Hello and welcome to Chapter 13 of A Walk Through Fire! This one was actually a lot of fun to write because it's more conversation based, but it still has that precious plot that we all love. I hope y'all enjoy this and don't forget to Favorite, Follow and Review! See y'all next week!
I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender!
Aang and Ty Lee were walking towards the village. They were walking down the main road and were enjoying each other's company. There were beautiful flowers that lined the road. The ocean could be seen to their right with the mountains on their left. Birds could be heard flying overhead and could even be seen landing on trees and rocks.
"So," Aang spoke which broke the peaceful silence between him and Ty Lee. "How long have you known Azula?"
Ty Lee looked up at Aang with a puzzled look on her face. Why in the world would he want to know about that?
"Well, I've known her since we were, like, five," Ty Lee recalled. "We went to the same school in the Fire Nation. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I guess I figured that I know nothing about Azula other than her combat prowess and her personality," he reasoned. "I guess I want to learn more about her."
"Aww, that's cute!" Ty Lee said. "Maybe you should make her dinner! That way you can attempt to learn more about her!" She smiled. "And it would be super romantic!" she added slyly while elbowing Aang in the side.
He turned a deep shade of red which earned a giggle from the acrobat.
"Y-yeah, I guess it would."
"Aww, c'mon Aangy, it's just a dinner date! What's the big deal?" Oh, Agni, don't tell me he's never been on a date before.
Aang stopped walking. D-d-d-date?! I've never been on a date before! And worse, it's fucking Azula! He was starting to sweat and shake which only reassured Ty Lee's most recent thought.
"Aang," she said as she walked over to the poor Avatar. "Have you never dated anyone?"
He shook his head shyly which made her laugh.
"So Azula is your first crush?" Ty Lee asked.
He nodded his head which made Ty Lee coo. "This is adorable!"
"I mean, not really. She's, like, the third girl I've ever talked to who is near my age?" he asked himself which caused Ty Lee to do a double take.
"What do you mean she's the third girl your age you've ever talked to?!" Ty Lee exclaimed which made Aang laugh.
"I guess you wouldn't know how I was raised since the Fire Nation burned everything that had to do with the Air Nomads," he explained, walking down the road as he continued talking. "Since I was a male Air Nomad, I grew up in the Southern Air Temple which only housed male Air Nomads. When I found out that I was the Avatar, I was supposed to go to the Eastern Air Temple to continue my training. Then, some stuff happened and I landed in an iceberg for 104 years."
Aang finished telling his story to Ty Lee who listened intently. She had never thought that his life before the war could be so interesting.
"So, wait, you've never met another girl until you met the Water Tribe girl when she found you in the iceberg?" Ty Lee questioned. She wanted to figure out if she was the hottest girl he had ever met and she was determined to get that answer.
"Yep, that's correct," Aang answered. "I only know, like, five or six girls."
Ty Lee twisted her braid and blushed slightly. "Sooo, like, who's the prettiest girl you know?"
"Well, Azula, of course but you're a close second," Aang responded without thinking. A second later he covered his mouth and started blushing immediately. "I-I mean - um - no, Ty Lee, you're the hottest girl I've ever seen."
She smirked and stopped in front of him. She leaned forward and pushed up her chest, making her boobs appear larger than they already were and giving Aang a perfect view of her cleavage. "Aww, Aangy, I'm only the second hottest girl you've ever met? What makes Azula better than me?"
Internally, Aang was at a loss. Shit, what do I even say? I can't just say that she's hotter than Azula. That would be super rude. Then again, what am I even supposed to say? Have her boobs always been that big? No, I can't be looking at her like that!
"Well," he spoke slowly, trying to avert his eyes from the two hooters in front of him. "I think that you both are beautiful. Azula is just a different person from you, that's all."
"I know, Aangy, I'm just messing with you," Ty Lee giggled as she kissed him on the cheek. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better." She ran up ahead but didn't waste the opportunity to add extra sway to her hips.
