(Aden's P.O.V)

I gently placed my palms on the tea cup sitting on the table and cleared my throat.

"I have…"

Iroh's hand came up to stop me.

"I know you have questions." He said, eyes closed while breathing in the steam wafting off the tea cup in his hands. He sighed out in contentment. "This part you do not interrupt. This is the part, you enjoy the serenity."

I scrunched up my eyebrows and picked up the cup imitating him and breathing in the steam. Instantly…my whole mind grew clearer and I felt at peace. I blinked my eyes open and frowned. The cup was empty. I remember it being 3 quarters full of a green liquid. Warm to the touch and aromatic. I looked up following a slight chuckle from Iroh.

"You look confused. Brings out fond memories with my nephew."

I placed the cup firmly down, taking his statement as the cue to speak.

"How are you doing it?"

I asked him, motioning to the tea table between us, holding up 2 cups and one kettle. Iroh ignored me in favor of taking a sip from his seemingly never ending tea.

"You will have to be more precise. How was the tea?"

"It was… calming. At least the aroma was, I never took a sip yet it's empty. I blinked and when my eyes opened the tea was gone."

Iroh hummed.

"That is… troubling. Are you sure?"

I looked at him in confusion.

"Sure about what? The cup is e…emp…ty."

I looked down and stiffened. The aforementioned utensil was full. The color of the tea perfect and even. Steam rose from it into the air.

"How?"

I lifted it up and studied it. Was it a trick of the mind? I glanced at Iroh who still saw fit to ignore me and took a ginger sip.

Bitter taste filled my mouth yet…an overpowering sensation of freedom gripped my body. Like the combination of a shower, massage, sleep and weed intoxication. I blacked out for the second time. When I came to, the cup was similarly empty. My bones felt stiff. As of I hadn't stretched my body in hours. Something was fucking with my perception. I accessed my telepathy, to get rid of any mind control or such but came up empty. That meant…

"My spirit…" I brought a hand to my chest and felt the comfort of my heartbeat. "How are you affecting it."

A glint of interest finally appeared on Iroh's face.

"So you are smart. I'm glad to see you're asking the right questions." He took another slow sip of his tea.

"Unfortunately, you are wrong. I am not affecting your spirit in any way. The unique spiritual essence of the tea on the other hand…" He trailed off with another laugh. "Is a different matter. You sat there gazing at the sky for 3 hours. It was entertaining." He finished with a belly laugh.

I frowned down at the cup.

"So I was basically getting high and you sat there and didn't stop me. In fact, you refilled the cup twice for me to drink again." I tsked.

"I never told you to pick up the cup. You just assumed, I was offering you tea."

"Bullsh…" Wait he was right. After spotting him, I basically walked over, propped my ass down and picked up the steaming cup of tea before me.

"Then why would you place it so conveniently, infront of me?"

I asked him, poking holes in his answer. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, his lips turned up in a knowing smile.

"The cup was never meant for me, was it?" I sighed.

"Correct. I was having tea with a good friend when I received your rather unexpected invitation. I had no way of knowing the tea set would follow me here."

I felt like groaning.

"Lemme guess, that is lesson number 1, never jump to conclusions, assume or presume without having all the details."

I rolled my eyes with a smile, admitting that he'd caught me off guard. Unexpectedly he shook his head.

"No, the lesson is, always ask for permission first."

I blinked before slapping my palm on my forehead.

"I did it again…jumped to conclusions."

Another laugh from the wizened general told me I was correct. I couldn't help it, his laugh was infectious. I found myself chuckling at my own stupidity. I don't know if it was the tea or just the general welcoming aura, Iroh exuded but I felt relaxed. At ease, my body not coiled up in tension, ready for another fight.

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"My name is Aden Strong." I introduced myself, remembering that I actually hadn't. Neither of us had, though I obviously knew him.

"Welcome to my world."

I concluded motioning around us.

