Avatar the Last Air Bender:Alterations: Aang/Lee
The song of home
Ba Sing Se
Zuko stretched and tightened his apron, no one was in the Tea house today, to many off out working this early. Still he had to brew the Tea just in case, wonderful…
He clanked the cups on the platter on his serving tray unenthusiastically and did the same with the Tea pot. He stopped himself hearing "Nephew!" in the back of his mind, "in a professional tea shop one must hold his pot, kettle and cup as a professional…" Zuko rolled his eyes and put it on the platter again, more gingerly but over dramatically so…heh, look at him, he was doing this and his uncle wasn't even there.
He backed out of the door of the kitchen with his Tea tray and as he turned around he nearly dropped it from surprise.
There was someone at the tables, a single girl with dark hair that looked more rough then fine. She was in a green dress work tunic, shabbier then his own work clothes, but still showed signs of being thoroughly hand scrubbed clean. Her face was well shaped and matched the rest of her body, small and cute.
She was the only one in the shop, tracing a circle with her nail on her table. She looked up at him, slowly despite his exclamation at her being there, and smiled at him.
"You okay?" she asked. Zuko quickly composed himself.
"I'm fine…" he said trying to sound as none caring as he could for her concern. Then realizing he was headed towards an awkward pause, which he hated, he spoke again.
"Do you want Tea?" wow that sounded like a dumb thing to ask in a place like this.
She nodded sweetly, "Lemon if you have any." She asked.
Zuko turned his back to her putting his tray down trying to regain himself, this one was friendly, that meant she might be a talker…. He did NOT want any customerly conversation right now.
"Hey? Do you want sugar or honey?" he asked pouring some Tea.
"My names Jin." He heard her say.
Great! He didn't want to get into names and she'd already started the process!
"And no sugar please, but honey would be nice." she finished.
"Sure." He half grumbled adding as much as he thought would be sufficient.
He turned around with piping hot cup and set it before her quickly, wanting this to be over before she could ask him HIS name. As a result a little spilt near the edge, and she scooted to the side away from the spill.
"Sorry!" he said quickly taking the hem of his apron to wipe it off.
Jin simply put her hand to her mouth giggling, "It's fine."
He got on one knee so he wasn't bent over and proceeded to get the hot drink off the seat.
"So what's your name?" she asked.
…and of course she asked him now when he couldn't rush off to say he was busy making something in the kitchen.
"Lee…" he sighed giving up.
"Thank you Lee." She said smiling, "Your new here?"
"I guess..." he half grumbled half sighed.
"You from the western district? You don't seem as tan." She asked.
"No I'm not." Zuko said flatly as he stood up from cleaning the rest off.
"Oh…" she said crossing her legs, "Where then? I come from the southern district myself."
Zuko picked up the tray once more and began to move towards the kitchen.
"That's nice." He said letting the swinging wooden doors wobble as he pushed through them.
"Um…" came Jin's voice in a questioning way. He squinted his eyes shut, maybe if he'd pretend that he was too far in the back to hear her.
"Could I have a spoon to stir this please?" he heard.
Dang it….
"One minute…" he replied.
He put the tray down and just took the spoon that was with it and marched back out the doors to her.
He outstretched it to her, ready to head back inside the moment it left his hand.
"Here you go." He said just as flatly as before.
She suddenly began giggling again, Zuko just stood there feeling awkwardly now, spoon outstretched.
"What?" he asked.
She put her hand over her mouth giggling the more, was there something on his face? Was it something he said? TAKE THE FRICKING SPOON ALREADY! The thought…
"Sorry.." she said finally.
"Whatever..." he said rolling his eyes at the ceiling, "Do you want the spoon or not?"
She took it from him.
"I do forgive me, it's just the way you reply to things." She said honestly.
He nodded briefly and turned to go again,
"Can I ask something else?" she said. He made a fist then stopped again, "What is it?"
"Do you have any other costumers here?" she asked.
"No why?" he answered shortly.
"Then…can you sit and talk with me?" he heard meekly.
Well that was to the point.
Golly this is why he was with Mai, she never initiated any of the conversations, hell they weren't even conversations when he tried starting one, that's what he disliked about the whole thing at the same time.
"Look…" he said, not even sure what excuse he was going to come up with as he turned around.
"I've got a lot of- "
He stopped looking at her eyes, they were pleading but not in a sappy way, yet as much as he ignored it he didn't really want to say no as much as he also didn't want to say yes. It wasn't like she was going to cry or anything just….Gah!
He ran his hand through his hair, "Listen…" he said, "I just started my shift, my uncle expects me to go out back and-"
He suddenly heard his uncles voice say from the counter "OH no worries there, he's worked twice as hard last night so there's no real work to be done out back, he's more than enough time to talk…"
Zuko kept his head down hoping that this "Jin" didn't see the scowl on his face from his uncle's interloping.
"And how is your day young lady?" he heard his uncle say politely behind him.
