Neva dropped fruit into Iris' expecting hands, which she then placed into a small basket. The basket was half full and more than enough for the four of them. Wait, no. Five of them. They were five now.
"That's gonna take some getting used to," she muttered and looked at Neva, "It's about to get dark. Let's go. I think it's enough."
She turned and the two started making their way back to the camp.
Honestly, Iris wasn't exactly sure of her stance when it came to Toph. Sure the girl was headstrong, knew an element none of them did and filled a certain blank in the gang, but Iris knew that the girl had run away from home. And she wasn't okay with that. She does understand why Toph did it. But Toph's parents were rich and influential. She was pretty sure they would use any and every resource if it meant finding and bringing their daughter back. Unlike her case, where her 'family' was more than happy to see her leave and never return.
Also, this was Toph's first taste of absolute freedom. Iris knew she'd be hard to handle. And while she did worry about Toph a little-she was the same age as Aang-her loyalty towards the other three was quite stronger.
She came back to see Aang handing Sokka sleeping bags while Katara boiling water. Toph was sitting on the ground surrounded by Appa's fur.
"Hey, you guys picked a great campsite. The grass is so soft." Toph said
"That's not grass. Appa's shedding." Sokka replied
"I got the fruits," Iris announced.
The ration wasn't the easiest to get, even in the Earth Kingdom. Merlin knows how long before they reached another village or town to refill their stocks. So they always diluted their stocks with some local fruits and vegetables. Neva had a knack for picking the tastiest and juiciest stuff while completely avoiding the poisonous ones.
"That's not gross; it's just a part of spring." Aang chuckled "You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat!"
"Kid, things can be gross and be a part of nature." She softly chuckled and looked at him, "Besides, if he keeps shredding like this, we have to brush him." she smiled running her hand through Appa's fur and when she pulled her hand, it was covered in her fur.
"Yup, we need to brush him."
Katara laughed at Iris' fur-covered hand and expression, "Ah, the beauty of spring."
Appa, who stuck his tongue out to reveal it's covered in fur, sneezed, blowing fur everywhere. Even on top of Katara.
"Stop, Appa, stop!" Katara coughed and waved her arms to stop Appa from covering her in hair even more.
"The beauty of spring." Iris chuckled and turned around to check the perimeter spell she had placed.
"Iris! Aren't you gonna say something?"
Iris folded her arms and turned around. Katara looked pissed. Sokka was wearing a pillar of hair and Aang had a mustache and beard, all made of fur.
"What do you want me to say?" she chuckled
"They are disgusting!" Katara exclaimed
"Excuse me," Toph walked in between the two boys, "does anyone have a razor..." She lifted both arms to reveal a mass of white fur emerging out of both of her sleeves, under her arms, "...because I've got some hairy pits!"
The three started laughing. Katara remained unamused. Iris just smiled. That was until Aang gave one of his powerful airbending sneezes, thrusting him back into Appa's leg and then fell face down on the ground. He lifted his head to reveal his beard and mustache were gone but he now had a large mass of fur sticking jaggedly up on his back. All three begin laughing again. Katara, at first looks disgusted, but quickly joined in the laughter.
Iris just shook her head with a smile.
"Guys? When the fun's over, we better brush up Appa and get rid of all the old fur. Right, Appa?"
Appa grunted in approval. Th other three groaned at the sudden increase in work.
"I mean it."
The sky darkened as they began preparations for their nightly routine. Aang and Katara were setting up tents. Sokka was collecting firewood and Iris was picking ingredients to cook the dinner. She filled the pot with water and swirled it with magic as she poured in some rice.
Katara walked over to the pot with some vegetables diced and dropped them in the boiling water. Then she turned to stop and frown.
"Hey Kat, do we still have the sp-" Iris stopped to see Katara's frown. She followed her glare and found it to be directed at Toph, who was lazily laying against a rock with her legs crossed, arms behind her head, and a piece of straw casually hanging from her mouth.
Katara got up and walked to Toph.
"So, Toph, usually when setting up camp we try to divide up the work." she started
Iris sat straighter, to see where the conversation would head. In her head, she knew how it would end.
"Hey, don't worry about me, I'm good to go."
"Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, uh, some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent."
As if to prove her point, Momo and Neva flew in and dropped some nuts they had picked in her hands and flew by.
