Last Time...

We flew off away from the village. I'd miss that one day where I had peace. I sighed. At least I got one. There'd be no quiet within the coming days.

Flying away from Kyoshi, a deep pit grew in my stomach. I stopped laughing at Sokka's jokes. I just couldn't bring myself to do more than a half smile. Not to say that they were funny. They never were, but I always laughed at his dad jokes. But I just couldn't. I fiddled with my lipstick and watched the clouds pass by. I missed home. My thoughts were interrupted by Katara.

"So, where are we headed next?"

Aang lit up and he explained excitedly.

"We're going to the City of Omashu. I used to go there all the time. It's really close now."

Sokka, the 'voice of reason', ruined the young avatar's excitement.

"We should keep flying. It's barely been a day. Zuko'll be right behind us."

Aang's face fell. Katara sent a glare at Sokka.

"I think we should stop. Appa's gonna get tired anyway. And I want to see Omashu. We've got a big enough lead on Zuko. We can stop in Omashu."

Sokka looked away and huffed. Katara and Aang both grinned.

"Alright then, Omashu, here we come!"

About an hour later, we crested a snow-covered hill and Aang threw his arms out to either side. He yelled out to us in the saddle.

"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!"

Appa landed on the top of the hill gently. Omashu was completely different irl. The sheer size was impressive even from that distance. It dwarfed everything around it.

"I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi."

I looked over at my companions. Katara and Sokka looked at the earth kingdom city with shock.

"Wow. We don't have cities like this in the South Pole."

Katara's face morphed into excitement. Sokka needed another minute.

"They have buildings here that don't melt!"

"Well, let's go slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city!"

Aang launched himself into the air and landed farther down the hill. Katara clambered down to the ground.

"Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."

Sokka followed Katara down.

"You need a disguise."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?"

Katara rubbed her chin in thought.

"Maybe not grow a mustache."

She looked over at Appa, then back at Aang with a smug smirk.

"No. No, that's not fair. None of you have to wear a disguise."

"None of us are the Avatar. Come on. Let's get you a disguise."

I slid off Appa and sat on a nearby rock with Sokka as Aang slowly took a bunch of loose hair from Appa's coat and Katara put it in place. Aang kept scratching his head which meant Katara had to realign it.

"Ohh, this is so itchy! How do you live in this stuff?"

Appa grunted at him in response. Sokka turned to look at them.

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather."

"Technically, Aang is 112 years old."

Aang picked up his staff, spinning it around a bit, and adopted a fake, old man voice.

"Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits."

We walked all the way down to the road at the bottom of the hill and trekked down the long road to the steadily growing city. Bloody hell. It was huge. As we got to the bridge into the city, my eyes were wide open and my mouth was hanging open. I had not been prepared for this massive city. I lagged behind the group a little in my astonishment.

"You guys are gonna love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

A rough voice cut through the air. They all stopped short at the sound, and since they were right in front of me, I barely stopped myself from running right into Katara. I looked around her head and saw a merchant and three earth kingdom guards.

"Rotten cabbages! What kind of slum do you think this is?"

The guard in front crushed the cabbage in his hand and knocked those in the merchant's arms over the side of the bridge. The guard then earthbended a lump of the ground, knocking the merchant's cabbage cart high into the air and into the chasm. The cart and all the merchant's cabbages plunged hundreds of feet to the valley floor below. The merchant ran to the side to look after his merchandise.

"Noo! My cabbages!"

No bloody way. A huge smile crept on my face while the rest of the group had anxious looks. It's cabbage guy! It's the cabbage guy!

"Just keep smiling…"

Aang walked forward and I schooled my expression.

Aang walked forward with a big fake smile. Katara tittered uneasily, but she and Sokka followed Aang. I wandered slowly behind them. The guard who just obliterated the cart walked forward to meet Aang. He earthbended a huge boulder out of the ground and held it over Aang's head.

"State your business!"

Aang rushes forward out from under the rock in a move much too sprightly for his supposed age. He pointed an accusing finger at the guard and, using his old man voice, began to speak.

"My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"

The guard dropped the stone behind Aang in surprise. Katara and Sokka both drew back, terrified at what Aang was doing. The guard just held out his hands to appease the angry 'old man.'

"Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are."

"Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids."

Katara walked forward swiftly, now smiling pleasantly.

"Hi, June Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you."

"You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!"

He stepped out of the way. Katara nodded respectfully towards him.

"We will."

The guard motioned us to pass him. We all walked toward the huge wall. Swiftly walking, I passed Sokka and caught up to Katara easily.

"Wait a minute!"

We all turned around. He had grabbed Sokka, who had this funny terrified look on his face, by the shoulder.

"You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."

"Good idea!"

Aang threw the bag in question to Sokka. The complex, interlocking stone gate opened up. We all walked forward just marveling at the awesome display. We stopped at a railing close by and looked over to see the city unhindered by a huge wall. The roofs of all the houses were painted in Earth Kingdom green. Then the delivery system. Wow. There are chutes all over the city with crates and packages sliding along them. Aang started to explain to the two siblings.

"This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down."

Sokka looked unimpressed and raised an eyebrow.

"Great, so they get their mail on time."

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes…"

He looked off into the distance, remembering a time long past. Katara spoke up, bringing him out of his haze.

"What is it?"

"The world's greatest super slide."

