Alright, I see that the previous chapter was a bit too Ozai centric. So, let's see what our heroes are up to…
"…and here's the university." Zheng announced, motioning to a massive, golden pyramid that lay in the center of the sprawling metropolis from the monorail that housed the small group. Katara and Sokka stared open-mouthed at the grand structure from an open window while Toph "read" an embossed diagram of the building printed on a sheet of paper. It, of course, couldn't compare to the real thing.
"We are now passing the Great Sky Temple!" Zheng said excitedly even though he had seen the temple many times in the past. The others couldn't blame him, the temple had to be the highest structure in the entire Thunder Kingdom, and that was saying something as the university was at least 25 stories high.
The temple towered above the rest of the city like a great golden pillar, stretching up to the heavens as if to welcome the presence of thunder amongst the town's people. It was a welcome and common presence as everywhere the group looked, there were small representations of thunder amongst daily life, from the deep thumping drums of street performers to the rich, majestic color scheme of the city that symbolized the power of thunder, it seemed that thunder was in everyone and everything.
While the others were pre-occupied with sightseeing, Aang was focused on the people of the city. Being revealed as the Avatar at such an early age meant that Aang never really had the chance to live a normal social life amongst the other Air Nomads. But are they really nomads anymore?He thought to himself as he watched a group of teens chatting beneath the shade of a tree.
In his time, the Air Nomads had been very reserved, humble people, believing that all things were equal and that a simple lifestyle was the way of life. Here, in Lei jin shi, it seemed that everyone lived an aristocratic lifestyle, existing only to appeal to their materialistic wants and needs. As the monorail advanced forward, Aang saw that the holy shrines of old that had decorated every home of the Nomads had been replaced with either exotic boutiques or restaurants. Maybe the Air Nomads he once knew truly didn't exist anymore and these people were just imitators of a once great tribe. As soon as the thought entered his mind, Aang furiously shook it loose. It had been a hundred years since he last saw ANY Air Nomads! Maybe his old civilization was simply adapting to the new world. That's got to be it.Aang thought to himself as the monorail slowed to a stop. Or was that desperate hope which had voiced the reassurance?
"We're here!" Zheng said enthusiastically as he hopped of the monorail. The 4 heroes disembarked, temporarily blinded by the sunlight, and immediately gasped at what they saw once their sight returned.
In front of them was the Grand Palace of the Royal Family. The 4 teens stood in awe at it as the spires and battlements towered above them. Aang was particularly amazed at what he saw.
This was no Southern Air Temple.
The palace was built completely out of gold, with high spires and pristine grounds that probably took a small army of servants to maintain. As the group passed through the gates, a majestic garden came into view, with trees and plants from all corners of the world and animals from similarly diverse backgrounds. Sokka and Katara recognized several otter-penguins roaming the arctic habitat and Toph felt the familiar steps of a badger mole close by. However, Aang was not as impressed as he searched fruitlessly for a sky bison or winged lemur to no avail. Then, from behind, he heard a familiar deafening roar and spun around, excited to finally see another sky bison than Appa. Unfortunately, it was just that and Aang's heart sank at the sight of everyone's favorite sky bison munching away on some hay. Aang turned away, crest fallen, and rejoined the group.
"Looking for something?" Someone said from behind him. Aang craned his neck to see a very scruffy looking boy around his age, dressed in simple robes and leaning on a cane.
"Are you the curator or something?" Aang asked hopefully, turning to face the boy.
"Something like that." He chuckled, "What're you lookin' for?"
"Sky bisons"
The boy craned his neck around for a second and pointed at Appa, "How about that one?"
Aang shook his head disappointingly, "No, that one's mine. You got any others?
The boy was taken aback by thus statement as his eyes went wide.
"Woah, you're the Avatar ain't you?" He said, amazed. Aang chuckled at this. Despite the many times it had been done before, he still found the bewildered looks of people that met him endearing.
"Yeah. I am. Saving the world, keeping the balance, all that stuff." The boy laughed and offered his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Avatar."