"D-don't mention it," Aang stammered as he rubbed his cheek, causing him to blush even more.
Eventually, the pair reached the village. They both were stunned at how many people were there. There were stalls loaded with different goods, merchants calling out to people to try and buy something, kids playing in the streets, and even couples walking hand in hand through the town.
"So, why did you drag me out here in the first place?" Aang asked as he looked around at all the different things happening at one time.
"Well, I think that you should cook Azula dinner tonight," Ty Lee said as she led him towards a merchant who was selling meat. "It would be a nice gesture to her since you kept her awake for three days straight."
"Yeah, but why are we at the meat seller? Don't you know that I'm a vegetarian?" Aang reminded her as he looked at all the different kinds of meat with disgust. While he had eaten meat before, he tried to not make a habit of it.
"Yes, I know that you are a vegetarian, but Azula is not," Ty Lee said as she picked out a cut of meat and asked the merchant for two cuts of it. "She would love it if you cooked her favorite meal tonight."
The merchant agreed and handed her the meat. She then pulled out the amount of currency that she owed and paid the man.
"What would I even be cooking?" Aang asked as he looked at the two large cuts of meat, internally screaming.
"You will be making roasted Komodo Rhino with mixed seared vegetables and mashed potatoes. I expect that you know how to cook vegetables and make mashed potatoes right?" Ty Lee asked, stopping at another stall and purchasing some milk for the potatoes and then some vegetables.
"I mean, kind of," Aang said. He grabbed the foods that Ty Lee was buying and followed her throughout the market place. "I've never really had to cook before. Katara always cooked when we were traveling and Mai would cook when we were out in the middle of nowhere."
"So you're telling me that you can't cook?" Ty Lee shot Aang a raised eyebrow and smirked.
He nodded which made her laugh.
"I just told you that I've never had to before!" he exclaimed, causing some onlookers to glance at them.
"Well, lucky for you, I know how to cook so I'll be helping you every step of the way," she spoke with a smile on her face as she bought the last of the ingredients. "First, you need to get her some flowers or even a gift!"
"Why should I get her a gift?" Aang asked as he continued to follow his companion around while holding all the bags and foods. "Aren't I making her dinner?"
"Well, you are, but it's much more complicated than that," Ty Lee explained. "You are trying to woo her and make her fall in love with you." Even though she already has, she thought, smiling. "You should buy her some jewelry and get her some flowers," she continued aloud.
"Alright, and where am I going to do that?" Aang asked, looking around for a merchant that was selling jewelry.
"Ah, did someone say jewelry?"
Ty Lee smirked while Aang hung his head in shame. They both walked towards the stall where the voice was coming from. They entered a small jewelry store and found a young woman behind the counter. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and had short brown hair.
"Welcome to my shop," she said, greeting them with a warm smile. "My name is Jasmine. Is there something specific you are looking for?"
"Yes. It's my brother's anniversary and he couldn't find the perfect gift for her," Ty Lee lied to the merchant, who bought the story completely.
Wow, for someone who hates it when Azula lies, she sure can do it well, Aang thought as he glanced at Ty Lee who was looking at him to confirm her lie. "Y-yeah. She's really hard to buy for."
The merchant smiled and looked at the two in front of her. "Well, what kind of jewelry does she usually wear? I sell everything from necklaces to rings to earrings."
"I think that a pair of earrings would be good for her," Aang spoke which caught Ty Lee off guard a little. "She is constantly on the move and is a very active person."
"In that case, let me show you my collection of earrings that I have," Jasmine said as she went behind a curtain and pulled out a case full of expensive earrings. All of them had different jewels and diamonds on them and they all sparkled in the sunlight. "What are her favorite colors?"
"Well, she really likes red and black," Ty Lee responded while taking a closer look at what was in the case.
"Hm…" Jasmine examined the case and found a pair that she thought that the group would like. These earrings had two small garnet gems encased in black gold. "I think she would like these."
Ty Lee looked at the earring and gushed. "Oh, Agni, they look beautiful! Don't they, brother?" She glanced over at Aang.
