Chapter 37: Table Manners
The early morning was sweet and warm as six people walked down the wide dirt road towards the dining hall. The empty trees rustled gently with the only other sound of far off hyena-gulls crying in the distance to fill the void of silence. The few that passed by purposely kept to themselves. Sokka was the first to eagerly entered the building Suki had pointed out with the others filing in after him with more guarded expressions.
Aang stopped short from the door. Standing alone he fingered his bandana once more to ensure his arrow was well hidden. It hadn't even been 24 hours yet and already he was having a hard time returning to a life of secrecy. With an agitated sigh, Aang turned to enter with a simple smile on his face while already making up excuses as to why he couldn't eat what the host prepared for them. Too many times he had been invited by very important people to dine with them only to have to explain that he didn't eat meat at all.
As Aang finally took his seat he could honestly say that he was astonished to see the variety of food laid out before him. There were many delightful things to choose from and other than the occasional plate of eggs there was no meat present.
"Wow, this looks amazing Mr. Fai," Aang easily praised as Katara passed him a bowl of mixed fruit.
"Ya, yu reeli aut did uself," Sokka declared with a mouth full of food.
Both Mai and Zuko rolled their eyes at him.
"Thank you," Fai warmly replied. He was hoping they would all enjoy their morning meal.
Suki happily ate as well but kept a keen eye on the other table's guests. Sitting next to Fai was Metog and on Fai's right was an older gentleman that Fai had introduced as Honjin, one of the islands elders. It was going to take a lot more than one night's rest for her to drop her guard around that fierce looking woman.
Zuko ate relatively silent along with his wife. They've had to do their share of talking in the past so they felt free to enjoy a meal in relative peace although Zuko couldn't help notice that the three strangers all had at one moment or another eyed his scar. Zuko mentally shrugged it off telling himself he should be use to that sort of thing by now.
"So," Fai began, "now that everyone has something on their plate why don't you tell us about where you are from! We rarely get any new comers to this island." It was polite but he was clearly eager to get down to business.
Katara looked around to everyone eating and silently volunteered to start. "Sure, we'd don't mind sharing our story."
"I'm sorry," old Honjin interrupted. "Might I get your name?" he asked with a small wrinkled smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Lee and his wife Mai, this is my brother Sokka and his girlfriend Suki, this is Bonzu my boyfriend," she blushed, "and my name is Katara. Our other friend Toph is still recovering from a foot injury."
"Thank you and nice to meet you Katara," Honjin's voice cracked.
"Well it's been a while but we are all from small villages outside of Omashu in the Earth Kingdom."
Having had geography lessons back in school all three members new of the great city.
"We've kind of become more like family over the years than just friends, so when our village was destroyed and then the city of Omashu overtaken by the Fire Nation we all escaped that region and have been heading as far east as we could get ever since."
Sokka then swallowed enough to continue. "We chose not to go to Ba Sing Se like the other refugees who are flooding there. After seeing Omashu fall I'm certain the Fire Nation will put all of its attention on the Earth Kingdom's capital. That's the last place we want to be." Which is what Ozai and Azula actually did, and well Zuko too he figured.
Metog watched the group with critical eyes but at the same time her heart wrenched at the memories. As much as these people looked so foreign compared to the average run of the mill Earth Bender, she could clearly see a depression settle over their guests. Fai and Honjin could also clearly sense pain in the room. However for Sokka and the others it was a pain from a different source but still all the more real.
"I'm so very sorry to hear that," Fai finally said. His brow furrowed over his brown eyes as he tried to take in all that they were saying.
Zuko had to comment. "Well that's what you get when you have a greedy heartless cruel monster as a-"
"-Leader of a nation," Mai cut in with a flick of her hand. The last thing they needed right now was for Zuko to forget even just for a moment their secret and say 'father' instead of 'Fire Lord'. She easily drew the attention away from her husband and back to the food in front of them by grabbing some seconds.
"Exactly," Zuko gritted out. He quickly capped his emotions and let the others continue. He still couldn't think of his father without getting worked up. It wasn't just for things his father had done but also for the fact that the selfish bastard still wouldn't crack and tell him anything about the whereabouts of his mother.
"Sooo," Aang now spoke, "what's your story? Please don't misunderstand me but your people seem very different than other towns and villages we have come across."
