The Sea of Ice (Sun and Moon Book 2)

Chapter 28 - Meal

I leap to my feet, water already whirling around me in an octopus formation as I search for whatever knocked us over. Zuko fumbles, removing his gloves. He looks down, the stubborn cloth refusing to give. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a large shape headed straight for him.

Without thinking I lunge forward, barreling into him. We tumble to the ground and I look up, getting a clear look at whatever is attacking us. It's huge, bigger than me, and looks a little like a wolf-leopard. It's too long and its paws are too dainty for that to be the case, though. It's gray and speckled with white, and it paces around us like it's starving and we're its next meal.

What am I saying, we probably ARE its next meal!

"Thanks." Looking down, I see Zuko sprawled beneath me. He is very still, and he's looking at me in such a familiar way. I scowl. "Yeah, whatever. Be more careful next time, fire boy."

Then I'm up, and I ignore the flash of... something... deep in Zuko's eyes. I spin, drawing the snow up around me and forming it into water. I keep it carefully between the strange beast and Zuko and I, moving it around as the thing paces.

"Look. It follows the water." Zuko stands close to me, his gloves off and fire flickering between his palms. I frown, and watch the beast a little closer. After a moment, I see that he's right.

It's beady yellow eyes are locked not on us, but on the water that whirls around us. I look at Zuko, and he looks at me, and we both nod.

Then I move left, and he moves right; I pull the water into a condensed stream that whips through the air in intricate circles, drawing the beast toward me and away from Zuko. In the meantime, Zuko moves around behind it, and I keep my focus on the thing so it won't notice him.

As quickly as it started, it's over, as Zuko leaps into the air and brings a spinning fire-kick down on back of the thing's head. It collapses, the smell of burning hair and skin fills the air. I nearly gag, dropping the water to cover my mouth with my hands. Zuko starts toward me, worry in his eyes, but I glare at him over my hands until he backs off. I don't need his sympathy. I can take care of myself.

I use my waterbending to right the sled, and start picking up our belongings. I see some food caught in the side of the wooden contraption, and I frown. My stomach rumbles again, and I look at Zuko from the corner of my eye. He's using one of his Dao swords to carefully skin the beast--apparently he thinks we'll be able to eat it.

Quickly, I snatch up the jerky and bread and shove them in my mouth, trying to keep from moaning at the taste. I haven't eaten since... a long time ago.

I turn around, only to see Zuko looking at me with a half-smile. My heart lurches, and I breath out, scowling again. "What are YOU looking at?" I snarl, and stalk past him to a group of rocks. I hide behind them in the pretense of washing my clothes before it gets too cold, waiting for him to finish with the wolf-leopard thing.

**__**

Iroh demonstrated the move, going from a low stance to a high spinning kick, sending fire arcing through the air. Lia watched with wide eyes, then moved to copy him. She fell the first two times she tried, and Iroh started to think maybe this move was too advanced for her. But she'd already mastered all of the lower level forms, and some of the higher level ones, too. He wanted to challenge her, not teach her that she was perfect. If she thought she could do anything without really trying, then she would become arrogant.

The third time, she actually managed to land on her feet, but her form was all wrong. She frowned and looked at Iroh. "Again?" her blue eyes were wide but determined. Iroh smiled, and showed her again.

She nodded, her lips pursing in concentration. "Why don't you practice this for awhile? I am going to go check on Jin."

Lia nodded absently. "Okay."

Shaking his head and hiding another smile, Iroh walked inside the tea shop. Jin was serving a few customers, but it was so late that there were only three other people in the tea shop. She smiled at him when he came in, and he returned it easily. He surveyed the Jasmine Dragon and smiled--things were going very well.

But despite that, and despite the joy of teaching his grand-niece firebending, Iroh felt like something was missing.

He missed the infectious laughter of Aang and Toph as they practiced bending or helped him make tea. He missed the quiet concentration that Zuko put into everything, missed the silent conversations between Zuko and Kara.

He missed... he missed the way things had been. And he wondered if things would ever be that way again, if Zuko and Katara could ever get past their differences. If Katara could find herself, and Zuko could forgive her for keeping Lia a secret.

And he wondered, too, what would happen to them all. They were young, but so was this world they'd created. Aang had a big responsibility to the world, to keep the peace. And as the Firelord, Zuko had to take part in that.

Toph supported Aang, challenged him, made him think outside the box. Their elements were as opposite as Zuko's and Katara's, earth and air constantly rivaled each other. But Aang had become a great earthbender under Toph's training, and it had helped him excel. Iroh hoped the two would come to realize what he'd seen long ago, that the only way they could help shape the world was to shape it together.

And his niece and nephew... Iroh sighed. Zuko had made a mistake, and though in the scheme of things it was small, to Katara, it was all she had. Iroh knew that Zuko could get past that, make it up to her. But he was afraid that he wouldn't want to, once he learned about Lia. Katara's lie was so much worse that Zuko's had been. Lia was a part of Zuko, a part that no one had the right to take away from him.

With a sudden sadness in his heart, Iroh made his way to his room and closed the door. Even knowing all that, there was nothing he could do but what he was doing. Lia was something special, something even Iroh had never imagined he'd see. She was the perfect combination of two complete opposites, able to control both of her natures with ease. She was Harmony, and maybe, just maybe... she would be the bridge between her parents.

Iroh hoped so. He hoped so very, very much.

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Wow, guys. 0-0 So I woke up around 5 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, so I checked my email. And just... wow. You guys are so amazing. When I see all your comments and votes and stuff, it makes me want to write for y'all. So here is a present, for being so amazing, curtesey of me getting up at five AM for y'all. Enjoy. *-*