Chapter 3: Not Bored Anymore

Katara was just sitting down to dinner with Chief Arnook, Gran-Pakku and her father when Hakoda looked at her and said with concern, "Is everything all right, Katara? You're frowning…"

"Everything's fine, Dad," Katara said almost automatically. "I'm just wondering where Aang is, that's all. This is the second time he's missed dinner this week." With the long days she'd been putting in, representing the Avatar at the World Peace Summit, breakfast and dinnertime were the only times they had to be together.

Since King Bumi had asked five days ago for Aang to absent himself from the peace talks, and said that Katara could stand in his stead, Katara had faithfully reported to Aang all the issues that had come up and how the delegates had responded to them. She made sure he knew about every time she'd had to step in to defend Zuko and the Fire Nation from Earth Kingdom delegates more interested in taking vicious revenge on them than in restoring balance to the world.

For the next three days after the announcement, Bumi had started each session with a reminder to all the delegates present that Lady Katara spoke for the Avatar, not for the Southern Water Tribe. And she'd made what she thought was a really good speech that first day, soon after Aang had left; a speech about how no matter how much people wanted revenge, restoring the balance was more important, and any revenge that interfered with that goal was flat-out wrong.

She'd started by using Aang himself as an example; if anyone deserved revenge for wrongs done to their nation, surely there was no argument that Aang deserved it first and most, after all his people were massacred! Aang was the sole surviving Air Nomad, and Katara could testify how much he missed his people, but he sought no revenge for them. Instead he'd set all his pain aside, to work with the very great-grandson of the man who'd ordered their slaughter, to end the war and restore balance to the world.

Then she'd moved on to her own grievance against the Fire Nation; about the raid that had killed her mother in cold blood. And she'd told them all about how when Zuko had sought to join Team Avatar, she'd seen him as representative of the monsters who had killed her mother as well as the teen who had chased her and Aang all over the world, and hated him… but she'd still worked alongside him to train the Avatar, because it had been the right thing to do and the best hope for restoring balance to the world.

Zuko had gone still during her speech, keeping his eyes downcast; the very image of a penitent man hoping to make amends for himself and his nation. Only at one point had he made a soft sound, like a stifled snort, while Katara had talked about working with him to train Aang. (But fortunately for them both, he'd done the smart thing and kept his mouth shut about all the times she'd served him only burnt scraps for dinner and generally treated him like slush, up until the day she'd finally forgiven him; that wouldn't have helped the peace talks at all.)

She'd thought it was a good speech, and her father, Gran-Pakku and King Bumi had all applauded her for it, but the other delegates hadn't been so impressed. As she'd reported to Aang each evening, she still had to step in on a frequent basis, when Earth Kingdom officials made demands of the Fire Nation that were clearly motivated by taking revenge instead of reparations.

She'd even told Aang, though hesitantly, about how she'd had to gently rebuke Chief Arnook when it had become evident he wanted revenge on the Fire Nation for the Siege of the North and Princess Yue's death/conversion into the Moon Spirit. Chief Arnook hadn't spoken to her for the rest of that day and part of the next, until her father had taken Arnook aside for a quiet talk.

Afterwards Arnook had come up to her with an apology, and admittance that he'd been too focused on his grief and pain to see that the Fire Nation had ultimately taken much greater losses, when the Avatar had merged with the Ocean Spirit to drown the entire invasion fleet. He'd admitted that since the Ocean Spirit had already exacted a great and terrible revenge, he had no business seeking more, and he would take his cue from her and Hakoda and focus more on doing what he could to restore balance to the world.

Katara had told Aang about Arnook's apology at dinner last night, but left out the reminder of all the thousands of people he'd killed while possessed by the Ocean Spirit. (The one time he'd had a reminder of that, seeing a memorial to the troops lost in that invasion while they'd been visiting a Fire Nation colony, he'd freaked out and flown off on his glider, and Katara hadn't seen him for the rest of the day.)

