Old School
Part 2: The Typewriter
"Dad, why don't you just use the thing?" Kaminari, the youngest child of the Fire Lord and Fire Lady shook her head and sighed, much as her mother would have.
She had come to bring him tea, something she had done since her days as a little girl, and sit for awhile. They wouldn't talk much necessarily, but the pair had a special sort of understanding, and even without words, communicated much. In that way, Kaminari was much like her mother as well.
"Pour the tea, please, Kami. And I don't want to use it. I enjoy calligraphy. It's an art and one that shouldn't be lost. Remember Piandao? He was the best calligrapher this nation has ever seen, a true artist. Mechanically made characters cannot compare. They're cold and impersonal. Even Sokka, and he loves all this new fangled stuff, still uses the ink and the brush."
"But you could save so much time with the typewriter." The thirty nine year old black haired beauty poured her father a cup, placed it before him and then poured one for her to drink."And Sokka doesn't have to write nearly as much as you do."
The scent of Iroh's special jasmine tea filled the room, and as always, warm, sweet nostalgia along with a twinge of grief hit the Fire Lord. He closed his eyes tight and thought of his uncle, dead almost twenty years now. The loss back then had been almost crippling, despite his best intentions to remain strong. Zuko had his family to thank for helping him through those first few horrible months.
And now, he kept the general turned tea maker and philosopher, Zuko's real father in every important sense of the word, alive through stories of their years in exile together, and the years after that too; happy years that Zuko and his young family enjoyed with Iroh.
The Jasmine Dragon, his famous Ba Sing Se teashop was a legend in the Earth Kingdom city and even beyond. It still existed. Zuko made sure of that. It would never be the same, but Iroh had the foresight to train a few people in his ways, and the shop was still a success. The royal family got regular shipments of tea; all their favorites and Iroh's own famous blends.
"I miss him too; I always will." Kaminari reached out and put a hand over her father's.
"I know," he replied with a smile. "I'm glad that he is remembered so fondly. Are there any cookies?"
Grinning now, she handed her father a couple of his favorite biscuits. "There."
Kaminari stood up, teacup in hand, and walked around the desk. She carefully moved aside a small mountain of papers and pulled out the typewriter that was buried beneath.
"I'm not going to use it."
"Could you at least make a pretense of it when Ta Min and Sora are around? They did pick it out for your last birthday. And you would have more time with Mom." The last bit she said in a sugary sweet, wheedling tone, tempting her father as best she could. Time with Mai was always a good incentive.
As if on cue, Mai opened the office door. On one side of her stood Ta Min, seven years old, and on the other side was little Sora, only four. "Grandma isn't cutting it anymore. They want their mother."
Sora held her finger out for Kaminari's inspection. "It hurts, Mama. You kiss it?" She stuck the wounded digit in her mouth then and sucked.
"Let me have a look," her mother said softly. She pulled the finger back out and checked it thoroughly. "You will definitely live." After planting a kiss on the almost imperceptible scratch, she declared it "all better."
Sora hugged her mother tight and then ran off giggling. Ta Min followed, and soon they were both playing with Zuko's and Mai's old tomcat, Michi. He hid in the office most of the time. It was usually quiet and there was a massive window through which the sunshine poured in. Michi curled up in the patch of warmth and went to sleep for hours at a time.
"Watch him," Mai warned. "He might scratch. Michi's getting a bit cranky in his old age." Playfully, she gave Zuko a look, implying that the same might happen to him, or perhaps had happened already. "Ah, I see the typewriter has been uncovered. Are you planning to use it?" She moved closer to the desk and stared at the machine, tapping the keys lightly.
Sora and Ta Min swung their heads around immediately. "Use it, Grandpa, use it," they chanted.
"Don't you like our birthday present?" Ta Min asked quietly. "It's supposed to help with all the writing you hate." She was a serious little girl, with hair and eyes like Mai, always thinking and always concerned about everyone. "See," she continued, finding a piece of paper, smooth and straight and thin, produced just for use in typewriters, "you put it in like that, and then you hit the right character keys to make your words. It's easy, Grandpa."
"Looks simple enough," Mai agreed. "Give it a go," she encouraged. She leaned in close to Zuko and whispered, "Make a show of it for the girls."
He couldn't refuse Mai anything. He never could. Sora jumped up and joined them around the desk. She rested her head on her hands and smiled in anticipation, thick brown hair, messy from play, springing out from her top knot and wide gold eyes shining. She reached for her sister's hand and Ta Min took it. The older girl smiled sweetly at her grandfather.
Zuko grumbled something about being surrounded by females and unable to fight that kind of combined power. Mai whispered again, promising him a reward.
"Fine, fine, I'll try it out. But don't expect much." His voice was a bit gruff. Softening his tone, he thanked the girls once more for the gift given weeks earlier. It had been thoughtful, just not what Zuko would have preferred. He peered at the keys, trying to find the character he needed. "Is there some sort of rhyme or reason to the way the keys are laid out?"
