"It's a lot easier to make a cloud with three benders," Matthew commented.
"Yes, because-"
"Shh!"
The landing was jarring, as Appa couldn't really see where his feet were going. Sokka dove off of the saddle in gross parody of someone who actually knew how to sneak, rolling-or trying to roll into cover with frequent furtive glances.
Katara rolled her eyes as she dismounted. "There's no one even here."
"You don't know that for sure," Sokka retorted quickly in a harsh whisper.
"Well I can," Toph said, tapping the ground for emphasis. "And there's no one here for a good few miles, with plenty of rocks between us and them. We're completely safe."
Sokka straightened with a defeated sigh. "Must you ruin everything?"
"Yes." Toph seemed to be only half-listening, now, instead paying closer attention to the earth. "Cave, just west of our position facing away from the coast. We can hole up there for a bit."
"Good idea," Sokka latched onto it like Momo would an especially succulent fruit. "We can hide out, slowly making our way to the rendezvous point, going from cave, to cave…to cave…" He trailed off uncertainly. "But we'll have to do something about food and supplies."
"We'll go into town," Katara suggested. "You can't expect us to stay in a dark cave the whole time, anyways. It's not healthy."
"Then we'll have to get new clothes." Matthew pointed out. "Your world has the oddest obsession with color association."
"You mean yours doesn't?" Toph asked curiously. Matthew didn't talk about his home world very often. "Like, your people just wear whatever they want?"
"For the most part," Matthew clarified. "Certain symbols in certain situations may be met with approval or disapproval, but…Well, my national colors are red and white. But that doesn't mean I can't wear blue, or some other color. Just like my brother's colors are red, white, and blue, but he could also wear green or purple if he so wished."
"That…is super weird." Sokka shook his head, as though unable to picture it. "Your world is weird, Matthew."
"I think your world is weird," the blond retorted with a good-natured grin and a shrug. "But at least the food is good."
"Breathe, Alfred!"
"I am!"
Zuko took advantage of his momentary distraction. Alfred ended up hitting the paving stones with a pained hiss, patting at his clothes to extinguish burning embers.
"Your hair's not on fire this time," Zuko noted. "If Azula were fighting you, you'd only be mostly burnt to a crisp."
"How encouraging you are." Alfred praised drolly as he stood up again, and immediately jumped back into his stance. "My self-esteem is just shooting through the roof right now."
"It means you've gotten better." Zuko took the offensive again, and Alfred managed to block most of it. He responded in kind with a barely contained crescent, the unpredictable strands of which actually made Zuko's dodge feel undercompensating as it singed his sash.
The color in Alfred's fire had become more prominent over the past days, enough so that it was like a rainbow of entirely new hues hidden within the usual oranges and reds. It had distracted Zuko more than once in practice with its strange beauty.
However looks were still secondary to function, and while he'd gotten better, the blond still had a long way to go. And they were running out of time.
Ty Lee's hidden courtyard was a great gift. Now they could practice unobserved in any hour of the day. The prince was entitled to disappear on occasion, and Alfred was otherwise unoccupied.
But Azula was going to come back, soon. Not to mention that the Dai Li still hadn't answered his 'advertisement'. Anything could happen.
Zuko buried these thoughts in favor of focusing on sparring, and correcting Alfred's movements on occasion. He'd clearly learned to fight somewhere before, and was very good at improvising. But firebending needed a firm hand and good fundamentals. Alfred was severely lacking in formal techniques, and it was difficult to shore up the deficiencies on such a time crunch.
When Zuko finally allowed a break, Alfred flopped onto the ground next to the stagnant pond and closed his eyes.
That was when Zuko finally asked the question that'd been bothering him for days, now.
"What do you have against royalty?"
Blue eyes snapped open again, however there was no other physical reaction. Alfred put his hands behind his head and kept his gaze on the sky. "What makes you think that?"
"You're not exactly difficult to read," Zuko pointed out drily. "It's hard not to notice all the twitching. Most of the court is convinced you're either feral or unstable."
"Oh…" Alfred's laugh was weak. "Well, you're right. I don't like royalty. Nobles, the exclusive snobbishness, and monarchy as a whole irritate me." He said 'noble' as though it left a foul taste in his mouth.
"Why, though?" Zuko pressed carefully. He didn't like the dark note in his firebending student's voice. And he was a full-blooded noble, after all. Best to err on the side of caution.
The blond just sighed. "Complicated. I could go on for hours about it. But for now it is safer to say only this: My world is fundamentally different from yours. There are many deeply rooted philosophies that you and I would disagree on. Where I see reform, you might see chaos. Where you see reality, I see the laws of nature being mocked. I've seen humans kill each other for the kind of contrasts our worlds have, and would rather not test our relationship like that, yet."
'Our relationship'…that was a safe, at least. No 'accidental' training deaths for being born into the wrong family. At least not from Alfred. Zuko folded his arms. "I can respect that. Especially since you won't even tell me what species you are."
Alfred glanced his way with appraising eyes. His mouth screwed in a peculiar way with intense consideration, before he finally said, "My brother has already broken several rules by taking the Avatar and his group into our confidence. So I figure I can tell you…after I find my counterpart in this country. There should be at least one, and his absence-not to mention you obviously not knowing despite your status, is rather suggestive. After that, I will gladly answer all of your questions."
Zuko nodded slowly. "Alright. But how do you know you'll find this person?"
"Trust me." Alfred's slight smirk was embittered. "My kind has a way of running into each other, no matter the odds or our wishes for otherwise."
"He's asleep," Matthew reported from his high perch on the rocks. He'd long proven to have the clearest sight at long distances, and a talent for climbing that easily made up for his inability to bend the environment to his will to get from place to place.
"Good." Sokka had been eying a particular set of tunic and pants on the clothes line that was just visible from his hiding place. "Let's do this, but for La's sake, don't wake the laundry man up!"
"Is this okay?" Aang muttered more to himself. "These clothes belong to people."
"Your group has enacted petty thievery several times, from what I understand," Matthew said rather bluntly. "And this is war, though it might not look like it. We are the invading party-there are no rules unless we are actively undercover."
"I guess you have a point…"
"I call the red dress!" Katara vaulted over her cover and dashed straight for a ruby colored garment swaying in the breeze. Aang, despite his initial hesitation, was hot on her heels. Sokka dashed for his chosen clothes hanging tantalizingly on the line.
Matthew took Toph's hand and helped her pick out an outfit she found comfortable, and a belt to tie it against her smaller frame. For himself he picked a simple set of red robes with gold trim and dark burgundy trousers. He kept his hooded cloak-all the better to hide his pale hair in public. His height would attract enough attention as it was.
They made off with the stolen garments quickly and ran off. The launderer never even stirred.
"Can we go in to town, now?" Toph asked. She patted her stomach for emphasis. "I'm hungry for something other than travel rations."
"And something with meat," Sokka muttered more to himself. Aloud he announced. "We can't be here too long-two days at the most before we move on to the next place."
Aang stood in a mocking salute. "Yes sir, Idea Guy, sir."
I promised a lot, and ended up giving very little. I know, and I'm sorry. Other projects are distracting me (cough, cough, Bad Medicine). But I've finally outlined the remaining chapters, and can project 9-10ish more (this is going to be the longest story I've ever written). I was TRYING to get more into this chapter, but putting transitions and the passage of time into words are both awful struggles for me.
Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews for this insomniac of a writer! They make my day, they really do. SO, tell me what ya'll thought of this in a review, please?
Later dudes. ^J^
