As it turned out, Aunt Minna was in need of a little help around the house and was delighted to pay a few young boys to run errands and help her cook, in between her pinching their cheeks and telling them what nice young men they were. It wasn't nearly enough pay to get the boys off the streets, but between her help and occasional free lunches at Miyo's shop, at least the boys didn't have to steal for food anymore.

Life was falling into a predictable rhythm, with Lu Ten working in the mornings to brew tea, then disappearing to work with Ton Yu in the afternoon lull when most customers let their tea go cold over games of Pai Sho. The evenings were his and Ayeshi's, for after Miyo loudly declared that she was tired the two of them would wash dishes and swap stories. Lu Ten found himself talking about his family more, about travels he'd had with his father, seeing plays at Ember Island, teaching Zuko fire bending forms. Ayeshi, in turn, told him more about her childhood on the old farm, about her cousins and the wildflowers that grew every spring and the babbling brook she and her brothers played in as kids. Lu Ten was certain Miyo had overheard him talking about being royalty at least once, but she never brought it up in conversation. There was little sense in biting the hand that pulled customers into her shop.

Sometimes at night Ayeshi would take him up the rickety ladder that lead to the roof, and they'd sit up on top and gaze at the stars. Ayeshi claimed that it was the only spot where one could actually see the sky. More than once these little excursions had lead to kisses, then the two of them twined around each other tighter than a pair of spirit vines, then invariably articles of clothing being loosened or removed until one of them came to their senses and dragged the other to bed.

Ayeshi's brothers Han and Wei took a liking Ton Yu's gang and seemed to view them almost as younger brothers. Ton Yu was over at the shop the most, since he had fire bending lessons regularly with Lu Ten. Lu Ten was trying to give the boy a crash course in not only fire bending but also Fire Nation culture seeing as Ton Yu was half Fire Nation and had a right to know who his father's people were. It was proving to be tough to sell the boy on Fire Nation history, and on multiple occasions Ton Yu had refuted Lu Ten's facts with what the Earth Kingdom knew about the Fire Nation.

"Did I already tell you about Sozin's educational reforms?" Lu Ten asked one sweltering afternoon.

"Yes you did. You told me all about when you were a school kid, and then you spent half an hour ranting about how you'd been fed lies about world history."

"I did?"

"Oh yes you did."

"Oh." Lu Ten thought for a moment. "Did I tell you about customs when having an audience with the fire lord?"

"Yup. Like I'd ever want to see the fire lord."

"Ok. Did I tell you what an Agni Kai is?"

Ton Yu sat up and stopped throwing pebbles at the wall. "No you didn't. What's an Agni Kai?"

"It's essentially a duel for honor. Believe me, honor is a big deal in the Fire Nation. If someone disrespects you or insults your honor then you would challenge them to an Agni Kai. You keep your honor intact by winning the Agni Kai."

"So if anyone disrespects me I could challenge them to an Agni Kai?"

"Pretty much, but not, like, a kid. It's often frowned upon to challenge someone if they're still learning and you'd clearly have the upper hand. It's more honorable when it's a fair fight."

"Wow." Ton Yu stood and began reviewing various fighting stances. Lu Ten could tell by the idiotic grin that Ton Yu was fantasizing about fighting an Agni Kai, probably picturing himself taking down a sniveling weasel of an opponent. Probably someone like admiral Zhao, one of the nastier officers Lu Ten had encountered during his time in the Fire Nation army.

"Ok, enough with the fantasies. Show me some of the forms you've been working on." Lu Ten stood back, waiting with the water bucket, and watched his protege slide through the movements. Most of the ones he'd learned were traditional fire bending techniques, but a few were things Lu Ten's own father had come up with, things that more closely resembled water bending. "Remember to make your movements fluid on that one!"

Ton Yu groaned. "What's the point of teaching me something co-opted from the Water Tribe? That's the opposite element, according to the elemental mumbo-jumbo you've been teaching me."

"Like I keep telling you, there's a lot more fire bending than punching people with fire. Techniques from the other elements can strengthen our own fire bending." said Lu Ten. "My dad was very imperialist Fire Nation last time I saw him, but even he could recognize the value and importance of other people. If you can move fire in that way, it's the closest thing to a defensive move you can do with fire bending."

"Right. No defensive moves in fire bending." Ton Yu swept another arc of fire, this time trying to swirl it like he'd seen water benders do. "That actually explains a lot about the Fire Nation itself. Do the elements we bend shape us as people?"

Lu Ten shrugged. "They probably do. That's why it's important to have an understanding of all of them. To have balance."