Hey there! Anyone out there? I'm not sure cuz no one commented on the first chapter D: I'LL EVEN EXCEPT FLAME! PLEASE D: WHY WON'T ANYONE LOVE ME! anyways... so yeah, this is chapter two, don't have a title yet for the actual story, so anyone have ideas? PLEASE R&R, if you don't, how will I know how I'm doing?
~I am nothing, therefore; I own nothing. The only thing I take credit for is the plot i've began (which really is no plot at all, I just make it up as i go), nothing prior.
Toph was mad. Not only had she stayed way longer than expected, but during her almost year long stay, she realized something utterly terrible about herself- She was afraid.
On a random island between Kyoshi Island and the Fire Nation
The Avatar and his girlfriend were on their way to the Fire Nation Palace for the Fifth End of the War Celebration. They had come from Kyoshi Island, choosing to spend a few months with freshly married Sokka and Suki before the Celebration. A month before the Celebration was to start, they set out ahead of the Newly Weds, as Aang always arrived there before the masses did. About halfway they decided to stop off at an Island to collect more supplies and to give Appa a much needed rest
During the rest stop Aang decided to talk to Katara about the upcoming Celebration. He secretly hoped that this year would be a formal one like they'd had the past two years. He liked seeing all of the pretty colors of the nations mixing together to make a unified rainbow, filled with reds, greens and blues. He only wished he didn't have to wear his stuffy robes. He was very proud of his nations garb, but after some thought, he was surprised the monks used to wear the heavy constricting material. Perhaps he could make some adjustments to his dressings when they arrived in the Fire Nation.
They'd gotten more supplies and were sitting around a fire with supper when he chose to bring it up.
"I don't care if you don't have fun at the Celebration!" the older waterbender screamed, frustrated at her boyfriend. "Nor do I care that your ceremonial robes are 'too itchy,' you're the Avatar for crying out loud! You have to go! You're the symbol of friggin peace for spirit's sake! Mostly everyone goes to this stupid party every year to celebrate something YOU did!"
Aang looked down at his toes, which were farther away than they were five years ago, he now towered over his girlfriend and rivaled Zuko in height. He didn't like it when Katara yelled at him, he liked it less when she was disappointed in him. It was odd, the waterbender had been very unkind towards him in the past two years. He didn't know what to do about her rash behavior as of late. Often, it seemed like he couldn't talk about anything without her screaming at him for some reason. When he tried (so, so hard) to fix whatever he had done, she'd only scream louder, or flat out ignore him. Sometimes he'd wonder why he'd felt so attached to her in the first place, but then he'd mentally slap himself for even thinking it. He loved Katara with all his heart, no matter her behavior. She'd been there since the beginning, her beautiful blue eyes were the first ones he looked into when he was taken out of that iceberg, her eyes held so much love, for a boy she'd only just met. 'Then again' he thought to himself, 'now that I think back, she looks that way at everyone she meets. But that's good too, I like caring women, as long as I'm the only one she cares for in a deeper way.' Even if her heart was big enough to fit the whole world into it, he sometimes selfishly wanted her to only care for him, and that was not the way to think.
"I KNOW!" he says back to her in a firm, yet controlled tone (he called this his 'Avatar Voice'... Toph just called it stupid) "I didn't say anything about NOT going, I simply said that I wished it wasn't in the Fire Nation this year. Please don't put words into my mouth," he pauses to hold his hand up, as he could tell she wanted to interrupt.
'I DON'T PUT WORDS INTO HIS MOUTH!' she screamed in her head.
The Monk shook his head and continued, "I also didn't say that I didn't have fun at the Celebration, I said I hoped it will be a formal party, that it was less 'fun' but not 'boring.'" He paused again, his face scrunched into a scowl and he raised his voice for his last point, "Also, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WEAR STUPID WOOL ROBES TO A NATION BUILT IN A VOLCANO, OF COURSE IT'S ITCHY!".
