate whatever it was he was thinking about. Rather than answering he just hung his head. I sighed and walked towards the group as they ate dinner. I filled my bowl and I took a seat near Haru. The earthbender smiled at me as I sat down and I smiled back. He was a nice guy and really cute.

"Listen everybody," Zuko said as he slowly approached the group, as if he were about to give us all bad news. "I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." He hung his head, as if ashamed at what he'd said. I looked at him with a dark brow raised and a confused look in my eye.

"Don't look at me," said Toph as she held her hands in the air. "I didn't touch your stuff."

"I did," I said sheepishly, "If I missed something I can help you look for it."

"I'm talking about my firebending," said Zuko, "it's gone." Katara let out a cruel laugh as everyone turned and looked at her. I couldn't stop myself from glaring. He'd just admitted to something very personal and she was laughing.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked up at Zuko with a rather mean expression on her face. "I'm just laughing at the irony. You know how it would have been nice for us if you'd lost your firebending a long time ago." She nonchalantly waved her hand in the air adding to her sarcastic tone. Everyone seemed willing to give Zuko a chance, but her. Even her brother was being nice.

"Well it's not lost, it's just weaker for some reason."

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are," Katara said flippantly.

"Ouch," said Toph as a grin tilted the corners of her lips.

"That was rude," I growled and glared at her. I could feel Haru looking down at me as if I'd done something wrong. Was it really so bad that I defend poor Zuko?

"I bet it's because I changed sides," Zuko ignored her little comment.

"That's ridiculous," said Katara, everyone else remained quiet.

"I don't know," said Aang, "maybe it isn't. Maybe your firebending comes from rage and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."

"So," Sokka said as he stood up and smiled, "all we need to do is make Zuko angry? Easy enough." He said with a laugh and pulled his sword sheath off his back. My cousin proceeded to then poke Zuko with the sheathed sword, laughing the whole time.

"Ok, cut it out!" roared Zuko as his patience snapped. Sokka flung his sword as he curled into himself. "Even if you're right," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "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," said Toph as Sokka resumed his seat next to her, "I recommend the original source."

"How's he supposed to do that," said Sokka, "by jumping into a volcano?" I didn't think my cousin truly understood the enormity of what was going on.

"No," said Toph as she chewed around the rice in her mouth. "Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is."

"So is it jumping into a volcano?" This time Sokka's questions was more serious, I palmed my forehead in announce. Haru smirked from next to me and I gave him a crooked grin.

"I don't know," Toph said as she set her empty bowl down. "For earthbending the original benders were badgermoles. 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 a as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting, it was there way of interacting with the world."

"That's amazing Toph," said Aang. "I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison." He leaned back and looked over at Appa and with a grin said, "Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy." Appa roared in acknowledgement.

"Well that doesn't help me," said Zuko, "the original firebenders were the dragons and they're extinct."

"What do you mean?" said Aang, "Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid."

"Well they aren't around anymore, ok," Zuko yelled, I grimaced slightly at his tone. The stronger someone's emotions were, the stronger I felt them.

"Ok, ok," Aang said softly as if speaking to an angry animal, "I'm sorry."

"But maybe there's another way," Zuko said darkly, "the first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors," he walked away from the fire and stared at the fountain. We'd left the giant doors open to allow the warm night breeze to blow in.

"Sun Warriors?" Aang stood up and followed him. "Well I know they weren't around when I was a kid."

"No," said Zuko, his voice gruff, "They died out thousands of years ago, but their civilization wasn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we could learn something by poking around their ruins."

"It's like the monks used to tell me," said Aang, "Sometimes the shadows of the past, can be felt by the present."

"So, what," said Sokka as he cupped his chin as he pondered his words, "Maybe you'll pick up some super-old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?"

"More or less," said Zuko. "Either I find a new way to firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher."

"Well there's no use going tonight," I said as I pushed the rice around in my bowl. "The ruins aren't going anywhere and it's been a long day."

"We can start fresh in the morning," said Aang as he walked back to our circle and sat down. Zuko followed him and filled his own bowl, he took a seat next to me, I smiled at me as he dug in his pack for a spoon.

"You can use mine," I offered when he couldn't find one. "If I missed anything I swear I'll help you find it."

"I didn't have one, I was looking for something else," but he took my spoon and dug in.

Everyone hung out for a little while longer, and then began nodding off. In the end it was just Zuko and I. He watched me as I folded up my vest and then unbuckled my outer-skirt and lay on the cool stone.

