EMBLEM
~Chapter 2~
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Characters... I have a vague idea of where this story is headed.
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Katara woke as the first rays of morning light hit her face. Her first reaction was to squeeze her eyes shut and pull the warm blanket tighter around her shoulders. Her second reaction was to blink away the sunlight and hope to fall back to sleep again, but the bed shook as though someone had just fallen out of the sky and landed right next to her. Her eyes snapped open, all hope of falling back to sleep lost with the look of hopeless disparity found in the eyes of the 13 year-old Avatar.
"I'm sorry, Katara," he whispered quietly, his voice as soft as the clouds rolling in the morning sky. Almost as disperse as them too, because in the Fire Nation the skies were usually empty. The simple words spoken from his mouth and the heartbreaking look he was giving her at that moment made her forgive him instantly and she wrapped her arms around him so tightly, but she held him like a fragile glass dove, afraid that if she loosened her grip he would fly away.
...
Katara opened her eyes to sunlight pouring into Aang's room. The curtains had been blown aside and the room was quiet and empty except for her and a sleeping Momo at the foot of the airbender's bed. Katara rubbed her eyes and slipped out of the covers, touching her feet timidly to the cold wood floor. She pushed a waving curtain aside and stole a look at the just risen sun before turning to the meditating monk basking in the morning glow.
"Aang," she whispered hoping she wouldn't have to speak any louder than that. He slowly relaxed his shoulders and returned to a normal breathing pattern. His meditation was over.
"Katara," he said quietly too.
There was a pause as Katara expected him to say something and vice versa. So, she just stood there looking at him and he just sat in the same potion staring over the mountains that surrounded the Fire Nation capital. The birds only sang cheerfully to the sunlight.
Every second of silence from Aang ripped into Katara's soul until finally she gave up hope that he would speak to her, so she turned to leave when he asked: "What were you doing, last night?"
She paused thinking of the right answer. "I came back to make sure you were alright."
"You didn't have to." His answer was immediately after hers.
"I wanted to."
Aang paused. "Then, what were you doing this morning?"
Katara was confused. "This morning?"
"When, I woke up."
"I don't remember. Sleeping?" She tried to make it sound like a joke, but he didn't laugh. He changed the subject.
"You missed the sunrise this morning."
"If you wanted me to watch it with you, why didn't you wake me?"
Aang sighed and bowed his head. "Because I didn't want to."
Katara should have been angry, she should have fought against him and this silly little irrelevant talk! She only wanted him to apologize for yelling at her last night, not talk about the sunrise. What was wrong with him? Why, of all times, did he have to make her so frustrated like this? She should have been furious but she wasn't, she was angry but also a little sad and tired.
"I'm going downstairs," she said to him. He nodded. "I'll see if they've started making breakfast yet. Come down, if you get hungry."
"Okay." It was short, just an answer of acknowledgement, just an answer to show that he listened to her, not that he actually cared about what she was saying. Her resolve crumpled as she reached the first flight of stairs and hot salty tears ran down her cheeks. They were not of anger or sadness but of true worry for the young man she had just left on the balcony. Suki was right. She had to just make him explain everything to her. Everything about what was going on with him and why exactly the Fire Nation emblem was tied on a piece of cloth around the little lemurs front, right paw.
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A hot bowl of steamed rice sat in front of Sokka, as he chowed down on the various meats before he could even think about touching the 'vegetables'. Katara sat next to him barely touching her breakfast food but more or less enjoying the conversation that was taking place across the table.
"And the Earth Kingdom wants us to pay a 5% tax rate for any ship of ours that leaves their ports, whether carrying cargo or passengers that we've been removing from their land."
"Well, Zuko, it seems your caught with no tax deductibles," the Avatar laughed. Katara smiled. He seemed happier than he was this morning. He had smiled at her apologetically when he walked to the table moments earlier but they had not spoken together yet.
