"Hey, how does this sound?" Sokka asked as he stopped at a certain page. "The title of the story's New Year Carnival, and the summary mentions, um, flying foxes, peach-loving hamsters, chocolate fruit and stinky tofu."
Aang blinked and summed up everyone's thoughts with one word. "Huh?"
Just then, Zuko emerged from the stairs. "Oh, you guys are reading a story again? I thought you were playing Pai Sho."
"I'm the Grand Master of Pai Sho," Aang told him happily.
"Alright, don't rub it in Avatar," Sokka told the smugly grinning airbender before turning to Zuko. "You're welcome to listen in if you want, but if you don't that's fine too."
"I think I can handle a story now, and I might just doze off anyway." Zuko took a seat on the couch next to Toph and waited for Sokka to begin.
"Yay! We're finally here!" Aang cheered as he and his friends approached the entrance to the New Year Carnival. Colorful banners were strung up everywhere, and all sorts of decorations graced the stalls as their owners called out to prospective customers. The air was filled with fun and excitement, and Aang was certainly getting into the mood as he wore a beaming grin while dashing forward towards the huge sign announcing 'New Year Carnival 2013'.
Sokka tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Okay, now I'll ask it: what's a 'carnival'?"
"Maybe it's like the New Year Festivals we have," Aang suggested.
"Could be. Alright then, let's see what a 'carnival' actually is."
Katara smiled at her eager friend. "Don't worry Aang, the Carnival won't be going anywhere. You don't have to rush so fast."
"Yeah, take it easy Twinkletoes," Toph agreed as she casually picked her nose while she walked.
From beside her, Sokka raised a disgusted eyebrow. "Toph, do you think you can cut that out? It's grossing me out."
"Not as much as you together with Suki gross me out," Toph grinned, while Sokka pointedly ignored her, choosing to hold his girlfriend's hand instead.
"Oh, so Suki's in this story too. Still though, your nose-picking is pretty gross," Sokka said as he looked pointedly at Toph.
"Well, you're always making out with Suki every time you see her, so you're not one to talk," Toph grinned while Sokka shot a glare at her before turning back to the story.
"So, what should we do first?" Zuko was holding up a map of the stall locations throughout the Carnival, deciding which they should check out first.
"How about we just do 'em as we see 'em, eh?" Toph whistled merrily as the group entered the Carnival, and were immediately surrounded by fellow visitors.
"Wow, it sure is packed in here," Aang observed as his eyes roamed around the entire place. Suddenly they fixed on a three-story high structure towering above the stalls. He pointed an excited finger at the structure. "Hey, let's go check that out!"
"Sure," Katara agreed, her curiosity also aroused by the tall structure. The group made their way to the structure to find it surrounded by a lot of people, mostly excitedly chattering teenagers. A banner proclaimed 'Flying Fox – Only $4 a Ride!'
"So… it's not a flying animal?" Sokka asked after a pause.
"Guess not. Sounds a bit like Appa though – you know, people paying to ride on him," Toph said.
Aang frowned. "That's horrible! Why would anyone want to do that to Appa?"
"And besides, foxes aren't big enough to ride on and they can't fly anyway," Zuko said wisely.
Toph looked up at the banner. "Okay, what's a 'flying fox'?"
"Wait, how can Toph 'look up' at the banner?" Katara asked. "She's blind!"
"Maybe she isn't in this story," Aang suggested.
"That sucks," Toph said simply.
Sokka's eyes widened with excitement. "Ooh, I know what this is! Remember when we went to that amusement park last summer, Katara?"
"An amusement park is a kind of park?" Sokka thought aloud.
"Must be. Now, if you wanna tell the story Snoozles, you have to stop interrupting after every line."
"Sorry Toph. Okay, on with the story then."
"Yup," Katara nodded. She gestured to the structure, which was linked to a shorter structure some distance away by a cable rope. "You attach yourself to that cable rope and let yourself slide to the other end. It's really fun!"
"Cool!" Aang was beaming brightly. "Let's go try it out!"
Toph shrugged. "Meh, you guys go and have fun. I'm going to check out the other stalls. Anyone coming with me?"
"I'll go," Zuko said immediately, for he didn't feel like dangling three stories high above the ground.
"Neither do most of us, actually."
"Oh come on Sokka, we've been flying around the world for almost a year before," Katara said.
"Right, but I still like my feet on the ground where they belong. Just a personal preference."
"I'm gonna skip this one too. Sokka, you can go with them if you like," Suki said.
"Are you kidding me? There's no way I'd leave you alone here, Suki dear!" Sokka slung an arm around his girlfriend. "Besides, I've already ridden this before. I don't mind missing out on this."
"Then it's settled then," Katara concluded. "Aang and I will go on the Flying Fox, and we'll meet you guys later on. Keep in touch by phone?"
Sokka looked around at the others. "Don't say it, I know what you're thinking – what's a 'phone'?"
