( 'nothing like firebending'. they're opposites, sure, but of all the other elements, waterbending made the most sense to him in a way he couldn't translate to fire from earth, even if he's been known to throw a bit of the solidity of an earth stance into his own bending now and then.

he supposes the world was... bigger, in zuko's time. everything else too rigid and inflexible. zuko had probably never even seen a waterbender before he met katara, and by that age he would have already mastered most of the high-level firebending forms available to him.

he doesn't really want to lecture the firelord, but. maybe it would... help? mako shakes his head, and then shifts his left foot on the earth, causing a couple of vaguely chair-shaped pillars to erupt out of the ground. he gestures zuko to one of them, and goes to get the basket of food and tea he'd brought with him for the day's activities. once he's back, he portions it out on a slab of rock he raises between them. the tea goes into earthenware mugs that he has pretty obviously made himself. they're sort of ugly, but functional enough. )

Maybe it's just where I grew up ( don't ask him where, zuko, don't do it. ) — but I feel I learned the most from waterbenders, after firebenders, while I was mastering it.