The perky voice of Jin answered, "So far so good, and thank you….?"
"Wong." Iroh said, Zuko could hear his feet shuffling back to the rear of the shop, at least he hadn't given his name out too-
"And my Nephew's name is Lee…" Iroh finished before the back door was heard closing.
Damn you uncle….. Zuko thought to himself.
A low hum fell over the upper class neighborhood of Ba Sing Se as the sun slowly rose. The tune fell and rose like the shadows that moved slowly across the roves of the houses. It was the low music of a stringed, cello-like instrument, an instrument that was being played Daiken as he sat on the roof of their house. To be more specific it was the bit of roof just off of the balcony, but still it was beyond the hand rail. The device was known as the Cricket-Lute, it was gourd shaped, (like a Lute) around 3 and a half feet not counting the pole the strings were attached to, and he balanced it between the plates of the roof and his knee. He glided his hand gently in a fluid motion with his bow over and across the strings of his long box like contraption…his eyes closed the entire time.
It was to be the day before their infiltration of the birthday party for the Earth King's Bear. Daiken had thought that picking up a past time would help give validity to the ruse that they were all settling in and getting comfy. So while in marketplace the day before, he saw this Cricket-Lute, remembering he'd learned to play it when he was younger from his elders, and so, he invested in buying it.
He hadn't expected to play it so well after not having one in his hands so long but oddly enough, even if by accident, he found himself pulling out cello like notes from the instrument…so he saw no reason to stop, it was slowly reminding him of home…
Aang stepped out on the balcony of their house behind Daiken, smiling as he rubbed his eyes. He made sure not to make any noise so as not to interrupt Daiken from finishing.
He saw the sun peek over the roves, and finally past Daiken so that he was completely eclipsing the sun for a time, with the sounds being made and the way the light shown, it looked like a spirit world dream.
Finally Daiken finished.
"That was beautiful!" Aang said finally. Daiken turned around fastening the instrument to his back with the strap that came with it, securing the bow in the slot built for it.
"I am getting better it would seem." Daiken said nodding his head in gratitude, and stepped back over the rail.
"How do you do that?" Aang asked scratching the back of his head. Daiken raised an eyebrow unsure of what Aang meant.
"I mean do several things in one fluid motion like that without looking…you do everything that way." Aang embellished.
Daiken put a hand on his hip looking out at the sun that was rising brighter and brighter, "When you live the life of a Sand Nomad, you have to learn to adapt and move when it best suits you, packing things is second nature to us eventually so doing multiple tasks becomes simple when moving things."
Aang nodded, "I can understand that, it's amazing the resolve your people have…" Aang said.
"Thank you Avatar." Daiken said bowing his head. Aang shook his head, "No need for that, I'm not like your master or anything Sefu Sandman. In fact, I wanted to just say again, sorry if I had any…pre-assumptions about you on the way here, you've been nothing but loyal to us thus far and…I shouldn't have suspected all Sand People were that way.."
Daiken shook his head, "I'm afraid to many of us are now a days, the fault is not with you. As for my part here, it's only to offer what service I can, if you require it."
Aang smiled, "Like that, that right there, your belief in honor, it reminds me of the Air Monks…"
Daiken smiled a little, "I'm flattered you think so..."
Aang looked out at the now beautiful morning as well, "Who were your teachers mostly again?" he asked.
Daiken's little smile failed, "Those who were willing to teach, or pass down to a little boy who had nothing…"
"Hey gang!" Came a ring of Katara's voice, "Time for practice breakfast!"
Aang sighed and grinned, "Let's get going fellow bus boy…" and both young men turned to go inside to rehearse how proper society acts at a dining table.
Ty Lee awoke rubbing her eyes, what a toll taking dream….
She dreamt of herself back with all her sisters at home, but they all had different color hair, Azula and Mai were somehow trying to sneak into their house by pretending to be her sisters, and she was helping them, it made sense at the time in the dream…but what she did remember was the odd looking lemur bat creature flying to their window and wanting her to follow it. She remembered not wanting to at first because she was afraid she'd fall if she leapt out after it, Azula and Mai were also pulling her back from doing so, even pulling her hair along with the rest of her sisters.
Ty Lee had had to bite her lip and tug as much as it hurt to jump out the window but right before she could leap completely out, she'd awoken.
She could now see the sun light crawling up the wall from her window. Suddenly a shape fluttered in the silhouette of her window sill, she flipped out of the bed, and ran over, only to see a lark squirrel flapping its wings which resembled a lemur bats a little.
She sighed blowing a strand of hair out of her face…then watched the bird flutter away to join the flock it had deviated from.
It was silly, she supposed to think about Aang replying so soon, if his bat thingy made it back of course. Even then after all, she'd basically requested him to forget about her. It took so much for her to pen that to him, but she knew at the same time she had to, there was no foreseeable way for her to get to him, or vice versa, unseen anyway…
She walked up from the bed over to the mirror drawers and bureau. A steel basin of water sat on it, freshly left there by a servant of some kind.
