Chapter forty two
Your Mother Was a Hamster, You Stupid Cow!
Toph was frustrated. Aang. Twinkletoes. The Avatar. Whatever you decided to call him, he wasn't getting it. Supposedly, he had mastered the elements a thousand times before and would do so a thousand times again. You might be forgiven if you expected him to be better at it by now. You would be forgiven, but you would also be wrong.
"I'm trying!" Aang whined, for the hundredth time. He had improved somewhat over the course of the day, it was true, but he couldn't actually move the rock. He had managed to blast wind at it, but that was about all. He couldn't even stop the rock from rolling down the hill and crushing him. Toph had wanted to try that a few more times, but dear old Zuzu advised against it. He said something about not crushing the world's best hope for dethroning Ozai. It was a bit weird that he called his dad by his first name, but Zuko was a bit weird sometimes.
"You're not trying the right way. You're thinking like an airbender, you need to think like an earthbender." Toph said back.
"How do I think like an earthbender?" Aang asked, half curious and half frustrated. "Can't we call it a day and start again tomorrow?"
"No," Toph commanded. "Just sit on the rock for a while and meditate. Think about how the earthbenders you know might think."
"How do you think?" Aang asked.
"I think you should shut up and do what I said."
Toph was tempted to call the lessons over for the day, but that would mean returning to the camp. It wasn't a bad camp, really. She and Zuzu had dealt with worse, but if they went back now It would be there. Katara's brother. Sokka. It. She wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he didn't seem human. Not fully, not all the time. So, she decided to nickname him It. At least in her own head until she thought of something better…
Aang sighed and leapt onto the boulder he was supposed to have moved. He sat down and closed his eyes. Toph formed a seat for herself with earthbending. She decided to ponder the Sokka question. What was it about him that was off? She thought of the way he walked. She compared to the other people she knew. Zuko, for all of his inability not to shout, was sure-footed. He walked with a sense of purpose, and there was power in his gait. Firebender, go figure.
Katara was fluid, always ready to move. Adaptable. Quick. Aang, for all his faults as a student, had the most unique walk of them all. He trod lightly upon the earth as if he might float upwards at any second. Like the weight of the world couldn't quite hold him down. He was… happy. Free.
Toph stood from her seat and raised a pillar of stone from the dry, rocky earth. She leaned against it and stared upwards, towards what she was told was the sky. She let the sun fall upon her face, closing her sightless eyes. Somehow, despite the inability to see, staring at the sun still hurt. It didn't make much sense, but all the same, she closed her broken eyes. Toph clicked her tongue and thought about how Sokka walked.
He was… heavy. He sunk into the earth just a little farther than he should, despite how light on his feet he was. He was nimble, quick like his sister, and purposeful like Zuko. But for all that, something was missing. Like a little part of him had been lost somehow, and something foul had taken it's place. Something unclean. She wasn't sure what it was, or what it meant, but she just knew. He walked as if he was already dead. At least, part of him was.
And then there were times when he didn't seem to be that way. He would blink and the extra weight would go, his heart would beat a little faster, and he would stand lighter on the earth. If he was still a bit sad, well, that was okay. People were sad sometimes, it was part of being human.
Toph listened to the sound of Twinkletoes breathing and decided to check on what the others were doing. She planted her feet more firmly onto the earth and focused on their campsite.
Sokka carefully swung his sword. It seemed to shine even brighter, the more he exposed it to the daylight. He disregarded the thought and placed his feet. He feinted, stabbed, and parried his invisible foes. He leapt atop of a small outcropping of rock. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zuko and Katara sparing by the stream. Katara was winning, but this was their fifth match. So far, she and Zuko were tied, so this was the tiebreaker.
He returned his attention to his swordplay. He lunged, blocked, and swung.
"Maybe this." He said quietly, before trying out another sequence of moves. "Or this."
"Or maybe…" He threw his boomerang, watching the imaginary opponent dodge it as so many did. He stepped into their guard, stabbed, and caught the boomerang. "Perhaps that."