"Don't you have a bedroll?"

"No," I whispered with my eyes closed, I rested my head on my vest and didn't feel like opening my eyes. "It was stolen with everything else. All I have is in this bag." I lifted it up and lightly dropped it back onto the ground.

"Move over," his voice was deeper when he whispered.

"Zuko I can't, I'll hit Haru," I whispered as my neighbor gave a soft snort in his sleep. At least I hoped it was a snort…I heard Zuko standing up and peeked an eye open. He was standing above me holding his Uncle's bedroll.

"Move over," he said again. I grabbed my outer-skirt and my vest as he laid out his Uncle's bedroll. I climbed into his and was surrounded by warmth. There may have been a warm breeze, but in this altitude it was still pretty cold.

"Thanks," I whispered as I snuggled into the warmth. He nodded his head, the last thing I remembered as I drifted off to sleep was his warm golden gaze.

Aang and Zuko left early the next morning, and it felt weird without them here. After a day and half I'd already gotten attached to them, I rolled my eyes and looked around camp. I could teach Katara about a few plants that we could collect and dry to add to their supply of food. Then maybe her and I could do some waterbending, I thought with a smile. I hadn't gotten a chance to bend in a while.

For the most of the morning we went exploring, Teo and Haru, along with The Duke showed us around the Western Air Temple. There was still quite a lot of it that hadn't been destroyed by the assassin. Teo led us to the hall of statues, which was incredible, then we went to see the giant Pai Sho board, and even to the obstacle course the Air Nomads used for Sky Bison races. I suggested we have Appa fly the course just to see what it looked like.

By the time we got back to the fountain it was already past lunchtime and closer to three in the afternoon. After we reheated some rice for lunch Toph and Haru decided to go have an earthbending match, while Katara agreed to go study plants with me. We did this for a few hours, making sure to cut some of the clover for Appa when he returned. We headed back to the fountain as the sun began to set. We were both getting worried that Zuko and Aang weren't going to be back, but she assured me that sometimes Aang's side trips could take a few days.

When we got back we found that Haru had reheated the rice and Katara and I offered the berries we'd picked as a desert. For a time Haru and Teo shared their stories while I laughed at some of the adventures that everyone had. Everyone began to drift off to sleep, and as I lay curled in Zuko's bedroll I noticed it smelled much better than his Uncle's. His smelled faintly of cinnamon and cloves. It was a spicy scent fitting for a firebender, I thought I as I drifted off to sleep.

We all managed to sleep relatively late the next morning, and since there wasn't much else to do I asked Katara if she'd come with me to the stream so that I could wash Uncle's bedroll. I hoped Zuko wouldn't mind, but it was starting to smell funky. She said it was a great idea and grabbed her and Sokka's as well. Toph came with us, if only because she didn't feel like exploring again with the other three guys. They were having fun making their own tunnels and doing who knew what.

When we reached the stream I stripped down to my skivvies so that I could wash my clothes as well. I'd switch into the clean clothes and wash my skivvies after. We soaked the bedrolls for a while, Toph bended a sort of barrier in the stream so that it wouldn't wash away. Once Katara and I bended the water out of the bedding we rerolled it and began working on our clothes. It was fun. Before we headed back for the day her and I got talking about different waterbending forms.

"Have you ever done the ice prison?" I asked while I soaked Uncle's bedroll again, it still smelled.

"I've never heard of that one," said Katara. Toph had fallen asleep in the sun.

"It's fun! My Dad showed me when I was a kid, or rather did it to me when I was a kid."

"Why?"

"Well, I was probably five or six, and we'd been down in the market and I didn't want to go home, I'd adamantly stated I wanted to go play on the beach with the water. So I ran into the crowd and headed down to the beach. What I didn't understand was that a storm was coming in and the water was really choppy.

When he finally spotted me and got close enough I was ankle deep in the water, had I gone any further I'd have been swept away by the riptide. So he bended up the water around us and turned it into ice. But he was able to finely control the water and released the ice around us inside the prison. He tied twine around me and created a sort of harness that he tied around his own hand. We then walked home in the rain." I smiled at the memory as tears welled in the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away. "Want to see it?"

"Yes!"

I laughed and then encased myself in ice. I blew some air of out my nose and then released enough water inside the ice so that I could sort of swim around. I puckered my lips and made a fish face, then used my hands to create fins. I dropped the water and heard her laughter. She then tried it and made her own funny face.

