With a grunt of exhaustion, Katara threw herself down on her bed, armor and all. Her eyes closed.
The past week had been a whirlwind of activity. Every morning she had gone to the military base and spent ten or twelve hours training the waterbenders. After that, she often didn't even have time to eat before being whisked off to some political function or other, usually as a sort of celebrity bodyguard for Fire Lord Zuko and his wife, Mai. She was only averaging about four or five hours of sleep a night.
Her evening meal would be ready soon, a servant had informed her. As she felt her knotted muscles relax, Katara wondered if she would bother eating it, or if she would just sleep. She hadn't been this tired in years!
There was a knock on the door. Katara threw a pillow over her head and groaned in annoyance. "Go away!"
"Aw, come on, Katara," came Toph's teasing voice. "Don't you want to come out and play?"
"I don't want to come out and anything." The waterbender didn't move. "I feel like I've been trampled by an ostrich-horse!"
The bed creaked under the earthbender's weight, and Katara felt a callused hand brush along her arm. "It'll get better," she said sympathetically. "Once Fire Lord Sparky and his wife head back to the Fire Nation, we won't be so overworked."
"Unh." Katara didn't move, nor did she open her eyes.
Toph patted her arm. "C'mon, get up, Katara. You need to eat before you sleep, no matter how tired you are. Trust me, it's worse if you don't eat." The waterbender lazily aimed a blow at Toph's arm, which the earthbender dodged. "Hey, missy, you're gonna get yourself in trouble. Up, now!" She caught Katara by the wrist and pulled her to her feet.
"Toph!" Katara growled, as the earthbender manhandled her from the room and down the hall to the dining area.
"It's for your own good, Sweetness." Toph sat her down in one of the chairs at the table and gestured to a silent servant, who vanished accordingly. "So you eat, and we'll talk a bit before we sleep." Then, as Katara glared at her, "Hey, this is your general talking, missy. You behave!"
"Fine." Some of the anger faded from the waterbender's eyes, and she turned her head away. "I know you're right, anyway," she sighed. "I just haven't been this tired in years."
"You'll get used to it." Toph smiled. "Oh, here comes the food." A minute later, the servants arrived with covered dishes. As Katara watched grumpily, Toph piled a plate with dumplings, stir fry and spring rolls. "Eat," the earthbender ordered, plunking the plate in front of her friend.
With a sigh, Katara took up her fork. When the first bite of dumpling touched her tongue, she realized just how hungry she was; she ate. She reflected that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that day, because she had been so engrossed in teaching the recruits a new water-shielding technique. "Mm, that's good."
"Told you." Toph grinned, leaning over to what remained on the serving dishes, and popped a spring roll into her own mouth. "Hey, you're right, not bad." Then, growing more serious, "How is it coming, Katara? – Besides your being tired, I mean."
"Not too bad, I guess." Katara stopped talking in order to chew and swallow a large mouthful of dumpling. "The recruits seem to be picking up what I'm telling them pretty well. If I can get them working as a unit, they should be a formidable force." She took another bite, this time of rice and vegetables.
"Good." The general tapped her fingers on the tabletop. "We're going to need all the men we can get soon, I'm afraid. The Dai Lee have been picking up rumbles about the insurgents lately – they're planning something, something big."
"Like what?" Katara stopped eating, her brow furrowing.
"We're not sure." Toph looked frustrated. "There's just rumors, rumors…missing shipments of things, people disappearing, things like that." She sighed. "I almost miss fighting the Fire Nation, Katara! At least the Fire Nation came at us directly, you know? We knew what we were dealing with, more or less. These people are like shadows. They appear and disappear and strike and vanish – ugh! They're worse than airbenders!" She thumped her fist on the table, making the dishes jump.
Katara frowned deeper, continuing to eat. She hadn't yet come into contact with any insurgent attacks, but she knew it was only a matter of time. "And the Dai Lee can't come up with anything more?"
Toph sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "We've lost a lot of men in the last year. A lot of them are new recruits now. They're enthusiastic, but not nearly so good at their jobs as the veterans…" She stopped. "It's really frustrating," she admitted. "Sometimes I feel like we're fighting a losing battle." The waterbender ate in silence, not sure what to say. "It wasn't this bad at first. It's only in the last three years or so that it's really escalated. They have new leaders, leaders who can plan."
Gently, the waterbender leaned over and laid a hand on Toph's wrist. "It'll be all right, Toph," she said softly. "We took down Fire Lord Ozai and his daughter – we can take down whoever's behind all this violence. We just have to keep going."
The earthbender nodded, closing her blind eyes, and sighed. "I know." She smiled a little. "It's good that you're here, Sugar Queen. I can't talk to any of my men like this. For them, I always have to be strong and confident."
"You are strong and confident. Feeling discouraged every now and then doesn't change that." Katara found that she'd cleared her plate; she spooned some more stir fry onto it.
"Strength and confidence might not be enough. We need to crush this thing." Toph idly helped herself to a dumpling and nibbled on it. "What we need is some brilliant minds on our side. Strategists, y'know? That kind of thing."
Katara eyed her. "Have you considered my brother?" she asked, in between bites of rice. "I mean, I know he's doing the ambassador thing in my place in the Fire Nation right now, but he's a good strategist. Maybe there's a way he can help.."
"That's not a bad idea." Toph rubbed her chin. "I'll send him a messenger hawk tomorrow and see what he says."
At last, Katara felt full. She pushed away her plate, very conscious of her weariness. "Well, that was good, Toph, but I need to get some sleep," she said. "I'm going to have to go to bed."
"Mm. And by yourself, too. Sad." Toph laughed as Katara turned toward her in indignation. She leaned in, kissed Katara gently on the lips, and took her leave.
"Have a good sleep, Sweetness! I'll see you in the morning." Half-stunned, Katara listened to the woman's footsteps, then the slam of the door behind her.