Sokka jolted away as the bed rocked violently from the kick it received. He blinked quickly and half-opened his eyes. Standing above him was the fuzzy image of a cute girl looking down at him.
"Five more minutes, babe," Sokka mumbled as he turned away from the girl, pulling the blanket tight around him.
"Babe?" the girl repeated slowly. She leaned down close to him.
Sokka sighed happily as he drifted off back to the land of dreams.
"You better get your sorry butt out of that bed right now, Snoozles!" Toph yelled into his ear. He sat bolt upright, covering his ears and nearly falling out of the bed as he leaned away from her. She glared at him. "Good. I'm not your babe, either." Sokka rubbed his arm wondering what he did to deserve a punch as she turned and stormed away, a slight blush beginning to form. Once she left, he threw the blanket off him and got out of bed. "Happy birthday, by the way," Toph said, poking her head back into the room.
"Toph!" Sokka shrieked as he covered himself, before grimacing as he saw her give him that common disappointed look, although he didn't move his hands away. "Sorry." She rolled her eyes before heading for the stairs. Sokka quickly got dressed and followed after her.
"Happy birthday," Satoru said, looking up from a report as Sokka came into the kitchen. Sokka gave a short nod and went to pour himself a cup of tea. However, a punch to the arm stopped him.
"We're going to the Jasmine Dragon to see Iroh, you can have tea there," Toph told him, smiling widely as he rubbed his arm again.
"I didn't know tea was worth inflicting pain over," Satoru said as he cleared his stuff away and slung a small bag over his shoulder.
"It is," Toph stated, waiting by the door for the two of them.
"I won't even argue that," Sokka said, giving his arm a shake. "There's a reason Iroh's tea got him a place in the Upper Ring." Satoru gave a short shrug and followed Toph outside. Sokka came last, slipping his boomerang into its sheath on his back. The sun was at its highest point in the sky, brightly shining, despite the slight nip in the air. They had slept right through the morning. They headed towards the Jasmine Dragon, and Sokka raised his eyebrow to Satoru. "So what are you going to do now that they won't leave you open your new mine here?"
"I suppose I'll just have to petition again some time later, maybe see if we can get some more samples to really get an idea of what's down there," Satoru mumbled, although anger bit at his words. "I doubt that bullheaded official would even care, he seemed like he just wanted to shunt us out of his office and finish his work as quickly as possible."
"I told you to give me a minute alone with him and I would have convinced him to allow you to mine there," Toph reminded him, smiling sweetly at him.
"I'm not sure if assaulting an official is where I want to take this company Toph."
"I'm just saying, you have the greatest earthbender to ever live, why not use her?" Toph said with a small shrug. "Or, we could just go there and mine anyway, just really quietly. What's the chance they'd ever check the mountains?"
"Never ever give her any power in any business related matters," Sokka told Satoru, who let out a laugh that drew some looks from the well dressed people of the Upper Ring. Toph just rolled her eyes, still grinning as they walked up the stone steps to the patio just before the Jasmine Dragon.
The aroma of tea filled the square around the Jasmine Dragon. "This has to be the best thing to ever happen to this city," Toph said as she took a deep breath. They walked into the busy dining room and spotted Iroh talking with a customer as he poured his tea. He glanced over to them, his calm face breaking into a large grin. He quickly excused himself and made his way over, his arms out wide. Toph quickly skipped ahead of Sokka and Satoru, embracing Iroh and hugging him hard.
"It is great to see you again," Iroh said, giving her a small pat on the back, before letting go and turning towards Sokka. "A man of the Southern Water Tribe, how is Sokka getting on back home?" Iroh asked. Sokka frowned and was about to correct him when he saw the sparkle in the old man's eye. "You have grown quite a bit since I last saw you," Iroh noted as he and Sokka clasped hands and pulled each other into a hug.
"It was about time," Sokka said, grinning down at Iroh. "It's awkward when people hear you saved the world, and say they expected me to be taller."
