What Was The World Coming To?

Chapter 9

Dancers Dream

"Well, my life still sucks ass." Nadra sighed as she dipped her feet into a bowl of water. Katara lay on her bed facing her, "Well, Zuko is never to be trusted. You shouldn't have gone out there by yourself. Accident or not."

Nadra shrugged. Perhaps she was right, but she hadn't seen what happened as Sozins Comet neared. They joined Aang and helped bring down Ozai.

"Wow," Nadra started, "I just felt a wave of de ja vu." She thought of how Toph was the only one who believed Zuko had truly changed and in the dead of night she went after him only to get her feet burned by a half asleep Zuko.

Katara raised a brow, "You've had your feet burned before?"

The older girl shook her head, "Naw, it's nothing you need to worry about Katara."

Nadra shifted and lifted her feet from the bowl of water, "Okay, how do they look now!"

Katara rolled her eyes, "Nadra, they aren't going to heal in a day, let alone get better in five minutes."

The raven haired girl sighed and crossed her arms, "Then how am I supposed to dance?" Katara sat Indian style facing her from the bed, "What do you mean?"

"Dancing is my dream." She held a hand up to silence Katara, "I know that sounds ultra cliché, but it's true." She started explaining, "When I was a kid, my dad took me to this dance academy to check it out. I ended up liking it. A lot." She sighed, "Ever since then I took dance lesson after dance lesson. From interpretative to break dance to hip hop." Nadra paused to look at Katara to see if she was following- Katara nodded and she continued, "Eventually, I got a dance group together with the most talented dancers I know- my friends. A couple months ago we started competing and we made it into the finals."

Katara smiled, "That's great!"

Nadra twirled her finger in the air, "Whoopdie-frigging-doo. In case you've forgotten Katara, I can barely stand. No way I'll be able to dance at the finals. I'm letting my whole team down…."

Katara frowned, "That's horrible."

"I know."

"But you don't need to win some dance competition to prove you're a great dancer!" Katara piped.

Nadra shrugged, "I know that, but me and my team-we're underdogs. People look at us and think 'oh they won't amount to anything in a dance career'. It just gets annoying, I want to prove to them, that we can and we will amount to something in our life, even if it's not dancing." She slammed her fist down on her arm rest.

Katara smiled, "That's what I like about you so much. You're so head strong, you always think of others first and you never give up."

Nadra scratched her head embarrassed, "Pffft."

Katara laughed and gently punched her arm before someone knocked on the door. The girls exchanged looks before shrugging, "Come in."

Zuko came through the door making Katara glare and sit a little straighter. "Hey, Katara, I got this." Nadra patted Katara on the back. Katara nodded and walked out the room, purposely pushing Zuko out of the way.

Zuko glared at the figure that walked down the stairs and entered her room. He took a couple steps forward.

"Stay there!" Nadra pushed her hand out like a crossing guard, "Uhm…Sorry….Kinda freaked there, hehe." Nadra heaved a nervous laugh. She knew she shouldn't be so nervous about him; the feet thing was an accident.

"I'm sorry." Zuko looked away shamefully.

Nadra raised a brow, "No, no. I'm sorry, I totally told you it was okay, and then I bash you. I just got so frustrated and sad and all that crap." Nadra sighed.

Zuko slowly inched towards her bed and sat on the edge, "Sokka told me about you and dancing…."

"What the hell? Does the whole world have to know? I just told Katara." She raised her arms with a 'are you frickin serious?' face.

Zuko shrugged, "I'm still sorry though, Sokka told me how important the competition is to you and your group." He frowned.

Nadra looked into his eyes. People said the gateway to a person's soul or heart or whatever was through their eyes. She took that to heart; she had always looked into people's eyes to see if they meant what they said. When she looked into Zuko's, she saw sadness and remorse, regret…..

Nadra shifted and balanced on the edge of her chair, "Move closer."

Zuko was confused but obliged, "Okay…what now?"

Nadra smiled warmly, "I don't do this a lot or in fact at all," her face hardened as he jabbed Zuko in the shoulder, "but if you tell anyone I did this, I guarantee you I will shave my initials into your hair."

Zuko raised his lone brow and was ready to reply until Nadra extended her arms and pulled him into a hug. Zuko stiffened and let the younger girl hug him. Should I hug her back? Zuko contemplated on what to do and eventually loosened up. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her torso and hug back.

Nadra let go, "I could tell you needed a hug." She pat his shoulder, "but seriously," she pointed her accusing finger, "if you tell anyone I hug you, I'm shaving my initials into your head."

Zuko chuckled, "I wouldn't expect any less."

Nadra grinned superiorly, "Good. Now lift me up, I'm hungry."

"Is this what the other villages and cities look like too?" Toph looked around to the strangely sculptured buildings and surroundings.

Iroh shook his head, "This place is like no other I have been to." Iroh frowned; perhaps his nephew and Toph's friends were in this peculiar place.

"What's the stuff we're walking on? It's not dirt." Toph stomped her foot on the grey cement. Iroh shrugged, "We best be careful, we do not know where we are or its customs."

He earned a few stares from people on the crosswalk, Iroh waved and smiled. The girls at the other crosswalk thought he was a pedophile; they cringed and speedily walked away.

Toph face-palmed at Iroh's innocence of the situation.

You gotta love Iroh.

"I mean, seriously. You let your men dress in non-nation colors? And another thing Willy over there doesn't even LOOK like a Fire Nation citizen." Zita scoffed and nudged Ozai.

