Lightning and Stars
~~~
Ivana sat next to Zuko in an old abandoned house. Iroh was still unconscious, laying on the floor on one of their mats. They bandaged what was left of his wound. All they could do was wait. Ivana held the old firebenders hand, while she tried to calm herself. She hadn't firebended in two months and she was barely keeping it together. Iroh's condition didn't help. She didn't know what they would do without him. Luckily, she didn't have to think about it for long.
Zuko perked up as Iroh started to stir. "Uncle... you were unconscious. Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack," he explained.
"Somehow, that's not so surprising," he replied. He tried to sit up, groaning slightly. Zuko handed him a cup of tea.
"I hope I made it the way you like it," Zuko said. Ivana waited for his reaction, knowing Zuko did not make it to Iroh's liking, but he had refused her help. Iroh took a sip, coiling back in disgust. He did his best to hide his reaction.
"Good. That was very ... uh ... bracing," Iroh said. Zuko handed him another cup, which he tossed out the window when Zuko looked away. He made a 'shh' motion with his hand toward Ivana. She giggled silently.
"So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before we run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her," Zuko said, knowing that's what his mother would say.
"No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down," Iroh said honestly. Ivana did a silent cheer behind Zuko's back. She couldn't wait to serve it to the fire nation princess. "It's time to resume your training."
After a few more cups of tea (which all landed in the bushes outside the window), Iroh was able to get up. They made their way outside for some fresh air. Iroh made another pot of tea, wanting to actually be able to drink it.
"Lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind." Ivana nodded at his words, taking a sip of her tea.
"I see. That's why we're drinking tea, to calm the mind." Ivana almost snorted at his obliviousness.
"Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes. There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders 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, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning," he explained. He stood and generated a burst of lightning off the cliffside.
"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko said, determined. Ivana however, was much more tentative. She watched carefully as Zuko stood.
"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first," Iroh advised. Zuko took a deep breath before doing the motion. Ivana jumped as a loud explosion launched him back. Iroh shook his head. "Ivana, would you like to try?"
"Um, I guess," she shrugged, standing. She took a breath, focusing on separating the two energies. She attempted to shoot the lightning from her fingertips, only to have nothing be produced. She sighed. "I don't think I can do this, Iroh," she said softly, sitting back down.
"Work on it then. Someday," Iroh said, giving her some hope. She nodded as Zuko took a step forward, attempting to shoot lightning again. He was thrown back yet again. Ivana got up and helped him to his feet.
"Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning it keeps exploding in my face ... like everything always does," he complained hopelessly.
"I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you," Iroh explained gently.
"What turmoil?" Zuko questioned.
"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."
"But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever," Zuko stated.
"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," Zuko sighed.
"I have another idea. I will teach you both a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself," Iroh said with a grin. Zuko and Ivana both smiled. Iroh beckoned them closer and began to draw in the dirt with a stick. He explained what each element represented and how they were connected.
"Why are you telling us these things?" Zuko asked, confused what this had to do with his firebending lesson.
"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale," Iroh explained, dividing the symbols with some lines in the dirt. "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole." He drew a circle around the symbols.
"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff," Zuko pointed out. Ivana nodded, agreeing with him.
"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. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders," Iroh explained. He stood and the young firebenders followed his lead.
"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning," Iroh said.
"You can teach us to redirect lightning?" Zuko said in awe.
"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach," Iroh explained. He continued to explain how redirecting lightning would work. He had them copy his movements. "Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?"
"I think so," Zuko said. Ivana nodded, closing her eyes as she felt the movement.
"Come on, you've got to feel the flow," Iroh said. The three of them practiced for a few more minutes. "Excellent! You've got it!"
"Great, I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" Zuko said triumphantly. Oh my spirits he's nuts.
"What, are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous!" Iroh said, exasperated.
"I thought that was the point! You teaching me to protect myself from it!" Zuko shouted.
"Yeah! But I'm not going to shoot lightning at you! If you're lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all!" Iroh explained in disbelief that Zuko would want him to shoot lightning at him.
"Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning," Zuko huffed, looking toward the storm on a nearby peak.
"Zuko, that's crazy!" Ivana said, but she was too late. He was already galloping away on the ostrich horse. She slapped her forehead and sighed, sitting on the ground. "He's crazy and infuriating!" she huffed.
"He's still finding his own path, Ivana," Iroh said calmly, sitting down next to her. "You never told me why you came back."
