Summer of Glory
Chapter 1: The Beginning
亲爱的儿子，
我爱你。
善待自己的妹妹。
我们都很想念你回家。
是安全的，都会好起来，是明智的。
爱，
爸爸
Translation: Dear son,
I love you.
Take care of your sister.
We all miss you back home.
Be safe, be well, be wise.
Love,
Dad
Ba Sing Se, a massive city built from rock and stone. Giant slides harness the power of gravity to transport raw goods from higher parts of the city to lower sections to be sold by merchants. The marketplace is filled with the calls and sales pitches of store owners, all trying to vie for potential customers, but more importantly their money. People from all over the world travel to Ba Sing Se for the select goods in the market. No one is happier to be shopping here than Sokka. A Southern Water Tribe hunter, famously known for helping the Avatar restore world balance. Sokka has already made his rounds through most of the store fronts. The only thing that caught his attention was his hawk delivering a letter to him. The letter was from his father, and it reminded Sokka of his homesickness. He yearned to return home, but he suppressed the feeling.
'Just a couple more weeks,' he thought, 'I am here for business.'
Sokka grabbed something to eat and drink. He returned to his hotel to take a nap, as his 'business' was slated to begin later that day.
Sokka waited impatiently in the town square just outside the main city gate. He glanced up rolling his head, and stopped his eyes on the moon. Causally smiling at the satellite he brought his eyes back down to scour for his late business associate.
"Sokka!" yelled from a voice behind him. Sokka jumped, and the voice let out a chuckle at Sokka's fright.
"Damnit Toph! You don't have to do that." Sokka hammered in.
"Oh, I am dearly sorry, Sokka." Toph coyly responded. Sokka put down his rucksack, fumbled inside for a bit, and produced a purse filled with coins.
"Now Toph, be extra careful with these." as Sokka said lightly tossing the purse into the air.
Toph snatched the purse out of his grasp, "You know I will." she huffed.
"That's what you said last time..."
"Last time! Last time was a fluke! A coincidence! You can't put last time on me like that!"
Sokka rolled his eyes as he reached back down for his rucksack and he slung it back over his shoulder, "Just don't screw up this time."
"Fine." Toph answered rather gloomy.
Toph walked away, and Sokka gave the moon one more smile before walking in the opposite direction.
Sokka rubbed his eyes open, stretched, washed his face, put on some clothes, and ventured out of his hotel room to buy breakfast.
"Good mornin', Sokka. You look happy."
"Shut it Boris. I'm in no mood." Sokka said as he kept on walking past forcing Boris to play catch up.
"Woah, come on boss," Boris reached out his hand and caught Sokka's shoulder, "you are never in any mood in the mornin'. What's troublin' ya this time?"
"Nothing, Boris. How are things looking?" Sokka said gazing over the marketplace.
"Some riffraff in the south alley, nothing too bad so far. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day." Boris said as he patted his side dagger.
"I'm getting the same feeling." a now disheartened Sokka said back.
Sokka isn't unaccustomed to this feeling, and he knows what comes, the calm of the storm. The marketplace's intensity lowered, the noise level, dropped. Sokka's heart quickened in pace, and beads of sweat formed on his brow. He naturally reached for his sword hilt on his hip. Boris noticed the atmosphere change and his companion's reaction, pulled out the steel maul holstered on his back. A scream of help pierced the bazaar in half. Sokka raced at full-sprint into the market unsheathing his sword at the same time.
"EVERYONE DOWN!" Boris's booming voice hollered out and echoed throughout the market. Everyone shot down to the dirt, leaving two people standing. One, Sokka who is now running towards the other man standing, coincidentally, also running.
"Decease! City guard!" Sokka shouted after his prey, but to no avail.
Sokka increased his pursuit acrobatically diving through merchant stalls, and bounding over trembling citizens. Boris raced off to cut off the pursed party further ahead. Sokka kept up his orders to stop, but it came to no effect. The pursed hanged a quick left, diving into an alley just before the street widened. The culprit, looking over his shoulder smirked as he assumed he was in the clear, until he ran into something big and rock hard.
"Well, well, well," Boris said as he lightly bounced the maul in his hands, "a n'ver-do-gooder. I hate n'ver-do-gooders."
"Ahh, thank you Boris. Much appreciated." Sokka huffed as he turned the corner.
"You are in deep shit now mister." as Boris talked his voice visibly shook the criminal.
"Let him go Sokka." a shadow from the rooftop voiced.
"Err, Toph," Sokka whispered, "Boris let him go." now aloud.
"What! No, I'm let not letting him go." Boris protested, spit flying out of his mouth landed on the criminal's face.
"That is an order! Stand down!" Sokka barked.
Voicing mumbled disgust, Boris let the man go. Sokka raised his gaze back to Toph, "You," he pointed, "I need to talk to you."
"When?" Toph asked still up above on the roofs.
"Now."
Toph vanished, and re-appeared out of the ground in front of Sokka and Boris. Boris stumbled back in surprise, but Sokka held firm.
"Why him?" Sokka asked to Toph.
"He's one of mine. And since I am helping you, well, it's a favor for a favor." she said as she playfully kicked a rock.
"That doesn't answer why." Boris interjected.
"Shut up, I'm not talking to you." Toph chided.
This put Boris into a fury. He raised his maul to strike her back into the ground like 'Whack-a-Badgermole' he thought with glee.
"Boris, if you even touch her. I will kill you."
Sokka said this with so much fury and passion, Boris was taken a back filled with surprise, and he stood down following orders.
"Answer his question, Toph." Sokka said pointing his sword towards Boris.
