Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar or Korra characters created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon. All OCs, however, are all mine.
Chapter VII
"... and that's ten silver pieces, five golden pieces, and twenty-five yuans," Katara handed the cash and coins to the shipyard master, "Inform whoever's in charge here that that ship is property of the Order of the White Lotus, and no one is to go near it."
"What business does the White Lotus have in Omashu?" the tall old man asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual. We're on an assignment and we need to resupply, and the closet chapter is in Omashu," Katara explained.
The man leaned forward to peak out the window at the docked ship, raising one of his big eyebrows at what he saw, "Is that an air nomad, and a sky bison on that deck?"
"Yes sir," Katara answered, "You know the White Lotus often works with the Air Nation. It's a joint-assignment."
"But what about that one right there?" the man pointed to Leo climbing up Appa's side and into the saddle, pack slung over his shoulder, "The tall one with the blue hood, red skin, and tail."
"Oh, he's uh…" Katara tried to think of something quick, making a believable excuse, "I kinda forgot what he is. Uuum, he's a… spirit. Haven't you ever seen a spirit before?"
"Oh. Well, of course I have. I mean, who hasn't these days?" the shipyard master reasoned in understanding.
Katara simply smiled as she thanked the old man, and in return he bid her farewell as she stepped out of the shipyard office, making her way back to the ship.
They'd reached the Earth Kingdom port just a few miles from Omashu. Aang was locking the double doors to below deck. After Katara's feast of hangover food the day before, Sokka and Toph were feeling much better, and were well enough to go travel as well. However, the two of them had hardly spoken to one another.
"Aang, did you lock the door to the bridge?" Katara asked.
"Sure did," Aang answered. He tossed the keys to her and she put them in her satchel. Aang's wing suit didn't have any pockets, so he'd often give some of his stuff to Katara to hold onto; except for one item in particular he had Toph hold onto… for reasons. She had pockets and he knew he could trust her with this secret.
He then picked her up bridal style and leapt fifteen feet in the air onto Aapa's head, Katara unable to contain her giggling.
"You know, you don't have to do that every time," Katara bubbled, not letting go of Aang.
"Would you prefer I didn't?" Aang jested challengingly.
"Well no, not really," Katara admitted. Momo flew from the back in Appa's saddle to the front with Aang and Katara, snuggling up in her lap. The two smiled at the lemur and each other. Aang grabbed the reins and called, "Appa, yip yip!"
With Aang's command, Appa rose from the deck and into the air, off to Omashu. Back in the saddle, Sokka and Toph sat apart from each other, minding their own business. Leo noticed the two almost ignoring each other. This was in stark contrast to the day before, both of them thick as thieves, always next to one another. That's how it was at first, their relationship mutually platonic, with the potential for something deeper.
Leo smiled a bit as he asked, "So Sokka, how'd you sleep last night?"
With his arms crossed, Sokka shrugged his shoulders and uttered, "Fine."
Leo then turned to Toph, who was leaning outward, chin resting on the edge, "What about you, Toph? Have any dreams last night?"
"No," she said.
"Well, it's good that you two are feeling better. Sure, we could've had one, or two, persons stay behind to watch the ship, but sticking together when you're on the run and being hunted is always a good idea," Leo said, trying to get them to talk.
"Whatever," Toph sibilated.
"Hm," Sokka sounded from the back of his throat.
Leo just focused his attention on them, as if he was looking at them, both paying the other no mind. Figuring neither of them was in the mood to talk, to anyone, Leo pulled out the book he took from Toph's room and picked up where he left off, Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of his success. Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.
"Hey," Sokka suddenly exclaimed, "That's Toph's book. Where'd you get it?"
Leo simply answered, "Her room. Picked it off the shelf when I was waking you two up. I know I should've asked to borrow it before I took it, but it kinda seemed like a bad time. So I figured I'd take it then and ask later."
"Whatever," Toph uttered again.
"What? Toph!" Sokka turned to the petite earthbender, objecting to her lack thereof, "He just took something that belongs to you and you're gonna blow it off?"
"It's just a fucking book, Meathead," Toph snapped as she whipped towards Sokka, daggers in her milky eyes, venom in her voice, "In case you haven't noticed, I barely read anything. Besides, it's my book, so why should you even give a damn?"
"I… uuuh, just- just thought that, uuummm…" Sokka's couldn't think of a response.
"Oh, just shut up before you make yourself look even more stupid!" Toph exploded at Sokka, causing him to once again fall silent. Toph went back to brooding, Sokka went back to sitting in his little corner doing whatever, and Leo went back to reading.
