Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Viacom.

A/N: Takes place early in Book 3.

The Last Earthbender

67. Boundaries

"You're going to have to eat more than seaweed and rice some time, you know."

The airbender shook his head, and adjusted his parka. "That's all they have."

"No, it isn't," said Zuko, but Aang didn't reply. "You already agreed to wear the fur. It's not that big a deal, Aang! You can go right back to eating fruits and vegetables when we get back somewhere warm, okay?" Zuko's voice was hushed, but it echoed in the small room they'd rented. The room was little more than a stone hut, and looked like it had been built right into the side of a hill. Maybe, long ago, earthbenders had made it.

"It is a big deal! I'm not eating a dead body!"

"Aang, it's a fish. Look, we can't let you starve…"

"Oh, let him," Azula snorted. "If the airbender wants to die of starvation, that's his choice." She rubbed her hands together and exhaled a bit of steam.

"No, it's not. He needs to be healthy, or he won't be able to teach me anything!" Toph growled from where she sat next to Shishi, and the flying pig grunted.

"See, Aang? This is about more than just you! You need to eat!"

"I am eating! I'm just not eating dead animals, okay?" The young Air Nomad was starting to get annoyed.

Toph got up. It was hard to read her expression under her blindfold, but she looked like she might be angry. Shishi got up too, and led Toph forward to Aang, stopping before Toph walked into him. The Avatar poked Aang in the chest, hard.

"Listen, Twinkletoes. We didn't agree to take you with us all over the world so that you could pansy-foot around! Everyone eats dead animals! EVERYONE." Aang opened his mouth to object, but Toph charged ahead. "Right now, you're not carrying your own weight. You're tired. Heck, I'm blind, and I can see that! You're not getting enough to eat, and pretty soon you're gonna start slowing us down. We can't let you do that. So eat."

Aang cringed. "Look, let's… let's calm down. I'm sure they'll have some better food at the next town."

"Not for cheap. And we don't have much Water Tribe money," Azula noted. "Vegetables are expensive this far north. And it's winter." The princess smiled thinly. "Would you like to fast until springtime?"

"I'm not fasting! Look, I can… if we could just find some eggs, or some milk…"

"The tribes don't drink milk; that would be far too civilized for them. And eggs are expensive." Azula shook her head. "We need to save as much money as we can for boat passage south."

Aang frowned, and thought. "If we go to the Northern Air Temple, we could borrow a bison and just fly there. That would be so much easier."

"Will they give us one?" Azula looked incredulous. "From what I understand, we're not exactly welcome to 'bring the war' to your people."

Aang hung his head.

"Come on, Twinkletoes!" said Toph. "I know you're hungry! Doesn't that fish smell good?"

Zuko gave Aang a skewer with several pieces of fish on it. "Here. Eat it."

Aang stared at the fish, his eyes wide. He leaned forward… then drew back, shaking his head. "I can't. I can't do it. I can't eat it. It's like eating a person."

"Twinkletoes, come on! It's a fish! That's not even really meat! Are we gonna have to force-feed you?"

Azula smirked. "I'll hold him down."

Aang grimaced. He handed the fish to Zuko, then stood up and backed away. "I'll just… have some of the dried seaweed and rice."

Azula watched as the airbender began preparing his meal, and exchanged a glance with Zuko. Something needed to be done.

"We found vegetables." Azula walked into the hut after Zuko, shivering despite her parka and holding a sack from the market.

"Really?" Aang perked up and stepped forward to take a peek in the sack.

Azula pulled it away. "I'm cooking tonight. I'll be expecting no complaints."

"Nuh-uh," said Toph. "I don't complain. I never complain. 'Specially when the food is burnt to cinders. Nope."

Azula's frown deepened, and she sat by the firepit. "Why don't you and Aang practice your airbending? Do something useful."

Aang sighed. "I'm too tired to airbend right now."

Toph snorted, and got up, Shishi by her side. "Come on, you weeniebender. I want to be up to snuff for when we figure out this eyes thing."

"… Fine." Aang trudged out into the cold, and Toph followed her flying sow out.

About an hour later, the two of them (and Shishi) returned, both looking nothing if not more frustrated.

"Maybe you should try, you know, looking?" said Aang, and scratched his head. "I mean, the rest of us get by with seeing; you can too. That way you won't bump into things so much."

"I told you," snapped Toph. "It makes no sense! I know the rest of you do it, but it's all just a lot of chaos to me."

"Well if you just tried-"

"I can't. I can't bend when I see! I can't do anything!"

