AN: Happy New Year's to all!

Chapter 2: The Sister's Arrival

"Ah, I think the whole bout of exposure is gonna wind up being good for you, Aang!" Sokka said loudly, as he took another swig of his drink; it was of little doubt that it hadn't been spiked with some sake perhaps, judging by the way Jin was smiling almost shamefully every time Suki gave her an exasperated smile. "You went and pissed off to some remote temple and no one heard from you for almost a year before you showed up in time to quell that farmer rebellion towards the west."

He took another drink, raising his glass as he did.

"Props to you by the way. I was not looking forward to marching four companies of infantry into that town to impose martial law. People would definitely have…"

Trailing off, he drew a finger across his throat in a motion that was not difficult to interpret.

"You know."

Aang smiled in amusement at his old friend.

"Not a problem, Sokka. I'm sorry I was away as long as I was."

The Water Tribe warrior gave his hand a dismissive wave. "Don't worry about it, we all knew you were away on important Avatar business, spiritual this and peace of mind that. We would have been able to handle it."

He looked down at the table and gave his eyebrows a flick as he muttered somewhat absently, "Probably."

Beside him, Aang looked over as Katara spoke up as she gently ran fingers over his forearm which rested on the wooden table.

"Jin, when was the last time I saw you with your hair down?"

Jin, who had closed her usually densely populated shop for the day, widened her eyes and drew her hands somewhat involuntarily it looked like to run her fingers through her mane of brown hair, smiling sheepishly.

"If I'm honest, probably not since Sokka and Suki's wedding."

Katara made a face as she stopped stroking Aang's arm, clearly being knocked deep into thought as she tried to remember that particular day.

"But… you had your hair in a ponytail, right? With that pink dress?"

Her cheeks flushing slightly, Jin exchanged a grin with Suki and the Kyoshi warrior looked to Katara with a smirk.

"Katara clearly doesn't remember the afterparty."

Sokka slapped a hand on the table with a wide smile of his own, pointing almost accusingly at his sister.

"I know you only drink a lot on really special occasions… but with how you were that night, sis, it's no surprise to me in the slightest that you don't remember all the hijinks that Jin, Toph and Ty Lee were up to."

Suki elbowed him in the side and he winced. "You were just as in the thick of it, don't try and play it off like it was the three wild girls on their own."

Aang leaned back and smiled warmly as Sokka loudly began to denounce that he had been up to anything nearly as ridiculous as the three wild girls, a name that had fittingly been bestowed upon Ty Lee, Toph and Jin in respect to the rowdiness they could get up to when the three of them were left to their own devices, usually with the aid of alcohol, and Katara straightened where she sat, trying to interject that she hadn't been remotely as drunk as they were insinuating, even while Sokka, Suki and Jin seemed not to notice her indignation as they reminisced.

It wasn't any surprise to Aang that he was hit with a wave of affection for the people around him as memories were sparked of very happy moments in their lives that he hadn't thought to in quite some time. Regardless of what she said, Katara had indeed drank just about as much as anyone else that night and had passed out dancing rather suggestively in Aang's arms, something that was as unlike her as backing down from an argument. As he had carried her back to their tent to lay her down for the evening, he had caught at glance of Jin, Toph and Ty Lee, all in various forms of undress being escorted loudly from the premises by Sokka's security detail. Each of them had been boisterously shouting insults to the soldiers moving them from the reception while Sokka roared with laughter at the sight of them; at that point a few years back in his career, he had been well on his way to working his way through the ranks of the post-war United Nations Peacekeeping Command, a captain at that point and not at all removed from being a war hero. As such, though he and Suki had chosen to have their wedding on a relatively secluded beach, he had still been required to have an honor guard of sorts present, in order to provide him an appropriate level of protection. As though having two of the most prodigious firebenders in the Fire Nation, a earthbending genius in her own right, a waterbending master of a sister and the literal Avatar weren't enough for the UNPC head office. Suki had decided to try and make the requirement of the guard something of an affair of its own and had asked a number of her Kyoshi warriors to attend in full facepaint and uniform to somewhat match Sokka's guard and it had worked out quite well in terms of symmetry and appearance. When the ceremony itself had been performed, it had looked quite something, the group of armored soldiers to the left of Sokka and Suki's Kyoshi warriors standing to her right as they exchanged vows; it almost looked rather staged in its entirety, but hours later, after some exceptional alcohol consumption, the soldiers were doing what they had been placed there to do, keeping things clean and above board. And as it happened, that included extricating Jin, Toph and Ty Lee from the gathering.

How long has it been now… going on three years?

As if often happened, Aang found himself thinking back to what had been a time so long ago, though to him just then, it could have been yesterday. He saw younger versions of them all, sitting in Pao's teashop in the weeks following the advent of Sozin's Comet, relieved for a chance to just to get away from the chaos that had become their lives, wrapped up in politics and testimonies. At that point, it wouldn't have been long before everyone would start to go their separate ways, following in the steps of Azula, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee who had already left for home, but as Aang remembered sitting around the table with Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki and Jin, it didn't seem so far removed from the present.

Of course, though, it had been. Over a decade now, and even though many things remained the same, much had changed.

Sokka had sprouted impressively to stand the tallest of any of them with Zuko having been the only one to ever come close to matching his height and Aang imagined the both of them would be forced to stand back to back for another measurement during their upcoming time together. Katara's brother was lean, but his shoulders had widened and his muscles had steadily tightened and grown during the time he was serving in the military. For a long while, he and Suki had been forced to play things relatively remotely, only seeing each other in intervals, what with him serving different peacekeeping missions and Suki doing her work with the Kyoshi warriors, establishing training sites and working missions of her own. Aang remembered a conversation some years back with Jin and Toph in which they were all fretting over whether or not such a difficult relationship could last, but it hadn't been long after that when the engagement had been announced, and worry gave way to joy. Following their marriage, Sokka had been able to secure a relatively stable and consistent position working between Ba Sing Se and the Southern Water Tribe while Suki had moved into a reserve post as a military advisor for her branch of warriors working out of the capital of the Earth Nation. They were able to see one another much more, and seemed much happier for it.

