#—you have been spared by agni so you mist now serve him— type beat

[sporksaber]

So I've mentioned before how I headcanon controlling fire with your breathing to be a mark of a master firebender, but last time it was to push Zuko's inherent talent equal to azula's.

Atla au where Zuko's agni kai against Ozai goes differently. Azula, all of eleven years old, is sitting in the audience grinning. But internally she is panicking.

She had never taken to uncle's lesson's on meditation and breathing techniques. But in that moment her breathes were carefully counted out and expertly pushed through. Her breathing and the fact that she knows what her father's about to do and doesn't want it to happen is all she is focused on.

And then Ozai's fire stops, along with all the torches also stilling. Everyone holds their breath when they see it. Zuko is unburned.

Osso loses his absolute shit, obviously. Iroh has to step in to stop him from setting the entire room on fire as soon as the torches started flickering again. He's immidiently accused of doing somthing, but iroh launches into a speech about the origins and meaning of the agni kai.

Zuko is still kneeling. Azula is no longer grinning. She felt the flame pull with her breath and knows this wasn't the work of agni.

She also now knows at least some of uncle's senile old man speeches held truth.

(Meanwhile, all who witnessed the agni kai and all they tell know that agni is not on the fire lord's side)