The next morning the group had gathered outside of Jeong Jeong's cottage. Sokka was sitting on a boulder by the river, calmly fishing while Katara was practicing waterbending slightly up the river as Harry, Aang, and Jeong Jeong stood in front of the cottage. Aang stood with his hands closed into fists and resting at his hips, bandy-legged, on a flat stone in the river. Jeong Jeong stands a foot or two away on the bank in front of his cottage while Harry stood next to him with his arms crossed.
"Widen your stance." Jeong Jeong told Aang who spread his legs out more.
"Wider," Harry said, narrowly beating out Jeong Jeong. "close enough." He added after Aang had done as he was told.
"Bend your knees more," Jeong Jeong spoke next. "now...concentrate." Aang took in a deep breath before his face scrunched up in confusion.
"Wait, what do I do now?!" Aang blinked.
"Silence!" Jeong Jeong snapped at Aang.
"What? You don't know?" Harry asked mockingly. "I figured that since you were the 'great' Avatar that clearly knows better than his teachers that you would know what to do," Harry commented, causing Aang's cheeks to flush red.
"Hey, I..."
"Silence!" Jeong Jeong barked at Aang. "Talking is not concentrating! Look at your friend, is she talking?" He gestured to Katara before he pointed towards Sokka. "Even that big-headed, pony-tailed disgrace knows to concentrate on what he's doing!"
"Hey!" An offended Sokka protested.
"Ha!" Harry laughed.
"But what am I concentrating on?" Aang asked with a frown.
"Thought you would know," Harry commented under his breath before Jeong Jeong answered Aang's question.
"Focus on the heat from the sun. It is the greatest source of fire in the world, yet, it is completely in balance with nature!"
"So...when do I get to make some fire?" Aang asked with a grin.
"When we say so! Now concentrate!" Harry snapped at Aang, quickly wiping the smile off of the young Avatar's face. Jeong Jeong breathed out a heavy sigh before walking off, shaking his head and muttering curses under his breath.
"So...is this the next part of the training?" Aang asked as he followed Harry and Jeong Jeong up a mountain.
"You have to deal with this all the time?" Jeong Jeong whispered to Harry.
"That plus the two Water Tribe siblings," Harry confirmed with a nod. "all day, every day."
"Your self-control is incredible." Jeong Jeong muttered.
"Are we going up here so we don't burn anything with my fireblasts?" Aang asked.
"You're not doing any fireblasts," Harry responded, rolling his eyes.
"What?!"
"The young dragon is right," Jeong Jeong agreed. "you are far from ready. That's why you have been brought up here. You must practice your breathing."
"Breathing?"
"It's far more important than people credit it for," Harry nodded. "it helps you not only increase your physical strength but can also help you increase the strength of your firebending attacks and help you control it better."
"You are well-informed." Jeong Jeong complimented Harry who gave him a small smile in return. "Firebending comes from the breath," He told Aang. "therefore you must master your breathing."
"Are you guys serious?" Aang asked with disbelief. "You dragged me all the way up here so I can learn to breathe?"
"Aang, I'm arguably the Fire Nation's most infamous fighter while Jeong Jeong over here is a legend who has trained a great many Fire Nation soldiers, you should believe that we at least have some idea about how to properly train someone." Harry sighed as they reached the top of the mountain.
"Assume your stance." Jeong Jeong said as he looked away from Aang, taking a moment to appreciate the heavenly sight of the forest and the rising sun. "Wider." He said without looking away.
"But you didn't even look!" Aang protested.
"Wider!" He snapped, with Harry silently nodding in agreement. Aang bit back a sigh and did as he was told. "Now, inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth - without talking. Good, keep going." Jeong Jeong said before he walked off, leaving Aang and Harry alone.
"Is he serious?" Aang asked once Jeong Jeong was gone. "We're just supposed to sit up here and do nothing?"
"No, you are supposed to stand up here in your proper stance and breath, I'm going to go train for a while then go and hang out with Jeong Jeong," Harry said before he turned and walked off. "see you, Aang."
"Wait, you're going to leave me here?" Aang called out to him.
"I don't see the point in staying, you don't listen to me," Harry said coldly without turning back or stopping.
"May I sit with you?" Harry asked after stepping into Jeong Jeong's cottage and finding the man sat down, surrounded by candles once more and heating up tea. Jeong Jeong stared at him for a moment before letting out a grunt which Harry took to mean a 'yes'. Harry calmly sat down in front of him, accepting the cup of tea the Jeong Jeong offered him. "Hmm," Harry took a small sip of it. "nice, but Iroh makes it better," Harry smirked.
"I imagine he does," Jeong Jeong took a sip from his own cup before staring at Harry. "he trained you?" It was phrased as a question, but they both knew it wasn't, despite that Harry still answered.
"One of the people that did, yes," Harry confirmed before sipping at his tea again. "the Fire Nation invested a lot into making me their greatest weapon. I suppose, in a way, I have you to thank for who I am now."
"Thank me?" Jeong Jeong repeated questioningly.
"The first person ever to leave the military alive," Harry recited. "you were...are a big inspiration to me. Not even General Iroh, the 'Dragon of the West' was able to do what you did."
"Because he never wanted to or had to." Jeong Jeong pointed out since Iroh was a member of Fire Nation royalty and the heir to the throne, he was expected to leave his position after his father's death to take over as the Fire Lord and command the army from the throne, and probably would have if Ozai hadn't taken the throne.
