Author's Note: A few weeks ago, I wrote a comment on Reddit explaining a (very much unconfirmed) idea I had about how Bumi might have become King of Omashu.
And then I thought, hey, you know what, this would make a good story! So here we are. This will be another quite short story like Suki's Mission.
The Fire Nation Palace, 15 AG
Firelord Sozin sat on his throne, the flames roaring in front of him, and watched as his generals filed into the room. Beside him, his son, Fire Prince Azulon, held his head up regally.
In unison, they all bowed to them and sat down, ready to continue the planning of the Firelord's great crusade.
"Is there any sighting of the Avatar?" Sozin asked immediately, wasting no time in getting to the point.
One of the men, Sozin's First Sea Lord, the man in charge of the navy, stood up and addressed him.
"We still have no sign of him," he replied. "Fire Navy ships have been hunting up and down the coastline of the Earth Kingdom for several months, and have found nothing."
Firelord Sozin's hand tightened into a fist, and his flames roared higher.
"That's not good enough!" He spat. "It's been fifteen years since he escaped us! Do you know how long he's had to train, to prepare! We need to get him before he becomes powerful enough to prevent our plans!"
The old man shook with fury, his mind bringing up memories of a day long before, the day the most treasured friendship Sozin had ever had ended.
Beside him, the Prince cleared his throat. Despite being just a teenager, Azulon was already proving himself a capable successor.
"How goes the war in the Earth Kingdom?" He asked.
Another General stood up and addressed them.
"The northern front remains static, Your Majesty. The Earthbenders' defensive line behind the River Beifang holds firm, and until we break it we cannot push towards Ba Sing Se. In the centre, we have taken most of the coastline closest to the Fire Nation, but partisan activity has been especially prevalent there. We are having extreme difficulty keeping our men supplied on expeditions inland."
Azulon leaned forward.
"And what about the southern front?"
The general glanced down at his map.
"We haven't sent more than cursory raids into the south," he admitted. "It's too far away and much of the terrain is inhospitable."
"What if you attacked in the south to outflank their defences?" Azulon followed up.
"Son!" Sozin warned. "I'm sure the general knows what he's doing."
"I don't doubt it, father," Azulon replied, "but I have an idea. At least let me propose it."
Sozin grunted his approval.
The boy stood up, and approached the map.
"So, the problem is the defensive line they have in the north," he mused, pointing to the river. "But even if we broke it, there is still treacherous terrain to deal with and a second river they could fortify behind between there and their capital."
He then pointed further south. "If we attacked in the south, however, maybe in conjunction with the navy, we could sweep up and around their defenses. We could have a shot at Ba Sing Se itself."
The general nodded. "A most audacious plan, Prince."
Sozin, meanwhile, nodded slowly to himself. The more he thought about this idea, the more he liked it.
"Yes... yes, I believe that this is an excellent plan," he said after a while. All assembled looked up at him.
"Should I convey a message to the war office to prepare an offensive in the south then?" Another general asked.
"Do it," Sozin replied.
"It won't just be an easy march to Ba Sing Se though," the first general interjected. "We won't be able to leave any Earth Kingdom fortresses in our rear, should they be able to cut off communications between the army and our high command."
"In that case," Azulon replied, "the first target should not be Ba Sing Se."
"The first objective of our offensive should be to capture the city of..."
He leaned down to be able to read the writing on the map.
"...Omashu."
Omashu
A tremendous crash reverberated through the streets of Omashu as a large Earthen box came rushing down one of the mail chutes, going far too fast for safety. The occupant of the box whooped as he came screaming round a bend, startling some Earthbender mail workers.
Their shouts echoed behind him as he took another bend, a huge smile plastered on his face. As he looked down, though, the smile slid away faster than the box he was in.
Below him, a section of the chute was missing.
Before he had a chance to bend his way out of the problem, the box hit the edge and was sent careening out into empty space, the occupant holding on for dear life. It crashed into the street below, scraping on for another few feet before finally sliding to a halt in the centre of the road.
Wild, unkempt hair emerged from within it, followed by piercing green eyes and a wild smile, and then a stocky body.
"Yes!" He cheered. "That was great!"
"Bumi?" A voice came from behind him. He turned to see a well-dressed man slightly younger than himself stepping out of a carriage. "I should have known this was you."
Bumi smiled at his brother. "Hello Chikyu. Fancy seeing you here!"
"You know I could say the same thing," his brother replied. "Father has warned us about this! Repeatedly! He said you can't go around inconveniencing the entire city every time you fancy a joyride!"
"It's not just a joyride!" Bumi protested, as he stepped out of the box and walked towards the carriage.
"And why are you dressed like that, anyway?" Chikyu pressed on. "We are nobility, remember! We are in line for the throne! We can't go around looking like, well, like that!"
Bumi stepped into the carriage, sat down and folded his arms as Chikyu followed him and they set off.
"Yeah, I'm about tenth in the line of succession," he replied. "That's far enough down that I'm never actually going to be King."
"Still!" Chikyu brushed that off.
"Despite what it looks like, I'm not doing this because it's fun," Bumi continued.
"Although it is fun," he whispered conspiratorially. "You should definitely try it."
Chikyu shook his head. "Not all of us can be crazy adrenaline junkies like you. Why are you doing it then?"
"I do it to remember Aang."
"Oh," Chikyu's eyes were filled with sudden understanding. "That airbender boy."
"Yes," Bumi agreed, his tone suddenly somber. "That airbender boy."
They said nothing for a few moments, and then Chikyu spoke up.
"I'll cover for you about this. I'll tell father you were with me all evening."
Bumi smiled at him.
"Thank you, but there's no way he'll believe you. An incident on the mail system and I wasn't home? The finger of blame points at me."
"Well yeah, because you do it so much."
"So what have you been getting up to all evening?" Bumi changed the subject.
Chikyu suddenly took an intense interest in the window.
"Oh, nothing much," he replied. "I just went to visit a friend."
Bumi sensed an opportunity for teasing to be had.
"Really? What kind of friend?"
"A good friend."
"A really good friend?"
Chikyu seemed annoyed now.
"As good a friend as you were with Aang."
Bumi chuckled. "Or more? Was this friend, by any chance, a woman?"
Chikyu whirled around in his seat.
"What? No! Of course not!"
"So that's a yes then."
His brother slumped in his seat.
"... it's a yes."
"Don't worry," Bumi put his hand on his shoulder. "Your secret is safe with me."
As they rounded the last corner before their home in the upper ring, Chikyu looked out of the window again and paled.
"I don't wish to alarm you, Bumi, but father is out there and he doesn't look happy!"
Sure enough, their father was standing outside the entrance to their courtyard, flanked by two servants and wearing a thunderous expression.
"Good luck talking your way out of this one," Chikyu muttered.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to," he replied.
The carriage pulled up, and Bumi steeled himself, before reaching for the door handle to accept the inevitable lecture.