She looked down into the reflection of it then back at the mirrors before her, sighing. Look at her now, confused, smile-less, her messed up, not pretty at all…..but Aang had said she was pretty, well to quote him "Beautiful…", and it was when her hair and face weren't made up either…..-sigh- and then he'd smile that smile that just…made her feel so…at home, and safe.
OH WHY DID HE HAVE TO BE BEHIND THE BIGGEST WALL IN THE WORLD!
Still, they had been on one of the regions biggest and most treacherous mountains in the Earth Kingdom and made it out, and he was the Avatar…
A small portion of her was begging for him to defy the odds, and her note, finding a way were there was none.
She began washing her face in the water, she could dream couldn't she? Imagining the window's curtain fluttering open, him standing there with one foot on the sill, the other on the floor, reaching out for her…
She threw her long hair over her face into the water basin to get it wet, than began cleaning it. She whipped her hair back over her shoulder and it made a "thwak" noise as it fell into the hands of Azula behind her.
Ty Lee yelped and turned around, eyes wide.
"Careful Ty…." Azula said letting Ty Lee's hair go, "You nearly got me wet…" and wiped her hands on her vest.
Ty Lee fumbled for her comb behind her.
"I uh, I didn't hear you come in…" she said.
Azula leaned a hand on the bureau, "Good news…" she said with a sneaky smile.
Oh those words, ever since she'd gotten off the mountain, those words which used to mean fun was soon to come, now were the scariest things for her to hear….
"That big behemoth of the Avatar's is by itself and leaving a trail of fur like it did last time…" Azula said grinning.
Ty Lee didn't quite know how to react to that as she wasn't expecting that to be the news.
"Oh…" she said, then shook her head out of her stupor, "Awesome!" she said grinning excitedly. She had to keep this act up…
"I knew it would click with you…" Azula said patting her shoulder like a child for finally getting something simple.
"With it in hand we actually have a bargaining chip against him, he loves that miserable thing more than he does himself…" Azula said glancing at the window.
Well now what was she too do, knowing Aang he would care very deeply about that animal…was this to be the way they'd meet again…?
"So um…" Ty Lee asked drying off her hair. "When do we begin the search?"
Azula strode back to the door, "Within the hour, so get yourself ready…"
So soon….
"R-right Azula, I'll be down before you can say –" but the door shut before she could finish.
She let out a breath of air, and leaned against the bureau.
She wished that lemur bat had come after she'd gotten the news, to at least warn him…but once again, she was working on her own, which was scary, but the memory of Aang was helping her be stronger, and the need to be with him again, to speak to him again was keeping her going….there was no point in stopping now…if he could get her off a mountain, and still only think about making sure her name was clear on that fire nation blimp, she could find a way to him…WITH his bison.
Jet walked back with his friends eating a fruit they had just bought…it had been days, since their casing of the two alleged Fire Benders home, but to no avail…they were the cleverest Fire Benders he'd seen yet. They blended in so well…even his friends thought he was mistaken, but he'd show them…they'd get jobs like he'd promised, live normally like he'd promised. Two could play at this, keeping it cool game…but he wouldn't let his guard down, and eventually they would….all he had to do was wait…
Aang finished serving the drink to Toph and Katara, Sokka had impressively gotten the hang of not dropping anything as he balanced plates on his arms. Unfortunately while he didn't lose his balance, he always looked like he was about to still…..
Toph dabbed her chin petitely with her napkin, "Very well…I'll give you all a 7 out of 10, Katara a 8 out of 10."
Everyone looked between each other, "Is that passable?" Daiken asked.
Toph threw the napkin over her shoulder and began slouching as she usually did, meaning the exercise was over. "Sure…" she said shrugging.
"YES!" Sokka exclaimed, dropping all of his plates.
Aang blew a gust of wind underneath them that suspended them for a time, then let them fall to the floor with less momentum so they spun around before they stopped moving.
"Either way we don't have enough time to drill in anything newer into you block heads…." Toph said reaching over the table to snag a muffin.
"It'll work…"Aang said, "it has too, for whatever reason, they want us to not see the King, we need to at least get a head start of finding out why…and that means getting in."
Katara put her hand on Aang's "We will…" she said assuringlly. Aang couldn't help but smile at that, but there was an opposite pull to the feeling as well…
As juvenile as it sounded, he'd had a dream the night before about him and Katara, but also Ty Lee…she was lost, somewhere in the woods, and Katara was wanting him to come with her to teach her how to fly because she apparently could bend air too, and her heart looked so broken whenever he'd look like he was going to say no…
Suddenly a thrumming noise of Daiken's Cricket-Lute was heard as Momo pawed at the strings of the instrument in the corner.
"Momo, that's not a toy." Aang corrected, "Come on boy, leave it alone…" he said reaching a hand out with a bit of breakfast in it.
