Chapter 21- Inner Fire Dance
Twig licked the goop away along with some aardvark sloths licking Aang and Zuko.
"For trying to take our sunstone, you must be severely punished!" The Sun Warrior Chief declared with many warriors surrounding you.
"We didn't come here to take your sunstone. We came here to find the ancient origin of all firebending," Zuko defended you three.
"Yeah, right. They are obviously thieves, here to steal Sun Warrior treasures," One of the warriors scoffed.
"I don't steal things that are worthless to me, so..." You trailed off.
"Please, I don't normally play this card, but... I'm the Avatar," Aang smiled sheepishly at them.
"You use it all the time!" You said with a small smile, making Aang pout.
"Just hear us out," You told the warriors.
"My name is Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, or at least I used to be. I know my people have distorted the ways of firebending, to be fueled by anger and rage. But now I want to learn the true way, the original way. When we came here, I never imagined the Sun Warrior's civilization was secretly alive. I am truly humbled to be in your presence. Please, teach us," Zuko explained, pleading for them to think about it.
The Sun Chief thought for a moment, and looked back at you three.
"If you wish to learn the ways of the Sun, you must learn them from the masters, Ran and Shaw," He declared.
"Ran and Shaw? There are two of them?" Aang tilted his head.
"When you present yourself to them, they will examine you. They'll read your hearts, your souls, and your ancestry. If they deem you worthy, they'll teach you," The Sun Chief explained, sternly staring at you.
"If they don't, you'll be destroyed on the spot,"
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"If you're going to see the masters, you must bring them a piece of the Eternal Flame," The Chief explained as you three stood in front of a giant flame. Twig snuggled up against you, not wanting to be near the fire
"This fire is the very first one. It was given to man by the dragons. We have kept it going for thousands of years," He motioned to the fire, burning strong and steady.
"I don't believe it," Zuko mumbled.
"You will each take a piece of it to the masters, to show your commitment to the sacred art of firebending," He said.
"Umm, Mister Sun Chief Sir, yeah, I'm not a firebender yet. Couldn't my friend here carry my fire for me?" Aang sheepishly asked.
"No," He simply said as he bended two sets of flames out.
"This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat. The flame will go out if you make it too small. Make it too big, and you might lose control," The Chief handed Zuko and Aang the flames, where they held it close.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous," Aang gulped and took the flame in his hands, in which he smiled softly.
"It's like a little heartbeat," He said, turning to you, making you grin at him, all proud for him.
"Fire is life, not just destruction. You will take your flames up there. The cave of the masters is beneath that rock," The Chief said, pointing at the mountainside two giant rock pillars sticking out.
"You guys go ahead, this is not my journey to find out my bending's history," You waved the two boys off, and Zuko was hesitant to leave you. Aang nodded and walked over to you.
"Stay safe," He kissed you on the lips and walked off, where Zuko stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. You smiled and kissed his cheek, making him blush and turn to walk with Aang.
"Sooooo..." You turned to the Sun Warriors, who looked back at you.
"I'm not a Firebender, but I would like to ask you for a favor," You sheepishly asked them.
The two Warriors looked at each other, and the Chief nodded.
"One favor," He said, and you grinned a toothy smile.
"Do you how to make jewelry?"
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You stood along side with the warriors as Zuko and Aang held their flames.
"Facing the judgment of the firebending masters will be very dangerous for you. Your ancestors are directly responsible for the dragons' disappearance. The masters might not be so happy to see you," The Chief told the ex prince.
"I know I wouldn't be," The other Warrior smirked.
"But once they find out I'm the Avatar..." Aang started.
"Have you forgotten that you vanished, allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world? The decline of the dragons is your burden too," The Chief glared at the boy, who deflated a little.
"Don't worry you two," You gave them a reassuring smile and placed a hand on their shoulders.
"You got this," Twig also gave them thumbs up as the Chief led the Sun Warriors to bend fire rings.
"Chanters!" He shouted, and the ones kneeling banged their fists on the drums, chanting in a real cool way.