"Yup, that's what we're thinking alright," Toph confirmed. "But let's just hear the rest of the story before figuring out what it is, okay?" The others nodded in agreement, and the story was continued.
"So long as you don't drop the phone in mid-air," Toph sniggered before heading off with the others, leaving Katara and Aang in the queue for the ride.
Having left behind two of their friends, the remaining party made their way through the crowd, glancing at the stalls lined on either side. Just then, Sokka spied a sign announcing 'Cute & Cuddly Hamsters! $10 for One!' He immediately made a beeline for that stall, his friends following behind.
Suki squealed at the sight of the adorable little furballs running around in colorful cages and exercise wheels of various sizes. "Oh, they're so cute! What do they eat?" she asked a sales assistant standing nearby.
"They eat sunflower seeds and little pieces of fruit. Would you like to feed one?" The assistant held up a small cage where a fluffy white hamster with brown markings around its eyes stared at Suki. She poked a sunflower seed into the cage, and the hamster took it tentatively after a moment of hesitation.
"So hamsters are tiny furry animals that eat 'sunflower' seeds (whatever those are) and fruit. Right?" Sokka looked around at the others.
"That pretty much sums it up," Katara agreed. "They sound pretty cute, don't they?"
"Meh, they could be actually man-eating carnivores who like to tear their victims to pieces before devouring them," Toph shrugged. "Just a thought."
"You certainly have a delightful imagination," Sokka commented.
"Oh, he's so sweet! Sokka, what do you think of him?" Suki turned to look at her boyfriend, but found him missing from her side. She scanned the people around her, only to see him making his way towards her with a bag of fruit in his hand and chewing on a peach.
"Always the thoughtful boyfriend, isn't he?" Toph smirked.
"Well, I probably noticed that Suki looked a bit hungry and went to get something for her to eat while she was occupied with the 'hamster' so she wouldn't be alone for too long," Sokka explained.
"Or maybe you just saw the fruit and forgot about everything else," Aang said, hitting the nail on the head.
"Ahem, we should be getting back to the story now," Sokka stated, clearing his throat before turning back to the page.
"Hey, that stall over there's selling fresh fruit at low prices!" Sokka stopped when he noticed the hamster staring at the peach in his hand, its eyes widened to a ridiculously big size for a hamster. "Um, what's with the little guy?"
"Oh, this one seems to be fond of your peach," the assistant smiled as he opened the cage and took out the hamster, letting it sit on his hand. The hamster immediately attempted to make a dash for Sokka's peach, but he was held safely by the assistant.
"Paws off little guy, this peach's mine." Sokka stuck his tongue out mischievously at the whimpering hamster, only to turn and see Suki's disapproving face. "What?"
"Sokka, you're so mean!" Suki then proceeded to fork out 10 dollars and buy the little hamster, who sat in its small cage wrapped safely in its new owner's hands while still staring at Sokka's peach.
Sokka huffed indignantly. "Suki would never buy some weird little thing that's ogling my fruit! This story definitely got its facts wrong!"
"Well, you were rather rude to the 'hamster'," Aang pointed out.
Katara had a thoughtful expression on her face. "That animal in the story reminds me of someone, though I can't exactly name who. Never mind, just get on with the story."
After another look from his girlfriend, Sokka sighed and handed over the peach. "Here you go, little fella. Just don't expect more where that came from."
As the couple walked closely together, not wanting to be separated by the huge crowd, Suki looked around. "Hey, where'sToph and Zuko?"
"Dunno," Sokka replied simply. Then he spotted his two friends in front of a stall advertising chocolate desserts. As the two approached the stall, they could see a glorious chocolate fountain sitting on the stall counter, while people queued up to buy packs of fruit to dip into the chocolate sauce.
Again, Aang summed up everyone's thoughts accurately. "What's 'chocolate'?"
"A kind of sauce?" Sokka suggested.
"We already knew as much from the story, thanks," Toph snorted. "I've got a feeling we'd be here till nightfall if we're going to ask about every single thing we don't know, so let's just leave the questions for after the story ends, okay?"
"No problem," Sokka answered as the others nodded their heads.
Toph spied them and waved a fruit on a skewer at them. "Hey guys, glad to see you finally made it here!"
Sokka stared at the packet of fruit drenched in chocolate sauce his friend was holding as he and his girlfriend finally got to them. "Gosh, that looks delicious," he said as he observed the chocolate sauce leaving a gooey trail down the side of the plastic packet.
"You can have some too, if you like." Zuko held out his own packet of chocolate-soaked fruit.
"Thanks, but I think I've lost my appetite for fruit after one little guy hijacked mine." Sokka glared back at the little hamster, who cowered in its cage.
Toph tsked mockingly. "Sokka, how could you be so mean to the poor little guy? You're really the personification of animal cruelty."
"Hey, I'm nice to animals sometimes!" Sokka protested. "I don't let their meat go to waste, and I even bought Hawky!"
"Yeah, and you ended up losing him the day after you got him and not even knowing what happened to him," Katara smirked.
