The Tale of Amara

Chapter 7: Avatar Aang

Chapter 7: Avatar Aang

The flame shot from my fist and flew to the right of Zuko. I pulled my hand back with disappointment. Zuko was trying really hard not to laugh at me, but I saw the corner of his lip lift a tad.

"You'll get it. Try again," Iroh said. "This time focus on where you want the flame to go. Use your fire as an extension of your hand."

Stepping back on the steel deck of the ship, I stared at my opponent with uncertainty. Zuko stood across from me, ready to block my flames. Iroh had told Zuko that he would be target practice ten minutes ago. The young prince wasn't thrilled, but he decided my tiny flames were no threat. Also, so far I had yet to actually send a flame directly at him.

Getting back into my stance, I felt my legs shake from my lack of stamina. We had been practicing for an hour, which was a little longer than my body seemed to be able to handle at the moment. While Zuko was doing his advanced sets, I practiced the few moves I had learned in the last few days. Iroh wanted me to practice aim today, so when Zuko was done with his own practice Iroh dragged him over.

I tried to hide my exhaustion to not disappoint my teachers. As sweat trickled down my forehead, I breathed in trying to calm my racing heart. I really didn't want to throw fire at Zuko. I didn't want to accidentally burn him. However, Iroh reassured me it would be fine before we started.

Zuko tried to reassure me when he caught that I was still anxious. "If you're worried you'll hurt me, then don't be. I'm very good at defense."

I knew he was right. My flames were so weak still, he could block them easily. Nodding, I took in another deep breath. Then with determination, I moved forward and threw my fist out. A flame shot towards Zuko. He quickly moved his hands to push the fire that headed straight towards his torso to the side. The flames turned to smoke in the air.

"Excellent! Very good, Amara," Iroh said. "Again."

After another ten minutes of shooting fire at Zuko, I finally felt my body burn in exhaustion. Iroh noticed my frame start to tremble.

"I think that's enough practice for today. Why don't you two wash up and then join me back on deck for some tea?"

Zuko shook his head. "I'll pass. I'm going to talk to the captain. I want to make sure we're still on course. If what the prison warden said is true the Avatar is in the area."

Just yesterday evening we had stopped at an Earth Kingdom prison made entirely of metal. Zuko was informed that the Avatar had led a prison riot there and escaped with the earthbender prisoners. They were last seen headed east towards the coast. We were going to anchor in the next hour so Zuko could take a group of men and scout the area.

As Zuko walked off to go talk to the captain in the helm, Iroh looked at me with hope. I gave a smile. "I'll go wash up and be back."

He nodded. "Good. Then after tea we can go work on your reading."

My smile widened. I knew when Iroh said this he was referring to both my reading and my waterbending.

"Also, I must say Amara that you have caught on wonderfully in the few days of training you've had," Iroh complimented. "However, I do want you to be careful. You are still building your strength after sixteen years of captivity... it will take time for your body to get to where it needs to be. I can see you are pushing yourself. I don't want you to get sick."

I sighed. "I just... have so much to learn."

Iroh placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "And you will have years to learn. There's no need to rush."