"Even Momo and Neva do their fair share."
Toph took the straw from her mouth, "Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food, and look," now sitting upright, she used her earthbending to create a stone tent, "my tent's all set up."
Iris knew Katara was getting riled up, so she interrupted
"Katara, don't. Let her be."
Katara turned to her, super annoyed but Iris just shook her head.
"She's new. She doesn't know our group routines and the way we do our things. It's alright. she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't wanna do. We can still finish our work."
Katara looked like she wanted to protest, but Iris just shook her head.
"Fine!" and she made her way back to the Iris and started helping her cook.
"Aaaah!"
The girls turned around to see Sokka with a basket on his head and Aang looking amusedly guilty
"Boys," Iris chided
"Sorry!" Aang called out
As the two girls were cooking, Iris noticed Katara's unpleasant mood and quickly cast a privacy charm around the two.
"Bossing around her won't work. If you want her to take part, you have to be smart about it."
"How?"
"Let me handle that. Okay?"
Katara nodded
"Now, spit your anger before the boys notice."
Katara took a deep breath and normalized herself.
Iris chuckled and canceled the charm.
Once dinner was done, Iris made sure the kids, minus Toph, brushed out Appa. Sokka tried to wiggle out of the duty, but Iris made sure he didn't.
The boys were handling one side and the girls the other. And by girls, it was excluding Toph. And Appa was enjoying the session.
Katara grunted, her glare pointed towards Toph, who was relaxing.
"Katara..."
"She willingly came with us. She should be helping us."
"She is."
Katara looked at her, "what? What are y-"
"Kat, look. Toph is...Uhm...I don't have the word that would describe her, so let's say she's a rich kid. And powerful and stubborn at that. Her whole life, she was treated as if she was made outta glass but she was actually the Earth Rumble Champion. People like her... tend to have issues with authority. If you boss them around too much or expect a lot out of them, they'd be worse.
I told you, if you wanna make them work, be smart about it. Not a brute."
"And how are you planning on making her work?"
Iris smirked and bent down, collected some of Appa's fallen fur and made it into a ball, and tip-toed around Appa, and then threw it at the boys.
Feeling the shot, Aang looked in the direction and instantly ducked and the ball of fur hit Sokka right in his face, covering him entirely in fur.
Aang laughed. And soon the two girls started laughing as well.
Sokka, who had frozen since the ball of fur hit him, sputtered. And fur came out of his mouth.
"Oh my!" Iris laughed harder, holding her stomach.
"Hey! You look like a mini Appa!" Aang joked
"Yeah. If Appa was a baby and had severe malnutrition!" Katara joined
Sokka turned towards them and wiped all the fur off his face, glaring at Iris.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, collecting all the fur on his body.
"Boys vs girls. No bending." Iris smiled
"you got yourself a deal." Sokka then balled it all and threw it. Iris moved away at the last point and the ball hit Katara in the face.
"Okay, that's it."
Soon it became who could cover others in more fur.
They were pretty much done, the four were tired anyway from the day's work when Toph approached them.
"I want in," she said
Iris felt something and caught the fur ball mid-air and then burned it with a small Incendio.
"Uh...Sorry, Toph. We were just finishing it. We are all done." she looked at others and the trio did look tired, "I mean after working the whole time and cleaning Appa, there's only so much energy we can spare for playing like this."
Aang yawned and Katara stretched.
"We are all tired." then she smiled, "You can join in from next time if you helped us. That way we won't be as much tired and could play longer. What do you say? Of course, you are more than welcome to say no. We won't mind."
Toph looked thoughtful for a minute and then nodded, "I'll think about it."
"Thank you. Now, how about we get some decent sleep?" she clapped her hands, "We leave at the dawn." she looked at others, "Kid could you blow them all away."
Aang created a small whirlwind that cleared them all of Appa's fur and collected it all in a neat pile.
There was a round of "Good Night"s and the quartet slipped into their tents and sleeping bags while Toph made herself comfortable in her rock tent.
"It's a start" she smiled at Katara
She then went to her tent, laid down, and closed her eyes, as Neva curled on her stomach.
Iris was having a nice sleep. No dreams. No nightmares. Just plain, dark, relaxing sleep.
Only to be woken by,
"There's something coming toward us!"
"What?" she sputtered, getting up. she walked out of her tent and found Aang and Toph awake. The tent next to her opened and the siblings came out.
