Fire-flakes
-In which we eat Fire-flakes and meet a baby
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra, but I do own a love for Mako's scarf!
...
A small layer of ice blanketed everything at the Southern Air Temple, it was winter and morning frosts were not uncommon. The ice lay pristine and untouched until a large sky bison pressed his feet into it and dragged his tail in it. The sun was rising and slowly but surely the ice began to melt, bringing out more bison and lemurs into the open to munch on the chilly grass or pick some frozen fruit.
Inside the temple a family lay sleeping, until the still air was pierced by the sharp voice of a messenger hawk. Only when a man woke up and dragged himself out of bed did the bird quiet down, and when he had taken the scroll off its leg it hopped onto the table and started eating a piece of fruit. The man scanned the scroll and his mouth spread into a smile, he wrote a reply on a piece of parchment and the bird took off majestically when it had been fastened to its leg,
Eventually his wife and children woke up and gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, Aang walked up to Katara while she was preparing the morning meal and gave her a kiss
"Good morning" he said with a smile
"Good morning" she replied brightly
"Guess what?"
"What?" she asked, intrigued
"Mai delivered a baby boy" He announced and everybody started talking at once
"Yay!"
"Can we go visit her daddy?"
"How do you know? How is she?"
Aang explained about the letter he received this morning from the royal palace, Katara was very excited to visit the royal family and meet the new prince. They had been invited by the Fire Lord to stay with them which excited Tenzin and Gyatso. They had not been to the fire nation, and Kya had gone when she was a baby so she could not remember it. Kasami got excited too when they explained she was going to be able to play with her friend Azayla.
….
You would never have guessed it was a harsh winter when you started walking down the main streets of the fire nation. It was pleasantly warm –bordering on hot, the atmosphere was opposite of chilly, vendors lined the streets trying to sell their food or merchandise and it was very crowded. The residents of the Fire Nation had a preference for red clothes so Aangs family were less than inconspicuous in their yellow and blue garbs. Tenzin and Gyatso were running around which was stressing out Katara for she was worried they may get lost in the crowd. Kya stayed mostly at her mother's side and Aang held onto Kasami's hand as she attempted to walk and view as much of the world around her as she could.
As Gyatso was running around a stall caught his eye, it was selling fire-flakes and also milk if you couldn't handle the intense heat of them. The owner of the stall saw the young boy eyeing the bags of red food curiously and beckoned him over
"Ever had fire-flakes?" He asked
"No sir" replied Gyatso before turning to see his family had gathered around him and the stall
"Can I have some fire-flakes mummy?" He asked with puppy dog eyes he could only have inherited from Aang.
"I think they will be too hot for you sweetie" She explained but Gyatso was persistent and soon he was continuing walking with a bag of the Fire Nations most famous food in his hands. Katara had also purchased some milk for the inevitable event of Gyatso finding them too hot.
He held out the bag to Tenzin and Kya, asking them if they wanted any. Kya refused but Tenzin took a small handful and together he and Gyatso each took a mouthful.
Katara watched expectantly as they were still for a moment, their faces rising a few shades of red before they suddenly took off running in all directions screaming "Hot! It's too hot! Ahh!"
It took a moment before Aang could catch them but soon they were panting and had milk residue on their upper lips.
"I told you it would be too hot" Said Katara
"But, Uncle Sokka always tells us how it's the best food in the Fire Nation!" Tenzin replied indignantly
"Yeah, Uncle Sokka said he could eat enough of these to keep Appa fed for a month!" added Gyatso
"Well your Uncle Sokka has a stomach that can hold anything! Honestly, I'm surprised he isn't the size of Appa"
This earned a giggle from the twins and soon they were back to riding their air scooters around and being as loud as possible, the residents of the Fire Nation hadn't been too surprised at the twins screams, there was always a tourist that wouldn't believe how hot their food was.
….
From her vantage point atop her father's shoulders, Kya was the first to stop the royal palace, and she made sure the whole family knew about it was well
"Look! There it is daddy! Tenzin, Gyatso, look! That's the royal palace!"
