Chapter 3: Flames and Fashion
At sunrise, Katara woke up before Ty Lee and Mai. She walked out of the campsite and put some distance away from it, stopping next to where a river emptied into Full Moon Bay. Katara wanted some time alone to experiment, to see if any of her waterbending had carried over with her mind. While standing on the sand Katara took a waterbending stance.
It didn't feel right in that fighting form. Her body was too stiff and rigid, refusing to flow freely. It was used to releasing energy outward, not taking it from the environment and redirecting it elsewhere. The forms Katara knew by heart were sloppy and becoming difficult to perform. Trying to waterbend felt like she was fighting against herself.
Figures… She's not even here and she's getting in my way Katara thought. Struggling with her usual forms, she resorted to the very basics. But even dropping down to merely pushing and pulling the water did absolutely nothing, the water wasn't responding to her movements. Frustrated, Katara threw down her arms, and then blue fire shot out from her fists. Looking down Katara saw that she had melted some of the sand into glass.
"Just great… can't bend even a drop of water, but fire comes out without thinking" Katara muttered. Looking at the fresh glass Katara saw a distorted reflection of Azula, as if it were mocking her. She stepped on the glass and shattered the reflection. "Okay… I have to get the fire under control" she muttered. "What did Jeong Jeong have Aang do?"
Thinking back, Katara tried to remember when Aang tried to learn firebending. She remembered being burned when Aang refused to follow Jeong Jeong's instructions. It had led to her discovering how to heal, and a conversation with Jeong Jeong.
"Water brings healing and life. But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart."
"Well that doesn't help" Katara muttered. That was the only time she had talked to Jeong Jeong herself. She hadn't been paying attention to the instructions Jeong Jeong gave Aang, having been concentrating on waterbending at the time. "Who else do I know that could help?"
Thinking hard about it, Katara could only think of four other firebenders that she could remember by name. First was Zhao, and he was dead. Then there were Zuko and Iroh, who had helped fight Azula once. They would probably attack me on sight Katara thought. The final person was Azula herself, and she was outside Katara's reach.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Katara! Wake up already!" Sokka yelled.
"Mom… I don't want to watch dum-dum train…" Azula muttered, lying in a bed. Then Sokka started shaking her, finally waking up Azula. She reacted and punched Sokka's face, sending him to the floor.
"OW!" Sokka yelled. "Did you have to hit so hard?" he asked while holding his hand on his nose.
Oh right, peasant's body Azula thought. Then she yawned. "What time is it?" she asked.
"It's nearly noon" Sokka said. "Since when do you sleep this late? That's supposed to be my job."
"Noon!" Azula shouted. She scrambled out of bed and ran into the backyard. The sun was high in the sky, moving through the day without her.
Sokka followed Azula outside. "Did I miss something last night that made you so tired?" he asked.
Azula ignored him, wondering how she could have slept in so late. Firebenders rise with the sun she thought. Then she realized what was going on. I'm not a firebender anymore, and without the sun telling me when to rise I didn't know when to wake up.
"Where is everyone?" Azula asked.
Taking that question as her cue, Toph sprouted out of the ground with earthbending. "Sugarqueen's finally up" she said. "Who knew you could be just as lazy as your brother?"
"Hey, I'm only lazy when there's no one around that wants to kill us" Sokka complained.
You are so wrong… Azula thought. She wished she had a knife to stab into Sokka's back just to get rid of another lame excuse for a brother. Wondering how to create one of those ice spikes Katara could make Azula's thoughts were interrupted by Aang walking into the backyard.
"You guys, I know how we're going to see the Earth King" Aang said while holding a newsletter. It had been delivered to their house's mailbox and Aang was the first to check it.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Toph asked. "One doesn't just 'pop in' on the Earth King."
"The king is having a party for his pet bear" Aang said.
"You mean turtle-bear?" Azula asked.
"It just says bear" Aang said.
"Certainly his skunk-bear?" Sokka asked.
"Or his armadillo-bear?" Toph asked.
"Lizard-bear?" Azula asked.
"Just… bear" Aang said.
"This place is weird" Toph commented.
