Zuko spent the whole day trying to hold on to his head. What was I thinking? How could I say that about myself? "I speak for the spirits?" What is wrong with me? His own words made him nauseous. It was a good thing that he'd made so much progress on his wave-riding the day before. His body could not have handled losing balance so many times. He had to take breaks several more times than his schedule called for because of physical sickness. His heart pounded, he felt overly warm and sweaty, and his sense of balance didn't always stay balanced. What's wrong with me?

He had no desire to eat, so he stayed in his ridge instead of going into the city for lunch. This allowed him to focus on how poorly he felt. I feel terrible. I was on top of the world yesterday, then I publicly displayed my hubris in front of people whose opinions I care about, and now I feel terrible. Why did I do that? I should have known better. They must think I've gone insane. I'm supposed to be a prince. I'm supposed to look after my country, my people, and do right by them. Now I'm telling generations of old wise men that they're wrong and I know more about spirits than they do. Who am I to say that? Who am I to go around pretending to be a legend when I'm just a failure of a prince? Why am I indulging megalomaniacal fantasies and thinking of running away just when my people need me most? I am terrible.

When the moon had passed its height and it was time to start training again, the water spirit appeared. For some unknowable reason, it had stayed hidden while he sat and thought. He didn't bother to wonder why. He didn't try to understand why it emerged from the ice now. He just groaned. "Leave me alone."

The water dragon slashed the air defiantly with one barbel, then traced out a timeline. No and time. Zuko understood what it really meant. Never. His fists clenched.

Then they relaxed, because he was in no shape for a fight. He buried his head in his knees. "Why can't you just let me rest?"

It tapped him on the shoulder to make him look up. You aren't resting, it signed. Your thoughts are very busy.

"So?"

You need rest.

"Then stop bothering me."

The water dragon shook its head. You need rest like you had last night after the Very Very Nice Water Human left.

Zuko remembered the quiet in his head, the peace. How far away it seemed. "That's pointless. It'll never happen again."

It will.

"No. It can't. I have work to do. I can't sit around all day."

Are you working now?

"Shut up."

That person was right about rest.

Zuko remembered Kalika's advice about avoiding burnout. "I don't care."

Do what it said. Imagine Little You.

Zuko closed his eyes, which was very easy. He imagined a younger version of himself sitting just the way he was sitting now, knees all drawn up, head bowed. He imagined that younger version of himself saying, "I'm tired. I feel bad. I am bad. Something's wrong with me and I don't know what it is. How do I get rid of it?"

His eyes flew open. A surge of energy filled his body. Before he knew it, he was standing. "What am I doing? I can't just sit here and make myself miserable. Go away."

The water dragon flapped its fins and waved its head from side to side. It happily disappeared back into the wall of the ridge. Zuko took a deep breath and went back to summoning waves beneath his feet.

By the time he was done with his afternoon training, he had enough control that he probably could wave ride through the canals without endangering people. He dared to smile. I could win a race with this. He imagined some kind of race against waterbenders on boats. His spiritbending was not limited by the strength of his arms, so he could make his wave move as fast as he wanted. Any race would be his. Hehe. He imagined leaping over bridges, the wave launching him upwards and catching him on the other side, their movements perfectly coordinated. Learning to match his body to the movements of the water had been the hardest part. He couldn't make that leap yet, but he was close. He turned around and made the floor of the ridge water again. He stepped out onto it, raised a wave beneath his feet and pushed it forward. He had to start at a crawl, but he soon found his balance and pushed it faster and faster. He leaped up into the air, imagining that there was a bridge in his way. The wave disappeared as he pushed it down, then rose up again. He landed off balance and fell down the front of it. It rolled over him. He released his grip and let it pass, then sat up and shivered. The water lifted itself off his body before he could develop hypothermia.

Okay, so I only know how to balance as long as it's accelerating. And I can't jump yet. And my start needs work. Big deal. I could probably still win a race.

Twenty minutes later, as he made his way down the tunnel: I can't explain to Uncle why I said such crazy things. I don't understand it myself. I don't even understand how I could have believed something so different from the truth. I'm doomed. I can't face him at all.

As Zuko stepped out into the city, he gripped his head. What do I believe? Why do my beliefs keep changing? How do I find the truth?

Something tapped him on the shoulder. He turned. A tendril of water waved back and forth gently, calmly. It pointed at him, then formed into a small wave and traveled over the ground. Ride the wave.

"This isn't like that," he told it.

Yes, it is.

It disappeared, leaving Zuko to ponder its words. My mind is like a wave? I guess it does keep changing direction… Now that the water spirit had put the idea in his head, he was able to identify many similarities between his mind and a surging wave. I can use this! If I can make Uncle focus on this, he won't ask me what happened this morning. He might even tell me something helpful.

…Thank you for suggesting it.

.

Kalika worked feverishly all afternoon to compile a list of questions. She had to read and reread the records Yagoda had given her, identify core similarities, develop a mental model of the phenomenon that the records told her about, fill in this model with concrete information from her own observations, test this model to make sure it was complete enough to be used for predictions, then use both the model and the records to develop a list of predictions in the form of questions that would allow her to find out if she was correct. She made three different categories for her questions and thought of two questions for each category. Then she went back and added questions that could tell her if she was wrong. Then she thought more about the phenomenon she had just learned of and wrote down any new questions that resulted from her conjecturing.