He had been practicing, asking himself again and again, day after day since leaving the void, was this the strike that could have saved her? Or was it this one? Perhaps none of them, or all of them, could have made the difference. It was too late now, and it would forever be too late. He couldn't go back, he couldn't undo the decisions he had made. He had been given a task. He had been given power. He had taken up the mantle and accepted the duty, and then he pushed it all aside. He had set it down, because of what? It was changing him? Maybe he should let it. If he had changed, maybe she… maybe Yue would still be with him.
He tightened his grip on the pommel. Leather creaked beneath his grip. He took a slow breath, let it out, and began anew. Up, around, down, forward. He swung his Regret. Left, forward, roll, a dive to the side, backwards. He practiced his footwork. Again and again, until his hands ached and his feet bled; the bare soles left cut and ragged by the rough terrain.
"Sokka!" Katara said, noticing his bloody footprints. "You absolute moron! Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
"Because," He said slowly, taking note of Zuko's confused look. He pushed aside his sorrow and guilt, if only to not worry his friends. "If I only train when I'm comfortable, I won't be able to fight when I'm uncomfortable."
Zuko tilted his head curiously. "My swordmaster told me the same thing once."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Really? I heard that from mine. Maste- agh!"
He was cut off when Katara stretched out a tendril of water from the stream and hauled him off his feet. He protested, but she only cuffed him upside the head. "Quit your whining! Azula is right, you really are a stupid genius." She lowered the tone of her voice, making a crude impression of Sokka. "Me man. No wear shoes so sword fight good."
"Really, Sokka, what if we were attacked?" She returned to her regular tone. "Would you fight a bunch of firebenders barefoot?"
"Well, I wouldn't stop to put my shoes on!" He said, his voice cracking. Katara enveloped his feet in glowing water, healing the cuts and scrapes.
"What is it with people not wearing shoes?" Zuko said, pinching his nose. "You're at war with the FIRE Nation. It's the most basic thing! WEAR SHOES!" He started shouting. He stopped, took a breath and shook his head.
"Sorry," He said, "I've had this argument with Toph at least six times."
"To be fair," Sokka said, "She does see with her feet."
"Yeah, he's got a point." Katara stopped the healing before she had finished. "Actually, maybe Aang should do this. He needs practice,"
"Well, that's just great," Sokka said. "First you demand to heal me, and then you stop halfway through. Sister of the year."
"Well," Zuko said, still awkward around the siblings he had attacked several times. "If you compare her with my sister it's not so bad. At least she's not trying to capture… Sorry."
Sokka and Katara had given him bemused expressions.
"Alright, fine! I'm sorry for attacking you, and Aang. And the Southern Water Tribe. And that island where Sokka wore a dress."
"I-! It wasn't a dress! It was uniform!" Sokka said, indignant. Katara rolled her eyes.
"Twenty three hours." She said, Sokka grinned at her. Zuko looked confused because he was.
"What?" He asked. Katara crossed her arms. Sokka took his turn and rolled his eyes.
"She said you wouldn't ever apologize. I said you would." Sokka explained. "We made a bet. I won."
"What? You're betting about me?"
"Yes." The two said in unison. Zuko crossed his arms.
"Don't."
Azula watched as the column of Fire Nation traveled west. She had sent them away, as she didn't want them to draw more attention to her than they had already. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee had decided to pursue Iroh alone, as he appeared to be less willing to kill any of them, and a small elite team could pursue him unnoticed. Azula had taken an unusual course in her decision-making, having allowed Mai and Ty Lee to voice their opinions on the matter. It hadn't been very helpful, as Mai had shrugged and Ty Lee was still thrilled that Azula had saved her life. Never mind that she had never been in any actual danger, to the acrobat it was the thought that counted.
"So now we wait?" Mai asked, clearly bored. She shouldered a pack taken from the Fire Nation. It was brown and dark green, of the sort used by the Earth Kingdom. Aside from that, the three of them had taken up disguises to better fit in with the locals. A mix of greens and browns, not so fine that they would stand out, but of sufficient quality that Princess Azula wouldn't feel dirty from wearing peasant rags.
"No." Azula responded, "Now we go looking for my uncle, and find a river passage to Ba Sing Se."