Aang was speechless. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
"Yes, they are a pretty sight," the merchant agreed. "They are the most beautiful pieces in my collection." She took them out of the case and placed them on the table. "Are you interested in purchasing them?"
"Yes, I think that we will be buying them!" Ty Lee responded, smiling and taking out her money pouch and opening it. "How much will they cost?"
Jasmine smiled. She looked at Aang and Ty Lee and then back at the earrings. Well, they look young, but I could also scam the hell out of them. No, I'll be fair.
"I was thinking maybe 950 gold pieces? Does that sound good?"
Ty Lee looked at Aang. He had a look of horror on his face. She smiled and then pulled out an official looking paper that had Azula's signature on it. She handed it to the merchant and smirked. "Will this work? I don't normally carry that much gold on me for obvious reasons."
The merchant's eyes went wide and beads of sweat could be seen forming on her forehead. She kept glancing from the paper to Ty Lee and back. "Y-you're w-with the P-Princess?"
Ty Lee nodded her head and smiled. "Yup! I hope I can still buy the earrings."
"Why, of course! That's not a problem at all," she answered as she wrote down the code that was on the paper. She then gave the paper back and grabbed the pair of earrings. "Would you like me to wrap it for you?"
Aang, who was still shocked that Ty Lee was able to afford these earrings, simply nodded his head. How the fuck did she afford that? What was on that paper? Can I get one?
The merchant nodded her head in response, placed the earrings into a small white box, and tied a red ribbon around it. She handed it to Aang. "I hope your girlfriend likes them!" the merchant said cheerily.
Aang immediately started blushing and took the box from her. He placed it into his pocket, thanked her, and started walking out of the shop, waiting for Ty Lee to follow him.
"Well, that went well!" Ty Lee spoke as she jumped down the stairs and stood next to Aang. "I think Zula will really like them." She started skipping down the road.
"I…You can lie?" Aang asked.
"Of course I can lie!" Ty Lee replied simply. "I've been friends with Azula all my life. I'd like to say that I picked up a few things from her." She looked over her shoulder and frowned. "You don't like it when we lie, do you?"
Aang shook his head which made the acrobat frown.
"I'm sorry, I promise I won't lie without telling you first," Ty Lee said.
"Thanks," Aang said, smiling. "It just caught me off guard, that's all. Don't worry about it! I still trust you!" He gave her a reassuring smile and a side-arm hug. "I do want to know about the document that you handed her. What did it say?"
"Oh, that...since we are with Azula on foreign territory, she gave us all official Fire Nation documents saying that we could buy whatever we wanted even if we didn't have the money on us. Apparently, there's a code on the page and the merchant sends it to the Fire Nation Treasury and they send the amount owed back. " Ty Lee pulled out the paper and showed it to Aang.
He grabbed it, read it over, and frowned a little bit. He didn't approve of this method of buying goods and it showed. "I understand what it is. I don't think it's right. Does that person ever get paid for what we got?"
"I don't know. You'd have to ask Azula but please don't do that tonight." Ty Lee walked towards the exit of the village. "This is supposed to be romantic and bringing up something stupid like that would ruin the evening."
"Alright, I won't. I promise," Aang replied as he followed her out of the village and back towards the Stronghold.
The two walked down the road and back towards the military complex. It was late afternoon by the time they got back.
Ty Lee went with Aang to his room so that she could help him prepare the food. She closed the door and washed her hands.
"So, do you know what you're doing?" Aang asked as he placed all the ingredients that he was carrying onto the table and placed the earrings on the nightstand.
"Yes, I know how to cook," she replied as she brought out a large skillet and turned on the burner that was in the room. "Azula also knows how to cook, but she hates to do it. Maybe when you marry her she'll do it for you," she added, smirking as she saw the boy turn crimson once again. Man, it's so fun to make him embarrassed.
"M-marry?!" he exclaimed while throwing his hands up into the air. "We aren't even dating yet!"
