Title: The Princess and the Badger-Cat (1/9)
Author: Kyra Rivers (LJ: panaili)
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor, Romance
Warnings and pairings: Mostly gen, but... eventual Zuko/Katara, prior Zuko/Mai, and one-sided Aang/Toph.
Long Summary: (AU) In a land never torn apart by the Hundred Year War, the sixteen-year-old Avatar Aang is trying his best to keep the balance between the four nations, including the increasingly antagonistic Fire Nation, which, despite his friendship with the Crown Prince Zuko, refuses to acknowledge him. Elsewhere, Sokka and Katara have been separated on their quest to find their missing father, and Sokka, pursued by the same bandits who kidnapped his sister, finds himself on the balcony of some rich girl's house in Gaoling. Oh, and a sorcerer has turned him into a badger-cat. It's just one of those days.
Short Summary: Sokka is a badger-cat. Discuss.
Notes: The characters are aged up cos I say so. Aang and Toph are both sixteen, Katara's eighteen, Sokka's nineteen, and Zuko's twenty. Also, I like Disney movies way too much. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 1: BEAUTY (AND THE BEAST)
"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.
I want it more than I can tell.
And for once it might be grand
to have someone understand,
I want so much more than they've got planned."
Sokka was trapped.
He dodged past a pair of loud brawlers, hugging the wall as he darted by their ankles. The brawlers didn't notice him, but moments after he ran by, Sokka heard them yell irritably as his pursuers ran into them.
The sound made Sokka's heart beat even faster. They were so close. He ducked into a small crevice, which would have been enough to evade normal people, but not these guys. He hugged his prize tightly to his chest, as if he was trying to bury it under his thick, dark fur. He was running out of options. Desperately, he peeked out of his hiding spot to see if he could make it to the exit.
His heart sank. The wide gate was twenty feet away, and the men were coming too fast for him to dart past them.
"Where's that little mongrel?" he heard one of them snarl as they rounded the corner. Sokka could feel his fur standing on end just at the sound of the foul man's voice.
Just as he thought he was done for, Sokka caught sight of a leather bag sitting near his hiding spot. The bag's color had blended in with the wall, but it looked big enough for Sokka to fit in. Even better, it looked big enough to potentially hold some weapons—
He heard the heavy footsteps of his pursuers and he dove into the bag, curling up as tight as he could to try and avoid detection.
The bag was dark and clean, and unfortunately, Sokka couldn't feel anything inside but a bunch of clothing and some food. He remained still, peering out from under the flap of the bag. He could just barely see the leg of the leader, standing only a few feet away.
For a few hopeful moments, Sokka thought he might get away.
Then he heard, "Gotcha, ya little bastard," and Sokka's heart sank. He saw the men slowly approaching the bag, and all he could think was I'm sorry Katara. I tried.
Just then, the ground began to vibrate, as though someone very large was quickly approaching. Sokka had barely registered the feeling before he felt the bag being snatched up and swung about onto someone's back. From the feel of the person's body against the bag, Sokka knew it couldn't possibly be one of his pursuers, but he was at a loss for who it could be.
"Hey!" he heard his lead pursuer shout. "Put that bag down, little girl!"
"Shove off," snarled the girl who had picked up the bag. Sokka peeked out from under the bag's flap just in time to see one of his pursuers growl and lunge at them, as if to grab the bag from her by force.
Out of nowhere, a pillar of earth shot up and smashed into the man's face, sending him flying back into one of his partners. The two other men froze in surprise, and during that time, the earth beneath their feet swelled up and buried them both up to their knees in mud.
From the bag, Sokka caught a glimpse of jet-black hair and a dark green jacket before the bag was swung over the other side.
Coolly, the girl snarled, "Do not fuck with me right now."
As she stalked off, unknowingly carting Sokka with her, Sokka couldn't help but be impressed by how utterly dismissive she made it sound.
Toph Bei Fong – yes, of those Bei Fongs – was not having a good day.