"Haha, Aang that was very funny," Zuko said, not amused.
"Yeah, Twinkletoes that was very funny!" Toph laughed completely amused. She had been eating the meal with as much gusto and a hippo-moose. Aang laughed and Zuko carried on.
"It's not like we have money to spare! The tax is, like, 2 gold pieces for every ship that's travelling home!"
"So?" Sokka said his mouth full.
"We have 540 ships in the Earth Kingdom," Zuko said.
Sokka choked on his food before swallowing and looked at Zuko, mouth agape. "How did you build all of them?" Zuko shook his head.
"Sir," a messenger flew in before anyone could say anything. He bowed before Zuko before delivering his message. "Commander Zang's ship has just arrived at port."
Zuko looked at Sokka, "539 ships."
"He wishes to meet with you," the messenger said.
"Good, tell him to meet me in the throne room," Zuko instructed. The messenger nodded, bowed and left and Zuko turned back to his plate.
"Want me to come meet this guy with you, Zuko?" Aang asked.
"Nah, I can take care of it. It's just update reports and Earth Kingdom demands."
"You sure? I can request the Earth Kingdom cancel your "tax rate," Aang quotationed before bowing his head in laughter. Sokka and Toph joined in, much to the Fire Lord's distress. Katara only smiled at the boys and focused on her plate of scrambled turtle-duck eggs. She was about ready to finish her breakfast and leave when Aang's voice distracted her.
"Katara, you okay?" he asked distantly.
Katara lifted her head to see that everyone at the table was now staring at her.
"Katara, you look kinda sick, are you okay?" Sokka asked reaching his hand to touch her forehead.
She swatted it away, "I'm fine, I was just thinking about something."
"Alright," Sokka said then turned back to his conversation with Toph and Suki. Zuko excused himself and headed over to the throne room mumbling about Earth Kingdom taxes and Aang... just stared at her. She noticed this and stared back at him.
"What?" she mumbled looking back down at her plate.
"You're lying," he said.
"Hey, Katara, Aang!" Sokka interrupted. "You guys are gonna want to come see something after breakfast! Please! You guys and Toph are the only people who haven't seen it yet!"
"Fine," Katara said and excused herself from the table telling them she'd be ready in 10 minutes. Aang and Sokka stared after her as she left the room.
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"Fire Lord Zuko," the commander bowed before the throne as Zuko entered the, now more brightly lit, throne room.
"Commander Zang, welcome back to the Fire Nation," Zuko said smiling at the man, who smiled back.
"I can tell you, Fire Lord, it's good to be back home. As soon as my men saw the Capital they were jumping off the edges of the boat to swim up to shore. There is really no place like home, once you've been in a foreign nation for months and years."
Zuko nodded completely understanding because he could still remember the moment he returned to the Fire Nation as "Prince Zuko" for the first time in three years. Of course, that didn't last very long.
"How was your travel?" The Fire Lord asked.
"It was disorienting, especially without the blockade guarding our Nation's waters. For a day or two, I had no idea if we had entered the Fire Nation or not," the commander chuckled. Zuko laughed along with him.
"But you found your way, Commander."
Yes, Sir, but that's not the point of the conversation, my Lord. Forgive me but there is more important things."
"So, you think it's not important to me that my subjects return home, safe and sound and deserve to be treated like heroes?"
"Sir, that's not what I meant."
"I know, Commander, but let me finish asking my questions before we 'get to the point'," Zuko said.
"Of course, Sir."
"Commander, where are your men now?"
"They are all being treated in the infirmary just outside the palace walls," Zang said.
"Your men are invited into the palace at noon, where they can have showers, and write letters to their families and relax before travelling back home. A hot meal will also be provided."
"Thank you, Fire Lord."
"Now," Zuko sighed, "What are the demands of the Earth Kingdom?"
Commander Zang frowned. "Sir, the tax was increased, they want 10% now." Zuko shook his head in his hands and groaned. "That's not all either," the commander said. "There have been accusations..."
