Fire Heart

Chapter 22

We sit in an abandoned building waiting for Uncle to wake up. I start making the tea. I go to bend some water into the pot but when it's about to go in, I get an extremely bad pain all over. I manage to get the water in and start a fire beneath it with my Fire Bending. I let out a small groan of pain, causing Rin and Zuko to look at me.

"Are you okay?" Rin asks.

"I'm fine." I reply sharply. Zuko chuckles.

"Your stubborn side is showing." Zuko teases. I look away from him and glare at the floor. He appears beside me and he wraps his arms around me. But I pull away and tears fill my eyes.

"Please tell me what's wrong." Zuko pleads.

"I'm fine." I tell him, although my voice begins to crack and shake as I try not to cry.

"Ivy, I know you're upset. But I can't help if you won't tell me what's wrong." Zuko says.

"You left us! Uncle needed you! I needed you! You left me Zuko." I sob. Zuko's face falls.

"I never meant to hurt you, Ivy. But now you know how I felt when you just up and left with your glider to catch up with Aang on the way to Roku's island." Zuko says sadly.

"I had to go though. It was something I had to do as the Avatar's Guardian. Roku needed to talk to Aang and I." I remind him with tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I understand that now. But you left me confused and hurt. I thought you left because of something I did. Why aren't you mad at me right now?" Zuko asks.

"I could never be angry at you Zuko. But I am disappointed that you didn't think to talk to me about what was going on with you." I reply, my crying coming to a slow stop.

"I'd rather you be mad at me! Shoot fire at me! Water! Rocks! Anything!" Zuko exclaims. I reach forward and take his hands in mine.

"Zuko, I won't hit you with anything. I'm not supposed to bend anyway." I tell him.

"What? Why?" Zuko asks worriedly.

"It's beginning to be bad for the baby. Whenever I bend, it hurts. It feels like I got stepped on, lightly, by Appa." I reply. Zuko frowns and moves closer to me. He pulls me into a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry, Ivy." Zuko whispers shakily. I run a hand through his short hair.

"It's okay, My Love. You're here now. And that's all that matters." I whisper back softly. We pull out of the hug and he kisses my cheek.

"You two are just so cute." Rin says and fans herself with her hand as she tries not to cry. I giggle at her. Uncle let's out a small groan as he sits up. Rin fills a cup with the tea I made and hands it to him.

"Ivy made it." Rin tells Iroh.

"I hope it's alright." I say. He takes a sip and smiles.

"Perfect." Uncle says. I smile back at him.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"A bit sore. Thank you, Ivy." Uncle replies.

"Uncle, once you're better we have to complete my training. If I'm going to have any chance against Azula, I have to be ready." Zuko says. "I know, I should get along with her cause she's my sister."

"No, Azula's crazy and needs to go down. I'm afraid I won't be able to teach you at this rate." Uncle says. I sigh.

"I'll teach Zuko what he needs to know." I say.

"But..." Rin begins.

"I know. But I think I'm just a bit sore from not having the right nutrients. And besides, Zuko needs to know how to do these things." I tell her.

"Can we start now?" Zuko asks. I laugh.

"Of course!" I exclaim. Rin and I help Uncle up before going up a mountain. I look at Zuko.

"Okay, you've pretty much mastered Fire Bending. But now you have to learn two more things. How to create and redirect lightning. First I'll teach you how to create lightning." I tell Zuko. His eyes light up with excitement and he nods.

"Take your middle and pointing fingers on both hands and hold them an inch away from each other by your core. Focus on them and imagine all of your energy flowing to your finger tips, next you carefully move your right or left hand in a swooping motion by your side. Then shoot it at your target." I instruct Zuko as I show him how to create lightning.

"Give it a try." I say. He nods. I stand back with Rin and Uncle. Zuko does what I did and it explodes in front of him, causing him to be thrown backwards. He stands up with an irritated look. He tries again and the same thing happens. He has too much anger bottled inside. He tries it for the sixth time and he growls.

"I do it exactly like how you told me to! But it keeps exploding in my face! Like everything always does!" Zuko exclaims to me in frustration and disappointment.

"You have to much anger inside you, My Love. But maybe it'd be best if I taught you to redirect lightning first. Azula doesn't know how to do that." I tell Zuko. His face lights up and he nods while standing up.

"But first I must tell you who came up with this and how. Sit back down Zuzu." I say and grab a stick. He does as I say and sits down.

"Our very own Uncle Iroh is the genius behind redirecting lightning." I tell Zuko.

"Really?" Zuko asks in shock. I giggle and nod.

"Now, you know the four nations. Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. The Air Nomads are known for being spiritually enlightened and think of all living things to be connected in some way. They also have an amazing sense of humor." I tell Zuko with a big smile as I remember Aang's jokes. I draw the Air symbol in the sand with the stick.

"The Water Tribe citizens are known to be calm and kind. They have a go-with-the-flow type of personality. But they are determined and strong. They also know how to have lots of fun." I tell Zuko and draw the Water symbol in the sand with the stick. As I tell him that, I think of Sokka and Katara.

"The Earth Kingdom people are brave, loyal, and strong. Most of the time they are downright honest and never give up on a fight." I tell Zuko, thinking of Toph and Rin as I draw the Earth symbol in the sand with the stick.

"And the Fire Nation citizens are known to be hot-headed and stubborn. Although they are passionate and have a pretty good sense of humor." I tell Zuko as I draw the Fire symbol, thinking of him and Uncle as I do so.

"These four together create the four nations. And they balance each other with their diversity." I tell Zuko.

"Why are you teaching me this? Isn't this Avatar stuff?" Zuko asks. I sigh.

"In order for you to understand the move, you have to understand the culture in which it comes from. Uncle learned how to redirect lightning by studying Water Benders. The brave benders of the Water Tribes fight differently than the rest of the world. They use their bending to turn one's strength on themselves." I reply and gesture for him to get up.

"So this is a Water Bender move?" Zuko asks. I nod.

"And now it's also a Fire Bender move." I reply. He smiles. I slowly do the move.

"You start at one wrist and carefully make your way down to your stomach and then aim it away from you. Always make sure to stay away from your heart. If you don't make the detour, the results could be fatal." I tell him as he begins copying me.

"Okay. I think I'm ready to try it with real lightning." Zuko says. My eyes widen.

"You want me to shoot lightning at you!? Are you crazy!?" I cry.

"That was the whole point of teaching me the form wasn't it!?" Zuko exclaims.

"I'm not shooting lightning at you, Zuko." I say.

"Fine, if you won't teach me, I'll find my own lightning." Zuko says before leaving. Fire shoots out of my hands as my anger flares up.

"Stop walking away from me!" I yell in the direction he left in before storm off to the building where we have our stuff. I plop down on my 'bed' and cross my arms. I can't believe he's doing this again.