"You're so full of shit," Soyala replied, giving him a flat look. But she didn't press the issue, for now. She knew he was bullshitting her, of course, but there was nothing she could do about it for the moment, so she let the subject drop. "Unless you're going to give me a place to stay, like you said, I'm heading back to the Fire Temple when I leave here. So if I were you, I'd make up my mind now about what's going to happen."

"God, when did you get so pushy?" Koda growled slightly toward Soyala before taking her arm and pulling her to one of the maids. "Clarice, please set a room for Miss Soyala, and see that all of her needs are taken care of." He nonchalantly rolled his eyes. There. She wanted a room, and now she had it. It was as simple as that. Though, it might be a little... off.. for him to be offering a room for her in his own home. Nonetheless, she had a room, and could easily practice all three other elements while waiting for his father. There was a temple nearby, small sources of water, and mountains a few miles out.

"Clearly, you need someone to be pushy," Soyala replied with a smirk as she was pulled along. "Besides, you offered me a place to stay first, anyways." When he let her go, she looked at him and added, "Manhandle me like that again and I'll break your arm. Just so we're clear." With that, she turned to follow the maid.

Koda watched Soyala leave for a moment before marching back up to his room. His father would return soon enough, and Soyala would be gone. Besides, whatever his father was doing had to become tiring soon enough. Last time he left, he returned after a month or so. Koda never did find out exactly what his father was doing, but he guaranteed it wasn't honorable in the least.

Soyala settled into the room she was given without complaint. It was a nice room, with a view of the grounds, and she even managed to smile at the maid who tentatively brought in a vase of water to set by the door. Well, at least she would be comfortable while waiting for the general to return.

Within a few days, Koda's father had returned. Sure, he was unkept and had an odor seeping out of him, but he was home. Koda dared not to ask where his father had gone, let alone why he was gone so long. He merely nodded to his father out of respect and mentioned that Soyala was in a guest bedroom. Upon hearing that, Nyamen briskly climbed the stairs and headed straight for the guest room. He didn't even spare the time to shower and take a look in the mirror. Apparently, Soyala was a 'very important asset'.

"Miss Avatar?" Nyamen hacked out in a raspy voice while knocking on the door.

It was only pure chance that had Soyala in the guest room when Nyamen knocked. Normally, she was out in the back courtyard working with one of the other three elements, but this time she was in the guest room meditating instead. It took her a few moments to get to the door, but she did.

And only a few years of court-polish training kept her from making a face when she realized how unkempt Nyamen really was.

"General," she greeted, giving a respectful bow. "I hope my being here isn't an inconvenience."

"Oh, no, no. It's quite the contrary, my dear." Nyamen's voice oozed kindness, something which was rarely present in his everyday life. It was important for the Avatar to be on the side of the Fire Nation, especially with tensions rising between the nations. "Im sory for not returning sooner. I received word that you were here several days ago, but had other pressing matters to attend to," Nyamen gave a short nod toward Soyala. "I expect you are here for training, Ms. Avatar? I would be honored to guide you in the ways of the Fire Nation."

Soyala didn't need to be in the man's presence for more than a minute to be absolutely sure she didn't like him. Something about him rubbed her the wrong way, and she was definitely sure she didn't want any sort of lessons he offered her. His voice was overly-sweet, making her think of poisoned honey, and he seemed to almost be simpering and people-pleasing. She didn't like him.

"The Fire Sages sent me here to seek training in the art of firebending," she replied carefully. "Koda has graciously offered to teach me." Of course, she wasn't about to say that she'd turned him down temporarily. She was seriously reconsidering her decision there.

Koda. That struck a nerve.

"Why, Ms. Avatar, my son is nearly not as powerful as me. I am much more advanced. Really, the pleasure would be mine." Nyamen stated in a slightly less sweet voice, obviously rattled by the mention of Koda. The two weren't exactly the perfect 'family'. Heck, the whole nation didn't see them as a family anymore. Along the streets, wherever you went, all you would hear were whispered conversations of what threat the General had given his son, and how viciously his son slammed the castle doors. There wasn't a single soul in the city that didn't know about the constant squabbling between Koda and Nyamen.

Oh yes, there was bad blood between them, Soyala could see it, and it would likely take a lot for the water between father and son to be clear again. It was really kind of a foreign concept to her; back home, Tribe was everything. The entire Water Tribe treated each other as if they were family, there was none of this 'bad blood' between them. Or if there was, it was resolved quickly through ice-dodging or some sort of quick, public sparring match.

"I couldn't possibly take you away from your duties, general," she replied. It was as close as she was willing to come to saying she would rather Koda teach her. "I'm sure you have other things to attend to."

"Well, I could get back to my research. Sh-... It will be missing me soon enough," Nyamen cleared his throat. "Perhaps we could discuss this further over dinner? After I tidy up my appearance, of course. I would be thrilled to be able to say that I had the pleasure of dining with the Avatar." He grinned.

Koda couldn't help but overhear Soyala and his Fathers conversation as he passed by the guest corridors and headed into the kitchen. 'Hah, the old geezer is getting turned down by a little girl. How ironic.' He snorted at his own remark. It was just like his father to go after younger girls and fail, if you know what I mean.

