The carriage ride home from the academy was dull. So dull that she forced her entourage to go faster, despite having to go through the mountains. She urged her escorts onward, knowing she was close enough to the spot Teo had asked her to signal. She stopped the procession and hopped out of the palanquin and shot both of her hands up into the air, releasing blue fire into the sky.
She didn't have to wait long. Over the next pass, she saw a bright red explosion of fireworks. When the initial blast of light faded, she saw a shape forming in the smoke.
"Welcome Home Princess Azula!"
The Fire Princess smiled and was about to return to her palanquin when she saw a large red... thing... floating in the sky. The guards that were with her seemed hesitant, until they saw the large symbol of the Fire Nation on the side of the balloon. In the basket were two men, waving their arms at the party. "Princess Azula, it would be hour honor if you would accompany us the rest of the way to the palace in our war balloon," said the Mechanist as he leaned over the side of the basket. Teo kept his face impassive in front of the soldiers as he lowered a rope ladder in front of Azula
She looked around at her stunned companions and smirked, grabbing hold of the ladder. "I will honor your request, Mechanist. Your method of travel seems much more suited to me than traveling like a peasant."
Azula needed no help from the men as she easily scaled the rope and climbed into the basket. Once there, she looked down at the ground, then to the contraption that fed the balloon hot air. It was louder than she expected, between the wind and the sound of the flames feeding the balloon. Once she was satisfied that her entourage could no longer eavesdrop on them, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Teo, making him drop the rope ladder he had been coiling back up. Once the moment of affection passed, she turned to the Mechanist. "Perhaps I should task you with a trip to the moon next, since you seem to have mastered flying without a problem."
The Mechanist, wisely, did not comment on the hug. "We have mastered nothing, except the ability to float in the air. Gliding from one place to another has proven to be much more difficult, though I suspect you can get a detailed report from Teo, who has been the lead test subject in those experimentations."
The formality of speech was all a cover, Azula knew that the Mechanist disliked her ownership of his son. But he was far too intelligent to push the issue with her. Because on her word, she could have Teo relocated anywhere in the country and nothing he could do would be able to overrule that order. It was why she chose to hug Teo in the first place, not that she missed him. Not that he was tan from working outdoors. Not that the tunic he wore showed off the muscles in his arms. No. It was just their game.
"Once we get near the palace, I can show you the glider test," Teo added, gesturing to a contraption made of sticks and cloth in the corner of the basket.
Azula passed the time talking about how boring school was and how excited she was for the Solstice Festival.
Once the palace was in sight, Teo adjusted the straps of his tunic, then his braces and the Mechanist turned up the flame in the furnace.
"What are you doing?" Azula demanded.
"You wanted to see me glide. I'll meet you on the ground," Teo smiled, pulling a pair of goggles over his eyes. Once the balloon reached an appropriate height, Teo grabbed the sticks, hooked one end onto his boot and threw himself backwards out of the balloon's basket.
Azula gasped and leaned over the side, watching Teo twist in the air as he fell. She sighed in relief as the "wings" of the glider opened and straightened and his speed slowed to a gentle glide towards the palace walls.
"It takes getting used to," the Mechanist said from behind her.
"What?" the Fire Princess glanced at the inventor, then back to Teo's glider.
"Watching him fall. But," the older man paused, "He always finds a way to get back up again."
Omashu was quiet in the mornings. King Bumi enjoyed that early morning silence. Hardly any of his advisors were around at the crack of dawn, which is why he made sure to be awake then. Less stuffy windbags to ruin his mood while he was reading his mail. He sorted through the various advertisements and standard requests and gifts and paused when an envelope slipped to the floor. The only mark on the paper was that of a lotus.
Quickly, Bumi ripped open the envelope and his eyes hungrily scanned the message. Then the old man ran to his Pai Sho table and started rearranging the pieces on the board.
"He Flew."
The earthbending master held his breath and reread both the code and the message. When it remained the same, he let out a loud, "Whoooop!" and started dancing about his chambers.
Bumi was overjoyed, the boy had inherited the family genius after all. Only a mad genius would be able to fly without bending or wings. But the implications of such an act stung. Soon enough this knowledge would be passed from its discoverer to others and thus used in the war. As thrilled as he was for the boy, he was also saddened. It was very unlikely he would ever get to meet the boy with such spirit.
The King of Omashu reset his Pai Sho table and tore up the letter. He ate the pieces just as his first advisor came to check on all the noise.
The Mechanist knelt in front of the Fire Lord's throne, waiting for his next assignment, as soon as Ozai could bother himself to speak with his prized inventor.
"The balloon is a worthy achievement. But now I need a way to breach walls. A drill. And tanks that can be flipped and continue to function. This is what I require of you, Mechanist. If my brother's army cannot breach the walls of Ba Sing Se, then technology must be applied. The Earth Kingdom cannot stop a machine that has not been invented yet!" the old Fire Lord laughed.
"As you wish, Fire Lord, it will be granted," the Mechanist replied in the standard response. He was about to leave when the Fire Lord spoke again.
"I hear your son has learned to fly like an airbender. At the command of my daughter, no less."
"The glider was inspired by the airbender design. But no bending is required. It would be equal ground for a nonbender soldier to soar over a battlefield, dropping explosives without damaging our soldier," he stated, knowing that only if an invention had a militaristic value, would it be approved by the Fire Lord.
"Elevating the status of nonbenders is a dangerous thing, Mechanist. We would not want the people of our nation to fight each other, would we?"
"No, Fire Lord. I would not want to overstep my bounds," the Mechanist replied bitterly before heading back to his workshop.
~ Edited, again, because I got my dates mixed up again. Sorry for the confusion ~