The ride went surprisingly better than she'd expected. While it took twenty minutes to get from one end of the ring to the other, nobody irritated each other too badly. Ty Lee didn't talk too much about how sweet the ceremony was. Toph conversed with the stranger girls – who she learned were Fumi, Hau, and Isaye, distant cousins of Katara from the Northern Water Tribe -, and deemed them okay. Fumi was a lot like herself, having learned to fight in secret, against her family's ruling. She was a master with weaponry at age 16, and now at 21 she was the only female sifu in the tribe.
Isaye was the oldest of the cousins, 25, and was iffy on Toph's respect scale. She was a bit of a perfectionist, constantly messing with her earrings. Back home, she was married, with a five year old daughter named Fuu. They couldn't make it to the wedding because she didn't want Fuu to miss her classes. Isaye had a strong will, Toph had to admit, but she was too stuck up for her taste. Not to mention Zuko was probably sick of seeing portraits of Fuu.
The youngest was Hau. Only 15, she was still in school, but was allowed a week away for the wedding because she was at the top of her class. Hau was training to become a professional healer. According to Fumi, who was her older sister, she was one of the only benders in the family. Hau demonstrated her healing ability on Toph's ankle, which was still slightly sore from her capture. She was good, but Toph thought that she could do more than doctor others. She was cheery and had a great sense of humor, which kept Toph entertained the majority of the ride.
By the time the carriage pulled up to the Jasmine Dragon, Toph had begun to form small friendships with the Water Tribe girls. Ty Lee walked into the shop with Isaye, still "ooh"ing and "aw"ing over the infinite number of baby pictures stocked in Isaye's purse. Toph chatted with Hau, and as they walked in, Toph noticed that the teashop had been completely rearranged for the reception.
The dozens of tables in the center had been pushed back to one half of the room. One long table, for the wedding party, was set up against the back wall, while the rest of the tables were arranged near it. The entire front of the room was empty, save for a small stage in the corner for a band, which was already present and playing quietly. The counter near the kitchen door had been expanded, to be used as a makeshift bar.
Most of the tables had already been filled by guests, who had apparently received a faster ride than the dimpy carriage they'd taken. The bride and groom were already sitting at the center of the head table, the Maid of Honor and Best Man beside them. The rest of the party filed into their seats.
As Toph sat down, she observed the seating arrangement of the table. Fumi sat on the far end to the right of her, followed by Hau, Isaye, Ty Lee, herself, Suki, and lastly Katara. Continuing onto the groom's side of the table was Aang, Sokka, Zuko, who seemed glad to be away from the compartment of chattering women, Hakota, and an empty seat on the end, where Teo had been meant to sit. Still? Where was he?
Toph shook her head and chatted with Suki. Not long after, the rest of the guests showed up, and the food arrived, no doubt cooked by Iroh himself, as he was just now entering from the back. Her mouth watered when she smelled the decadent cream and seal stew; it felt like forever since she'd had a decent meal, lest Iroh's cooking. She kept her focus off of the dish of sea prunes, and dug into the authentic soup.
The rich, salty-sweet mixture filled her mouth, and her stomach rumbled. She kept spooning the filling nectar into her mouth until the clinking of a glass signaled for her to stop.
She put her spoon down, disappointed, and focused her attention on the other end of the table. Sokka was standing, and shaking slightly, holding a glass.