"Oh well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there, won't we?" she said, giggling as she poured some oil into the skillet, causing it to sizzle.
"Alright, all you have to do is put the rhino into the skillet," she continued. "Then, you wait for it to cook." She placed the rhino into the skillet and smiled. "Next, you can start preparing the mashed potatoes and veggies!" She pulled up a stool and watched the skillet. She waited for the meat to get brown all over until she flipped it. She looked over at Aang who was cleaning the vegetables and chopping them. He had already cleaned, skinned, and cut the potatoes and was now working on the vegetables.
After a few minutes, Aang finished chopping the vegetables and added some oil to a large pan. Once that was ready, he added the vegetables into it and shook the pan so that all of them were soaked in the oil. He lightly seasoned them with salt and pepper that they had picked up. "Alright, the vegetables are almost done. What time is it?" he asked as he tossed the vegetables in the pan so that they could get cooked evenly.
"It's late afternoon or early evening. She should still be asleep," Ty Lee stated as she added some rosemary, thyme and garlic cloves to the skillet. She placed it into the oven and got up. "Alright, I can help you with the potatoes. The meat is going to be in there for a while." She walked over to where he was searing the vegetables.
It took a total of an hour for the dinner to be completely finished. Aang was sitting at the table taking a break while Ty Lee was doing handstands. He had set the table for two and even had a few candles spread around the room. While they were waiting, Aang went and found some fire lilies and placed them in a vase.
"Well,Aang," Ty Lee began as she ended her handstand and placed her hands onto her hips. "I think you did a good job!" She smiled at him. As long as Zula doesn't freak out, we should be fine. She started walking towards the door.
"Thank you! I couldn't have done it without you!" He grinned and got up from his chair. "Are you going to get Azula?"
"Yes, but before I leave I want you to come up with an excuse as to how you cooked the meat. You can't say that I made it for you." She held the door knob and looked back at him.
"I'll say that I had one of the past Avatars help me with it. Does that work?" He hated lying but the more he thought about it the more it made sense.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed, opening the door and leaving. Three seconds later she opened it again and poked her head in. "Go freshen up. You smell like fried food! Unless you want your crush to think you like smelling like oil and smoke." She smirked as Aang blushed.
"Alright, I'll go take a bath and wash my clothes, but make sure she's delayed!" he shouted as Ty Lee closed the door to his room. He sighed to himself and walked into the bath.
"This is going to be an interesting night."
"Girls, we gotta do something other than sit here!" Suki yelled as she was sitting and trying to read a book. "I'm just reading the same sentence over and over again."
"Yeah," Toph spoke from on top of a boulder. "While I hate to admit it, Fan Girl is right. We gotta do something."
"We have one more day of guaranteed vacation and we can't figure out what to do with it," Suki said as she sighed and threw her book. "Is there, like, a town we can go to? Or some kind of day adventure?"
"Well, we can always visit the Abbey," Katara suggested. She was perfectly content with sitting on the ground and sewing all day, but she didn't want to continue to hear her friends complain. "If my memory serves me, it's only a few hours northeast of here."
"What is it?" Suki questioned. She had never heard of anything called an 'Abbey' before.
"Who cares?" Toph said. "It's something that we can do that doesn't involve the cripples!" She jumped down from her boulder and walked over to the girls.
"Alright, so we're going to the Abbey?" Katara asked as she stood up from sitting on the ground.
"I guess we are," Suki responded as she walked over to Katara and Toph, placing her book onto the ground. "Should we tell Sokka?"
"Nah," Toph said, grinning. "He'll be fine."
"Plus, it's not like we're gonna be gone all day," Katara added, walking over to Appa and starting to prepare him for a flight. "Alright, hop on!"
Suki and Toph climbed into the saddle and sat down while Katara fed Appa some berries. She then jumped onto his head and pulled the resin.
"Yip-Yip!" she called.
Appa launched into the air at such a speed, it caused the three girls to yell. Usually, Appa was gentle when lifting off and setting down, but today was one of those exceptions. They soon, however, stabilized in the air and were heading towards the direction of the Abbey.