He sat beside Suki now and they leaned into one another, touching shoulders, their affection for one another fully on display, despite the exasperated looks she kept sending his way. Her smile told Aang all he needed to know about how content he knew her to be.

Suki had grown similarly to how Katara had, nearly as tall as the man she had married, her hair still no longer than shoulder length with curves where a woman was likely to gain them, her muscled and lean frame a perfect match for her husband. She still was a fan of dressing in very plain and unremarkable clothing when she wasn't in her full Kyoshi uniform and makeup and next to Sokka, who still was wearing his officer's uniform, it made for a rather humorous dichotomy between them.

"Oh, please, Sokka."

Aang tuned into the frivolous argument in time to see Jin cracking a wide smile at Sokka. "Don't pretend like you weren't rolling at seeing us three dragged down the beach by those red-faced soldiers."

Shrugging, Sokka looked towards the ceiling somewhat thoughtfully, clearing reminiscing on the night.

"Honestly, I just was glad Toph didn't start blowing them away. Ever since she developed an affinity for drinking during social outings, I always have to cross my fingers that she doesn't go and start sending anyone who pisses her off flying with earthbending."

Jin's smile widened.

"Yeah, especially that night too, when she was really sure that Ty Lee was cheating while we were playing strip hackey. Though being blind, I never could figure why she even agreed to play."

Suki groaned and rubbed her face in her hands. "Ugh, and she was about to be topless before the guards finally came in and broke things up. You and her were both about to make a lot of faces red while Ty was beating you up and down the beach; strip hackey while all you had to take off were shoes, dress gloves and then your damn dresses."

Slapping her hands lightly on the counter and pulling them back in a surrendering expression, Jin giggled.

"Hey, I knew what I was getting into, it was Toph who was so totally indignant that she was losing for some reason. I think she thought that her super feely powers were gonna let her beat you guys really easily, but that didn't last too long."

Aang smiled at the memory, Toph blustering angrily, Jin getting ready to pull the shoulders from her dress while cackling, and Ty Lee effortlessly bouncing the hackey between her feet while laughing hard as well. Then, all three of their voices turning into angry shouting as they were removed from the premises, Toph raging that she hadn't been able to prove herself yet, Jin furious that no one had stripped naked yet and Ty Lee mad as all hell that she hadn't finished fully beating the other two women.

Aang found himself looking over at Jin as she laughed again at something Katara muttered, something about just looking to be an exhibitionist. Following the war's end, he had found himself and the others fairly worried for Jin's sake; the war had seemed to have rattled her significantly, the innocent aura she had exuded when they first had met disappearing after she had been pulled so suddenly into the midst of such chaos and carnage. Pao had assured them all that he would keep a close watch on her, as her parents had been relocated to Omashu during the Fire Nation occupation and it would take time to reunite her with them. Aang had been reluctant to leave her in the wake of everything that had happened, but had done so, his thoughts drifting to her often with worry.

He would later find that his fears weren't anything he need have bothered with. He would return to Ba Sing Se close to a year later, around the time that Azula gave birth to Soza. There, he found Jin working not just happily in the tea business, but in a shop of her own which she had been able to start with the help of Pao and Iroh. It seemed that she had both a natural flair for tea and business, and had thus been able to open her own shop at the low age of seventeen, her birthday occurring during Aang's visit. From there, the years had passed and she had been all too happy to stay in the city, hard at work and with a business that was growing quite the reputation. Her parents, after reuniting with her, returned to Omashu to pursue a business of their own, but being on her own hardly seemed to hinder Jin, rather it seemed to benefit her independent mindset and focus. And as he looked at her now, in her late twenties, she didn't look as though she had aged a bit, save for her growth in height, both upwards and as a woman; Aang would never have said it aloud, but Jin had grown into an exceptionally beautiful woman herself, a bright and cheerful face complimented by a mess of dark brown hair , dressed in her usual dark green robe that seemed to be the only thing she wore, casually anyway.

"I thought you were going to die of embarrassment," Jin was saying to Suki. "Us putting on a show like that, and in front of all your warriors no less? I bet you hated even having to admit that we were friends."

Suki sat back and waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, hardly. Me and those girls are as much friends as we are fellow soldiers, they knew what they were getting into when I asked them to attend in full uniform."

She leaned forward then, and pointed, clearly just having remembered something.

"Mai on the other hand… I thought she was going to strangle Ty Lee. Kind of like what I would have guessed Katara would have wanted to do with Toph if she hadn't passed out before things really got interesting."

Chuckling, Sokka drained the last of his drink, looking around enthusiastically for a refill. Jin, who was behind the counter, bottle in hand, turned to Suki and gave an apologetic shrug as Sokka's wife shook her head firmly.

"No more, please. I know he's just trying to get a head start on Mai and Toph before dinner tonight, and I really don't want—"

"Hey, Toph!" Sokka suddenly shouted, awarding himself a grimace and an annoyed look from his wife.

"Yes, that's the name of our friend, are you really so tipsy already that you've forgotten that; Jin what did you put in his—"

"No, Toph!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing this time.

Aang looked over along with everyone else to see that Sokka was indeed correct in pointing out and identifying. Toph had entered Jin's shop through one of the side doors and was walking their way; he had half pushed himself to his feet to greet her when a second person rounded the corner just behind Toph and he faltered in his movements.