"Listen up!" He yelled, quieting the crowd. "I would like to make a toast. The toastiest toast, a toast to my baby sister, and my best friend, who's now my brother in law." He looked down at the couple, then leaned towards Aang. "Whatever happened to the bro code of not dating the best friend's little sister?" he pretended to whisper, and the crowd erupted with laughter. Sokka chuckled. "Aw, I'm just kiddin' ya; I'd've probably done the same," he joked. Toph could feel Suki glaring at him from her seat. "Wow, tough crowd. Well anyways, congrats you guys. Ya know, from the second Katara and I found Aang in that iceberg over five years ago, I knew that this day was gonna come eventually. What would most people do first thing after waking up after a hundred years? I don't know about you, but I'd find the closest buffet," he laughed. "But no, not this guy. He opens his eyes, and the first thing he does is ask Katara on a date. No joke. Then for the next year, he couldn't keep his eyes off her! I swear, I would'a popped him a good one if it were anybody else." The crowd chuckled again, and Sokka ate it up. He smiled and nodded energetically. "Yeah! Let me tell ya, it was lucky the kid's a monk, or I would'a had to go all big-brother on him for all that they snuck off together over the years. I mean seriously, what- ow!"
He was cut off by Zuko smacking him on the back of the skull. Sokka rubbed his head. "Yeah, alright, I guess I got a bit carried away. Anyways, congrats you two. And hey," he held his fingers to his eyes and pointed them at Aang, "I'm watching you." With one last laugh, he raised his glass and took a sip of wine. Everyone at the table followed in suit, then the guests below. This went on as almost everyone else up at the table gave their own speeches and toasts to the newlyweds. When it was Toph's turn, she just uttered "To Sugarqueen and Twinkle-Toes. Good luck!", trying to get it over with, and being completely unprepared.
When she was finally able to get back to her food, it was cold, but she finished it anyways. Somehow, it was almost even better cold; or was that just because her taste buds had become solidly accustomed to the wine?
The evening seemed to drone on. Sokka, by this point, was on his fourth glass of wine, and was still drunkenly rambling embarrassing memories of the couple. By the time it came time to cut the cake, there wasn't a secret left from the guests.
Being chocolate, of course, the cake was delicious, and helped fill the gap in Toph's stomach where the sea prunes would have lay.
Not long after she'd finished her second piece, it was time to dance. The bride and groom had their first dance, then it was the cortege's turn to take the floor. Unfortunately, due to Teo's absence and an uneven number of men versus women, Toph was stuck awkwardly dancing with Fumi for the duration of the processional dancing. She didn't have anything against Fumi, but dancing really wasn't Toph's thing, and she thought that the torture would never end.
She was finally allowed to leave the floor after seven songs. During the father-daughter dance, Toph slipped over to the bar, rolling her eyes.
Iroh smiled at her as she slid onto the stool. "I take it you are not exactly having an excellent time?" he asked warmly.
Toph shook her head, and leaned her forehead on her hands. "You could say that," she said. "Could I get a glass of cactus juice?"
Iroh rummaged around under the counter, pulling out a glass from the shelves below. "You know, that stuff is really not the greatest for your wellbeing," he advised. "Wouldn't you rather me brew you a nice cup of hot Ginseng tea? It will calm your nerves just as well."
Toph exhaled. "I guess… but put a couple of shots in it."
She scootched the stool closer to the empty bar as Iroh handed her the steaming cup. After blowing away some of the moist heat, she took a sip, the scalding liquid soothing her nerves almost immediately.
Iroh left momentarily, tending to a man who had sat down at the other end of the bar, before returning. "Would you care to tell me what is troubling you?"
"It's nothing," Toph shrugged. Without even having to see it, she could feel Iroh's inquiring gaze. Of course; he was the one person who could see through anyone's façade. She sighed. "Alright. I've just had the worst week ever."
"How so?" Iroh innocently asked. Toph snorted.
"Well, for starters, I was kidnapped, spent the week in a jail cell in the basement of my own house, had to deal with my prick of a father who locked me up to begin with, then run a hundred miles only to be stuffed in a dress and told to sit quietly. But you know, that's just another week," she said sarcastically.
Iroh's eyebrows rose. "Oh my… why did your father kidnap you?" he asked, dumbfounded.
