"So what's worse, this or Fire Nation army meeting?" Sokka asked roughly two weeks later when they were all assembled in Yu Dao, awaiting the announcement of the city's new governing system; a city council composed of two Earth Kingdom and two Fire Nation officials.

Azula pursed her lips and thought for a minute, "Tie; Fire Nation war meetings are far more depressing but they also go a lot faster." She decided and Sokka nodded in agreement.

"Is anything happening yet?" Toph questioned as she approached the two, they had been standing around for so long that she was beginning to wonder if maybe she just couldn't see whatever was going on for whatever reason.

"Nope," Sokka sighed with a shake of his head, but then as if on cue, the gong rang to grab the attention of the large crowd. "Oh well now something's happening," Sokka said and Azula rolled her eyes.

"If I had known it was that simple to get things moving, I would've asked you if you saw anything an hour ago." She commented but Sokka said nothing, he just wanted to get this announcement over with.

Little did he know that behind both him and Azula, Toph was smirking evilly, relishing in her ability to detect a person's heart rate.


It was later, during the banquet that was being held to celebrate the new city council, that Toph found her window for teasing. She and Katara had been discussing how the Metalbending Academy was growing quickly and that she needed to find a way to finance a new building. Sokka quickly suggested that she start charging tuition but she rejected the idea, sure it's the obvious answer but it's also dirty and underhanded. She's trying to expand on this whole new level of Earthbending, and she doesn't want to stop someone from being able to learn because of something like money. She then made an example of how she didn't charge Aang tuition and wasn't going to start now, prompting Katara to finally notice that her boyfriend was still yet to show up to the table.

"When you find him, tell him he's got to reconsider that vegetarian thing. His mouth will thank him!" Sokka called after his sister, his mouth stuffed with more Turtle-Duck than it should physically fit, as she left in search of the Avatar.

"Wow, I think you managed to say something more insensitive than I could." Azula drawled in bored amazement as her friend attempted to swallow without choking.

"What was insensitive about that?" He asked in exasperation but Azula only rolled her eyes, an amused smile playing on her lips.

"Whatever," she commented; looking over her shoulder and taking note that Iroh currently wasn't talking to anyone over at his table. "I'll be back," she casually informed as she got up and left.

Toph sat silent for a moment, letting the smirk take full effect on her face before she spoke. "So, when did you start having a thing for ex-princess psycho?" She asked and she couldn't help but lean back laughing in her seat as Sokka choked on his latest bite of turtle-duck.

"What?!" He finally gasped, though not without the aid of the Air Acolyte Yee-Li smacking him on the back.

"Oh man, somebody tell me how wide his eyes were," Toph laughed and so Jingbo, the younger brother of the Air Acolyte Xing Ying, placed a dumpling in her hand and she laughed even harder.

"Ha ha," Sokka mocked dryly, waiting for his friend's howling to calm down. "Very funny," he continued and eventually Toph came back to a semi-calm state of being.

"It was," she agreed, "But I wasn't joking." She confirmed and the Water Tribe boy only lifted an eyebrow. "I'm serious, and by the way I don't need to be able to feel your heart rate when she's around to know you like her." She mocked and Sokka's face turned beat red, only causing Toph's smirk to grow.

"Ok first, I do NOT like Azula." Her friend insisted, "Second, why don't you tease her about this instead?" He asked but Toph only gave a shrug as she continued to pick at her plate.

"I THINK she likes you, but she's really good at keeping her heart rate steady. You on the other hand..." she drawled and Sokka frowned, he does NOT like Azula.

The two of them probably would've continued on with that conversation if it weren't for the fact that Aang and Katara returned right at that moment, Aang grinning from ear to ear and Katara smiling a little more subtly.

"Guys, pack your bags! We're going on a field trip!" Aang declared.


"Man, you guys are going to love this!" Aang exclaimed the next afternoon as they all took off on Appa, the destination being a Cliffside where they were to celebrate an Air Nomad holiday known as Yangchen's Festival.

"Doubt it," Sokka moped with a sigh,

"What's with you?" Katara questioned in annoyance but before Sokka could give a reply Azula rolled her eyes and answered.

"He's just sore because his bag started falling apart and he didn't have time to go buy a new one, so he had to pack half his stuff in mine." She explained and Katara looked quizzically at both of them.

"Well I was going to go shopping for a new one today but nobody bothered to tell me I'd be leaving Yu Dao at sunrise!" He argued and this time it was Katara who rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry Sokka, after this you can shop for a new purse." She told him and Azula had to stifle a laugh at that, suddenly realizing how much her friend's bag resembles a large purse.