Soza, daughter of Azula, was following in Toph's steps and just the sight of her was enough to keep Aang from even annunciating a greeting, so put off he was in seeing her.

I thought she was going to stay in the palace the whole time she was here. What is Toph thinking, bringing her out in the open like this?

Jin, it seemed, had no such problem and she rounded the counter with a broad smile on her face, arms outstretched.

"Toph! It's so good to see you again!"

In return, Toph gave her a smirk as she tapped the side of her head near her unseeing eyes in amusement. "Wish I could say the same."

The two of them wrapped their arms around one another, falling into a tight embrace. As they pulled apart, Jin continued holding Toph's forearms as she gave Soza a sideways glance.

"Hey, Soza."

She received no response and Jin stepped back from Toph, hands going to rest tiredly on her hips.

"Still not talking to me, huh?"

For the briefest moment, Soza flicked her piercing and gorgeous eyes up towards Jin, gave her an apathetic shrug and looked back forward, resolutely away from her. Though Jin's smile remained on her face, Aang could practically feel the hurt emanating from her as she stepped back; in another now, he would have very much liked to scold Soza for being so elitist towards Jin, but he said nothing of the sort for the same reason he knew Toph and Katara were keeping their mouths shut as well, as much as he knew how badly they wanted to do the same. Azula had instilled much in the girl, and her royal blood putting her well above the likes of someone like Jin was one of them.

"No problem. Well, come on in, you two, I'll get you both something to drink."

Soza seemed to ignore Jin's words and pushed past her, a smile on her face the moment Jin was behind her and her eyes landed on Suki. She walked over to a table of her own and sat down at it, kicking her feet onto its surface.

"Suki! I've been learning a lot since I last saw you!"

Judging by the somewhat strained look on Suki's face, she too was struggling to keep from reacting badly to how Jin was being treated, but Aang could practically see as the mental conclusion was reached that there would be no reprimanding of Soza, for fear of what could come of such a misstep. Instead, Suki seemed to swallow down her initial distaste for what had just happened and put on something of an encouraging smile towards the ten year old.

"Oh, have you? Enough that you think you'd stand a chance against me now?"

Nothing seemed quite to rile Soza up like competition and proving herself, and Aang saw that now as her eyes flashed with a hungry excitement. He knew that this was just the expression that resulted in how eager she was to step into a sparring match with Suki, but it was impossible for Aang not to see her mother's fire burning in those eyes, a much darker and psychotic light. It was an odd feeling, to be so anxious of a child, but he knew that he would never truly be comfortable being around her, a constant reminder of the princess and the danger she always seemed to pose.

"I might have a trick or two up my sleeve," Soza said with a sly smile, lifting her chin arrogantly into the air. "This time, I'm going to take you onto your back and you're gonna have to tell all your Kyoshi warriors that you got beat by a ten year old."

It could have been a self-deprecating joke had it been anyone other than Soza; Aang knew perfectly well that if anyone referred to her as nothing more than a ten year old, Soza would explode in a rage or even worse, take that disrespect to her mother and then who knew just what might happen from there.

Suki was long since wise to this act as was everyone else, and she only gave a polite nod to compliment her smile.

"We'll just see about that," she said safely and as Soza turned her attention to the juice that had been placed in front of her by Jin, something she hadn't acknowledged until the shop owner had moved well out of her immediate area, there was practically a palpable sense of relief that settled over the room and Aang turned back to the table as Toph joined them sitting at it, following her making rounds, greeting and hugging everyone there. It wasn't lost on him that Soza hadn't acknowledged anyone else there, and he knew well enough why; Soza had become very selective of who she chose to fraternize with and of the shop's current population, only Toph and Suki made that list. Aang wasn't aware of any bad blood she bore towards any of them, but he knew that based even just on who they were, Soza probably didn't hold any great love for Water Nation people, nor the Avatar as Aang was rather sure that Azula didn't exactly have flattering things to say about him after his involvement in organizing the reparations of the Fire Nation. There had been a time where Soza had been friendly with all of them around the time she was learning to speak in full sentences, but that had been years ago, and no doubt Azula had spent her fair share of time grooming her daughter to be even more selective in whom she chose to spend time and be friendly with.

But Toph though… why on earth has Azula let them get as close as they have?

The group exchanged looks as Jin sat down beside her, sliding a spiked tea her way; it was clear that everyone had quite a mind to discuss Soza, but with her sitting just there, such a conversation would have to wait.

"I know you hate hearing stuff like this," Sokka said, finally breaking what had only really been a silence of a few seconds, but had felt much longer. "But you look incredible, Toph."

Five or so years ago, this comment would have earned him quite the stern look from both his wife and sister; there had been suspicions around the time frame where his and Suki's relationship had been in question that he and Toph might have been growing close in a sense that was more than friends. But with that long in the past, and Sokka hand in hand with Suki, this was now something that could be said pretty freely and without worry of hidden meanings being passed.

Toph rolled her eyes, "Nothing I love more than being told something I cannot tell for myself. With all the compliments you guys have given me in the last few years, and all the crap I get from guys trying to pick me up, you'd think along the way that somebody would have figured out that annoys me."

Sokka smirked and reached across the table to give her a gentle punch on the shoulder. "Ah, except the difference here is that we know exactly that, and we do it anyway."

Smiling grudgingly, Toph crossed her arms. "Some friends."

It was no surprise to Aang that Toph still dealt frequently with boys around her age trying to lay the moves on her, and though he didn't find himself envying their plight, what with the struggle of trying to flatter a blind girl and all, he could certainly tell why they kept at it. He had a feeling that Toph wasn't yet finished growing as she was still a head or so shorter than everyone else, but she too had turned into a gorgeous young woman. She had long since passed the point where she continued to wear her hair up in respect to her noble family's tradition and wore it behind her in a ponytail that stretched down to the middle of her back. Her proportions were still somewhat petite at least when compared to the other women she shared the table with, but the casual attire she wore that bared her arms and midriff showed that wasn't a part of her body that wasn't lean and fit.