Washing the clothes took most of the day, seeing as Katara had grabbed Sokka's and Aang's as well. I'd thought about grabbing Zuko's but decided not to, and none of the other boys had been around to ask. They'd just have to do their own laundry.

When we did head back it was around four in the afternoon, it'd be an early dinner but there was no reason not to start cooking it.

"I hope they learn something," Katara said as she dumped some water into the pot to boil.

"Me too, I feel bad for Zuko," I said as I picked a few basil leaves of their stems so she could add them. "It must have been terrifying to suddenly not be able to firebend."

"I'd be lost without my bending," said Toph as she wiggled her healing feet. Once the water was hanging over the fire Katara stood up and did another healing session on her feet.

"I would be too, but in a different sense," I said as I used a knife to cut the leaves into smaller pieces. "I'd feel hollow without it, as if some essential part of me were missing."

"I don't think I could live without my bending," said Katara. "But Zuko deserved a little cosmic justice if you ask me."

"Well I didn't," I said as I looked at her, her eyes were round with surprise. "I think he truly means what he said about changing. You may not like it, but it's not going to change anything Katara."

"Well," she said as she pursed her lips and stormed away. "I'm going to go find the boys, if the water boils Malina, add the rice."

"Way to go," Toph said with a laugh.

"Katara, wait," I called after her. I was surprised when she stopped and looked at me defiantly. "Why don't you like Zuko? I get that he's done a ton of terrible things to you guys, but you seem to distrust him more than anyone here. Everyone else seems to be giving him a chance, even Sokka."

Her face fell and she slowly walked back towards Toph and I. She sat back down on her bedroll and released a large sigh. "In all honesty, I think it's because of my mother."

"What happened to her?"

"The day the Fire Nation invaded our village I got scared, so I ran to find her. She was in our small home and a Fire Nation general was questioning her. When I walked in the man yelled at me, but my mother calmly told me to go find my father, so I did. By the time my Dad and I returned to our home she was gone."

"Oh," I said wondering if after everything Zuko had done to them, she was starting to attribute those repressed emotions onto him. I stood up and moved next to her and gave her a hug.

"I think I've turned all of my anger about that day onto Zuko," she wiped a few tears from her eyes as she continued. "I just don't know how to change those feelings."

I pulled her in for another hug as she sobbed softly, "You've dealt with a lot of stress Katara, and it's easy to start to assign emotions to people who aren't to blame. You just have to remember that it was never Zuko who did those things to your mother. He did do some crazy things to you, but he has changed. The only thing you can do is to forgive him, and move on. Otherwise you're going to drive yourself crazy."

"I don't know if I can forgive him," she said as she pulled away and dried the rest of her tears. A stubborn gleam had come into her eyes when I'd said forgive, maybe it'd been the wrong thing to say, but it was the truth.

"That's something you'll have to decide for yourself."

"Do I smell food?" said Sokka as he came over and sat down.

"Sokka!" I laughed as I realized he'd been somewhere around all day. "I forgot you were here, you're lucky you have a sister that loves you. She did your smelly laundry."

As the sun began to set Zuko and Aang returned to the Western Air temple. Lucky for me I'd poured the rice into the pot and we were just waiting for it to absorb the water. I added the basil leaves and stirred them around as Aang called everyone over to watch the firebending forms he and Zuko had learned.

"With this technique the dragons showed us Zuko and I will be unstoppable," said Aang as he and Zuko shot fireblasts from their fists. They ended the sequence of moves by facing each other with their fists touching. The moves had been very different from waterbending, but it had been very interesting to watch. I'd never gotten to see actual firebending done, the soldiers just paraded around the market upholding the 'law.' Everyone clapped.

"Yeah," said Sokka, "that's a great dance you two learned there."

"It's not a dance," said Zuko defensively. "It's a firebending form."

"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord," said Sokka as he used his fingers to mimic walking. I couldn't help but laugh softly. Zuko needed to learn to loosen up, his random defensive outburst were adorable in their own way, although I had to pause when I realized I thought they were adorable. Why would I think they were adorable?

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old," Zuko's voice raised an octave as he stormed towards Sokka.

"Oh yeah," said Katara snidely, "What's your little form called?"

"The Dancing Dragon," Zuko grumbled. Everyone laughed to have caught him off guard. I couldn't tell if he found the irony funny or not as he grimaced.

We all moved back over to the pot of rice and I took a turn serving. Everyone seemed to like the added taste of the basil.