"It is not a purse! It's a bag!" Sokka insisted, "A manly bag to carry my manly things!" He continued,

"Yeah, that's why when you first got it you were so happy it matched your manly belt." Toph put in and this time Azula couldn't contain her laughter.

"It was a championship belt from an underground fight ring," He explained, directing a glare at Azula.

"It was also mine," Toph reminded and Sokka had no response for that and Azula just laughed harder.

The conversation wasn't dropped so much as it was cut off by the sound of Yee-Li clanking a pair of cymbals together, apparently this festival involves music.


"I thought it'd be a statue of Yangchen but this lady doesn't have an arrow on her forehead, who is it?" Sokka asked once they had arrived at their destination and found the giant statue of the woman Aang said they were supposed to bow to as part of the festival.

"To be honest, I'm not sure." The Avatar sheepishly admitted, "The monks used to tell the kids the story every year but I always snuck off with Gyatso to fly kites." He explained and Azula crossed her arms over her chest.

"Never pegged you as one to skip class," she teased Aang who chuckled while nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"He always said I'd have time to learn it when I got older, in any case I know that we're supposed to bow to her four times. That's just how it's done." He said and upon hearing that, Toph frowned.

"I'll pass," she said and the three of her friends who were standing right there looked at her incredulously.

"But Toph-" Aang began but he was cut off.

"You go ahead, but I'm not bowing if I don't know who or what I'm bowing to." The blind girl insisted and Aang let out a sigh, he was not going to ruin today by fighting with the most stubborn person he has ever met.

"Fine," he said before beginning to organize the others into a line for the bows.

For a moment Azula considered joining Toph in sitting out, understanding the younger girl's logic perfectly. But in the end she took her place in the line, needing to trust that bowing to this statue was in fact justified.

After they finished bowing to the statue, which the three Air Acolytes inexplicably found to have been some kind of wondrous experience, they began walking down the hill with Aang and the Acolytes attempting to play some traditional song on their instruments. They were headed for a meadow where Aang had planned for them to have a picnic of traditional Air Nomad food (much to Sokka's distain) but instead they found themselves standing of the edge of a rather industrial looking little town.

"Oh no," was all Aang was able to mutter but it hardly mattered, they all knew that once upon a time this had been the location of his sacred meadow.

"This… None of this is supposed to be here. This is, was, a sacred place!" Aang exclaimed in shock as the group entered the town.

"A hundred years have passed sweetie, a lot can change." Katara told him gently and behind them Sokka was sniffing the air.

"Meat!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

"Seriously, more insensitive than me." Azula deadpanned, echoing her comment from the previous night.

"Hey, I'll be a lot nicer when I have a full stomach." He said to her but she only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, like that's even possible." She said sarcastically but Sokka mostly ignored her and instead began following Toph in the direction of the market.

"We'll be back later," he called over his shoulder to Katara and Aang; Azula promptly followed him.

As the three of them walked through the town Azula took note of how much it looked like Yu Dao. It was different from the colony in many ways; smaller, smoggier, and just about everything in the market was on the verge of rotting. But the people seemed to be from both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, which was odd since they were no longer anywhere near any of the colonies.

"I guess the colonies aren't the only blended areas," she commented as Sokka purchased some kind of kabob, which smelt to be about a day from going bad.

"Hm?" He asked, obviously he hadn't been listening. Azula just rolled her eyes with an amused smile, "Nothing," she said and so they continued walking around.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" Azula asked as they moved through the town,

"I don't know but it smells worse than Appa when twinkle-toes gives him a bath," Toph commented and Azula eyed her curiously.

"You mean before the bath?" She asked, remembering that Toph can't see the look she's getting.

"You've never smelled wet bison have you?" Toph asked and Azula said nothing, because no she hasn't.

They soon found that the source of the smell was a 'river' that looked more like a sludge slide.

"Well that's gross," Azula deadpanned

"I can't see it, but-" Toph was cut off by the sound of someone calling her name.

The three of them looked over to see that the person calling Toph was a boy about their own age with glasses and an industrial grade rubber apron and gloves with welding goggles hung around his neck.

"Yeah?" Toph said in response to her name, walking over to the boy.

Based on the high-pitched tone of his voice he appeared to be more a fan-boy than anything else and as Toph fell into a conversation with him Azula nudged Sokka in the side to get his attention.

"Did we just get ditched?" She asked and he shrugged, taking another bite of his kabob. However the longer Toph spent talking to the boy, the more Sokka thought he just might have the perfect payback for the blind girl's comments last night.

The boy, apparently named Satoru, brought them all on a tour of this town's main and really only attraction; The Earthen Fire Refinery. He explained that his uncle, a Fire Nation man, partnered with a businessman from the Earth Kingdom to build this place. The workers were people from all over the world, mostly Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation but also more than a few from the Water Tribes.