Tonight Katara had been looking forward to telling Aang about how the Earth Kingdom delegates were treating her with respect now, and considering Zuko's suggestions for how his country could make reparations (often with labor from demilitarized troops, who had no civilian jobs waiting for them back home) instead of rejecting them outright. But Aang still hadn't come back from that day's outing with Mai, so finally Katara had accepted her father's invitation to join him and Chief Arnook for dinner.

"Is he still busy trying to make some Fire Nation girl laugh out loud?" Arnook asked idly as he gestured for a bowlful of stewed sea prunes, which King Bumi had imported especially for the Water Tribe delegates.

"Lady Mai, Firelord Zuko's companion," Katara informed him. "And yes, he is. Every morning I ask him what he has planned for while we're meeting, and all he says is, 'Today I'm going to make Mai laugh out loud!' And every evening I ask him how it went, and all he says is, 'Tomorrow I'm going to make her laugh out loud, for sure!' "

Pakku said with a snort while accepting his sea prunes, "From what I've heard of her, he should try torturing kitten-owlets in front of her; that should do the trick."

"Gran-Pakku!" Katara said reprovingly.

"What?" he demanded with a raised eyebrow. "She's a former companion of Azula, isn't she? And I've heard far too many tales of the Mad Princess's casual cruelties, even to her own people."

"But Mai turned against that princess, to save Zuko, my son and myself when we were escaping from the Boiling Rock," Hakoda very pointedly reminded Pakku.

"So she's not entirely heartless," Pakku said with a shrug. "I still don't see why the Avatar is wasting so much time on her."

"Aang has endless optimism," Katara said with a sigh as she picked up her spoon. "If he can believe there's good in everyone, even that monster Ozai, then it's not surprising that he believes he can make anyone laugh if he just keeps at it, even Zuko's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? It's not an arranged betrothal, then?" Arnook asked with mild surprise. "I was under the impression that the Fire Nation nobility practice that too."

Katara was about to respond in the negative, then paused, thought about it and finally admitted, "I don't think it's arranged, but I've honestly never asked. But even if it is arranged, they really like each other, or at least Zuko does; he smiles at her when they hold hands, and once I even saw them hugging."

"I've only seen her twice, and the first time, we weren't properly introduced," Hakoda said wryly. "The second time was at Zuko's coronation. Katara, you surely know them both better than I do, so perhaps you can tell me; what does he see in her?"

"Um… I really don't know, Dad," Katara admitted. She knew Mai was considered beautiful by Fire Nation standards, though it was a cold beauty that she thought most men would get bored with soon enough. And considering how Mai acted so bored with everything, all the time… But maybe Mai was different in private than she was in public.

But talking about Zuko's feelings for Mai felt uncomfortably like gossiping, so she changed the subject to other matters, like the rebuilding of the Southern Water Tribe. They had a long ways to go before the village was as grand as the Northern Water Tribe's main city, but Pakku's waterbenders had greatly improved the main port for trading vessels and had either raised or greatly improved all their buildings.

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In another wing of the palace, Zuko frowned as he sat down to dinner, glancing at the empty seat beside him. Most of the week he'd eaten a quick dinner at his desk, surrounded by stacks of paperwork, but tonight he'd made a point of leaving his temporary office to have a civilized dinner with his girlfriend… only his girlfriend wasn't there. Her attendant, Lady Dang, had regretfully informed his servants that Lady Mai had yet to return from that day's outing with the Avatar.

Zuko knew he didn't have any real right to be irritated with Aang and Mai; after all, Mai had been forced to eat dinner with just her attendant for company for most of the week, while Zuko tried to simultaneously deal with the international issues raised in the Peace Summit and run their nation long-distance via messenger hawks. (If only he had people back home he could really trust to run the country in his stead! He'd finally appointed two different councilmen as co-regents, two men who cordially hated each other, counting on them to watch each other like rival dragons over a hippo-cow carcass; if nothing else, each would prevent the other from trying to seize power in his absence.) But he was still irritated; it was hard enough to set aside any time to relax at all, let alone spend time with the girl he loved.