She had managed to hold on to her championship, but only barely, though not for lack of skill. One of her new opponents had tried to trip her up by using rocks to create random vibrations, and it had taken her some time to figure out how to separate the movements. Once she did, of course, she made quick work of the man, but it meant that she was leaving a half an hour later than usual. She had barely had enough time to grab her bag and run home as it was, and that was before those jerks had tried to rob her. After that, she had only barely made it home in time to hide her bag and fighting outfit before her nurse came in.
And now she had to put up with The Ball.
"Now, Toph, dear," her mother was saying primly, tapping her teaspoon against the glass before laying it on the table with a soft clink. "I know we discussed having you wear that lovely satin gown, but it's a dark mauve, and with the Fire Nation being as antagonistic as they are being right now, I think it would be more appropriate to wear some colors traditional to the Earth Kingdom, don't you?"
"Whatever you say, Mom," Toph replied, trying to keep from falling asleep in her chair. Whether that was due to her exhaustion from fighting all night or her mother's conversation, she couldn't say, though if she had to guess, she'd put money on the latter.
"Excellent," her mother continued. "Lorilei, the dear woman, has just sent over a few new dresses in your size, all of them proper Earth Kingdom gowns. After breakfast, I think it would be best for you to head over to the fitting room and let her make any adjustments that she needs to make."
"Sure," Toph said dully. She took another bite of her oatmeal, and tried not to wince at the dry, sticky taste. Maybe if she left right now, Lorilei would be finished with the fitting before lunch, and Toph could get a few hours of sleep.
"And after that, I'll need you to start getting made up right away," her mother went on, ignorant of Toph's hopes. Toph slumped in her seat, feeling her chances for a nap slipping away, and her mother snapped, "Toph! Ladies do not slump. And eat your oats."
Toph begrudgingly took another bite of oatmeal as her mother continued, "And after you get fitted and made up, sweetie, we have lunch with Lao Chen and his darling son Dao Ye, and doesn't that just sound lovely, dear?"
The idea of spending the entire day alternately getting dressed up and talking with her mother's society friends sounded like a punishment on some level of hell to Toph, but just as she was about to snap, she shifted in her seat and felt a sharp pain from a fresh bruise on the back of her thigh. Abruptly, she flashed back to the fight the night before – how alive she felt – and she managed to control herself.
"Sounds great, Mom," Toph said with a sweet smile. Her mother hummed approvingly and kept on jabbering about that day's plans, while Toph got lost in the memories of her secret life.
Zuko was trying to bury himself in paperwork, the one job that his father entrusted him to look after, but when he was about to start on the second stack of tax documents, a gust of wind managed to sweep the papers on his desk away. Zuko lunged to protect his completed pile, panicking about the time it would take to reorganize it all, but just as he had pressed his hands down on the top of the pile, he noticed that the gust of wind had somehow only touched a few papers.
Zuko made a face.
"Okay, Aang," he said irritably, glaring at the window. "I know you're there."
From behind him, Zuko heard a hearty laugh, and he whirled around just as Aang said, "Wrong window, your princeliness!"
Aang was perched on the windowsill of one of the office's upper windows, looking oddly at home among the various books and knickknacks that decorated the shelves. He was dressed in his traditional Air Nomad robes, though if Zuko looked closely, he could see various items befitting of the other nations adorned on his body. A leather belt with stone buckles from the Earth Kingdom, a shark tooth necklace from the Water Tribes, and if Zuko looked closely, he could even see the flame-gold bracelet that he had given Aang on his last visit. It was all very eclectic, but as Aang was both an Air Nomad and the Avatar, the look suited him.
As cheerful as Aang looked, however, Zuko was really not in the mood to be playful.
"I have work to do, Aang," Zuko said, irritably grabbing the papers that Aang had blown to the floor. "I'm sure you've heard of it. I even think you might have done some work yourself, on occasion."
"Only when I have to," Aang said with a cheeky grin. He looked thoughtful for a moment and added, "Which, given how stubborn your father is being about the upcoming peace talks, might be sooner rather than later."
Zuko sighed, setting the reorganized papers on his desk and giving Aang a belabored look. "I told you," he insisted. "I have no say in how my father handles foreign affairs. The last time I tried to stick my nose into foreign matters, I was sent on a mandatory yearlong vacation. I'd just as soon stay here and manage court politics like a good crown prince."