On Appa's head, Aang and Katara couldn't help but overhear the conversation in the back. They both shared a look of concern. Katara moved speak to Toph, but Aang stopped her and shook his head. Understanding the expression on his face, she agreed and sat back down. She leaned her head on his shoulder, earning a small kiss from Aang.
-oOo-
"Wow," Leo said as he took it all in. He couldn't see anything, but he could sense it like radar. Omashu was made up of four pyramids in the middle of a giant crater with a thin path that lead to the entrance. Closer to the city, Leo could sense a few large buildings on the sides of the pyramids, as well as a series of fountains. This place definitely reminds him of Vegas.
Aang set Appa down on a platform atop the highest building of the second tallest pyramids. Everyone climbed off with their bags. A man dressed in the same uniform as Sokka and Katara approached and bowed as he addressed them, "Lotus apprentices Sokka and Katara, the Omashu chapter of the Order welcomes you. And of course it's always good to see one of Master Tenzin's students. But your arrival is a great surprise, Beifong; a most welcome surprise, indeed."
"Yeah yeah. Thanks for the shining welcome, kiss-ass," Toph replied.
"Hehe, you must be Toph," he said a bit awkward, then his eyes became like saucers at the sight of Leo, "And you… are?"
"Oh, um…" Leo thought for a moment, "Li. Li… Chan."
"Are you a spirit?" the man raised an eyebrow. With that, Leo decided that would be an excellent cover, just nodding as he went with it, "Yep. Sure am."
"Alright, the allow me to introduce myself: I am Tsao Pong," the man introduced himself.
With their introductions out of the way, Appa was taken to the stables and the five were given their own satomobile in case they needed to get more than they could carry themselves, and that possibility was great. There were three rows of seats in the car. Sokka drove, Aang sat in the front passenger seat next to him, Katara and Toph shared the middle row, and Leo took up the entire back row.
"Strip joint… bar… casino… another casino…" Leo called out the places they passed on their way to the market, "another strip joint… Oh, now that's out of place: a temple."
"Would you please shut up?" Sokka slowly groaned from the driver's seat.
"Why, Sokka? Does your head still hurt?" Leo teased him a bit from the very back, earning a small growl from Sokka and a sharp jab to the shoulder from Toph, which really didn't hurt.
"Ow, just shut up," Toph seethed in irritation. Leo held up his hands and shut his mouth, realizing he'd already been enough of a dick.
"How can you tell what each place is, Leo?" Aang asked.
"The smell of hormones from the strip joints, the alcohol from the bars, the sound of cards and chips from the casinos, and the incense from the temple," Leo listed off each one, "I think someone's getting married back there."
"How can you smell or hear any of that? The windows are rolled up," Katara wondered as she turned back to look at him.
"Cars aren't all that airtight, Katara. Air still manages to find its way in through the cracks. And I guess I just got a real good set of ears," Leo then flapped his pointed ears down and back up.
"Alright then, what are we getting?" Toph asked.
Katara took the shopping list from her bag that she'd prepared for the trip and read, "There's mainly food, hygiene stuff like toothpaste, soap and shampoo, dish soap, laundry detergent, and maybe some new clothes for our hitchhiker," Katara directed to the back.
"Much obliged," Leo figured it was pointless to refuse.
Finally in the marketplace, one thing after another was checked off Katara's list, right down to Sokka's favorite flavor of Flameo Instant Noodles and the extra-size clothes they got for Leo. Everything was found so quickly and efficiently, and everyone was so well behaved, and tired, Aang and Katara decided to treat the group to dinner. They found a little family-owned restaurant next to a temple.
"So, read the menu to us again?" Toph asked Sokka to re-read the menu to both her and Leo, since the restaurant didn't have any written in braille. The table they chose was round.
"Ugh, fifth times the charm, I guess," Sokka groaned as he began to read the menu again for the fifth time, "There's shrimp krill lo mein, house special fried rice, house special mei fun, sweet n' spicy tofu, mixed vegetable egg foo yong, smoked sea slug, sesame pork chicken, fried dumplings, teriyaki-"
"Just get me the house special mei fun, with a side of steamed buns," Leo interrupted, tired of hearing the same words repeated over and over again. It's was mainly Toph who needed to hear the menu repeatedly. Leo then asked, "They got any tea?"
"Uh… yeah," Sokka flipped to the back and read the options of tea, "There's green, white, chai, darjeeling, oolong, and jasmine."
"I'll have the jasmine," Leo picked the last one.
"You know, I'd like some of that, as well," Aang said from across the table.
"Yeah. Me too," Katara voiced next to him.
"How 'bout we have a pot for the whole party; for everyone," Sokka needed something to get his system clean. He drank so much alcohol the day beforehand, his still felt a bit sick to his stomach.
"What the hell? I'll have some, too," Toph joined in with the rest of the group.