"You don't hear me complaining," Toph said, and Sokka turned to her, a smirk on his face.
"Well, you're a girl, so it doesn't really affect you as much," Sokka shot back, placing his hand on the top of her bun and brought it back, stopping just at the base of his neck. Toph's fist connected with Sokka's arm. Iroh chuckled and shook his head as the two began trading insults. He turned and bowed to Satoru, who returned it, much deeper than Iroh had bowed.
"It's an honour to meet you," Satoru said. He had heard stories of the ferocity of the Dragon of the West, yet here he stood in front of him, a jolly old man.
"The honour would all be mine if I could know your name."
"Satoru, I'm a co-owner of Earthen Fire and a friend of Toph's." Iroh glanced back to Sokka and Toph, who were still deep in their argument. He had an intrigued expression that vanished when he looked back to him.
"I heard about what happened with the spirits of Lady Tienhai and Old Iron. I am happy to see the company has recovered." Iroh eyed the symbol of Earthen Fire symbol on the sleeve of Satoru's clothing. "It is good to see the nations helping each other to mend the wounds of the old wars." Satoru nodded in thanks and watched Iroh place his hands on Sokka and Toph's shoulders, stopping their argument. He gestured for them to follow him and led them to an empty table. "Order whatever you like, it's on the house," he told them, handing each of them a menu. "I'll sit down for a chat soon, there are quite a few regulars that I have to talk to first."
"Before you go..." Sokka said as he looked worryingly at the menu. "The white dragon tea is actually white dragon right, I heard about what happened during you and Zuko's trip." Iroh let out a deep laugh as he walked away. The worried look didn't leave Sokka's face. "He didn't answer the question..."
An Hour Later
"How is your father after the Gilak incident?" Iroh asked Sokka as he refilled their cups with tea.
"He's fine, he's suffered worse during the war; takes a lot more than a cowardly strike to take my dad down," Sokka said, before taking a long sip from his tea. It was delicious.
"I haven't heard fully what happened, other than tensions are now very strained between the Water Tribes," Iroh told them.
"Gilak was basically an isolationist, an ultra-nationalist and an extremist. He believed that we needed a strong leader, like the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, to help us make the South significant in the world. He thought that because of our egalitarian way of life in the South, the other nations would eventually exploit us." Sokka stopped speaking, unsure of how to continue.
"Isn't that what nearly happened?" Satoru asked. He had zoned out of their conversation for a while. Toph, Sokka and Iroh had been speaking about old adventures and battles, and it was simply too much for him to be able to follow along as they jumped from tale to tale. However, he knew a lot about this subject, it was his job to know.
"I suppose so," Sokka mumbled. "The North wanted to have full control of the oil underneath our land, and turn us basically into a colony."
"Wasn't that how it was like long ago, before even the Hundred Year War had been a thought in my Grandfather's mind?" Iroh asked, stroking his beard.
"It's complicated," Sokka admitted. "Technically, yes it was, but the Northern chief, or I guess High Chief back then, was more of a figurehead. we were mostly left to do as we pleased. Now that the war is over, many people from the North have come to the South, along with others from the other nations to help us rebuild and become a force on the world stage." Sokka sat back and a frown came to his face.
"You have thought much of this," Iroh noted. Sokka nodded and glanced over to Toph. She tried her best to look interested, but the political problems of the South Pole never was something she thought she would care much about. She was right. Iroh sipped at his tea. "I have seen what such a viewpoint can do. Firelord Sozin believed that the Fire Nation had a duty to spread its prosperity to the other nations, but saw them as unfit to rule over themselves. He sought the destruction of the other nations so that they could stand tall."
"Gilak talked about a loss of our culture and heritage, and Katara and I have debated it back and forth." Sokka stopped and chuckled slightly. "Gilak and his so-called patriots made their base in the old Fire Nation cruiser, where they told stories and tales of our history."
"Ironic that they would choose such a place to safeguard their history," Iroh said, laughing lightly with Sokka.
