Disclaimer; I'll trade you my entire collection of Yu-Gi-Oh cards for the rights to Avatar. No? Well then, I don't own ATLA.
Suki looked into the forest trees, watching for the returning scout. She'd sent her out to make sure that their campsite would be safe. No one was going to get the drop on the Warriors of Kyoshi. As she grew worried, the scout appeared, walking through the trees.
''Report, Suyeh,'' Suki ordered.
''There's only one old man around for miles.'' Suyeh said, but she looked conflicted.
"What is it?" Suki asked.
"Well," she started, "when I first spotted him he was taking a lot of bags and baskets off himself, when he said 'Oh bother'. Then he took off a huge platypus-bear skin cloak and I noticed there was a big tear in his shirt. He continued by taking that off, and,' she blushed, "he was really muscular."
Suki rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't you mention that he was an old man?"
"Oh he was," Suyeh said, "he had long grey hair and a short bear, he just looked really fit."
"Well is there anything else?" Suki asked. She sensed there was.
"Uh, yeah," Suyeh continued, "When he started sewing up his shirt, he shook from the cold. He took a big, dead log and lit it on fire, then went back to fixing his shirt." Her face seemed troubled.
"What's wrong Suyeh?"
"He didn't use flint to light the log."
"Warriors!" Suki shouted to the camp, "Prepare for battle!"
"That should do it," the old man said, looking down at his shirt. "I really should get a new one," he added. It was more stitches than anything; the original fabric was almost gone. It wasn't all that surprising, he'd worn it for almost twenty years.
He heard a sound in the woods. "It's about time," he thought.
Suki and her warriors were surrounding the man, but they hid in the trees. She would distract him, and they would surprise him from behind.
Suddenly he shouted, "If you want to share my fire, there's plenty for all of you."
"What!" she yelled mentally. No on had ever caught them when they hid in the trees. This didn't bode well. She jumped down and approached him slowly, "Give yourself up fire bender, you're surrounded." The girls filed around them.
"Um," he said as if in contemplation, "no. I've got to do breathing exercises for an hour, then meditation for another hour, and I must find some time to sleep." He seemed a little depressed for some reason.
"You don't have a choice," Suki said as they closed a ring around him, "we're taking you prisoner."
"Sorry," he said while standing up, "but I'm not going to have time for that, and there is always a choice." He held his shirt in one hand. "Before you leave, can you tell me how you learned I could fire bend? I was almost certain that your spy was yawning when I lit the log." Suki glanced at Suyeh, she was blushing. "Don't be embarrassed," he said rather kindly, "you must have been tired."
"Enough!" Suki shouted and charged the old man. He just stood there a moment, then suddenly she was soaring through the air.
"What?" she breathed, before falling to the ground. Getting up, she stared angrily at her adversary. The other warriors hesitated to attack.
"Please," he said, "I don't want to fight. The Warriors of Kyoshi are worthy of legend." He dropped his shirt, "Then again," he spread his feet and held a stance, "so am I."
Jet looked out and over the sea. He was standing on a ship that would take him to Ba-Sing-Se, and a new life. The water reminded him of the world, the war, and his past. The ocean was usually calm and peaceful, as the world should be. Storms made it deadly and dangerous, like the Fire Nation. The whole wear was just one big storm. Everyone was trying to weather it the best they could.
His thoughts were interrupted by a girl behind him saying, "What are you thinking Jet?" He turned and looked at his love. She was wearing a typical Earth Kingdom dress, but it was bright green. She had to stand out some how without her circus outfit.
"You know," he grinned, "Fighting, swords, manly stuff."
She giggled, "Okay, now what were you really thinking about?"
His grin faded, "I was thinking about the war again, Tai-Lee."
She hugged him close, "Well I'm here to help you forget that." She kissed him, "Or at least give you something else to think about." His smile returned.
"You're getting better and better at that." He hugged her back. "I won't forget the war though."
"Darn," she said with a mock scowl, "I'll have to practice more."
Jet slipped out of her grasp after another kiss, still smiling. "Don't forget Tai-Lee," he said, "we're not married yet. The closest temple is in Ba-Sing-Se, and we need a home first."
"Oh alright," she said while grabbing his hand, "now let's go get lunch." Jet was pulled along without much enthusiasm. The ship's captain didn't serve the most palatable meals, but he could ignore the taste as long as he was with Tai-Lee.
After they picked up their food, they wandered around the ship looking for somewhere nice to eat. Eventually they sat down near the front, and tried not to grimace as they ate.
"Is it just me," Jet commented, "or does this taste even worse than normal."
