"C'mon Katara, we're going to be late!" Aang stood, overlooking the edge of the Western Air Temple. His torso was covered by red and yellow cloth worn in a toga-esque form; leaving the majority of the right side of his chest and the entirety of his right arm uncovered. His pants were dark gray, and his feet were covered by light brown boots that extended just under his knee. To complete his air nomad outfit, Aang had a crimson piece of cloth tied around his waist like a belt. It had been an entire year since the gang had all been together; an entire year since Aang had defeated Ozai. Since then, the group had been scattered and reduced to twice a year gatherings.
Aang and Katara moved to the Western Air Temple along with Appa and Momo, although they rarely were there. Aang had normally been traveling around the world promoting peace and solving problems, and the few instances that Katara didn't join Aang, she was visiting the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka had become his father's right hand man. Any decisions made in the water tribe were talked out with Sokka, which kept him pretty busy. On top of that, any free time that he had left, he spent visiting his girlfriend on Kyoshi Island. Zuko had been busy with his new status of Fire Lord, and Mai was busy trying to rush Zuko into making her the Fire Lady. Toph meanwhile, had started her own earth bending fight club, which really was just an excuse for her to beat up random people whenever her parents angered her enough. As for Iroh, he did nothing but run his tea shop and play Pai Sho, much to his delight.
"Calm down Aang, we'll be there on time. We have Appa, remember?" Katara came walking out of the temple to stand next to her boyfriend. Her hair was worn down per usual, showing her luscious and slightly curly brown hair. It extended down to the middle of her back but was kept out of her face. She wore a blue shirt which only covered her left shoulder; leaving the right shoulder and a small amount of her chest revealed on the right side. Her shirt ended at the middle of her ribs, leaving her stomach exposed. She wore a rather long blue skirt that rested gracefully on her curvy hips. The skirt was slit on the sides all the way to the waist, leaving her caramel colored legs slightly revealed. She wore bandages from her waist to her upper thighs for modesty's sake however. She wore high, light blue fingerless gloves and flat, dark brown shoes. Katara also wore her grandmother's necklace; a constant reminder of her family.
"Wow...it was well worth the wait." Aang's skin turned a slight crimson tone when he gazed at Katara's beauty. She seemed to have been blossoming rather nicely, creeping closer to adulthood. Katara blushed as well due to Aang's comments and smiled.
"Do you really think so?" Aang responded to Katara's question with a simple nod of the head. Katara walked over to Aang and gave him a peck on the lips, followed by a quick embrace. Aang had grown in the past year, and was now even with Katara in height much to his delight. It was at that moment that Appa came barrel rolling into view; landing next to the couple and licking them affectionately. Momo had been laid out on top of Appa's head, but looked up when he heard Aang's laughter. Aang and Katara hopped up on top of Appa, into the saddle that rested on his back. Katara's waterskin and Aang's staff had already been awaiting them. "Oh and Aang, don't call me your little brown sugar this time."
"It was one time!" Aang had tried to forget his mistake, but Katara wouldn't let him live it down. She agreed to allow that to be his private nickname for her, but he slipped up and called her that in front of Sokka and Toph. She still hadn't lived down the embarrassment.
"You know that's all it takes for those two." Katara sighed a bit, even though Aang promised he wouldn't reveal anymore of their personal nicknames for each other in public. She knew her brother and best friend would both enjoy taking shots at her once dessert time rolled around.
"Yip, yip." Aang cried out after promising Katara he wouldn't call her by any nicknames once more, and the two set off towards the Earth Kingdom.