"Thank you, Aden. You seem to know of me. Your demeanor says it all. I feel like it would be remiss if I did not introduce myself, however. You can call me Iroh."

He said with a smile.

I nodded back at him and we settled into a comfortable silence. The cup of tea refilled once again but I did not try to bring it close to my mouth. My lesson had been learned. Whatever was in it…was currently too strong for me. Iroh placed his own cup gently down and nodded at me in approval.

"Understanding your limits, knowing what you're capable of and not, helps you grow."

I found myself agreeing. It was…hard to accept sometimes. That you've hit the peak of what you can handle but…it was in a sense comforting to know that you could still get better. Still do better.

"I sense the Avatar's unique chi composition inside you. Intriguing. Never in my years have I encountered this. What is troubling, is your spirit itself."

He started, his tone taking on a serious note. My heart begun beating a little bit faster. Nothing ever good, in all the fictional worlds I know, comes from the implications of what Iroh was saying. My spirit was… troubling? That is the core of all I am! That is my soul! I swallowed.

"What are you talking about?"

He held up the cup and tapped it. The ringing sound it produced spread out through the surroundings and I found myself in an ethereal space filled with blue energy. The blue gave birth to a myriad of more colors, blending into a kaleidoscope that precedented a tale. Iroh's presence seemed to dim before disappearing. The only thing left behind was his voice.

"This tea provides the bare nourishing to a regular spirit and mild relaxation to an Avatar. It is not meant to intoxicate you nor should it overwhelm your spirit. Yet it does. To put things into perspective, you need to understand something. A new Avatar is born when the current one dies." I listened, nodding at his explanation, already knowing all of that. Part of the blue energy mist coalesced into a familiar figure. Wan. The first Avatar. "The process of reincarnation effectively gives the old soul a new body to live in, before reincarnating again after their longevity comes to an end." Wan was replaced by another unfamiliar Avatar, one who gave way to dozens more then hundreds before familiar figures started to appear. I saw Kyoshi give way to Roku, who gave way to Aang who was reborn as Korra before Korra turned into a dark skinned boy.

"The strength of one's soul is based on the experiences they have gone through. A being like the Avatar, hence is exceptionally powerful." The energy showing the figure of the dark skinned boy, changed to a scene of him bending sand, earth, metal, fire, lightning, water, ice, steam and air. His body wound down from the bending stances and he sat cross legged. His hands bumped into one another, ending in fists with his eyes closed.

"Their spirit have gone through multiple cycles and rebirths that at the end of it…all, they are able to exist as the node of a delicate balance between the mortal world and the spirit world. Belonging to neither but both."

The boy's eyes opened. One of them shone an opaque white. Similar to my own whenever I was in the Avatar State while the other was blank. Nothing inside but a hole of black with the exception of pinpricks of light. Like stars shining in the open space. A film of energy split his world into two. Each section retaining a part of him. The left side was colored white with his clothes glowing and flapping in the wind while the right side was colored blue.

I blinked my eyes and found myself back on my Fire Plane. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just to be sure I looked down at the cup of tea and found it to be full and safely out of my reach. Which meant all that was a vision of Iroh's own doing. He could affect my spiritual perception. Make me see what I wanted to see. Befuddle my mind with illusions. I looked down at the skin of my palm and understood what he meant by saying 'troubling.'

"My spirit...it's weak. Isn't it? Too weak for an Avatar."

I came to the conclusion with a bitter laugh. A conclusion he had guided me towards. Studying his face did not reveal what I hoped. It did not show me I was wrong. That I was jumping to conclusions again. What I saw was the confirmation I needed.

"The process that turned you into the master of all the elements, neglected to similarly uplift that part of you. It was artificial and has placed great strain on your soul. It's frankly a wonder that you still hold rational thought. Bending is melding your energy with the energy of the world and if your spirit is weak or bendable...then you will be corrupted by that which you seek to influence with your will."

The bombshell dropped.