"I would be... honored... to join you for dinner," Soyala replied, trying desperately to mask her distaste for the idea. She really, really didn't like this man, and really, from what she understood, he should be grateful that she wasn't fully realized as the Avatar yet. She gathered that people disliked by fully-trained Avatars in the past had never really lasted long. "Of course, I couldn't possibly intrude on what must be necessary time between you and Koda... As long as it isn't an inconvenience, I would be pleased to join you both for dinner." There. She'd managed to insinuate that she wanted Koda there, as well. Hopefully, the General wouldn't be able to back out of that, and it would give Soyala something of an ally, however uneasy things were between herself and Koda at the moment.

"Great! I'll have the maids prepare the food immediately. Oh, and my son usually does not join us for dinner. However, if you feel the need to have him there, why don't you ask him yourself? I cannot be bothered to be around him, but if you insist.." Nyamen's voice lacked the sappy kindness in his last sentence. He hadn't had dinner, or any meal for that matter, with his son in years. He preferred to not even see the scoundrel due to the last several arguments they had encountered. Nyamen thought Koda was always trying to control his life, when in reality, Koda was trying to save it. Nyamen would never come to realize how much his current pastime ruined his image.

Now Soyala was certain she didn't like the General. A father not wanting to bother with his son? That was just unfathomable. It just wasn't supposed to be that way, and the fact that this household was like that made her skin crawl. In spite of that, she gave a short bow to the man.

"In that case, General, please excuse me," she said. "I believe I will take a walk around the grounds before dinner." Because she was fairly certain she knew where to find Koda, and she was in desperate need of some less abrasive company. Or more abrasive, she mentally amended. Something to scrape off the slimy feel of Nyamen's presence. As soon as there was enough space in the doorway, Soyala slipped past the General and made her way outside to the practice grounds.

"Sure, my dear. Be back by eight!" Nyamen called out to Soyala. He had a strange feeling about that girl. 'Well, you know youth these days. Always sending mixed signals.' He thought, chuckling to himself. Nyamen went straight for the showers to tidy himself up for dinner.

Koda lazily opened the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a piece of bread. He wasn't really supposed to be in there, seeing as it was the maid's job to serve all meals, but he didn't care. He spent most of his time down in the kitchen anyway. Most of the time was to escape his wretched father. Then again, he did get awfully hungry, and sometimes a boy just has to eat. He pulled another piece of bread out after finishing the first and began heading outside to the practice grounds. Usually nobody was there at this time, seeing as it was so close to dinner, and it allowed him to practice his bending in peace.

The practice grounds were quiet, for the most part, and it was something Soyala actually took a moment to savor. It wasn't quite her favorite kind of quiet (the quiet that came from the falling snow muffling the world) but it was pretty close. The only thing she could hear, aside from the occasional cricket-toad, was the tell-tale crackle-whoosh of firebending. She immediately headed in that direction, hoping it was who she thought it was. Her hopes were answered when she rounded a corner and saw Koda.

She had never been so glad to see him, which was odd in and of itself, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Need a sparring partner?" she asked after a few moments of watching. "One element only, I promise. I'll even let you pick which one."

"We'll see. These grounds are only for real fighters, not petty little weaklings such as yourself." Koda replied plainly. He stood his ground and continued hurtling shards of fire toward a metal practice dummy. He didn't even turn around to face Soyala. It was quite rude, sure, but he didn't care. He hoped Soya would learn firebending quickly, and leave his kingdom. She hadn't overstayed her welcome yet, but he figured she would overstep her boundaries soon enough.

For once, Soyala didn't take offense at the insult. Instead, she watched him carefully, taking in his stance, his breath, his motions. She had discovered long ago that she learned best by observing, and then copying. She watched him go through the motions of the firebending kata, and gingerly copied his stance.

"Alright," she said finally. "How does this work? What is the root of firebending?"

Koda sighed. "I can't really explain it. Basically, our power comes from the sun. It's fueled by rage and anger for most, but some are able to firebend just by the desire to accomplish tasks. We first learned firebending from the dragons, so I believe thats why some of the movements are in sweeping motions," He paused his training and gracefully walked over to Soyala, "Firebending is different than all the other elements. It's all about power, and has few defense moves. You don't need anything else to create it. Only yourself, and your mind."

"So firebending is passion, then," Soyala mused as she watched him. "Pretty much the opposite of waterbending. The first waterbender was the moon, and the Water Tribe learned from Her. Waterbending is about pushing and pulling the water." In reality, the two elements didn't seem so different. Just two sides of the same coin.

"Yeah, sure." Koda sighed and fell out of stance. "So, is my father teaching you or what? I'd like to be informed of your presence in my house so I can leave." He walked over to Soyala, leaning on a pillar that surrounded the training grounds. He figured she would be staying quite some time, and he'd eventually have to make an effort to get along with her... but that could wait.

"I hope he's not," Soyala replied. She grimaced a bit and suppressed a shudder. "He... I don't know. He looks at me kind of like how a seal-shark looks at prey. I don't like it." The man made her distinctly uncomfortable, and she was seriously considering just going back to the Fire Temples and damn what the sages said.

'That's because you are...' Koda thought, tensing up suddenly. "Well.. Too bad. He's the only one good enough. Take it or leave it." It was nearly dinner time. He pushed past Soyala and walked briskly back to his dining hall. There, his maids had filled every inch of the table with delectable goods.

"You offered to teach me before," Soyala pointed out. "Or was that a one-time-only kind of deal?" The question came out as more of a jab than she intended, but she was still not quite comfortable yet from her encounter with the General earlier. She shrugged. "If I have to, I'll find another teacher, but either way, I'm not going to learn from your father. No offense."