Toph was extremely excited when her character was introduced, eagerly leaning over the rail to listen to what was happening on stage as the Aang actress flew about searching for an earth bending teacher. "This is it! This must be where I come in." She waited until suddenly, this massive hulking guy appeared from under the stage through a trapdoor, completely the opposite of what we had been expecting. When he talked, the deep and rough tone caught Toph's attention, making her crane forwards further to listen. "Wait a minute, I sound like…a guy. A really buff guy."
"Well Toph, what you hear up there is the truth. It hurts, doesn't it?" Katara smirked, throwing Toph's previous words right back at her only to have it backfire on her instead as Toph grinned broadly.
"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have cast it any other way! At least it's not a flying bald lady." The character of Toph was just as ridiculous as the others, because apparently although blind he could still see because of the sonic waves he released from his mouth, demonstrating by screaming at the actors on stage. That had me in stitches again, but my laughter quickly vanished when the scene shifted and showed Zuko and Iroh parting ways after a conversation about hair. Zuko looked back at me so I pouted at him before pointedly turning away and folded my arms, pretending to still be mad about all that.
The play continued with various ups and downs, though it started to drag on a little too long, making me yawn and start to feel sleepy as the jokes got old and there were no longer any new characters to be amused by, though there was slight confusion when the actor playing Jet had a rock prop fall on him which he then crawled under to signify he'd been crushed, though it was still slightly ambiguous. "Did Jet just...die?" Zuko questioned, just as confused as I was as to what happened.
"You know, it was really unclear." Well that's no help at all Sokka. Shaking my head I continued to focus on the play as best I could, though no one could deny it had gone rather stale now. I think the most interesting scene had to be the one where Katara and Zuko were trapped in the crystal catacombs where the actress Katara sort of confessed to Zuko, saying that she was attracted to him. That made it more than a little awkward between Katara and Zuko since they were sitting next to each other. Turning back to the stage, actor Zuko stood up and told Katara's character that he thought she was the Avatar's girl. Now I looked at Aang, seeing him give a little nod and I groaned quietly to myself as I ran a hand down my face. I have a feeling things were going to get real complicated very soon.
Aang was unable to watch as Katara's character completely put down the idea of any romantic relationship between her and the Avatar before she and Zuko's character hugged, the little guy getting up quickly in order to go get some air though Sokka looked at him as he started to leave. "Oh, you're getting up? Can you get me some fire flakes?" He requested before settling his arm around Suki so she could rest against him until he thought of something else. "Oh and fire gummies!"
Next followed Zuko's decision to join Azula, showing him pushing his uncle away and telling him how much he hated him, making everyone else gape and look at Zuko with shock. "You didn't really say that, did you?" Katara asked him in disbelief but Zuko just looked away.
"I might as well have." Seeing how ashamed he looked I took up Aang's vacant seat in order to sit next to Zuko, weaving my fingers through his then leaned my head against his shoulder to reassure him quietly as he looked at me in surprise but accepted my touch, also saying nothing as he closed his eyes for a while.
The second intermission followed the end of Ba Sing Se's defeat, with Azula using lightning bending in the form of blue ribbons to take down the Avatar. Once the curtains lowered and the lights brightened, a gentle hum of small talk murmured through the entire audience as Suki made some observations. "It seems like every time there's a big battle you guys barely make it out alive. I mean, you guys lose a lot."
"You're one to talk, Suki. Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right, she did." Sokka retaliated defensively, making her frown at him.
"Are you trying to get on my bad side?"
"I'm just saying." He responded with a shrug so I flicked a small hard-tack cookie at his forehead, hitting it dead centre so he yelped and instantly clapped his hand down on the affected area.
"Wrong answer buddy. Just so you know." I warned him as Katara looked around with worry.
"Does anyone know where Aang is?" Still rubbing his sore forehead where I'd hit him, Sokka answered whilst shooting me a pouty look.
"He left to get me fire gummies like, ten minutes ago, and I'm still waiting." Ignoring her brother's antics, Katara announced that she was going to go check outside for him. I was happily eating my snacks, offering some to Zuko but he shook his head in refusal so I offered the bag to Toph instead, who was still grinning about how cool her character was.
"This play is awesome!" She said, hearing me shake the bag and taking it in order to throw handfuls of cookies into her mouth. "Definitely the best one I've ever gone to."
"I don't think the others share the sentiment. Come on, let's go get some more food. I'm almost out and we've got another set before the play ends.2 I said to her, naturally giving Zuko's shoulder a squeeze as I got up to leave but he ended up coming with me, Suki and Sokka following as he wanted to get backstage to talk to the actor who was playing him, though he called after me as we walked towards the vendors.
"Hey, can you get me some fire flakes and gummies?"