"what?" she asked again
"There's something coming towards us," Toph looked in her direction.
Iris frowned and touched the ground, and used her energybending.
"What is it?" Aang asked
"It feels like an avalanche...But also not like an avalanche." Toph answered
Iris looked at Toph, who was in the same position as her.
"It's not a living thing, that's for sure." Iris muttered, "I'm not getting a reading. But whatever it is, it is huge."
"Your powers of perception are frightening. Both of you." Sokka commented
"Should we leave?" Katara asked
"Better safe than sorry," Aang responded
"Kid's right. We need to find another campsite." Iris stood up
The five quickly packed their thing. Iris was happy that Toph was helping, even if a little.
They got on Appa and he took off. Once they were quite high, they all, except Toph, turned around to see what exactly was there.
"What is that thing?" Katara asked
"I'll tell you if I could see beyond that smoke cloud." Iris muttered and then looked at Neva, who also looked a bit irritated that her sleep was disturbed, "Baby girl, think you can get a look at that?"
Neva looked at her, trilled a complaint but took off.
"Where to, Iris?"
Iris still looked at the dust cloud as it became small and smaller as they flew higher.
"Iris?"
"Wait." She called back, "If I can figure out what it is, we can all sleep a good night's sleep."
Neva returned after 15 minutes, settled on her lep, and started chirping.
"A machine?" Iris asked and Neva bobbed her head
"Machines aren't that big." Katara noted, "Are they?"
"Maybe it's a new Fire Nation Invention." Sokka shrugged
"It is Fire nation alright," Iris muttered
"You think it is those three girls from Omashu or Zuko?" Katara asked
"Honestly, I don't even care." Iris muttered, "Kid, take North. We are disappearing."
Aang nodded and pulled Appa's reins. Iris then placed a disillusionment charm on all of them.
"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked
"Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail who's tracked us all over the world," Sokka answered
"What's wrong with ponytails, ponytail?" Katara chuckled
Sokka gestured to his hair, "This is a warrior's wolf tail."
"Well, it certainly tells the other warriors that you're fun and perky!"
Iris chuckled and then looked at Toph, "Zuko's the Fire Nation Prince. He was after kid and me for some time now."
After 20 minutes, Iris pointed and they landed.
"This should suffice for the night," she muttered, jumping off Appa before he could land. She stood up and looked at the kids, "You all unpack, I'm gonna put some perimeter spells. Just in case."
They nodded and she walked away, Neva following her overhead.
with nothing but a Lumos ball and Neva for support, she walked about 20 meters to the woods and then started placing the spells. Notice-me-not charms, Muggle repellant charms(for non-benders), a modified Salvo Hexia to deflect elemental attacks, Muffliato, a disillusionment charm, and finally a Protego modified into a 20-meter radius dome around the camp. And an alarm spell.
She kept her hand on the invisible dome and checked it. Looked sturdy.
"This should do it," she muttered and started heading back to the camp.
Only to be greeted by an argument between Toph and Katara.
"Look." Toph began irritated, pointing her finger at Katara, "I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff. I'm carrying my own weight." She turned and walked a little off.
"That's not the point," Katara exclaimed
Neither of the girls had seen her and she didn't bother coming out.
"Ever since joining us you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful."
"What?" Toph turned and pointing at Katara, "Look here, sugar queen, I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earthbending, so don't you talk to me about being selfish!"
"Iris was right about you!"
Iris froze. What the fuck?! What the hell did she say now?
"You are nothing but a rich kid who thinks they are free to do whatever they like because no one taught you manners!"
Wait. That was not what she said! Iris quickly came out
"Whoa, guys, hold it. Katara,"
"You stay out of this!" Toph yelled at her,
"Then stop yelling," Iris ordered calmly but strongly. "Look, we are all tired and frustrated, and taking it out on others is not gonna do any good. Let's just go to sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning."
Katara reluctantly agreed. So did the boys. they were about to move to sleep when Toph loudly snorted.
And now, her frustration levels were increasing.
"Something you wanna say, Toph?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Twinkle Toes said you made good decisions. Clearly, you made some mistakes with Sugar Queen."
Iris frowned, her frustration just increasing. You do not just talk about Katara like that.
