Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

296. Chapter 296: WL Fortress-Loyalty 9

The White Lotus Fortress/Loyalty to the Disgraced

9

For a long moment, Rei couldn't utter a single word. She stood in place, hands over her lips, staring at Song in absolute disbelief: her confession about her true social status was the last possibility that could have ever crossed her mind to explain the healer's many mysteries.

"I… I know it's a lot to process," Song said, biting her lip. "I know it's not what you thought you'd hear, but… that's the truth. I… I was born and raised in a small farming village, my mother had some healing knowledge, I grew up to work as a healer in the town's hospital. The Fire Nation army came by the first time, took my father away, as well as many other men, and… and then, many years later, another group of Fire Nation men showed up. Not the army, I know that now… but they took me away from my home. I know it's unexpected, I do, but… yes, I was a slave, Rei. I… well, technically, I still am one, legally speaking. Aren't I?"

"I… don't know," Azula admitted, once Song glanced at her with uncertainty. "The laws weren't in effect just yet, when we found you. And the Enforcers hadn't started to do a proper census of slaves owned by the highborn by the time everything fell apart… your legal status is a bit of a conundrum at the moment, I'd say."

"Well… even if that's so, I was still bought and paid for. By you," Song said, with a sad smile. Azula grimaced but nodded. "So… well. I…"

"I'm sorry."

Song jumped upon hearing those words… upon glimpsing the tearful eyes of the younger woman in the room. Rei couldn't seem to tear her gaze off Song, still looking at her as though it were the very first time she'd seen her.

"I… I never thought you could have been… oh, I'm so sorry!"

Without any warning, Rei rushed across the room and launched into a full hug, wrapping her arms around Song's body. Song blinked blankly, almost glancing at Azula in a confused panic… only to find the Princess's surprise declined into a gentle smile before long. Song's cheeks heated up as she patted Rei's shoulder, a slow smile spreading over her face too.

"W-why are you crying about it? And apologizing too, you don't have to apologize for anything, Rei…" Song smiled sadly, squeezing Rei gently in her arms. Rei shook her head against Song's shoulder.

"I… thought you were highborn… y-you're so good at acting highborn b-but…! Y-you must have suffered so much…" Rei said, pulling back as she gazed at Song with watery eyes. "I… I really didn't think someone as smart as you could have… could have ever been…"

"Reduced to slavery?" Song asked, with a weak smile. "I'm afraid the Fire Nation rolled in like a tidal wave, taking over everything they could. Whether you were smart or not, wise or not, strong or not… that's just the way it was."

"I… I'm sorry," Rei repeated, gazing at her mournfully. "If you'd just been an Honorary Citizen, b-but… now I wonder if… if you went through so much worse stuff than anything I ever imagined. You've both been through so much…"

"You're one to talk," Song smiled, caressing Rei's head. "I don't want to make you feel bad about yourself, okay? I had a pretty good home life for most my childhood, at least. I had many opportunities you didn't, especially in regards of my education and family. Things got hard later, but my life as a slave sounds a lot worse than it really was in the end…"

"T-then it wasn't… it wasn't that bad?" Rei asked. Song smiled and shook her head.

"You don't have to worry. If anything, the one with an unfairly cruel past here is you, dear," Song said, pulling Rei in for another hug. Rei, however, appeared relieved now upon hearing Song's childhood hadn't been as harrowing and difficult as her own. "Like I said, I was lucky. Way too lucky. The men who seized me took me to the Fire Nation Capital, of all places… and then a strange guy, walking around with crutches, chose to hide in the stall I was chained to, just when I happened to be paying attention."

Rei pulled back again, but this time her tearful eyes glistened with curiosity anew. Song grinned, eyes flickering back at the smiling Azula.

"It's baffling to me, sometimes. To think that, of all places, of all things… if he had chosen to lurk anywhere else, I wouldn't be here now…" Song said.

"We're all grateful that he was," Azula said, eyes softening as she gazed at Song. "No matter how distant I was with you at first… you were an essential part of our team from that point onwards."

"He was on… crutches?" asked Rei, glancing between Song and Azula in utmost confusion. "Why?"

"Ah… well, not long before we met Song, Sokka lost his first fight in the Gladiator League against the most fearsome earthbender in the world," Azula said, with a fond smile. "A metalbender, no less…"

"I… never heard of metalbending," Rei said, blinking blankly. "Is that possible?"

"For this earthbender, it certainly was," Azula said, closing her eyes sagely. Song smiled as well, knowing all too well who Azula was referring to. "She was terrifying. As much as Sokka did a fairly decent job, she overwhelmed him entirely and damn near killed him. Her sponsor wanted her to kill Sokka, actually… but she refused to do it."

"She did?" Rei said, eyes wide. "W-why…?"

"Because she thought he was too wimpy to be worth killing, actually," Azula explained: that she'd smile upon saying those words seemed utterly perplexing for Rei. "She broke several of his limbs, left him with a pretty big scar on his shoulder… and with all this, can you imagine just what happened between us and that gladiator later on?"

"Uh… you beat her one day?" Rei guessed. Azula smiled sadly and nodded.

"Well, we did… but she became one of our closest friends before we did, too," she said. Rei's perplexity transitioned into pure shock now: both Azula and Song laughed at her reaction. "Her name was Toph Beifong. She was about two years younger than me… and she was blind."

"Wait… she was blind?" Rei frowned. "Really…? That's…"

"Ah, this story just gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it?" Azula laughed. Rei smiled a little too.

"Everything about your past is really unpredictable," she shrugged. "Why did you become friends with her if she hurt Sokka…?"

"Because she wasn't quite that much of a ruthless violent machine, in the end. At least, not as much as she wanted to present herself as at first," Azula said. "We didn't get along at all for a very long time, but we were stuck working together in a Pairs Tournament one time, and we wound up helping her sort out her problems with her parents, as well as with Ba Sing Se's former secret police, which was hunting her down for the sake of turning her in for the bounty her parents were offering for her capture. It was very messed up… but she was so grateful for our help that she became a little nicer ever since. Still was a dangerous little shit, of course… but she really was our friend. She found out about me and Sokka since… well, since before there was much to tell in the first place, and even then, she never said anything about it to anyone. I have no idea where she is right now, and… why was I talking about her, again?"

"Because she's the one who broke Sokka's leg that time," Song said. Azula snapped her fingers.

"Right, right… well, the truth is after that first fight, things between him and me changed a bit. Partly because his former sword master vanished, too, so Sokka, who lived with him in Shu Jing until I needed him for fights, had to move to the Capital permanently. To the house we've talked about," Azula said. Rei nodded. "We spent a day hunting for a house suitable for him, and once we found it, he realized he didn't have the slightest clue of how to live on his own. At risk of him dying of food poisoning of his own doing, if I left him to cook his own meals, we decided it would be for the best if we found a cook for him indeed. He was very much opposed to the notion of finding a slave, but I convinced him by telling him that, if he let me buy one for him, it meant this would be one less slave subjected to heinous treatment. He'd be free to give this slave a much better life than the ones they'd likely have if anyone else bought them… and that reasoning convinced him to do as I told him to. So… we went to the local slave market, and while I distracted the very persistent and annoying stall owners, Sokka lurked around, hoping to find someone who could cook for him indeed."

"And… then he found you?" Rei asked, glancing at Song. Song grinned and shrugged.

"It wasn't my culinary skills that won me the job, though," she said. "I saw him limping and with those crutches… and I mentioned a few things he could do to recover better. He realized I was a healer because of that, and I could literally see the way an idea just lit up in his eyes just before he stepped outside the stall and shouted for the Princess. I had no idea what was going on, I suddenly found myself walking out of the slave market with two people who seemed quite keen on arguing over… well, just about anything and everything. I was grateful to be out of the slavers' hands, of course… but the situation was strange, and it only got stranger still once I realized who they were."

"You didn't tell her all along?" Rei asked, smiling at Azula. She laughed and shook her head.

"No, we were terribly inconsiderate that way," Azula smiled too. Song nodded solemnly. "Poor Song. The look on her face when she realized what nonsense she'd gotten herself into…"

"Oh, I was very confused, more than anything," Song laughed. "But then Sokka just took me on a grocery run and… and we became friends pretty much at once. We talked about our past quite a bit during those first weeks, and it was such a huge relief to finally have someone to talk to. He didn't treat me like a slave at all, we really were just housemates. Granted, he wasn't too helpful around the house unless he was anxious about anything to do with Azula..."

"I bet that happened an awful lot back in the day…" Azula said, with a sing-song voice. Song laughed and nodded.

"It was almost funny to find him lying face-first on the couch, looking like hell, because every time that happened I knew something was up between you two and I didn't even need to ask to confirm it. I just blatantly asked 'what's she done now?' and he'd start rambling about it right away…"

Azula couldn't hold back a cackle of laughter at Song's explanation, much as Rei couldn't hold back smiles of her own. Song grinned as she shrugged, hands on her hips.

"In any case, it was a much easier life than I anticipated, in the end. I… I really never thought I'd be so lucky. Most slaves aren't," she said, biting her lip. Azula's amusement had receded by then. "It really could have been anyone, I guess… but I'm very lucky it was me."

"I can only wonder if anyone else would have been half as good for the job as you proved to be," Azula said, closing her eyes. "Sokka definitely had no clue how to cook, but… we did survive in Shu Jing last year thanks to your insanely detailed recipe book, remember? Nobody else could have achieved such a feat, I'm sure…"

"Oh, come on…" Song laughed… though then she conceded with even louder laughter. "You know, maybe I should just accept that? He really was hopeless at it, and I have no doubts you must have been worse yet at cooking than he already was…"

"Considering it's taken me over a month to work the bedsheets to a mediocre degree, I think it's fair to say that I would have been much worse off without your recipe book's guidance, yes," Azula smiled, as Song chuckled. The Princess's eyes shifted towards Rei, though, with a gentle smile still. "So… that's it. That's the truth, at last. There's no real need to tell you to keep it quiet, I'm sure…"

"I will, I will," Rei said, smiling encouragingly. "I… I don't think I'd ever known anyone from the Earth Kingdom before."

"Well, you've known me for a while now. You just didn't know where I was really from," Song said, playfully. Rei giggled and nodded. "I was with them since the day they found me in the market. Like we've said, it's not like Azula and I were immediate friends or anything… as you may have noticed, she's just a little intimidating."

"Oh…" Rei laughed. Azula scoffed.

"Come on, I've toned it down so much over the years… you both know I have," Azula said, stubbornly. The two girls laughed. "Seriously! The first time Rei saw me she was terrified, and I was too busy to pay her much mind…"

"And that was…?" Song asked, raising her eyebrows.

"When I wanted Zhao to sponsor Toph," Azula explained. Song snorted.

"Oh, damn. Yeah, you actually saw her at her mildest, even," Song teased, prompting Rei to laugh as Azula scoffed in a guise of arrogance. "She was way meaner before that, really. That time when she was sick… oh, you really don't want her to ever act that way again, Rei: she was impossible, unreasonable and doing everything in her power to make her condition worse."

"And I've only just apologized for it, haven't I?" Azula laughed. Song scoffed.