"Hey, Toph," Suki whispered into the Earthbender's ear. "You notice anything going on between Katara and Zuko?"
"Of course I have!" Toph said. "Hell, I was the one that caught him sneaking out to buy that ring on her finger."
"Seriously? He had to sneak out of the camp in order to get a ring?" Suki spoke in a curious tone. Never would she have imagined that Prince Zuko would be embarrassed to get something for someone.
"Oh yeah, it was, like, last week," Toph explained. "He and Sokka were going to get food since Zuko accidentally burned it all while Firebending. While they were in the village, they were stopped by a merchant who convinced them to buy stuff for their girlfriends. Sokka bought you that necklace and Zuko snuck out of camp and decided to get the ring in the middle of the night." Looking back at how dumb the situation was caused her to smirk.
"They both like each other, don't they?" Suki asked. She got confirmation when Toph facepalmed.
"I don't get why people can't just be upfront about their feelings!"
"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Ms. Punchy!"
"Hey, at least I use these fists to do something other than get kidnapped."
"Heh! Well, at least I know how to share affection with other people!"
"Well, at least I-"
"WILL YOU BOTH PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP?!"
Both Toph and Suki instantly went quiet and turned their attention to Katara who was facing them. She had been trying to steer Appa in the correct direction but all she was hearing was arguing.
"I WILL turn this bison around and we won't be going anywhere!" she threatened. "Now, will you both please SHUT UP?!"
"Yes, mom!" Toph spoke in a mocking tone, causing the water around her to start swirling.
"You want to run that by me again?"
Sensing that she shouldn't push her luck anymore, Toph relented. "Fine, we won't argue."
"Good. Now, we will be there in a few hours, so sit back and be quiet." Katara turned back around.
"How does Zuko like her?" Toph mumbled which caused Suki to giggle.
After a few hours, Katara announced that they would be landing. Suki looked over the side of the saddle and pointed to what looked like a clump of buildings with a plaza in the center.
"Is that it?" she asked with a hint of concern in her voice. "It's just a few buildings and a city center."
"Well, when Aang, Sokka, and I visited, it looked a lot more lively," Katara said, pulling on the reins, making Appa land in an open field near the Abbey.
They all got out and started walking when they came across a tree that had scorch marks on it. Katara went up to the tree and examined it closer.
"Fire Nation troops were here," she said in a hushed tone while she felt the marks on the tree. "Toph, is there anyone nearby?"
Toph shook her head. "No one that will pose a threat. Everyone else is either in the village, or next to me."
"We should ask the villagers what happened and see if they are okay," Suki stated with authority and poise. The girls nodded and took off towards the village.
Once they reached it, they saw that there was evidence that a battle took place. Buildings were burned and the air was thick with smoke and ash. Suki ran into a building trying to see if there was anyone there.
"Save it, Fan Girl," Toph said, which earned a glare from Suki. "They are all in there." Toph pointed to a large stone building with a wooden door. "They are gathering in some kind of hall."
"Let's go see who's in charge here and if there is any way we can help," Katara said which made the others nod their heads. They ran towards the building but were stopped when two guards came into view.
"Halt! State your business," one of the guards spoke.
"We saw that there was an attack on the Abbey and came to help in any way we could," Suki explained which made the guards look at each other and start laughing.
"Oh yeah, and what are three helpless little girls going to do to help us?" The second guard asked through fits of laughter.
Suddenly, two large rocks were summoned from the earth and were in front of each of the guard's faces. "You sure you want to call us helpless?" Toph threatened through gritted teeth.
The guards stopped laughing and started sweating. "Um, yeah, sure, you can help," one of them sputtered.
"Yup, you can definitely help us out!" the other croaked.
"I'm glad we got that cleared up," Katara said as she shoved the guards out of the way and entered the building.
There were around forty people inside, all either in beds, talking to someone who was in a bed, or caring for someone in a bed. People were injured, children were crying, and the room looked to be on the verge of chaos.