She took a deep breath, "Just go to sleep." she turned around before she could say anything she'd regret later. But Toph was making it hard for her. "Katara, go. Drop it."
"that's right. Run along."
That caused it
"Toph, I'm really trying to reasonable tonight. Please, do not test my patience."
"Or what? Twinkle Toes needs me to teach him earthbending to defeat the Fire Lord."
Iris frowned, "That does not mean you'll disrespect others in the group. Me or Katara."
"I'll do whatever I want."
That did it. That made her snap.
"Don't you always do that? Whatever you like? Isn't that why ran away from home without telling your parents and lied to us all that your father gave you permission to do it? You need us as much as we need you."
And the moment she saw Toph's expression, she realized her mistake.
"Top-"
"You lied to us?" Aang asked
"She's lying!" Toph quickly responded, "I told you my father gave me permission."
"Toph, Iris doesn't lie about stuff like that." Sokka softly added
Realizing that she was backed into a corner, Toph turned around and sat down on the ground, back facing them all, and made another stone tent around herself. And then a slab of earth shot up to cover the opening towards them.
Iris sighed. She shouldn't have said that.
"I guess that's enough drama for tonight. Let's go to sleep."
Iris woke up in the morning to a disturbance around the perimeter shields she placed. She got up.
Dawn was about to break.
"Katara, hey!" she shook the girl, who woke up after a couple of seconds
"We need to move."
Katara nodded, yawning and stretching. She got up and straightened her clothes.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be back in a few. Make sure boys are ready."
She started walking towards the source.
It was Toph. with her rucksack tied to her body. And she was throwing rocks at the barrier but it wouldn't budge.
"You can't break it."
"Yeah, I can't tell," she grunted back and paused, "What is this? I couldn't see it."
"That is a shield for protection so those Fire Nation people won't be able to disturb us."
Toph grunted and proceeded to throw a rock but Iris stopped it before it could hit the shield. It surprised her that the shield now had minor scratches. She had no idea how long Toph had been at it, but she was resilient alright.
"Did you just earthbend?"
Iris blinked, a bit startled, and dropped the rock.
"What? No. No. I don't earthbend."
"But you just did."
"Well, in that way, I can bend water, fire, and air. But I'm not the second Avatar or something. I'm just something else."
Toph looked in her direction, "Whatever. How do I get out of here?"
Iris took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I was irritated, frustrated, no sleep was getting to me and I lashed out. That is not a valid excuse. But I'm sorry."
"Yeah it doesn't matter now." she snorted
"Yeah, I can tell." she exhaled, "I also didn't say the entire rich girl thing. I did say you were a rich girl and had no experience in the wild. Don't be mad at Katara. She can be mean sometimes but she's doesn't mean ill."
Toph didn't say anything for a while and Iris surely thought that the little earthbender was gonna chuck a rock at her. But then she softly spoke.
"You have no idea what it is like."
"Maybe. But Toph, we all, here have family issues. Each and every one of us. Lashing out doesn't work. Talking does." Iris pressed her lips, "Aang and I don't have parents. Katara and Sokka's dad left to fight the war. More or less, we all just have each other. We care about each other like a family. Those three, they are like my little siblings. And I sincerely wanted you to be part of us. Our group. Eventually, our family as well."
Toph looked towards the barrier and then back at her, "I need some time to think."
Iris got the message: I need a break.
She nodded, "Alright. But, be safe out there."
Toph nodded. Iris looked up at Neva perched nearby and gave her a jerk of the head and look. Follow Toph and keep her safe. Neva nodded back.
Iris then lifted the barrier.
"Barrier's up. Can I expect you to be back?"
Toph stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at her.
"I'm very sorry about last night," Iris repeated
Toph just turned ahead and started walking.
"Great going Potter," Iris smacked the side of her head, "you managed to piss off a 12-year-old. Kid's not gonna like it."
When she made her way back to the camp, the boys were up and ready and they were all packed.
"Where were you?" Sokka asked
"Where's Toph?" Aang asked
Iris took a breath, "Toph needs some breather after what happened last night."
"You let her go?" Aang demanded
"I had to. Keeping her when she didn't wish to stay would have been counterproductive."
"But-B-But..."
"She'd be back. I know."
"You think she'd alright all by herself out there?" Katara asked worriedly
"Neva's following her. She'd take care of Toph."