"You have so many things to apologize for, like I said. Your confession about my kitchen still needs a lot more atonement, you know?" Song said, pointing her finger at Azula as the Princess snorted, sinking in her bed as she covered her blushing face with her hands. "And who knows what other crazy stuff you did in that house that you don't want to share. And please, don't share it… it's bad enough that I had to fix your wholly ripped shirt that time, you know?"

"Oh, now you're bringing that up? Really?" Azula asked, as Song laughed again. Rei smiled awkwardly.

"Ripped shirt?" she asked. Song blushed now, too.

"E-eh… well, that was, um… just one little sewing job I had to do for them. The one time," Song said, awkwardly. Rei blinked blankly.

"Huh… oh. Then… that time we talked about sewing?" Rei said, looking at Azula. The Princess lowered her hands and raised her eyebrows. "You said Wen would be in charge of all sewing among the three of us, if it were necessary… but it wasn't just because you and I aren't good at it, it's because you knew she is pretty good at it herself!"

"Well… yes. I suppose I did save face pretty well that day, if you're only putting that together now," Azula smiled. Rei giggled as Song sighed, shaking her head.

"I have to say… things were lively. Very lively," she said, glancing across the dark room with a nostalgic smile. "Much livelier than whatever's going on in the Ball out there, for sure."

"Too much vulture dancing is going on in it, I bet," Azula smiled. "Sokka would be very proud of us for skipping it."

"And he'd likely offer to dance ridiculously with you instead," Song guessed. Azula smiled and nodded.

"And I'd embarrass myself with him as I always did, though I wonder if dancing like that would be advisable with this one poking out of me like this…" Azula said, dropping a hand on her womb. "Might be he wouldn't want me to dance in these conditions… hell, come to think of it, he'd likely decide he'd sing to the baby, which would be so much worse for all who could hear…"

"Cooking was one thing. Singing, a whole other matter," Song laughed, shaking her head.

"He did dance with me after the Ball once, you know? That time when I had to get away from the Ball because my father… well, he did whatever he pleased even after I'd asked him to hold back his impulsive decisions," Azula sighed. "I didn't want him to name me Crown Princess yet, I wanted to ensure it wouldn't be a problem with my brother, or my uncle… and he just ignored me altogether. Zhao didn't help matters much that night, either, that was when he had just returned from the north… I was overwhelmed and needed to get out of there. Sokka offered me the chance to stay at your house…"

"And I was blown away when you showed up as you did," Song smiled. "I had to lend you my very not-royal clothes, too…"

"And then you vanished by the time I was done bathing," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. "It's almost like you were assuming that something was going to happen that night…"

"And if you say you danced with him, I guess something did," Song cut her off. Azula smiled and shrugged.

"You could say that," she said. "I… I was a lot more ready to jump into his arms and forget everything than I wanted to be, at the time. I felt safer there than I ever did in the Palace. I was scared, of course, of this outcome… and that's why I held back when I did. Pointless, of course, because within another month I'd jumped into bed with him after all, but still…"

"You tried to do the right thing," Song said. Azula smiled and shrugged.

"And I did it indeed by jumping into bed with him, yeah," she declared, prompting Song to snort and laugh as Azula smiled fondly. "But even if it hurt to push him away that night… just being there with him made things so much more bearable than I anticipated. The Ball was overwhelming… but not so much once I was out of the Palace and with him. We tried to do it the next year too, you know? But that's when Zhao nearly caught us, and…"

"Yeah, I remember," Song said, with a sad smile. Azula shrugged.

"Balls aren't great, in the end. The best part of them is when you ditch them and go do something else," the Princess declared.

"Which is what we're up to now, anyway," said Song, breathing deeply. "Just… sharing all sorts of crazy stories about the past, huh?"

"You left, though…? That night, during the Ball? Nobody noticed?" Rei asked, glancing at Azula with surprise.

"Not really. Not until Ty Lee, my school friend, came to get me because my brother was hellbent on leaving the city and taking off on a voyage for the second time," Azula said, with a dry grin. "Things weren't that unpleasant in the aftermath of the Ball for me and Sokka… but the good mood between us was cut off when she interrupted it with the big news of his wild decision."

"The Fire Lord didn't find out you left, though," said Rei.

"There were many things the Fire Lord didn't find out about," Azula said. Rei smiled. "There's still a lot he has no idea of, and the longer it stays that way, the better for the whole world. But… no, nobody noticed I'd left."

"Then… if you felt safer there, maybe you could go see the house again tonight too, d-don't you think…? Song said she wanted to see it, but I don't know…" Rei asked, nervously. Azula raised an eyebrow as Song bit her lip.

"That's not a terrible idea, come to think of it," Song said, glancing at Azula uneasily. "Like I told you, sometimes I want to go but then I remember what happened and yet… maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea? I mean… it'd hurt, too, going back home to Gyeomson, if it's even still standing, but I don't think the bad would outweigh the good, no matter how bad the bad was? Maybe… maybe it'd feel that way to visit it again, now?"

Azula breathed deeply, biting her lip. Rei seemed unsure as she waited for the Princess's verdict on her idea, suspecting it would be too risky to attempt. Clearly, though, Song wanted to go forward with it, anticipation and eagerness plain across her face. How was it possible to feel like she had only just gotten to know the healer for real, after having spent months around her by now…? It was an odd sensation for certain, though Rei still smiled as she gazed at Song with newfound understanding of the woman.

"Well… it is true that nobody checked on me those times," Azula acknowledged. Song swallowed hard and nodded. "And while I'm not sure I'll be very good at it as I am… I guess I can try to resonate to ensure a certain problem won't be, well, a problem."

"Resonate?" Song repeated. Azula smiled and shook her head before closing her eyes.

"Give me a moment."

It was something she had neglected to do lately, even if a nagging feeling on the back of her head warned her that she should have practiced the art of firebending resonance more often. She knew it was quite likely Seethus would have kept track of her on occasion, that he would have watched her from the shadows… but with how broken and undone she felt most times, it seemed unnecessary to worry about checking for him and sending him away if she sensed him nearby. Convincing her father that she had nothing to hide would be even more difficult if she caught his assassin snooping about and she demanded he stopped spying on her, after all…

She focused, though, and forced herself to sense fire. It wasn't easy lately, not when her own connection with her inner fire appeared so tangled and complicated now… but she focused nonetheless until sparks of fire, distant from her own, began to respond to her soul's echoes.

She spent over a minute doing it, waiting for any suspicious fire nearby to rear its head… but nothing came up. Nothing strange, whatsoever… Seethus wasn't watching them.

"Well… we should be safe. With any luck," Azula said, with a weak grin. Song, still not understanding what she'd done, smiled broadly at her decision regardless. "This being said… we won't be able to stay outside all night. Even if we do spend some time there, it's better if we don't overdo it. We should come back before dawn for certain, no matter if no one checks on us until midmorning or so. Is that alright by you both?"

"Yeah… yeah," Song smiled as Azula grinned back, pushing herself to sit upright on the bed. "Thank you. I know I'll probably be a mess once we get there, but… oh, it's home, Azula. It is…"

"I know. It is for me, too," Azula said, dragging herself over the bed until she was standing properly by the bedside. "Just… brace yourself, I guess. There's damage, the door's off its hinges, so, well…"

"Do you think scavengers or looters could've…?" asked Song suddenly. Azula frowned and glanced at her with uncertainty. "I mean, the place isn't watched or anything, right? If it's not…"

"I don't think so… it wasn't when I went there," Azula said, shrugging a little. "Though… I do believe the guards took many things from the house when they fetched Sokka's balloon on… on the day of the Arena's explosion. They picked up all the food you made, you know…"

"Wait… all of it?" Song asked, eyes wide. Azula smiled sadly and nodded.

"It didn't last us the whole trip, unfortunately… but it was nice to eat your impossibly good meals while we were on the run," she said. Song's eyes watered as a slow smile spread over her face. "We wanted Rui Shi to eat more of it than the rest of us did, but was very stubborn about sharing the last of it with me and Sokka…"

"That's… well, that's just like him," Song said, with a tearful smile. She laughed as she dabbed at the tears, glancing nervously at Rei. "W-well… I guess you'll wonder more about me and Rui Shi now that you know I'm not highborn or Fire Nation, huh?"

"Well… it does sound like it would be an interesting story, when you're ready to tell it," Rei said, with a weak smile.

"Suffice to say… I think all of us got our predispositions to hate certain kinds of people beaten out of us, in our own way," Song laughed as Azula entered her closet, searching for better clothes to change into for their upcoming trip through the tunnels. "I think it's common to feel adverse towards Fire Nation soldiers by instinct… more so after they've stormed your home and you've seen them taking whatever they pleased in the process. I can't ever forgive the ones who did that… but even though I was apprehensive of soldiers, and I didn't want anything to do with them, Rui Shi was always respectful. The first time I spoke to him one-on-one… I was actually hoping to talk to the Princess that time, she'd had one of her fights with Sokka and I wanted to help them fix things. But I smartly came to the Palace, another guard tried to force me to leave… and Rui Shi stopped him just before he could hurt me. I guess that's how we started to be friendly, all in all. I don't think he ever expected he'd care for a slave the way he did, either…"

"And I guess the Princess felt the same way about Sokka?" Rei asked. "And Sokka, about her…"

"Ironies of life," Song smiled. "I think we all made each other better in our own ways. It's… it's hard not having him here, but sometimes it feels like, by standing by Azula as I have upon returning to the Palace, I'm doing exactly what he would have wanted to, if he had a chance. He was loyal to her beyond belief…"

"As are you," said Rei, grinning. Song laughed and nodded.

"Before I knew it, yes, so was I," she acknowledged.

"Well… everything makes more sense now," Rei said, biting her lip. "I… I didn't imagine it at all, I thought maybe you were friends from school? O-or something like that, I don't know. But… it's because of friends like you that the Princess learned to see the world differently, right? It's how she learned to stop following the Fire Nation's worst beliefs… the ones I was lucky not to ever learn about, myself."

"Indeed… though I wouldn't take a lot of credit for that. Sokka had much more to do with it than I did," Song smiled, shrugging.

"You had plenty to do with it yourself, don't downplay your importance," Azula spoke out as she marched from the closet to the bathroom, a set of clothes draped over her arm. "Otherwise, do you really think I would've brought you with me all across the world on those trips the way I did?"

Azula shot a smirk at Song before closing the bathroom door. The healer chuckled… as Azula's latest, devious scheme worked to perfection: Rei's eyes gleamed with eagerness now, upon having heard about journeys they hadn't disclosed to her just yet.

"W-well… yeah, I traveled with them a few times," Song admitted, shyly. "Rui Shi discovered my mother was serving at the Palace in Ba Sing Se. We were both incredibly lucky to wind up in good hands… and eventually, the Princess offered me the chance to go see my mother personally. I traveled with them a few times, whenever they had business in Ba Sing Se, at first… then I just traveled with them because they wanted me there in case Sokka got injured, since I'd be able to assist him right away…"

"Amazing," Rei said, eyes wide. Song laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, you're too cute. It's not fair, Rei," she said, patting the younger woman's head gently as Rei blushed. "I really wish we'd met you much sooner. Or, well, that you'd spent time with us before all of this. It's probably better that you didn't, true, but… you would have loved to see the world with us, I bet"

"It sounds scary," Rei said, with a shy smile. "But… I would have liked to, if I could go with you both."