"Anyway, the place will be packed" Aang said. "We can sneak in with the crowd."
"Won't work" Toph said.
"Why not?" Aang asked.
"That's one of the oldest tricks in the book" Azula said. "The guards will see it coming a mile away."
"Plus you have no manners Twinkletoes" Toph said.
"What do you mean no manners?" Aang asked.
"No offense, but you never learned proper society behavior" Toph said.
"Did you?" Azula asked. "You sure don't look like it."
"Yes I did and I chose to leave it" Toph said.
"You learned it, you can teach us" Sokka suggested.
"I'm mastering every element, how hard can manners be?" Aang asked.
Immediately Aang and Sokka started acting 'fancy', or at least what they perceived to be fancy. They started making exaggerated bows, eventually heatbutting each other by accident. Azula pinched the bridge of her nose, not expecting them to fail manners so badly.
"You two wouldn't even pass as bus boys" Azula said.
"Exactly Sugarqueen" Toph said. "Guess it will just be you and me at the party."
OOOOOOOOOO
In the afternoon Katara, Ty Lee, and Mai were riding their mongoose-dragons around Full Moon Bay. The last scrap of Appa's fur that they found had been on the beach, suggesting that the bison had flown across the bay. When they reached the other side Katara spotted another piece of fur and found the trail. It led into a forest, and Katara hoped that Appa wasn't too far away.
Along the way they stopped for lunch in a small clearing. While eating some lizard-bear jerky Ty Lee was curious about what the plan. "Hey Azula, isn't the Avatar separated from his bison?" she asked.
"Yes he is" Katara answered.
"Then why are we bothering with this?" Mai asked. "If they aren't together why go through the effort with the bison?"
I need Appa to bring me to Aang… Katara wanted to say. "Once we have the bison we can use it as bait."
"Oh I get it now" Ty Lee said. "That's a really good plan."
And you are a really good suck up Katara thought. Then she heard something rustling in the brush outside the clearing. "We're not alone" she said.
At that moment a boar-q-pine burst out of the brush, startling the mongoose-dragons. It charged at the three girls, forcing Katara and Mai to jump out of the way while Ty Lee cartwheeled instead. Once out of the beast's path Katara assumed a fighting stance that felt natural, then was surprised that it was a firebending stance.
Muscle memory, figures she thought. It better apply to bending… she thought and punched the air. Blue fire shot away from her fist and hit the beast's spines, which damaging them but leaving its skin unharmed. The beast turned and charged at Katara, forcing her to jump out of the way again. "Do something you two!" Katara yelled.
Ty Lee was keeping her distance from the beast. "Even if I knew where to hit on that I would lose my hand!" Ty Lee yelled.
Mai was throwing knives at the beast, which were either deflected by its spines or barely cut its thick hide. "These weren't meant for this" she said.
"Just distract it!" Katara ordered. She saw Ty Lee cartwheel around the beast to draw its attention, luring it away from Katara and Mai. "You throw your knives and I'll firebend behind them" she ordered.
Mai nodded and threw several knives. At the same time Katara punched the air with both fists, making a large blue fireblast which overtook the knives. The blue fire struck the beast and damaged some spines. Immediately after that hot knives hit the beast, going through the damaged spines and hitting the skin. The hot knives burned into the beast's skin, creating enough pain to convince the beast to retreat.
"Where did that thing come from?" Ty Lee asked.
"I don't know" Katara said. Observing the battlefield she found some of the boar-q-pine's spines broken and lying on the ground. One of them had a few strands of white fur on it. "It fought the bison" she said as she picked up the strands of fur.
"Then it must be nearby" Mai said.
"Let's move" Katara ordered.
OOOOOOOOOO
In the Avatar's house, Toph was teaching Azula proper society etiquette in the Earth Kingdom. Azula found similarities between them and the etiquette for the Fire Nation. The rules for personal interaction were nearly identical, including the rule about not talking to the common folk. The rules for appearances were completely different, which started to annoy Azula.
"How in the world am I supposed to fight in this?" Azula asked. She was wearing a light green dress that was tight around the chest and the legs, limiting her mobility.
"You're not" Toph said. "Proper ladies let the guards do all the fighting."