"Those who wish to meet the masters, Ran and Shaw, will now present their fire," He announced as you kneeled down to watch the show.
"Sound the call!" Another Warrior blew into a giant horn, and from the very top of the stairs, you heard them fight over their flames.
"Quit being stingy!" You heard, and you just facepalmed.
"They're gonna die," You grumbled, until suddenly something red shot out from the caves. Your eyes widen in awe as a blue figure shot out of the other cave.
"Dragons," You breathed out, bowing your head down to pay respect, Twig copying you.
"Oh, here it comes. Any moment now. Dinner for the masters," One of the warriors grinned.
"Quiet, Ham Ghao!" The Chief hissed at him.
"What? Everyone's thinking it," He mumbled, and you elbows his side, making him wince. The dragons flew around the two boys, and you saw from your side view, that they were doing the Dancing Dragon.
"Judgment time," The Chief declared, and the dragons stopped to stare them down. Then, the two dragons shot fire at them, making you gasp and Twig covering his eyes, but you peeked your eye open to see what will happen next.
All kinds of colors mixed with the red and orange flames, a beautiful fire tornado surrounding Zuko and Aang.
"Woah..." You mumbled, and the dragons then flew back into their caves.
As they two walked down the stairs, you ran up to them and hugged them both.
"Don't scare me like that you two!" You said and lunched their shoulders, making them wince.
"Their fire was beautiful. I saw so many colors, colors I've never imagined," Zuko told you.
"Like firebending harmony," Aang said, still in awe.
"Yes. They judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of firebending," The Chief said.
"I can't believe there are still living dragons. My uncle Iroh said he faced the last dragon and killed it," Zuko told the Chief.
"So your uncle lied," Aang guessed.
"Actually, it wasn't a total lie. Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters. They deemed him worthy and passed the secret onto him as well," The Chief explained.
"He must have lied to protect them, so no one else would hunt them," You smiled, knowing Iroh would never kill the original benders.
"All this time, I thought firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara and Twig, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is... it's energy, and life," Aang told you.
"That's what I thought lavabending was too, good for you to fully understand," You crossed your arms.
"Yeah. It's like the Sun, but inside of you. Do you guys realize this?" Zuko asked the man.
"Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors... so yeah," The Chief said with an amused smile.
"That's why my firebending was so weak before. Because for so many years, hunting you was my drive... it was my purpose. So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now, I have a new drive. I have to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world," Zuko said with a determined look.
Zuko was finally able to firebend, and Aang had full control on his firebending too, making you clap for them.
"Now that you have learned the secrets, and you know about our tribe's existence, we have no choice but to imprison you here forever," The Chief said in a serious look, but smiled at you three's horrified faces.
"Just kidding. But seriously, don't tell anyone,"
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"With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable," Aang told everyone as the two performed the Dancing Dragon in front of the others.
"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there," Sokka raised an eyebrow with an amused smile.
"It's not a dance. It's a firebending form," Zuko glared at Sokka.
"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord," You nudged his side, making him stick his tongue out at you.
"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!" Zuko shouted.
"Oh, yeah? What's your little form called?" Katara rasied an eyebrow, which made Zuko pause for a moment.
"The Dancing Dragon," He mumbled, which made everyone laugh.
"Well, since that's out of the way, I would like to show you all what I have been doing during their choreography lessons," You stood up and took out a pouch, opening it to reveal little rings in your hands.
"Rings! Each ring has the symbol of what nation your in, and your initials, crafted them myself. With the help of the warriors," You smiled as you showed them, with Twig having one of his own.
"Oh (Y/N), they're beautiful!" Katara beamed as you gave her a blue ring with the Water Tribe symbol.
"Who knew ancient warriors had jewelry making skills?" Toph shrugged, feeing the ring in her hands.
"Love it hun," Sokka kissed your cheek as Aang smiled at his ring.
"I also made some for you three!" Teo, Haru, and The Duke cheered as you gave them rings too. Zuko shuffled awkwardly until you walked up to him, and placed a Fire Nation ring in his hands.
"... Thank you,"
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