"It would have been beautiful if we'd had that chance," Song said, sighing and shaking her head. "But… who knows? Maybe one day in the future we'll make that happen, right? Things aren't perfect yet, but they are calming down… stabilizing, so to speak. Maybe they'll get better in the future, right?"

"Maybe," Rei said, smiling eagerly. "If they did… w-well, wherever you and the Princess might go, I'll be happy to come along. I… I don't really have anywhere else to be, anyway."

"I have the feeling Azula would be very happy for that," Song said, clasping Rei's shoulder kindly. "Though we're about to take off on a voyage of our own now, if just a brief one. We ought to pack up some food and drinks for the road ahead, crossing the whole city underground might just be a little strenuous on all of us, especially on our pregnant Princess…"

"Well, we do have a lot to choose from," Rei giggled, glancing at the food Renkai had brought for them earlier. "So… anything you want, we can bring along. Though… it would be fun if you could cook, too, but I guess there's nothing in the house to cook with."

"Ah? Want to try my famous roast duck?" Song smirked. Rei's eyes gleamed and she nodded eagerly.

"If the Princess likes your cooking, it must be amazing," Rei decided. Song laughed and shook her head.

"She likes it because I learned to spend about half a bottle of spices on every meal I prepared for her: that's the true secret to culinary success with her," Song smirked, and Rei giggled. "Ah, well. If the opportunity arises, I'll make some for you one day… and we'll buy an extra bottle of spices for Azula, just in case."

"Good. I'll look forward to it," Rei smiled, nodding positively.

The two of them busied themselves with gathering some of their supplies for their upcoming trip. With each move she made, though, reality seemed to dawn on Song more powerfully: not only had she finally come clean to Rei, but she would return to the house she had long thought she'd never set foot in again. Her hands trembled slightly as she processed both things, the latter most of all… but her nerves eased up when she glanced at Rei. The young woman appeared strangely calm now, no doubt delighted upon having learned the truths she didn't think would be within her grasp yet… but perhaps knowing the truth wasn't all there was to it. Perhaps the contents of said truth were what had brought on this strange change in Rei's mood: perhaps knowing that Song was no noblewoman had changed her entire understanding of her friend. It meant Song was someone closer to Rei herself, someone who hadn't lived in gilded palaces all her life, much like Rei hadn't. That point in common between them, perhaps, made Rei feel comfortable in ways she hadn't been before, even without her awareness.

Azula returned to them clad in an attire better suited for the long hike they'd undergo. Both Song and Rei could see the former Princess's spirit burning brightly in her on occasion, but with a glance at her now, as she stood straight while pulling her hair up into a ponytail, it almost felt like every dark shadow that had clung to her had been dismissed. As though she were still the strong-willed woman they had met so long ago… though the sight of the curvature of her womb sufficed to remind them of their fragile reality, no matter how newly confident Azula might be right now.

"Are we going to have a picnic at the house?" Azula asked, with a slight smirk, upon noticing both Rei and Song had filled bags with food. Rei grinned and Song shrugged. "Well, it's not a terrible idea…"

"Though I'll probably have to clean things up before we can even try to do that, huh?" Song reasoned, scratching the back of her neck. "There's bound to be so much dust everywhere…"

"For certain," Azula conceded, with a sad smile. "Anyway, are you both ready?"

"I am," Rei nodded, hugging her bag to her chest as she stepped to the tunnels. "I've never been in those tunnels before, though…"

"Well, one important thing to know about them is that, as much as you can see the occasional trail of lava, there's not much light down there," Azula said, smiling at her adoptive daughter: her eyes widened at the notion of being anywhere near molten rock.

The Princess stepped up to where she always kept her lamps, smiling to herself as memories returned to her, the way they often did. She'd given this very lamp to Sokka more than enough times to help him make his way through the tunnels…

She extended her hand to set it alight, and this time she didn't miss the sudden, wild spark in the fire.

"Wha-…?" she frowned: the lamp was lit quickly, and the burning turned orange quickly…

She could have sworn she had seen something different. Slightly different… slightly blue.

"Azula?" Song blinked blankly, stepping up to her. The Princess swallowed hard and handed the lamp to her.

"I… probably am seeing things, nothing more to it," she said, with a tight-lipped grin. "Here. I'll open the trapdoor in a moment, I'll just tell Renkai we're going out for a bit. Might be better than for him to panic if he, for some reason, decides to enter the room and finds we're gone…"

"Probably, though I thought we'd operate under the 'plausible deniability' logic, here? If he has no idea what we're doing…" Song said. Azula shrugged.

"I doubt that will matter, to be honest. If we get caught, my father will think he's an incompetent buffoon for letting us go, whether he knew about it or not. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't," Azula said, marching to the door.

Renkai frowned upon hearing a light knock on the other side of the door. He pulled it open subtly, so that nobody outside could have noticed the door was ajar at all…

"Do you need something?" he asked.

"We're talking a little walk," Azula told him: he had expected Song or Rei's voices, not the Princess's. He frowned upon hearing those words.

"Right now? I thought you wanted to avoid the Ball…"

"Underground, if you must know."

"O-oh… oh. That sounds…"

"Dangerous and treasonous? We'll be back before dawn if that's alright by you. Just act as you normally do, ensure nobody comes in here… tell my father and his people that I'm not feeling well if they show up at all. Can you do that?"

"I can certainly try," Renkai answered, grimacing. "Try not to be too long…?"

"We'll do our best," Azula said, simply. The guard sighed as he closed the door again.

Azula couldn't help but smile, guessing Renkai had grown to admire Rui Shi even more than usual as of late. Azula's tendency to make a guard's job unnecessarily difficult hadn't changed much ever since the old captain had been exasperated by her antics, and now it was Renkai who had to endure the latent chaos caused by Azula's wild choices.

Song had already rolled the carpet away when Azula marched back across the room: this time, she made her way to her bedside and picked up something from the nightstand. Both Song and Rei watched as Azula trailed a thumb over the bone necklace, pocketing it carefully before returning to her friend and adoptive daughter.

"What's… that?" Rei asked. Azula bit her lip.

"It's… well, an accidental memento from Sokka, I suppose," she said. "He had given it to me long ago, as a way for me to feel his presence even if he wasn't around. It's a bone necklace his grandmother made for him long ago."

"Oh…" Rei's eyes moved towards Azula's pocket as the Princess marched to stand in front of the trapdoor. "Are you, uh, returning it to the house?"

"Oh, not at all. It's only… well, I had it with me when I managed to contact him that time," Azula said, kneeling by the trapdoor. "I sincerely doubt it will work today, but… it's not a terrible idea to bring it along anyway."

"Say…" Song glanced at Azula uneasily as she leaned down, too. "You had a necklace as well, didn't you? Isn't it at the house? It should be…"

"Uh… it's not," Azula said, her face falling upon saying those words. "He… he took it with him to that final fight, and then he tried to… to give it to me, right on that final trip we made. I returned it to him when he wasn't paying attention. Put it in his bags because… I didn't think I should've had it with me, my father would have had it destroyed at once if he'd realized what it was. I had no idea if he'd go through my things… that he didn't think to do so is the sole reason why the bone necklace is still safe and sound, I'd say. Anyway, I just thought… well, I thought my necklace would be safer with him. And as things stand, he has my necklace and I have his? It's… much like things used to be, in a sence. Ever since he first made mine, that is."

"He made you a necklace?" Rei asked, softly. Azula nodded.

"A betrothal necklace, to be precise," she said. Rei's eyes widened. "Its meaning isn't obvious to anyone who sees it, but… your father might have known what it meant, considering it's a tradition from the Northern Water Tribe and he spent as long as he did up there. I just… I couldn't risk keeping something so important with me, not when I had no idea what I was jumping into when I returned. Safe to say my father was much worse than I anticipated after Sokka and I parted ways… giving him excuses to breach every remaining boundary I tried to set was not a wise course of action. The betrothal necklace would have only made matters worse, had it been found, so… I honestly only kept the bone necklace because I really didn't have a chance to get it out of here before things got out of hand. Even if it might be what channeled our spirits together, somehow… I'd rather he had it, too. It's a treasure, in the end… far too valuable to be risked here, and yet here it is, huh?"

"You'll keep it safe. And if you're right about the channeling of your spirits, it might even be better that you have it right now," Song said, patting Azula's shoulder. The Princess nodded and smiled.

"Let's hope you're right," she whispered, before raising her hand towards the trapdoor.

She hesitated for a moment. Then, she focused and frowned: instead of lighting the trapdoor's mechanism with an immediate burst of flames, Azula took a long moment to connect to her inner fire in a way she hadn't for a long time. Her power had become instinctive after many years of practice, after plenty of hard work… but it wasn't instinctive all along. Returning to the roots of her strength, to the moment when she had first conjured uniquely colored fire for the first time, might be necessary in order to do it again.

So she breathed deeply. She sharpened her focus. She built up her power, reeling it perfectly into the high-precision firebending she was known for.

She extended her index and middle fingers, and a burst of blue accompanied the orange blast that unlocked the trapdoor's mechanism.

"Azula…!" Song gasped, jumping back. Rei, unused to the colors of Azula's fire, blinked blankly as she turned her eyes away from the mechanism and to the Princess…

Azula's chest heaved now… and then she smiled, bringing up her hand with a disbelieving smile. Song, beside her, laughed with joyful amazement before hugging her tightly. The Princess laughed as she patted Song's back gently, relief flowing through her system as smoothly as blue fire once had…

"Oh, I thought it was gone forever. I thought I'd never…" she laughed, tears blinking in her eyes. "I mean, it's not perfect yet, no, but…"

"You still have it in you. We both know you do," Song said, beaming brightly as she gazed into Azula's eyes. "I'm glad. I… I'm so glad…"

"I owe you plenty for it, make no mistake," Azula smiled, reeling her in for another quick hug. "Thank you for being such a nagging midwife and healer, Wen."

"Gladly," Song responded. Azula laughed, patting her friend's shoulder one more time before pushing the trapdoor open.

She hadn't conjured it fully just yet… but it was a start. It was as good a start as she could have hoped for. She might have felt occasional impulses, strange surges of something unusual in her body that suggested she might have been more ready for firebending than she assumed she'd be… but only now, only with that light burst of blue before the orange took over again, had she finally known that it wasn't just her imagination. She was healing… she was no longer as lost, no longer as broken, as she had been for months. It would be easy to credit it to that blissful moment shared with Sokka, no matter how far away they might have been… but she knew, all too well, that the women sitting at either side of her right now were just as pivotal and crucial in her regaining of strength and will to live as Sokka himself had been. She smiled to herself at that thought, cherishing her two faithful companions as she readied herself to march back to the broken house that had been the truest home she had ever known.

"Alright, then…" she finally said, as Song picked up the lantern, the bags with food strapped on both the healer and the maid's shoulders: the dark tunnels offered a sense of silent tranquility and comfort to the three women as they prepared to march into the secret pathways underneath the city. "Let's get going, shall we?"

---

The fortress started its activities early every day in a contained, fluid manner. Everyone worked at their assigned duties, those who had none usually waited until they could be of service anywhere, or they would attend training sessions under superior officers and agents of the Order in some of the open fields, namely those with no crops to be taken care of.