"Against who?"
"You, Sir."
"For doing what?" Zuko asked.
Commander Zang sighed. "The Earth Kingdom thinks you are influencing the Avatar to your country's demands. They think you are convincing him to follow your way."
"That's insane! Aang's opinion is his opinion and no one else's!"
"Sir, the nation's are divided, the Avatar brings balance. The Earth Kingdom does not understand why the Avatar has stayed in the Fire Nation for the majority of the time after Sozin's War was won."
"And what did you tell them?"
"Sir, by your command I told them that he was meeting with the Order of the White Lotus, a group of diverse people from all Nations."
"Yes, that's true and what did they say?"
"The Earth Kingdom official present said that I was a 'lying piece of Fire Nation scum'," Commander Zang replied to Zuko.
Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes. "It just so happens that the White Lotus' needs Aang's help in the Earth Kingdom and I'm thinking of sending him over there. So, the Earth Kingdom will have their wish that the Avatar visit their land, but they can't expect to change his mind on anything."
"My Lord," the commander said reaching into his tunic, "the Earth Kingdom asks that I deliver this unopened parchment to you to give to Avatar Aang. It is for his eyes only."
"Did you open it?"
"No, my Lord."
"Shame, I'll have to open it myself then," Zuko said taking the rolled up scroll from the Commander's shaking hands.
"Sir?"
"Listen, Commander, anything Aang can read, I can too."
"You can't, Sir, look at the seal."
And that's when Zuko noticed that the seal on the scroll was, indeed, the Air Nomad emblem.
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"Katara, finally!" Toph yelled and everyone turned to see the waterbender walking down the steps. "You call that 10 minutes?" yelled the earthbender. "It was more like half and hour!"
"Sorry, Toph, can we just go now?" Katara asked.
"Sokka nodded and led the group down from the Palace and out into the inner city.
"Where are we going Sokka?" Aang asked from beside his friend at the front while Katara hung out in the back.
"Well, Aang. While you and Toph have been busy with all those meetings and Katara walked around the palace doing who-know's-what, Suki, Mai and I have been working on a little project with Piandao and the White Lotus," Sokka said proudly.
"What kind of project?" the airbender asked anxiously.
Sokka flashed him a knowing smile, "You'll see soon, buddy. We're almost there."
Katara looked up and saw in front of her a huge Fire Nation wear house. "We've been working on this project since Sozin's War ended." She heard her brother say as she caught up to the rest of the group.
Sokka knocked three times on the old metal door and a small window slid open.
"Who knocks on the giant metal door?" the man with no mouth asked.
Sokka smiled, fixed his shirt and said, "One who has molded the iron himself."
The door-man's eyebrows narrowed. "That is the wrong answer," he told the group and slid the door shut. Sokka blinked in surprise and acknowledged his mistake in the answer. He began pounding on the door.
"No, wait! I meant 'molded nature itself' NATURE!"
Toph stepped back, "Screw this," she said and pushed her fists into the metal door which crumpled under her metal bending and fell to the floor with a 'clunk'. "That's how nature does it," she said rubbing her hands together and walking through the entrance. The man who was supposed to be guarding the door, just stood there slightly afraid of the teen who just broke the titanium metal door down to the floor.
The ware house light switched on and Katara saw the vastness of the storing room, but what amazed her more was the two giant structures dead ahead of her. They were both airships, huge metal airships with a newer, sleeker build than the original Fire Nation kind. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. There on the side of one air ship was the Water Tribe symbol and on the other the symbol of the Earth Kingdom.
"Isn't it great?" Sokka asked beaming at his prized possessions. "We're building airships for the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe!"
Yes, Sokka indeed it is great. I can only say two things in this Author's note: 1) Those poor scrambled Turtle-Duck eggs and 2) Review because you are a nice person and it is the right thing to do.