"We've threatened to withhold all assistance if we hear the North try anything again," Satoru cut in, "Earthen Fire has acted as a middle man between the North and South, we're hopeful a long-term deal can be made soon."
"That is great to hear," Iroh told him. "You are opening a new mine in the Outer Ring, correct?"
"He was," Toph answered for him, perking up. "However, some boring government guy told him no, and that was the end of that."
"Pretty much what she said," Satoru said, laughing. "It doesn't matter, we have a lot of new sites to check out."
"The business is doing well?" Iroh asked, and Sokka noticed the odd way Satoru's mouth hung open, as if he was worried to answer.
"Fairly well, I would say, We're expanding to many different areas around the world, we're hoping to double our amount of factories and mines in a few years." Iroh sat back, nodding and stroking his beard again. His eyes went to the flowers that faced out the door, towards the slowly falling sun.
"The flower moves slowly but surely. It may take weeks, even months for it to reach its desired destination, but when it does, it finds itself in the perfect position to catch the rays of the sun. When it needs to move again, it does so as carefully as before." Sokka and Satoru stared at Iroh, both completely dumbfounded at the old man's seemingly sudden turn in the conversation.
"He's giving you advice," Toph said, punching Satoru in the arm. Both Sokka and Satoru's brows furrowed as they tried to decipher the advice. "I thought you two were meant to be the smart ones." Toph looked over to Iroh, who had an amused look on his face. "Sorry that Meathead and Gears over here are being idiots."
"Maybe you should simply tell them," Iroh said, while Satoru looked at Toph oddly.
"Gears?" he asked.
"Suits you, doesn't it? About time I found a little name that worked for you. Meathead's was much easier." Satoru glanced back at Sokka, whose annoyed eyes stared right back. "Want me to explain it?" Toph asked arrogantly, pulling his attention away from Sokka's gaze.
"Sure."
"He's telling us to be careful about expanding too quickly. Make sure that all of our current mines and whatever are all in a good position before going crazy with the new sites," Toph told him, while Iroh nodded along. "Didn't you mention that you were having difficulty supplying some of the factories some time back?"
"I did...Thanks, I'll make sure to discuss that with Lao," Satoru said after a few moments. Sokka thought he kept seeing Satoru glance towards him, as if he was trying to work something out. Satoru once again quickly looked away when Sokka stared back at him, and back to Iroh. "Perhaps Lao and I have been too aggressive in expanding."
"Always glad to be of some help," Iroh told him. Sokka glanced over to Toph, who still had that arrogant look on her face.
"Since when can you understand Iroh?" Sokka asked her, and she simply shrugged.
"She has called out here a couple times since the war ended. We would sit and chat for a few hours and then she would head off again," Iroh said, and Sokka smirked at Toph.
"That's really sweet, I didn't know Toph was so caring and-" Sokka was cut off when he felt another pain shoot up his arm.
"Shut it."
Sokka gave a playful shrug and sat back as Toph and Iroh continued talking. He saw Satoru, staring into his tea, deep in thought. He seemed puzzled and Sokka now found himself trying to catch Satoru's eye.
"Sokka?" Toph's voice broke his concentration. He looked questioningly over to her, saying nothing, and she gave a small roll of her eyes. "Have you got something clogging up those big ears of yours? I asked if you've heard anything new about Azula?"
Sokka pulled a face before shaking his head. "Nope, haven't heard a thing about her or her merry band of crazies since the Kemurikage incident."
Iroh pursed his lips and his brow furrowed. "You were both in the Fire Nation for the Festival of the Setting Sun right?" Iroh asked them, and Toph and Sokka both nodded. "How is my nephew doing? I feel I should be over there, guiding him as best I can, especially now that Azula is back."
"Zuko is perfectly capable of being Fire Lord, you said that yourself. Sure, the first year or two have been a bit rocky-" Toph said.
"Rocky is a bit of an understatement," Sokka interjected. "A war pretty much broke out between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom in the very first year," He received the fifth punch of the day.