Said crops were taken for granted easily, usually. They sustained the fortress but went ignored by most, save those who tended them… until the sudden arrival of a herd of saber-tooth moose lions had threatened their existence.

The chaos by the easternmost walls of the fortress only seemed to increase as the sun rode higher in the sky: a squad of archers had been mobilized and they stood in wait for the creatures to enter the range of their bows so they could attempt to take them down… only, defeating saber-tooth moose lions of that girth with simple volleys of arrows would take a long time, and it would likely turn the creatures hostile right away, resulting in who knew how much damage to the fortress and its lands.

The creatures paced carelessly outside the fortress so far, but they approached progressively, always lurking close to the mountains that the fortress relied on for further protection. Whole armies couldn't climb those mountains without being felled before attempting to do so… creatures of that size, however, might just succeed at jumping over the fortress's wall and rushing into the farmlands within, to devour humans or crops if they wished to do so.

"We're standing-by, Captain Anorak!" exclaimed the lieutenant in charge of one of the archer squads once the two youngest leaders of the White Lotus arrived. Anorak nodded in his direction, arms folded over his chest while Shiju, beside him, scowled heavily.

"Do we have enough ammunition to kill all of them?" he asked. Anorak grimaced.

"I don't know. We might," he responded. "But I can't say that's the wisest course of action. If we attack them, they'll definitely grow hostile right away. There's no telling how much damage they could inflict upon our forces and the Fortress's walls if they do that."

"If left unchecked, they might make it past the wall unopposed. If they can destroy our fields, they will be sure to succeed at killing us in due time," Shiju stated, bluntly.

Anorak frowned as he eyed the cluster of soldiers, protected from the dangerous creatures by the height of their wall. Could those beasts break the stability of the wall with their antlers? It could have seemed unlikely, but Anorak had been born and raised in a land with large creatures, much like these, who could damage powerful ice walls with a headbutt or two. He couldn't help but think that antagonizing the creatures would only make matters worse: even if they somehow could slaughter them all, it seemed unlikely that they would do so…

"I'll make the call if they come any closer. That one's probably looking to claim territory…" Shiju said, pointing at the largest of the creatures. "And the others won't take it well if it conquers us before they do. This could become some sort of war between those creatures…"

"It's ridiculous," Anorak said, scowling as his eyes fell upon the distant shapes of the moose-lions. "With everything already going on, how the hell are we suddenly stuck having to look out for some moose-lion herd trying to eat our food? This is…!"

He would have finished talking, probably with the same sententious statement he had used at first, when he heard a strange, sudden, rumbling sound behind him. A sound that had no place in the fortress's walls.

Both Anorak and Shiju turned towards the noise, as did the other soldiers in their small cluster. The rumbling noise scraped against the stone floors, its source was a wooden barrel, rolling little by little towards where the soldiers stood.

And the one pushing it was none other than the fully-armored Gladiator.

Anorak and Shiju stared in confusion: to this moment, Sokka had left next to no impression on them. He appeared a charismatic leader, enough to persuade others of great importance, such as the Avatar or Prince Zuko, to cast their lots with him regardless of being perfectly capable of leading uprisings and armies on their own – the Gladiator's experience in the South Pole's battle hadn't persuaded most members of the council that he was prepared to face the true hardships of war, no matter how many times he tried to argue otherwise. Aang and Zuko had fought there as well, and it only seemed natural that people who had been born into greatness would be the ones to take command and lead… but it seemed those two had been swept into believing they needed this man, for some reason.

Anorak had wondered about what that reason might be for a while. He hadn't thought he'd be persuaded by said reason, no matter what happened… but he wanted to believe, even if he trusted Jeong Jeong's judgment deeply, that there had to be something of substance in the Gladiator if he had earned the loyalty of the two strongest potential allies for the White Lotus. Otherwise, it meant Zuko and Aang were utter fools… and that wouldn't make them reliable allies either.

Yet seeing the Gladiator rolling that large, presumably heavy barrel across the wall and towards the very gates of the fortress, while carrying all his weapons and what appeared to be a fishing rod on his back, almost convinced the northerner that perhaps there wasn't much reason for others to admire him, whatsoever.

"What are you…?! Why are you here?! Nobody's asked for your assistance on this matter…!" Anorak bellowed: the Gladiator, however, appeared poised to ignore him.

"Coming through, coming through, the wall's got a slight slope coming up, so get out of the way or I might run you over with this barrel if you're in the way…!" he recited with a careless sing-song voice: even though they should have never humored the fool, Anorak and Shiju leapt out of the way as Sokka powered past them. The archer squads, as well, watched in perplexity as Sokka continued to press on with his inexplicable barrel… Anorak's blue eyes gleamed with fury as he stepped away from his ally and rushed after the confusing, mysterious Gladiator who outraged him so.

"What do you think you're doing, you fool?! Are you hoping to confront those creatures with a barrel of… of what?! What do you even have in there? And whose permission do you have to leave the premises of the fortress! You are not allowed to…!"

"Piandao said I could do this, and he helped me get my barrel too. Clearly, I wouldn't have gotten such a dangerous weapon without permission from someone whose criteria you should trust, considering he should be above you, hierarchy-wise," Sokka said, flashing Anorak a sarcastic grin.

"You're… you're a fool. You're not seriously hoping to deal with this yourself, are you?!" Anorak exclaimed.

Sokka laughed quietly at Anorak's outrage: he had reached the gate at last. Soon, he'd be pushing the barrel down a slope until he reached the valley in which the group of moose-lions paced right now.

"Let's see: if I fail, the moose-lions get to eat me and you get to throw an 'I told you so' celebration with Jeong Jeong and Shiju, where you'll mock everyone who ever thought I'd amount to anything. Your dream come true, right?" Sokka said. "And if I succeed, the moose-lions won't pose a threat to the fortress anymore and you won't have to worry about them after today. Sounds good?"

"Sounds… wishful! You're really a…!"

"I'm a fool, I'm a fool, and yet you're terribly hellbent on following this fool around and seeing for yourself what sort of doom he brings upon himself," Sokka said, with a dry grin. "Got any better ideas than the fool does yet, Anorak? Because, if you don't… I'll go right on ahead with mine, if you don't mind."

Anorak was predictably displeased by Sokka's words: for people whose entire strategy seemed to revolve around pissing off Sokka and playing on his temper, the three White Lotus leaders who most rejected him appeared terribly susceptible to losing their tempers over the Gladiator's antics just as well. Sokka smirked as Anorak shook his head dismissively before gesturing at the soldiers by the gate.

"Open up! If the bastard tries to run away somehow, we'll shoot him dead before he knows it!" Anorak exclaimed, turning towards the archers. They nodded promptly. Sokka breathed deeply: he only hoped the barrel would be sturdy to serve as a good enough defense in case they decided to shoot him anyway, alleging he was escaping somehow even if he was saving their precious fortress with his actions. He really couldn't put anything treacherous past the White Lotus and their twisted minds.

Still, the way was clear now. All he had to do was hope that Foo-Foo Cuddly Poops might be one of the moose lions to come to the fortress… and, if he wasn't, that he would still succeed at coercing the herd with the generous offer he had brought for them.

Once the gates were open, he rolled his barrel without the slightest hint of uncertainty. He held his head high – save for whenever he had to lean in to ensure the barrel wouldn't roll out of his control – and he finally set foot outside the fortress for the first time since that day, when he had first arrived and Piandao had shared painful truths with him. He breathed deeply, hoping today's venture outside the fortress would have a much more cheerful outcome than that one had…

The nearest creature seemed to be entertained by sniffing some bushes, no doubt searching for something to eat. Sokka rolled his barrel still, only intending to stop once he felt he was close enough to attempt to win a moose lion's friendship through the same means through which he had earned it once before, long ago.

The moose lion in question was not Foo-Foo, for it was slightly smaller and of a darker hue of brown. It raised its head before growling threateningly at Sokka upon sensing his approach. Sokka took that as the sign he had been waiting for and he slowed to a halt. He raised his hands, waiting briefly to ensure the creature wouldn't react adversely to his choices… and then he reached, very slowly, to turn the barrel around and remove its lid. He raised it gradually, constantly keeping an eye on the creature… and so, he had a perfect view of the creature's change in mood when the scent of fresh apples reached it.

"Hungry, aren't you?" he said. "Well, I can help with that… but only if you're nice, alright?"

The creature evidently didn't understand… but Sokka raised an apple from the barrel and the moose-lion whimpered and groaned at the sight of it. Sokka smiled before lowering his arm and rolling the fruit towards the moose-lion: it wolfed down the apple quickly, and predictably raised its head to seek more afterwards.

"Now, now… one by one. I'm the one with the apples, so behave yourself and you'll eat plenty…" he said, fishing another apple from the barrel and rolling it across the ground, towards the waiting creature. The moose-lion had approached a little now, no longer as wary as it had been at first…

And just on cue, Sokka smirked upon hearing Anorak's familiar voice, shouting all the way from the fortress.

"What are you doing?! Are you feeding it?! Gladiator…!"

Sokka wouldn't answer his question right now, of course: raising his voice might just distress the moose-lion and he couldn't risk that. He wasn't about to attempt to ride this one, but he was prepared to do so regardless, if need be: he had brought one of the fishing rods he and his friends had brought on their trip, and he intended to use it to lure and keep the moose-lions in check, if the situation required it. Still, what he truly needed, at this point, was…

A sudden roar startled him as he fed the moose-lion the fifth apple. The creature had been perfectly comfortable, nestling in the grass, chewing apples without as much concern or distress anymore, but now it leapt to its feet and turned anxiously towards the source of the sound…

Sokka frowned as a new moose-lion approached. A heavy-footed, large moose-lion with a light-brown coat and massive antlers had stepped up, dark eyes menacing as they fell upon the scene before it: a young moose-lion, a human, and a barrel of apples.

"Oh, crap. Either you are who I think you are… or you just look a lot like him, in which case you don't look very friendly," Sokka said, with a weak grimace. "Hey, there… Foo-Foo?"

The creature's tail swayed from side to side. Sokka bit his lip before picking up an apple slowly… and then he rolled it towards the creature.

It sniffed the apple once it reached its front paws… and then rose back upright. Sokka's stomach sank.

"Fuck, you're not…?" he said, frowning as the creature stepped forward.

Well, he did bring his weapons. If things happened to take a bad turn, he'd just have to make use of them, no matter if he didn't want to. Azula had tamed a dragon after a violent struggle, was it possible he could do the same with a moose-lion, if it came to that?

The apple went forgotten. The moose-lion stepped closer, its tail swaying from side to side…

It roared.

It was an odd roar, however, and Sokka couldn't help but notice it. It wasn't threatening, it wasn't fearful, it was… sentimental? Melancholic…?

The creature lowered itself on its front paws and leapt towards him in a playful manner.

Sokka's eyes widened as the moose-lion rushed towards him: he still was scared, but he didn't let it show as the creature with the swaying tale leapt right to his position… and dove its head right into the barrel of apples, just as Sokka thought it would jump at him.

The barrel was quite full, and the creature's snout too big to fit fully inside the barrel, but it was clear that Sokka had no more control over the situation as the moose-lion ate as many apples as it could reach. Sokka snorted, shaking his head as he brought a hand to his head while watching the creature in amazed disbelief.