He turned his head to the sound of someone calling, "I'll see you soon."
Aang looked in the direction of the noise and saw a servant motioning for the boy to come over, "Is that your mother?"
The boy chuckled, "Something like that." He replied and took off across the grounds, moving quite fluidly despite his limp. Aang smiled at his little encounter and sped off on his own way to find the group.
Later…
Sokka let out a groan and fell on to the mattress, his body welcoming the cool silk. Just as sleep wrapped it's fingers around his weary head, Toph grabbed his ear and yanked him up.
"C'mon Snoozles." She said, dragging the half sleeping warrior along with her, out of the guest bedrooms and through the halls.
"Where'rewe go..ing…?" Sokka asked groggily from beside her as he half stumbled, half flew down the brightly lit hallway.
"We're going to meet the royal family now, Sokka." Toph said, turning left and right sharply down many narrow corridors, her enhanced senses easily navigating the hallways.
"So wake up." She said, "accidently" shifting her foot to the right and sending a small pillar of earth right into Sokka's groin. His eyes practically exploded open as he grabbed his injured loins and slowly sank to the floor.
"That help?" Toph said, barely able to contain her laugh.
"Possibly." Sokka squeaked from the floor, his voice rising by several octaves. This caused the floodgates to open and Toph collapsed alongside Sokka on the golden floor of the Grand Palace, laughter spewing from her mouth.
Katara heard the laugher from the hall and excused herself from the dining table and poked her head through the grand arch that connected the hallway to the Thunder King's personal dining room.
"What ARE you doing?" She whispered harshly to Sokka and Toph who were on the ground, one groaning in pain the other laughing to death.
"Just…giving Sokka…a…wake up call." Toph replied between laughing. Katara shook her head at the sight. The two of them were honestly endearing at times but there were times to laugh and times not to.
Being in the audience of the Thunder King was probably one of those times.
Helping Sokka to his feet and taking Toph by her arm, Katara led the two into the dining room.
"I'm so sorry sir," Katara said to the King, tossing the two into their seats, "They're really good warriors I assure you."
The King simply burst out laughing at this, "Honestly Katara, if they were any different, I'd be worried." He said chuckling heartily.
Sokka had finally ceased feeling pain in his groin and looked up from his hunched over position. He looked at the King and was surprised at what he saw. With a name like the Thunder King, Sokka had expected someone more…Fire Lordish. However, the monarch before him was rather pudgy and had a warm smile in stark contrast to Zuko's near constant scowl and battle ready physique. The King actually reminded Sokka greatly of Iroh, with a great beard and piercing blue eyes which gave him a wizened appearance.
Sokka also noticed the great hunk of meat the King was currently devouring and stared lovingly at it. The King caught his stare and laughed heartily, grabbing another slab from the grand platter before them and slamming it down on Sokka's plate.
"Eat, boy! The least I can do for someone who took down an entire Fire Nation war balloon is provide him with some quality meat. I see that your companion has already done the same." He chuckled, motioning at Toph who was currently buried under a mound of meat but was working her way up fast.
"Now that we are all settled," The King said, rising to his feet, "I would like you all to meet my son and future heir to the throne, Prince Erzi de Lei Sheng" The King clapped his hands and a figure walked into the room. As Aang looked up from his meal, he almost spat out the salad he was eating.
Scruffy hair, slight limp. It was the boy from the gardens.
"Hey Avatar." Erzi grinned, waving. "We meet again eh?" Aang stared bewildered.
"You're..you're the PRINCE!" He almost cried.
"Yeah," Erzi said, chuckling, "Something like that."
YAY! That's chapter 3 done. Just so you guys know, I try to get 3 pages in Word for each chapter, so I may be slow writing the next chapter.
Special thanks to PureJasmineBlossom for being the first to review and favorite my story. Thanks!
Also, check my deviant if you'd please since I'm also updating there.
That's all for now. Ciao!
- Scratchy
