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It's dusk and Zuko and Katara are resting atop rocks at the lakebed near their camp. They watch the last rays of sunlight dissipate as they take a break from their training. Like usual the exhaustion has their minds wander and they strike up a rather philosophical conversation.
"They say benders' personality reflect their element. I don't think they're far off." Zuko starts and whips up a small orange flame in the palm of his hand. Katara just lets out an encouraging 'hmmm', knowing he has more to say. She liked listening to him rant and sometimes they had lengthy and at times heated discussions. They had grown to be close friends over their shared journey with the gaang.
The story he told took shape in the flames that at first had calmly rested on his palms.
Aang can be gentle like a breeze or destructive like storm. He goes his own way, regardless of what comes across his path. He carries all of us with him like we're just leaves in the wind.
Gusts of small yellow flames turned to chuncky green flames as he continued.
Toph is tough as a rock, but soft at her core. Under pressure, some of her best qualities shine. She is always there to catch you if you fall, though she won't let you get away with it easily.
They both giggle but Zuko continues before Katara can comment. He'd been working up to this, gathering courage. His flames turn a mystic blue and start flowing across his hands.
You are graceful like water, you have a calming effect over people. You nurture us like a caring parent. You're flexible, multi-talented and essential.
The beautiful blue fire fills the silence. You could feel the change immediately, the cindering heat from the raging red flame runs wild on Zuko's palms. Katara had to keep herself from flinching, curious to the story of the flames themselves
I'm dangerous like fire, I destroy and burn until I'm out of fuel and fade away. I'm hard to control and can have a toxic effect on people.
Zuko halts when he feels Katara's cool hand on his scar. She looks him sternly in his eyes. Hers burn with tears, he can tell. She then gathers water from the lake and skillfully shapes it into flames as Zuko listen and stares in awe
You're warm like fire, you provide light. Even when you burn too bright, you leave fertile ground in your wake. People fear you when really you're gentle and need protection. You talk about being toxic when you've kept burning despite all the poison the threw at you.
By now Zuko has thrown his arms around Katara, nuzzling his nose into her hair which even so far removed still smells faintly of the sea. He can no longer hold back the floodgate when she whispers: "Every element be used for both good and evil, we all have our own balance of blacks and whites."
Eventually, they let go of each other and Zuko, in an attempt to break the tension, asks "So we're all zebras?"
"Did you have to ruin the moment, dork?" Katara yells and shoves him into the water.
Ever since that afternoon, Zuko has been less afraid of using his bending and seemed overall more confident with himself. And Katara, she felt like she finally understood him better.