"That's right honey, we will be there soon, and then you can meet Aunty Mai's new baby"
"Play with Azayla?" asked Kasami
"Yes sweetie, you can play with Azayla when we get there" answered Katara which made Kasami very happy. She had not seen her friend since her birthday and asked about her frequently.
"I think I might take Kasami and Azayla out together tomorrow" Katara told Aang
"That sounds like a great idea" replied Aang over Kasami's excited screams.
The family kept heading toward the palace in the distance until they were close enough to see a figure waiting at the large doors
"Uncle Zuko!" yelled Kya, Tenzin and Gyatso unanimously as they ran into his arms laughing. Zuko had taken quite well to parenthood and was no longer awkward around children.
"It's good to see you again Zuko, how is Mai and your son?" Katara asked
"He and Mai are fine thank you, please come in" He said after greeting Kasami
The 7 of them made their way down the long halls of the elaborate palace. Soon they reached a room with a silver plaque on the door that read "Azayla"
Zuko opened the door for them and they walked into the young girl's large room. Azayla sat near her mother playing with some stuffed animals on the ground, Mai was sitting in a rocking chair cradling the sleeping newborn in her arms. Unfortunately he was not to stay in that state because when Azayla saw Kasami she yelled out "Sami!" and was answered with an equally loud "Zayla!"
Mai shot her daughter a slightly amused look and tried to calm her son down; Katara came over and helped her.
"He's beautiful" She complimented. The baby had a small amount of black hair and brilliant gold eyes.
"Thank you, He hasn't been sleeping well so he is over-tired" she explained to which Katara could relate.
"What did you name him?" Asked Aang after he had said hello to Azayla. Mai looked up at Zuko expectantly
"His name is Zayu"
"That suits him perfectly" smiled Katara gazing down at him.
They stayed in the room for about 15 minuted more until Kya, Tenzin and Gyatso started to get restless. The toys Kasami and Azayla were playing with didn't really interest them and Zayu had fallen asleep.
"Why don't I show the kids where they will be sleeping?" Asked Zuko
Aang agreed and went with Zuko leaving Katara and Mai to talk.
"Would you like to hold him?" Asked Mai, offering Zayu to Katara
"Of course" she said as she took the tiny baby into her arms
"Would you like me to show you your room Kasami?" Asked Mai
"Can Sami stay in my room?" Asked Azayla and the 2 little girls looked at Mai with adorable expressions on their faces
"Do you mind?" Mai asked Katara, Katara shook her head and Kasami and Azayla celebrated quietly knowing loud noises would wake up the now sleeping baby.
"I'll get someone to bring in another cot for Kasami to sleep in" said Mai watching Azayla and Kasami make the biggest mess possible of toys on the ground.
"Just clean up the toys before you go to bed girls" said Katara and the girls agreed.
….
It was the middle of the night when Aang and Katara were woken up by a continuous knocking at the door. Aang got up to answer it and found his eldest daughter standing in the hallway holding a candle
"Can I sleep with you and mummy tonight?" asked Kya
"Sure sweetie, but why?"
"Tenzin and Gyatso are in the rooms next to mine and they keep making noises, I think Tenzin is bringing all his bedding into Gyatsos room"
Katara rolled her eyes with a smile "It figures, the boys have never spent the night apart" she said as she moved over in the large bed so Kya could sleep between them.
Aang and Katara exchanged an amused look as they watched her fall asleep.
"Did you make plans to take Azayla and Kasami out tomorrow?" Aang asked his wife
"Oh! I completely forgot to ask Mai!" gasped Katara wondering how she had not been reminded by Kasami
"It's fine, I'm sure Mai will be fine with it, you can ask in the morning"
"Your right, thanks. I'm surprised Kasami and Azayla weren't making plans of where they wanted to go"
Aang laughed "Maybe they were and you were too distracted by Zayu to hear"
Katara joined in on his laughter "Maybe, but we'll deal with it in the morning"
Aang nodded and kissed his wife before they both fell asleep inside the now silent palace.
A/N I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
Arrows the Wolf: thanks for reading! I like them too!