"But we don't even know if Iroh's going to Ba Sing Se." Ty Lee pointed out. "It could be a trick, he might be going to, oh I don't know, the Southern Air Temple."
"That's true." Azula said, "But it doesn't matter. We are at the edge of an unprecedented opportunity."
Mai raised an eyebrow. Ty Lee looked bamboozled. Azula rolled her eyes at them. "For one hundred years, the Fire Nation has been hammering away at Ba Sing Se from the outside. If we can get inside, then we can coordinate with the army and help them to take the city."
"That's a great idea!" Ty Lee said. "But how are we going to get in?"
"Disguised as refugees, or travelers, or merchants, or just about anything. The Earth Kingdom has had lax security for the last few decades, or so I've heard."
"So the plan is?" Mai drawled, affecting a disinterested tone.
"Just shut up and do as I say. I'll explain it later." Azula said, before turning in the direction of Bao Hu. The three of them made their way to the town and were there in less than an hour. Azula eyed the muddy roads with distaste, and then quickly smoothed her expression. Refugees did not blink at being covered in mud. She briefly thought of the time that the pathetic waterbender had covered her in mud near the Ilah colony, shook her head once, and continued forward.
They went to the docks to find passage to Ba Sing Se, but there were no passenger vessels going to the city for the next few weeks. Apparently, they had been convinced to leave early and none of them would be returning for some time. A coincidence? Maybe. Azula was more inclined to believe that her uncle had something to do with it.
"So." Mai said, "Not traveling by river."
"No. Obviously, that's not an option. We could commandeer a vessel of course, but I don't know how to sail one of these little boats."
"I don't either," Ty Lee answered Azula.
"I'm sorry Sifu Toph," The Avatar whined, "I just don't think I'm cut out to be an earthbender."
"You're an idiot," Toph said, "You've been an earthbender since the dawn of time, stop being a baby."
"I- I'm not being a-"
"Yes, you are," Toph said. Aang crossed his arms. She exhaled, looking at the monk. This wasn't working. She had to think of a better way, a way to describe it to him more clearly.
"Say, Aang," She began, "What does airbending feel like?"
"Uh… I don't know. Fun, I guess?" He said.
"No, I mean the air, does it resist?" Toph clarified.
Aang shook his head. "No, it wants to move. It shifts around by itself, you've just gotta kinda show it where to go."
"What about waterbending?" Toph asked.
"Waterbending isn't very different from airbending, really. The way it feels, I mean. The moves you use are different, but the feeling's similar. Water wants to move, it wants to melt, it wants to flow. Unlike airbending, you have to push and pull, you can't just push it in the right direction. It will get out of hand."
Toph nodded. "I see. Well, not really, but it's a figure of speech."
"What's earthbending like?" Aang asked.
"It's…. Earth is stubborn. It doesn't want to move. A rock is more than happy to sit in the same place for a thousand years rather than move. If you don't make it do so, it will just sit there. You've got to put your will to move out there and tell it who's boss. If you ask it nicely, it won't do anything. If you say, 'Please, break.' the rock just sits there, and you'd have better luck with a sledge hammer."
"But, if you understand that you are the earthbender, you move the world around you, it stays whole or crumbles at your command. You tell that rock to break, it will shatter. It'll turn to dust and that's that."
The two of them sat in silence for a while. Toph could make out the sounds of the others training or gathering food, or whatever they were doing. Aang stared into the distance as he considered Toph's words.
"I think I get it," Aang said. "I want to try again."
Toph nodded, and Aang walked to the boulder he had been practicing on. He got into his horse stance and took a deep breath. He squared his shoulders, furrowed his brow, and punched out at the stone. As his fist made contact, the rock shattered.
"We're going to ride ostrich-horses to Ba Sing Se?" Mai said, with a raised eyebrow and a hint of despair in her flat voice.
"Ty Lee and I will. You're more than welcome to walk." Azula said.
Mai rolled her eyes. Ty Lee giggled. Azula walked to the stables near the western gate of Bao Hu. Bao Hu. She considered the name. To protect? Or perhaps it was to defend? She was unfamiliar with the history of the town. It didn't have a strategically important location, as far as she could tell. Maybe it had something to do with the founding of the settlement. Either way, it didn't seem to matter much.