"They vanished," Ty Lee noted
Azula got up from her crouched position and looked ahead. No matter how much she hated it, she had to admit they were smart. One of them had to have figured out that their flying beast was leaving a trail and so they made sure there weren't any more for them to follow.
"Now what?" Mai asked
Azula didn't know. And she hated not knowing.
Iris had found a small town on the map they had. They figured they could spend the night in the town, get some decent food and sleep and then move on the next morning.
And the town wasn't far from their current campsite, so Neva would also have a lesser issue of finding her.
"Isn't the town a bit ghosted?" Sokka asked as they landed
Iris got off and then pulled the map.
"that's not what the map says," she muttered, spreading the map on the ground.
"the map doesn't even mention that this town is in a desert-like region," Aang noted as he crouched next to her to read the map.
Iris nodded and then looked at Sokka, "Map was your job."
"How was I supposed to know?!"
"Did you even check the date it was made on?" Katara folded her arms
Sokka thought for a minute and then deflated, "No."
Iris flipped the map and checked the date.
"Uh...I'm gonna sound super stupid but what year is it?" she asked. She had never really bothered with the date of the current world once she had discovered that it didn't have the same dating system as hers.
"It's 100 AG," Katara answered
She had no idea what AG meant but she'd think about it later.
"Well the map was drawn in 92AG, so it is well out of date. No wonder necessary changes weren't made." she took a deep breath and stood up, "Spread out. See if you can find someone."
Iris checked the town's southern part. The houses were deserted. Nothing was in them. Not even insects or vermins.
"what the actual fuck happened here?" she muttered. The town was the definition of a ghost town. She met others at the town square where Appa was.
"Not a soul,"
"Nothing."
"Uh-huh"
Iris exhaled, "Yeah, me neither." she pressed her lips.
"We could go further west. Travel our original path." Sokka suggested
"No. We won't be doing that. We won't move far until Neva or Neva and Toph return." She looked around and exhaled, "Okay. We stay the night here. Let's pick a house and get some sleep. We'll have a roof tonight. That's some good news. Tomorrow, I'll go look for Toph and Neva first thing in the morning, and then we'll leave. Thoughts?"
"Are you gonna go alone?" Aang asked
"Look, princess bitch found us once. I'm not risking her finding you again. Not even a little. So yeah, you three stay behind and I'll go for them."
Suddenly there was a grumble and everyone looked at Sokka.
"What?" he asked, embarrassed and face red, "I didn't have breakfast. Can we have lunch?"
Iris nodded.
Iris had placed the charms once again. This time, a smaller radius. they found a nice big house with a still-functioning kitchen and decided to cook lunch and spend the rest of the day recharging and preparing.
After lunch, Aang, Katara, and Sokka chose to take a nap to cover for the lack of the previous night's sleep. Iris chose to keep watch.
Looking around she spotted a ladder. She walked to it and then checked its sturdiness. Looked good. So she started climbing. The ladder led to the roof of the house, which was big and flat. She walked around and hopped up on the ledge, legs dangling. she exhaled. The view was decent. A bit deserty for her taste but with the setting sun, it did look nice.
She was really worried about Toph. She should not have said what she did.
She groaned and buried her face in her hands.
Merlin! What was wrong with her? She was the oldest. She was supposed to act as the most mature person and not a reckless idiot with no brain to mouth filter.
After all, she knew Toph. she had an idea how Toph would be reacting. Yet she reacted the way she knew she shouldn't.
She could only hope that Toph was fine and Neva was keeping an eye on her.
She sighed and laid down on the ledge and propped one leg on top.
She closed her eyes and she was about to drift to sleep when one of her warning spells rang.
"What the-"
Note to self. Keep the volume and vibration a little lower next time onwards.
She looked ahead and her eyes widened.
"Holy fucking shit!"
It was Azula. Making her way towards the town. Wait. Was she all by herself?
Didn't matter. She wasn't going to take the chance.
She grunted quickly climbing down the ladder and woke the kids up.
"Wha-What happened?" Aang asked
"Azula found us." she rushed
"Azula?" Sokka asked
"Zuko's sister. Fire Nation Princess. Do you remember anything?"
Sokka's eyes widened in another second and he quickly scampered to help her clean up.
"How did she find us?" Katara asked
"This is the only town in the 50km radius. Wouldn't be too hard to deduce." she muttered, "Questions later. Work faster."