The waiter came around, everyone ordered their food, and a full steaming pot of jasmine tea was brought to the table. Sokka and Katara remembered once having tea with a certain Grand Lotus who loved tea and pai sho. The waiter placed and filled a small cup at everyone's place.
"Thank you," Katara extended politely.
"You're most welcome," the waiter responded in kind, giving a slight bow. As he walked away, Leo couldn't help but notice something smelled a bit off with him. But Leo just shrugged his shoulders and took his cup of tea. Bringing it to his nose, the aroma brought a brief sense of tranquility. Leo then held his tea up, "I would like to propose a toast," the four humans focused on him, "To good samaritans."
Aang and Katara smiled in unison at Leo's gratitude and raised their cups as well. Toph and Sokka joined in, everyone's cups above the middle of the table, and all drank to the toast.
_-oOo-_
The dying radio sparked its last sparks, the bubbles in the jacuzzi tub overflowed, the painting nailed to the ceiling with a sword had slid down the blade and stopped at the handguard, and the turtle duck finished the bird seeds in the bowl on the table in the middle of suite. The turtle duck jumped off the table and wandered past Sokka, looking for something else to eat.
Sokka lied on the carpeted floor with his arms around a blow up doll, drooling. He was hoping this wouldn't happen so soon, but his head was once again aching with immense pain. Slowly, step by step, he opened his eyes, wiped the drool off, got himself a glass of water, and sat down on the couch. As he sat down, he realized he had no idea where he was. His eyes squinted, he looked around and saw he was in a trashed hotel villa. He saw the radio, the jacuzzi, the sword and the painting, and the turtle duck. Then he started to wonder where every one else was. He spotted a large bundle of sheets by the linen closet with a red tail poking out of it. It was obviously Leo.
Suddenly there was a rattling of metal cans from behind the bar by the jacuzzi. A dazed and disgruntled Toph crawled out from behind the bar and slowly worked her way to the couch area and sat down next to Sokka. She grabbed a pillow and covered her ears with it. He tried not to look at her too much due to her lack of pants, and underwear.
Sokka leaned his head back and groaned, "Ugh… where are we?"
"What the fuck happened last night?" Toph grumbled, still able to hear despite the pillow, "Leo?"
"Don't look at me," Leo groaned in defense from within his cocoon of blankets, "Goddammit, why do my ears hurt as much as my head?"
"Haha. Look who's hungover, now," Sokka gave a weak chuckle at Leo.
"Haha," Leo laughed sarcastically in return, then countered, "Look who's hungover twice in the same week," Sokka backed off as both he and Toph inwardly frowned in shame and embarrassment at the truth of his words, "Now why do my ears hurt?" Leo unwrapped the sheets around him and stood up as steadily as he could.
"I don't know, dude. You seem fine to me," Toph said.
But Sokka could see what Toph couldn't, and he burst out laughing, then gripped his head at the pain.
"What? What's so funny!?" Leo demanded.
"Yeah, Sokka. What is so funny?" a confused Toph questioned.
Sokka managed to get a enough control of his headache and laughter to answer, "Leo's ears are pierced."
"WHAT?" Leo yelled in shock, then bent over and cradled his head. Flabbergasted, he reached up and felt his earlobes with small earrings, then muttered, "Oh my God."
"Haha. We must've been pretty drunk last night for you to not remember getting your ears pierced," Toph chuckled as she went digging for gold up her nose, then felt something in the way, "Wait. What the…"
Sokka turned to her, "Oh Spirits. Toph, your nose is pierced."
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head and she turned to him, a smile on her face, "Really? Are you serious?! Please tell me you're not joking."
"Uh, no I'm not joking. You have a nose ring," Sokka told her, surprised at her unexpected excitement at her piercing.
"Oh man, this is awesome. I always wanted to get a piercing, but my parents wouldn't let me, being Gaoling Beifongs; and even though my Aunt Suyin and Uncle Bataar let my cousin, Huan, get his eyebrow pierced, but wouldn't let me get a piercing so as not to cause conflict with my parents," Toph went on in depth about that part of her past.
"Whoop-dee-doo for you. You do know your not wearing any pants and Sokka is trying not to look at your vagina," Leo told her.
Toph suddenly came to full alert when she realized she was, in fact, pantless. She took the pillow she was covering her ears with and covered herself, "Sokka, get out."
"What? But why ju-" he started but was abruptly cut off.
"I said GET OUT!" Toph shouted to the top of her lungs, instantly regretting it. All three grasped their heads.
"Will you keep it down? My head is about to explode, and I assume so is yours. So do yourself a favor and please be quiet," Leo softly growled through his teeth.
"Hey, where are Aang and Katara?" Sokka pointed out.
