Sokka took a deep breath. He was gathering his strength for the mightiest throw he could muster. He picked up the boomerang by one of its arms, and hoisted it up above his head...

"Sokka! What are you doing in the laundry?"

...and he dropped it, startled by his sister's voice.

Katara's head peeked over the edge of the laundry basket far above him. She looked distinctly unimpressed. "Did you throw the boomerang in here again? I told you it's too big for you!"

"It's fine! I'm fine!" Jia's old boomerang was perfectly manageable for him, thank you very much. His aim just needed a little work.

"Stop messing around. I need you to call a meeting."

"What?"

"I said, we need to organise a meeting! I found a new toy."

This caught Sokka's interest. There hadn't been a new toy in Jia's room since Appa, and he was a big furry plushie that didn't say anything except the occasional moo. Jia had won him at the New Years Festival during the spring, probably using the throwing skills that this very boomerang had let her practice. Whoever this new toy was, if they could hold an intelligent conversation that was good enough for Sokka.

After a few unsuccessful tries, he managed to throw the boomerang up into the air. It spun at a worrying angle, before landing with a loud clatter on the floor just outside the rim of the basket. Mission accomplished. Sort of.

Katara was waiting on the round carpet in the middle of Jia's room with a stranger. She introduced them briefly, and in the end, Sokka interrogated him while Katara went knocking in the boxes and shelves around the room to gather the toys. He sensed that they were well acquainted, even though Katara must have found him at school somewhere within the last day. The kid - Aang - was surprisingly sweet. Katara hadn't seemed too perturbed by his evident monetary worth, though he easily stuck out compared to them. She probably didn't know enough collectors' toys to tell, but they could be real snobs sometimes. Sokka had been here long enough to run into the toys in Jia's dad's room next door, before he turned it into an exclusive study, and he shuddered to think about what they were like.

But although Sokka started out wary, Aang wasn't like he expected at all. He seemed excited to be here, really excited, and Sokka was very satisfied with that. He learnt that Aang was somehow fresh from the store, which probably had a lot to do with his attitude.

"Did you say Katara's your sister?"

"Yep. Same line, we're siblings from the same mover," Sokka nodded. "Heroes of the South," he waved his arms to frame an imaginary screen. "Big hit with all the kids. Jia's mom got Katara in a jumble sale last year so that we would match, actually." He puffed his chest a little; he was proud of the team they were. All the toys seemed to respect them when they were together, and they had naturally come out as de facto leaders of their little community. Even if Jia had taken a liking to Katara that surpassed all her other toys, Sokka included, he couldn't hold it against her.

Once all the toys had gathered on the carpet, Sokka leapt onto the old upturned paper tray they used as a stage and gestured for all of them to quiet down. Everyone was here - from all the Kyoshi Warriors standing to attention in their warpaint to Momo down from where he usually swung by the door, his attention captured by his velcro paws sticking to the carpet. Even Princess Yue had unzipped herself out of her moon purse, showing her face and letting her long, silky skirt flow free for the occasion. Sokka tried not to stare at her beauty. Why did it have to be the prettiest toys that were always covered away?

"Everybody!" he yelled. "We have a new toy. I repeat, Jia has a new toy. Come up here, Aang." He jumped up onto the stage as Sokka instructed. "Aang, everyone. Everyone, Aang. Introduce yourselves and play nice."

There were a few curious gasps - undoubtedly from those wondering what a collectors' toy like Aang was doing in Jia's room. But when Aang spent the next hour mingling with them, Sokka realised there was nothing to worry about. He sidled up to Yue to make an awkward but successful attempt at conversation before she disappeared, watching the other toys from the corner of his eye. Aang was swinging Momo around by his arms, and asking Suki for demonstrations of how they used fans for weapons. All through it, he and Katara stayed close to each other, trading jokes and observations. It seemed Katara's good nature was compounded by Aang's friendliness and the toys all had a good time. When Aang finally decided to lie down on Appa's back, and simply familiarise himself with the surroundings of Jia's room, he left his glider with Katara, who was practising from up on Jia's bed.

Satisfied with his quota of flirting, an energised Sokka decided he should do the same: he grabbed the boomerang and went to practice with his sister.

"Hey, what's this guy's name, again?"

Aang nuzzled into the giant creature's fur, probably his single favourite place in this whole room. Though Jia's entire room was a revelation: there was no end to the variety of toys around, even if they weren't many in number. A hundred places to play, nooks and crannies to discover, lay in its cosy, cluttered corners. Aang made a mental note to check out the adjoining garden the next morning; it had taken him all of two days to exhaust everything in this room.