By the time they cleaned up and walked out, ready to leave, Azula was there on her giant lizard.
The lizard took a few steps ahead and then she dismounted.
The quartet exchanged a look and Iris gave Aang a small nod.
He stepped up, "Alright, you've caught up with me. Now who are you and what do you want?"
Play dumb and get underestimated. Iris had always liked that tactic and hadn't wasted time in teaching kids the same.
"You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." she flexed her face and said in a different voice, "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor."
They weren't amused. It was a terrible impersonation too, by the way.
"It's okay. You can laugh. It's funny." Azula deadpanned with a smirk
"Zuko's sister?" Iris asked, stepping forward
"Princess Azula," she growled back. Okay, so there was definitely some bad blood in the family.
"So what now?" Aang asked
"Now... Now it's over. You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you." she smirked
Iris looked at Aang who frowned and she tilted her head. And then they looked back at Azula.
"I'm not running," Aang said
"None of us are," Iris added
"Here is your tea. You seem a little too young to be traveling alone."
Toph smiled, taking the tea from the old man. He seemed nice. And he had a funny laugh.
"You seem a little too old."
The man laughed, "Perhaps I am."
Toph smiled and then sighed, "I know what you're thinking. I look like I can't handle being by myself."
"I wasn't thinking that."
"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea."
"I poured your tea because I wanted to and for no other reason."
"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me. But I can take care of myself by myself."
"You sound like my nephew. Always thinking you need to do things on your own without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you. Not that I love you; I just met you."
Toph laughed at that. He was funny. "So, where is your nephew?"
"I've been tracking him, actually."
"Is he lost?"
"Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed and he's going through very difficult times. He is trying to figure out who he is and he went away."
"So... now you're following him."
"I know he doesn't want me around right now, but, if he needs me, I'll be there."
"Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it." she smiled and stood up, "Thank you."
"My pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."
"No, thank you for what you said. It helped me."
"I'm glad."
She picked her bag and began to leave, but turned back briefly, "Oh, and about your nephew? Maybe you should tell him that you need him too."
She kept on walking and then stopped. She couldn't feel others anymore.
"Where are they?" she asked herself.
she must have stood there for about five minutes before she heard a trill. And that trill was quite familiar. What was her name?
"Neva?" she asked softly
And she heard the trill again, this time closer than before.
"Did Iris tell you to follow me?"
Another trill. Of course, she didn't trust her. but she can discuss that with her later.
"Do you know where they are?"
Another trill.
"Alright. Lead me."
"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked
"We are not going dow-" Iris began
Suddenly there was a burst of flame from a nearby alley and Zuko tumbled off his ride.
"Yes," he stood up and threw away his straw hat, "I really do."
"Zuko?" Iris asked, a bit confused. It was Zuko, he had the scar. but his ponytail was gone. Okay. Someone just had a makeover.
"Zuko!" Aang exclaimed
"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu."
"Zuzu?" Aang giggled but Iris jabbed him with her elbow.
Zuko assumed his firebending stand and faced Azula.
"Alright, listen up." She shifted a little towards the siblings who were behind them, "We got some time to get everything ready. We don't know when we might need to leave."
Sokka and Katara nodded and quickly began packing everything on top of Appa.
"Back off, Azula! They're mine!"
"I'm not going anywhere."
She assumed a firebending stance in return.
"Kid," she prompted and the two got ready as well. Aang took his stance and she pulled out her fans, flared.
And the hell broke loose at once.
Azula launched a blast of blue fire at Zuko, who blocked with a wall of his own fire. Though he blocked the blast, it did knock him to the ground with a crash. She then shifted her attention towards the two and she shot a wave of blue fire.
Iris conjured an energy shield that absorbed the attack and she sent it back with a little energy from her side in the form of a fireball.
That fireball did take Azula a little by surprise but she was quick to get her composure. Aang quickly followed by a strong gust of wind and that did affect her.
She again attacked them and the duo dodged. She slid across the ground and looked at Aang. Her look was clear.
Aang nodded.
She broke into a dash towards Azula. she was surprised to see a fireball heading for her perispherically before a gust of wind deflated it and she ducked just to be sure.
Azula smirked and prepared her blue fire but Iris was ready. She ducked and dodged. It was hard for her to get close to Azula, who was good at hand-to-hand combat as well, but she did manage it eventually and in the next second, Azula dropped to the ground like a rag doll.