He idly wondered, as he started on his egg flower soup, whether Mai and Aang were just as irritated as he was right now. Aang had been pulling Agni-knew-what crazy antics over the last five days, trying to make Mai laugh out loud, when Zuko counted himself successful if he could just get her to smile. Jokes, pranks and general silliness usually had Mai rolling her eyes at the jokester and asking pointedly if he'd let her know when he was finished being an idiot. Aang could be surprisingly patient at times, but after so many days without success…

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"Almost there… Just a little bit more… Ready? …Go!" Aang's soft whisper turned into a shout as he leaped out of their hiding place, Mai right beside him, to pounce on the herd moving down the trail. Bleating in panic at what they thought was a predator attack, the hopping llamas began living up to their name, bouncing everywhere as they tried to escape.

It was really tricky to grab and climb aboard a hopping llama, but more than worth it for the thrill of such a crazy ride! Aang hung on to one llama's thick neck for all he was worth as it bounced like mad, trying to buck him off, and caught a glimpse of Mai doing the same with another llama, and laughing like a hyena-seal.

When the llamas crossed a stream in their panicked flight, he hollered, "Into the water, Mai!" just before he jumped off with a tremendous splash, so he wouldn't drown the poor thing with so much extra weight on its back.

When Mai staggered out of the creek after him, wringing water out of her clothes, he bent a stiff breeze to dry them both off. But the jouncing ride, the water and the blow-drying left her hair a completely tangled mess, so she called for a halt before going back to Appa to get her hair fixed again.

While he was waiting for her to finish combing her hair, Momo came gliding up from where he'd been waiting with Appa, chattering in greeting. But just before landing on his shoulder, the lemur's ears perked up and he turned sharply to the left, his attention captured by something else. A second later, Aang heard it too; a piteous mewling coming from somewhere nearby, a little animal crying for help.

He and Momo investigated, and after rounding a nearby boulder they found a tragic sight: the carcasses of a bearded cat and a rat-viper tangled together in death. The rat-viper's fangs were sunk into the bearded cat's flank, but the cat's fangs had bitten into and broken its spine. Most animals stayed far away from rat-vipers; the bearded cat must have fought it as a last resort… Probably to protect the tiny red-furred kitten mewling while nudging the bearded cat's shoulder, calling pathetically for its mother; a call that she would never answer again.

"Awww…" Aang half-whispered. The kitten heard them, gave a tiny hiss of fright and started to scurry off into the underbrush, but he airbent a tiny but powerful dust-devil wind to cut it off and send it tumbling back towards them. Then he untucked the front of his tunic, grabbed it while it was still disoriented and scooped it up to bundle into the loose folds of fabric so it couldn't claw him.

"It's okay, little guy, I won't hurt you," he murmured to the kitten as it mewed in fright while he was wrapping it up. "Poor little fella… uh, little gal," he corrected himself after a quick peek under the tail. "I bet Katara will like you!" And the more he thought about it, the more he thought it was a really good idea. Katara didn't have a pet of her own, and taking care of the kitten would give her someone new to make a fuss over.

Perched on his shoulder, Momo chattered urgently and tugged on his collar; the lemur wasn't happy about something. Aang gave his pet a mildly annoyed look. "Yes, Momo, I remember how well you got along with the last bearded cat we met, but this one's just a baby! She's not going to hurt you, and Bumi told me once that if you start raising them young, they make really good pets. She'll get along just fine with you when she's older."

They went back to the clearing that Mai was in, just as she finished combing out her hair and stood up, cocking her head at them in curiosity. "What have you got there? It's noisy, whatever it is."

"A bearded cat's kitten," Aang said, carefully showing her; the red-furred head poking out of the bundle of fabric didn't have the distinctive beard-looking tuft of fur on its chin yet, but it would grow in eventually. "She's all alone; the mother died fighting a rat-viper. I'm going to give her to Katara to raise for a pet! We should head back soon, though; I think she's hungry, and all there's nothing left in the food-sack we brought today."