The creature just mooed loudly in response, shaking violently until Aang lost his grip and fell off, and then pushed its enormous furry muzzle into Aang's abdomen.

Sokka and Katara laughed on the bed next to him. "This is Appa," Sokka said knowledgeably. "Jia won him first prize at the carnival." Appa nuzzled into Aang, his long fur tickling Aang's face until he sneezed. "I think he likes you."

Aang took advantage of the moment that Appa was distracted by Sokka's approaching pats to get up and leap onto his back again. He laid down, stretching out his limbs for balance this time. "Aah," he sighed. "I like you too, boy."

Just then, Suki walked by the dresser with two warriors from her guard. Sokka straightened his shoulders visibly as she approached. "My girls have been patrolling the garden path," she announced. "I thought you should know, he's up on the window again."

"What does he want?" Sokka murmured.

Aang followed her gaze to see what they were looking at. Against the darkness beyond the window, a lone figure, staring out. He didn't seem to notice that all the other toys were out playing, with Jia away in the dining room for dinner. "Who is that? He looks grumpy."

"That's Zuko. He's not Jia's," Katara said sharply. She wasn't standing with the rest of them, her back turned. Aang turned back to Sokka in confusion.

Sokka looked uncomfortably between the two of them before elaborating. "Well, he is. Kind of. Do you see that gold tag on his boot?"

Aang nodded. He could just barely make out a glint of gold from this far away. It was overshadowed by the glare of two thin blades of metal hanging from Zuko's waist - swords of steel that would never originally belong to any toy.

"He's a designer toy. From the Royal Line. Used to be in Jia's dad's collection but his face got melted off so I guess he's with us now."

Aang edged towards the foot of the bed as surreptitiously as possible to get a good look at this mysterious toy. He didn't look like he was too different to Aang, as far as toys went, though his clothes were made of real textiles rather than plastic. He was clearly more expensive than any of Jia's toys, from the detailed sections of hair on his head to the billowy yet strong-looking material that his robe was made of. Aang thought his face got melted off was putting it a bit harshly; from where he could see it, his eye was blackened, the paint and plastic melting somewhat grotesquely together, but the rest of him was spotless and his expression remained clear. A scowl sat on his face so firmly that Aang was hard pressed to believe it wasn't painted there permanently.

"Why doesn't he join the rest of the toys?" Aang said, gesturing to the boxes below them. "He'd probably cheer up a little if he hung out here."

Sokka glowered, but before he could reply, Katara whipped her head around, her arms crossed, to rejoin the conversation. Her brows were knitted and she scoffed loudly. "Oh no, he won't do that. He's too good for us."

Aang sensed the bitterness in her tone instantly. Warily, he turned to Sokka for elaboration again. Anyone could tell there was bad blood between the toys on the bed and the figure on the windowsill, but what worried him the most was that he had never seen Katara look so angry. Her shoulders were hunched and her mouth set almost in a pout. He didn't like it.

Sokka was watching the window with narrowed eyes. "We tried to bring him here and include him. But - he just got angry and he wouldn't join us. Let's just say that that kid's got issues and leave it at that."

Aang watched Zuko practice with the swords. He was pretty good, he had to admit. He wondered what being a collectors' toy in someone's home would be like. Probably boring more than anything, never getting played with. Jia had picked him up twice now, once to be a flying superhero and another time a wizened villainous monk, and that was thrilling, not to mention all the time he spent playing with his fellow toys. He couldn't imagine being restricted to shelves, and not for the first time, he felt grateful for his circumstances. He looked from Sokka to Katara, both expressionless. "It seems like a shame to just play by yourself."

Katara glanced darkly towards the windowsill. "Yeah, well, it's what he deserves."

Aang frowned. There was something they weren't saying about Zuko and it seemed like they didn't want to elaborate, either. Katara's mood stuck in his mind. Regardless of the fact that he actually felt kind of sorry for such a lonely kid, he didn't want to see her like this.

"Hey," he said. "Do you want to go fly the glider for a while before Jia comes back?"

Katara sighed and smiled at his attempt. "Sure," she said, though she didn't sound sure. Aang smiled back; he would do his best to change that.

Zuko watched the toys gathered on the bed, slinking out of the room. The sun was setting, streaming annoying light straight into his eyes. The house was always empty at this hour, with Li and his wife at work, and Jia at her karate class. He liked it. He was able to roam around anywhere he liked, from the study where he used to live, all the way to the kitchen and even in the balcony.