"I wouldn't worry about him. Even with the threat of the New Ozai Society, he's completely safe with Suki by his side," Toph finished. "Plus the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors," she added quickly, knowing from the slight tilt of Sokka's head he was raising his eyebrow at her. Wait, why would he look at me like that? He doesn't know what happened, right? Toph's face betrayed nothing as she finished off her second tea of the day.
Iroh's seemingly knowing eyes danced between the pair before he relaxed. "You are probably right. I am simply just a silly old man worried for his nephew. I certainly worried enough back during the war." Iroh joked as he began refilling her cup, making her smile.
"You seem too wise to be silly. I'll agree with the old part though," Toph said, laughing with him. Relief washed over her when she felt Sokka's head go back to its normal angle.
"I had always meant to ask, what did you and Zuko get up to when you abandoned the Fire Nation? I heard bits and pieces, but never the full thing," Sokka asked, refilling the rest of the cups.
"Where to begin?..." Iroh said aloud, gently pulling at his beard. They spent another few hours at the Jasmine Dragon, listening to stories Iroh told, and talking about the war. This time, Satoru found himself engrossed in the tales.
"It's beginning to get dark," Satoru noted, looking out the open doors of the shop. "I was thinking we should head out; see what the Upper Ring has to offer."
"Sounds good. Would you like to come with us Iroh?" Sokka asked, finishing his cup and standing up.
"I would, but I have some business here I must attend to. It was lovely to see you and Toph again," Iroh told them, giving a quick hug to both of them. "It was also a pleasure to get to know you, Satoru."
"You as well, Iroh. Thank you for the advice tonight... it's left me with much to think about," Satoru said. Iroh gave a small bow to him, and he returned it.
"A moment, Sokka," Iroh said as the trio began to leave. Sokka looked back and followed Iroh to a Pai Sho board in the corner of the room. "Have you given Pai Sho much thought?"
"Not really. I play it with my dad and some of the other men at the tribe, but I haven't really practiced that much," Sokka admitted.
"Play as much as you can, it is a good game to sharpen the mind." Sokka nodded, not entirely sure what Iroh was getting at. "Of course, any Pai Sho player should have his own set." Iroh held out a tile to Sokka. "Take this, the beginning of your own collection." Sokka's eyes widened as he looked down at the White Lotus tile in his hand.
"Just like the one Master Piandao gave me as a gift when he first trained me," Sokka noted as he looked at the tile. "Although I wish I knew where I put it."
"This is not just some normal birthday gift, Sokka," Iroh said, and Sokka's eyes narrowed and locked onto his. "This is an invitation. Whenever you feel you want to use it, look for any man such as myself by a Pai Sho table. Ask them for a game and in your first move, place the White Lotus tile in the very middle, and state your name and that you wish to learn the strategy of the White Lotus tile." Sokka nodded, his mind racing at a hundred thoughts per second.
"Thank you," was all he could say.
"Due to your deeds, you are already an unofficial member of our society. You'll start as an initiate, and be through rigorous training. However, based on my own experiences and along with reports I have received from Master Pakku and Master Piandao, I believe you would make a fine addition to our ranks." Sokka was once more breathless, he quickly pocketed the tile and bowed deeply to Iroh. "Happy birthday, Sokka," Iroh said as he, instead of bowing, pulled Sokka into another hug. Sokka smiled gratefully at him, and gave a nod of thanks as they parted. He turned and jogged after Toph and Satoru, who had been slowly walking away from the Jasmine Palace. Iroh couldn't help but smile as he watched them go.
I hope this chapter makes up for the relatively short chapter last week. It was nice to get to write Iroh in this chapter. I've found that when you're writing two characters that are quite similar, such as Toph and Sokka, someone like Iroh can give a nice change in terms of how they speak. Anyway, the next chapter is currently being planned out and I hope to start writing it by Saturday night or so.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and would love to hear your opinion on it so far, or any little comments you may have. Consider following if you'd like to keep up with the story. Thanks for reading!
