𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 | 𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘢

𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬

when he got up the last time he had enough, "why can't i do it? instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face! like everything always does!"

"i was afraid this might happen. you will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you," he walked over to zuko and hana quickly followed.

an angry face emerged from zuko, "what turmoil?"

oh, you know, the crippling mommy and daddy issues.

"zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away," he told him.

"but i don't feel any shame at all! i'm as proud as ever!" he looked at them.

"pride doesn't mean shit, zuko," hana practically sang.

zuko gave her a look of anger that quickly shut her up.

"prince zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. true humility is the only antidote to shame."

"well... my life has been nothing but humbling lately," he looked off to the side.

hana nearly laughed because it was true. zuko went from a lavish palace to a beautiful ship to a fucking abandoned shack.

iroh began to think, "i have another idea. i will teach you a fire bending move that even azula doesn't know, because i made it up myself!" he smirked and pointed to himself with his thumbs.

zuko smiled cheesily, he was clearly happy with this decision.

"sit," iroh directed the two.

"i'm not-"

"it doesn't matter. i suppose i could give a lesson as well," he smiled at hana. "wait, before you do, will you grab me a stick?"

hana nodded and went off looking for a stick. she quickly found one, it was bigger than her. she took it to iroh.

"thank you, now you may sit," he told her as he took the stick.

she nodded and sat next to zuko.

iroh began to draw a fire nation symbol, "fire is the element of power. the people of the fire nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want."

he boxed it off and above it he started to draw an earth kingdom symbol, "earth is the element of substance. the people of the earth kingdom are diverse and strong. they are persistent and enduring," iroh smiled and pointed to hana, "like her."

he drew a box around it and next to it he drew air, "air is the element of freedom. the air nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!" iroh laughed and zuko didn't react.

next was the water tribe, "water is the element of change. the people of the water tribe are capable of adapting to many things. they have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

"why are you telling me these things?" zuko inquired.

"it is important to draw wisdom from many different places. if we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale," iroh drew lines separating each symbol. "understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole," he drew a circle around them.

"all this four elements talk is sounding like avatar stuff."

"it is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the avatar so powerful. but, it can make you more powerful too," iroh poked at zuko's chest with the stick. "you see, the technique i am about to teach you is one i learned by studying the water benders."