"That's stupid" Azula said. "What would they do if someone lured the guards away to let others fight inside? They'd be helpless."
"Which is one of the many reasons I don't behave like a proper lady" Toph said.
"Yes, well if this plan backfires the first thing I'm doing is tear this dress so I can move" Azula said.
"Whatever" Toph said. "I think we're ready to go."
Azula and Toph walked towards the house's living room, where Aang and Sokka were playing Earth-Fire-Water to pass the time. When Azula opened the door the boys stared at her and Toph. They were surprised at the dresses and the makeup Toph had required for blending in with proper society.
"Wow! You look beautiful" Aang admitted.
"Filthy peasant, you will speak properly to your betters or suffer the consequences" Azula said.
No one spoke for a few seconds, then Toph broke the silence. "Good work Katara, you're a natural at sounding like a perfect, stuck-up noblewoman."
"So, once you're inside you will let us in, right?" Sokka asked.
"Just don't screw up" Azula said.
OOOOOOOOOO
Hot on the trail of a sky bison, Katara led the way through the forest. She pushed her mongoose-dragon as fast as it would move, wanting to reach Appa as fast as possible. In their way was a small steep hill, which the mongoose-dragons had no difficulty climbing over. Once on the other side Katara saw Appa down the trail, surrounded by women in green uniforms.
Of all the times for Suki to show up… Katara thought. She saw the Kyoshi Warriors draw their fans and shields to defend Appa. "Put those away, there's no need for a fight" Katara said. Mai and Ty Lee stared at Katara, wondering what she was planning.
"What do you want with us?" Suki asked.
"With you, nothing" Katara said. "I'm here for Appa."
"That thing has a name?" Mai asked.
"Well I think it's cute" Ty Lee said.
Stupid! Azula didn't know that Katara thought. "Just hand him over and we can all part ways as unlikely friends."
The Kyoshi Warriors didn't back down, and Appa roared at Katara. "He doesn't like you" Suki said. "I don't like you either."
"Why must they always go with the hard way?" Ty Lee asked.
"You really don't want to get in our way" Mai said.
"We're not abandoning Appa" Suki said.
I'm sorry Suki, I'll make it up to you later Katara thought. Then she punched the air to send a blue fireblast at the Kyoshi Warriors, who locked their shields together to block. While the Warriors were occupied Katara, Ty Lee, and Mai jumped off the mongoose-dragons in order to fight better.
Once the first fireblast had dissipated the Kyoshi Warriors spread out for an attack. One of them was taken by surprise by Mai, ending up pinned to a tree by knives through her clothes. Another Warrior tried to fight Ty Lee, but the acrobat easily dodged and struck the Warrior's pressure points to paralyze her. Other Warriors moved in to take them down, but were no match for Mai and Ty Lee.
While most of the Warriors were occupied, Katara focused on Suki. Katara wanted to apologize for fighting her, but that would bring up to many questions and she didn't have time to explain. Sticking with basic blue fireblasts Katara pushed Suki back, who was blocking with her shield. One fireblast was deflected and hit a tree near Appa, setting it on fire.
Immediately Appa roared and tried to move away from the burning tree. "Sure, Now you're afraid of fire…" Katara muttered.
"Go Appa! Fly away from here!" Suki shouted to Appa. The bison took to the air and flew while Suki attacked Katara with a katana. Katara dodged the blade and hit Suki's arm, forcing her to drop it. Suki drew her fan and stood ready for another attack.
"Don't fans just make flames stronger?" Katara asked. She sent a blue fireblast at Suki and then immediately ran to the side. Katara didn't bother to watch Suki block the fireblast, focusing on getting behind her. When the flames dispersed Katara was in position to trip Suki with her leg, and then with a kick to the stomach she defeated Suki.
"And once again, Victory is Boring" Mai said. She and Ty Lee were standing over the unconscious bodies of the Kyoshi Warriors.
"What should we do now Azula?" Ty Lee asked.
Katara looked up in the sky, and saw that Appa was already gone. Even if I find him again he'd never cooperate with a firebender she thought. "Forget the bison, he's not worth the effort now" she said. I need another way to get back to my friends.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Step out of line please."