"Hey, I'm not here to bug you about all that," Aang said, waving his arms in a defensive gesture. He used the moment to jump off the windowsill, making the fifteen-foot drop look like nothing more than a casual step. He landed and fell into the plush couch that sat opposite Zuko's desk, spreading out and taking up the entire sofa with his lanky frame.
Zuko watched him for a moment, but when Aang didn't immediately jump back up and start messing with the various objects in his office, he ducked his head back down and started in on the paperwork again.
"Hey," Aang said indignantly from the couch. "Aren't you going to ask what I am here to bug you about?"
"Nope," Zuko said.
"Seriously?"
"I am ignoring you," Zuko told Aang as he continued to review the various forms. "These papers are very important, and I—"
Aang snorted, though he still managed to make it sound affectionate instead of patronizing. "No, they're not. They're tax forms. Don't you have assistants to do that kind of stuff for you?"
Zuko looked up from his stack of paperwork long enough to scowl at Aang. "Yes," he admitted irritably, "but I like to do the work myself as well."
"No, you don't," Aang said, sound exasperated. "You're just hiding out because of what happened with Mai."
Zuko froze when Aang said her name. It was the first time anyone had mentioned Mai since she broke up with him, leaving him with a kingdom and no fiancée. All of the servants knew better than to mention it in front of him, and while Zuko didn't doubt that Azula would be thrilled to rub it in, she had been on a mission for their father for the past three weeks and wouldn't return for another month. Even Uncle Iroh had been letting the issue slide, but Zuko imagined that was more due to his efforts to curb the growing nationalism in the Fire Nation. His father kept edging toward war, and Uncle Iroh, despite abdicating the throne after his son died on a mission, still had a fair amount of sway in the court.
Uncle Iroh was also the only person who knew that despite the Fire Nation's official stance of ignoring the Avatar, Zuko and Aang had managed to become rather close friends. Suddenly, Aang's surprise appearance made a little more sense.
"Did Uncle seriously send you here to talk about my feelings?" Zuko asked Aang, making a face. "Don't you have important peace-keeping meetings to go to or something? I'm sure there are plenty of rabbit-kittens you could be saving from trees."
"Actually, rabbit-kittens can take care of themselves," Aang replied brightly, blatantly ignoring Zuko's first comment. "You'd be surprised. Just the other day, I was saving one and she bit me and jumped down on her own." He frowned down at his hand, where Zuko could see a tiny red mark on the pad of his thumb. "It hurt, too."
Zuko leveled Aang with a deadpan stare. He said, "You were seriously trying to save a rabbit-kitten from a tree?"
"Well, it was a volcano, actually, but I figure the basic idea is the same," Aang replied cheerfully.
Zuko took a few moments to get over the ridiculous image that story brought forth, and then sighed. He rested his head in his hands, feeling more exhausted than he had in days.
"Did Uncle send you to check up on me, Aang?"
"Yeah," Aang admitted. His voice had lost its perpetually cheery edge, making him sound more like the sixteen-year-old he really was. "He told me what happened. I'm sorry, Zuko."
Zuko stared down at his desk, unsure of how to reply. The pain he had felt right after Mai left had become muted, somehow, but even now, the thought of speaking frankly about the whole affair made his throat close up.
In the end, he simply said, "Thanks."
Aang bit his lip, looking a bit awkward, and then asked, "Do you, uh… actually want to talk about your feelings?"
"I would rather die a horrible fiery death in the pit of Mount Huo," Zuko replied honestly.
"Good!" Aang said.
Zuko raised an eyebrow, surprised that Aang – Aang, who was practically king of that "be true to your inner self" meditation nonsense – would so easily brush off Zuko's inner turmoil.
Aang grinned at him. "See," he explained, "I was thinking that you've spent plenty of time mulling it over. And relationships are very important and all, but I think right now you just need a break."
"A… break," Zuko repeated, not liking the mischievous look in Aang's eyes.
