Welcome to Chapter 7 everyone! Hope y'all are ready! Enjoy!

~~~Katara Point of View~~~

Breakfast was a simple affair, we were all quieter this morning,and it sort of felt like a lazy morning. Probably means we all slept good after a good,full day yesterday.

Eggs,toast, and what was left over of our exotic fruits from the produce stand at market row was shared amongst us for breakfast. We had decided to save some of the exotic jam for another day.

Also, today was the first fully cloudy day since we came to Narnia, so a slight air of gloom seemed as if it were in the air itself when I looked out my window earlier while getting ready to come down for breakfast.

I also felt a slight internal nudge that I couldn't quite explain. I think it was my bending ability telling me it was going to rain sometime today;that I could feel the connection to the water droplets that were trapped in the clouds above and beyond my room here in the castle.

I finished my cup of tea and leaned back against my seat,still looking out the window across the room.

"Miss Katara?" I hear from beside me. I look over at Iroh,whose voice I had just heard breaking me from my thoughts.

"What's got you lost in your thoughts?" he asked, a half amused and half curious look on his face.

I could also feel everyone else's attention on me now as well.

Oh well, might as well tell them what I just figured out a few minutes ago.

"I had the realization that I could feel that it will rain sometime today. Also, it just feels gloomy

when I look outside;its the first actually cloudy day since we came here."

"Ah, and what a realization that is." Iroh replied.

"That's pretty neat" Lucy chimed in.

I nodded.

I glanced back out the window before saying, " I think I''m going to walk outside for a bit."

I slid my chair back and stood up,stretching my arms over my head.

I then turned to Iroh, "after my walk would you like to show me Pai Sho,or sometime later on?"

"After your walk will be just fine, I think I will go ahead up to the library and see if I can find a book to steal my interest until then." he replied, sliding his chair back to get up.

I smiled at everyone at the table before heading to the door that led outside.

I opened the door and stepped outside, a soft breeze wafting past my face. I took in a deep breath.

It was going to actually rain soon. The air had that scent to it before it rained sometimes. As,well as I could feel it a little stronger than earlier.

I decided just to walk wherever my feet lead me,really.

I ended up walking towards the path that led down to the garden where Zuko and I sparred.

I stayed on the path of that direction even after figuring out where my feet were wanting to take me.

I am looking forward to seeing all those flowers again, I thought.

As I stepped through the entry I saw some of the flowers from the other day had bloomed further,and others that had just begun to bloom I didn't notice as much then. I smiled.

After completing a lap of the interior of the garden and inspecting all the flowers again,and stopping to closely inspect and smell a few, I went over to the fountain and sat down on its edge.

I leaned over,looking into the water below, I trailed my fingers gently above it,away from me –causing gentle outward ripples that slowly ceased after a short time.

Nearby I heard a soft pitter patter of water droplets on leaves. On the far end of the garden I could see it had started to rain. It was slowly getting louder. The rainfall was coming my way,and I could see it and feel it. It looked really cool,seeing the rainfall advance across the space towards me.

I stood up and held my arms out,palms up,wanting to enjoy how this will feel when the rainfall washes over me in the next few seconds. It was also the fact that I could feel it coming with my bending as well. It was incredible.

Rain drops raced right up to me until I was being covered by hundreds of cool droplets. I was thoroughly wet in the matter of a minute,but I didn't care. I wanted to enjoy being surrounded by my element in a beautiful place.

I stepped away from the fountain and flung my arms open and spun around,flinging water droplets off of me,and my hair swung around and flung some water droplets onto my face.

I just laughed at my accidental attack on myself.

I looked around and now it seem that the rain had took over the whole area as far as I could see.

I watched and listened and felt as the rain softly pitter pattered onto the ground all around.

I liked the sound of it,especially when it was hitting leaves on trees or on a surface of water.

All of a sudden I was reminded of home;this place is so different and yet still the same.

I suddenly wondered what Sokka and Aang were up to right now,and are they alright? Are they worried?

I imagined if Aang were here he would be laughing and trying to create a game for us to play in the rain,just so he could make me smile.

Sokka would grumble lightly,but then smile lazily as he watched Aang and I playing in the rain.

I smiled at the thoughts I had imagined just now.

Surely they are fine, I thought. They have to be.

I silently sent up a prayer while I stood there in my element,asking that they somehow know that I am okay.

I then focused on enjoying my element,determined not to go down that path of worried thinking, knowing if I did I would get stuck in those thoughts and eventually come up with worse ones that I didn't have any answers to right now. So, it was better to focus on what I had been enjoying before they had invaded my mind.