"Sure thing." I waved out my hand, walking with Toph and Zuko. "It looks a little busy. You two stay here, I'll sneak into the front and be back soon." Following my suggestion, Toph and Zuko waited as I dove into the masses. It took a little longer than expected, but I finally managed to get to the front and charmed my way into getting served first, all I had to do was mention that I had a friend who was blind and really wanted some food and they were quick to fulfil my order. Armed with snacks and food, I got back to Zuko and Toph to see them sitting on the floor just as a little kid dressed up as Aang raced past but paused to look at Zuko.
"Your Zuko costume is pretty good but your scar's on the wrong side." The kid pointed at Zuko who stared at him blankly as he run off before he recovered and yelled after him.
"The scar is not on the wrong side!" Flicking his hood forwards I looked down at the scene and just blinked.
"What's with you two?"
"Nothing. Did you get me some beef strips?" Getting up eagerly I handed Toph the back with her food in it which made her happy. "Sweet!" She went off by herself then back to the seats, so when Zuko got up we followed after her a little more slowly and I asked him what they were talking about.
"I said that this play was hard to watch because of how it just reminds me of all the bad and wrong things I've done, and that I let my uncle down." Zuko told me as we avoided the crowds and kept our faces covered. "She told me that I didn't need to worry because I'd already redeemed myself, and that she'd met my uncle before and all he talked about was me."
"Oh yeah, that's when we first met Toph when she was alone. She was a little lost too back then, just like you were." I smiled at the memory. "We had tea and shared advice. Wait, you're saying Toph gave you advice? As in…Toph?" Zuko smiled at me as I stared at him in disbelief, only then catching on that Toph had somehow managed to make Zuko feel better by saying something helpful rather than just telling him to suck it in.
"Yeah. She punched me too, but she said that's how she shows affection."
"That sounds more like her." I mused before chuckling to myself. Sokka and Suki weren't back yet and neither were Aang and Katara, so I decided to go check on them, putting down my food and warning Zuko not to eat them. "Oh, and don't let Toph steal any either." I added before heading outside. It didn't take long to find them, and I just happened to walk in on them just as Aang reached forward to kiss Katara, making me freeze in place before diving out of sight before I could be notice, feeling awkward I'd interrupted.
"I just said that I was confused!" Katara sounded very irate with Aang, frustrated that he hadn't listened. Oh boy, I knew things were going to get complicated. "I'm going inside." I remained hidden as Katara stormed back inside, leaving Aang behind as he started to bang his fists against his head and I stepped out of hiding to dust myself off and approach.
"Argh! I'm such an idiot!"
"Yep, that was pretty stupid." I agreed, my arms folded and leaning into my hip as Aang whirled around to stare at me, relaxing when I realised I was alone. "I told you to be patient and wait for her to bring it up first Aang. What did you go and kiss her for?"
"I panicked. There was everything going on in the play on stage, and it just got to me." He said, hanging his head as he leaned over the balcony looking very sorry for himself so I rubbed his back comfortingly. "I've definitely ruined things this time, haven't I?" Shrugging slightly, I considered for a moment.
"Well, Katara's right when she says we've got a lot of other things we have to prioritise…but she still didn't say no." I pointed out, making Aang look up at me quickly. "I mean it this time Aang, give her some space and let her have time to think, after we've ended the war. Once we don't have so much pressure on us to end things, she'll be able to think about how she really feels about you. The more you push her, the fast you'll lose her."
"I just…"
"I know, Aang. You like her a lot."
"It's more than that. I love Katara, I've loved her since the first moment I opened my eyes after being in the ice and I saw her standing over me." He revealed, which was a lot more than I expected and it was shocking because I could tell he was dead serious. "Agh! Why is love so hard?! Have you ever been in love Kayo?" Now for some reason, when Aang asked me that the first person that came to mind was Zuko, making me blush and look away. "There is someone! Who is it? How did you tell them? Did it get easier?"
"I don't know Aang, I'm not exactly sure how I feel." I admitted to him, rubbing my arm with embarrassment. "I've never been in love with someone before, but I can tell that this is different. New. It's a little hard to understand because I don't exactly know how he feels either, and I've never really allowed myself to give it much thought." I sighed, rubbing my face tiredly before looking out over the ocean. "All I know is that I missed him when he was gone and when I saw him again, I thought my heart was going to burst right out of my chest. My pulse races when he's near and it becomes difficult to breath, and sometimes I end up thinking about him without even realising. I want to be close to him and help him find his way in the world, to make sure that he never gets hurt by others ever again and to be an important part of his life. I want him to be happy, and I'm willing to sacrifice almost anything to make that happen. If that's love then…well I think I got it." I smiled sadly at Aang. "It can hurt a lot, huh."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Both of us drew in a deep breath before sighing at the same time, leaning over the balcony to droop sadly against the rail. "It's Zuko, isn't it? The person you love."