"Yeah, a vacation," Aang confirmed. "You know, like going to Ember Island and playing in the sand, or going flying at the Southern Air Temple in the summer. Stuff like that. You need to get out of the palace."
Zuko couldn't help but be intrigued by the idea of getting away from business of court life and, more importantly, the hundreds of pairs of judging eyes. Still, the way that Aang kept grinning made him a little wary.
"You want to go to Ember Island?" he asked skeptically.
"Oh, no," Aang said, and his smile grew wider. "I have a much better plan."
And dragons help him, Zuko couldn't help but be intrigued.
"Oh, Toph," her mother said from the doorway. "Don't you look just lovely."
"I'll take your word for it," Toph replied dryly. She was past frustrated with this entire ordeal. After she had been poked and prodded by Lorilei to fit into her gown for the ball, she had been made up and dressed in a new sundress. Immediately after that, she sat for two excruciating hours with her family and the Chens, making small talk about the finer intricacies of this season's fish market. Chen's son, to whom Toph's parents were clearly trying to endear her, was four years her senior and incredibly patronizing. He was polite, of course, and he clearly thought she was pretty, but those things meant nothing to Toph when he spent the entire time talking to her as though she was a simpleton.
After the lunch was finally over, Toph still wasn't given any respite. Her hair needed to be changed for The Ball, and apparently, Lorilei hadn't made enough adjustments to the gown, which was already uncomfortably tight and stiff. From the feel of the stones against her feet, Toph could tell it was nearly sundown already, which meant that any hope she had of getting a nap was completely gone.
"The guests are just now arriving," her mother went on, dismissing the servants with a familiar gesture and gently leading Toph by the elbow. She handed Toph a pair of flats at the door, and Toph tried not to sigh in irritation as she felt her connection to the earth get interrupted. At least the flats were comfortable.
Her mother continued, "And Lao Chen and his dear son are going to be joining us at the main table this evening. Doesn't that sound nice? You are Dao Ye can continue your conversation."
"What conversation?" Toph asked. As far as she recalled, lunch had been spent systematically chipping away at Dao Ye's ego as subtly as she could. She was proud of how polite she had managed to make her insults sound.
"Oh, about the fish market, I believe," her mother replied airily, and Toph got the impression that her mother didn't actually know what she was talking about. Despite this, her mother went on, "I'm so glad that you two seemed to be getting along."
Okay, now Toph knew for a fact that her mother had no idea what she was talking about.
"Yeah, sure," Toph mumbled in response, following her mother's prodding lethargically. The room began to smell like baking bread and pork, letting Toph know that they were near the kitchens. The main foyer was fairly close.
"It's very helpful," her mother said. "It's always a nuisance when one doesn't get along with her intended."
For a moment, Toph didn't process what her mother had said. Then realization came crashing into her consciousness like a tree falling in the forest, and she froze. With her next gesture, she dug her heels into the ground and yanked her arm away from her mother's grasp.
"Wait, what?" Toph asked, eyes wide and horrified.
From the sound of tapping on stone, Toph knew her mother had turned to face her. The woman made a soft sigh, sounding nearly frustrated, and then said, "Chen Dao Ye is to be your fiancée, sweetheart. We were going to make the announcement tonight."
"And what, you weren't even going to tell me?" Toph asked, outraged. "Actually, scratch that. You weren't even going to ask my opinion?"
"It was a sudden offer," her mother replied, like that was a reasonable explanation. "And Lao Chen's business has been very profitable lately. His son will make a fine husband."
"His son," Toph snarled, "is a mindless buffoon!"
"Toph!" her mother scolded, laying hands on Toph's shoulders to try and quell the volume. "Those are not words a lady uses!"
"Fine!" Toph yelled. "If it means marrying that moron, then I am more than fine with not being a lady!" She pushed her mother's hands off her arms, and then concluded, "It is not happening!"
"Toph," her mother began, but Toph had already slipped out of her fine shoes and took off running back the way she came.
She was not going to put up with this crap anymore.
Sokka couldn't imagine his luck.