Momo was on his arm in seconds nibbling at the piece of roll Aang had out.
Toph didn't slouch as much now, "That um, Cricket box thing of yours…" she said. "How long did you say you played it?"
Daiken drank from his cup then replied, "Not for a long time but since I was 7 most likely, it was one of the few things I learned at that age that didn't have to do with survival, so I sort of relished it."
Toph gulped down the rest of her muffin, "I've heard it played in the streets before by performers, never like that though…"
Daiken looked at her.
"I like your versions better…" she said honestly.
"Thank you." Daiken smiled at her.
Katara nodded, "It's quite beautiful, is it from your home? The tune I mean? I heard it when I woke today."
Daiken nodded, "It is, and thank you, I've yet to go in terms of learning it…"
Sokka gobbled down some Eggs sitting back at the table after putting the practice plates away again.
"Well the neighbors are getting interested, so I'd say your plan is working…" Sokka commented, "They're nosey as it is."
Aang sighed, "Nosey and quite…everyone's still too afraid."
Sokka looked over at Aang, "Oh right! How did your guy's excursion to that Shady pants guy go?"
Aang looked down, "Nothing…" Aang said.
"Do you think they were lying?" Toph asked.
Aang looked up, "Even if they were, I don't know how to begin looking for him, they never meet in their places of business, and they saw our money, they knew we were good for it, I have a feeling if they had Appa, they'd re-sell him…I think its because we were being followed its why we decided to stop going to those parts of town. We want the Dai Li or whoever to cause trouble."
Katara spoke up, "But with this plan going through, and perhaps getting the ear of the Earth King, we can have a little extra help in locating him, official help."
Sokka leaned back, "Well I'm just glad you two are okay, I was worried about letting you two go by yourselves, nothing happened right?"
Katara scoffed, "No Sokka, we were helpless the entire time…"
Aang blushed thinking of the actual events of them finding that bar, and then the walk home afterwards…sooner or later him and Katara would have to discuss that…
Daiken glanced at the window, "What is it?" Katara asked noticing this.
Daiken just watched, "Something's different…" he said.
"Different how?" Sokka said raising a brow.
Toph strained her ears, "I don't hear anything…"
"It's not a sound, it's a feeling, something is going to happen…" Daiken said seriously.
Ty Lee and Azula rode speedily through the woods on their lizard steeds, Brago and Mai next to them, followed by 4 or more foot soldiers.
The trail was fresh and getting nearer….and Ty was noticing Azula being ancy with anticipation the entire ride….Brago as well, she could tell he was eager to be from under the veil of shame that had passed to him since the defeat at the Drill had made them all look like failures.
At least it gave Ty a good excuse to act nervous herself, and even a little excited; this wasn't Aang they were about to find, just his bison, but still, he was a way TOO get to Aang. Now she wasn't sure what she was going to do…free him when no one was looking and fly him over the wall? Maybe…she wasn't even sure if the opportunity would come, but still there was a way now…
Suddenly something caught her eye and she looked to the right, she thought she saw a pair of eyes watching them, moving nearly as fast as they were through the trees along side them, but it was gone now as if by magic.
She looked straight again and saw Brago's eye still fixed on the right of them, had he seen it too?...
Daiken stood outside in the back terrace area of their home, eyes shut, arms looking like they were folded.
Suddenly he drew them out opening his eyes in the same motion, sand jumped from the ground around him and shot outwards like two whips that became blades, slicing the tall grass to the side of him. He spun around getting low, swiping outward with his foot like a kick, making the sand raise up and mimic his motion.
He curved his arms and his body in effect contorting so he went all the way around as his feet pivoted then pushed out with his fists in a C strike, sending the sand outwards like a hammer at a rock, and it successfully pushed the rock and rolled it on its side….and it was a large rock resembling him in size.
Finally he stopped.
"You were watching?" he said.
He heard two small feet plant themselves on the ground making dent in the earth despite the owners size, and then walk over to him.
He turned around to see of course, Toph walking up to him after jumping from the porch rails she had been watching him from.
"Well not watching exactly…" she said. Daiken smirked at that.
"Those are some interesting moves, the earth your bending moves with different chi then a lot of other benders I've faced. " she went on, "And your style..varies….allot."
Daiken turned around to face her fully, "It's true, our tribes bending style is unique to say the least, a mutt form…"
Toph folded her arms, "There was fire and water style in those strikes…"
Daiken made some sand rise into his hand and it snaked up his arm literally going around it until it stopped in his palm.
"It's like water in many ways…" he explained, its fluid, lucid, but can be hard if set to do so, and still considerably heavy. To move it fluidly our style is likened to water benders, to make it rigid enough for confounding attacks, we use the standard Earth style, and for the rapidness that sends sand in spurts…fire."
Toph just nodded, "I could tell…effective too, I guess…"
"You guess?..." Daiken said.