"Okay… maybe it really is you, and you're just a little shit. You were supposed to share with your friends, Foo-Foo! You're starting to take after me, eating like that!"

The creature didn't respond, and Sokka knew better than to try to get in the moose-lion's way as it ate to its heart's content. The other moose-lion appeared to wait eagerly for its turn, though Sokka doubted its snout would fit inside the barrel either…

By the time Foo-Foo pulled back, he had left a layer of moose-lion drool over many of the apples around the half-finished barrel. Sokka snorted as he studied the outcome of his experiment, the many half-chewed apples lying among the slobbered ones… and then he felt a large snout prodding at his shoulder gently, as large brown eyes gaped at him, brimming with hope.

"Oh, hell… there you are, troublemaker," Sokka said, smiling as he raised a hand to caress the creature's brown coat. "Look at you, every bit as eager to eat everything as you were that day… lots of people didn't believe me when I told them about you, you know? But here you are again… and now they're going to believe me, whether they like it or not, Foo-Foo. Oh, it's good to see you…"

Foo-Foo appeared to appreciate the sentiment, but he also seemed keen on eating some more: he huffed and gestured at the barrel with his snout, so Sokka had to reach into the barrel to feed the moose-lion directly from his hand. Seeing him doing so, the smaller creature approached too, no doubt assuming that, if a larger moose-lion could trust the strange human, so could they.

By the fortress, every seasoned soldier, every half-trained rookie, every commanding officer, gaped at the scene before them in utmost disbelief. Anorak's jaw had dropped and he hadn't even realized it yet. Was that madman truly befriending a herd of moose-lions just because he could…?

"How did he…? H-how could he…?!" Anorak gasped: oh, no. Oh, he didn't want this, he had not signed up for this, he absolutely hadn't intended to feel this…

And yet, even if he hated it, he was experiencing it all the same: that stupid spark of emotion in his chest was admiration, and fool that he was, he was experiencing it towards that damn Gladiator… who was the bigger fool, in this case? He didn't really want to know the answer to that question…

"We have to report this," Shiju's stern tone broke off Anorak's daze. The Water Tribesman glanced at the Earth Kingdom man to find him shaken, uncertain of whether to perceive this as a positive or negative solution to their problems… but it was a solution, nonetheless. "The Grand Lotuses will want to know…"

"Ah… Captain Anorak, Captain Shiju. You're here, I see."

Piandao's voice seldom sounded chipper, but it had today: both Shiju and Anorak frowned as they turned towards one of the highest ranked officials in the Order of the White Lotus to find him grinning casually… and rolling yet another barrel as he progressed towards them.

"Good to find you here, I need some help with three other barrels, if you'd be so kind…" Piandao said, with a casual smile. Anorak blinked blankly as Shiju scoffed in his direction. "They're in the kitchen cellars, if you have the time to give me a hand…"

Shiju shook his head before storming off, awkwardly rushing past Piandao's barrel. The swordsman blinked blankly before venturing a glance beyond the fortress's wall… and then he smiled, shaking his head in a fond gesture as his eyes fell upon Sokka and his new friends.

"And there he is… already winning over those moose-lions without even trying," he chuckled. Anorak swallowed hard. "I wish he had waited until I got here, at least… but he will be needing more apples, to be sure. The report was that there were several creatures roaming the fortress's territories. Is it so?"

"I… I fear as much," Anorak said, rigid. "Though this is… an odd way to handle this threat."

"He has an odd way to handle most anything, I'd say," Piandao smiled. "Yet, if results are what concerns us… this outcome should speak for itself, wouldn't you say?"

Anorak's gut jolted at those words. He shouldn't have been shaken by Piandao's evident endorsement of the Gladiator, everyone knew the man had a soft spot for his old apprentice… but for the first time ever, Anorak struggled to find that unacceptable or appalling, the way Jeong Jeong always did.

"You, uh… you said you need help with those, then?" he asked, gesturing at the barrel. Piandao smiled and nodded.

"Sokka's going to need all the help that he can get. Those moose-lions won't be a problem for much longer if we offer it to him."

Piandao's certainty seemed wishful, but his confidence in Sokka finally tugged more than disdainful skepticism from Anorak. Now, he was genuinely curious… and that was likely something dangerous to experience over a man like Sokka. Before he knew it, he might just find himself turning into one of those odd, inexplicable fools who thought him the greatest leader of all time just because of his unpredictability, his potential, his willingness to take action in unexpected ways.

Oh, Anorak certainly hoped he wasn't one of them already…

---

Toph expected nothing, no matter how confident Aang had been. She stood at their training grounds, hands on her hips, waiting for the Avatar to end his latest meditative phase as he sat on the ground, silent and sullen. At least twenty minutes had passed – Toph could have finished three gladiator fights in a row against mediocre opponents by then, and in that time he was still preparing himself mentally and emotionally for the task of earthbending, apparently. The urge to shove him for her own amusement, to yell at him to stop wasting time almost overwhelmed her… but she held back, sensing Katara's presence not that far away. She had agreed to give Katara's theory a shot… that meant respecting that shot until it was proven useless. If it really went nowhere, she'd rage on Aang without restraint and scold him plenty for his irresponsibility, but in case it didn't…

All she could do was wait.

Aang breathed, letting the air cleanse his lungs: he could feel the air inside him, air he could channel into airbending or firebending, depending on his choice. He could evoke each thing with ease, much as he could do the same and summon water with his motions when the situation required it. But earth remained elusive so far… and he had concluded yesterday that it was so because he wanted it to be.

Every other element was ethereal: it was easy to slip between fire, air and water without a care in the world. But it was also true that earth was ground, which meant that it kept him anchored to reality. A reality he hadn't wanted to face, not for a long time… but his introspections with the guru had helped matters. He no longer feared that reality... he faced it. He was here now because he wanted to face it.

So… what if the scenarios Toph talked about came true? What if, at some point in the future, someone he cared about happened to be in danger? It was easy to think he could solve the problem some other way, not with aggressive bending, not with decisive behavior… but in the time he could waste coming up with a roundabout solution, those he loved could be struck down, taken away from him, much like the Air Nomads had been, long ago. He had meant to fight that day, to join them, only for a storm to knock him off-course as it had… his heart still grieved over it, and it always would. But this was his chance to prove he was different now. It had arrived quite late, yes… but it wasn't too late. He could still defend this world, but only if he stopped hiding, stopped avoiding, stopped evading. He had to be ready to connect with the element underneath him, just as he connected with the others. Much like water, earth was outside his body, not an element he could summon from within the way he could with air or fire…

He extended a hand and placed it on the ground. Toph raised an eyebrow upon sensing his change in demeanor, but Aang ignored her for now. This was earth… it was ground, rock, the very foundation upon which life was sustained. It was land… and the Avatar had the power to connect to every element. He could connect with this land as long as he didn't go about it in roundabout ways. As long as he stopped hiding, running away… as long as he did the right thing.

He breathed deeply, pulled back a punch, and then shot it out forward, keeping his arm as rigid as possible with his motions.

Right before him, the ground shook slightly. Toph frowned.

He did it again. He could do it again, little by little, until it paid off. No longer hiding, no longer waiting for someone else to do it for him… he would defend those he cared for. He would fight because it was his duty, and one he refused to flee from ever again. He would stand his ground… literally too, as he rose to his feet while still keeping his eyes closed. He could do this… he would do this. He was the Avatar, that meant he was an earthbender, and if the time came when his earthbending was needed, he had to be able to do it, for everyone's sake.

He stomped on the ground, just as Toph had taught him, and then punched.

The boulder flew right at Toph, who shattered it with a powerful fist of her own.

Aang broke out of his meditative state by then. He blinked himself back to full consciousness to find Toph standing opposite to him, hand still raised much like his own was...

A slow smile started to curl across her face.

"Really, then?" she said: Aang gasped, trembling where he stood. "You really just needed a while to think about things?"

"I-I didn't mean to attack you, I wasn't trying to…!"

"You totally meant to! Don't play coy now, I like you better when you're trying to beat me up too!" Toph laughed: without even the slightest warning, she brought up a number of boulders of her own and took to launching them at Aang.

"Wait! Wait, Toph, I…!"

He couldn't dodge. He wasn't supposed to dodge. There was no airbending his way out of this…

His attempt to stop one of the rocks saw him toppling to the ground, head flopping against the dirt over the impact.

"Oh… woops. Hey, now, I hit you?" Toph raised an eyebrow before snorting. "Wow! It's a day full of firsts here in the fortress, heh, Twinkle Toes?!"

"I'm… okay," Aang said, pushing himself up slowly as he rubbed the shoulder where the rock had hit him.

It did hurt, of course it did. It had hurt too when Sokka had knocked him out, the bruise hadn't faded for days. It hurt often when he had sparred with Zuko in the South Pole and the Prince's bending had burned him…

But he had survived all of those blows. He had survived this one, too. It wasn't fun, getting hit… but he could take it. He really could.

"'In order to fight… you need to be ready for the enemy to fight back," Aang recited, raising his hands carefully. "If you will bend, your spirit must be flexible, for it must be bent along with the elements. By hurting others, you can hurt yourself, too.' I thought that meant recoil damage, but… it means being ready to get hurt in combat, all around. If you throw the first punch, someone else might throw the second one. Everything in life has cause and consequence… so, by earthbending at you, I must be ready to be attacked right back. I must be ready to face the pain… or else, what right do I have to inflict any on you? On any foes I might face…?"

His thoughts poured from him as he returned to focus: his eyes gleamed when his resolve strengthened and he raised another rock, this time far more consciously… though it dropped on the ground again before he could kick it. His face had broken into a full smile as he glanced at Toph with grateful disbelief.

"I'm earthbending, Toph! I'm…!"

Another rock to the chest saw his quick celebration meeting an untimely, quick demise.

"Oh, woops. Were you saying something?" Toph smirked.

Aang groaned but smiled too, digging his hands into the soil: earth, all of it was earth, and soon enough he'd learn to wield it properly. For now, though, he'd settle for bending whatever he could, following Toph's teachings little by little now that he had found his own way into his own soul, into his potential to unlock the final element he had left to learn.

Standing by a hill, not that far from where the two benders now flung earth at each other –Toph evidently still had the advantage, seeing as she was by far the more experienced of the two – Katara gasped, a hand by her mouth as she tried to hold back her joyful laughter. He'd done it! Finally, Aang was earthbending… and she had no one to celebrate it with, because she was alone out here with those two today.

Even so, she let out a light celebratory cheer, clapping loudly as Aang flung a small rock at Toph again. He smiled too upon hearing her, turning a joyful smile in her direction… and then he had to jump out of the way before another of Toph's projectiles hit him.

"Focus! You can go kiss Sugar Queen later if you want to!" Toph smirked. Aang's cheeks heated up and his heart raced, much as Katara's did, and Toph only cackled wickedly for it. "See, you totally want to!"

"D-don't just…! I-it's none of your business!" Aang exclaimed.

"Then shut me up, why don't you?!" Toph laughed, kicking up a rock without a care in the world and tossing it powerfully at Aang.