Now, granted, it was a weird sort of luck. After all, anyone who was truly lucky wouldn't have been turned into a badger-cat in the first place, but Sokka was an optimist. He might have run into that bit of rough luck, but since then, he had managed to evade his pursuers even after he snatched their very expensive necklace… thing. And just when he was about to be finally captured, who should come to his rescue but—
Well, okay, Sokka had no idea who this girl was. But, from the fancy house he found himself in, Sokka would have to guess someone with a lot of money.
He had been thrown into a dark wooden closet, bag and all, and had the common sense to stay hidden there until after he ceased to hear any noise from outside. Then, he took the time to explore the room outside the cabinet. Honestly, if Sokka had to guess, he would say it was the quarters for some kind of royal princess, based on the sheer number of fancy gowns and elegant, expensive pieces of furniture. It didn't make sense that a princess would hang around where Sokka had been, but maybe he had been rescued by the princess' bodyguard.
Either way, after Sokka had explored the room, he found a door to a balcony. Figuring it would probably be safer to be found outside the royal chambers, he managed to open the door and escape to the outdoors. On the left side of the balcony, a tree was very conveniently branching out just over the ledge, and Sokka made himself comfortable on one of the thicker branches.
Then, because it had been a long day and he was used to sleeping outdoors by this point, Sokka fell asleep.
He didn't wake up until the sun was going down in the west, covering the entire balcony in a cool shadow. If he focused, Sokka could even see the first stars beginning to shine in the darkening sky. He didn't really want to move from his perch on the branch, however. In the distance, he could hear the sounds of a party going on, and Sokka knew that any sort of movement might draw attention toward him, even if he was high up in a tree. Staying put would be a better option.
Unfortunately, just then he heard a crash and a shriek from inside the room, and he shot up on his perch before thinking about it.
From his position on the tree branch, Sokka could look through the glass door to the balcony. The source of the noise turned out to be a beautiful young girl who, despite the crash, didn't seem any worse for wear. Instead, she looked furious. Sokka guessed that she had been the one to cause the damage.
Before Sokka could do the smart thing and run off, the girl barged onto the balcony. Her face was flushed with anger, though Sokka could barely tell due to her artfully applied makeup. Her elegant moss green gown belied the way she was holding herself, as though she was ready to attack just about anyone who approached her.
"I cannot believe them!" she exclaimed, nearly pulling her hair out of its complicated hairstyle in her outrage.
Sokka's ears perked up at the sound – he recognized the voice as belonging to the girl who had snatched him from the bandits. Intrigued, he edged forward on the branch to try and get a better look.
"I mean, really," she kept ranting, unaware of her small observer. "Me? Married? To that guy? What are they thinking? There is no way – NO WAY – I'm getting married! Never! Never ever! Ugh!"
The branch was starting to get too thin to walk on, but Sokka couldn't quite see the girl's face. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to look at her, exactly, but he figured the least he could do was know what his rescuer looked like.
Besides, she was upset. Sokka hated it when girls were upset.
With that in mind, he jumped down from the branch and landed on the stone wall that lined the balcony. Even though he was well out of her eyesight, the instant he touched down on the wall, the girl stiffened and whirled around to face him, surprised.
"What the-," she said, startled. Sokka froze on the wall, but she didn't look angry. Actually, she didn't seem to be looking at him at all. With a start, Sokka realized that the girl's eyes weren't just pale – they were filmed over. She was blind.
"Huh," the girl said, tilting her head quizzically. "A badger-cat? I thought Mom had all the strays around here killed."
To Sokka, that sounded like a great cue to leave, but just as he was about to jump back into the tree and dart away, the girl knelt down and started making a clicking sound with her tongue. "C'mere, badger-kitty, I won't hurt you."
She faced him and held out a hand for Sokka to sniff. Instead of approaching her, however, Sokka stayed frozen where he was. The entire situation was wrong, and suddenly, Sokka realized why. If this girl was blind – and her eyes were a dead giveaway to that – how in the world could she tell that he was a badger-cat? Or know precisely where he was? It made no sense.
And that's when Sokka made his mistake.
Without thinking, he blurted out, "How can you see me?"
The girl's blind eyes widened in shock.