Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or Taang AU, each belongs to their respective owners.

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She's a strange girl. The first time Poppy Beifong spots the Avatar, she sees a skinny girl of twelve years. She could pass as a boy in her trousers and scrawny form. She's plain to look at, no beauty. Her hair is brown and her eyes grey, completely unremarkable save for her tattoos and odd dress. Despite her avatar status and true age of over a century, she's unremarkable in personality too. Her name was Aang, a boyish name for a boyish girl. Yet something sparked her son's interest. Her precious only child, her baby left with that girl. They traveled the world together and saved it, all the while she worried for the fate of her son.

When they returned nearly a year later, the war won and the disaster averted. The Avatar has changed little, though her hair fills around her face more attractively. Her garments fit that of a High Priestess/Nun, her plain features make her radiant in the glory of her success. Her son though, her son Toph, was a changed man. The timid boy in her care had become a man at an age shy of thirteen. He is blind, her baby, but he is positively mooning over the Avatar. Toph attempts to touch however he can, mostly bumping into her or brushing fingertips. She smiles at him, a useless gesture, but she laughs with him and talks to him. Poppy regards this news with interest for her son had never taken an interest in girls, or people in general. He talks to his other companions, but he favors the girl avatar.

The girl, a few months shy of thirteen lives among them for a week or so. Then Aang informed them that a part of her duty was to leave and travel the world in solitude for twelve years. All the world leaders, the ones concerned with continuing her bloodline convinced her to shorten it. She would return to the public at the marrying age, sixteen. They agree and the girl departs, after several long goodbyes to her friends. Poppy is surprised to learn that her son went so far as to steal her away from the public eye. According to the whispers of companions, he had tried to kiss her, but missed and landed on her cheek instead of her lips. "Being Aang", she took it the wrong way, a friendly gesture. Poppy remembered reading once that the nomads were an affectionate race.

So the girl left for her journey, saying her goodbyes from the flying bison. Her hand waves gracefully as she flies into the air. Toph stormed away. The next few days he sunk into a deep funk. The boy sulked like a little child for weeks. The absence of his girl-avatar took its toll. He wasn't eating or sleeping. He spent most of his time smashing things in his earthbending arena.

The years passed faster than Poppy would have liked, she enjoyed having her son to herself and her husband. This time was quickly coming to an end. The ending began when he girl returned. Toph had practically run outside when he felt her bison touchdown. Toph was grinning wildly as the child-savior clambered from the saddle and onto the earth. She had changed so much Poppy might not have recognized her without her odd clothing and her tattoos. The girl avatar had become a woman. She was still willowy and slender as the nomads always were, but she had matured. Aang had grown taller and her hips had widened a bit, her breasts filled out more. Her thick brown hair had grown longer and seemed more charming and less mousy. Her cheek bones defined her face, keeping her modest beauty while making her seem more adult. If her son could see, she was sure he'd be impressed. It was strange to her though, the girl seemed almost to exhibit traits of Earth Kingdom nationality. The wife of Lao Beifong shrugged it off. She was the only girl of nomad blood in a hundred years; no one remembered how they looked.

Her little Toph had grown too. As he approached the older Avatar Aang he proved to be a head taller than she. His pretty features had melted into a defined jaw and strong muscles. No longer was he a pretty girlish child, but a beautiful man. He wrapped his arms around Aang for a moment. A faint crack was heard and Toph pulled away immediately, fearing he hurt her. She just laughed and shook her head. He smiled tenderly, something his mother had never seen. His hands, now larger than her face, ran through her hair and over her cheeks, getting a sense of how looked now. She smiled at him, a useless gesture but endearing none the less. She put a tiny, girlish hand over his where it rested on her cheek. Poppy suddenly felt as if she and her husband were intruding on something very special and personal. Poppy gently urged her husband away to allow them to reunite in private.

The news of her son's engagement came so soon after people began considering a spouse for the Avatar, Poppy could scarcely believe it. Toph, being tactless as usual casually mentioned it at the breakfast table after returning from his trip the night before. His blunt presentation of "I asked Aang to marry me, she said yes." blew them away. Poppy nearly fell out of her chair and her husband dropped his utensils. True, Poppy and Lao had been exploring options for her son's spouse, the fact that he took the initiative and got the Avatar herself as a betrothed near knocked his folks from their perch.

"What's the matter with you two?" He asked blandly, not sounding surprised but almost indignant.

"Since when have been you been courting this girl?"

"Never, not officially at least."

"What are you thinking? This isn't proper!" Lao insisted. Toph crashed his cup onto the table.