"Ah yes," Fai's infectious smile appeared. "We find ourselves to be a bit of an oddity compared to a world filled with malicious intent and war. Not to mention you've seen we have both Earth and Water Benders here on the island."
Katara and Sokka both perked up again.
"Yes, tell us how the Water Benders came to live here!" Katara asked with obvious interest.
Honjin chuckled to himself in memory of the event. Despite being one of the five oldest people on the island, his mind was still sharp and was a living testament to the history of the community itself.
"It is a pretty interesting story from what I've learned," Metog finally contributed. The attention swung to her.
Suki looked suspicious once more. "Wait, so you're not from the island?" she accused more than asked.
"No," Meg didn't mind sharing. "I've only been living here for six years or so."
"Miss Metog here was the last person to arrive here with the exception of your group now," Fai explained.
Suki and Mai both eyed the other fighter trying to figure her out. Clearly they weren't wrong in noticing she was different.
"So, where DO you come from?" Suki asked suspiciously.
Metog eyed her directly clearly not backing down from the hostel glares. "The Earth Kingdom. I can't tell you exactly where because my home village was completely destroyed when I was quite young."
That answer was not what they were expecting. The distrustful energy in the room deflated instantly.
"I was a gorilla-frog fighter nearly my entire life in the Northwestern region of the country until I finally ended up heading east and crashing here." Metog wanted to keep her guard up but she just couldn't now that she looked around the table once more. Everyone was lost in thought and stopped eating. All eyes were staring at their plates but not seeing the table at all. Metog turned to look at Fai. She had been so fearful for the islanders from these strangers that she had been on edge from day one. Nevertheless, however strong her protective feelings were she knew now that it was time she softened up and step back a bit.
Honjin's eyes silently took in those in the room. Fai visibly wasn't sure what to say next. Metog, who was always up for a battle, seemed to be battling her own thoughts at the moment. The young woman Suki along with Lee and Mai seemed to have almost guilty expressions for some reason that escaped the old man. The young man sitting next to him Sokka had a blank face and was unreadable. Katara seemed to be sad in a way… maybe worried about something. However it was the young man Bonzu that held his attention. Pain was clearly etched in his face. His gray eyes darted back and forth across his glass of water clearly miles away. Honjin couldn't help but see such difference from Metog and Bonzu. Both were from a world of war and clearly both were strong people, yet where Meg was desensitized to destruction Bonzu clearly was not. Needless to say the boy intrigued him but chose not to say anything and just took another bite from his plate.
"So your home had been destroyed," Aang slowly said.
"Wiped out entirely I believe. My parents were killed as well if you want to be sympathetic but I'll say this… I've never run away from a battle and I'm not one to mope. I fought as long as I was able and now I protect this place and the people on it."
Suki looked back up, "So that explains your hostility towards outsiders then." Her fire had been relit.
Meg's schooled features vanished as she sparked up instantly. Both were shooting daggers at each other once more.
Fai was about to intervene but Aang beat him to it and stood.
"Suki, that's enough." Aang wasn't being harsh, just commanding. "Despite our shady arrival, these people clearly mean us no harm and have not done anything to earn our hostility."
Suki's eyes were huge as she acknowledged what Aang was saying instantly. "You're right Bonzu. Metog I apologize for my behavior." Having Aang straight-up call her out was a reality check and the Kyoshi warrior could tell she was taking their silent feud to far. Being a woman of action she instantly wanted to correct her error. Being cautions and watchful were quite different than being hostile.
Meg was thrown off entirely by Suki's instant shift. Normal people weren't that easy to correct. "Ah, no. I mean I apologize as well. I've been told I can be a bit much at times."
Fai smiled at her stuttering.
Aang smiled as well. "Mrs. Metog, we understand where you are coming from and I'm truly saddened that we live is such an era of distrust. My home was destroyed and every living thing within it as well. Katara and Sokka's mother were killed by the Fire Nation when they were children. Suki is an elite warrior and has fought many battles along with the rest of us in attempts to keep others safe and Lee's face has been obviously scared and has lost contact with his parents at a young age. And Mai has fought hard as well and has even helped some prisoners escape from a Fire Nation Prison."