Katara couldn't hold back her laughter as her friends returned to work: as rough and unpleasant as Toph could be, she had truly respected Katara's idea on how to help Aang figure out earthbending for himself. The waterbender doubted she'd be able to offer further help in these regards, but she was witnessing with her very own eyes the first time the Avatar had bent his final element: from here on, it was only a matter of helping him master everything until he was strong enough to become a fully-fledged Avatar, in his own right…

Evidently, the learning curve would be steep, but as far as Katara could tell, Aang would get the hang of earthbending just as he had with firebending. For now, their initial sparring had found Toph as the inevitable victor, but she had reeled in Aang afterwards for some more specific training with earthbending. The Avatar instinctively put forth his understanding of other elements whenever he attempted to bend earth, but instead of putting him down for it, Toph took advantage of it in at least one regard.

"Have you ever rebounded an attack? Returned it right back at whoever tossed it your way?" Toph asked. Aang shrugged.

"From time to time, sure. I did it when Katara and I sparred with waterbending…"

"Then you'll have a good way to put your weird evasive maneuvers into effect with earthbending if you mix what you've just learned with that," Toph smirked. "See… if I throw a big boulder at you, your first instinct is to jump out of the way. But an earthbender's first instinct… should be to either shatter that rock or wrestle it out of the other bender's control."

"O-oh? So you mean… I could take hold of the rock and fling it right back at you?" Aang asked, eyes wide. Toph nodded.

"That's what we're gonna do now. Gives you a chance to be light on your feet while still doing the work of an earthbender, just the way you ought to like it," Toph smirked, raising her fists and pulling forward a large rock.

She was adapting to him, learning how to be a teacher through Aang, just as Aang learned how to be an earthbender through Toph. The first attempts to have Aang wrestling the rock in midair didn't go over very well, for he impulsively jumped out of the way too quickly… so Toph took a much easier approach at first: they passed a rock to each other as they might pass a ball, by earthbending with different parts of their bodies. The Avatar proved a thousand times more responsive to a playful approach to earthbending, and Toph could only smile for it. Aang was, without a doubt, a very strange man… but she couldn't fault him for keeping her on her toes in his own way, forcing her to readapt her strategies in order to bring out his full potential. He wasn't even close to bringing it all out, she knew so… but today, at long last, he had made progress, and she was certainly grateful for that.

About three hours into Aang's proper earthbending training, Katara remained happily entranced by watching the two earthbenders working together. She hadn't had a chance to celebrate with Aang directly yet, though she looked forward to hugging him in congratulations. Upon hearing rushed footsteps coming their way, she guessed that her frequent companion in watching these training bouts had finally arrived.

"Jet! Jet, he did it! He finally did it!" she called out: the swordsman raised his gaze towards her with a hint of urgency, but his face was quickly streaked with perplexity upon hearing those words.

"He… did he earthbend?" he asked, with a slow smile. "That's… that's really good news! But Katara…"

"It was incredible! You should've seen it, though you can see it right now, too!" Katara laughed gesturing at the two benders as they worked gradually to build up a proper combat situation, powerfully tossing the rock they had been practicing with… and then Katara's smile faded when her eyes fell upon Jet's unusually charged expression. "Jet…?"

"Something's going on outside the fortress," he finally said, once he reached her. "And it's something to do with Sokka."

In one fell sweep, every shred of excitement faded from Katara's mind, replaced at record speed by a wave of fearful dread.

"What…? What did you just say? Sokka?" she gasped, stepping closer to him. "What do you mean, Jet? What's happened to my brother?!"

Jet grimaced slightly at Katara's explosive reaction, raising his hands to placate her.

"What's this you're saying about Sokka?" Toph's voice boomed across the expanse of terrain.

Katara winced, having forgotten momentarily about Toph's ability to sense sound easily from a distance. Aang had stopped bending as well, and he raised his gaze towards Jet. The shaggy-haired man breathed heavily, glancing between all three of them.

"It's… it's some herd of saber-tooth moose lions?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, apparently there were some around this area, but I assumed they'd stay away from human settlements…"

"What does that have to do with…?" Katara started… then a glimmer of a memory burst in her mind. It was a story she had only heard after Sokka had returned home, not in Whaletail Island, a story he had shared with Mari… "Wait, wait, wait. You said… saber-tooth moose lions?"

"Didn't Sokka say he tamed one of those?" Aang called out, raising his voice to reach Katara – he and Toph started on their way towards the other two, puzzled by what Jet was explaining. Katara nodded at him but shrugged afterwards before looking at Jet again.

"That herd… was it threatening the fortress or something?" she asked. "Is Sokka in trouble?"

"I have no idea, everyone thought they'd be dangerous from the sound of it," Jet said, shrugging. "But then he showed up suddenly and… now he turned everything upside down, like he always does."

"You mean…?" Aang asked, once they were closer to Jet and Katara. Toph, beside him, snorted and smirked.

"He means he did it again. Right, Jet?" Toph said, grinning wildly. "That crazy bastard… he's tamed another moose lion, hasn't he?"

"I don't know if it's true, but from what I heard… he may have gotten the entire herd," Jet stated. A bark of laughter cackled out of Toph's lips as Katara's jaw dropped heavily. Aang froze in place as well.

"He's completely nuts!" Toph laughed still, clapping as she doubled over with the force of her laughter. "Oh, those White Lotus bitches are going to be moaning and groaning about it, I bet they are!"

"But… are you sure he's okay? You're completely sure of it, Jet?" Katara asked, looking at the swordsman with uncertainty. He shrugged.

"I haven't gone to see it for myself so far, I heard about it just now and figured you guys would want to know it was happening. I have no idea how this is going to be any use, but… hey, if he proves he could get rid of one threat to the fortress, shouldn't Jeong Jeong be happy?"

"That whiny, stale raisin isn't going to be happy no matter what anyone says or does," Toph said, waving a hand in his direction. "But… maybe this will convince some other folks that Sokka's worth following, even if this is a weird way of going about it? Still, it's Sokka. He goes about everything in the weirdest ways he can."

"I… I have to see this. I have to… oh, Aang, you did amazing today!" Katara exclaimed, turning towards him. He offered her a quick smile, squeezing her shoulder with a hand before marching towards a nearby rock: his glider sat there, waiting for him to make use of it. "I'm so glad it worked, that you had a chance to earthbend for the first time…!"

"Thanks for coming up with a way of doing it, Katara," Aang said, smiling kindly at her. "I don't know why it didn't occur to me, but you were right when you thought there was another way… though, are you going to let me go find out what Sokka's doing, Toph? Or should I…?"

"I'm not teaching you shit if that wacko is up to something fun. I wanna be there too," Toph smirked. "Let's go!"

Aang laughed, extending his glider… and then extending a hand towards Katara. She smiled as she approached him, wrapping her arms around his body as Aang extended the glider, airbending the two of them into the sky. Jet, watching from below, whistled as the pair gained altitude.

"That looks handy," he said, smiling before glancing at Toph. "How about you hurl us to the gates with a rock, Toph?"

"Oh, really? You want me to?" Toph smirked, stepping closer to Jet with that devious expression he loved seeing on her face before giving him her final answer: "First one there gets to boss the other one around for three weeks, starting today."

With that, Toph bent the earth underneath her to speed her progress as she jogged towards the fortress's eastern entrance. Jet was left behind, without having agreed to her terms, and with a disbelieving laugh tumbling from his lips: she was merciless, and he was probably crazy for loving that about her.

Aang and Katara flew as fast as they could towards the fortress's eastern entrance. The waterbender clung tightly to the Avatar, who seemed unaffected by the extra weight as he bent them quickly in the right direction. While they were thrilled for Aang's success so far, the knowledge that Sokka was up to something potentially dangerous had seen them setting aside all concerns for now. After about a month and a half of no progress, whatever strange undertaking Sokka was up to required their full, immediate attention.

Finally, they caught a glimpse of the strange event outside the fortress's premises… as well as of the cluster of people standing on the walls, peering out at the terrains surrounding the fortress. Aang's eyes widened as he counted the creatures: twelve saber-tooth moose-lions seemed to have taken to relaxing in the valley right outside the fortress. And while it wasn't easy to see it right away, the closer they flew, the clearer it became that Sokka wasn't the only person with the moose-lions anymore.

"Woah… it's friendlier than Mari, look at that, Momo," Kino laughed: he had taken to bonding with the smallest of the creatures in the herd, a likely teenaged moose-lion who rubbed its head against Kino's palm while Momo chirped on his shoulder, munching on an apple of his own.

Zuko might have taken offense to Kino's words and defended his daughter's honor if only he hadn't been busy as well, feeding the two moose-lions who had seemed to prefer him for the job. Piandao and Ursa were there too, though the latter appeared slightly apprehensive of the creatures, a fear that neither swordsman in the group shared.

Sokka, naturally, was almost cuddled up against one of the creatures, the largest of the herd. Foo-Foo's head rested next to Sokka, as his appetite had been sated after all the apples Sokka had fed him. In the end, they had needed even more barrels of apples than the ones Sokka had asked Piandao to bring… and to the Gladiator's utmost surprise, some of the White Lotus members had cooperated with bringing them. Namely, Anorak had – he had even given out the orders for the extra barrels personally, despite he had declined to join them in feeding the creatures, no doubt curious but still unwilling to cast his lot with Sokka. Even so, he stood by the gates now, intrigued and ensuring nothing went out of control as the satisfied moose-lions relaxed without a care in the world, right outside the fortress.

Aang and Katara dove towards the gate, landing right atop it – the guards posted there jumped out of the way as the Avatar landed. Katara found her footing quickly, and while she was relieved to find solid ground anew, she still didn't let go of Aang, happy for his closeness.

"He's… t-they, rather, they're all befriending them?" Katara smiled in disbelief. Aang's own face broke into a boyish grin.

"I… I want to join in!" he laughed. "I've never made friends with a saber-tooth moose-lion before!"

Katara laughed at his words, and it seemed Aang was about to charge ahead and fulfill his newfound dream when the sound of voices behind them compelled him to stop on his motions. Both their smiles waned as they turned quickly, finding that the crowd of onlookers was reeling back: they made way for the newly arriving group that marched towards the gate.

Aang's heart clenched and sank upon glimpsing the stern expression on Jeong Jeong's sullen face, as well as Iroh's fearful expression. General Fong appeared to be following the others with enthusiasm, curious about Sokka's mad choices, just as everyone else was… but, as ever, the most authoritarian leader of the White Lotus would ignore his cheerful behavior.

Captain Shiju was the one who cleared the way for Jeong Jeong to reach the gate. When he finally did, the crowd was deathly silent, and the only noise to be heard was that of the group outside the walls, be it the talking humans or the happily groaning and purring moose-lions.

Still, Sokka had noticed something was happening. Jeong Jeong came into view before long, and Sokka knew he'd have to speak to the man, whether he wanted to or not. How would Jeong Jeong twist the situation this time, Sokka wondered? What would be his excuse to dismiss his achievement? Surely, the apples were very special and important, no matter if the orchards in the fortress were overflowing, perhaps Jeong Jeong had wanted to make a nice fruit pie for someone's birthday, so Sokka had to reflect on his actions and realize what a fool he truly was…

He smiled to himself and rolled his eyes as he touched Foo-Foo's antlers gently. Jeong Jeong wouldn't be likely to say something quite as silly as that, but it would certainly be funny if he did.