Toph immediately began firing off questions; she had chosen a life of relative seclusion on her own, but there was no denying just how excitable having everyone getting back together made her. At her heart, she was as good a friend as anyone could be and catching up on what she had missed since they had last been together clearly was something on the forefront of her mind.

"How'd the tour go?" she inquired and Aang blew out a sigh as Katara gave him a gentle smile.

"Incredibly difficult strain on my mental wellbeing would be a better way to put it," he grunted and Katara's smiled widened as she swatted him on the arm.

"Oh, stop that," she said before turning back to Toph. "It went very well, thank you for asking."

Aang smiled and laced his fingers on the table, thinking back to everything that had happened during the multi-week venture, and knowing that despite his exhaustion from the events, he was happy to have gone through them for the good of the Nations.

"Yeah, my griping aside, things wound up going quite well, considering. Most villages and towns were very happy to see us and were able to share the sentiment that they're very glad the integration of people from other nations are being inducted into the Earth Nation, some of the immigrants, I mean."

Toph rested her chin on her hand, smiling at the thought.

"It's so incredible, the idea of Ba Sing Se becoming full of people from the Fire and Water Nations too."

"Though by the sound of it, not everybody was on board with the integration of the peoples," Sokka said grudgingly into his empty glass and Aang winced.

"No, it hasn't been a unanimous acceptance, that's for sure," he muttered and Toph leaned forward.

"I heard about that mining subdivision up north," she said in a half-whisper. "The same ones that tried to scam extra reparations out of the Fire Nation when the war ended; did they really try and start a rebellion?"

Aang looked around somewhat instinctively, though he knew the only person he would see would be Soza who was a couple tables away, ignoring them as she enjoyed her juice, staring off into space thinking about who knew what. It had become second nature to him, with all the things he had been doing and with everything he was told being informed to him that he needed to keep quiet. He trusted everyone at that table with his life, but the last thing he needed was word to get to the United Nations council that he had been spreading word of something that very much needed to not become public knowledge.

"Is that what the rumor is?" he asked casually, trying not to let on to anything. Jin put her elbows on the table, looking equally curious as she too leaned forward.

"There was a lot of talk a couple weeks back about a bunch of the mining groups forming an independent state in protest of the new integration policies. They didn't want Earth Nation people moving to the Fire Nation and vice versa. They were just rumors and they really were only going around seriously for a few days, but…"

"They were real enough," Aang said quietly and Katara took his hand. She and him were the only two people there who had actually witnessed to what had happened, and while they had been sworn into silence after the fact, Aang had no problem divulging this information to people he knew he could trust, though he was hesitant to say more with Soza there. She didn't appear to be at all interested in listening in, but he knew that while she wouldn't have a great deal of understanding towards what was being discussed, there was no telling whether or not she might take back some cadences she heard to her mother, and Aang trusted Azula about as far as Toph could see.

As if on cue, there was a sharp rapping on the front door of the shop and everyone turned to look at it; Jin muttered a sour curse as she did.

"The sign says that we're closed for the day and to come back tomorrow, and does that stop the local yokels from rubbing their faces on the door anyway? No, of course not…"

She pushed herself away from the table, the legs of her chair scraping loudly against the floor as she did. Walking down the line of tables, she undid the latch and lock on the door and opened it.

Standing there in the doorway was a broad shouldered and fully armored Fire Nation soldier that Aang recognized by his insignias as being a member of the royal guard. Behind him, it looked like he had a whole company of soldiers waiting at attention, Ba Sing Se civilians giving them all manner of curious looks as they passed by.

"We're here to escort her highness Lady Soza to the palace," he said by way of introduction and Jin looked back at everyone, eyes wide and giving a shrug.

From her place at the table, Soza slid her near empty glass back and forth, not looking to the man who had just announced his intention to take her to the palace.

"I told you, Franz, I'm spending the day with Toph, I don't have time to—"

"Yes, I know that, your highness, but—"

Just as quickly as he had interrupted her, Soza got to her feet in a flash, her expression coming alive with fury.

"Did you just interrupt me?!" she snarled as she turned to face the soldier known as Franz and it was quite the sight to see a full grown man several times larger than she was blanch at her sudden aggression.

"Forgive me, my lady, I—"

"You don't interrupt me ever!" Soza shouted, marching in his direction. "I thought they would have taught you better manners at whatever shit stain of an academy you crawled out of, because it surely wasn't the one in the capital! They would have taught you better or had you drummed out for not knowing such a thing!"

Aang's knuckles had grown white with the sudden tension that now existed in Jin's shop; he had half-pushed himself to his feet and saw that everyone else had done the same. There was every possibility that Azula's daughter was about to attack and potentially kill the soldier before her and Aang was furious to know that Fire Nation doctrine dictated that members of the royal family had every right to administer any means of corporal punishment on their subordinates that they wished. That being said, Toph had actually swiftly rounded the table and was halfway to Soza by the time the soldier found his voice, which Aang was grateful for. If anyone would have been able to put a muzzle on the girl and talk her out of murdering this poor man, Toph would have been the one.

"I'm terribly sorry, my lady, but her highness Princess Azula has arrived at the palace and is requesting your presence."

That news alone was enough to stifle any movement in the establishment and even the previously fuming Soza's face flattened into one of wide-eyed surprise.

"My mother? She's here?"

"I thought she wasn't supposed to get in until tonight," Katara growled and Sokka shook his head as he replied quietly.

"Azula's never been one to keep the schedules provided by others though, has she?"