"True, but still, it's an impressive accomplishment," Harry continued. "you gave me hope, hope that I wouldn't spend the rest of my life getting aimed at anyone that upset the Fire Lord."
"I'm glad that you are not like the rumors I've heard of you," Jeong Jeong admitted. "fire...fire is dangerous. To have it...it's a curse."
"Only if you let it be."
"Fire is dangerous, it is living, alive. If not controlled, it can cause horrible damage to not just those around the bender but the bender himself."
"Hey, you don't need to tell me that," Harry shook his head slightly. "but that doesn't change what I said. Fire is a natural part of life, yes, it can destroy. But it can also provide warmth and comfort, it can help keep us alive. The plants around us need the light from the sun, the animals around the plants need the plants to eat. Fire, just like any other element can be dangerous if not properly controlled, but just like any other element, it's a part of our world and I believe that we would be better working with it than fighting against it." Jeong Jeong frowned and looked like he was about to say something when they both heard the sound of footsteps, seconds later Aang entered. "Do my eyes deceive me or is somebody being disobedient?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall either of us telling you that you could stop."
"I've been breathing for hours!" Aang complained.
"I've been breathing since before I was born, what's your point?" Harry asked in a dry voice.
"Can you two please just stop wasting my time and teach me fire bending?!" An exasperated Aang demanded.
"We are teaching you firebending!" Jeong Jeong snapped. "You're not listening!"
"I am!"
"Are you?" Harry snorted. "We both told you that you weren't ready and you ignored us and insisted we teach you, and when we both try to train you with a training program that we both agreed on, you complained every step of the way. In fact, you literally just stopped doing what we told you to do...you baldy."
"Because you're not teaching me properly! I already know how to breathe and squat and feel the sun! I want to shoot fire out of my fingertips!"
"I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline." Jeong Jeong sighed. "He was only concerned with the power of fire - how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path, but fire is a horrible burden to bear. Its nature is to consume and without control, it destroys everything around it if it is allowed to run free."
"He is right," Harry frowned. "even the weakest firebender needs to be careful to not accidentally burn that which need not be burnt or hurt those that he doesn't want to be hurt, a single spark in the wrong place can have disastrous consequences. My fiendfyre, my personal technique, is - forgive the lack of modesty - honestly one of, if not, the most advanced form of firebending. If I don't control it, it won't stop, it'll consume everything in its path. I control it because I have discipline and because I can focus and concentrate, if I don't then I would be killed by it."
"I..."
"Listen to him!" Jeong Jeong barked. "The young dragon speaks wisely, if anybody were to know the destructive power of fire it would be him. The Fire Nation sang tales of his power loud enough for everyone to hear. Learn restraint or risk destroying yourself and everything that you hold dear." Jeong Jeong warned.
Eventually, it seemed like Aang had taken Jeong Jeong's words into consideration, or at least had acted good enough to get Jeong Jeong to allow him to start working with fire. Unfortunately for Aang, he didn't seem to like his current training any better.
"Concentrate," Jeong Jeong said as he paced in front of Aang who was standing on top of a rock in the river in the same stance that Jeong Jeong had had him practice, with the only noticeable difference being the leaf he held in his hand, a leaf that was burnt in the center. "focus," He said when he saw Aang's eyes drift to where Katara was practicing an advanced waterbending move. "do not let the fire expand, control it."
"I really thought that I'd be doing more than this," Aang muttered under his breath.
"Shut up and don't burn the damn leaf," Harry said irritatedly. "one more complaint and I'll give you first-hand experience on how it feels to be hit by fire."
"Master!" One of the members of Chey's tribe called as he rushed into view. "Master...there...there is trouble..." He blurted out after taking a moment to catch his breath.
"Of course there is." Harry softly snorted, rolling his eyes. "My life is strewn with cowpat from the devil's own satanic herd." He said under his breath.
"What's wrong?!" Aang blurted out.
"There's this bald cunt that's not focusing on his goddamn leaf," Harry answered. "that's what's wrong," Harry said before Jeong Jeong took over.
"He is right, focus on the leaf." Jeong Jeong agreed before walking off with Harry following after him.
"This is so not fair," Aang said, shaking his head. "this is the worst firebending lesson ever."
"How would you know, Aang?" Katara asked, having heard him. She stopped waterbending so she could give him her full attention.
"I thought I'd be doing better than this! I was hoping for fire blasts and fire waves...and...and actual fire!" Aang complained. "All Jeong Jeong does is make me concentrate and breath for hours and all Harry does is agree with him!"
"Aang," Katara spoke in a soft voice. "Jeong Jeong and Harry are two of the best firebenders of the modern world, maybe even of all time, I'm sure that they both know what they're doing. You don't get reputations as big as those two have without knowing what to do." She pointed out.
"But I'm ready for more!" Aang protested before remembering to concentrate on his leaf, Aang paused as an idea came into his head. A second later the leaf was burnt away and replaced with a small flame. "Katara! Look, I'm firebending!" He said excitedly.
"That's nice, Aang, but...I think you should stop..." Katara said nervously when she saw Aang tossing the fire around like it was a ball. "...Aang, I think that you should stop!" She repeated when it seemed like he wasn't looking.
"Katara! Katara! Look at me!" Aang grinned before throwing the fire into the air, he spread his arms out and watched with glee as the flames spread outwards. He couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of power over such a powerful and wild element. In fact, he likely would have spent even longer admiring his work if not for the sudden scream that pierced through his thoughts. His gaze snapped to the side as he saw Katara drop onto her knees, tears dropping from her eyes and burn marks on her hands.