No matter, the waterbender was barely listening to him, still fuming about the 'put words into my mouth' part. The agitated Avatar grunted, as his happy mood had all but evaporated and his face was scrunched into a frown. "Clearly, you're not in the right state of mind to deal with this. I simply wanted to tell you my thoughts on the Celebration, but you're in a bad mood, so I guess we'll just drop the subject," he says, his voice firm, with a tinge of sass. He got up from the bench he'd raised with his earthbending and stomped over to his glider, tapping it to the ground, with more force than needed, and watched the blue strips of fabric opened with a swish.
Finally noticing he'd stopped talking, Katara snapped her head up to look at the retreating airbender, "and where do you think YOU'RE going?" she quipped at him, getting up off the stump she'd been sitting on and throwing her bowl of stew down on it.
"For a glide!" he replied, not turning around.
"But we still have to finish packing!" she yelled and began counting on her fingers for each task she pointed out, "and feed Appa, find Leechy Nuts for Momo, and take off for the Fire Nation within an hour!" she finished, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at the Avatar, who had turned and seemed to be counting to ten in his head.
In one swift motion of his arm, Aang managed to airbend all of their supplies and packs into Appa's saddle while sliding his foot to the side, earthbending the hay, settled under a tree, toward the flying bison, who munched on it gratefully. "There." he said pointedly, "I have plenty of Leechy Nuts for Momo on the saddle, now I'm going for a glide, you can head to the Fire Nation on Appa when he's done eating... I'll uh... see you there." With that he turned quickly and jumped in the air, propelling himself forward with speed only an airbender could have.
"Yeah! Great Aang, run away, that's all you ever do!" Katara huffed and flopped down on the stump, forgetting she'd set her stew there. An angered curse echoed through the forest, and Katara stomped off to the river to clean herself, and the Avatar's gliding outline was lost in the retreating rays of sunlight.
On a Fire Nation Airship
Zuko had nearly paced a circle in the floor of his small room on the airship, "Are you sure that all of the preparations are set for the Celebration?" he asked his Uncle, whom was sitting on the Prince's bed, sipping from a cup of Jasmine Tea.
"Yes, Prince Zuko, everything is coming together," the Fire Lord replied calmly to his nephew. "The RSVP's we're all accounted for, and an extra 50 or so chairs will be set at tables in case anyone changes their minds," he took a long sip, "music has been selected, the food is all prepared, the throne room has been converted into a dance floor, and every room in the Palace has clean sheets and towels in them. All that's left is to collect Lady Toph from her home, she did not RSVP, but I know she would not want to miss this."
The last statement made the Fire Prince look up and stop his pacing, "What do you mean Uncle? What are you planning? And why did I have to come along?" The Fire Lord had not told Zuko why he'd pulled the Prince away from his trade documents, he only said that it was important for his nephew be with him. So Zuko, reluctantly, agreed.
"Planning? Why my dear nephew, I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Iroh replied coily, taking a sip of his tea only to recoil with a face of disgust, promptly holding it in his hand to reheat his (now cold) tea. "As for you coming along, Miss Bei Fong will need some," he paused, "encouragement," he supplied, twirling his wrist for effect, "she must be missing us all very much, and I have found myself wondering of her as well, she was such a joy to have in the palace." he finished, watching Zuko smile slightly and nod.
"The guards have never been so attentive," the Fire Prince said, his voice low and eyes far away, "but why does it have to be me," he sighed and shook his head. "I do miss Toph, my arms feel odd without bruises covering them," he said murmured, rubbing his arms. He remembered her time in the palace fondly. The little earthbender wasn't one to talk about feelings, but when he needed her, she'd let him pour his soul out and wash his mind from all that ailed him, in the end, she'd give her advice, stand up and give him a good punch, her form of comfort.
She didn't show her emotions like others, no, when Toph felt happy she'd grin and laugh and bust rocks open. When she was sad, she would shy away from others and stay in her room, then one day appear at dinner like nothing had happened. You didn't want to get in the way of an angry Toph, there's no need to say why. But when she felt love or affection towards someone, they were rewarded with a grin, a few sarcastic remarks, and a good solid punch.
"Surely she'd want- I don't know, Suki or Katara," he added, "or some kind of girl to go and retrieve her," Zuko finished, walking over to his bed and perching next to his Uncle.
