"Iroh!" Toph yelled as she heard the retired general's voice across the room at the popular tea shop.
"Toph!" he yelled in reply as he walked over and gathered the earthbender in a huge bear hug. "I haven't seen you in weeks, young lady!" The tea shop was bustling with people. Once the war had ended, Iroh opened a tea shop in Omashu in addition to the one in Ba Sing Se. He brewed the best tea in Omashu.
"I know, things have been pretty busy teaching Liang earthbending and kicking Bumi's butt!" Toph said with a smirk. "But I had to stop by to visit my favorite firebender and have some world famous tea!" she grinned.
"Well it's good to see you, Toph. Sit down, have some fresh herbal tea!" Toph sat down at a nearby table and Iroh came to sit next to her with a steaming pot of tea.
"So! Have you heard from Sparky in the fire nation?" asked Toph. "How's the Firelord holding up these days?"
"My nephew is doing well Ms. Toph. A bit overwhelmed but his duties as usual, but he can handle himself."
"As long as he can keep that temper in check!" snickered Toph. Iroh smiled and joined in the laughter.
"Enough about my nephew." Iroh said after a few more snide remarks from Toph and a few loud bouts of laughter from both of them. "It's been a while since I brought out my Tsungi horn for all the customers to enjoy!" Iroh exclaimed with an excited grin. "I know the perfect song to play! You'll love it!"
Yeah I'll love it, thought Toph, if I loved the sound of a dying duckmonkey! "Iroh, I forgot! There's something I have to go to." She said with a shrug. "Sorry!"
"Ohh, maybe it's a date with some lucky young gentleman?" Iroh said with a wink.
Toph could feel her face getting hot as he said that. She tried to hide the blush by turning around, but he had already seen it. Iroh smiled at the embarrassed young lady.
"Well, Miss. Toph. Wherever you're going, take a cup of tea to enjoy on the way!" he said with a knowing glance. He handed her a steaming cup filled with delicious herbal tea. She thanked Iroh and then walked onto the busy sidewalk.
"Man, I can't stand this heat!" said Toph. She took a sip of the now-cooled beverage and savored the perfect harmony of flavors. "The old man sure does make some good hot leaf juice!" Toph said. She finished the tea, then started walking towards her destination. She reached the small house and knocked three times on the door.
A boy came to the door and opened it. He looked to be a few years older than Toph.
"So! You finally made it, Bei Fong!"
"Yeah, yeah Eri. I Know I'm a little late for the meeting." Said Toph with a shrug of her shoulders.
"A Little?" shouted Eri, angrily. "We were supposed to start an hour ago!"
"Oh quit whining. At least I showed up!" snapped Toph. She pushed past Eri and walked across the room. She sat next to a girl with flowing dark brown hair. "How's it going, Jaya?" asked Toph. Jaya nodded in response and fixed her gaze on Eri as he continued with the meeting.
"So, as I was saying," he said with a glare in Toph's direction, "There seems to be another bandit in town. They seem to be experienced, since no one has caught them yet. Any ideas, people?"
"Maybe it's Minh up to his old tricks," said Jaya with a scowl. "We've already caught him stealing from the cabbage merchant. Twice!"
"MY CABBAGES!" shouted Teru, mimicking the easily angered cabbage merchant. Everyone burst out laughing as they remembered the merchant's frequent outbursts. Even Toph got a laugh when she pictured the distraught merchant's face when his entire cart had been destroyed by thieves.
"It's definitely a new bandit." remarked Toph smugly once everyone had stopped laughing.
"How can you tell it's a new bandit? Maybe it's one of the bandits we already caught! Maybe not! Wow, it could be anyone, Eri! Who knows! Oh and hi Toph! I forgot to say hi when you came in!" said Yora with toothy grin. Her wild brown hair danced around as she bobbed her head up and down in excitement. Yora was a skilled earthbender the same age as Toph, with a wild, bubbly personality,
"Sis, calm down! One thought at a time, please!" said Eri to his easily excited younger sister. "We need to focus on finding this bandit. So far they've stolen a few knives from the shop on the East side of the city, and a sword from another shop on the West side. It has to be the same person!"
"What makes you think it's the same person?" asked Jaya. She, like the other members of the group, was an Earthbender.
"Well…" Eri started. He looked at each member of the makeshift crime force. They had joined together to stop the common thieves and bandits of Omashu. Led by Toph, they were a strong group that had easily captured most thieves using their earthbending and skilled tactics. "It's the way they break into the store. Always at night, when no one is around. They made a perfect tunnel from outside the store to the inside."
"A tunnel? So it must be an earthbender!" concluded Yora.
"It is!" said Toph. "I went to both shops after the robberies, and I could feel the earth had been moved. By an earthbender."
"There are hundreds-no thousands of earthbenders in the city! How are we ever going to find out who did it?" asked Yora with a frown.
"We have to catch them in the act!" said Toph as she stood up from her seat and started pacing around the room.
"She's right." agreed Eri. "We need to watch all the weapon shops in the city that haven't been robbed. This bandit seems too smart to go back to the same place again so soon."
"Okay, everyone ask around about any suspicious earthbenders. But don't be obvious! If they know we're looking for them they'll be more careful!"
"But why would an earthbender want swords and knives? They sound dangerous!" a frown formed on Teru's face as he asked the question.
"We don't know Teru. Hopefully we'll find out soon enough."