"Check all the rooms, they've gotta be here," Leo told him.
As Sokka left to check room after room for his sister and the air nomad, Leo grabbed the sheets he'd been swaddled in and handed them to the petite earthbender, "Here, Toph. You can cover yourself with these until we find your clothes."
"Thanks," she accepted the blankets and wrapped them around her waist as Leo sat down on the couch across from her. He took pillow and covered his ears, then uncovered them due to his piercings.
"Hey, Toph," Leo began, "You said about us being so drunk that we don't remember getting piercings last night, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Why?" she said as she sat back down.
"Well, I don't even remember us ordering alcohol. The last I remember from last night is the toast with the tea, then our food was brought to us and that's it. Nothing else," Leo recalled.
Toph thought back to the night before, and just like Leo, the last thing she remembered was the tea, the food, and nothing else; no alcohol. She speculated aloud, "Well, we must have ordered drinks because this is what a hangover feels like, and that's what too much liquor does to ya."
"Well here, let me get us some painkillers and some water. And who knows, maybe there's something else in here that can help," Leo got up and went to the kitchen; he could tell where it was cause he could smell the food. He found the medicine cabinet, went through the pill bottles and found some naproxen sodium. Going through the other cabinets, the pantry and the fridge, Leo found some green tea, honey, ginger, bananas, and some eggs: all perfect for a hangover breakfast. He took the pills and two glasses of water into the living room, and gave two to Toph and two to himself.
"Thanks," she graciously accepted the meds and the water, popping them in her mouth the downing them with the clear drink. Leo told her about what he'd found in the kitchen and asked her if she'd like some. She said yes due to the fact Katara once told her eggs and green tea helps cure hangovers.
"HOLY FUCKING SPIRITS!" Sokka screamed from down the hall, both in the living room jerked their heads towards the sound. Then there was a roar from the same direction. Leo stood up as fast, and as steady, as he could and extended his claws from his fingers, ready for a fight. Toph got his her mantis style stance.
Sokka zipped right in front of them from the hall, out of breath and his heart racing in terror. He looked up at them, "MY NIPPLES ARE PIERCED!"
For a silent moment, Leo and Toph just stared in his general direction, trying to contain their laughter. Unable to contain it, both burst into strong and loud fits, holding their heads as they did so. Sokka scowled at them, upset and embarrassed. Leo and Toph both fell back into the couches, holding their guts.
"We must've been super messed up last night," Toph cackled.
"Yeah. We must've been for Sokka to get his nipples pierced," Leo added, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, trying to settle himself down, "Okay, have you found Aang and Katara?"
"No. I've looked everywhere and they're not here. I found our clothes, by the way. But the last room I checked, a bathroom, with a mirror, because bathrooms have mirrors; but anyway, I open the door, look in the mirror, and that's how I found out my nipples are pierced. Then I hear this low growling coming from the other side of the bathroom, and sitting there is a freakin' polar bear dog."
With that bit of information, Leo was able to calm himself as he rubbed his temple, "Oh dear goodness. What is a polar bear dog?"
Sokka facepalmed and let out a frustrated sigh, "The name is pretty self-explanatory, Leo. It's a large animal that members of the Southern Tribe used to fear and hunt; that is until Avatar Korra tamed one and made it her animal guide."
"Alright, then let's just get our clothes and get outta here," Leo told Sokka and Toph.
"What about Aang and Katara?" Toph asked.
"I've known you four for a few days and I can already tell that Aang and Katara are the responsible ones," Leo tried to reassure them, "They're probably back at the White Lotus building waiting for us."
"That does sound like Katara. I can already imagine her tapping her foot in disappointment," Sokka calmed down a bit, "But what are we gonna do about the polar bear dog?"
"Leave it, Meathead! Whoever it belongs to can find it on their own. I'm not dealin' with a wild animal that can bite me in half," Toph asserted. Sokka and Toph retrieved their clothes, which were in the laundry room, and folded, and even brought Leo his. Leo cooked them a breakfast with green tea with honey and ginger, and he also found some turmeric to put in the eggs.
They all sat at the table and ate a good breakfast. After taking a sip of tea, Sokka asked both Leo and Toph, "You sure it's okay to just leave that polar bear dog in there."
"Yep," Toph answered bluntly.
"Sokka, relax," Leo assured him and explained, "We'll leave a note with a warning about the dog for housekeeping when they come by, later. That way, they don't find it by accident and get eaten. And the hotel can take care of everything from there. End of story."
Sokka felt that seemed like a good enough plan and went back to his food. After finishing their meal, the three immediately started feeling better. Their clothes on their backs, and their hangovers nearly gone, they headed back to the White Lotus chapter building in the city.