She shrugged. "He's still on his 'behavior' or 'obsession' kick, and was desperate for me to change. He keeps playing the 'for my own safety' card," Toph put quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "but I don't believe that bull. He's just delusional." Toph rolled her eyes as she said this, but for some reason the conversation earlier still nagged at the back of her mind.
Iroh paused and thought, stroking his chin. "I know he is outrageous, but have you ever tried seeing things from his point of view?"
Toph shrugged. "Not really. Never saw the need to. Besides, I don't even want to know what goes on in his mind." She grimaced.
"Maybe you should give it a try once. It might help you more than you know." She felt Iroh smile warmly at her before walking off to tend to someone else, leaving just that note of advice. Toph rubbed her temple; some things even Iroh didn't understand. Though even so, she took the advice into consideration for once. Others had told her the same thing, but for some reason it was different hearing it from Iroh. She'd considered him more of a father figure to herself for years, and she usually valued his judgment.
Suddenly, she was pulled from her thoughts by Hau tugging at her arm, giggling.
"Come on," Hau said excitedly. "Katara's about to throw the bouquet!"
She gaped blankly at Hau. "…are you kidding me?" she asked.
The younger girl tilted her head, apparently surprised by Toph's less than enthusiastic response. "Aren't you going to come to the floor? It's part of the fun!" Hau exclaimed.
Toph sighed. "No thanks. That's not really my thing." She explained.
"Alright. Catch up with you later, then," Hau shrugged. She scurried off to join the other unmarried women on the dance floor.
Music played as the women danced in a circle, clapping and laughing, around a blindfolded Katara in the center. Toph laughed at how ridiculous it looked. There they were, making complete fools of themselves, and for what? An old wives' tale? Yeah right. There was no way Toph would ever stoop that low. They could get her in a dress, make her up, and force her to dance, but that was just going too far.
She took a sip of her spiked tea, chuckling. The women marched faster and faster, cheering as Katara prepared to toss her panda lilies. Then the bouquet was gone, somewhere in the air, as women desperately shoved one another out of the way in a bloodthirsty grudge match. That part could be fun, Toph thought, taking another gulp.
Suddenly her drink was knocked to the counter by the thud of something hiding the back of her head.
She whipped around. "Hey, watch it!" She yelled, searching for a culprit. She bent down and picked up a bundle at her feet. Toph held it up to her face and took a sniff: flowers.
Not even a moment after picking the item up, she was swarmed by the girls from the circle.
"Oh my Spirits!" Hau squealed, clutching her arm yet again.
"You're gonna get married!" Ty Lee finished for her.
Toph rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said, laughing. "I don't believe in that pansy crap."
"But it's true!" Hau exclaimed. "At her friend Misake's wedding, Isaye caught the bouquet, and said the same thing. But then a month later, Devachandra proposed!" She practically suffocated Toph in a hug. "You're so lucky!"
Toph grinned. "Sure," she said sarcastically. She turned to where Katara was still standing. "Yo Sugarqueen, nice aim!' She yelled. "The circle's that-a-way!" She pointed in the opposite direction.
Katara lifted up her blindfold. "Hey," she protested, hands on her hips, "I'm not that bad! You've seen me before. That was just a bad throw."
Toph pretended to find this offensive. "What are you trying to say? That nobody could ever want to marry someone like me?"
"No, sorry, I'm not saying that." Katara stuttered. She made her way over. "I just thought that…"
Toph laughed. "I'm just pullin' ya, Princess," she joked. "Now why don't you go find your honey so he can get that garter off ya," she winked.
"Actually," Katara said, sounding slightly flustered, "we're going to do a little mingling activity first. Everyone's going onto the dance floor, and we're all switching partners every couple minutes or so."
Toph rolled her eyes. "Count me out," she said, having already had her fill of dancing.
Katara smirked. "Oh no you don't. Everyone means everyone. It'll be fun, I promise."
Alright, now it's getting a little more boring, I admit. Does this count as a cliffhanger? If so, it's not a very suspenseful one.
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