Fire and Aether

Chapter 22: Bitter Work

    Rose woke up before her friends, excited to finally be learning earthbending. The sooner she did, the sooner she could learn firebending and fulfill her destiny. Then she could finally be with Zuko without fear of family or the future.
     Sokka grumbled as Rose stretched and took in the morning. "Well good morning to you too, sunshine." she said, unable to stop smiling. 
     Zuko loved her! And, now, she had a chance to make things work out for them.
     Toph's tent made of earth exploded as she called out, "Good morning, earthbending student."
     "Good morning, Sifu Toph." Rose said, bowing in respect.
     "Hey, you never call me Sifu Katara."
     "Well, if you think I should."
     Sokka grumbled. "Sorry, snoozles."  Toph said, sarcastically. "We'll try to do our earthbending as quietly as possible."
     She earthbended Sokka into the air, causing him to let out an involuntary scream. When he landed, he hopped around in his sleeping bag, griping about being disturbed with all the loud noises.
     "Poor baby." Rose teased.
     "So what are you gonna teach her?" Aang asked in excitement, naming off a bunch of moves, ending with, "Oh a whirlpool made out of land!"
     "Let's start with move a rock."
     "Sounds easy enough."
     Toph took Rose to a spot where they could bend without harming anyone or anything. "Ok first things first. The key to earthbending is your stance. You've got to be steady and strong. Rock is a stubborn element. If you're going to move it, you've got to be like a rock yourself."
    "Like a rock. Got it."
    "Good. Now the actual motion of this one is pretty simple."
    She demonstrated a move with a single step forward and fist out as if to punch something. The rock moved and crashed into the side of the mountain.
    "Ready?"
    "Ready." Rose confirmed.
    She copied the motion but she herself was thrown backwards. Sokka laughed.
                       * * * * *
    Visions filled his subconscious as Iroh was asleep, thinking of his lost son, waking only when Zuko called for him, over and over. He slowly opened his eyes.
    "Uncle, you were unconscious." Iroh groaned as he slowly sat up. "Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack."
    "Somehow that's not so surprising." Iroh finally spoke.
    He hoisted himself into a comfortable position and Zuko handed him a cup of tea. "I hope I made it the way you like it."
    Iroh took a sip and immediately regretted it but he pretended to enjoy it, gulping down the tea to spare his nephew's feelings. 
    "So, uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I'm going to stand a chance against her. I know what you're gonna say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."
    "No. She's crazy and she needs to go down."
    Slowly, and with great difficulty, Iroh stood. "It's time to resume your training."
    Zuko nodded.
                         * * * * *
    "I don't understand what went wrong." Katara said. "You did it exactly like she did."
    "Maybe there's another way." Aang replied. "What if she goes at it from another angle?"
    "No." Rose said. "That's the airbender way. This is earthbending."
    "Exactly. You've got to face it head on."
    Toph then displayed what she meant, making Rose and Aang take a few steps back. Katara rushed forward. "I've been training Rose for awhile now and Aang did for awhile too. We've found she really responds well to a positive teaching experience--lots of encouragement and praise. Kind words. If she's doing something wrong, maybe a gentle nudge in the right direction."
     "Thanks, Katara. A gentle nudge. I'll try that."
     With that began the most intense montage of training Rose had ever been a part of. Slowly but surely, she began to get it, though. 
     "This time, we're going to try something different." Toph said. "Instead of moving a rock, we're going to stop a rock."
     The plan was that Toph would send a boulder down the hill and Rose, blindfolded, would stop it. That plan didn't work, however, and Rose portalled through the boulder instead. Toph grew angry and, to help Rose feel better, Katara suggested they work on her waterbending and then she could work on her airbending with Aang for a bit if she wanted. Rose agreed and they left, Toph taunting her.
                       * * * * *
    "Lightning is a pure expression of firebending." Iroh explained. "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."
     Iroh handed Zuko a cup of tea he himself freshly made. "I see. That's why we're drinking tea." Zuko said. "To calm the mind."
    "Oh yea, good point! I mean, yes."
    Iroh took Zuko out to the top of the mountain to practice. "There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang--positive and negative energy." Iroh explained. "Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and, in the moment, the positive and negative energy come crashing back together. You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."
    He demonstrated then let Zuko try but it came back to him in the form of an explosion. After several tries, Zuko grew frustrated.
    "I was afraid this might happen." Iroh said. "You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."
    "What turmoil??!"
    "Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame and let yourself be happy, to be loved, if you want your anger to go away."
    "But I don't feel any shame at all." Zuko protested, glossing over the other part. "I'm as proud as ever."
    "Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame and love is the only cure to fix what's broken."
    "Well my life has been nothing but humbling lately." Zuko said. "And I love Rose but..." He sighed. "It's complicated."
     "I have another idea. I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know because I made it up myself."
     Zuko smiled.
                      * * * * *
    Rose and Katara stood with the water at waist length, practicing waterbending. "You know this block you're having is only temporary."
    "I don't want to talk about it." Rose said.
    "You do realize that's the problem, don't you? If you face this issue instead of avoiding it--"
    "I can't. I don't know why but I can't."
    "You know that it's been said the most difficult thing to bend is aether because it is both a mixture of all the elements but different at the same time."
    "What's your point?"
    "That being said, the other four elements each have an opposite. If fire and water are opposites, then what's the opposite of air?"
    "Earth but what...oh." Rose realized.
    "That's why it's so hard for you to get this. You're working with the closest thing to your natural opposite."
    "Is that true though? I was originally an aetherbender. Shouldn't the rest come easy?"
    "Nothing's easy, Rose."
    "Like love." Rose thought. Katara blushed and Rose caught it. "You like Aang, don't you?"
    Katara's blush darkened. "I mean...that's just...that's--" She tried to laugh it off.
    Rose laughed too. "I think it's cute. The two of you deserve to be happy."
    "You deserve to be happy with your mystery guy too."
    A small smile quirked her lips. "I really hope one day we can get that happiness." She looked at Katara. "And you're not subtle. I can't tell you who he is yet."
    Katara shook her head. "Whatever you say. Anyway, you'll figure everything out. I know you will."
    "Thanks, Katara. Sis."
                         * * * * *
     Iroh began to draw in the dirt.
    "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. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, the apparently had pretty good senses of humor. 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. Aether is the element of wisdom and love. The people of the Aether Realm are clever and strong, loving and kind and they protect those that they care about because forming a strong bond with someone is difficult for them and lasts for life."
    With each element he spoke of, Iroh drew their symbols in the dirt:

    Zuko was quiet as Iroh as he explained everything but he finally spoke up, "Why are you telling me these things?"
    "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 around each of the five elements he drew. "Understanding others--the other elements and the other nations--will help you become whole." He made his point by circling the elements.
    "All this five elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff." Zuko said, confused.
    "It is the combination of the five elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful but it can make you more powerful too. And it can help you to better understand her." Zuko blushed. "You see, the technique I am about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders."
    Zuko smiled. Not only could this help him fight Azula, he could understand Rose better. Possibly then he could prove himself to her.
                        * * * * *
    Rose was meditating with Aang, Toph teasing her, when Katara came running up. "Guys, I haven't seen Sokka all day. I think something's wrong."
    "We'll find him faster if we split up." 
    So they did, each of the three of them rushing off to find Sokka. Sokka had gotten stuck in a hole while trying to hunt for food. Being stuck for so long, he promised that he'd give up meat and sarcasm if someone could get him out. That's when Rose showed up.
    "Rose, I could kiss you!" Sokka said. "Have you got any meat?"
    "Sokka, hun, as much as I love you, I'm not kissing you. Are you ok?"
    Rose tried to get Sokka out but nothing she tried worked. "Earthbending?"
    "I can't do it."
    "Well if you can't earthbend me out of here, go get Toph."
    "I can't do that either. This whole earthbending thing really has me confused. There's so much pressure. Everyone expects me to get it right away. I don't know what to do. If I try, I fail. But if I don't, I'm never gonna get it. And it's so much harder than everything else I've learned. Aetherbending is in my blood. Sword fighting was easy. Airbending came without too much trouble. Even waterbending came easy. I'm sorry to dump my problems on you but you're one of my dearest friends."
    "Happy to help."
    The little animal that had been hanging around Sokka walked up. "Aw, what a cutie!" Rose said, holding the baby. "You're adorable for a little baby saber tooth moose lion cub. But where's your mom?"
    Her question was answered when a loud growl sounded from nearby and the mother showed up. At first, she tried to placate the animal but it attacked. Rose fought off the animal and Toph revealed herself to be watching the whole time. Rose told her off, earning Toph's respect.
     "Do it now."
     "What?"
     "Earthbend, princess. You just stood your ground against a crazy beast and, even more impressive, you stood your ground against me. You've got the stuff. Do it."
     And Rose did.
     "You did it! You're an earthbender."
     Toph helped Sokka out of the ground and, relieved, Sokka said, "Thanks, Toph! I could kiss you right now!"
     "No thanks." Toph sassed but Rose saw the small blush cover her cheeks.
     Team Avatar reunited with each other and Rose showed that she could earthbend. Together, the group celebrated. Silently, Rose celebrated being one step closer to her future with Zuko. Everything was going right, finally...
                        * * * * *
    Iroh had refused to use actual lightning on Zuko despite teaching him the movements. Angry, he headed to the top of the mountain to take on regular lightning. The lightning even refused to strike him. He yelled into the storm, laid down, and cried.