Azula pushed open the door to the stable's office. A man with a potbelly stood at a counter reading a scroll. Without thinking, Azula held the door open for her friends, which for some reason caused a scene. Mai stared at her as if she had grown a second head, and Ty Lee started to cry.
"What? What happened to you?" Azula asked Ty Lee. Mai was still staring in shock.
"Y-you held the door open for us!" Ty Lee blubbered. "Yesterday you saved my life and now you're holding open the door! I just-" Ty Lee threw her arms around Azula and tried to shatter her spine- or at least that was what it felt like.
"Let go of me!" Azula said, "I just held- Mai, stop! What is going on?! Stop touching me!"
Mai had joined in the hug as well, albeit in a supremely awkward fashion. Azula fought her way free and stared at her two friends in bewilderment. She placed her hands on her hips and scowled. Ty Lee tried to hug her again, but Azula was ready for it this time. She stepped to the side and lightly slapped the girl on the back of the head.
"That is enough!" She said, thoroughly confused and alarmed. Had they been poisoned? Was there something in the water? "I expect proper behavior from the two of you!"
Ty Lee looked chagrined, and Mai had returned to her usual stoic self. Azula narrowed her eyes at them in suspicion, before turning her attention to the pot-bellied man. He had moved away in front of the counter and was staring at them in confusion. He was a greasy, balding man. Azula guessed he made a hobby of going through his neighbor's trash, going by the smell of him.
"Good afternoon," Azula said. "I require three ostrich-horses."
"Ah, yes, of course." The gross little man said, in a far more elegant voice than she would have expected. "I am Tim Tsun. I assure you, that this establishment has some of the finest and most reliable steeds to be found anywhere in the province! Why, there was a time when the nobility of Ba Sing Se would purchase our stock, although the war has stopped such lucrative business in recent years."
Azula paused. The man, despite his unclean appearance, was rather well-spoken. He seemed educated -for an Earth Kingdom commoner that is- yet his hygiene was… bad. She looked him up and down, and evidently, the man noticed her confusion.
"Ah, yes." He grimaced, "I do apologize. You see, I've gotten into an argument with the soapmaker, and he won't do any business with me. He's taken offense at some of my, uh, words."
"I don't care," Azula said. "After we're done here, bathe in the river. You stink."
The man frowned at her. He seemed to consider a retort, but thought better of it. He turned and said, "Right this way."
Tim Tsun led them into the stable. There were many stalls, all of which housed ostrich-horses. A few of them caught her eye, one was a rich golden color, with an onyx beak and sharp eyes. She walked up to it and gave it a quick inspection.
"I'll take this one." She said, Tim Tsun smiled at her without mirth and said, "Wonderful. Two hundred gold pieces."
"Very funny." She said, "How much?"
"Two. Hundred. Gold." Tim said. Azula slowly turned to him.
"Are you insane?"
"No, but you're rude. I'm not selling my best stock to you."
Azula's lip curled, and she was moments away from electrocuting the man when Ty Lee stepped in.
"We probably couldn't afford him anyway." She said, "We're traveling to Ba Sing Se, so we can't spend all of our money in one place. Do you have anything more affordable?"
Tim Tsun turned his attention to Ty Lee. "Well, if you're traveling all the way to the great city then I have just the birds for you."
He turned and led them to the end of the stable. Three animals were tethered in the stall. A dull gray bird, a bored-looking ostrich horse with mottled white and brown feathers that resembled spots, and a tired, meek-looking light brown animal. Upon seeing Azula, however, the light brown bird got to her feet and squawked. She walked to the gate of the stall and tried to nuzzle the deadly firebender.
Azula, who had never been liked by animals, was astounded, confused, and for some reason nervous. She looked at Ty Lee, who was smiling broadly. Mai was bored, although she had raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment of the odd situation.
"Ah, that's Sugar Foot. She's new. The other two are Plain Rice," He pointed to the gray animal, "And Dots." He pointed at the gray and white bird.
"Well, then." Ty Lee said, who under her own volition had taken over the negotiations. "How much?"
Tim Tsun tapped his chin and scratched his belly. He gazed at the three young women and then at the birds. " Two gold ten silvers."
