𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 : 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘢

"AGAIN," ZUKO ASSERTS. He sits, arms crossed, in the corner as he guides Kida through firebending forms. As is the case during all of their training sessions, Zuko's expression is unreadable, leading Kida to think that he is truly and utterly unimpressed.

"I'm tired," Kida groans. She flops to the ground, the flame she was trying to control dying out as she falls. Part of Kida just assumed that she would suddenly become a firebending master after she could produce a flame; but, it's been weeks since her falling out with Mika and her first unofficial training session with Zuko, and it still seems as though she has a long way to go.

After that night, Iroh woke up the next morning, confused to find Kida and Zuko finishing a set of hot squats in the middle of his living room. He was even somewhat confused, yet even more delighted, to find that Kida could actually produce fire on her own.

"Sometimes all it takes is the right teacher," he said humbly, proudly looking towards his nephew. Zuko just nodded awkwardly.

Then, Kida explained her situation and Iroh immediately offered to have her stay with them. Right away, Kida could tell that Zuko wasn't too happy about the arrangement, which, she thought, was fair enough. One night of (kind of) being friends wouldn't change what happened in the past. Did Kida want to work, train, and live with the guy who left her to freeze to death and wanted to hurt her friends? No, not really. But Iroh was kind and welcoming and made a great pot of tea, so Kida was happier to stay with them than alone in the streets. Iroh also suggested that Zuko take over Kida's training; they both agreed, because Uncle had bigger things to worry about (like the offer he got to open his own tea shop), but Kida was not prepared for the level of dedication Zuko showed.

Kida thought that she was tough during training, but Zuko was on another level. After each session (which are two hours, every day after work) Kida is always out of breath and her muscles feel as though they are on fire. Sometimes, they would practice dueling, which would increase these feelings tenfold. Plus, Zuko would always win, and losing never leaves Kida in a good mood. Training with Sokka was so much easier compared to training with Zuko. Then again, that was sword fighting, something Kida has always had a talent for; this is firebending, something Kida never imagined she would have the chance to learn, much less accept as a part of herself until now. And this is with Zuko, the Fire Nation prince who was her literal rival before and turned out to be the cousin she never particularly wanted; that was with Sokka and that...that was different.

"Do you want to be a master firebender or not?" Zuko snaps.

"How mad would you be if I said not?" Kida jokes.

Zuko rolls his eyes. "Again," he repeats. "Control your breath this time and widen your stance. You're getting better, so don't give up now."

Kida's ears perk and she sits up. "Really?"

"I said better, but not good enough."

Frustrated, Kida blows a stray hair away from her face. Then, she stands up and resumes position.

»»---------------------►

ALTHOUGH HE'S STERN DURING TRAINING, Zuko seems to be warming up to Kida. And, if Kida was being honest, she's warming up to him as well. It was nice to have someone to rant to about annoying and rude customers, and to have around when eating dinner or running errands, even in comfortable silence. Kida notices that, as much as Zuko is angsty and closed off, he is also surprisingly caring (in his own way) and extremely driven, which she admires. Another thing she notices: Zuko is, at times, completely oblivious.