"Look, I don't give a damn about your opinion. I'm going to marry her. I've loved her for a damn long time. I don't need to court her; I've known she's the one for long time now. You see, I just stole her away from every powerful man in the god damned world! Whether you like or not, she's gonna be my wife! So deal." He got up from the table and stormed off.

Her son's new fiancé came later that day, dressed in her best nun robes. Toph had an arm around her shoulders. Aang sat on her knees before them. She looked pretty, but humble. The girl Avatar smiled so wide, it seemed to split her face. She bowed deeply, placing her hands on the floor. Her forehead tapped the floor. She drew up slowly, looking them both in the eyes. Toph had his hands in his lap.

"It is an honor to see you again, Lord Beifong, Lady Beifong."

"Avatar Aang." Lao said, bowing his head.

"I understand you have agreed to marry my son."

"Yes."

"Well, you seem to be a healthy young woman. You are sound of mind and you are the Avatar."

"The one who saved your sorry asses." Top mumbled under his breath. Aang shot him a look, which he proceeded to ignore, not like he could see it anyway. His father continued to prattle uninhibited.

"You should understand the importance of heirs; even a nomad should know that." Toph bristled, but Aang only smiled sweetly.

"Well, I believe that heirs are honestly more valuable to me than they could ever be for you. I am the last of my kind while there are hundreds of cookie-cutter nobles like you to pass the estate onto. I know you don't think me worthy of your son, let me tell you something. I am more valuable than you or wife could ever be. I'm the last airbender, I'm the Avatar, and I carry the weight of a race on my shoulders. So please do not look down upon me. We are to be family, and I sincerely wish that we will be able to get along. If you will not do so for your son's sake, then do so for the sake of grandchildren to come." Toph choked on his spit, Aang ignored him. Lao looked almost, impressed. Poppy was too shell shocked to say anything.

"I hope so too." Toph's voice rumbled, his hand sneaking behind her to rest on her shoulder. The decision that her son would marry the nomad girl was set after that.

Poppy soon realized the Avatar was not worth half the trouble she caused. The girl was nice and well behaved but she didn't know anything. Her way of thinking was a century out of date; her manners would be deemed too physical. She hugged too much. She didn't understand some of the newer forms of writing, nor could she quote any poetry from the last hundred years. It was frustrating but not all bad. She was eager to please her fiancé and willing to learn. Luckily for Poppy, the affectionate race heavily frowned upon fornication. Poppy learned this when she caught Toph and Aang alone together. She had been on hardwood floors so she wasn't noticed. She watched her son plant one hand on her hip and the other moving away her collar to kiss her neck. Aang shrieked and knocked her head into his jaw sending him reeling. It was comforting to know she wouldn't be pregnant on her wedding day. But it saddened her too. Like all mothers, she pictured her son as innocent seduced by a wanton woman. It seemed to be the other way around here.

"What can you do?" Poppy screeched one day. She watched as the nomad girl scrambled trying to know what dish in what order. The fact that she didn't know small talk was tolerable, but this was hard. Aang cast her gaze down, her whole body drooping.

"I can sing." She said timidly. Poppy raised her eyebrows, she had never heard of the Avatar singing.

"Well, sing me a little tune then, dear." Aang hesitated.

"Well, can you sing or can't you?" Aang nodded quickly.

"What should I sing?" Poppy sighed, pushing stray stands back.

"Whatever pleases you." She answered huffing. Aang nodded timidly.

Poppy collapsed into the chair and waved a hand for her to begin. Aang opened her mouth and sang. Poppy was surprised to hear the girl Avatar sing in a foreign tongue. Poppy didn't know any of the words, yet she understood the meaning. It was song stained in sorrow and loss. It spoke of heartbreak, not for the sake of passionate love but for family and friends lost. It sang of loneliness. The girl Avatar had a beautiful voice that rang through the empty hall. Her eyes were closed as her mouth was open wide, letting the sweet music spill forth. Her hands were pressed into her heart. By the end of the song tears ran down Poppy's face. Aang wiped a few budding tears away.

"That, that was beautiful." Aang nodded sadly.

"What was that?"

"The Song of Sorrow. It is an ancient one, it's sung in the ancient nomad langue. The genocide of a century ago was not the first my race suffered. There was another forgotten by all but us. This song was for the survivors. No matter what hardship our kind suffers, we remain, we persevere, and we survive. I like it; it makes me think of home."

"What is home to you, Aang?" Aang started, Poppy had never called her by name before. It was either "Dear" or "Lady Avatar".

"My home is dead and gone. The home I knew was the Southern Temple, with Monk Gyatso and my old friends. The home I knew was with my Mother, my betrothed, my family. But that home was killed over the whole span of my life."