"It's not just you," she said, "this tastes really bad." She looked around, then chucked it over the ship's railing.
"You're going to be hungry later," he said. Then he threw his food overboard too. "Not to mention that the fish might get sick."
She laughed silently. "I'm going to see if I can find some other girls to talk with," she said getting up, "I'll meet you at our sleeping place later."
Jet watched her leave with a warm smile on his face and thought that maybe he should find another man to talk to. "Couldn't hurt," he said to himself, He had seen one guy with a big scar covering his left eye that looked like he needed someone to talk to. Sighing slightly, he got up and started looking for him.
Katara walked through the market place, looking at vendors and their wares. "Ba-Sing-Se is huge!" she thought while trying to push through a crowd.
She got through and spotted someone who was selling water skins. "I could use a new pouch to hold my bending water," she thought. As she examined the skins, she thought of her recent run-in with the Fire Nation drill. If Aang hadn't come to Ba-Sing-Se at the right time, the Earth Kingdom capital would be in ruins. "It's kind of funny how life works sometimes," she thought. Maybe some great spirit was guiding their journey, making sure it didn't fail.
Before she could contemplate this further, a voice called out, "Mam. Mam!" she turned around and looked into a puzzlingly happy face. "Would you by any chance be a water bender?' it said.
She took a step back and said, "Yes. How did you know?" The person she was talking to was a man, wore an encompassing blue cloak, and had long braided white hair. He was old too.
"Your clothes," he said, "and how your move." Her face reflected bewilderment. He smiled and said, "Your clothes are the blue colors of a Water Tribesmen, and you move with a practiced grace. Like you might be a martial artist."
She returned his smile, he seemed like a nice enough person. She remained wary thought, "Are you Water Tribe too? That cloak you're wearing looks like a water bender warrior's outfit."
He looked at his clothes, "No, I'm afraid I'm not. I just happen to like their style of clothing." He looked at her again said, "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Kaish, The Master," he bowed, "at your service."
She bowed and said, "I'm Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe."
"So Katara," he asked quickly, "what is a young water bender like you doing in the Earth Nation Capital?"
"Well," she hesitated, "I'm here with my brother and some friends, we're looking for someone we lost." She didn't want to tell him that one of her friends was the Avatar.
"What a coincidence," he said, "I'm looking for someone I've lost also. Have you seen him?" he leaned close to her. "He's got short black hair, he never smiles, and his hands and feet are completely covered with bandages."
"Bandages?" she wondered out loud. "Does he have an injury or something?"
"Nothing like that," he said, "it has something to do with self-discipline. Or at least that's what he tells me."
"Okay, I'll tell you if I see him. By the way," she said, "you called yourself 'The Master'. Are you a water bending master?"
His smile faded slowly, "I used to be. But after my last battle, I lost too much to keep fighting." She thought she saw tears in his eyes for a second, then it was gone. "Now I just teach young and exuberant students. Maybe you'd like to seek some training?"
She smiled, "Sorry, I've already been trained at the North Pole. All I do now is practice."
"Hm," he said, trying to be sagely, "I can almost guarantee you've never seen what I can do." Suddenly he seemed flustered, "But that'll have to wait, I must find my friend first." He started walking away and said over his shoulder, "I hope to see you again soon Katara."
"Me too," she said, then turned back to the water pouches she'd been looking at. She wondered what he could show her that she didn't already know. Probably nothing.
Toph walked along the road of an abandoned district of Ba-Sing-Se. She liked it here, it was peaceful. Nobody was shouting to get someone's attention and all she could hear was the occasional stray animal.
She stopped suddenly, she heard someone else walking. The person was a little ways ahead and was walking towards her. She started moving again.
He was either a criminal or and idiot to be in this part of town. Either way, she wasn't going to avoid him. The footsteps were a man's steps.
They met after a short time, they were in each others' ways. Toph waited a few seconds for him to move. He was big, really big.
After a while she got impatient and shouted, "Move it big boy!"
His weight shifted a little, but he didn't move. "What are you, deaf?" she said tauntingly.
He shifted again. Her anger rose as she felt him waving his hand in front of her face. "Never seen a blind girl before?" No answer, but he stopped waving his hand.
"If you don't move I'll make you move." She almost thought she heard him laugh. "That's it," she said. Raising her hands, she earth bended the street beneath him into the air. She held him up there, thinking about where to drop him.
Before she decided, the stone holding him got lighter. "Uh-oh," she thought, "he fell off."
There was a deafening crack from the place he landed, but it wasn't him. The street had two big breaks from where his feet had hit.
Toph lowered the earth back in place as the man stood up in front of her. She thought she heard him laugh softly.
End Chapter