A. N. : Lots of things to say about this chapter ! First, the title - we're staying with the theme of divination, this time with the practice of haruspicy, that is to say the prediction of the future by examining the insides of ritually sacrificed animals. Sheep liver is typical, but it also works with poultry. Second - once again Bryke gave me a place with a very defined geographic landmark and no name, so I made do. The Black Cliffs (where the Gaang waits for the invasion in Nightmares and Daydreams) are very obviously a basaltic formation, so I decided the whole island would be called Tongpan, after the Tongpan islet of the Penghu archipelago. Funnily enough, both China and Taiwan agree that the archipelago is in the Province of Taiwan, though they're of course both referring to a different one. Third, in keeping with the Earth Kingdom using the li as a unit of length, I mention cun in this chapter - one cun is about 3cm. I think that's all !
They can't do this !
Right ? They can't – Uncle is royalty, Toph can't believe, refuses to believe that he can just be –
She heard, in town, but she didn't want to believe it was true, so she came back to the camp and – and – spirits, Sugar Queen didn't even nag at her for her wins at the carnival. Sugar Queen. Not nagging. If that isn't a sign that the situation is totally out of hands, Toph doesn't know what is.
And it's not just Uncle who will – spirits, it doesn't make sense, you can't spill royal blood like that – Snoozles says the poster mentioned the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors would be executed on the same day – his voice makes a strangled sound when he pronounces the word executed.
Tophs remembers Suki. A strong girl, a good fighter, with a big heart – they didn't talk much, but Toph respects her. And she is Snoozles' girlfriend. Letting her die would be just like letting Uncle die. They can't do this. Right ?
Stalker takes a shaky breath – his feet are planted in the ground so hard, it feels like he is trying to draw on its strength to talk – and asks for the map. The eclipse – he kneels, puts the map on the ground, voice hard and distant – is in six days. Meaning they need to be at Tongpan – he points something and paper cracks – at latest the morning of the sixth day. The executions are in four days, at midday – he hesitates – here, Snoozles points, somewhere about two cun away from the other spot. The question now is how fast they can travel from one to the other.
Suger Queen asks if they can't rescue Suki and Zuko's uncle earlier, but Stalker dismisses the idea – we don't know where they will be until the execution, it's not doable, and –
He stops. There's something he isn't saying, a tension down his back that feels like he is physically restraining himself from saying it, and Toph thought she couldn't get any more uneasy but obviously she was wrong. Whatever he's hiding, it's really bad.
They start discussing distances, and how fast Appa can fly, and how long he can go without rest and – Sparky snaps at Twinkle Toes. It's a flying bison right ? They why not fly over the volcano, straight to Tongpan, instead of losing time going around it ?
He's on the verge of exploding, Toph thinks, almost literally. His temperature is so high it feels like he's going to catch fire on his own. And Twinkle Toes shrinks, hesitates, then roots himself in the earth to confront Sparky.
Flying above volcanoes is dangerous enough usually, because of the toxic fumes he would need to bend away from the group, including Appa, the entire time – but the ones standing between Tenuht and Tongpan are just too high ! If he bends spoiled air away, the leftover will be too thin to breathe, and then they'll all die ! There's a reason the Air Nomads avoided this route !
And then there's silence. Or, no, it's never complete silence – Twinkle Toes' breaths are a bit louder than usual, Sparky's pulse is having a contest with his shaking body to see which one is going faster, Stalker's knuckles crack every time he clenches his fists. Snoozles swallows, lets out a breath that sounds a lot like a swear. Sugar Queen is grinding her teeth.
Going to – Tenuht, is apparently the name of that place – isn't the issue. Making it back in time is.
We need to make two groups, Snoozles says finally. One to take Appa and fly to Tongpan, while the other will take a ship for whatever port is closer to Tenuht and finish by foot – that's possible, right ?
Sparky breathes in, then out, and says yes. They'd have to buy ostrich-horses to be fast enough, but that's easy to do.
Obviously, Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen are essential to the invasion plan, so that's where they'll go. Sparky already shared all the info he had when they made their plans, he could still draw a map of the palace just in case, but otherwise he'll be more useful in the rescue team than fireless during the eclipse. Maybe leave Lin with the ostrich-horse or something. Stalker can go with him and like, sneak into the execution grounds the way he did with that carriage. And Snoozles doesn't like it, but someone needs to read the map to Tongpan, so he'll have to go there and leave Suki in their hands. And Toph… well, both teams could use her strength, so it's up to her.
She thinks it over.
She wants to save Uncle, and leaving Sparky and Stalker alone together when things are so tense between them is probably a recipe for disaster – she didn't mean to eavesdrop on their fight back in Awa, she just heard them, heard how Sparky doesn't understand the concept of giving a little warning, how Stalker said something he really shouldn't have said, heard how, even though she called Stalker a coward, he still tried to have that talk with Sparky when Toph couldn't, because it would've meant admitting she was caught by surprise, admitting how scared she is of being caged again. That, she couldn't do.
Anyway that's two points for the rescue mission. The invasion… well, there's definitely more chances of ending the war in less than a week if she's in, but it's not like she cares all that much about that. The war has been going on for a hundred years now, a few months won't make much of a difference. It will be a shame is Snoozles' and Sugar Queen's dad doesn't make it, he's a cool guy and Toph would be pretty sad if it happened – but he is a warrior, and if there's one thing Toph learned during her time with the Water Tribe guys, it's that they are all ready to lose their life if it's needed. But if – if it's anyone else – Sparky said the defences would be impossibly strong, that the Fire Nation would be ready, so that could happen, someone, one of them could –
Toph heard Twinkle Toes be dead. She can't – she refuses, to experience that again.
She will go to Tongpan.
Snoozles says alright, then asks if everyone got everything, if anyone has questions, if –
Stalker interrupts him – hands clenching and unclenching, back tense, breath so slow it can't be natural.
I can't let you do that, he says. Snoozles sputters, Stalker tenses even more, then relaxes as he continues, and Toph realizes why he kept quiet about that thing until now. He hoped he wouldn't have to say it. Hoped someone else would, or hoped whatever plan Snoozles came up with would fit anyway.
The executions are a trap.