Toph shrugged, "Seems a little over thinking-ish to me…"
Daiken let the sand slide through his fingers, "Bending something at it's core is what helps you learn to control the thing itself. I don't need to tell you that I'm merely bending smaller versions of the boulders you pelt around, but also many of them at a time, in unison, you have to break something down before you can know how to make something else out of it. Like people…"
Toph chuckled a little, "Your starting to sound like that Fire Nation guy…"
"Pardon?" Daiken said catching his voice.
"Nothing.." Toph said. Daiken breathed easier, not that he had let on he was startled terribly.
"Then again…." Toph continued, "Yes?" Daiken asked.
"You said you were honored we have you here, and you've proven yourself honest so far…and I've routed for you." Toph said.
Daiken waited for the "and, or "but."
"But this makes me kind of curious…" she went on.
"About what?" Daiken asked. Toph looked up at him, "Your style is mutt , but you commune with each elements nature to know it at its "Core" as you say, you don't learn that from being in the sand dunes alone….someone who know how to bend each would've had to have taught you…"
Daiken said nothing.
"Water bender in the middle of desert country…I could buy…but a fire bender willing to teach you let alone be out there themselves, let's just say I'm curious to hear." She said.
Daiken sighed, "Your perceptive."
"And waiting…" Toph said not unfolding her arms.
Daiken put his own hands on his hips, "Very well, and I suppose this was going to come out anyway…there are…and have been traveling circus's that have to traverse the Deadlands sometimes to avoid blockades, they usually consisted of a very mixed ethnic group..gypsies and the like."
Toph admitted this sounded like a legitimate alibi, "So you were trained by the circus is that it?"
It would certainly explain his acrobatic skills…she thought.
"Not entirely…" Daiken continued, "If you could see you would notice, my eyes are the same…kind as a fire benders…very nearly."
Toph nodded, "I'd over heard someone bringing that up."
Daiken glanced from side to side making sure that they weren't being heard, "My mother was able to bend fire, it's one of the reasons my clan was in constant feud."
"I see…" Toph said.
Daiken sighed, "I am in fact as well as form, a Mutt…so my own form is mixed in turn."
The wind blew slightly and both of them turned their heads, realizing they were both half expecting it to be Aang.
Seeing it wasn't they resumed, "So now you know…" Daiken finished.
Toph nodded, "That song you were playing earlier this morning, I could tell it was something meaningful from how you were doing it…it was remembering your family wasn't it?"
Daiken sighed, "Yes it was…"
"It was very pretty…" she said.
Daiken smiled, "Well I liked to write about beautiful things, well play them…"
Toph nodded, "You're made up from different nations, you have a concept of unity, its why you're so endeared to Aang's mission."
Daiken watched as some leaves blew between them and caught one. "I've seen my own clan tear itself apart over trivialities, if there's a chance to stop it at a global scale…I want to be a part of it, and not just help in little ways collecting bounties on people."
"Helping those kids wasn't a little way…" Toph said, "And Aang said you did it for free, believe me I know slackers, and you aren't one of em."
Daiken smiled, and somehow Toph could tell. "Thanks for being upfront."
Daiken let the leaf go, "Thank you for trusting me to be…"
Toph shrugged, "Eh, I got a thing with knowing people…probably comes with being blind, sight can screw things up for you I've found. To many people've got the ability to see and don't use it for crap." She flicked some wax out of her ear as she said this.
"I'll agree with you on that, you see things in an irreplaceable way, in some ways I envy you for that." Daiken said.
"Believe me it has its downs as well as ups." Toph said, "Still it keeps me sharper and safer than the average Badger Bear."
Daiken chuckled his low rumble sounding chuckle, "A Badger Bear gave me the scar I have."
"Oh!" Toph said, "Déjà vu."
Daiken tilted his head, "How so?"
Toph laughed a little, "Oh just a run in with another weird mysterious guy who has a scar. Ironically also Fire Nation…"
Daiken smiled, "I believe I know who you're referring to. Unlike his, mine is not nearly as extensive, and goes across my cheek and lip."
"How deep?" Toph asked, then realizing how awkward that may sound, added; "Those things have been known to knock over trees, how bad is it?"
Daiken squinted his eyes a bit as the wind picked up even more, "Just a graze really but enough to be noticeable. It felt worse then it looked."
Deciding to not care about how it sounded Toph asked, "Can I see?"
Daiken raised a brow understanding what she meant, "I see no reason you shouldn't…" he said.
"I've seen everyone else's face so far so…" Toph said.
She reached her hand up and felt Daiken's face softly, it was young like hers or Sokka's or Aangs, yet course from days in the desert and sand storms, more firmly structured to be sure, she could see what he meant about being gypsy mixed.
Well featured at that, strong…she glided her fingers to his chin and jaw to finish the portrait in her head. The scar was there alright, not deep enough to be serious trouble, but like he said, enough to be noticeable, going down like a lightning strand from his cheek to his jaw, and branching out to his lip.
