It's midday in the joint Fire Nation/Earth Kingdom colony of Yu Dao. Dozens of green and red-colored buildings line the cityscape as people in similarly patterned attire walk the streets. Inside the main capital building, a horseshoe-shaped desk is positioned in the center of the room. Representatives from the colony fill each seat, with Logan, Katara, Sokka, Aang, and Zuko seated at the other end.
An Earth Kingdom professor drones on about the subject of his lecture.Logan sits slightly hunched, his left elbow propping up his head, fingers cupping his eye as it twitches in boredom. Sokka leans over to Aang.
"Tell me again—how exactly is boring lecture guy supposed to help us figure out what to do with Yu Dao?""He's an expert on ancient Earth Kingdom theories of government," Aang replies enthusiastically. "The Earth King thinks we should draw on the wisdom of the past to build a society for the future."
"Even if the past bores me out of my skull," Sokka says flatly, crossing his arms on the desk and resting his head down.
"Can you two keep it down? Some of us are trying to listen!" Katara snaps.
"Sorry, Katara!" Aang says apologetically.
Sokka's head snaps up, a coy grin spreading across his face. "Surprise, surprise. My boring sister likes the boring lecture guy."
Katara shoots him a menacing glare.
"Hey! That's my girlfriend you're talking about!" Aang interjects.
Logan straightens in his seat and watches the exchange. Katara, still glaring at Sokka, flicks her wrist, sending a thin arc of water from her cup straight into Sokka's face, instantly turning to snow.
Aang covers his mouth, his shoulders shaking as he tries—and fails—to suppress his laughter. Logan rubs his eyes and smiles, shaking his head. Meanwhile, Zuko is barely listening, lost in a trance. It isn't until the professor mentions the word family that his attention snaps back.
Zuko raises a hand. "Professor, can you repeat that last part?"
The professor sighs, muttering under his breath, "A teenager is a teenager, apparently, even if he's the head of state."
Clearing his throat, he repeats, "I was explaining, Fire Lord Zuko, an ancient Earth Kingdom philosophy: Family is, in essence, a small nation, and the nation a large family. Do you understand?"
Zuko's shoulders slump slightly, his face reflecting a look of defeat. Aang, noticing his distress, frowns.
The professor continues. "By treating his own family with dignity, a ruler learns to govern his nation with dignity."
Zuko looks down, sadness weighing heavy on his features.
Aang leans forward. "Zuko, you good? I mean, have you even been listening to him? I'm trying, and all I hear is blah, blah, blah."
Zuko, staring straight ahead, replies, "I put my father in a prison and my sister in an institution. My mother's been banished for years. What does that mean for my nation?"
"Zuko, that's not what—" Aang starts, but Sokka interrupts.
"The guy's a blowhard! Only people like Katara are taking him seriously."
Katara frowns, unimpressed. She flicks her wrist again, sending another snowball toward Sokka's face.
But this time, it stops midair. Logan, using the Force, holds it in place.
"Not this time, Kat," Logan says with a smirk.
Katara glances at Logan and gives him a sarcastic grin. She flicks her fingers again, splitting the snow in half. One part slams into Sokka's face. The other smacks Logan.

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A Search within the Force and Flame
FanfictionLogan Silas Shan was raised a Jedi-trained in both war and wisdom, shaped by both darkness and light. But no lightsaber form can prepare him for grief. Not truly. Not when the ghost of his fallen master haunts his every step. Sent to a world of elem...