27 - Flower Language

Sometimes being Ambassadors brought them into the path of strange people. Katara, particularly, as a close friend of Earth Queen Suki, was occasionally asked to fulfil duties that weren't in her official purview. In this case, that meant entertaining the scion of the Beifong family, a woman named Toph who seemed to be in Ba Sing Se against her will and persisted in complaining about every single activity Katara planned for her. Some of this was understandable. No one had bothered to tell Katara that Toph Beifong was blind, so the trip to the Ba Sing Se National Gallery was limited to the rather small statuary wing. She complained loudly all through the first act of the opera Katara tried to take her to, and they left at intermission, each fuming. None of the other activities suited her, even ones that Katara came up with while taking her blindness into account.

"It's like she wants to have a lousy time!" Katara ranted to Zuko one night in the middle of Toph's week-long stay. "I'm doing everything I can to come up with fun things, and she just shoots them all down, one after another! Is it me she hates?"

"I haven't spent as much time with her as you, obviously, but she seems very… young? Maybe this is her first time being away from home. She could just be flexing some independence."

"Well, she's being a regular brat about it!"

Zuko came up behind where she sat brushing her hair rather aggressively by her vanity table. "I'm sure you'll work something out with her. You're good at that sort of thing." He planted a kiss on top of her head.

Katara grumbled, but deep down she was flattered and pleased, and met the next day's engagements with Toph with more optimism than she otherwise would have.

Their tour of Ba Sing Se University did not meet with Toph's approval. She was already in a mood because getting there required riding in a carriage—she seemed to hate anything that took her off the ground for any amount of time—and the twittering docent who showed them around was so obsequious that even Katara became aggravated. So they were both short-tempered when they climbed back into the carriage. The first part of the ride was spent in frosty silence, until the open windows permitted the smell of the nearby market.

"What's that?" Toph asked, sitting up from her slouch.

"What? The smell?"

"No, that thing I can totally see. Yes, the smell!"

"It's the market," Katara said stiffly, not pointing out that Toph could have heard something she hadn't. Then, with deep reluctance, "Would you like to stop and walk around?"

Toph hesitated, clearly torn between temperamental aloofness and desire, but eventually nodded. The carriage stopped and they alighted, and Katara led Toph towards the entrance of the market. The fruit stalls were first, then the grilled meat (Katara always thought of Sokka and how the couple of times he had visited Ba Sing Se he practically bought these stalls bare), but Toph was not interested in either of these. She drew ahead of Katara, somehow navigating without sight, until they stood in the middle of the flower vendors. The scent was nearly overwhelming, and Katara discreetly covered her nose to ward off a headache, but Toph sucked deep breath after deep breath in through her nose, seeming to relish the experience. And as Katara watched the other woman smile and spin in slow circles, she saw that Zuko had been right: Toph was young. Still an adult, she should still know better than to behave the way she had been doing, but still. Her heart softened a little.

"You must have flowers in Gaoling, musn't you?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, but not like these. These smell like how people say fireworks look."

Caught badly off guard by the comparison, Katara stared, and slowly uncovered her nose and sniffed again. It was still a lot, but with the comparison of fireworks in her mind, it wasn't as bad.

"Would you like to buy some?" she asked. "You could have them in your room for the rest of your stay."

Toph turned her head to Katara, uncannily like she could see her. "Really?"

"Yes, of course."

"But… you don't seem to like me very much."

Katara flushed hot, all her manners humiliated to be so bluntly called out. But if Toph could say things so baldly, so could she. "Well, you have been a bit difficult so far."

Toph grinned. "I have, haven't I? I mean, if you mean it… yeah, I'd really like flowers for my room."

Katara smiled, and they went from stall to stall, buying a fat bouquet from each of the eager owners. Their carriage was packed with flowers when they were done and Katara did end up with a headache, but Toph was much easier to get along with by the end of the week.

A/N

I know basically nothing about flower language and didn't have time to look anything up, so this is what we got. :P

E.I. signing out