Mai peered closely at the wailing kitten, commenting, "It probably wouldn't have wanted rice-balls, anyway; those are tiny fangs in its mouth. Do you think it's weaned yet, able to eat meat?"

"Um. I think so?"

"All right. Wait here; I saw something scurry past while you were gone," as Mai got up from the rock she'd been sitting on and headed purposefully off into the undergrowth. Aang and Momo traded uneasy looks, but waited there with the kitten… and barely a minute later they heard a soft shthuk and a high-pitched squeak abruptly cut off. Momo's ears lay flat as he let out a frightened eep, and Aang grimaced. Moments later Mai came back into the clearing with one of her many blades in her hand, and a tiny meadow-vole's carcass impaled on the tip.

"You didn't have to go kill anything!" Aang complained as she drew near.

Mai gave him a mildly disgusted look as she sat back down on the rock with her bloody trophy, dropping it in her lap as she wiped the blade clean on a sleeve before sheathing it. "You said she's hungry; do you want the little beast wailing all the way back to Omashu? Just give it here, if you're so worried about bloodstains on your pants."

Aang handed over the kitten with a look of resentment, and drew back as Mai carefully held the kitten down in her lap right next to the dead meadow-vole. The kitten got the idea right away and grabbed for the tiny carcass, sinking her itty-bitty claws into the kill to drag it closer to her jaws. Aang shuddered and looked away, protesting, "It's not about bloodstains! I'm a monk, and we hold all life as sacred! We don't even eat meat!"

"Except eggs," Mai said absently, as she watched the kitten tear into and eat the dead meadow-vole, frowning in distaste at the sight but not recoiling from it.

"Eggs aren't meat!" Aang snapped almost automatically. If they were, the monks wouldn't have made egg custard tarts or egg-flower soup for all the kids in the temples to eat while he was growing up! Monk Gyatso wouldn't have said it was okay for him to eat all those egg-based dishes Bumi's and Kuzon's parents had made for them, when they were visiting while traveling the world together.

That made Mai stare at him in surprise. "You're kidding, right?" When Aang didn't say that he was, Mai's look changed to one of disdain. "And people say Zuko doesn't think things through…"

"Hey!"

The look Mai was giving him now was almost scornful. "Aang, birds and lizards are both made of meat. Eggs come from birds and lizards, and in turn, new lizards and birds come from those eggs. So how can they not be meat? Eggs are just meat that hasn't developed enough to be chewy yet."

Aang abruptly felt so dizzy that he had to sit down right then and there. He just sat there and stared at the ground, while Momo chirped worriedly on his shoulder. He thought about all the egg-based dishes he'd eaten in his lifetime… and all the little pig-chickens or other animals that could have come from those eggs if they'd been hatched instead of eaten.

After a while he whispered, "The… the monks never said…"

"And point out their own hypocrisy?" Mai asked bluntly. "Of course they didn't."

"Katara… Katara never said!" Aang realized he was starting to shout, but at that moment he didn't care. "We've been traveling together for a year and a half now, and she makes Sokka put any animals he's hunted in a sack so I won't see them, and she always makes dishes without meat for my dinners, but she's gathered eggs from nests for me and she never said!" Though there'd been a few times when it seemed like she was about to say something while he was eating, but always bit her lip and said she wasn't thinking of anything in particular whenever he asked…

He looked up from the ground while he was ranting, to see Mai looking back at him with what seemed like sympathy in her eyes. She said almost gently, "She probably wanted to protect you; mothers always want to protect their children from the worst."

That got him rocketing to his feet, his fists clenched as he shouted, "I'm not a child!" He might have still technically been a child when he'd first emerged from the iceberg into a war-torn world at twelve years old, but he'd experienced so much in that last year of the war, it felt more like he'd lived three years in that time! And now he was very nearly fourteen years old; definitely not a child anymore! He added emphatically, "And Katara is not my mother!"