All together…he had a very nice face…not hard on the mind's eye to say the least…went right along with his physique, which she had already seen due to feeling the vibrations in the ground to tell he was considerably in shape.
"Do I pass the physical?" Daiken asked.
"Nice." She said. "Your face I mean." Wow that sounded worse.
"Thank you…" Daiken said chuckling again, "Same to you?" he said.
"Oh…" Toph said not expecting the complement, she brushed some hair behind her ear then cleared her throat trying not to give away herself.
"So what happened to the Badger Bear?" Toph asked.
"I killed it." Daiken said simply.
"Sweeet." Toph said. She had just opened a Pandora's box full of finding reason to like this new comer.
"So who was your totem creature?" Toph asked putting her hands on her hips.
Daiken again replied simply; "Meer-Cobra."
Toph grinned broadly, "Awesome! That makes total sense!"
The Meer-Cobra (Meerkat Cobra) was a dune dwelling creature famous for its tunnels, its darting and jerkish like movements and speed, and its hood which alerts its foes to stay at bay, or aid it in covering itself with sand, and shoveling the earth before it as it digs for smooth cave walls. The liquid like yet fierce movements of the creature made it an ideal totem for any Sand Bender, let alone Daiken.
"And yours is…badger mole." Daiken said in reply.
"Yep." Toph said cocking her head and hip to the side.
"I'd of guessed that, your form is stronger than most adults in that style, I'm going to go out on a limb and say a silver backed badger mole."
Toph was impressed, most everyone knew that the totem of nearly every and any Earth Bender was a badger mole but it took a real connoisseur to know there were differentiating styles with the different kinds of badger mole as each had their own style of digging and Earth moving.
"Not many guess that…" Toph said.
"Its cause of your size." Daiken said bluntly, "Those particular kinds of moles are known for their greatness in strength more than size, and their size is considerable, it makes sense you'd want to learn to be the strongest you could be for your body type, and then surpass that."
"…you feel like sparring?" Toph asked with anticipation dripping.
She heard and felt Daiken's foot slam into the dust and slide to the left as he got a little lower, and heard his hand go into a fist behind his back.
"I feel as if it's the only place to go from here…" he said grinning with a smirk.
Toph grinned herself and put both her hands up into an open handed defensive move, her feet feeling the dirt and pressing her weight into the ground. She also felt him making the sand shift around her toes and feet, he wasn't going to make this battle as determinable for her as others had…..THIS WAS GOING TO BE AWESOME!
Meanwhile inside Sokka was attempting to finish a house of royal cards he had found in one of the drawers of their home when suddenly he felt what he thought was an Earth quake which polted him through his intricately built tower of cards making them all rain down around him.
"Earth Quake!" he wailed, but then heard the maniacal laughter of Toph outside as the rumbling went on, then the sound of a loud grunt of Daiken as if he was pushing or throwing something large, and heard the ground move again, and Sokka was also certain, something made of glass somewhere in the house shattered.
Upstairs however, Katara was doing her hair like Toph had taught her. She suddenly felt the house shake a little and heard Toph's laughter that Sokka had heard. She thought about getting up to check but decided it wasn't worth it and to keep on task. She had to make this work, make sure that she and everything else was perfect…this meant to much to Aang. The possibility of changing the course of the War and in effect the world, right in his grasp, and yet still unable to meet with the King who could get it started. And then there was Appa, it was like living without an arm after rehab hasn't fully worked its course being without him, she could see it in him…
Plus ending the War could help bring her and Sokka's Father home, and Aang saw that, and wanted it done more passionately then anyone aside from her and Sokka. She had to repay that, to help that, to help ease his burden that she saw on him daily, help him forget all the things that were confusing him…to make up for confusing him herself in the past….she would never let someone like them get that close again, so close to hurting Aang or getting him killed, that was her fault. She had thought she didn't want to before but, in the end no one does what they WANT a lot of the time, their father didn't want to go to war, and they didn't want him gone, but there it was….and she had to confess, she had feelings for Aang, it wasn't a lie, she wasn't pretending for his sake, she did love him…she was just…unsure to what degree, but now it was clear, this occurrence had made it clear….she had-
Suddenly there was a knock at her door.
"Come in?" she said putting her come down.
Aang stepped in, and she saw him in her mirror, "Hey Katara…" he said with his sheepish grin. It wasn't blushing because she was in anything indecent, it was because he was entering a girls quarters, he was so adorable like that..
"Hey Aang!" she said smiling into the mirror at him.
"Um…" Aang said, "Can we talk?"
Azula pushed her lizard steed further, her eyes burning, she could taste the victory before them. If Brago's information was correct, Kyoshi warriors were reported having activities in this wood….good, she needed something to vent her anger out on.
Suddenly they could hear it….the sound of that infernal creature, just over the ridge beyond the fallen log before them.