It was hard mental work. She was tired by the time evening came. She worried the whole walk over if she should ask her questions now, or wait for another time. Waiting would allow her to revise them. After the mistake she'd made the day before, a mistake caused by rushing too fast, waiting sounded like a good idea.

She knocked politely on the inside of Mushi's door, then entered. Katara and Aang waited inside. All her plans fell to pieces.

.

Katara and Aang had of course rushed over as fast as they could after Master Pakku's afternoon class ended. "What about Sokka?" Aang had asked.

"He knows where to find us," Katara replied. She put on a strong face, but Aang knew she must still be hurting from the argument. He didn't call her out on it.

Iroh nearly dropped his teapot at the sight of them. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"We have very big questions. We need guidance." Katara held out her hands. "Will you listen?"

A strange look came over Iroh's face. He looked more determined than they had ever seen. Where was the relaxed old man they had come to know? In his place stood a retired general, someone who was still a formidable opponent and a force of nature. He nodded. "Sit. We will talk over tea."

Kalika arrived before the tea was done. "Katara. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Aang and I are here to talk about very important things," Katara said. "The sorts of things old wise folk talk about."

Kalika sat with them. "It's good that you're thinking about such things. The earlier people think about those sorts of things, the better."

"I couldn't agree more," Iroh said. He poured the tea and handed out cups. "What are your questions?"

"When you want to be kind to everybody, but being nice to one person means hurting someone else, how do you balance that?" Katara asked.

"When should you give up on idealism and focus on practicality?" Aang asked.

"These are very important questions," Iroh said. "And it's good that you're thinking about them. These are the kind of questions that have no settled answer. Answering them is a lifelong process. I can't tell you what the answer is, but if you tell me what you're thinking, I can help you in the right direction."

Katara and Aang looked at each other. "I took the lead earlier, so you go first," she said.

"Okay." Aang cleared his throat. "I don't think I can ever give up on idealism. Hope is like air to me. I can't keep going without it. But I also know that I need plans and supplies and other stuff to accomplish my goals. How can I be practical without giving up hope?"

"For you, hope is one of the supplies you need," Iroh answered. "This is true of everyone. Idealism and practicality are not separate. There is a place where they are the same thing. People who find their way to that place find lasting happiness."

"I should find a way to make my ideals and my goals line up?"

Iroh nodded.

Aang remembered his own words from earlier. "The Firelord is more than just a powerful bender. I also need to fight the fear and hopelessness he creates. Zuko is helping me practice." "I know how to do that. I already knew how to do it earlier, when we talked with Sokka. How did I forget?"

"Sometimes you need someone else to help you find out what you already know," Iroh replied.

"I'm sure I don't know the answer to my question," Katara said. "Sokka and - and Lee are opposites. Completely opposed. Sokka hates Lee and doesn't want to be around him and doesn't want me to be around him, either. I want to be around Lee because it makes me feel more satisfied with who I am as a person. This really upsets Sokka. As much as I hate to see my brother so upset, I can't tell him anything other than suck it up. I'm certainly not going to hold back on my own desires just to make him more comfortable. But my desires hurt him."

"If who you are as a person demands that you do something, you must listen. That voice is the truest voice in the entire world. It gives better guidance than a thousand wise men."

"But what do I do about Sokka? I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"I think 'suck it up' is the right thing to say. There's only so much you can do about someone else's feelings. Have you told him what this voice is and where it comes from?"

"Yes. He seemed okay with it at first. But then we started talking about practical matters, like the fact that I'd changed my plans, and suddenly he hated it."

"Without telling him?" Kalika asked.

"Yes. But it was a change I needed to make, and nothing Sokka would have said was going to make a difference."

"How do you know what he would have said?" Kalika asked. "Are you a psychic?"

Katara hesitated. "No."

"Then maybe something he said would have made a difference. You never know."

"I knew he wouldn't support the change of plans."

"Knew or thought?"

"The old plan involved asking you to meet us at our place. The new plan is coming here, where we might run into Lee. I knew."

"I think Lee and Sokka are not good for each other," Kalika said. "Lee is hypersensitive to and hates people making assumptions about him. He only responds well to someone who is good at taking the perspective of others. Sokka is not good at that and frequently assumes things. They're just a bad match. Their conflict has nothing to do with you, and you can't change it. Let him feel hurt. He's going to have to learn how to get along with Lee on his own."

"He doesn't just have hurt feelings. He also has some good points. Or at least they sound good. I'm not sure," Aang said.

"What are they?"

"Didn't he say he wanted to -"

There was a knock on the inside of the door. Sokka leaned in and looked all around the room. Then he went back out and spoke to someone outside. He and Princess Yue came in. Kalika's eyes widened. "Princess!"

"Hi," Princess Yue said with a wave. "It's okay. I'm not here as a princess, just as a girl."

Katara melted with relief. "Sokka, you came!"