From the door, Franz gave a firm nod, clearly feeling somewhat emboldened by how his previous words had been enough to cow away his potential execution.

"Indeed she is. Her airship arrived near a half hour ago and she's asking to see you at once."

There came a bout of silence in which Aang watched Soza turn her face slightly towards the ground and in that moment, she looked like just another kid, no longer a raging and painfully similar image of her mother. It seemed like it only took her mother to banish that illusion. Aang couldn't quite tell the emotion she was feeling even still; Soza was remarkably good at caging her thoughts when she wanted and here was no exception. He could tell that there was a good deal swirling in her head then and he wondered if fear was something that the girl was currently battling. He had yet to see something outright scare Soza in his life, but if anything would have been enough to frighten her, it would surely be one thing, one person.

Though I don't know anyone who isn't scared of Azula, to be fair.

"Alright," the girl finally muttered. She stepped towards the open doorway where Franz stood aside to admit her to pass by him. Before she stepped out into the blindingly bright sun that was high above Ba Sing Se, she half turned, looking almost embarrassed to even say what she said next.

"Thanks for lunch, Toph."

For a moment, Toph only looked startled before she raised her hand in a jerking sort of half wave.

"No problem."

With that, Soza marched out the door and into the street where the company of soldiers parted to allow her to walk into their midst, where they then turned to walk her towards the palace, her safely protected in the middle of their formation. Franz turned to give Aang a deep bow before he followed them out into the road to fall in behind his men, as they moved to escort Soza through the city streets and back to the palace.

It was several long seconds before Jin closed the door and the light from outside faded, as did the sound of people pouring through the street, the sound of the multitudes fading into an acceptable muffled din that was just audible as Jin and Toph began walking back towards the table, floorboards squeaking under their feet. Sokka rapped his hands on the table in a somewhat halfhearted attempt to add some levity to what had only recently been a very potentially dicey situation.

"So, about that whole independent state scare," he said jokingly, but his sister, clearly with something on her mind, cut him off.

"Excuse me, but I believe we have something a little more urgent to discuss."

Aang looked over at Katara and felt himself slump slightly in disappointment at the look on her face.

In all the time he had been with her, Aang had felt Katara grow nearer to him in just about every way a couple grow closer together. They would open up about things that bothered or upset them, they would talk when they needed to talk, and let one another let out their frustrations any time such a situation would arise that called for that. They stayed close and talked about everything that went on in their lives and when they fought, a deeply rare occurrence, it was never with shouting or irate behavior, and they would resolve things quicker than most couples. Beyond all that, they always loved one another and always were open and honest with everything.

At least mostly, anyway.

Aang couldn't genuinely remember a time in which he had entirely and intentionally kept something from Katara or had avoid letting her in when he was going through a difficult time. But that couldn't be said in reverse; Katara, though even rarer an occurrence than the quarrels they ran into being together, would enter a state wherein her attitude became that of someone who would not tolerate any dissenting opinions or opposing reasoning, someone who let their dissatisfaction or anger with something completely blind them to all else and this was something that Aang saw reflected in her now.

She didn't sound or appear angry, but as he looked at her body, her back stiffened and her fingers tapping unsettlingly on the table's surface, her lips a tight line, her chest gently heaving, and her eyes staring intently, Aang knew that anything he would say would be as good as keeping silent. He could never get through to Katara when she was in such a state. She would ignore him or cut him off without a moment's hesitation, something he had learned was not something he could get around. He knew that right then, in her eyes, his voice and thoughts were as insignificant to her as anything could be until she had spoken her mind and made her position known.

It was a rare thing indeed, but there was nothing Aang hated more than seeing her like that. It was the only time he felt truly inferior and helpless; it was something that he could pinpoint the exact time that he had remembered it starting to happen, these episodes in which her indignant, angry and or disapproving persona would overwhelm any relative decency she had and she would openly become as antagonizing as even Azula could be.

Sasuke… you did this to her.

Sitting at the table then, he felt an awful pang resonate within him that he had just even thought the name in his head. It was terribly unfair and selfish to blame Sasuke for something like that; Aang knew that it was Katara who allowed this haughty and pretentious side of her to come out, and while Sasuke may have been part of where this came from, he hadn't tried to trigger this part of her, just as he hadn't tried to wind up in a world that wasn't his own. He had nearly killed himself defending them all and had taken the full brunt of every piece of blame that could possibly be sent his way. In the eyes of the governing body and the law and of many people within the nations, he was worse even than Ozai had been considered.

Thus, Aang pushed aside any resentful feelings he had just felt slide their way into his mind aside as he focused on the present.

Toph was clearly just as able to sense what Aang was able to see as she approached the table, her face scrunching slightly as her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, Katara? Lay it on me."

It was telling of their friendship that they both held quiet as Toph stopped a couple feet away from where Katara sat and they both directed seething expressions towards one another. Had this been the early days of their relationship, there was no doubt that they both would have been shouting at the top of their lungs by that point, but after a particularly vicious argument that nearly shattered their friendship some years ago, they both had become much more reserved about their grievances with one another. And as they had grown into adulthood, the arguments had become fewer and fewer, but it was not lost on Aang that when they did arise, the causation behind them was always deeply serious in nature.

Aang was very relieved at the least that Katara didn't immediately fly into her thoughts on the matter, surprised at her restraint, and it was instead Suki who spoke up, though even her quiet voice was hardly anything that offered a more positive take on what everyone was surely pondering.

"Toph, what were you thinking?"

Coming around the side of the table and hopping back into her seat, Toph dug her fingers into her the sides of her scalp, strands of her long black hair pushed aside as she let out a frustrated sigh.

"I wasn't."