"Deal!" Ty Lee exclaimed. Azula rolled her eyes and handed over the money bag to Ty Lee, who gave the man three gold and was given change. And then they negotiated for the saddles, feed, and other supplies. Ty Lee ended up giving over the forty silvers she had gotten in change from the man.
Tim Tsun showed them how to saddle the animals, and then they were off. Mai was given Plain Rice, and Azula had tried to take Dots, but Sugar Foot put up a fuss over those arrangements. She refused to let Ty Lee ride her, so Azula ended up riding the ostrich-horse herself. She took a slow breath and said to the animal, "I don't know who your last owner was, but if they were okay with calling you Sugar Foot then they were an idiot. From now on, you are called Yaoke after dawn."
Sugar Foot, much to Azula's ignorance, was fed up with people trying to call her that. First Zuko, and now Azula. She screeched angrily and shook the princess.
"I don't think she likes that name," Mai observed.
"Oh, really?" Azula cut out sarcastically, "And here I thought the angry screeching and bucking meant she liked it."
"I should mention," Tim Tsun said, "If you are heading directly to the capital, there have been reports of highwaymen and robbers along the main road. A group of warriors endeavored to track them down a few days ago, the… Uh…" H screwed up his face as he tried to recall the memory, "Oshinama Fighters? I don't really recall the name. The point is to be on the lookout."
"Uh, is there anything you would like to say to the nice man?" Ty Lee asked, looking at Azula pointedly.
Azula glared at her. Did she really expect her to thank the stable master? The man was stinking, fat, and greasy. He needed to bathe. Azula plastered on a smile and said, "As a matter of fact, yes!"
She turned to Tim Tsun: "Your mother was a hamster, you stupid cow!"
Aang was rather pleased with himself. He had managed to earthbend! Sure, in theory, he had learned earthbending thousands of times, but it still felt like the first time. Now he and Toph were walking back to camp, and after a long day of bitter work, he was exhausted.
"So, Aang," Toph began, "What's going on with Sokka?"
The Avatar paused, "What do you mean?"
Toph clicked her tongue and blew the hair out of her eyes. "There's something strange about him. Like he's… I don't know how to explain it. Sometimes he's like a normal person, and sometimes he's not. Like something creepy crawled inside of him or something."
Aang blinked and waved dismissively. "Oh, that. Yeah, he's got some kind of weird, creepy spirit thing going on."
Toph's face screwed up for a moment. "What does that even mean?"
"Eh," He said, drawing out the sound, "It's probably better to let Sokka explain it himself."
"Fine," Toph said, before taking an earthbending stance, grabbing Aang by the shirt, and then launching the pair of them into the air. Aang, surprised and elated, laughed raucously at the sudden flight. Toph, for her part, looked serious and ready for a fight. In a few seconds, the pair had landed, with Aang slowing their fall to alight gently on the ground.
Aang stepped away from Toph with a bright smile on his face. He was always on board for spontaneous acts of air travel. Toph, unfortunately, was scowling. She stomped over to Sokka who was still barefoot, still practicing with his sword, still bleeding from his feet, and somehow… empty. Toph stepped inside his guard and poked a sturdy finger in the middle of his chest and said, "What is your deal? Why do you have weird and creepy spirit powers?"
Sokka did not so much as blink. He held all the emotion of a stone. He paused, lowered his sword, and met her eyes. Well, he looked at them, she couldn't exactly meet his gaze.
"It's complicated."
"Wow, that really helps. Glad you explained that to me."
"Wait," Zuko said, "Spirit powers?"
"Yeah, he made a deal with a spirit and sold his soul by accident," Katara said, glaring at her brother.
Zuko stared blankly at her, and then at Sokka. He looked at Aang, and then back to Sokka. He walked over and lifted Toph from the ground and, much to her protest, carried her over to sit beside the fire. He took a slow breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and exhaled. Speaking under his breath he said, "I swear, if I have to be the voice of reason for this group we're doomed."
"My uncle mentioned something about a bond to a face spirit of some kind." Zuko said, louder so that he would be heard, "But I wasn't paying attention."