"I was staying with an earth kingdom family. He ended up there too. Next thing I know he's calling me 'Vana again," she said, raking a hand through her short hair. "Spirits, he's the reason I can't separate anything," she groaned, laying flat on her back. "Not to mention I can't remember the last time I firebended without anger fueling it," she sighed, covering her face with her hands.
"You care deeply for him," Iroh said, calmly taking a sip of tea.
"Tell me something I don't know," she rolled her eyes, putting her hands at her sides.
"I mean you care for him more deeply than just a friend," Iroh explained.
"You're crazier than he is," she sighed. Ivana stared up at the sky, knowing he was right. She'd had a crush on him since she was nine years old. Everything changed when he was banished. She pushed her feelings down the best she could, knowing he had bigger problems than girls. She couldn't risk his friendship like that.
~~~
Ivana woke with a start. She knew she had another nightmare, as her chest was pounding. She got up and went outside for some fresh air. Her mind wandered to her insecurities. She found herself getting angry. Why am I afraid of fire? What kind of firebender fears fire? She hung her head, knowing exactly why she did. The last six years were so painful. She lived in so much fear. All because of that one night. Why did she have to get burned?
Before she knew it she was blasting fireball after fireball off the side of the cliff. She hated Zhao for murdering her father, his own brother. She hated that she was burned. She hated the military for taking her brothers away. She hated Ozai for burning and banishing Zuko. She hated the pain that welled in her chest each time she thought about anyone she cared for.
Ivana breathed fire over the edge of the cliff before falling to her knees in exhaustion. She yelled out, forgetting her sleeping companions. It was okay, as they had both waken up to her screaming in her sleep an hour before.
"Go to her," Iroh urged, shooing Zuko out of the house.
"'Vana?"
"What!?" Ivana gasped. He lit a flame in his palm, causing her to back away out of instinct.
He put it out. "Sorry! I just wanted to see you better."
Ivana looked away, ashamed of her fear. "Go back to bed."
"No. Not when you're like this. You've only gotten worse since the North Pole. You haven't been this angry since... well since Quin died."
"Don't act like you know what you're talking about!" Ivana yelled at him. She looked away, knowing he was right. She hadn't had enough anger to bend for a full hour in a long time.
"I know exactly what I'm talking about! Just because I've been occupied with my own stuff, doesn't mean I don't notice you." Ivana stayed silent before flopping onto her back and looking up at the stars. He laid down next to her.
"Then you know my life hasn't exactly been a picnic either," Ivana finally huffed.
"I remember when you burned, even if I didn't know you were burned. I ran into your grandfather and asked him where you were. I remember his face so clearly. It was like he was in pain and angry and sad all at once. He told me you were needed at home. I didn't question it. I had just lost my mother and I didn't have time to think about it. I still can't believe you never told me."
"I'm still not ready."
"I figured. I just wanted to let you know."
They stared up at the sky until Ivana spoke. "Do you think I'll ever see my grandfather again?"
"Yes," he answered immediately. "I'm going to capture the Avatar and we are going to go home. The first thing I'm going to do is clear your father's name," he said, not really meaning to have said the last part.
"The first? You have a list?" she asked.
"Maybe." He turned his head away from her, embarrassed.
"Tell me," she said, a small smile on her face.
"I'm going to make sure Zhao is remembered as the man he was, not what everyone thought he was. I'm going to let you stay in the palace if you want to that is. I always thought you'd make a pretty good advisor, just like your great grandfather was to Firelord Sozin," Zuko smiled at the thought of Ivana by his side.
"You really want that?" she asked, turning toward him. "I don't think I'd be very good at it. Well, I suppose it would help if you actually listened to me sometimes," Ivana tease, elbowing him. "In other words, stop doing stupid things like trying to get hit by lightning."
"Ha, ha," he said sarcastically, turning toward her. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and the waning moon provided enough light for him to see her. "Your hair... it's weird."
"What do you mean it's weird?" she asked, shocked that he would say something after such a sweet moment.
"I've never seen you with short hair. It's weird."
"Like you should talk. You're still basically bald!"
"I have hair!"
"It's like this long," she said, almost pinching her fingers together.
"Remind me why I want you to be my advisor?"
"Because I advise you to grow your hair out as soon as possible." He rolled her eyes at her with a smile. It was times like this when he was able to relax a little. She made him forget his problems. Even if it was just for a few minutes.