"It took you guys long enough to get here. What, was twinkle toes still putting on make up?" Toph had opened the door of the Jasmine Dragon tea shop once she heard Appa land. Her night colored hair still hung carelessly over her eyes and face, and her hair was still tied in a rather large bun, like usual. She was wearing her usual earth bending outfit; a pair of green shorts with a green shirt, and yellow tunic over top of it. She was barefoot, to further feel the earth as she continuously claimed. Like Aang, Toph seemed to be in the middle of puberty. However, where as Aang's transformation into adulthood was shown by his slowly deepening voice and growth in height, Toph's took root upon her chest, swelling it to a rather large size. "Or was he too busy getting a little taste of brown sugar?" Toph's comment was directed towards Katara rather than Aang.
"What was that? Maybe I could hear you better if you earth bended those giant boulders off your chest!" Katara's retort caused Toph to exhale angrily, and storm back into the house. She always considered herself to be a tomboy, so her newly found bust size was particularly disappointing.
"Welcome!" Iroh had been pouring cups of tea when he spotted the couple had arrived. He had been wearing emerald and gold robes that extended down to his ankles, as per usual when he wasn't participating in Order of the White Lotus official business. "You're just in time. The tea is nice and fresh, and everyone is here." Once the two fully stepped inside, they were hit with the full out welcome wagon.
"Little sister!" Sokka came darting out to embrace his sister. He wore his typical, sleeveless water nation outfit. However, he had bulked up slightly since then, and he looked more masculine than he did last year. In addition, his "wolf's tail" had grown longer, to the point where it almost reached his neck. Sokka barely had time to shave with his new, busy schedule; let alone keep his hair cut. Along with Sokka came his girlfriend, Suki. For the most part, she remained unchanged within the year gap physically. But she did seem to have a new found essence of intelligence and happiness that was more than welcoming. Today, she chose not to dress in her Kyoshi Warrior uniform which left her face unpainted, her brown hair down, and her midriff exposed with her fire nation clothing.
"Good to see you guys." Suki smiled brightly as she spoke.
"Aang. Katara." Zuko waved from his position; standing in between his uncle and his girlfriend. In the time that had passed since Zuko became the Fire Lord, his hair fell in such a way that it partially eclipsed the scar that he received from his father. Other than that, not much had changed about him. His hair wasn't in the traditional topknot that was so accustomed for his nation since today was a day of rest. He also wore his typical fire nation outfit; a short sleeved, burgundy red set of robes and matching pants, along with a darker, sleeveless robe over top. The sleeveless robe possessed a golden trim, and it was all tied together with a golden sash. Aang smiled at his friend and shook his hand, while Katara chose to embrace Zuko instead.
The embrace was interrupted however, with Mai's loud and rather obnoxious clearing of her throat, simultaneously floating into view. Mai's seemingly emotionless expression still remained on her face, despite the slight annoyance she had at Katara embracing her boyfriend. Her black hair was no longer in the twin ponytails that drooped over her shoulders, but was rather long and silky; ending at the middle of her back. She wore clothes that matched her boyfriends, with the exception of her collar being in a turtleneck shape, rather than the v-neck that Zuko's had. "Hey." Her voice sounded dry, but that was normal for her.
"Hi guys!" Ty Lee came cartwheeling into view from around a table. Unlike Suki, she still dressed in her Kyoshi Warrior outfit, although she chose to withhold on the makeup. She was rather agile in spite of the heavy clothing she was wearing, which was proven evidence that she had been training. At this point, she was best friends with Suki, a fact that was bittersweet. She loved hanging out with Suki and she loved being friends with her, but at the same time, she had to stop her eyes from resting on Sokka whenever he visited. It was hard, but considering how much attention Ty Lee received from males; it wasn't impossible.
The group all sat down and began sipping on their tea and sharing stories of the past. It felt rather nice to be all together again, and in truth they missed their adventures together. "Toph, you're a woman now, you really should be wearing better clothes." Katara nudged gently at Toph's shoulder. Katara looked around at how the woman of the group. "You're beautiful, you should flaunt what you have. If you keep dressing like that, people will think you're a prude like Mai." The girls of the group, minus Mai, chuckled at Katara's joke.