Aang blinked in surprise at this as well; Toph admitting fault was just as infrequent as Katara holding back her thoughts on a matter. He cast a sideways look towards his girlfriend and saw her remaining quiet, though she still maintained that imperious look he so disliked seeing.

"Soza got into the capital not long before you did, just yesterday and I went to visit her when she arrived. I asked her if she wanted to go have an early lunch today before everyone got here, just a girl's morning out for the both of us. But like I said, I wasn't thinking; when we left the palace this morning, there was barely a single person out and about, so I didn't even think about it until we were coming back into the city early afternoon."

Jin sat down next to her, rubbing her hand over her mouth with a tired and somewhat blank expression. "I can't believe she didn't kill anyone."

"She almost did," Toph muttered and then winced as her words clearly hadn't been ones she had wanted to speak aloud. Immediately, Katara straightened her back and pulled in air, clearly not able to keep silent any longer.

"What are you talking about?" she inquired sharply and Toph shook her head quickly, face turned downward.

"I… nothing, it was nothing, she just got a little… annoyed with a dad and his kid that we bumped into heading through the market."

Though he rather wanted to pull the aggressive lens of focus away from Toph, Aang could find himself able to do little more than rub his eyes in a state of exasperation, a feeling he knew was shared by everyone around the table.

"For all her shortcomings, her toxic emotions, her twisted outlook on just about everything, this is the one thing that I know for a fact Azula is right about," Katara said in a low and agitated tone. "Soza is not someone you can just parade around with like she's… normal, Toph. You know that, no one here knows that better than you."

Clearly just as much in a state of displeasure with herself as everyone else, Toph put her face in her hands, groaning into them.

"I know. I don't know what I was thinking, it was just… you know what, I don't know."

She dropped her palms on the tabletop, giving a sharp sigh of finality as she did. Aang could tell by the look on her face that she was extremely frustrated with herself and everyone knew exactly why.

From the time Soza could walk, Azula had made it plain that she didn't want her daughter in any openly public setting, no exceptions. She would take her daughter to galas and events wherein the attendees were all well-dressed, high-class and of a standard that Azula could tolerate, but she hated the idea of her daughter mingling with commoners. The primary and most obvious reason this was assumed was because of the distaste she had for such people, a distaste she had passed onto her daughter, but there was another piece of the equation that had been much more disturbing to uncover.

Around the time she had turned nine, Ty Lee had taken Soza on a late night walk through the market just outside the royal palace in the Fire Nation capital. The story went that she had been looking to buy the girl one of the more decorative kimonos in celebration of a Fire Nation holiday that was happening during that week. This was done despite Azula's long since laid down rules, but Ty Lee had always been one of the seldom few to risk the ire of the princess, for one reason or another. But halfway back from getting Soza her kimono, she had been heckled by a civilian boy, who had turned out to be just a year older than Soza herself. Ty Lee hadn't been able to hear exactly what was said as the boy ran by laughing, and Soza refused to say what it had been even years after the incident, but the meat of the story was that, as the boy went running past, laughing hysterically at the joke he had told at her expense and running to join his friends, Soza had turned and blasted a hole clean through his shoulder and taken his arm off in the process.

Relative hysteria had ensued at that point; the boy's friends started screaming and pointing as their friend dropped to the ground in shock, a nearby woman passed out upon seeing the sight and the surrounding people erupted in confusion and panic. They might very well have formed a mob and made to perhaps lynch Soza, or Ty Lee, or both of them, but soldiers arrived very quickly on the scene. They made to arrest the girl, but she had then, by Ty Lee's account, put her hands on her hips and dared them to. So stunned was the highest-ranking soldier there, that instead of continuing with his arrest, he had asked Soza what she meant by such impudence, and she had stuck her chin out at him and informed him who her mother was. The soldiers had froze and Ty Lee, able to work past her shock, asked them if they would escort her and Soza back to the palace and through this, further catastrophe was avoided, even as Soza complained the whole way back that she had just given the boy what he deserved. Ty Lee had been entirely unprepared to handle it and though she had admitted to wanting to shout and berate the girl, she knew that it would only make things worse. She attempted a façade of calmly taking Soza back to the palace and to her chambers where she put her to bed and went downstairs, waiting on pins and needles for Azula to return.

Even when he had heard the story the first time, Aang remembered that sinking feeling in his stomach when Ty Lee had told him she waited until late that night when Azula returned to the palace, and she practically collapsed in her arms and told her what her daughter had done. It was anyone's guess if Ty Lee had expected something of a humane response, something representing shock or distress that their daughter's response to a passing joke on the street had been to nearly kill someone and render them a cripple. Any other parent might have taken exception to this and done just that, but Aang remembered exactly how Ty Lee had told the story.

"I don't know what I was thinking… Azula just looked at me and then up towards the ceiling where Soza's room was and I remember that pride on her face, that almost victorious expression like she had just come away the winner of some great race. But she looked back to me and just said 'It sounds like to me like she did exactly what she ought to have.'"

"We can't risk something like that happening, she's too dangerous and unpredictable," Katara said in the present, shaking Aang from his thoughts. "I don't know if spending all the time you do with her is healthy, it's making you blind to what she is."

Toph pulled a disgusted face.

"Oh no, you're right, sugar queen, enlighten me please on what being blind is like."

Aang had flinched when he had heard the comment at first but as it was pointed out, he watched Katara's face tighten as she realized what it was she had just said, but as anyone might have expected, she was far too deep in her own opinions to even consider the idea of an apology at that point.

"You know what I mean," she said plainly, doing her best to move past the inconsiderate comment she had made. "You're locked up in this idea that Soza isn't a dangerous force that needs to be treated with caution and distance, something about her has you completely oblivious to the fact that—"

"That what?!" Toph shouted suddenly. "That what, Katara?! That she's a 'monster' and should be shunned by every person on the planet?! Come on, like I haven't heard that one before."