"I'll be back in a bit, buddy. Got to go talk to the big grump over there, you see," he explained, rising to his feet slowly.

He took his time swatting the dirt from his clothes and armor, deliberately making Jeong Jeong wait longer before marching in his direction. Piandao appeared ready to stand up to the older Grand Lotus, but Sokka raised an appeasing hand in his direction, urging him to hold back.

Sokka raised his eyebrows as he approached the open gate. Anorak stood there, between Sokka and Jeong Jeong, an anxious expression on his face as his leader marched through the gate and stood right outside it, glaring at Sokka as fiercely as possible.

"Ah, I see you're not in a pleasant mood today, Grand Lotus," Sokka said, pompous and mockingly. "I'm quite sorry I didn't invite you to this party, though I'm assuming you're not particularly interested in large beasts such as these if you can't drive them mad at your leisure to kill your enemies for you… was I wrong to think so?"

Jeong Jeong's frown seemed to grow heavier still, nearly hiding his eyes completely behind his eyebrows. Sokka, naturally, wasn't deterred in the slightest.

"What, exactly, have you done?" Jeong Jeong asked. Sokka shrugged.

"Resolved your problem, apparently, and spared you from having to waste arrows and lives trying to hunt down a whole herd of moose-lions that won't cause trouble as long as you feed them properly," Sokka said, hands on his hips. "I have no idea how they just happened to show up here… but it was great that they did just when I happened to be around, don't you think? Had I not been here at all… well, I suspect your fortress would have been the subject of a stampede of angry moose-lions, trampling all over your archers and warriors ordered to subdue them. So, I'd say you ought to thank me…"

"Thank you? You insolent…!"

"But I'm guessing that's too much decency and dignity to request from you, isn't it?" Sokka said, point-blank. Jeong Jeong scoffed. "Out with it, then. What's the problem? You don't think we can afford to keep them fed, you think this is a dangerous situation because they could grow feral at any given moment…?"

"You're terribly aware of why this is a problem indeed, if you're reciting those reasons as quickly as that," Jeong Jeong snapped. "You've resolved this problem, you say, but you've only caused a greater one! Twelve moose-lions, now anchored to this fortress because they will expect and demand to be fed or there will be retaliation! This is no solution, not in the eyes of anyone but yourself!"

"I suppose the warriors who were right there, anxious about having to shoot these creatures, might disagree with you if they were at liberty to speak their minds," Sokka said, with a dry grin. Jeong Jeong scowled heavily and shook his head. "That I've managed to prevent violence from erupting isn't enough for you, is it? As far as I can tell, nothing ever will be."

"No one asked you to involve yourself in this matter. You were to meet with the council, not to stick your nose into a matter of security that was already being handled," Jeong Jeong said. "You're obsessed with playing hero, with demonstrating your alleged brilliance and expecting applause and lauds in consequence, are you not? There is no applause to be had, you miserable oaf, because what you've done amounts to a waste of resources indeed, a waste that could cause severe complications to the sustaining of the fortress in the months to come. Feeding them with every apple you could find… you are a greater fool than I even thought possible!"

"I guess we have that in common. Should make us get along better, shouldn't it?" Sokka said, with a dry grin.

Jeong Jeong glowered with such wrath Sokka wondered if he'd attempt to bend at him right now: the man knew he was losing. The fallen admiral, the great Deserter, knew there were next to no excuses for rejecting Sokka's solution for the moose-lions… and now he was scared. Now he was worried. He didn't really know what Sokka's angle was this time. He wanted to push Sokka out, to send him on a suicidal mission in order to take advantage of Sokka's frontal assault to flank the enemy while Sokka was defeated… and he was losing his temper because, clearly, he hadn't expected Sokka to find any opportunities to prove a valuable asset in any way besides that one. Now, though…

"This… is no metaphor for your beliefs and hopes. You cannot win a war by taming monsters," Jeong Jeong hissed. Sokka's eyes gained a glacial clarity that sent an unsettling shiver down Anorak's back.

"I suppose you'd know a thing or two about monsters, don't you," Sokka said, all amusement gone from his face. "There's no taming you, or is there?"

"Don't…" Jeong Jeong started, but the words were choked in his throat by his own uncertainties. Sokka's fierceness didn't flee from his countenance.

"I see worse than monsters here. I saw worse than monsters in the Fire Nation," Sokka said, his voice deceptively calm. Jeong Jeong's glare bore into Sokka's as the Gladiator spoke. "I've seen worse than monsters within myself. If it's what it takes, I will let myself become so much worse than one to win this blasted war. I'm probably on my way there already, aren't I? These moose-lions… they're not capable of the horrors you and I are capable of, not even close. But what this truly proves, oh great Deserter, is that you don't have all the answers, whether you've deluded yourself into thinking you do or don't."

Jeong Jeong didn't seem to have any answers to those words indeed, a fact that saw Sokka flashing him a small, sarcastic smile.

"I will find my way to win this war. Rest assured, that's all I think about, every damn day," he said. "So… you can wait on your wings for me to lose my temper, drop my every strategy and charge mindlessly at the Fire Lord, if you so wish. I have no intentions of doing that, however, because I want to win. I want to defeat that son of a bitch and ensure he can't live long enough to tell the tale. My reasons to fight are as valid, as strong, as yours ever were. The difference between us is that you're waiting for the perfect opening, the right opportunity, to fall upon your lap from the heavens before you take action: my plan is to create that opening myself. So, unless you have anything of note to bring to the table, feel free to take your leave and forget about the moose-lions, because they won't be a problem for you anymore."

"But you will be one for as long as you care to be," Jeong Jeong said. "You and your unstable plans, so easily torn asunder by any small setbacks… and now you've added a new burden to the White Lotus, along with the one your sudden arrival already represented? And you want me to thank you for it?"

"You do want me to get rid of them, don't you?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows. "To ensure these wonderful creatures won't decide they'll stay in this fortress forever?"

"Evidently," Jeong Jeong said, once it was obvious Sokka's questions were in need of an answer. The Gladiator raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Good, then. I figured I'd do that for you anyhow," he said. "Though, just a fair warning: it will take me a few days to pull that off. So, if you don't mind… in order to get them out of here, I'll have to travel far from the fortress. Does that appear to be a problem for you?"

"It…" Jeong Jeong started, before frowning heavily. "You're not as trustworthy as you might have hoped to be. But you must know, all too well, that taking your leave will still render you vulnerable. You will come back to this fortress within a week, at most, or else…"

"Or else you'll leak news of my survival to the Fire Lord?" Sokka asked, with a sarcastic grin. "Is that really the game you want to play now?"

Jeong Jeong scowled: Sokka knew the location of the White Lotus's fortress. He knew exactly how to get there. If Fire Lord Ozai found out the truth about his survival and Sokka retaliated by revealing the location of the White Lotus's forces…

They were at a stalemate. This had been a negotiating factor so far, something Jeong Jeong had treated as an easy way to keep the Gladiator in check, but now Sokka had the upper hand: the negotiating factor had been turned against him.

"I will come back," Sokka said: he spoke with full conviction, with certainty… with strength that didn't match his actual thoughts at all. "Once I've seen to the herd's safety, I'll come back. But if you don't trust me to do so… feel free to send a few of your people to help me shepherd them away from the fortress. A lot of lurkers and curious folks out there might just enjoy being assigned to Sokka-watching duty when it includes traveling with a herd of dangerous-looking-but-actually-pretty-friendly creatures, huh?"

Jeong Jeong scowled and shook his head: for once, Sokka had no doubts he had beaten him.

"We will have much to discuss once you return. This mad spree of choices, unagreed upon, is not something we will tolerate if you intend to be an ally of the White Lotus," Jeong Jeong said. Sokka raised his eyebrows.

"Then we'll talk about it when I come back, you say? So be it," he shrugged. "Done judging me yet?"

"Never," Jeong Jeong retorted. Sokka actually smiled at that. "You are acting as if you had been victorious, but your choices are reckless and poorly planned. A man like you… a man like you could never overthrow the Fire Lord with such mad impulsiveness. Your war, as much as you may ponder it, isn't easily ended: I have tried to end it for decades and nothing has worked thus far. What makes you quite so arrogant and foolish as to believe you're any better than the rest of us?"

Sokka smirked, raising his head firmly before answering the question.

"That I'm her Gladiator," he said, bluntly, without thinking twice of his words. Jeong Jeong's eyes narrowed. "That's reason enough for me."

"Fool," the man hissed, visibly disturbed by the serenity and sincerity with which Sokka had spoken such words. "Your ridiculous flights of fancy, your longing for someone like her… it will be your undoing. Mark my words."

Sokka was unamused, unsurprised, by the apparent threat. The man turned on his heels and returned to the small group that had escorted him: Iroh watched Sokka with that same bleak expression on his face that made it seem as though he had a persistent stomachache. The Gladiator's glare shifted towards him next and then towards Shiju, who continued to stare down at Sokka with a stern scowl of his own. Lastly, though, Sokka's eyes fell upon Anorak… to find the man appeared shaken, uncertain, more so when Jeong Jeong called to him briskly: he had to approach the firebender hastily, to receive his next orders.

"Well… if he were right somehow, good thing I have plenty of experience at coming undone and pulling myself back together again," Sokka said to himself, with a simple shrug. "As ever, stuff she taught me… stuff he'd never understand."

He smiled to himself before turning, too, towards his own group of allies. Zuko, Kino, Piandao and Ursa had gathered around the center of the group of moose-lions, most of whom now seemed to nap carelessly while the humans discussed their complicated, unpleasant politics.

"Did you just… bully Jeong Jeong into leaving you alone?" Kino blurted out without thinking, startling Sokka as the others eyed him quizzically over his choice of words.

"I didn't…! W-well, did I?" Sokka blinked blankly, frowning as Piandao chuckled softly.

"I cannot say I've ever before seen Jeong Jeong backing away from any manner of conflict in such a dejected, uncertain manner," Piandao said. "Clearly, you're well on your way to achieving your goal. That is, if you still want the White Lotus's support. I'm not entirely certain where you stand with that, at the moment…"

"I stand where I did before… I want them on my side, but if they won't cooperate, I'll find my own way. I'll build my own path," Sokka said, with certainty. Piandao nodded. "I'd say… my next choices, my next moves, should help us find out whether Jeong Jeong can set aside his pride and work with me or not. If I succeed… well, even if I do, I'll be willing to stand as equals with him. I'd still acknowledge his authority over his people. But he'd have to acknowledge mine, too. It may sound arrogant, but…"

"If your goal is to take Omashu, and you do succeed at it, you'll have achieved more than Jeong Jeong has so far," Zuko pointed out, folding his arms over his chest. "If he can't stand that, it's bound to be a breaking point for the White Lotus itself. More than enough people were watching us today, people who might just be wondering if your way of going about things is not as bad as Jeong Jeong keeps pretending it is…"

"Iroh can be persuaded to strengthen the doubts of those who might think Jeong Jeong isn't leading them in the right direction anymore," Piandao said. Sokka frowned. "I know you don't trust him in the slightest, Sokka… but he can exploit this to your benefit if he's asked to do so."