The old man chuckled, "you two became rather close after the war, she rarely left the palace," he took another long sip of his now hot tea, "she's like family to me, and I can tell she means a lot to you as well," he said looking up at his nephew watching him nod. "I think of her as a daughter, like I do you as my son, which would make her your sister," he smiled, thinking of their odd family and gestured to Zuko, "do you feel that way?"
Zuko thought for a moment, the wheels turning in his head. At first he'd thought Uncle was sending him to Toph to attempt to marry her off to him. Now that he thought of it, she was like a sister to him. Not that he had much to go off of, Azula was not exactly the best person to compare to, but it's all he had. He never remembered feeling protective of Azula the way he did with Toph. The only emotions he ever felt for his biological sister were fear, anger, and pity when she finally snapped under the pressures of Royalty. With the little earthbender, he felt happy, and smiled a lot more. He dreaded the day that she'd start to notice boys, since they already seemed to notice Toph's blossoming body and pretty face. When the servant boys started to show interest, Zuko wanted to do a few things. He wanted to burn their smirks off their faces, or just shut Toph away somewhere no one would hurt her. He knew he couldn't do that, she could take care of herself, and she deserved to be happy with a man, but if any of them broke her heart, he'd personally see to their demise.
He smiled then, "yeah, I guess I do."
The Fire Lord nodded, "and I'm sure she thinks of you as her sibling as well. I know she wants to go, she spoke to me before her 'vacation.' Lady Toph figured she'd be able to leave after only a month, but told me to send for her if she hadn't returned before the Celebration. I would have gone by myself, but I thought maybe she'd like some young friends. Better yet have her adopted brother come to see her after being secluded for so long." He got up from the bed and shuffled to the door, but turned in back to his nephew to add, "She had a pretty lonely life while growing up. Being here with us must give her a wonderful feeling of unity. Now imagine her at her parents house, after having freedom for five years and surrounded with people who love her- sitting alone in her bedroom with no one to punch. How do you think she feels?" with his point made, he turned and left the room.
Zuko thought of how he felt after his mother left. He'd felt so alone, with only his crazy father, his mean sister and her crazy friends around him. He felt so alone. Thinking of his little Tophy feeling that way was enough to break his heart, she'd been through so much, and she didn't deserve to feel that way. She was the World's Greatest Earthbender, his little sister, she deserves much more than that. He got up quickly, and rushed out the door yelling commands at the crew to 'make this damn airship go faster.'
On Kyoshi Island
"Sokka let's go!" the head Kyoshi Warrior bellowed with a hand placed on her slightly extended stomach, her other on her hip. She winced when she heard a crash in the direction of their bedroom.
"Yes my beautiful Suki-poo!" he called, "I'm coming!"
The Warrior smiled faintly at the nickname her husband had given her, but quickly wiped it off to snap, "Don't give me that, we were supposed to leave at sunrise, it's already noon! Aang and Katara must be only an hour or so away from the palace by now!" she tapped her foot and glared at her husband, who was crawling out of the doorway, clothes covering him. "Must you bring all of our belongings?" she asks, bending over to help him pick up the things that sprung out of the suitcase, "It's not like we're moving to the Fire Nation."
There was a grunt as the watertribe warrior disappeared under the clothing pile then popped up to stuff most of them into a large suitcase, "because my darling," he replies, wiggling his eyebrows, "we need to be prepared, especially if your sickness continues this way. I swear, i've seen you eat more in one day than a whale-seal can eat in a week! Not only that, you keep throwing up, I don't see how you're getting a tummy like that, everytime you eat, you just throw it back up," he continued, poking Suki's stomach. She grimaced, she hadn't told Sokka about their situation yet, and she didn't plan on telling him now.
"So you're making us late, AND calling me fat? That's just great Sokka, thanks, I really needed that," she scoffs and stomps off toward the docks and their waiting boat.
"What? No! Suki come back! I'm sorry!" the watertribe warrior squeaked and ran, bags in each hand, after his wife.
"Oh Sokka, you really are too easy." Suki mumbled as she walked onto the ship.