"Of course I did. I'm not letting you go into this alone."

"I thought you were fed up with us," Aang said. He got up and hugged Sokka.

Sokka patted him on the shoulder. "Do I look like that kind of guy?"

Aang pulled him to a seat beside the fire. Princess Yue sat next to Sokka, near Kalika. "You look familiar. What's your name?" she asked.

"It's Kalika. Yagoda's student? Recently got my own practice?"

"Oh! I might have seen you around the healing huts. I meet some of my friends there."

Sokka raised his hand. "I have something important to say and I want to say it before a certain angry jerk interrupts."

"Go ahead," Katara said. Aang nodded. They paid him their fullest attention.

Sokka blinked, as if surprised. He recovered quickly. "A-hem. What I have to say is that… And this may be controversial… People have to take responsibility for their actions."

Everyone else in the room nodded. "I agree with that," Aang said.

"Actions have consequences, and if you don't want the consequences, you shouldn't do the actions."

"No controversy here," Kalika said.

"Some people will only learn this the hard way."

"Yes," Iroh said.

"So, since the angry jerk keeps being mean to us, we should not have anything to do with him. No matter what he does or says, we shouldn't keep him around unless he apologizes and does something to show he's serious and begs for forgiveness."

This time, nobody nodded or expressed agreement. The fire crackled.

Sokka turned to Princess Yue. "It sounds like Lee's a bully," she said. "I've known people like that. I've had friends that asked me for favors and then didn't show up for me when I needed help. I've had friends that gossiped about me behind my back. I even had a friend that stopped meeting me the second her father got a nice business deal that I'd supported. I didn't figure out that was what happened until months later. For four months, she just disappeared and I didn't know why. When I finally caught her, she said there was no more reason for us to be friends."

"Which is exactly what that guy said to us as soon as we got here and he didn't need us to give him a ride anymore," Sokka reminded them.

"People like that are just mean. There's no changing them. The best thing to do is forget about them entirely," Princess Yue said.

Again, there was silence. The fire crackled. Katara started to shake her head. "It's different," she whispered.

"No, it's not," Sokka said. "He is repeatedly mean to us, and he was only ever nice to us when he got something out of it. He's a bully."

"That's not true," Aang said. "Remember the stories he told about dragons, and the time we saved the Rosewoods, and -"

"And so what?" Sokka crossed his arms. "None of that makes up for what he's done to us. Remember how scared you were in that, uh, dangerous situation he put us in a few days before he started traveling with us? He's repeatedly said he's not sorry."

Katara and Aang fell silent. What argument could they make? Sokka was right. But at the same time… "I agree with everything you say right up to the part where you start telling us what to do next," Katara said. "You're right about what he's done. But I don't think you're right about the way forward. My inner voice tells me that's not the right thing to do."

"Giving in is the right thing to do? Letting him take advantage of us, over and over again? Letting him sabotage our quest, make Aang feel like trash, and put us all in danger? That's the right thing to do?"

"No, it's not, but -"

"Then. Ignore. The. Jerk."

"Sokka -"

"It's not that complicated. Just let him feel the consequences of his actions. He's not going to become less of a jerk by being coddled. He's only going to learn after a swift kick up the rear."

Katara looked absolutely furious. She held her tongue, but her fists trembled and her face could have knocked Aang flat on his back. She turned away from Sokka with a snort.

Sokka turned to Kalika. "You're his doctor. You're trying to get him to be less of a jerk. I'm here to tell you that twisting yourself into funny shapes trying to 'be more understanding' will never work. He needs a good old fashioned consequence. You women can resolve almost all your problems just by talking it out, but trust me, men are different. He's not going to be talked out of his habit of not taking responsibility and blaming everyone else for everything."

Kalika showed no emotion on her face whatsoever. "Thank you for your input."

Now Sokka started to shake. "Neither of you are going to listen to me, are you? Not even with Princess Yue to help me explain it? Wow. What did I bother showing up for."

"You shouldn't take this personally," Iroh told him. "Your sister is trying to figure out the right thing to do, just like you are."

"And it's wrong."

"No it isn't!" Katara snapped. "It feels right, Sokka. It feels more right than any of the things you said just now."

"He's a bully. Bullies should be ignored or fought. We fight off bullies all the time. Why won't you do anything about this one?"

"It's not the same!"

"Yeah, it is. Just because he can say pretty words sometimes doesn't make him any different from any of the other fi - fighting jerks we've fought in our travels."

"You're wrong, Sokka."

"No, you are!"

"Stop!" Kalika put herself in between them. One second passed, then two. "Neither of you know what you're talking about."

"And you do?" Sokka guessed.

"No, I don't know what I'm talking about either." Kalika looked at Iroh. "I was wrong, Mushi. I told you something inaccurate. My recommendations still stand. But I jumped to the wrong conclusion."

"I don't understand what's happening," Princess Yue said.

"That makes you no different from the rest of us, Your Highness."

"I don't know what's going on either," Iroh said.

"Then who does?"

Nobody answered, at least not in words. As the humans swam in confusion and anger, the fire crackled and the ice sparkled in perfect serenity.