Most people drew back in a hurry when the Avatar started shouting, but Mai just gave him another look of Not Impressed, completely unafraid; probably because she was used to dealing with Zuko and Azula. "Biologically, obviously not. But she sure acts like your mother, and don't try to deny it; you've come around the palace too often and both Zuko and I have seen it happen. Oh, she tries to be discreet about it when strangers are around, but just last week at the dinner with King Bumi, right before the food fight started I overheard her hissing at you to 'sit up straight' and 'chew with your mouth closed'."

He couldn't deny that had happened, just as she said… and just like Toph had said once, back during the war. Katara tried to be motherly with just about everybody except Mai and Zuko, but she was the most motherly around him. And like a mother or a guardian would, she'd tried to protect him from his own people's hypocrisy… All the anger went out of him with a whoosh of breath as he slumped, suddenly depressed beyond words.

A long and uncomfortable silence stretched between them before Mai said suddenly, "I'm not going to apologize for speaking the truth. But I could have been… nicer about it, maybe. I don't normally do 'nice'; I leave that to Ty Lee."

"Katara's nice to people, most of the time," Aang found himself mumbling. And as for Aang himself… He still remembered that time Sokka told him quite seriously that he was too nice.

"Yeah. But nice people have a tendency to keep things from you, tell white lies or just continually change the subject whenever you ask, because they're sure you would get upset to hear the truth." Mai's lips twitched in a bitter almost-smile. "A lot like politicians, really, but politicians' lies are usually more for their own benefit than yours."

"Jin Wei? Wei Jin? I know those guys! I mean, I really knew them! I may not look it, but I'm 112 years old. I was there a hundred years ago on the day you're talking about..."

That hadn't been a 'little white lie', that had been a whale-sized white whopper. But he'd had a good reason for making that up; he'd been trying to bring an end to the feud between the Zhang and Gan Jin villagers! And it had worked, too!

But that hadn't been the only time he'd told a 'white lie', or just changed the subject instead of telling the truth. And sometimes it was because he hadn't wanted people to be upset with him, for something he'd done-or hadn't done. "It went great with the Guru. I completely mastered the Avatar State!" That lie had sure come back to haunt him later…

Sokka was right; he really was too nice, and in a way that wasn't at all good.

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Mai suppressed a sigh as she looked at Aang, now leaning slumped against a tree and just staring at the dirt again. Just great… She'd ruined what could have been a genuine and possibly even great friendship, due to her habitual refusal to be the perfectly nice 'diplomat's wife' that her parents wanted her to be.

They'd been having a wonderful outing today, starting with some more aerobatics on the way to the valley with the herd of wild hog-monkeys. This time Aang had let her hang onto Appa's head-fur and call out the directions for barrel rolls, loop-the-loops and steep dives with flipping turns, even if he'd still insisted on a safety rope in case she lost her grip.

Then they'd found the valley that Aang had remembered from over a century ago, that still had a herd of hog-monkeys living in it. Riding those wild beasts had been such a thrill! She'd ended up with rips in both the left sleeve and right pant leg of her áo dai from the fight they'd put up, and she knew Lady Dang would be appalled when they got back and try to throw her outfit in the trash, but she was already planning to secretly keep it as a souvenir; something to treasure and reminisce over when she was stuck in the Fire Nation palace for the rest of her days.

Then on the way back they'd stopped in a wide meadow with a stream, so Appa could eat and drink his fill while they picnicked on rice balls and salad rolls. And while they'd been there, Aang had spotted the tracks of a hopping llama and declared that they were just as much fun to ride as hog-monkeys! So they'd followed the tracks for hours until they spotted the elusive herd, and then dashed around and ahead to find the perfect spot for sneaking close enough to catch a couple of them and get a ride…

Nearly every day she spent with Aang had turned into a new Best Day Ever, and she was sorry to see it all coming to an end so soon. But it was probably for the best; she already knew that Royal Consorts wouldn't be allowed to do any of the activities she'd just discovered she loved doing. Breaking off her friendship with Aang now would remove the greatest source of temptation in the future.