"Who's in charge here?" Suki asked, but got no response due to the amount of noise that was in the room.
"Hello?! We asked who's in charge here!" Katara yelled but still didn't get a response.
"HEY, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Toph screamed, which got everyone in the room to go silent. "Thank you!"
"Who is in charge here?" Suki asked again.
"That would be me. And who are you lot?"
A large man spoke from the very back of the room. He had a long gray beard and a large scar running down his face. He wore dark brown robes.
"I am Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. I am here with Suki, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, and Toph Befong. We are here to help in any way that we can."
"Oh, really? And what can you three girls do for us?" the man replied with a smirk.
"Listen here, asshole," Toph started. "We've fought against Princess Azula and her gaggle of friends. If you don't want our help, then we won't give it to you!" She was getting annoyed at everyone's poor attitude.
"No, no, please help us!" a woman cried. "Don't mind Oakaford, he means no harm."
"Well, he needs to show us some respect!" Toph shouted.
"Look, we mean you no harm," Suki stated. "We want to help you and your people in the best way possible, but we can't do that if you don't let us."
"We don't need your help, we have all of this under control!" Oakaford snarled.
"Fine! We'll leave this shitty ass town! Happy trails," Toph said as she started walking towards the door with Suki and Katara hot on her heels.
"Please, Lord Oakaford, you're making a mistake! We need those girls to help us!" the women cried out again. "We need them to help us. Our village is in shambles. We need any assistance!"
"I said no, and that is final!" Oakaford boomed.
The woman looked up at Oakaford and then ran after the girls. She was trying to catch up with them to beg for their help. When she finally found them examining the damage, she stopped and dropped to her knees.
"Please! You have to help us," she begged. "Those men did terrible things to our village!"
"Can you explain to us what happened?" Katara asked as she knelt down to the woman and tried to comfort her.
"They came early this morning. There were about thirty of them dressed in red and black robes. They all had on weird masks that covered their faces. They were fire benders, but not like the normal soldiers. These felt different somehow."
"What was so different about them?" Toph asked while looking at the ground, trying to see if there was any more close by.
"Besides their appearance, they were dead silent," the woman continued. "They were colder than normal soldiers and their leader was the only one that spoke. He said some sort of command and they followed it without question or pause." She spoke with fear in her voice as she recalled the details to the group.
"Why do you think they were here?" Katara asked while comforting the woman.
"Maybe to practice working as a group," Suki suggested. "Sometimes, I lead training exercises with the girls. Maybe this was just one of those training exercises," She started picking up pieces of a burnt house.
"Well, whoever they are, they left absolutely no trace of themselves other than destruction," Toph said while placing her hands on the ground. "There are no footprints anywhere for miles around except for our own.
"Do you have any idea of where they are headed?" Katara asked the woman.
She shook her head. "All I heard was something about a boat and Fire Nation. I'm sorry I can't be of more use," the lady cried as she hugged Katara.
"No, no, it's okay! You've been a great help," Katara reassured the woman, hugging her until she let go and stood up. "We need to get back to camp and tell Sokka what we've learned," she told the girls.
"Yeah, I think that's the best thing we could possibly do right now," Suki said as she and Toph started walking towards the exit.
"Thank you so much for your help," Katara told the woman as she got up from the ground and started walking towards her friends.
When they got back to camp they immediately went to go find Sokka. He was sitting in his tent reapplying his bandages on the almost-faded wound on his leg when the girls walked in.
"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked as he looked at the serious looks the girls were giving him. "Did something happen?"
"We have info on a group of special Fire Nation troops that are moving towards the Fire Nation," Suki explained. "They buried the Abbey in ash, left at least forty people injured, and multiple buildings burned to the ground."
Sokka's face lit up like fireworks. "Well, team, pack up!" he announced to the group in front of him.
The girls put on faces of confusion. "Why, what's happening?" Toph asked.
Sokka grinned. "We're going to the Fire Nation!"