He preferred it this way. Just him alone – and the swords that Toph had helped him fashion out of old razors in the garden, in case he ever found himself in any trouble. This way, he didn't have to stay and listen to Jia's toys and their dumb, endless meetings and gatherings. They never left Jia's room alone, except to go into the garden.

Of course, it wasn't as bad as living your life up in a stupid dollhouse. No, they were doing more than alright, by the standards of his old life. The thought made him wander to the study, and he decided to see whatever Azula was up to.

The room was bathed in light from the glass doors that led out into the garden. Rows and rows of shelved toys glinted in their boxes and cabinets. Li collected toys from all over, antiques and new releases and all. On the highest shelves were ones Zuko had never heard of and wouldn't dare speak to, and ones that put the gilded thread in his collar to shame.

In the middle of one wall, hoisted on a sturdy wooden mantle, was the centerpiece of it all: a giant vintage dollhouse, modelled after the grand imperial palaces of ages gone by. It was open on its hinges to display the delicate landscapes that were painted into its myriad of bamboo screen doors. Drapings and shining textiles of every kind littered the furniture contained within dozens of backlit rooms, but only one toy lived there.

Well, only one toy lived there now.

Azula emerged from the house and sauntered down the delicate, red-varnished steps to the courtyard as if on cue.

"Hello, Zuzu. Not at the party next door, I see?"

Zuko glared at the door adjoining Jia's room, and back up at Azula. From his perch on a low shelf, she was formidable. The dollhouse stood so high on its stand that no one could reach it by design, toy or child. If you were curious enough about the outside world to throw yourself off, that was fine, but there was no way to get back up. Anyone who was special enough to live up there would never risk it with all their expensive parts, as Zuko was well aware.

Azula didn't seem to care one bit about that, however. She revelled in her superiority. As far as she was concerned, when Li removed her once a month for a dusting it was more than enough interaction with the outside world.

She was unreachable, in more ways than one.

"There's some new toy," Zuko explained. "They're introducing him to everyone." He immediately bit his tongue - if that wasn't just the perfect statement for her to latch on to.

Predictably, Azula sweetened her voice in mock surprise. "You don't want to introduce yourself?"

Zuko shook his head irritably. "It's just some orange kid in a weird robe."

Azula tsked and sat primly on the patio edge, swinging her legs down. The golden tag on her boot, engraved with the coveted old Fire Nation dollmaker's signature, glinted perfectly in the sunlight. Every inch of her was perfect. Zuko looked at his own boots, and his tag, the metal scratched by weeks of wear and tear, hidden by scribbled ink. She didn't even get dusty.

She laughed, an unkind sound that seemed to reverberate off every surface in the vicinity. "You're pathetic, Zuzu. I can see that you're too afraid to even make friends with those dirty little playing toys."

"I'm not afraid."

"I don't understand. All you wanted when you stayed here was to get out," she spat.

"I don't want to be friends with those stupid toys!" he shouted. This was a tired argument, one that Azula was relentless with. He didn't care anymore.

"Whatever," she hummed, clinking her fingertips on the wood. "Maybe you're too ugly for even them. You know, I'm surprised Li didn't throw you out."

"Shut up, Azula," Zuko snapped. "At least I'm not stuck in a ridiculous mansion all on my own."

Azula stood up in one sharp movement, incensed. "I get a beautiful house all for my own while you loiter in the corners like some peasant, not even good enough for Jia's silly games." She continued after a quick breath, "And whose fault is that, anyway?"

Zuko clenched his fists, but her tone, caustic as ever, felt as if it was clouding his brain with fury until he had no way to think clearly and retort.

"And besides, we're getting more toys for the dollhouse. I heard Li talking on the phone. He wants to get the Fire Lord and his brother," her eyes sparkled, "our dad and uncle, Zuko. Do you know how much adult toys in our line are worth? Do you know how ridiculous you'll seem, compared to them?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. There was no point in arguing with Azula, there never was. If she thought that sitting pretty all day would make her happy, then so be it. He growled an annoyed goodbye and stomped away. The chatter through the door to Jia's room had died down by now.

Zuko hoisted his swords onto his back and returned to practice by his spot on the windowsill. He liked the view there, of the garden, past the sheds and into the fields beyond. And maybe, if Jia saw him first when she returned, she might play with him again.