She then looked towards the boys and when she saw Zuko about to attack, she made a fire rope and lassoed it around his wrist, which caught his attention.
"Don't think about it." She said and pulled, as he fell on his arse.
She dissipated the rope and made her way to him. Aang stood with his staff ready.
"Good to see you." She deadpanned, looking down at him, "But I'd rather you not attack us."
"I need to-"
"Capture us to save your honor, yes, we heard. From her, actually." she jabbed her thumb towards Azula's form. "Though, I didn't think there was a way after you got disowned."
Zuko's eyes widened at her, "Who told you?"
"Nobody. Figured it myself." she chuckled humorlessly, "Lack of ponytail. I know what that means."
Again, thank you Duova for the history lessons.
"Look out!" Aang tackled her to the ground. At first, Iris couldn't figure out what, but then she saw a streak of blue fire.
"What the fuck?" she tilted her head up and saw Azula, still mostly limp but struggling to get up. Okay. Bad news. Terrible News. She was so used to using mild hexes on Zuko and others that she never really thought that her mild hexes may be mild for someone other than just her.
"How is she doing that?" Aang asked
"I'd love to know, too." she replied, "I'd also love to get out of here. Kid."
Aang quickly stood up and she followed.
However Azula was doing it, it just proved one thing. She was stronger than Iris had anticipated. Even Zuko could only twitch a muscle or two when that spell was placed but Azula was not only quite squirming to get back, but she was able to bend.
Azula struggled a lot. And Iris had to give props to her stubbornness.
She snarled, gritting her teeth, and loosely moved her arm, firing a blue blast at them. Aang dodged and jumped on top of a building. Iris jumped to the side and Zuko jumped to the other side.
And then there was a water whip grabbing her by the hand poised to strike and slamming it and by extension her entire torso on the ground.
"Good one." she smiled and got up
But Azula was still persistent and tried to attack with her other loosely limp arm, for which Iris made a shield in front of the water bender. It wasn't even as strong as her first attack. She was weak, good.
Iris made her way to Azula, easily deflecting all the blows with her fans. And then she crouched in front of her.
"Listen here, kid. We are done here. If you wanna keep fighting like this, go ahead. but I know how painful it is for you. I'd suggest you just lay down and sleep it out. So, we are gonna leave. And unless your cavalry knows your whereabouts, I'd suggest you stay clear of scorpions. I've seen a few myself here."
She got up and started walking towards the group.
There was a loud trill and everyone looked up to see Neva. Iris extended her arm and she perched down there.
"Everything alright? Where's Toph?"
Neva pointed towards a direction with her wing and there she was, coming towards them.
"Hey, guys. What did I miss?" Toph asked with a grin.
"Not much." Iris shrugged, "By the way, that's Azula. Tried to get her hands on me and Aang."
Toph looked in her direction, as she still continued to struggle to get her torso above ground.
"She doesn't look like much."
Iris shrugged
"Toph, I'm sorry about last night." Katara started
"Me too. Though I've said it like hundred times now."
"Uh...guys?"
They all looked at Sokka and then where he was looking.
Iris was having a hard time believing it. Azula had somehow managed to get her torso off the ground. Her legs were still limp.
Suddenly Azula is pushed to the ground and rolled along.
The group looked at Toph.
"I wanted in."
Iris chuckled
"Thanks." Katara smiled
Iris ran a hand through her braided hair and Merlin, was it a mess now.
And that was the end of their fun time as a streak of blue was shot towards them and they scattered.
"Seriously? How is she doing this?" Sokka demanded, taking out his machete.
Iris looked at Azula. She was literally at the epitome of fight or flight mode. She kept looking around her, assessing her surroundings and opponents. Her whole lower body and shoulders were still limp but she could vaguely use her arms.
Her eyes constantly shifted. Iris followed her gaze. Between the members of her group, Azula's eyes also darted towards Zuko and Iroh. When did Iroh get here?
A small thud made her look back towards Azula. She slowly kept a foot straight and tried to stand up. Stumbled a lot.
If it wasn't a serious situation, it would have been funny. but that just made her realize that Azula was not one to be underestimated.
A dreading feeling pooled in her gut.
"On my mark," she muttered softly and everyone around her heard. They all took stances should something happen. Because they were not running.
