Another chapter! Hopefully a good one. Either way I had fun writing it. :shrug:
Azula hugged close to the side of the house, shrouded in shadow, observing the guard. Across the open distance, maybe a five second sprint from her current position, was the entryway to the staircase that wound to the top of the wall. Her face crunched up as the pungent odor of fish remains reached her nostrils, carried on the southerly wind. The guard caught it to, bending to the side to cough into his arm –
Azula didn't waste the opportunity. She glided over the open ground, cutting across the first rays of the morning sun that shot over the rooves of the building.
"H-"
The guard stood no chance. With a practiced twist of the head, Azula ended the man's alarm with an acute snap of the neck. She dragged the body into the entrance with her, leaving it leaning out of sight as she made her way up and around the ice stairs.
She exited at the top of the wall, bracing herself against the wind before starting to run for her real target, the entryway to the lighthouse at the northern end.
She burst through the entrance, cursing out the gust that cut across the doorframe. Inside, she faced another staircase, spiraling up for farther than she could see –
"I hate this place." Azula groaned before starting her first steps up. As she reached the top, she peered around the doorframe – another guard, or lighthouse operator, or whatever was napping against the wall of the circular room, directly across from the entryway. The torch in the center of the room still burned bright, despite the morning rays negating its usefulness.
Azula stepped into the room, treading lightly. From here, she had views out over the ocean, across the ice fields, and down into the maze of houses, stores, temples and other silly water tribe buildings that made up the Northern capital. And thanks to the high ceiling, she could see well into the sky above all of this.
A sky notably devoid of any sky bison.
Where is he?
Azula both scratched and pulled at the hair on the side of her head as she jumped from one angle to another, looking anywhere for Aang and his lumbering beast. The sky, for all her searching and all her frustration, was empty.
She turned towards the telescope set up near the guard. This piece of equipment was relatively new to the water tribe, having only gained access to them after Zuko took power. They were one of the many technical developments of the fire nation made available after the war. Naturally, Azula was no stranger to the device.
She cranked hard on the handle, turning the viewing lens from its outlook over the ocean to over the city. And she looked through that lens, watching guards dart from one building to another, no doubt in the silent search of her. She watched as homes came to life, as the fishermen made their way to the docks. What she did not watch was the slow rise and fall of Appa's fur as he continued to sleep well into the morning. She clenched her fist –
"Damn i-" Azula started to curse, before quickly covering her mouth as she remembered the presence of the sleeping guard. She glanced over at him; her expression bitter as her hand dropped away.
That kind of slip up can get you killed. Do Better.
She slung the telescope over to the ice fields, an unending stream of mumbling running parallel with her search.
Going to find that avatar going to kill him make him pay and his gir-
Azula watched as Appa's arrow head lazily shifted through the magnification of the lenses. She pulled her head back from the viewport, blinking a few times in disbelief before looking back to confirm. He wasn't much more than a spec; Azula glanced at the telescope dials –
Maximum Magnification. Much to far to run. If only –
She glanced back at the guard. A devious smile appeared.
What coincidence.
Azula kicked the man right in the shin, dropping down after to quickly cover the man's mouth with her outstretched hand. His eyes flared up, but he dared not mumble a word as Azula drew his attention to her other hand, the one with a searing blue flame held mere inches from his temple.
"Hello. I'm Azula. Pleasure to meet you."
The man stared with ferocity at her but said nothing. He looked older – not old enough to be unfit for service, but old enough to have lasting memories of the previous war literally burned intohis skin. Unlucky for him, Azula was about to demonstrate that the conflict-free lighthouse posting he'd requested would in fact not mean he'd never have to face the fire nation again. Even if it was just one more, one last monster.
For a brief moment Azula felt pity for him.
"You will take me there." She gestured with her blue-tinged finger towards the ice fields. The man made no response.
"I presume you are talented enough to make an ice sled?" Azula questioned. Still, he stared.
Azula rolled her eyes. "Look, you better damn well be able to make a simple sled or you're useless to me, which means you die. Immediately."
The man slowly nodded his head.
Azula sighed.
Finally.
"No tricks, no sudden movements, no loud noises or you die. We clear?"
He shook his head again.
Azula removed her hands, standing up and stretching before scratching at her arm.
"Martak."
Azula raised her eyebrow as the man spoke.
"I am Martak."
"Alright, Martak, let's move."
Together, they made their way down the stairs, exiting the lighthouse on the opposite side she had entered.
Exited onto a great plain of ice.
Martak raised his hand, a frozen sled for two appearing out of the granules of ice and snow that blanketed everything. Azula got on, and with a rhythmic motion of his arms, Martak accelerated the sled forward.
And as they ventured out, Martak was silent. Normally, he would have fought, tooth and nail for his post, his life. But he'd heard that name before. He knew what it meant. He knew what evil lingered with it. And he knew, for better or for worse, that she'd read him like a book.