"I know! The girls should go shopping, while the guys do some type of man work!" Ty Lee jumped up from the table as she spoke. In fact, besides for Toph and Mai, all of the girls did.
"I guess I'll go..." Mai stood up slowly although Ty Lee dragged her off once she was fully up. Toph at first refused to go, she was surprisingly more cooperative after Katara and Suki threatened to drag her by the soles of her feet.
"So...what now?" Sokka asked the remaining men in the room. "What exactly is man stuff anyway?" Iroh shrugged his shoulders at Sokka's question.
"Wanna go blow stuff up or something?" Aang held a small ball of fire in his hand while he suggested this. The men in the group consisted almost exclusively of fire benders, except for Sokka. But Sokka had extensive knowledge and possession of explosions to help him fit in. The group stared at each other for a few moments before getting up and heading to the back and playing with explosions.
"Oh boys!" Katara sung as the girls returned from their trip. It had been several hours since they left, and night had fell. They planned on spending the night at the tea shop regardless, but still. Sokka opened his mouth to complain about how long it took the girls, but his jaw hung openly once he saw Toph's new appearance. Her hair was no longer in it's trademark bun, but was straight and long. She wore a yellow tunic which was cut low in a v shape, with the tip of the v ending right below the navel. The tunic was sleeveless, showing off her slender arms. Underneath her yellow tunic, was a green, v cut shirt that ended at her ribs. Underneath her tunic, she wore short green shorts for modesty sake. Finally, she wore metallic arm bands with yellow trim.
"Whoa..." Were the only words that came to Sokka's tongue. Fortunately for Toph, she could sense what he was thinking and her skin instantly turned as ripe as a tomato.
"Anyway, now that we're all here again, there was something I have to ask." Everyone leaned in as Zuko began to speak. "I need help with something."
"Sure Zuko, what is it?" Aang smiled as he spoke.
"Well...I want to find my mother." The entire group fell both silent and got what a serious look upon their face. This was one of the first times anyone besides Iroh and Mai had heard Zuko mention his mother. Katara briefly talked to Zuko about it back when he was teetering on the edges of good and evil, but that was a long time ago.
"You know where she is?" Iroh looked particularly interested. It had been years since he saw his sister in law, and he personally felt that had she been around, the war would have ended a long time ago.
"You don't seem surprised that she's alive." Zuko had been compairing his uncle's reaction to both his own when he discovered the good news, and to his girlfriend's whose face was still contorted with surprise.
"Well I've always had my sneaking suspicion that Ursa was alive." Iroh's voice held a certain sense of knowing that made Zuko shift uncomfortably. He hated that voice because not only did it make him feel like he was hiding something, but he knew that he could never obtain the wisdom that Iroh had. At the same time however, he loved Iroh's voice of wisdom because it made him realize just how lucky his late cousin must have been, to have a father like Iroh.
"Well we'd be glad to help you. We're ready to set out anytime." Suki patted Zuko on the back and smiled brightly. The group decided they would set out in the morning so they could rest tonight, and that Iroh would stay behind and make trips to the fire nation just in case. Zuko had left intstructions for this trip to his royal helpers, since he always planned deep down to take this journey.
Morning seemed to creep up on the group, and before long they found themselves all piling onto Appa. Sokka had luckily brought his sword; a new one he forged after the war. This one had a completely golden blade, but as majestic as it was he still missed his 'space sword'. Suki had both her fan, and a katana although she hadn't packed her Kyoshi Warrior outfit like Ty Lee did. The group had all prepared for an adventure just in case, and they were more than excited to finally go on one together again. "Yip, yip." With Aang's command, Appa took off flying towards the sun.
"It feels good. Us being all together again. So, what's our destination Zuko?" Toph hated flying because she couldn't see, but that didn't mean she didn't miss Appa. She had a grin etched upon her face from ear to ear.
"The smallest fire nation colony." Zuko replied, as the group barreled down toward their destination.