And Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Day 3
Potential
"This one's cute," Suki remarked, setting the portrait on the ground with the others. "I bet he grew up to be a looker."
"What about this one?" Ty Lee asked, holding up another picture.
"I dunno. I feel like he's the type who'd grow a big bushy beard and order people around all day," Katara said as she examined the child in the picture.
"Most of the Fire Lords did that, though," Ty Lee pointed out.
A head poked around a bookshelf behind them. "What are the three of you doing in the royal library?" Sokka asked, stepping from behind the shelf with an armful of scrolls. Aang appeared beside him, also carrying scrolls.
Suki waved them over and they joined the circle, dropping their burden in a pile on a nearby chair. "We got bored, so we decided to look at childhood portraits of the old Fire Lords," she explained. "We're trying to guess which one's grew up to be the most handsome." She gestured to the rows of pictures laid out on the rug in the middle of the circle, alongside a gilded box containing even more.
Ty Lee pulled another portrait from the box and laid it down with the others. "How about him? He's pretty cute."
Aang shrugged. "He's okay. His eyes are kind of funny."
Sokka rubbed his chin. "I agree." He pointed to one of the pictures in the row above and said, "This one's better."
Katara leaned down to get a better look. "I think his eyes are kind of exotic."
Suki also leaned in for a better look. "I think he could go either way. It all depends on how the rest of his face matures."
Katara reached into the box for the next picture. Her eyebrows rose slightly when she saw the face of the boy on the paper. "Oh, this one's not bad at all," she remarked. I bet he grew up to be very man-pretty." She laid the picture down for the others to see.
Ty Lee's eyes lit up. "Ooh! He's just my type. I'll take him."
Aang looked around at them, confused. "Take him?"
"It's a game," Katara told him. "We each have to decide, based on these pictures, which Fire Lord we'd have an arranged marriage with."
"I see," Sokka said amusedly. "So, which one is that?" he asked, pointing the paper in Ty Lee's hand.
"No one's allowed to look at the name until everyone's made their selection," Suki informed him. "When we're done, we're going to take them to the royal gallery and compare 'results'."
"Sounds like fun," Aang announced brightly. "I want to draw the next one!" He grabbed around in the box and pulled a picture from near the bottom. He chuckled when he saw the face of the child, "This kid looks kind of like Bumi."
He set it down with the others, and the group fought the urge to cringe. "Um, I think I'll pass on him," Suki said, shaking her head.
"I know him," Ty Lee spoke up, "That's Fire Lord Rozu. He actually wasn't that bad when he got older."
"I'll take your word for it," Katara said, reaching into the box again. She looked at the picture and furrowed her eyebrows. "This one looks kind of familiar," she said thoughtfully.
"I think that's Fire Lord Azulon," Ty Lee said, leaning over for a closer look. "Though it could be Ozai. They looked a lot alike as kids."
Katara shuddered and hurriedly set the picture down.
The next boy was claimed by Suki –"This one has a charming face. I'll bet he grew up to be a real lady-killer," she said as she laid the portrait in front of her.
Sokka grinned. "Seems you have a thing for lady-killers," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Suki smacked his arm affectionately.
Aang requested next pick, and the box was passed back to him. "Hey, this one's not bad," he remarked.
Sokka examined the picture over his shoulder. "Meh, a little on the girly side, if you ask me."
Katara took the portrait from him and looked at the solemn face of the child painted on the paper. "His facial structure is quite delicate," she agreed, "But I think he has a lot of potential. Boys like this usually end up being really handsome."
Ty Lee glanced at the picture and her eyebrows rose.
"Do you recognize him?" Katara asked the acrobat curiously.
Ty Lee giggled. "Yeah. He turned out very... unique looking."
Katara smiled down at the picture. "Unique, huh? Well, I suppose if I had to marry someone, I'd pick a person with a bit of flair in their appearance. I'll take this one."
Their choices made, they put away the other pictures and Sokka and Aang grabbed their scrolls before exiting the library and heading for the royal gallery.
When they got there, they found Zuko and his uncle in the middle of a discussion. Both looked up upon the rather large group's arrival.
Iroh grinned widely as he and his nephew walked over to greet them. "Welcome, what brings so many young faces to this magnificent hall of history?"
"Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt," Katara told him apologetically.
"Nonsense. My nephew and I were simply discussing ideas for his own portrait. It's about time the new Fire Lord took his place among his family's legacy, wouldn't you say?"
Katara grinned at Zuko. "You're getting a picture done? That's exciting."
Zuko looked less than thrilled. "I guess."
"Anyway," Sokka said, pushing his way to the front of the herd, "We're here to find the portraits of the Fire Lords in these pictures." He gestured to the pieces of parchment in the girls' hands.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Iroh offered cordially, "Might I inquire as to why?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just a silly game," Katara answered embarrassedly.
"They were looking through pictures of past Fire Lords as children and trying to guess which ones grew up to be the hottest," Sokka said frankly. "They each picked the one they'd want to marry in a hypothetical situation where, for no adequately explored reason, their only options were crown princes of the Fire Nation."
Rather than look at them like they were crazy, like Katara expected him to do, Iroh clapped his hands together and said, with a grin, "Delightful. And whose affianced shall we locate first?"
"Ooh! Me me me!" Ty Lee exclaimed, jumping up and down with her hand in the air. "I've got–" she flipped her picture over and frowned, "–That's weird, it just has a number 47 written on it."
"Ah, the 47th king of the Fire Nation; Fire Lord Bora," Iroh identified, "His portrait is right over here." The retired general led them a short ways down the vast hall and stopped before a picture of a tall, squared man with a strong jaw and smooth features.
Ty Lee squealed. "Oh! I just knew he would be my type."
"He is handsome," Katara admitted, looking up at the larger than life painting. "He kind of reminds me of Haru."
Zuko, who had come up next to her as they walked, looked up at his ancestor with a small scowl. "He's not that handsome," he grumbled lowly.
"Okay, my turn," Suki announced. She flipped over her picture and read, "53."
Iroh lead them six portraits over. "The 53rd king of the Fire Nation; Fire Lord Rorin."
The man pictured before them was a bit shorter than the previous Fire Lord, but there was an air about him that spoke of easy-going confidence. "He's cute, Ty Lee commented cheerfully.
"Fire Lord Rorin had quite the reputation with the ladies," the old prince said with a wink.
Suki smirked. "I knew it."
"He looks like a nice person," Katara commented, "The kind of guy who'd be fun to be around."
Suki nodded in approval. "I could marry him."
"Hey!" Sokka exclaimed indignantly.
It was Katara's turn now, and she smirked confidently. "Okay, your men were pretty good," she said dismissively, "But my husband is going to beat the pants off both of yours."
"You mean your girly-man?" Sokka teased, nudging Aang, who grinned along with him.
Katara crossed her arms. "You just wait. I know potential when I see it. This boy was destined to be beautiful."
Zuko scoffed. "It's not like you're actually going to marry him."
Somewhere behind them, Ty Lee sniggered.
Katara humphed and turned to Iroh as she brought up her picture and flipped it over. "Mine is number 67," she stated proudly.
Iroh's eyebrows rose, much in the same way Ty Lee's had, but he swiftly lowered them again, gaving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, my dear, but we don't have a portrait for the 67th Fire Lord."
Katara looked back at him with disappointment.
"However, I am sure that your intended would be more than happy to have one done for you, wouldn't you, my nephew?"
Katara's eyes widened and she whirled around. "You?"
Sokka grinned widely. "No way! You chose Zuko?" He burst into wild laughter, slapping his knee for effect, "Oh, that's too good!"
Suki and Aang began laughing as well, and Ty Lee smiled sunnily. "Your auras are very compatible," she informed Katara cheerfully.
Katara's "intended" stood frozen, gawping at her, a fierce blush spread over his cheeks.
"So, Zuko's your type?" Suki asked grinning slyly.
Katara shook her head, "What? Of course not! I could never marry Zuko. I-"
"Don't even bother, Sweetness!" Toph's voice called from an adjoining room.
Again with Toph. (I wonder what she was doing that whole time. *shrug*)
Well, now Zuko and Katara are hypothetically engaged. Perhaps they will serve petit fours at their hypothetical wedding. Mmmm.
Stop by again tomorrow for Day 4: Change. (I'm super pumped about this one!)
Ciao for now!