"You need to memorize where each is," Kaminari replied. "It's not that difficult, Dad. I did it."
Huffing and puffing, he found the one he wanted and hit it, perhaps a bit harder than was necessary. As the key activated the hammer and the hammer hit the ribbon of ink, a satisfying clacking sound was generated. He stared at the paper and saw the character there in midnight black, clear and perfect.
"Well," he mused and hit the next key. "That is something." He continued to work at it, all eyes on him, until he had completed a sentence.
"See, Grandpa, isn't it great? Isn't it?" Sora bounced around excitedly. "And I helped pick it out."
"I know you did," Zuko acknowledged, his voice full of affection now. He pulled the little girl onto his lap and hugged her close. "Thank you, Sora."
"Welcome, Grandpa; can me and Ta Min go play now?"
"It's time to practice your reading and then time to get cleaned up for dinner," Kaminari stated, thwarting her younger girl's plans. "Tonight is family dinner night, remember.
Both girls enjoyed the twice weekly family dinners during which all of Zuko's and Mai's children and their children too, dined with them. It was the royal couple's way of maintaining close family bonds, of making sure that everyone spent some time with everyone else. They were noisy, boisterous and fun meals that all of them looked forward to.
"We'll see you later, girls," Mai stated and they watched as Kaminari left with her daughters. "Was that so bad?" she inquired, coiling her arms loosely around Zuko's neck and staring over his shoulder at the typewriter.
"No, but I still prefer calligraphy. I just won't hide the thing anymore. Kami did say something about it saving me time, time I could spend with you." He stroked his chin and contemplated that. "Maybe, once in a while, I'll use it."
"More time together is always a good thing." The Fire Lady kissed her husband before disentangling herself and heading toward the door. "Don't be late."
The weak, fading light of the autumn evening streamed in through the dining room windows, fighting a losing battle against the darkness. When the dishes in front of everyone were difficult to see, Zuko stood up and with the flick of his wrist, lit all the wall sconces. The firelight made the room glow. It bounced and flickered off bowls and glasses, made quavering shadows that danced on the walls. Zuko loved firelight. But he was a firebender.
"You could have just hit the switch, Dad," Ryuhito reminded the Fire Lord.
"Yes, I could have. But I prefer the fire, and it keeps my bending sharp." Zuko hated the fact that electricity could power things now and why he had permitted it in the palace at all, he had not a clue. He figured it was a weak moment. Proudly and stubbornly he refused to use it himself. After all, he would always have his fire. This electricity often went out. And then the palace rang with the shouts and curses of those now dependent on the new source of light.
Every family dinner, they had the same exchange of words, Zuko and his only son. Ryuhito was not a bender. His twin, Miyako, younger by a mere six minutes, was. He had no interest in becoming Fire Lord. Miyako did and one day, far in the future, she would succeed their father. Ryu's interests lay more in economics than politics. He aided his father and would aid his sister too when the time came. He believed in bringing the Fire Nation into the future, economically speaking.
Ryu bemoaned the hardheadedness of his father and others like him. "Why are some people so bent on clinging to the old ways?"
"I like fire too, Daddy," his younger child, Minako, a girl of six declared.
"It must be partly a bender thing," her father said without a hint of envy. "But your grandfather doesn't like anything that is new."
"He likes the new cook," Mai said with a smirk as she bit into her delicious chicken. "And, remember, Ryu, I'm not a bender and I agree with your father. The old ways have more charm. Still, some things are inevitable and change is one of them." She shrugged then. "Let things happen as they will. And stop pestering your father about the electricity."
"Fine, fine; but the nation needs to keep up if it wants to compete with everyone else. You realize that don't you?" His question seemed directed at no one in particular.
Ryu's wife, Akane, put a hand on his arm, effectively stopping him. "Let it go," she urged quietly. "You don't need to convince everyone. And these dinners are supposed to be fun."
"You're right," he conceded graciously. Looking at his father and his mother, he apologized. "Sorry for being an ass about the power, Mom and Dad. I just get excited about all this new stuff."
"It's fine," Zuko replied agreeably. "Maybe this is a good time to tell you about the idea I had for Toshi and that camera of his."
Ryu and Toshi both beamed. "What is it, Grandpa?" the boy eagerly demanded.
"Well, I was thinking, and your grandmother agrees...
A/N: I figured that I would introduce family members a bit at a time. I have a little chart made up for myself so I can keep the kids and their kids and spouses straight.
So Miyako and her one child will appear in the next chapter.
I might even bring Tom-Tom into the picture eventually.
I'm thinking maybe an automobile ride for Zuko and Mai next…..a more rudimentary one than the satomobiles we see on Korra. New styles of clothing etc is something else I have in mind.
Any ideas or thoughts….anyone?
*Private Fire gets a thank you for suggesting I mention Sokka and Piandao when it came to calligraphy…so thank you, Private Fire*
Alabaster