"I guess so." My heart was pounding and my stomach doing this uncomfortable kind of twist like I had done too many backflips and pirouettes all at once. "I mean, all the symptoms are there but it doesn't feel like this grand, sweeping romance you see in plays or read in books, so I'm still not too sure about it. Like I said, it's new."
"Maybe love doesn't have to be just one thing. It can be different for everyone, but that doesn't make it any less sincere. Even if you love Zuko as family, it's still love." Aang reasoned and I sent him a sidelong look.
"There's that smart little kid I know so well. I thought I was losing you there to all that moping you were doing." I teased him, knuckling his head lightly in play. "Well, if the Avatar says that's the way it is then I'll believe him."
"Are you going to tell Zuko?"
"Tell him what?"
"That you love him."
"But I don't know if I love him. That's why I understand Katara's position right now. I'm just as confused as she is." Giving Aang a smile I leaned down in order to press my forehead against his, wanting to try and relieve some of the stress he was feeling. "I envy you, being so clear with your own feelings. I barely even pay attention to mine."
"You've got a big heart, Kayo. As big as the ocean. Maybe that's why you were born a water bender and not a fire bender like your mom." This kind of took me by surprise, the sweet and innocent sentiment making me feel touched by Aang's sincerity. I even felt a tear as I smiled at him, lips shaking a little s I brushed it away then hugged him.
"I'm so glad I got to know you, Aang." Having nothing more that needed to be said, Aang and I hugged for a while before we went back into the theatre, Aang joining me on the back row where Sokka leaned over Suki in order to whisper.
"Here's what you missed. We went to the Fire Nation and you got better and Katara was the Painted Lady and I got a sword and I think Combustion Man died. Oooh look, the invasion's about to start. Shh!" Turning back, Aang hugged his knees against his chest so I draped an arm around him, letting him lean against me with my snacks sat in my lap which I balanced by placing my foot over my knee as we watched the rest of the play. We couldn't have come back at a worse time for Aang and I flinched inwardly as the actress of Katara announced to the Avatar on stage that she loved him as a brother. Poor kid, couldn't even catch a break.
After that I did notice that the actor of Sokka seemed to have some new material as his jokes got better, since they actually made me laugh and I could clearly tell that Sokka wrote them himself. At least the play was back to being comedic and not as dry as rye bread. The play followed everything up to the invasion, our group reaching the royal palace which was deserted and then actor Zuko showed up asking to join us before they all ran off stage together. "I guess that's it." Sokka said as he stood up and stretched, assuming that the play was over. "The play's caught up to the present now."
"Wait. The play's not over." Making him sit back down, Suki pointed to the stage as Sokka frowned in confusion.
"But it is over. Unless...this is the future!" He gasped with a spooky voice, but no one paid him any mind as the stage lit up after being completely pitch black to reveal an actor of Ozai. "With the energy harnessed from that comet, no one will be able to stop the Fire Nation!" He declared as a comet prop was moved slowly above his head as Azula's actress then appeared.
"Father, Zuko and the Avatar are at the palace. They're trying to stop you!" Really, I've never seen such terrible acting in all my life before.
"You take care of Zuko. I shall face the Avatar myself." The royal siblings ended up fighting on stage, though their commentary was a rather accurate portrayal of what they would probably say. With blue and red streamers to imitate fire bending, they both danced around each other artistically, though the finish was rather disappointing as Zuko went down with a puff of smoke. Let's hope that doesn't actually happen in real life.
It then moved onto Aang's and Ozai's envisioned fight, again using streamers and ribbons for fire bending whilst the staff the Aang actress used had little blue flags to imitate air bending. I'll admit, they did that rather well. Unfortunately it ended rather badly for Aang, who ended up being consumed in flames and defeated by the Fire Lord who rose above all in victory. "Yes, we have done it! The dreams of my father, and my father's father have now been realized. The world is mine." The audience all rose and cheered for the ending, whilst the rest of us just looked on in silence. The cheering and applauding continued, drowning out everything else until finally I stood up.
"Let's get out of here." No one argued and everyone trudged along behind until we were outside and returning back to the beach house along the shore.
"That...wasn't a good play." Zuko finally said.
"I'll say."
"No kidding."
"Horrible."
"You said it." Everyone agreed, followed by another pause before Sokka added like an afterthought.
"But the effects were decent."
"And I thought most of it was hilarious. You guys should be proud, this play will probably be played every year from now on." I said cheerfully, making everyone groan and I laughed at their expressions, only Toph joining me in agreeing that everything but the ending had been great. Well, at least it was over now and we never had to go see it again if we didn't want to. Though that will never stop me from absolutely using this as good material to tease them all from now onwards, so they'd better watch themselves, otherwise I'll just remind them how they were each portrayed today.