She pulled the reins on her beast to make it's lizard paws go to a quick trot that was silent…a great advantage of having a mongoose dragon…
She could hear voices as well, female ones, it was the Kyoshi alright…. She raised her hand into a fist and her men…and women stopped their lizards.
Brago looked over his shoulder in the direction they came, only the sound of crickets behind them was heard but his look of suspicion was bothering Ty Lee…what was his keen "army instincts warning him about?
Azula jerked her arm pointing two fingers to her left and then one finger as she pointed her hand to her right. Then made a fist in the air, that was for her and Mai.
Knowing the signal, her men branched out with Brago and his troop taking up the left, the others the right, and Mai and Azula and Ty taking up center…Azula obviously wanted to plunge into this action…
She edged her lizard quietly up the hill behind the fallen log, then spurred it forwards with her heals to make it slither over it, Mai and Ty Lee did the same.
Azula let both her hands go off the reins, for she was that skilled of a rider, and jetted both her arms outward at their foes, flaming.
Ba Sing Se: Avatar's house
Well this was a fine kettle of fish…his attempt to talk to Katara was now dashed, for Sokka had fallen down the stairs and now had a bloody nose do to the shaking caused by Toph and Daiken's sparring, leaving Katara to tend to him while Daiken after apologizing, elected to practice his Cricket-Lute some more.
Which now left Toph and Aang alone.
Toph's hair was disheveled, and her clothes either torn in patches or worn….but there was that undeniable grin on her face, so it must have been good.
Aang sighed, who was he fooling? He didn't even know what he was going to tell Katara! Finally he caved and decided he may as well ask the avatar of manly and womanly wisdom…
"Toph…?" Aang asked. "Yeah twinkle toes?" Toph replied. "Yooooou seem to be getting along with Daiken.." Aangs said cheerily.
"He's a good spar partner…" Toph said running a hand through her hair trying to readjust her Barrett as she said it.
"So what else is it?" She asked, "I can tell there's more you want to say, so either keep it fully to yourself or spit it out…!"
Aang sighed, "Okay well…you know about how mean and…well how me and Katara…."
Toph finished for him when he took too long; "Beat around the bush to the point of me wanting to ring both your necks?"
Aang breathed out, "Okay yeah that…but well like each other…" he said.
Toph just kept walking with, "Well duh…" she said flatly waiting for him to get to the point.
Aang took another breath… but before he could formulate other words Toph took over for him.
"You have feelings for this fire nation girl on the other side of this brick fest…"
Aang's eyes bugged out and he looked at Toph, she just shook her head and turned his head to keep looking straight as they walked towards the door.
"I can hear them, Katara is still with Sokka out of ear shot unless she has my hearing, which she doesn't…and don't act so shocked, you'd have to be a dunder head to not guess it."
Aang rubbed his scalp, "Wow…does Sokka know?"
"Of course not." Toph said.
Aang shook his head, "And your okay with this?"
Toph pushed the door open, "Why should I NOT be okay, it's your head, to get wrapped around whoever you want to wrap it.."
Aang held the door open for her, "I just don't know…" Aang said. "On the mountain it was so different….WE were so different.."
"You and Katara?" Toph asked.
"No." Aang said, "I mean yes! I mean…gah! Yes between me and her, and me and Ty Lee…"
"Riiiight…" Toph said rubbing her temples with a dirty hand.
"Look twinkle toes….this is how I see it. You have it bad for this girl right?"
Aang looked down, "I guess I'd have to say do…"
Toph went on, "Oh come on, your more hung over this then you usually are about Appa…"
Aang would have taken offense to that if it weren't true..but nodded.
Toph sighed, "Look I'm not Katara, you don't have to act ashamed of your feelings for her with me…okay kid?"
Aang felt that like one of the sparring punches Toph gave when she didn't hold back, and in a way she wasn't this time.
"I'm not ashamed…" Aang said more for his own benefit then anything, "I'm just…it hurts Katara I think…to talk about her…she's acts like she feels the same way now, well the way I felt for her…feel for her before…I mean-"
Toph moaned "Boy oh boy…Twinkle-Toes, Katara's never stopped loving you…" Toph said.
Aang glanced at her, "Really?" he asked.
Toph shook her head, "I may have been mistaken about the exact amounts of dunder heads earlier…I could tell you were into her, a lot, and she….well we both know, she wasn't back then. And all of a sudden, now she is now that she had you back, and you think its because she thought you were nearly dead and now that she has you back her true feelings have come to the surface and to long for this Too-too girl…"
Aang corrected her, "Ty, Ty Lee…"
"Tee-Pee…whatever, wanting this girl would betray Katara because she's finally admitting how she feels about you and you don't want her to feel she's done that for nothing…" Toph finished.
Aang blew out a wiff of air, "Wow your good at this…yes that's exactly it, and I mean, I do love Katara, I haven't stopped either!"