Aang grinned widely and ran away from us. Katara ran after him yelling for him to stop. Sokka made to go after them, but I stood my ground. I was not going on that death trap. Roller coasters were fine on Earth but they had safety features. No way am I going through the mail system like that. Sokka stopped short and looked back at me confused.

"You coming Rei?"

I scrunched up my face and shook my head.

"I'll meet up with you guys later."

He looked back at his sister and Aang who were getting close to being out of sight then back to me.

"Ok… uh, meet us back here in a couple hours."

I nodded once and he ran off after the children. I stood admiring the city from where I was for a minute and walked into the city.

Omashu was bustling and filled with life and energy. Merchants were hollering all kinds of encouragement to buy their wares. Kids chased each other past you (or into you) in rapid succession. You could hear the pounding of the mail system and feel the thumping that was caused by the crates as they fell down. There was a small earthquake every few seconds. How could anyone concentrate here? There were distractions everywhere. I saw a small pop-up tea shop with a gorgeous woman standing behind the stall. I walked over and she gave me a wide eye-wrinkling smile.

"Care for some tea young lady?"

"I would love some. What is your recommendation?"

"My Longjing is delicious."

I nodded my acquiescence. She talked while she made the tea for me.

"I got it from a merchant in the Fire Nation colonies. However horrible the Fire Nation's actions are, they've got good tea."

"That is definitely true. Good tea can come from anywhere, just like good people."

"An interesting perspective for one so young."

She handed me a tiny tin cup full of what looked to be delicious tea.

"It'll take a minute to steep, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

I passed the cup into my left hand and started to fish around for the money. She shook her head.

"No, you take it. Sharing tea with fascinating strangers is one of life's true delights."

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly at that remark. Isn't that what Iroh says to Toph later?

"I know someone who has said that exact thing to me. How peculiar."

She must be a member of the White Lotus. I looked knowingly into her eyes. She smiled back at me.

"You must've met him at the Garden gate."

"I ate the fruit and tasted its mysteries."

She bowed to me and I to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well."

I took a sip of my tea. Flavors that I could not recognize burst on my tongue in a delectable array of sweet and bitter. I sighed in satisfaction.

"You were right. This tea is delicious. Thank you. Where would one find the palace?"

She proceeded to point me in a difficult list of directions and I knew I'd have to ask many people over the course of the walk if I was going the right way.

"Why do you need to go to the palace? If I may ask."

"I have a suspicion that my friends will end up there. They're a bunch of troublemakers."

She threw her head back laughing heartily.

"They're lucky to have such a good friend looking after them. Safe travels."

"Safe travels."

I bowed my head and walked down the road. Well, that was an interesting encounter.

As I suspected, I stopped at almost every intersection to ask where to find the palace. When I eventually made it to the palace, I was stopped at the entrance by two earth kingdom soldiers. They put their spears in an x in front of me.

"What business do you have with the king?"

"Did you see two water tribe teenagers and a little bald kid being dragged in here for general destruction and mayhem?"

The guards drew back surprised.

"Yes."

I sighed.

"Yeah, those are my friends. I'd like to go see the king so maybe he can be more lenient with them. They're only kids. Though Aang can act like the literal devil sometimes."

They looked between each other and brought their spears back to their sides.

"You may pass."

"Thank you."

I did a slight head bow in thanks and steadily strided into the palace. I strode through a long hallway and into the throne room. King Bumi was chomping on a lettuce leaf, but he paused when he saw me. I looked around and the gang was nowhere to be found.

"Now, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for my friends. Though, it seems I've just missed them. And they didn't even finish their feast."

I walked over to the table and sat in the middle seat directly across from the king. I started cutting into the chicken leg that Aang had left.

"Ah, you must be Rei."

"That's right."

I took a sip of the water that was before me.

"Your friends are fine. I've sent them to the newly refurbished chamber. Aang will be staying for a day longer. Would you like to go to your friend's chamber?"

I paused in my separation of the meat from the chicken bone.

"Well, I don't want them to worry, but I have been walking all day and I'd love to have some peace and quiet."

I stabbed a piece of chicken and slowly chewed it. Thank anything that is holy or spiritual in this world. Perfectly cooked meat. Kyoshi's meat pies were fine, but this was really good chicken.

"You'll have the good chamber then."

I swallowed.

"Thank you King Bumi. I'd expect nothing less from Aang's childhood friend."

He cackled, snorting a couple times. I smiled pleasantly and took another bite of chicken.

"Well, aren't you perceptive?"

I smiled into my cup while I took a swig of water. I didn't respond and simply continued eating. Bumi kept looking at me with slight suspicion, but also a far bit of amusement. I gave back just as much with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. He guffawed and we ate in silence. Once I was done, I stood up.

"Thank you for an excellent meal King Bumi. My compliments to your chef."

"I'll be sure to send the message. Please show young Rei to her chamber."

I respectfully gave him a head bow and followed the guard out of the room. Indeed the chamber was very good. It wasn't a particularly large room, but it had a huge window seat that showed the entire city. The bed took up most of the remaining space. I flopped onto said bed and curled up into the soft covers. Even though I was a bit nervous about what tomorrow held for me, it did not take long for me to fall asleep.

A/N: Sorry about the tad bit of delay with this chapter. This week, I've been having a lot of trouble writing, but I think I'm getting back into the swing of it. Thanks to everyone who's read my story. It really means a lot that people actually want to read my horribly cliche wish-fulfillment. I hope you enjoy the longer chapter. I'm trying to be better about that.