"Your family?" Aang nodded, she seemed to be her age at that moment, over e century.

"My mother, my father, my grandfather, my half-brothers, they're all gone now. I'm alone except for Toph and my friends. I am very grateful for the time you've spent with me, Lady Beifong. I wonder if my mother would have given me the same loving care as you." Poppy stiffened. Hadn't the girl just been talking about her family?

"What happened to your mother? You said you cared for her greatly."

"I did, and I do. I never knew her well. She passed away when I was still very young. After her death, my father took on another partner and had three sons with her. My father was disappointed in a female child so he and I were not close."

"And your grandfather?"

"He looked after me, he raised me. My maternal grandfather was also my mentor, Monk Gyatso." Poppy widened her eyes and shook.

"What?"

"I kept it a secret, out of habit. Family is not supposed to raise family in my world. Then, after a long time, I realized no one would care if they knew." Her hands fisted into her skirts.

"Monk Gyatso would never let his mixed blood granddaughter suffer the isolation of her mother without a single friend to lean on." She told Poppy, her head bowed.

"Mixed blood….."

"Yes, my maternal Grandmother was born of the Earth Kingdom. My people don't really discriminate outsiders, but they have always feared them. My mother was somewhat isolated from others, because her mother wasn't originally a nun and her hair was black and curly. She never had many friends, they all called her a mixed, and vain too, because she was beautiful. The nomads don't understand the way outsiders think, and I won't lie and say I'm an exception. Some things you all say and do, I can't understand, and I'll even admit it scares me a little. However, it seems I took more after my father, so it was easier to blend in even with mixed blood." Poppy felt as though she was looking at the girl for the first time. Now she saw what she had overlooked as coincidence. She saw that the girl's hair was thick like an Earth Kingdom woman, as opposed to Nomads and Fire Nation ladies whose hair was elegantly thin. She saw that despite her willowy form, her shoulders were quite broad and her legs were solid. Her nose was more substantial as were her ears. Poppy could see the Earth Kingdom blood marching proudly through her veins. Aang smiled.

"Oh, I….."

"It's alright, most people couldn't tell even when there was many of my race. Now that we're all but gone, I'm all that's left as reference."

Poppy finds the girl easier to understand after that. She observed the girl's eager smiles with a sense of awe. The girl had suffered so much over her few years of life and here she stood. Everything she had known as a child was violently ripped from her. All of her friends and her family dead save for one who no longer lived either. Her hope for the future lay in Toph's lap. Avatar Aang continued to move on with her life, despite everything that tried to pull her down. Her whole world was ripped away as a child and now she was starting anew, not unlike the cycle of death and rebirth that all Avatars follow. She was all smiles, hope and joy; never did she dwell on her sorrow. Once or twice she would find her future daughter lying in her son's lap, having her hair stroked by him. So Poppy did her best to teach the girl how to be a proper wife. The girl was learning more now that Poppy was more patient with her. The Lady Beifong took the girl to a tailor for her silver wedding robes, helped her pick out flowers and other preparations. Clearly the nuns had never daughter the girl about party planning.

The day of the wedding came all too soon. Everything they planned fell into place. It was her future daughter-in-law's wish that she be married where her ancestors were. The girl wove carnations into a sort of crown with a silvery veil attached to it. The girl almost fell over from the weight of her brocade robes. The sight was enough o draw a laugh from Poppy. It was far more extravagant than anything she had been raised on, with each question of "is this really okay" added. Poppy found it cute and modest. Toph was eager for their wedding, so was she. They stood at the altar in the main Air Temple, where all wedding ceremonies were held.

It was a beautiful ritual. Her son was a handsome man and Aang a beautiful bride. They did nothing but keep their attentions on one another. The minute their vows were finished Toph swept his little bride into a deep kiss. The reception was lovelier still; Aang performed several dances for the guests and dragged Toph into a few as well. Poppy laughed, her son never danced willingly. For Aang her son would o anything, she had him wrapped around her finger. They danced the night away, Poppy danced with her own husband. Finally the night was over, the new couple bid their goodbyes before retreating for their wedding night. Poppy remembered her own wedding night and hoped theirs went better. Her duty as a mother was long over. Her son was now a man with a woman of his own. He was happy, his life was truly starting.

By the end of the year, Aang was pregnant.

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Princess: Sorry it's been awhile, just working on another bunch of ideas rattling in my head like some horrid itch. But I'm back and when I get three reviews for this chapter or it's been a week, I'll put up another pre-written chapter, and I think you'll all adore the was inspired by a reviewer who wanted to see Aang go through wife training and this came out... so yeah.