Katara crossed her arms and spoke coldly.

"I fail to see anything wrong with that thinking."

It was a deeply harsh comment and as Aang knew just how close Toph and Soza had gotten over the years, he knew that it cut the earthbender deep. He closed his eyes as he waited for Toph to resume shouting angrily, but was surprised when her voice came out quiet, though it was touched with hurt and anger.

"Did you ever consider the fact Katara, that maybe the only way Soza doesn't grow up to be exactly like her mother is for us to be more involved in her life? I know I fucked up, but that's not an excuse for you to break out the old 'Soza is a monster and everyone needs to stay away from her' routine. We're some of the only people that Azula lets her daughter be around and don't you think that gives us a responsibility to her?"

Katara didn't look remotely swayed as she raised an eyebrow. "And you really think Azula hasn't considered that as well? That she doesn't know exactly what she's doing in giving us the ability to spend time with her? And that there might be more of a reason in her letting you and Soza be together than you think?"

Judging by the angry flash that moved over Toph's face, this argument was going to get a whole lot worse before it got better, and Aang knew that this was not at all something they needed to be getting wrapped up in.

"That's enough!" he said loudly and both women looked to him sharply and for a moment, he was sure they were going to both snap at him to stay out of it, as that was something that had happened before. But when neither of them spoke up, Aang took that as encouragement enough to keep defusing the situation.

"This is not the first time we've had this discussion and it will not be the first time it gets us absolutely nowhere. You both have valid reasons for your approaches to Soza and I believe there is merit in both your sides of this coin. But right now, we can't dwell on this, if we really want to sit down and talk about her, we need to do it with everyone present and we need to do it civilly."

Toph seemed to accept this grudgingly as she ran her upper teeth against her bottom lip but said nothing to refute this. Katara on the other hand looked to him with a furrowed brow.

"You're going to give credence to the idea that—"

"Katara."

It wasn't Aang who spoke up just then, but Sokka from across the table. They both looked to him and Aang was reassured to see her brother looking back at her with a stern gaze.

"Drop it," was all he said next and Aang waited a beat to see if she would deny this quieting as well, but after glaring at her brother for a long moment, she laid her hands slowly on the tabletop and gave a slow nod. On the other side of the table, Jin reached out and put a hand over Toph's giving it a gentle but firm squeeze and Aang could see a glistening in Toph's unseeing eyes.

She wants so much to believe that Soza will be able to be someone other than her mother.

The table fell quiet for a while longer before Suki quietly broke the silence.

"We should probably get to the palace then. If Azula is already here, then Zuko won't be far behind and we need to be ready for the opening ceremony tonight."

Seeing a chance at levity, Jin gave a small smile.

"Sorry you guys gotta go to that circus, especially you two, bet you guys are just looking to relax after all that traveling," she said, offering a nod to Aang and Katara. Strangely enough, Katara seemed rather eager to move on just as much as Aang was and she smiled in return, her voice having returned to a civil tone and her expression no longer haughty and overbearing.

"Aang managed a nap earlier so he's got that going at the very least," she said and Aang piggybacked on her words, wanting very much himself to be able to move on from the uncomfortable topic of Soza.

"Though that doesn't detract from the pain of having to get all dressed up, listen to a bunch of rehearsed speeches and sweat my ass off at some posh dinner that's gonna last at least an hour too long."

It was relieving to hear Toph speak up then, her expression having also faded from its angry mask to become one of mild amusement; Aang was thoroughly amazed at how she and Katara could go from being at one another's throats to well-mannered in a matter of seconds.

"Don't worry, you're still coming to cook for everybody later this week, don't think you've gotten out of that."

"Do I have to dress up?" Jin asked, making a face and Toph shrugged.

"We'll see," said Suki with a smile as she pushed away from the table and got to her feet, Sokka just behind her and maybe a touch unsteady. One by one, they all stood up, save for Jin who looked deeply relieved to not have to be joining them, though her eyes told the story that she did genuinely feel pity for them.

"Best of luck," she said, raising her own drink and Aang gave her a farewell as they moved to the door to walk into the bright light of day. It was hot and dry in the city at that time of year and he squinted at the brightness of the light blue sky and sun before putting his hood up. He didn't really have any interest in being spotted just then as such a thing would surely bring on a great deal of attention that he was not interested in. Tonight was going to be enough of a shitshow.

He flicked a glance at Katara and then at Toph as they walked; he knew that while they both appeared to have moved on from their argument, they were still no doubt deeply in thought about their respective sides of the issue. He knew that their friendship extended deep enough to not be seriously plagued by another gash like this, but he also knew that neither of them had made a dent in the opinion of the other.

As they marched on, Aang looked up towards the horizon where the sprawling palace of Ba Sing Se stood.

Soza… in a way, you're just as much a divisive factor as Sasuke ever was.

Soza marched past her escort who stood by to let her walk down the wing of the palace that she knew was reserved for the Fire Nation visitors that were attending this celebration event. They wouldn't dare follow her down this hall unless they had urgent news to deliver and that was just fine with her. Even as much as she loved smiling smugly as she was escorted through the streets to the stares of that worthless rabble, she hated being so perpetually watched and looked after like she was some fragile pet.

She didn't have much time to think on this now, however; her mother was waiting.

It had become very difficult for Soza to tell what exactly she felt whenever she was summoned like this. She loved her mother very much, but in moments like this, a vast wash of emotions would come over her, emotions she was not at all familiar with and emotions she found she didn't much like. She supposed there was some nervousness, maybe some fear too. She hated being afraid, mother had always taught her that she was to be the one to inspire fear, not the other way around. There was a sense of dread too, there always was, even though her mother never yelled at her or scolded her, not anymore. She was long past the age where she needed to be told right from wrong, but somehow, she always felt going to see her mother like she was going to let her down somehow, which was the last thing she wanted to do. Mother always said how proud she was of Soza, how she couldn't have asked for a better child. Letting her down would be the worse possible thing that could happen.