"Thanks, Katara," Sokka muttered.
Toph stared at the cage in Suki's hands. "You bought a hamster? What are you gonna name him?"
Suki smiled at the hamster reassuringly, causing it to settle down slightly. "I'll call him… Momo."
"So that's who I was reminded off!" Katara exclaimed. "Well, I can see the similarities: they're both white with brown markings, and they love peaches."
"Plus, they also love to obtain said peaches from me," Sokka added. "I get it: I'll never be free of fruit-stealing pets in my life."
"Glad you finally realized," Toph grinned.
"Very appropriate for a peach-stealer," Sokka sniffed. "Okay, enough about the little terror, we should be looking for Katara and Aang now. I'll give Katara a call." With that, he whipped out his iPhone and started dialing.
"No, don't ask," Sokka said immediately when he saw Aang open his mouth to say something. "We'll just figure it out later, okay?"
"Hello, Katara? You guys done with the Flying Fox already? Great, where are you right now? In front of the stinky tofu stall?" Sokka wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Does it have to be the stinky tofu stall? Okay, okay, we'll meet you there. Come on guys, we've got a date with the stinky tofu stall," he told the others as he hung up.
"What's 'stinky tofu'?" Aang blurted out, then looked at Sokka nervously. "Sorry, I couldn't hold it in."
"Apparently it must be a really stinky food if even Sokka would be disgusted by it," Toph decided. "But then again, he's always got some weird taste buds."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that this is the guy who once tried to have Momo for dinner," Katara replied. "Now get on with the story."
"They have a stinky tofu stall here? Cool," Toph grinned as the four made their way through the crowd towards their destination.
When they finally arrived at the stall (which wasn't hard to find, considering the smell of the wares could be recognized from half a mile away), they saw Aang and Katara happily chewing on their stinky tofu while waving merrily at them. The six friends gathered together and tried not to get pushed around by the crowd. "Want some stinky tofu?" Aang asked Sokka as he offered his own.
"No thanks, I'm good. Seriously, between the stinky tofu and the peach-stealing hamster, my day out has been pretty much ruined."
"Yup, sounds pretty much like a ruined day to me," Sokka agreed. "All we need now to complete the package is another lovey-dovey session with Aang and Katara and the whole thing's done."
"Chances are that's exactly what will happen," Toph said.
"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss. Here, take the fruit. I can't finish the whole thing anyway." Toph thrust her packet into Sokka's hands, which fumbled to get a grip on it. "Thanks," he said drily as he popped a chocolate-covered piece of fruit into his mouth, and then his expression brightened. "Wow, these are pretty good after all."
"Shall we go already?" Suki asked. "I think I need some fresh air, what with the suffocating crowds and the tofu – not that I don't like the tofu, though," she added to Aang and Katara.
"Fine by me. I think that pet of yours needs to get away from the humans too," Toph said as she gestured to Momo, who was cuddled up in a corner of his cage.
"Ooh, is that a hamster? He's so cute!" Aang cooed as he poked a light finger at the cage's wall.
"C'mon, let's go now," Zuko said as he led the way towards the exit, and the group left the carnival with their hamster and chocolate-covered fruit and stinky tofu and generally happy memories.
"The end," Sokka announced as he closed the book. "Strangely enough, Suki was the one who first got Momo in this story. If I were the author, I'd have Aang buy him instead, since Aang's the one who got him from the Air Temple."
"Well, since Aang was on some 'Flying Fox' ride, I guess that doesn't leave him many opportunities to buy pets," Toph said.
"That's true. And it's great to see you're still awake," Sokka grinned at Zuko.
The Fire Lord shrugged. "Well, considering this wasn't another sappy romance story, I guess I didn't get tired of it that quickly, even though I don't understand some of the things mentioned. Like the 'hamsters', for instance, or the 'stinky tofu'."
"I've been thinking," Aang spoke up. "Maybe these things actually exist in that other universe this book comes from, and the author simply put us in that universe. As for Toph being able to see, well, she'd have to if she wanted to get around in that place, since I'm guessing they don't have bending there."
"Yeah, otherwise they wouldn't need to go on 'flying' rides – they would've been able to do it themselves already," Katara added.
Toph groaned. "Okay, all this stuff about other universes is starting to make my head spin. Let's just take a break and have some tea, okay?"
The others agreed, and they all trooped down the stairs for a pot of Iroh's delicious brew, leaving the Companion on the low table in the middle of the upstairs lounge.
Hey there, haven't seen you guys in a while! Sorry for the delay, but my school's having its annual carnival and well, let's just say things have been pretty busy on this end. At least I got some inspiration for today's chapter, and yes, we did have 'Flying Fox' rides, chocolate fountains, cuddly hamsters (though I don't know whether they really eat peaches or not) and even the stinky tofu. Anyway, this is the Gaang's first experience with things from our world (because the 'Sir Sokka' story doesn't really count, does it?) so I want to know what you thought of their reactions. Hope to hear from you! Bye!