"Wow," Jingbo said in amazement when the group walked into the production room,

"You said it Jingbo," Sokka agreed and Azula had to agree with them on the impressiveness of this place.

People from all different nations were working not only within the same room but also on the same task. They were mining these crystals out of the earth, each different type of bending being used for a different step in the process.

The next room was one that housed giant machines that preformed the same mining procedures as the bending production line only it was completely done by machine. Sokka was impressed but for once Azula found herself agreeing with Katara in the fact that she preferred the other production line. After that they went outside where Sokka found a machine called a forklift, something Azula could only describe as being a very small and very un-weaponized tank, and decided to take it for a spin.

"Sokka!" Katara scolded

"Relax Katara, I know what I'm doing." He said before placing a hand on Azula's shoulder.

"Azula, you coming?" He asked and a part of her knew that this was very bad idea, but another part of her argued that it would be really fun and that is the part she chose to listen to. So she let him pull her along with him and then she sat herself down in the barely big enough for two seat of the forklift.

"I hope you actually do know what you're doing," she said

"Psshh, how hard could it be?"


Very hard was apparently the answer. Sokka ended up crashing the forklift and effectively breaking the engine. Although neither he nor Azula was hurt in the process Azula almost wished that they were so that maybe Katara would hold back some of her anger.

"He's just being nice you know, it is your fault!" She scolded her brother after Satoru insisted that the engine of the forklift had been in questionable condition before Sokka broke it.

"I know," Sokka muttered and with that the waterbender's murderous glare shifted over to Azula.

"And you! What were you thinking?" She demanded to know,

"I was thinking that it looked kind of fun," Azula snapped in defense, Katara let out a growl of frustration and appeared to be ready to say something else when Sokka cut her off.

"Is it just me, or is there some serious oogie-osity going on over there?" He asked, directing the girls' attention over to Toph and Satoru. They were talking and smiling, Toph was smiling. Not that sarcastic smirk that she usually has but a sincere smile and even from a few feet away the three could see the slight blush creeping onto her face.

"Just don't say anything to her," Azula said as she folded her arms across her chest, she knows Toph is guarded and she also knows from experience that being guarded can make a person awkward about liking someone. So if Toph had managed to allow her feelings to show just a little bit then her friends better not ruin it for her.

But it was looking like that is exactly what was going to happen, as just a minute after she said this Aang walked over and approached the two.

"Satoru, I hate to interrupt the, um… whatever it is that's happening here, but I've been trying to tell you all day that there shouldn't be a refinery here, let alone a whole town!" He said and so Azula, Katara, and Sokka all paid close attention, knowing that whatever came out of this conversation would probably leave at least one of their friends more than a little upset. "This land was, is, sacred to the Air Nomads! You aren't supposed to build on sacred land!" He continued and before Satoru could say anything Toph crossed her arms.

"No offence Twinkle Toes but no one's been here for over a hundred years! It was vacant land and if Satoru and his Uncle can find a way to use it then good for them!" She defended her new friend.

"Toph, I've been seeing these visions of Avatar Yangchen trying to warn me about something bad happening!" Aang told her but she was unfazed.

"Oh yeah, what's she showing you?" She demanded and Aang looked down as if in defeat.

"I-I'm not sure," he admitted, "It was like a flash of an image in my mind, but it was big, and destructive." He told her but if anything his words only made her angrier.

"So you're worried over something you don't even know?" She demanded, "If you ask me you're just sore because your precious meadow was turned into a town, and you're so worked up about it that you can't even see-" Her rant was cut short by a rather sudden earthquake.

It wasn't a huge quake, but it was definitely enough to prompt everyone to grab the nearest solid thing.

"Guys, calm down!" Sokka shouted at his friends as soon as the quake ended, Azula untangling her arms from his as he did so.

"You think that was us?" Aang asked incredulously,

"Dude if Katara's anger can break you out of solid, hundred year old ice, then I'm pretty sure yours and Toph's combined can cause an earthquake." He deadpanned but both the earthbenders frowned.

"Sorry to disappoint you Sokka but we both know how to control-" Toph was cut off by another quake, bigger this time, but the damage was still minimal.

"Would you guys-"

"It's not us!" Aang and Toph cut Sokka off in unison.

"Satoru, what is going on here?" A rather annoyed voice demanded as large, bald man in Fire Nation clothing came walking up the hill, with another man behind him.

"Uncle!" Satoru squeaked but everyone else had their attention focused on the Earth Kingdom man behind him.

"Father," Toph finally uttered in a whisper of a voice, recognizing the second man immediately.