Katara looked at him with a half-annoyed, half-confused expression: "Why weren't you paying attention?"
"I was trying to learn a new firebending move," Zuko said.
"It better be pretty impressive if it took precedence over the Face Stealer," Katara said.
"As a matter of- wait, face stealer?"
"Yes," Katara answered. Zuko whipped his head to look at Sokka, who was taking a seat on a log. He shrugged.
"He was very convincing." Was all that Sokka said.
"Okay," Aang said, "We're getting off-topic here." He raised his hands in a placating gesture as he spoke, "Sokka, please explain the whole spirit powers thing again. From the beginning, and then we can go over the Vaatu problem."
Toph leaned over to Zuko, "What's the Vaatu problem?"
"How should I know?"
"You said that Iroh mentioned the spirit thing!"
"I also said I wasn't paying attention!"
"Guys!" Aang shouted, "I can believe I'm the one who has to say this, but let's just be quiet and pay attention to Sokka for- Sokka, why are your feet bleeding?"
"Katara wouldn't finish healing them because she thinks you need to practice healing."
Aang dragged a hand down his face. He wondered why there were so many distractions. "Fine. I'll do that while you explain the thing." He waved at Sokka to begin his explanation. Sokka shrugged, and Aang got to business healing his feet.
"Alright, so basically, a couple of days before the Winter Solstice, I was abducted into the spirit world. I met Avatar Kuruk, he said we were related, and then he took me to go meet with Koh, also known as the Face Stealer. He offered me power, I said no, he said that if I didn't that someone would die."
Sokka's face darkened, and his voice faltered for a step. He closed his eyes for a second. He opened them again and continued, "That changed my mind. I agreed, he gave me some power, and now I can do stuff."
A silence followed, and it was broken by Toph, "And that's it?"
"Basically, yeah. That's the gist of it."
"Well, what about the Vaatu thing? What is that?" Zuko asked.
"Oh, right. So Vaatu is the spirit of chaos. The opposite and nemesis to the Avatar Spirit. He's imprisoned right now, but he's trying to break free. He infects people and rots their chi, and he started his plot to escape by infecting Fire Lord Sozin. There are alot of people who have the Rot, Fire Nation, Water Tribe, and probably the Earth Kingdom too, but I haven't seen any with my third eye yet."
"Sokka," Katara said, "You're not doing a good job of explaining things."
"What? Yes, I am!" Sokka said, "It's literally everything! Well, almost everything."
"Yeah," Katara said, "But you make it sound boring."
"How did I make it sound boring?!"
"You just listed it out like a…: She struggled for a moment to think of the right word. "List!"
Sokka glared at his sister. Aang rolled his eyes. Toph and Zuko exchanged concerned looks. Being blind, Toph just stared in the direction of Zuko's chest, but she did the best she could.
"What do you mean by almost everything?" Aang asked.
"Eh," Sokka said, "Well, I haven't gone over how to stop Vaatu from escaping yet."
"You know how to do that?!" Aang shouted, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I- We-" Sokka said, "there's alot going on!"
"This is kind of important!" Katara said.
"Alright, yeah, that's fair." Sokka said, "You've got a point."
Sokka took a breath and began to explain what Koh had told him upon their last meeting, although he chose to leave out some of the more unsavory details.
"So," Aang said, "to sum it up, we've just got to get Zhao and his spies someplace where they can't do anything."
"Uh, yeah, something like that." Sokka said, "But we'll cross the bridge after we talk to Wan Shi Tong."
"Who's Wan Shi Tong?" Toph asked. Sokka groaned. He was done explaining things.
"Alright, I call the first official meeting of Team Avatar to an end."
"Team Avatar?" Katara asked.
"That's what we're called now. Unless you want us to be called 'Those weird guys with the bison.' I think it works." Sokka answered.
"But nobody told us who-" Toph shook her head, "Never mind. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually."
Author's Note:
I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I have developed a social life, which is every fanfiction writer's nightmare.
Also: For those who have read the inheritance cycle, (Eragon) Christopher Paolini is releasing a standalone novel called Murtagh. It comes out on november seventh, and I'm very excited.
3/13/2023