Ozai wasn't one to be toyed with or messed with or….don't those words mean the same thing? Anywho, Ozai was just not one of those people you would like to joke around with.

He simply just wasn't a people person.

Will groaned at the comment, it wasn't his fault he was wearing blue! It was….okay, it completely his fault. He liked the color! It looked nice with his skin….

Ozai stroked his beard, "You have a point." He looked at Zita, "What are you doing wearing blue?"

Will scratched his neck nervously, "It looks good with my skin..?" the tone of his voice made itself into a higher falsetto that Zita nor Ozai knew he could reach.

Ozai sighed and leaned on his arm rest, "Will, release her wrists'." He waved his free hand.

Will blinked and did as he was told. Zita smiled slyly at the younger boy, "Thanks." She rubbed her wrists, and then she remembered that he was the Fire Lord, "Fire Lord." She went down on one knee and stood back up, flipping her hair like 'Legally Blonde' bending and snapping.

"Will," Ozai began. Will looked up at him, "Zita will live with you from now on. She had something that I need."

Will gaped as Zita silently cheered. "Yeuh baby!" the girl laughed and fist pumped the air, "In yo' face!" she pointed her finger dangerously close to Will's face.

Ozai refrained himself from face palming.

Zita and Will bowed and excused themselves from the throne room.

"How did you do that?" Will asked Zita while adjusting his fedora. "Do what?" Zita replied confused and tempted to knock that stupid fedora right off of his head.

"How'd you get him to like you so fast? People who 'trespass' usually end up in the dungeon or doing community service or something." Will pointed out.

Zita shrugged, "Well, he did say I have something he needs. Perhaps I've got an amazing ninja skill and I don't even know it!"

Will facepalmed.

"Whatever you say, Zorro." He smirked as he yet again, adjusted his fedora.

Zita slapped her hand down at the rim of the hat making it slap him in the face before landing gracefully on the ground, "Don't call me that, Fredward! And how do you even know Zorro?"

Will glared and picked up his fedora then dusted it off, placing it on his head he replied, "So 'Zorro' gets to you, eh?" he smirked disregarding the other question.

Zita crossed her arms over her chest, "You know, you're really degrading with your dumb nicknames."

"Pfft, you're one to talk!" Will scoffed.

And then a stare down commenced.

Then Zita cheated and poked both his eyes at the same time…with only one finger.

Fourteen year old Cindy was stuck.

She was stuck in the most horrible situation a fourteen year old girl could possibly have.

No, it wasn't shopping and no the problem was not boy related. That was far from the actual problem, though she wished it was something as trivial and simple as a boy problem or a shopping crisis.

She was stuck on Admiral Zhao's boat.

Yah…The Spirits love her don't you think?

It all started out as a normal day. Well, normal enough that is. Cindy JiFu- a fourteen year old girl born from her two awesomely insane parents. Her skin, a really light tan- if not pale. Cindy's bottom half of her body was full and her waist slim. She left her hair down that went a little past her shoulders and her bangs were swept to the right. Her hues an unusual color for an earthbender- golden honey with specks of green. Cindy usually got strange looks from people out on the street thinking she was some Fire Nation spy. Her height was average among her peers but maybe a little shorter- 5'1.

Her mother told her to pick some moon peaches from a nearby tree and BAM! As cliché as it sounds, it happened much to quickly for Cindy to get a grasp on what was happening and she ended up in a prison cell.

Not fun.

"Okay, what's up with you weird fire people and capturing people?" Cindy asked bitterly clutching onto the bars in front of her.

The two guards guarding her cell remained silent and still as Cindy began to ramble. "I mean, seriously. What's the point? It wasn't like I was doing anything illegal. I was picking moon peaches, is that illegal in the Fire Nation?" Cindy pondered on the fact, "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it was illegal. The Fire Nation is a pretty messed Nation, I'll tell you that right off the bat." She extended her hand through the bars and snapped her fingers.

Five minutes through Cindy's rambling about being locked up in 'boat prison' and how moon peaches were utterly delicious, the guards began getting aggravated.

"Why do you even stand around here keep guard of me? I can't bend metal, what's the point?" Cindy sighed as she was met with the same silence.

"You know, will all the silence I'm meeting, they're going to get pissed off and- and EXPLODE!" Cindy screamed through the bars.

"Will you shut up! That doesn't even make sense!" the guard on her left responded with a scowl and a vein popping out of his neck.

"Ewwww, did you know there's like this gargantuan vein coming out of your neck?" Cindy exaggerated and stretched her arms as wide as they could.

The guard on the right sighed, "She can't metal bend. You wanna leave?"

Left Guard fell to his knees and praised the Spirits, "Oh, hell yes!" he got to his feet and exited the room with the other guard.

"Hey!" Cindy attempted to shove her head through the bars, "I'm really not that bad!" Cindy succeeded sticking her head through the bars as she yelled after them. The metal door closed and Cindy tried to pull her head back in so she could huddle in a corner and start pretend wailing so she could attract more guard she could annoy.

Sadly, Cindy hadn't exactly planned the whole 'lets stick my head through the bars and see what happens!', her head wouldn't come back through the bars.

Eventually, Cindy realized struggling or panicking wouldn't help her head get out from between the bars, she sighed, "I really have to think these things out more."

TBC

Me: heyyy ;D fortunecookie, I finally added you in! And I just had to make your head stuck in between bars! WHOOPIEE! Okay yah…. TILL NEXT TIME ;D