when fire meets air

Chapter 18: Aang

What was he thinking?

Aang walked down the hallway with the composure of a king, where inside he was shaking and quivering like the true child he was. He knew he shouldn't have done that, but what else was he going to do? It wasn't like he was going to merely let Zuko beat the shit out of him, and he certainly wasn't raised to resort to violence. 

Once he was completely out of view from Zuko, he took a deep breath and slid to the floor, his heart racing and his eyes wide. If he had hair, he would be pulling it out at this moment, but that wasn't a possibility. Instead, he fiddled with the hem of his robe and stared at the painting that was framed on the wall of his room. It had been years since Sokka had painted it, and to this day it was one of his prized possessions. Sure, they all looked completely off and wrong, but it was the thought that counted. His eyes traced the shaky lines of ink until he had completely calmed down, and he stood up only to hear the sound of little fingers knocking at the screen on his window.

Aang walked over to the window, knowing exactly who it was, and let the little lemur in. Momo flew up onto his shoulder with a happy chirp, and then proceeded to drop something into his hand. It was a black band and red, worn out by time. 

It was Zuko's hair tie.

Shit.

He knew he was going to need to face him eventually, even if he could avoid him for the whole day. They would need to be in the same room for dinner, unless Aang wanted to be a complete coward and leave both the tie and his dinner outside his door. No, he was bigger than that, he would brave seeing him and be the bigger man. He wouldn't bring up the kiss, or anything personal, but he would make small talk and be decent, as he was sure that they could be peaceful for the remaining 4 days. But for now, he was going to practice his bending before he would go and visit Appa, as it soon would be time for them to take the flight that they usually did every day. He was a big flying bison, they need a lot of exercise.

It was a clear day, something that was always a constant in the air temple where he had set up his home. There were big, white fluffy clouds in the sky that blew by leisurely with the wind, and beautiful trees whose green leaves swayed in turn. It was beautiful, and he was lucky to live here. The temple was also located next to a natural stream, which was something that was incredibly useful for Aang because it meant that he would have access to all of the elements without having to bring them.

Well, all except for fire.

He would always need to bring that, as for some reason he was not yet powerful enough to pull the element from his surroundings. He had seen Zuko's Uncle Iroh do it in the water temple, and had done it himself in his Avatar state, but he had never done it when he was just Aang. And so he practiced. He focused all of his energy on his chakras, pulling the warmth that was created by every little emotion which burned in his heart. All of the hate, the love, the embarrassment, the fear, the doubt. Everything he felt in his short life he poured into his emotions, and yet...

Nothing.

He was the Avatar, the only person in the world that could bend every single element, and yet he always hit a wall at this point. He had tried everything to surpass this issue; he had meditated for hours on end, he had prayed, he had practiced until his feet bled, he had even gone to the spirit world to try to receive any sort of guidance, but there was always nothing. Aang had even thought about seeking out Iroh himself, but he felt too much shame after sentencing his only nephew to a life in prison.

Or so he thought.

Aang decided that once he got back to his room, he would write a scroll to Iroh begging for his help, and apologising profusely for everything he had put Zuko through. But first, it was time for Appa's 'walk'. The Avatar put away all of his practice equipment and headed toward Appa's living quarters, trying his best to have a positive spring in his step despite all the events that had transpired that day.