Toph huffed, "Oh I know, and Katara hasn't stopped the way she has either…"
Aang nodded, "Exactl- wait what?"
Toph looked at him, "She IS scared for you twinkle toes, but let's face it this isn't the only time you've been separated or in danger or even captive….the reason this times different then the other, is because of miss…Ty ty…"
Aang thought to himself "close enough.."
Toph finally stopped them as they came to a culdesac in the neighborhood road.
"It wasn't a sin for Katara to feel honestly the way she did, or didn't before you vanished, and it isn't a crime for you to feel this way towards Ty leeson, but you do have to discover for yourself, not only which is better for you, but which is genuine….because if both you go in this with alternate agenda's, it's going to ruin a better friendship then it will miss one."
Aang just looked up at the sky, he could see the moon even though it was day time…
"You should talk to her about it, let her know that you know she's concerned about you and that for now you need some space to think about it..or something ." Toph suggested. "Get to the core of it, find out what builds your relationship up, then you can fully rebuild it."
Aang smiled a little, "A Shaw-woman now are we?" he joked.
Toph shrugged, "Eh, something I picked up."
Azula threw the second blast, the third the fourth, in a blinding flurry of blue. Fallen pieces of wood caught fire to the left and right of her, and the Kyoshi warriors as much as they tried to stay in formation were being scattered, and every time they tried to make for the trees, some of her troops would either net them up or hold them at bay by setting fire to the tree stem they would try to climb.
The prize of their objective was still behind the three warriors that were putting up the most fight, that accursed Bison.
Suddenly the one who appeared to be the leader did a back flip over the other two as they advanced throwing shurkins.
These were blocked in mid air by knives thrown by Mai.
The one who back flipped was heading towards the bison, picking up a burning piece of wood in the process yelling:
"Get back! Run! Fly away, find Aang! Get out of here!"
Curse her! Azula made a fist and polted her fiercest fire ball right at her head. She was deviating her attention now, but now the Sky Bison was backing up and flapping its tale to cause it to lift off the ground.
The Kyoshi warrior deflected it with her mini shield but it was knocked out of her hand in the process.
Suddenly she heard a grunting to her left as she saw a taller Kyoshi charging at her with a much broader sword then a katana, attempting to cleave her and Azula ducked out of the way , head down and arms outwards.
Ty Lee on the other hand had already pressure poked out of necessity several Kyoshi's for fear of being hacked up or seeing the same happen to her friends, it was the Terra team all over again…
Suddenly she heard a roar and looked up in time to see the leader of the Kyoshi's with the short ish hair descend upon her in a jump attack with her Katana. She could evade and counter, but it would break her jaw, she held back not knowing what to do….
-CLANG!- "Ty Lee!" came the sturdy voice of Brago as his own blade got in the way of the Kyoshi's.
"Master Suki!" came the call of one of the warriors with the bow and arrow. "The Bison is away!"
The Leader called Suki just yelled, "Fall back! Repeat fall back!"
Soon Suki and Brago began interlocking in fierce combat that rather baffled Ty. Neither she or Mai had ever seen anyone give Brago such a test in swordsmanship, or seen him cut loose enough to show his skill, and it was unreal the amount of quickness the two used flawlessly, a lot of the time without looking.
Suddenly with a blast of blue light, the one called Suki was pelted in the back as she flipped away from a sword swipe and fell down smoking.
Ty Lee out of instinct put her out with her foot before any real fire could spread, but Suki lay still.
Only two other warriors remained standing, one with the bow, and the one with the long sword.
"For the honor of Lady Kyoshi, we will die before we…" they could not finish their sentence for there was a blood curdling scream of a man and a Fire Nation Calvary man flew from the trees hitting a rock in the clearing where they fought.
Brago, Mai, Azula, the warriors, Ty Lee, and the remainders of Brago's men stared for a second at the man, his face was red and hissing like a 3rd degree burn.
"What did you do to my soldier!" Brago demanded pointing his sword at them."
The Kyoshi's looked genuinely disgusted and confused, "What? We didn't do that, your own soldiers did, we can't bend fire!"
One of the warriors however widened their eyes as they remembered where they had seen burns like that before in a little town….
They immediately turned their attention towards the place where he'd flown as more men's screams were heard along with the rushes and wooshing of flames.
A few bamboo stalks began to part and snap, or act like they'd been sliced, closer to the clearing.
There was an odd sound of splattering right as the screaming of a man stopped.
The man skidded out of the bushes to Azula's feet, his eyes gone, his flesh charred…
They all looked up as coming out of the reeds, was the pale man in an Indigo hood.
Both Kyoshi Warriors looked at each other knowing him to be the man they'd seen coming back from the town they'd passed…and the same crawling feeling was coming over their skin, and contrasting his dark cloak and white skin was the splotch of fresh red on his finger tips and shoulder…
(Art for the mysterious hooded man is uploaded now to me profile wall.)