I'd best comply. For now.
And he pondered, questioned, but dared not ask aloud –
What does she want out here?
"Just what are we going to do with you two?" The guard asked, pressing his right knuckles into the side of his head as though he were trying for push the answer out.
Yonten and Toph stood there, still a little drowsy at these early hours. Around them, the few other community service 'volunteers' were doing normal duties – cleaning up the streets and canals, bringing food to the elderly and disabled, or performing repairs with limited water bending use, for those that could.
But a blind metal bender and an air bender – these were skills the guard on community service duty had not ever expected to have to work with.
"Perhaps I could…blow some snow…away?" Yonten asked, rather feebly.
"Really Pipsqueak? That's the best you can come up with?"
Yonten opened his mouth to object but realized that, well, she was right.
"Look, you two, why don't you two just go give the people what they want." The guard concluded, nodding towards the small crowd that had gathered a little way away.
You see, it's not every day a bald man wearing monk clothing with a big blue arrow on his head walks through town. Certainly not one with a blind metal bender riding on his shoulders, all the way to the community service center.
"Excellent!" Toph exclaimed, pulling a metal rod out from her pocket, "Showing off is my strong suite! Pipsqueak, bring me to my audience!"
Yonten sighed, grabbing hold of Toph's outstretched hand, leading them to the people who started cheering as soon as they saw them coming their way.
"Hey Avatar, make your tattoos glow!" Some kid, no older than 7 or 8, shouted from atop his friend's shoulders.
"Wait, no I-"
Toph gave him a hard elbow in the side.
"Hey!-"
"The Avatar here would be happy to!" Toph gleamed, facing a little off-centered from the crowd.
Yonten drew his hand across his brow in exasperation.
"Toph, we're not doing this impersonating thing again."
"You're no fun," she quipped, clearly miffed before turning back towards the crowd, still not facing the center.
"My Avatar friend doesn't want to play along, so instead you're just going to have to settle for some sweet metal bending."
As she said this, she held up the rod in her hand, making it squirm like a worm, which garnered some ooos and wows and show us the Avatar! From the crowd.
"Hey! This isn't some party trick! Metalbending is challenging! I would know, I invented it!"
The older woman standing in front of Toph, who was most definitely not the one to demand to see the Avatar bend, was very confused as to why Toph was yelling at her.
"Fine." Toph muttered. Yonten noticed a devious glint in her eye…
What now.
"If you are like the Avatar," Toph started, beginning to form the metal in her hand, "And happen to be a man, you may have one of thes-"
"AAALRIGHT that's enough of that!" Yonten quickly interjected, drawing up a quick snow tornado away from Toph to distract from the clearly phallic-shaped object she had in her hand. The crowd cheered in response, with one kid escaping his mother's grasp and running into the snow trick, laughing as the snow swirled around him.
Toph looked, or at least directed herself, towards Yonten, clearly proud of her work.
"What's wrong with this? Never seen one before?" She laughed, then reformed the rod to put it back in her pocket.
"No Toph, it's just a little crass to show in-"
"Sure would explain a lot." Toph giggled, answering her own question just loud enough for Yonten to hear. Yonten shot her a glance of irritation, fully aware she couldn't see it.
"Toph! Yonten!"
Sokka's voice erupted from down the street in the opposite direction. Surprised, they both turned in response.
Sokka was running towards them. To Yonten, Sokka looked panicked.
Very panicked.
"We need to talk." Sokka stated bluntly, catching his breathe.
"What's wrong?" Yonten questioned directly, waiving off the crowd.
Sokka looked Yonten in the eyes –
"She escaped."
"WHAT?" Toph yelled back immediately. "How!? That prison was ridiculous!"
"Tricked Arnook last night."
"That IDIOT. Seriously!? What could she have poss-"
Sokka interrupted her, waiving off her response by placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Look, it doesn't matter. She escaped. That's the fact. We need to find her before she finds Aang."
"Who else knows?" Yonten added while Toph continued to fume in silence.
"Arnook's closest guards, who've been looking all night for her. And me, because he came to the apartment this morning right after you left and told me and everyone else there. Uncle and both Ursas are safe with Suki back with the Chief in his palace. I was on my way to get Zuko when I spotted you two."
Yonten and Sokka both glanced towards the wall before looking back to Toph.
Sokka spoke up, gesturing at Toph, "Toph should go to the palace, wh-"
"Absolutely Not!" Toph yelled in Sokka's general vicinity, "Pipsqueak, just show me where to go, I'll keep up."
Sokka did a half-sigh, half-shrug towards Yonten, a motion of it was worth a shot more than anything.
Yonten grabbed Toph's outstretched hand,
"Let's go."
All three of them took off down the street towards the wall.
And that's a wrap. Rate and review! Or don't. It's entirely up to you!