But instead of attacking them, Azula's eyes stayed on her brother and uncle.
Wierd.
But Iris also had a feeling that Azula was also keeping them accounted for.
Iris looked at the former Fire Nation Royalties.
Iroh looked at her and there was a look of recognition on his face. He knew about her. He knew what she was.
And the next moment, Iris perispherically a stroke of blue and before she, or anyone, could move a muscle, it hit Iroh square in the chest.
That broke everyone stressed posture and they all attacked Azula at once, who somehow managed to a weak shield and caused an explosion. By the time the dust settled Azula was gone.
Iris knew she couldn't have gone far. her body would still be reeling from the effects of the spell. It'd probably take her another 12 hours, she hoped, to get back to normal. But she also knew better than to go look for trouble.
Nearby, Zuko kneeled in despair beside his uncle, who laid still on the ground where he fell. Iroh groaned softly as Zuko clenched his fist and teeth in anger.
The group shared a look and slowly approached him. Zuko over his shoulder at them
"Get away from us!"
"Zuko, I can help!" Katara offered
Zuko suddenly turned and unleashed a wave of fire over their heads. It never hit them but they all knew it was a warning shot.
"Leave!" he barked
the five shared a look.
"Come on." Iris ushered them towards Appa. The kids got on followed by Iris. And then Appa took off.
They found a nice place to camp for the rest of the night but Iris kept having a nagging feeling. She sighed and then stood up. Her people-saving skills would be her death someday.
"You kids get everything done. I'll be back in a while."
They nodded. She turned and walked a little further before she apparated.
It wasn't that hard to find the two firebenders in that ghost town. coincidently, they had taken shelter in the same house they previously had.
She softly made her way there and stood at the doorway. It looked like Zuko was making tea while Iroh was unconscious. But, boy, was he fucking such a simple thing up. Her inner Brit was having a meltdown at the way he was making tea.
"You do realize you are not brewing tea but ruining it, right?" she asked
Zuko whipped around to look at her and looked ready to fight.
"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to help,"
"I don't need your help."
"Uh...yeah, you do." she stepped in, "That thing you were brewing is not tea. And while I do not doubt your capabilities of taking care of your uncle, I just want to help."
Zuko looked at Iroh, who was unconscious, and then relaxed a little.
"Alright." he nodded but didn't drop his guard.
She softly smiled and entered and sat in front of the makeshift stove and started making tea.
Zuko just stayed behind while she did it. Didn't interrupt. Didn't say a word. Just stood there, watching her.
Once it was done, she removed the pot from the flame and kept it down, covering it with another plate.
"Before giving it to him, do reheat it. it won't taste as good as fresh, but compared to your tea making...uh...skills, I'd say Iroh would appreciate this."
He frowned at her taunt.
"Don't boil it. Just heat it enough that you could tolerate putting your hand in it without burning yourself."
She looked at him and saw him frowning and rolled her eyes. "Who am I kidding? You are a firebender. You are more than used to tolerating extreme temperatures" she muttered, but it was loud enough for him to hear.
"Okay. When you put it over the flame and then see bubbles forming at the base of the pot, that's when it is enough. You take it off and serve. Do you understand?"
Zuko took a breath and nodded.
"Alright." she reached for Iroh.
"What are you doing?" Zuko grabbed her arm
Iris glared at him, "He took a lightning bolt to the chest. What do you think I'm doing? I'm healing him."
Zuko glared back at her, and then after a few seconds, let go. she reached for Iroh's chest and did some healing spells to minimize damage. Iris had a suspicion that his age might cause worse damages after that attack.
"Your sister's a bitch. Just saying." she muttered
She didn't expect any reply from him
"Yeah, I know."
That surprised her a little.
She healed quite some of it. Enough that he'd be able to heal all by himself after this.
"There. I worked on the worst damages. He'd be fine after this." she sat back and then stood up. "When he wakes up, tell Iroh that we are even."
"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked
"He knows." she looked at him, turned around, and started walking out. She didn't spare him another look. Once she was quite far, she apparated back to the campsite.
Here's the update.
Hope you like it. And if time permits, I'll try to post an Iris fanart for this fic. Unfortunately, I can only put it in the small box near the title. If interested in the full image, you could check our AO3 account.
You know the drill.
Ciao