Mai had to smirk at that complement along with Zuko. It was so like Aang to include her when for the most part she had been the enemy even more so than Zuko had been.
"So when I say we understand you… we do. Mr. Fai, the only problem we've had is how we crashed here. We are not all Non-Benders or fools… but we know our boat crashed on purpose. We'd just like to know why you did it." Aang could tell from subtle actions from his host that they were not being entirely honest with them and concluded it was about the crash. Iroh had told him that the island would tell them that they couldn't leave so it was the natural outcome he could see.
Fai was not practiced in deceitfulness and was cut off guard at how honest and direct Bonzu was being. It also surprised all three of them the fact that they'd been caught. Once the boat had been spotted a plan of action had been decided quickly and implemented by Earth and Water black-banded Benders. The Water Benders walked under the surface with the Earth Benders, shifted the ocean currents to pull the boat towards them, and then widened the air pocket so the Earth Benders could shoot up one of the ocean's stalagmites to sink the ship. Others were standing by on shore for the rescue if needed however there was a level of risk to the evolution and some of them did end up getting hurt which none of them wanted.
Honjin finished drinking his tea then stood to face Bonzu directly. Fai had been doing a good job as the Greeter, however Honjin had been the Island's first Greeter and although he'd never had the opportunity to function under that title, he now felt it was appropriate to step in and take over. Clasping his hands together, Honjin looked at everyone in the room before his eyes settled on Bonzu. "You are all very observant and I will not insult your intelligence by lying to you all. You have all arrived to a very secretive community. We do not take matters lightly when it comes to outsiders."
"Why is that? Are you afraid of the Fire Nation attacking?" Aang asked politely.
"That is a major part of it yes."
"But there's more"
Honjin nodded. "We have a grave secret here that I'm afraid we cannot yet share with you until a level of trust is earned."
"Fair enough," Aang answered kind of confused. "But did you have our ship destroyed?"
All eyes were on the old man.
"Yes." Honjin paused then to gauge their reaction. All of them had come to that conclusion from the get go so they weren't surprised that it wasn't an accident… only surprised that he admitted to it so casually.
"We are all sorry for any injuries that have befallen you all upon your arrival, however it has been the law of this island for… 103 years that whoever approaches too closely to our shores must remain here indefinitely in order to protect these people from the world."
Aang calculated that the law was implemented a year or so after Sozin's Comet had initially past. "Master Honjin I'm trying to be open about this," Aang continued to address him standing. Everyone else stayed seated and only Sokka slowly continued to eat. "In order to keep us here you staged a natural accident."
"Correct."
"And no one may leave the island so I'm assuming there are no other ships or boats on this island."
"Nothing sea worthy," Honjin replied honestly. There were two very old Water Tribe ships that were now underground as museum pieces so technically there were ships on the island.
"And this is all in place so no outsiders will know… this island is inhabited?" Aang worked to interpret.
Honjin smiled an old sad smile. "Yes. There has never been a battle here and we intend to keep it that way at all costs. There are very few people on the main land who even know about this place and the few that do have no idea it is inhabited."
"I see, so instead of letting survivors go and risk this place being found, you make a place for them here which is why there are now Water Benders living with Earth Benders."
Everyone of Aang's group thought about that and sort of nodded in understanding as they were beginning to get it.
Zuko then spoke up, "Well, it's not like we really have a home to go back to," he played up.
Metog felt like Lee had just echoed her own words.
Zuko's comment brought everyone's thoughts back to the biggest issue yet to be discussed.
"True," Aang said slowly.
Honjin then sat back down now that he was sure no violence was going to break out upon their confession.
Aang sat down as well and Fai interpreted Honjin's actions as his way of giving Fai back the position of Greeter once more. Fai had no qualms of being temporarily set aside during the most crucial part of their discussion and was grateful to have the older man's wisdom and assistance.
Fai solemnly spoke to the whole table. "Which leads us to say I hope you will forgive us for our actions. I hope that you will all give our community a fair chance because in time we will share our secret with you and I promise that when we do you will all understand us and agree with our laws here."
Aang, Katara, Zuko, Mai, Sokka and Suki were all kind of unsettled about the whole arrangement. There were so many reasons not to go with this plan of theirs. Nothing about it made any sense. However awkward they felt, Iroh's words resurfaced in all of their minds and they all silently agreed to continue with this strange vacation of theirs.