At the Earth King's palace, one of the guards was refusing to let Azula and Toph inside. Even after Toph displayed her Bei Fong family seal, the guard wouldn't let them in without an invitation. Azula wanted to simply bribe the man to let them inside, but there were too many people nearby to witness it. With no way around the guard, Azula and Toph backed off and walked away from the guards.
Fortunately Azula spotted a city official walking towards the entrance. With Toph at her side she walked up to the middle-aged man. "Excuse me, my blind cousin lost our invitations. Could you help us?" she asked.
"I am honored" the man said. "Please come with me." He led them into the entrance, the guard allowing them to enter with the official. Once inside they got a view of the party. "It's beautiful, isn't it? By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the king."
"I'm Li Mei" Azula made up. "And this is Tanya."
"Now where is your family?" Long Feng asked. "I'd love to meet them."
"I'm sure we can find them on our own" Azula said. She and Toph tried to walk away from Long Feng, but somehow he got in their path again.
"Don't worry" Long Fend said. "As your escort it would be dishonorable to abandon you ladies without finding your families first. We'll keep looking."
Azula tried to stall the search for their 'parents' for as long as possible. Long Feng wouldn't leave them alone long enough to let Aang and Sokka inside. After a half hour of endless stalling Toph felt Aang and Sokka inside the palace posing as servants. Wanting to mess with them a little, Toph slowly got behind Aang and Sokka.
"Another crab puff please" Toph demanded.
"You found us" Aang said.
"I'd know your footsteps anywhere Twinkletoes" Toph said.
"Thanks for letting us in" Sokka said sarcastically.
"The guy that got us in wouldn't leave us alone" Azula said.
"What guy?" Sokka asked. Looking around Azula saw that Long Feng was gone. Instead she saw Joo Dee approach, seemingly terrified.
"What are you doing here?" Joo Dee asked. "You have to leave immediately or we'll all be in terrible trouble."
"Not until we see the king" Sokka demanded.
"You don't understand, you must go" Joo Dee said. She tried to push Sokka towards the door, but Aang was in the way. Aang spilled a jug of tea on a random woman. Trying to clean up the mess, Aang used an airblast to dry off the woman, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
Azula watched Aang distract everyone present, taking advantage of it to search for the Earth King. However before she could make any progress several Dai Li agents entered the room. The agents launched their rock gloves which grabbed Azula's face and pulled her away. She was dragged away and into a library with Sokka and Toph. Azula noticed that the fireplace was using crystals to turn the fire a green color, and couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for a firebender to replicate the green flames.
Within minutes they were joined by Long Feng leading Aang into the library. Long Feng took a seat in front of the fireplace and dismissed the Dai Li agents. When they were alone Sokka was the first to speak for the group.
"Why won't you let us talk to the king?" Sokka asked. "We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation."
Say it Say it Say it Azula thought. No one in the group had bothered explaining their information to anyone yet, and asking for it would blow her cover. Unfortunately Long Feng had no interest in the information.
"The Earth King has no time to get involved with the political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities" Long Feng stated.
"This could be the most important information he's ever heard" Aang said.
"What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se" Long Feng said. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."
"In that case we'll just talk to you instead" Azula said.
"We found out about a…" Sokka said.
"Enough!" Long Feng interrupted. "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It's the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls."
"Then point us to the nearest general on the walls and we'll be on our way" Azula said.
"No" Long Feng said. "Diverting resources away from Ba Sing Se on the whims of children would ruin our way of life. Our traditions would disappear, the last utopia on Earth would be destroyed."
"You can't pass up an opportunity we're presenting" Sokka argued.
"Until now you've been treated as our honored guests. But from now on you will be watched by Dai Li agents. Mention the war or your plan to anyone and you will be expelled from the city" Long Feng threatened. "I understand you've been looking for your bison. It would be a shame if you were unable to complete your quest."
A/N: Long Feng carried the Idiot Ball in canon, and so he carries it here. He should just relay them to the Council of Five for the eclipse plan, but if I had him do that I'd be guilty of Character Derailment.