Soza walked briskly and properly down the hall, her form and posture perfect and her pace purposeful. Habit and practice had forced her mother's teachings onto her so that even when she wasn't being watched, she still was obeying. She reached the door to the room she knew was being granted to her mother and her hand came up to knock sharply and announce her presence.

Her knuckles froze just before they struck the wood of the large wooden door ahead of her though and she swallowed back a lump in her throat.

Stop it, she chided herself angrily. There's nothing to be afraid of.

She knocked and held her breath stable as she listened closely before a voice, silky and smooth and with all the tender wrappings of a satin dress sounded from beyond.

"Come in, dear."

Soza pushed the door open with a loud creak and stepped into the guest room.

It was rather similar to hers, though she immediately noted how much more dimly lit it was than her own. A single lamp of bright blue fire glowed near the bedside, the shutters and blinds all completely drawn, letting the room glint in an almost ghostly azure hue. This was her room and her room alone and it would be just how she wanted it.

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the collar of her robe back up over her shoulder; it looked as though she had been touching the upper part of her chest for whatever reason. She turned her head and Soza couldn't help but be reminded of the way a snake turned its head to regard some potential prey. She admired that about her mother, how her guard never seemed to be down, even around her. It made Soza somewhat uneasy, but she knew it was only her mother being smart.

"Come here, my little lotus," she purred and Soza obediently trotted forward to stand just in front of her mother. She clasped her arms behind her back in military ready, feet the width of her shoulders as she said not a word, waiting to be spoken to. She obeyed the touch of her mother though when she reached out and gently pulled her to stand closer, just beside the bed. Soza stood still while her mother affectionately ran a hand along the side of her face, stroking against her hair and gently adjusting her ornamental hair piece. It was the same design as her mother's and she knew that it had to be just perfectly symmetrical just like hers; Soza wanted to ask if it had been out of place, something she would have been furious at herself for not having correct before walking in, but she held her tongue.

"Sit on my lap," her mother instructed rather suddenly and Soza hesitated for only the briefest moment before moving between her mother's legs and hopping up to sit on her left leg. At her present height, sitting there put her right on eye level with her mother and she stared back into the glowing orbs fearlessly. Her mother's eyes would terrify anyone with their impervious and piercing stare, and to an extent they scared Soza too, but her mother had long since taught her to show no fear, and so she didn't. Long and well kept nails ran down Soza's back over her royal robes and she waited for her mother to speak again.

"How have you enjoyed your first day in the city?" she finally asked Soza quietly, brushing a strand of her daughter's hair behind her ear.

"Fine," Soza replied evenly. "I arrived late last night and Toph came by to visit. Then, this morning, we left to go a bit outside the city, to have an early lunch and spar for a bit. Then she took me back to that Jin woman's teashop before Franz and his men came to retrieve me."

"So, it's true then," her mother said with an air of finality and Soza couldn't help but furrow her brow in brief confusion.

"True about which—"

It suddenly came crashing down around her mother was talking about and what she had done and she felt her eyes widen and her pulse start to hammer in her throat.

"Oh my God… mother, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disobey you, I—"

Her mother's face remained deeply and totally calm as her eyes looked Soza slowly up and down.

"Soza, I'm not angry at you."

While this gave Soza the briefest flush of relief, she immediately began to feel even more panic start to surface.

"You can't blame Toph either, mother, please! She just wanted to—"

"And I don't blame Toph either."

Soza cut off, her breath coming in short spurts and her heart hammering. She had broken one of her mother's only rules, one that brought about some of the only times she ever remembered her mother getting truly angry with her. She had gone out into the city, into those throngs of commoners and dirt, seen that scum and been close to that scum; she had nearly killed some of that scum not two hours ago. And yet somehow, here she was, not being punished as she should have been for breaking that rule.

And somehow, her mother's consistent calm was worse yet than her shouting might have been.

What's happening? Is my punishment to come later?

There was a long stretch of silence in which Soza sat there on her mother's lap, waiting for the storm to break over her while fingers stroked the back of her neck.

Finally, the silence was broken, "Soza… I understand that you must grow impatient with my requests of you at times."

"No, mother, I understand why you ask these things of me!" Soza begged desperately. It was humiliating for her to feel like this, but with just her and her mother, the one person she might have genuinely feared, pleading was as easy as anything could be, all thoughts of pride and dignity falling away in the hopes of pleasing her. "You do these things to protect me, to keep me away from all that garbage that rolls around in the street! I saw them today, they're all what you told me they were!"

"Soza, be quiet," her mother softly ordered and Soza fell dutifully into silence.

"I just want you to know that I understand your frustration with me. I will look into giving you more freedom as you grow older, but just know that what I do now, I do for your own good and you have to trust that I know what is best for you."

Soza felt a lump in her throat and felt the stupid and childish urge to start crying; she had let her mother down and that was hurting her as much as anything could.

"I'm sorry," she managed and her mother pulled her into a gentle hug, pressing her lips against her forehead and Soza couldn't keep from throwing her arms around her mother by way of further apology and lamented with wracking pain in her gut that she hadn't been able to live up to her mother's wishes. It was an awful feeling and Soza didn't know she had ever felt so furious with herself, and with Toph for letting her make such a stupid mistake; she knew too that she wasn't supposed to venture into the city, so why had she taken her through there like that?

Through her self-hate and anger, she felt another curious notion pass through her head, though it was quickly swallowed by her other emotions; she was sure that as she had gone in to hug her, her mother had been smiling.