𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 | 𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘢

𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬

iroh nodded in agreement, "of course." iroh walked over to the fire and sat in front of it. he gestured to the two to st with him. they quickly did so, "hana, will you grab my tea?"

she got back up and opened his bag. she pulled out his tea and kettle. she realized they still had water leftover from when zuko collected some. she picked it up and sat it next to iroh.

"thank you."

"of course," she sat back down.

iroh began to prepare their tea. he poured some tea into the kettle and boiled it. he dropped some of the tea leaves in. he let it set for a moment.

iroh finally looked up at zuko, "lightning is a pure expression of fire bending, without aggression. it is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other fire bending is. some call lightning the cold-blooded fire." iroh took the tea off the kettle and poured it into cups. "it is precise and deadly, like azula. to perform the technique requires peace of mind," he handed the two cups to them.

"i see. that's why we're drinking tea; to calm the mind," zuko realized.

"oh yeah, good point! i mean, yes," iroh corrected himself.

hana snorted. the older gentleman had just wanted tea. there wasn't any real reason to have the tea.

they finished their tea quickly. iroh wanted to teach zuko.

"we should hike to high grounds. this will help us," iroh instructed the two.

hana looked at him, "are you sure?"

"yes, hana, we must," iroh said with full certainty.

the three of them hiked up a hill. they would've been faster but an injured iroh slowed them down a bit. which was fine because he was doing what hana told to him.

they stood on the edge of the hill and looked over the abandoned town.

they stood there for a few moments before iroh picked up where he last left off, "there is energy all around us. the energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy." iroh used his fingers to simulate the two forms of energy. "only a select few fire benders can separate these energies. this creates an imbalance. the energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy comes crashing back together." he brought his two fingers together, "you provide release and guidance, creating lightning."

iroh signaled for them to back up. zuko put his arm out in front of hana, pushing her back with him.

iroh began to create lightning with his fingertips. he extended his arm out to the sky and shot the lightning out.

"i'm ready to try it!" zuko said confidently.

iroh rubbed his injured shoulder in discomfort, "remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. you are simply its humble guide. breathe first."

hana quickly moved out of his way and stood next to iroh.

they watched as zuko took a deep breath and copied iroh's motions. however, no lightning comes from him. as he tried to shoot the nonexistent lightning, he flew back and hit the ground.

ouch, that looks like it hurt.

hana began to help him up but zuko swatted her hands away, "stop. i can do it myself."

he got back up and tried again, and again, and again. nothing change, he still went flying back each time.

hana and iroh watched as zuko was tossed back each time, their face had a pained look to it.