She turned her gaze from Aang to the kitten in her lap, which was still eating its fill of dead meadow-vole. But soon enough it stopped eating, yawned and relaxed under her carefully firm grip. "I think the kitten here is done eating; might as well go back now," she said dully as she brushed the bloody remains of the carcass off her lap. She pulled up a front panel of her áo dai and tucked it all around the kitten, which gave only minimal protest at the handling; evidently it had decided that any creature who fed it couldn't be all that bad. She stood up with the bundled kitten in her hands as Aang slowly pushed himself upright, and they trudged silently back to where they'd left Appa.

Night had nearly fallen by the time they got back to Omashu. But just as they got close enough to distinguish individual buildings in the city, Aang said abruptly over his shoulder at her, "The more I think about it, Mai, the more I think you should have the kitten instead of Katara. She already likes you, you can get fresh meat for her until she's big enough to hunt for herself, and you should have a pet to keep you company too!"

"What? I don't like animals!" Mai protested.

Aang twisted around to look pointedly first at the kitten purring in Mai's lap, then at Mai's hands—she'd been petting it, she realized with a blush, for at least the last fifteen minutes—and then at Mai's face as he said firmly, "Yes, you do."

"But… I've never had a pet before! I can't…"

"Why not?"

Because her parents had never let her have a pet; her father had allergies.

Because Azula had been cruel even as a child, and it had been dangerous for any small animals found in her vicinity.

Because Lady Dang was allergic to animals too.

After a long pause, Mai said slowly, "No good reason," as she found a small, sly smile tugging at her lips.

They ended up circling the city a few times on Appa, while they worked out a story explaining why Mai simply had to adopt the kitten; something that Lady Dang wouldn't dare object to. After they'd worked out the details and were coming in for a landing at the royal stables, Aang said casually, "It's too bad that Sokka's not here; he's good at coming up with ideas and devices. But can you sew?"

"My mother made it plain that sewing is for peasants and servants," Mai said dryly. "What she taught me was embroidery. Which is close to the same thing, but more decorative and less useful. Why do you ask?"

"Well, maybe you can, ah, 'embroider' a little carry-pouch for the kitten, something like a rabbaroo's pouch, to keep her with you until she's big enough to keep up on her own. It wouldn't be fair to either the kitten or Lady Dang if we left her with your attendant the next time we go out, and I'm pretty sure she's not tame enough yet to just be left with Appa either."

"The next time?" Mai blurted out in shock. "You mean, you still want me to go out and have fun with you?"

"Well, yeah! We're friends, aren't we?" as Aang gave her a truly puzzled look, as if bewildered that she might think otherwise.

The sheer shock of what Aang was saying must have knocked part of her brain unconscious; the part that controlled her mouth. Because even though she knew that the smart and politic thing to do would be to simply smile and agree with him, Mai realized she was saying like an idiot, "But, today… I made you feel terrible."

"You told me the truth," Aang said somberly. "And it was about stuff that I should have figured out for myself, if I'd just thought about it at all. I'm still really bothered by it, yes, but blaming you for pointing out the truth would be about as unfair as blaming you for the rain when all you did was say it's raining. So… we're friends?" as he looked at her hopefully.

Mai felt an unaccustomed warmth spreading from her chest outwards, and she just knew she was grinning like a fool, but at that moment she didn't care as she agreed, "We're friends."

But for some reason that just made Aang stare wide-eyed at her, almost in shock. "Wow," he whispered.

"What?" as she lost her smile, feeling self-conscious under his stare.

"Uh, sorry, I just—I just figured out why Zuko's in love with you," Aang said, looking a little embarrassed. "Because just for a second there, when you smiled like that, you were beautiful!"

Then he apparently realized the implied insult in what he'd just said, because he hurried to reassure her, "Not that you're not pretty all the time! I mean, of course you're pretty all the time, but—and I'm not trying to make a pass at you, I'm just making an observation! I…aauuggh!" as Aang finally gave up and flopped back onto Appa's fur with a groan. "Just don't kill me, okay? And don't tell Zuko I said anything either, because he really will kill me! Or just laugh at me…"

"Truly a fate worse than death," Mai said with amusement. "Don't worry, I won't say anything to him. But we'd better get back to the palace, before Lady Dang tells Zuko how long we've been gone and he starts sending out search parties."

