Ch.2 Nationwide Summons
As Appa flew Aang and Katara to Ba Sing Ce, where the Council kept it's main base of operations, the silence was deafening. Aang had been silent since Katara had recieved the summons. Maybe he was paranoid, this didn't have anything to do with the new law being passed, right? Katara noticed his silence. "Something's wrong, Aang. You're never this quiet." She tried to read his face as he turned to face her. "It's nothing," he said. He hoped he was right. He would not stand for Katara to be a target of this law, council or no council. She meant too much to him.
Several hours later, they'd finally arrived. "Sugar Queen?" Katara barely held her joy as Toph Bei Fong greeted her. "Toph, what are you doing here? How's the Bei Fong School of Earth Bending?" Toph smiled. It had been too long since they'd seen each other. "Slow down," she said. She acknowledged Aang happily. "How you been Twinkle-Toes?" she asked with a laugh. Aang bowed out of respect for his former teacher. "Good morning, Sifu Toph," he replied. Toph rushed forward and hugged him. "Please don't do that," she said. "I get enough of that from my students back home."
Katara couldn't help but laugh. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked. Toph shrugged. "I don't know," she answered. "I was ending a lesson yesterday when a messenger hawk flew into my class. Apparently they don't realize I'm blind, cause one of my students had to read it to me." Toph did not consider her blindness a disability by any means, but there were certain disadvantages that people tended to forget. Katara noticed Aang looking farther away. She followed his gaze, and then took off running.
Sokka helped his future wife off of the train he'd used to arrive. He was surprised they'd made such good time coming from Kyoshi Island. No sooner than he'd stepped off the platform himself was he tackled from the side. He pulled his boomerang, and turned to face his attacker. "Hey, watch where you're-" His jaw dropped. "Katara?" he asked. Suki couldn't help but smile at her soon to be sister in law. "He's still a spaz," Toph remarked. "Did you get a summons too?" Katara asked hastily. Suki nodded. "Actually, we got a summons," someone said.
Ty Lee revealed herself to the group. "Ty Lee, how have you been?" Katara asked. Ty Lee bum rushed the three of them. "Oh, I've missed you guys!" If one didn't know better, they'd never believe that Ty Lee had once been one of their opponents. Ever since she betrayed Azula to save Mai, it had been forgotten that she helped try to capture the Avatar. Aang was strangely silent. Four summons? And all of them people he happened to know? He was sure to have words with the council later.
"Hey, Aang? What's with you?" Sokka asked. He noticed it too. "Yeah, Twinkle-Toes," Toph put in. Aang tried to nod it off. "It's nothing, guys." Toph wasn't buying it. "Ok, you're lying. Do you know something?" Aang mentally kicked himself. He should have known he couldn't fool Toph. He fumbled for words. At this point, Suki and Katara got worried. Katara had known Aang long enough to know that something wasn't right.
"Spill," Toph demanded. She opted a different road than Katara's. Aang kicked a rock in frustration. "When I was at the council, they decided to pass a new law. I tried to talk them out of it," he began. His voice quivered in anger. Katara looked at him lovingly. "What new law are they trying to pass?" Aang hesitated. "You can tell us, you know," Ty Lee said. She'd had the least experience with the group. It had been a year since the war ended, and with the exception of Suki and Sokka, they still hardly knew her.
"They're trying to pass a marriage law," Aang explained. He hesitated before he continued. "Apparently, the council doesn't think that looking for that someone is fast enough. They're looking to speed the process up." He noted the looks on the faces of his female friends. Sokka tried to be the voice of reason. "But then, why would they send for Katara and Suki?" he asked. "I mean, Toph I could understand." He recieved a sizable rock upside his forehead for that. Toph sent him a glare that could destroy the largest mountain.
"Hey, just cause I'm not romantically involved doesn't mean I want someone picked out for me," Toph said angrily. She'd already made up her mind. Anyone they tried setting her up with was gonna be sent back to them in pieces. "What I mean is," Sokka continued as the pain wore off, "Suki and Katara are taken. I mean, we're getting married in about four months," he said. That had to mean something. "And," he said as he looked at Katara and Aang, "You two have had a thing for each other since you met."
"What about me?" Ty Lee asked. The tone in her voice suggested that she didn't like the idea very much either. "I mean, forced marriage was a big thing in the Fire Nation during Ozai's rule. Why do you think I ran away with the circus?" Katara sent her a knowing look. "So what are we supposed to do? Just wait for them to choose husbands for us?" she demanded. Aang shook his head.
"They said they would test it on four random girls," Aang explained. They had obviously lied. Aang was seriously thinking about unleashing the Avatar State next time he saw them. "That must mean us," Katara said angrily. The four girls gave each other knowing looks.