"I can only hope it won't be necessary. I'd sooner eat my boot than count on Iroh to be the one to secure me even a chunk of an army," Sokka sighed, shaking his head.

"In any case… what you've done today is important progress, Sokka," Piandao assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And if you push further, if you go the distance as you intended to… we'll be dealing the Fire Lord the worst blow he has faced in the war so far, very soon."

"I hope so," Sokka said, swallowing hard and nodding. "Though… you can secure us a few more barrels of apples, right? We'll need plenty of food to bribe the moose-lions away by tomorrow."

"It won't be a problem. Jeong Jeong won't stand in the way of it, especially if it means leading the moose lions out of his territory," Piandao said. Sokka nodded.

"Then…"

A light breeze brushed against him, and Sokka turned his head again to find Aang and Katara had just landed with them, right at the center of the group of moose lions. He smiled instinctively, most of all at the amazed expression on his sister's face.

"You just…! Did you seriously just…?! Hell, Sokka…!" Katara laughed, rushing in to hug him. Sokka smiled and rubbed her back. "We heard everything from the gate, damn, I can't believe you shut him down so strongly! He couldn't even find his way through that argument…!"

"Not that surprising, we know his head can't find its way out of his ass, it's rammed as far up as it can go…" Sokka smirked, and Katara laughed still, despite groaning in disgust at the image.

"You tamed them all? All these moose-lions? And… you're really just going to take them away again?" Aang whimpered. "The messenger hawk first, and now all these moose-lions?"

"You got to keep Momo, at least. You don't need so many pets, Aang, or do you?" Sokka smiled, as the lemur in question flew from Kino's shoulder to perch on Aang's glider. The Avatar smiled as Katara gasped happily.

"Ah, and while you guys were up to all this…! Aang can finally earthbend, Sokka!"

"Wait, really? You pulled it off?" Zuko asked, eyes wide. Kino threw a celebratory fist in the air.

"Hell, yeah! It only took like… a month and a half!"

"Yeah, well, at least it worked," Aang pouted, though he smiled again quickly. "I'm far from becoming a master, clearly, but it happened! I can bend all four elements now, so… so hopefully I'll be of even more help with whatever we'll do next, Sokka. Though… what are we doing next?"

"Hopefully not riding these crazy animals, eh? You already did plenty of that once before, didn't you, Sokka?"

Toph's voice reached them as the young woman strode towards them, having left a set of earthbending mounds behind herself, mounds with which she had pushed herself all the way to the fortress gates. She let out a disappointed breath as she ran a hand over her hair.

"I missed all the good stuff already, didn't I? Damn it, Aang, you should've started earthbending sooner!" she scolded the Avatar, who pouted again in her direction as the others laughed.

"I just argued with Jeong Jeong a little, he's a bit lost now that I proved I could sort out problems in a different way than he can," Sokka explained. "He just wants the moose-lions out of his face now, and… well, I have a pretty good plan on how to do that."

"Do tell," Toph said, though she frowned upon sensing a new presence approaching them.

Their conversation ceased when Sokka turned, yet again, towards the direction of the gates. Anorak had approached him, with a conflicted expression on his face.

"I… well, don't take this the wrong way. I do think what you did today was… impressive, at the very least," Anorak said, no doubt unsure of how to praise Sokka moderately. "But…"

"But?" Sokka repeated, raising an eyebrow expectantly. Zuko, not far behind him, crooked an eyebrow upon finding Sokka's response, even his tone, were eerily reminiscent of Azula's usual, unamused voice whenever anyone annoyed her.

"Jeong Jeong… wants me to come with you," Anorak finished. Sokka's eyes widened.

"Wait… what?" Katara frowned. Anorak breathed deeply and shrugged.

"I don't… well, I didn't ask for this. It seems he trusts me to ensure all of you will return to the fortress safely after you've taken the moose-lions elsewhere," he said. "You just said you have a plan for it? I'll help you navigate the area if you need any help, though I suppose Master Piandao could do so too…"

"Master Piandao will be staying here," Sokka said, simply, without so much as confirming as much with the man in question. "As will Lady Ursa. It's true that they know these territories well, but they'll stay anyhow… so, if you truly hope to help us navigate the area, we'll be grateful for your aid."

"We will be?" Toph asked, folding her arms over her chest. Sokka nodded. "That's awfully friendly of you towards a dude who's been spewing every load of dung his mouth could utter at you over the last weeks…"

"I…! I'm sorry I've been so antagonistic, it's only…!" Anorak said, gritting his teeth, but Sokka raised his hand to appease him. Anorak fell silent immediately.

"I'm not here, no matter what your boss seems to believe, to play hero," Sokka said. Anorak's eyes widened. "I'm not here to demand for your fealty or your loyalty just because of the mission I intend to undertake. If you won't hinder us, you're welcome to come. If you want to help us, you're free to do so too. And if you have any issues, any problems whatsoever… well, feel free to voice them. Who knows if maybe, in doing so, you'll help me unravel ways to fix predicaments that I haven't thought solutions for just yet, huh?"

"Uh… sure?" Anorak blinked blankly. Sokka smiled dryly.

"Then, you're sure about joining us?"

"I don't have a choice in the matter. It's the Grand Lotus's order," Anorak said, simply. "I only ask that we're careful about it. Leaving these creatures to roam near villages or towns would be dangerous and troublesome for people…"

"Oh, I have no doubts it would be," Sokka said: again, his tone reminded Zuko so strongly of Azula he had to blink himself out of the sensation of hearing his sister speaking through Sokka right then and there. "We'll be very careful with where we'll take the moose lions. It will be a long trip, though. Might just take us about three, four days, I don't know…"

"Really?" Anorak frowned. "But that's…"

"A long trek? Yeah, I'm aware, but we can come back faster if we take Appa afterwards," Sokka said, shrugging. "Appa will help us herd the moose-lions too, right?"

"Uh… he will?" Aang blinked blankly as Sokka turned towards him.

"You, and a few others, should ride on Appa's back and drop apples near the moose lions whenever it looks like they're in need of being directed on the right path," Sokka explained. Aang hummed and nodded. "I… I think I'll just ride Foo-Foo, though."

"Wait. It really is Foo-Foo, uh… whatever the rest of the name was?" Katara smiled skeptically, and her brother huffed in her direction.

"Foo-Foo Cuddly Poops, Katara. That's his full name. Be more respectful," he said, pompously. Katara raised an eyebrow expectantly as the others laughed at Sokka's chiding of his sister. "But yeah, he's here. I had the feeling I could get them to cooperate with me if I bribed them with food… but I hoped Foo-Foo would be one of them, and he really was. A very lucky hit, you know? Though, to be fair, I've always been lucky when it comes to Foo-Foo. So, anyway… I think I'll have to test a few ways to ensure the moose-lions want to follow us wherever we might go. Foo-Foo endured having me riding him once before, and he let me climb on his back earlier today without losing his temper… but we'll see if he'll want to help me lead the rest of his herd away from here."

"He has to. Though… I still don't understand what it is we're going to do," Kino said. Sokka smiled proudly at him, a glint of deviousness in his eyes.

"We're going to herd moose-lions, of course," he said, with his best, innocent voice. Anorak frowned upon hearing it, sensing an underlying intent in his words right away. "And if something or another happens on the way there, well… I guess we'll just make the most of the opportunities the journey will provide, won't we?"

Opportunities such as the takeover of Omashu, of course.

He wouldn't say it out loud in front of Anorak, and he hoped the others would understand that much. The waterbender from the north didn't trust them, and he would likely turn tail and tell on them right away if he gained the slightest inkling about what their true intent was. But Sokka had wanted a distraction, a safe one… and here it was, in the form of an old friend and his fellow moose-lions. This was the last piece of a very odd puzzle… and one that would work nicely, whether Anorak was part of this operation or not.

Heavy breaths and footsteps reached them again, this time in the direction Toph had arrived from. The earthbender smirked as Sokka glanced over her head to find Jet, jogging as fast as he could towards them, evidently strained over the large distance he had covered in such a short time without aid of his bending.

"Ah… ah, there you are… with Captain Anorak?" Jet said, breathing out slowly as he ran his gaze across the group of napping moose-lions. "And a whole squad of moose-lions, too. Not bad for a day's work, Sokka."

"Not at all," Sokka said, smiling in his direction. "You okay?"

"Just… a little drained after running so fast, but I'll be fine," Jet said, breathing out more slowly now. "Guess I missed all the good stuff, didn't I?"

"So did I, so you wouldn't have seen any of it if I had carried you with me after all," Toph smirked at him. Jet laughed and shook his head. "All you need to know, really, is that we're moving out… tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Sokka confirmed. Jet's eyes widened.

"Wait… just like that?" Jet asked. Sokka smiled dryly.

"We're on a very important quest to escort moose-lions out of the fortress's territories. There's a nice area I think they'll thrive in, so… that's where we're headed," he said. Jet's lips curled into a disbelieving smirk.

"Right… right," he chuckled. "Okay, then. I'm good with that."

"So! With that being said, I suppose we ought to spend the night out here to ensure our friends don't do anything crazy while we aren't paying attention," Sokka said, smiling as he glanced around the slumbering moose-lions. Katara shook her head, tugging his arm sleeve gently as he smiled proudly at his achievement.

"I am seriously… grappling with this, even now. You seriously tamed that moose-lion in the race?" she asked. Sokka rolled his eyes but smiled fondly at her.

"You still don't believe my stories, Katara? Seriously, now?" he asked. "Miss 'I broke the Avatar out of an iceberg a hundred years after he froze over' can't believe I tamed a measly moose lion?"

"You tamed an entire herd this time, not just one, and…! Your stories are just utterly mad, Sokka, you have to acknowledge that! I mean, the Spirit Library, for crying out loud…!"

"Don't worry, the next time I visit the fun owl, I'll make sure to bring you too so you can learn, for once and for all, to believe your big brother," Sokka smirked, poking Katara's forehead with a finger. She swatted his hand away, smirking back at him. "Anyway… shall we get settled for the night?"

After finally finding some semblance of stability in the fortress, it might have been odd for their group to spend the night in sleeping bags and tents all over again. Yet that was exactly what they did after Aang made a quick trip on Appa to collect all their things from their room in the tower. He found food for them too, so that they could enjoy a good dinner once night fell, and still have plenty of supplies in store for the coming days. A new journey awaited them... a perilous one, no matter how confident Sokka might present himself.

He intended to be the storm in the horizon, the herald of change for a world that direly longed for a new direction. If he failed, the consequences would be steep… if he succeeded, he'd be one step closer to finding his way back to Azula. One step closer to ending Ozai's tyranny, the sole goal everyone in this fortress agreed upon… the White Lotus might just be swayed into joining him for good if he succeeded. Jeong Jeong's excuses would no longer stand tall enough for him to hide behind them as he waited for Sokka's downfall… for betting on his eventual, absolute success would be the only outcome that would benefit him, his White Lotus and his fortress's safety.

Clinging too tightly to success, or dreading failure mindlessly, would do him no good. For the time being, Sokka was pleased to finally move out on the next morning. Provided his plans paid off, the vow he had spoken to reassure Jeong Jeong would be broken, just as he had wanted it to be: he had no intentions of ever returning to the White Lotus's Fortress.