Aang agreed, and in short order they were walking back to the palace, leaving Appa with a bushel of cabbages and in the caring and capable hands of the stable master. "So, have you decided on a name for her?" Aang asked, indicating the kitten in Mai's hands.

Mai had never named a pet before in her life, but it didn't take long for her to think about it before deciding aloud, "I'll call her Neko."

"Just 'cat'?" Aang echoed, looking a little scandalized. "I'd expect that from Sokka, yeah, but why just Neko?"

Mai shrugged. "I've never raised a cat before, but I do know that no matter what you name them, they never come when you call. So what's the point?"

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When they got back to the Fire Nation guests' wing of the palace, Aang just put on a serious expression and kept his mouth shut while Mai did all the talking with Lady Dang. She'd said earlier that after years of watching both her diplomat father and Princess Azula lie with perfectly straight faces, she was pretty sure she could tell the whopper they'd concocted better than he could and make it believable.

And she did, too; Aang could tell that Lady Dang really bought the story that Lady Mai had been called upon by the spirits of Oma and Shu themselves, speaking through Aang when he'd been in an Avatar trance earlier, to repent and atone for her family's part in briefly subjugating the city of Omashu during the last year of the war. And as a sign of her atonement, she was to take in, feed and care for a helpless Earth Kingdom creature.

"But… must it be a young bearded cat?" Lady Dang asked helplessly, her eyes red-rimmed and nose sniffling even though she was standing well across the room from them. "My allergies…"

Mai gave an indifferent shrug. "Well, the spirits' original suggestion was for me to adopt an Earth Kingdom orphan child. I'd pointed out to them that doing so might raise questions of succession after Zuko and I are married, since a man marrying a woman with children is generally assumed to adopt them as his heirs, but…"

"No, no, the kitten is fine!" Lady Dang squawked in alarm, waving her hands to ward off the very suggestion. "But… I do beg your pardon Lady Mai, but I must, with great regret, tender my resignation as your attendant. I will be unable to fulfill my duties if I'm incapacitated by your new companion whenever I get too close."

Mai was graciousness itself as she said, "Lady Dang, I completely understand. But let us not send word back to my parents just yet of your resignation; they would not understand why, and would not be inclined to give you the good references you surely deserve."

That was Aang's cue to speak up, trying hard to be as solemn and gracious to the defeated as Mai herself was. "I shall speak to King Bumi immediately but discreetly, and he shall see about finding you new living quarters nearby. So far as the rest of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation will know, you will still be Lady Mai's faithful attendant and chaperone, until your airship returns to the Fire Nation."

As it turned out, he didn't get to see Bumi that night; he tried, but his oldest friend was in conference with somebody else and had left strict orders to not be disturbed, unless the intruder had either a shirshu or a platypus-bear with them. Aang scratched his arrow for a second, wondering what was going on; he knew Jun the bounty hunter had a shirshu, but who would own a platypus-bear, and why would Bumi want to meet someone owning either? Then he set that aside for later and asked the majordomo if his staff could discreetly open and prepare another suite in the Fire Nation guests' wing, with no questions asked.

"Another guest suite has already been aired out and made up for the Lady Dang, for her to move into at her convenience," the majordomo said with a bow. Aang stared at him in surprise—he hadn't mentioned Lady Dang by name, hadn't even said it was a woman needing a new place to sleep! How had they known? But when he tried to ask, the majordomo either didn't understand the question or just deliberately sidestepped the answer, and Aang finally gave up and went back to let Lady Dang know that her new guest suite was ready.

Lady Dang thanked them both before bidding Lady Mai and the Avatar a good evening and backing out of the room, still blowing her nose. Mai and Aang waited until a good five seconds after the door closed, before exchanging gleeful high-fives.

To be continued…