"Food," interrupted Azula, and shoved bowls filled with rice, with some sort of sliced, burnt substance on the top, into Aang and Toph's faces.

"What is it?" asked Aang, and looked around. Zuko was already eating, and looking decidedly away from Aang.

Azula rolled her eyes. "Bean curd."

"It's black."

"It's well-done. Now eat."

Aang and Toph took a few bites, and then Aang said, "This bean curd tastes funny."

"Probably because Princess Perfect turned it into charcoal," snorted Toph.

"It tastes 'funny' because it's Water Tribe bean curd," corrected Azula, ignoring Toph for the moment. "They do everything differently here."

Aang arched his eyebrows, but kept eating.

That night, as Aang lay in bed, he groaned.

"Ooooooh," he said. "Ooooooooh my stomach."

"You okay, Twinkletoes?" asked Toph.

"I don't feel so good…"

"Do you need a healer?" she wondered. " 'Cause I think it's pretty late, isn't it?"

"I… I think I…" The airbender sat bolt upright. "I think I gotta go," he said quickly, and stumbled outside, where it was snowing gently.

There was a pause, and Toph spoke. "Zuko? Azula? You guys awake? Twinkletoes is sick."

"I noticed," muttered Azula sourly. "He was keeping me up with his moaning."

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"He'll be fine until morning," yawned the Fire Nation Princess. "I don't think it's that serious."

Aang walked back into the hut, a hand on his stomach and looking pale. "Guys, I think the food was rotten…"

"Well, I feel fine," interrupted Toph. "Princess Perfect's cooking wasn't that terrible."

"I'm trying to sleep!" protested Azula.

"It wasn't rotten," said Zuko softly, and his sister looked up a moment from her sleeping bag.

"Zuko-" she started, voice tinged with warning.

"I'm not going to lie to him, Azula!" said Zuko, and he turned to the young airbender. "We had arctic hen for dinner."

Aang's mouth dropped open, and his eyes bulged. "What?"

"You haven't been eating enough, and Azula thought-"

"Oh, don't pin the blame on me, Zuko!" snapped Azula, sitting upright. "You were entirely complicit."

"You tricked me." Aang shook his head. "You lied to me! I thought you were my friends!"

"Ouch," said Toph, and picked her nose.

"Aang, we were worried about you-" started Zuko, but Aang interrupted.

"You're completely disrespecting me, and my culture!"

"It's your health, Aang," said Azula. "And our needs trump whatever cultural hang-ups you have about eating birds."

Now Aang looked livid. Zuko was fairly sure that he'd never seen him that mad. "I'm not like you, Azula! I'm an Air Nomad. We hold ourselves to a higher standard!"

"A higher standard? Seriously, are you even listening to yourself?" Azula scoffed.

"We don't give up our culture just on a… a whim!" ranted Aang. "We can't! If we did, we'd be completely destroyed!"

Toph frowned. "What-"

"I've seen what happens to the earth people in Annex and Protectorate! I know that they're all just a breath away from becoming Fire Nation, or- or Water Tribe! You're trying to do the same to me!"

"Don't be an idiot," snorted Azula, and Toph stood up.

"Stop it, Twinkletoes," she said.

"You want the Air Nomads to become Fire Nation like you!"

Toph stepped forward, and Shishi got to her feet with a grunt. But Toph ignored the pig, and instead ripped off her blindfold, so that Aang could see the fury in her expression.

"You're really self-centered, you know that?" shouted Toph. "You think this is all about Air Nomads? Well it's NOT. It's about ME. I need to master airbending before the world freezes solid, and since your people have such high standards that they won't teach me, you and your stupid vegetables are all that we've got! And you wanna talk about culture? Here's a clue, Twinkletoes. I haven't got a culture. You are so far from being absorbed by the Fire Nation it's not even funny. We all need to make sacrifices, so quit complaining and carry your own weight."

Toph was swaying slightly, disoriented without her blindfold even in the dim light. But there was no mistaking how furious she was.

Aang glared at Toph. "Fine! If you feel that way about airbenders..." He turned, and walked to where he'd set his glider in the corner. "I guess you don't want to be one!"

Toph's fists shook, but she didn't stop him. "Who needs air!" she shouted, her voice shrill. "It's a wimpy element anyway!"

Aang opened the door, walked out into the night, and closed it behind him.

Zuko let out his breath, and stared at Toph.

"Well," said Azula. "I see that went well. Goodnight." And she lay down to sleep.