"If it helps any," Metog then spoke up. "I think I am a lot like you all and I'll tell you this… it's the most rewarding and honoring gift to be able to live in a place like this. I do miss fighting at times but I wouldn't trade protecting this place or its secret for anything in the world."
"And that says something," Suki said aloud. Slowly over the course of one meal the two women were beginning to find respect for the other. Little did they know that by the time Suki would be ready to leave the island in a month's time they would become rather close friends.
"Alright then," Aang now said with a smile. "We accept."
Fai's infectious smile grew even further and Meg could only smirk at him. "Splendid! Now we have homes for you all, we keep ten vacant homes ready at all times, so we can head on out and you can pick where you'd like to stay!"
The group frowned at that. They knew they said they were going to stay but they all knew that wasn't actually going to be the case.
"Ahh," Aang mumbled unsure.
Fai and Meg's smiles fell at the sight of their uncertainty.
Sokka jumped in now. No one noticed that all of the dishes of food around his immediate area were now empty. "Fai that sounds amazing and I'm sure those houses are all great but I think until we get used to the area we'd prefer to camp out for now. It's a way of life we are accustomed to and that way we can stay together for a time."
Aang and the others instantly lit up at Sokka's plan.
"Ahh well I suppose that's fine. If that is how you feel about it."
Katara looked at him in wonder. "Haven't you ever camped out?" she asked.
"Well no actually. The Northern coast line and parts of the middle east are the only areas where you'd have to camp out and I'm not one to travel on foot."
"Makes sense I guess," Katara said back.
Aang had one more thing he wanted to get straightened out. "Thank you for allowing us to house ourselves for now. However I do have one favor to ask of you."
Meg was just blown away at how much power Bonzu had over the others. Bonzu was clearly the leader and there was no dispute from the others over anything he said. It was almost militaristic in her eyes. Normal people tend to want their own voices heard.
"Yes," Fai said with a guarded smile.
"You say you have a secret to tell us but you want to wait to get to know us before telling us what that is. Generally how long do you think it will take?"
The locals thought that Bonzu's line of thinking was strange while the others were glad he thought of it. After all they only had one month before Iroh would come for them on Appa.
"Well there is no set time… it's different for everyone…"
"We just don't like living in such uncertainty and it's not like we have a way off this island anymore," Aang reasoned. "Perhaps you could set a date for us to ease our anxiousness?" Aang hoped Fai would take the bait.
"Well…" Fai looked to his two comrades however neither of them gave him any hint as to what his choice should be. "Alright," he consented on his own, "let's say we shall meet here again in two weeks and talk about it again?"
Aang smiled wide and was thankful for his willingness. "Sounds like a plan to me!"
The cheerfulness of the group as a whole was evident. Even the dark silent woman next to Lee was smirking.
"Alright now that that is settled. You will all be able to receive free meals here each day for the first month you're living here…"
'Perfect,' they all thought.
"…and if you have any questions feel free to ask any one you see that has a black arm band on their left arms and they will be able to assist you." Fai was planning on sounding the all clear blast once they were done eating. He saw no need to keep the Air Benders and the island's children along with all of the lemurs both wild and tame alike locked up in the mountain now that he saw their newest members had no ill intent. Everyone would put their arm bands back on and life would continue with the only exception of the bison still having to stay away and no Air or Fire Bending would be allowed at least for two weeks.
"Sounds good," Aang said. "Now Katara, can you pass me the blue bowl on your right. I'm afraid if I don't eat now Sokka will move to the rest of the table and eat our meal for us!" he joked.
"Hey you can't blame a guy for eating! Besides I was injured," he played up, "and those poor individuals with head injuries should get to… HAVE THE LAST STAWBERRY! I called it!" Sokka lunged across the table for the bright red berry. Chop sticks flew as the others blocked his attempts to get it. It was great to finally laugh and relax even if it was just for a moment as the free for all for the fruit ensued. They all knew once they finished their food their work would begin as the secrets of the island awaited their discovery.
Hey guys. I had a hard time writing this one but due to the last two reviews I bang this out! I'll have a lot more fun writing the next chapter so I should have a fast update with that one. Thanks for the reviews and let's remember to pray for those in Japan.
-ArcticTwilight