"Toph! THIS IS TOPH? The crime over-load Toph! The Queen..." Boris exclaimed.
"The Queen of Thieves, yes. I am that Toph." she interjected.
"Boss? How do you know her?"
"Another time Boris, I promise. Now, Toph, answer his question, 'Why?'."
"Well, I like him."
"Liar."
"Fine, you caught me. I love him." she said with a turn of her hand and a huff to blow back a bang.
"Even a worse lie." Sokka edged nearer towards Toph and to a resulotion.
"For me to tell you, I need a re-reimbursement." Toph said rubbing her fingers together.
"I'm not bribing you..."
"Oh poo. You suck, Sokka."
"I'll buy you dinner." finished Sokka.
"Friday, 7, The Ping Hon Palace."
"Fine."
"It's a date then." Toph finished with a smile and wink before tunneling back into the ground.
Sokka stood silently to compose himself, and he soon noticed Boris staring at him, glaring.
"Don't look at me like that." Sokka said to Boris.
"Look at you how?"
Sokka returned an intensified glare at Boris, "Like that."
"How do you know Toph?" Boris spat at Sokka.
"She and I helped save the world with Aang."
"Is she the same as 'princess' from your stories?"
"Yes, she is the same."
"So she is the greatest earth bender in the world."
"Yes, but we are the best city guards in Ba Sing Se. We aren't going to be bullied by her."
Friday rolls by uninterrupted, and after Sokka and Boris ended their shift they both prepared for their date tonight at Ping Hon Palace. Boris was going in as tactical support for Sokka, and was bringing his wife, Martha, to get her away from the twins back home. Sokka went dressed laissez-faire, sweats taped up to his mid-calf, and a loose robe top kept together with a white rope. His hair was taken to his all too familiar wolf's tail. He took with him his 2nd captain arm bandana, a solid green silk canvas with an Earth Kingdom embroidered on the side. He equipped his sword, a fine specimen, but Sokka knew it would never amount to his previous Space Sword he lost in the war to save Toph's life.
Ping Hon Palace is next door to the Jade Dragon, which is owned by a close friend of Sokka's Iroh. The Palace resembles a palace where it counts, looks, but the food is shoddy and expensive, my shop is better once quoted Iroh. Sokka stood in front of the Jade Dragon around 6:30, here he and Boris agreed to meet before to nail down final tactics.
"Sokka, a pleasure." Iroh greeted Sokka with a cup of tea, "On the house for an old friend."
"Not today Iroh." Sokka sharply said.
"Business?"
"Yes...no. It's a date really."
"And a date must be business? Tsk, tsk, always professional. You must learn to relax Sokka." Iroh patted Sokka's shoulder.
"This date is business, and involves the City guard."
"That is one thing I don't understand Sokka, why did you join the guard? Why not go home?"
"Aang and Katara decided to start a family here, get their footing. Ba Sing Se is the safest place to raise a family, after they have a child or children, they plan to move back to the Southern Tribe."
"But why do you have to stay?" Iroh said this as Boris and Martha approached.
"I promised my mother that I would always protect, guide, and support my sister. I can't do that if I'm half-way around the world in the South Pole."
"That promise must mean more than ever after your mother's death." Boris commented.
"The promise means more to me than my own life. I would do anything for Katara. Anything."
"Well, anything is a more than must people can handle including the Avatar, Sokka." said Iroh.
"I'm not like other people," Sokka's deep blue eyes picked up Toph as she walked into the Palace, "Boris, it's time."
"Right, if I hear, 'looks like pearls' it's time for Martha and I to leave."
Sokka nodded in approval and the three of them left Iroh and his tea shop to go on a date. Sokka was ushered to Toph's table, with Boris and Martha muscling into a table within ear-shot.
"Good evening Toph." Sokka addressed Toph, and took the time to look her over. She was dressed in a dark green evening dress that complimented her pale, blind eyes nicely. Two gold arm bracelets clung onto her biceps, one for each arm. She was shoeless of course, but wore slim, gold anklets. A necklace dived deep into her cleavage and came to a heavy looking orb with markings either too old or too alien to make out carved into the pale ball.
"Sokka, so glad you could make it. Having a late chat with Iroh?"
"Yes, let it be known that tea fancies his mind." Sokka said sharing a laugh with Toph.
"Who came in with you?" Toph inquired as she stirred the tea she already ordered.
"No one. They followed me in."
"Yes, but who are they?"
"Well, you already know one of them."
"Yes, I do. Who's the lady that came in with him?"
"His wife, Martha."
Two tables back and one to the left Boris was over hearing Sokka's conversation and relaying it back to his wife.
"Sokka just introduced you to the most notorious crime lord in Ba Sing Se." Boris told Martha.
"Toph?"
Boris's spoon fell out of his hand, as he stared in disbelief at Martha.
"How do you know Toph?"
"I worked for pirates back when I was younger. They were part of Toph's group before she took over. I quit after I meet her for the first time."
"So you were doing all of this while I was married to you?" Boris felt the start of a head-ache coming.
"Yes, I made great money. But she is a little bitch..."
"So Sokka, did you know his wife worked for me?" Toph said as she took a bit of her noodles.
"You're lying."
"Why would I lie to you about that?"
"I dunno, but I know you are."
"Believe in your false truths, I speak only the truth to you." said Toph taking another bite.
"I know Boris and his family better than you."
"Oh, please," Toph's demeanor instantly changed to a formal dinner date, to something resembling a little bitch, "I can give YOU plenty of reasons to LIE to someone." pounding her fist on the table, bending the whole restaurant to shake.
"That necklace, it looks like a pearl, truly beautiful."
End Chapter 1
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