I started walking through the garden,then went outside and walked around it, just looking and enjoying the rain falling at the same time.

I stopped when I came upon the entrance again from coming around the back side.

I looked up. The rain has softened to a very quiet and gentle pitter.

I also became very aware of how soaked I was. I probably couldn't bend myself entirely dry I was so soaked. I smiled anyway before starting to gently wring out my hair as I started walking back up to the castle.

I stopped just before the door and used my bending to dispel all the water that I could off of me and out of my hair that I couldn't get a few minutes ago.

I still felt slightly damp-ish so I would probably need to change to a different dress before joining Iroh in the library.

I sighed softly before opening the door.

Once in my room I took this dress and undergarments off and draped them over the side of my bathtub to dry the rest of the way.

The other day Susan had given me some extra undergarments. I was grateful, my current pair have seen a lot,and any spare I had was back in my world in my travel pack or back at home. They fit reasonably well. I had to borrow a needle and thread and take in a little in the chest area.

So I went and got them on and then changed into the blue one Susan had given me. I slipped on my shoes and felt my hair,which had been put in a simple braid,was now messy feeling.

I undid the braid and gently rain my fingers through my hair a few times til it felt better. I trusted enough that I didn't likely look like a wild animal so I skipped checking my mirror as I was ready to get to the library.

I made my way over to the library and found Iroh in the back,where Susan and Lucy had showed me that book that had the information about the beings of Narnia.

He looked up upon hearing me and a smile crossed his face as he welcomed me , " ready for some Pai Sho and tea, Miss Katara?"

I smiled as I sat down across from him at the table that he had already set the game up upon, "I am."

"Do you know of the origin story of Pai Sho?" he asked me as I looked at the board displayed in front of me and some pieces.

"No," I told him, before continuing slowly, "I have heard of the game itself from hearing adults around me talking about it here and there,but I lived very isolated until I found Aang and we left on our journey to help him."

"That makes sense," he told me before continuing, " well it is a game of both strategy and chance that is told to date back to the time of Raava, and legend has that it was invented by the spirits themselves. Each nation has eventually developed its own sets of rules and variations of the game."

He then began to tell me about the set up and explain different basic strategies,and how to play.

We took it slow with him explaining his moves and then explaining my options and what each option could mean for me. It was interesting.

After a few moves in, Kayleona appeared with a folding table being carried on a strap on her shoulder and a rectangular tray in her hands with tea and the fixings as well as two cups ,and a few baked treats that smelled amazing.

Iroh stood and held the tray for her while she unfolded the table and set it down in front of the other table. Kayleona then transferred the stuff on the try onto the table. She turned to Iroh saying , "thank you," then stepping back to look at us both, told us, " I hope you two enjoy your tea and treats! And please let me know if you need anything else."

Iroh nodded and then we both thanked her,assuring her we would surely do so.

We fixed our tea cups to our liking and both chose a treat to enjoy while he continued to explain and while I continued to learn.

It felt like a lot to fully grasp and maneuver the game but it was interesting,what little I already could follow and understand I liked it well enough.

I asked questions,and he generously answered in detail. We laughed and just talked about random things. Iroh was great company. I truly enjoyed it.

I missed having a caring adult around from time to time I realized. So, I cherished his wisdom and quips a bit more wholly than I already had since that realization.

After some time,and a few sweets later I was slowly starting to be able to play part of the time without him walking me through too much.

We played a few more rounds for me to get more comfortable in what I had learned before putting the game away in a box that had been thoughtfully made for it that he had pulled from behind his chair.

I cleaned up our tea and treats tray,and grabbed the table and closed it and slid the carrying strap over one shoulder before grabbing the tray in my hands.

Iroh came over and pushed my chair back in for me. "Thanks" I smiled up at him.

He nodded,giving me a smile. "See you at dinner, Katara."

"See you then," I responded brightly before leading the way out of the library,picking up my pace a little to not prolong the carrying I was doing.

I got to the kitchen door and gently nudged it open with a shoulder and stuck my head through a little bit.

I spotted Kayleona instantly . "Psst!Kayleona!" I called softly through the door.

She turned around with a smudge of flour on her cheek. "Hi Katara!" she said, a smile instantly coming across her face.

She dusted her hands off on her apron as she saw me breach the door with the tray in my hands and the folded table on my shoulder and made her way over to take the tray from my hands ans set it down on one of the counters behind her that had the room. I took the table off my arm and passed it to her,clearly unsure of where to put it.

She flashed me a smile as she went and set it against a wall near the corner,where two other similar folded tables were also leaned.

"Thank you for bringing those back! As you can see I've been a little busy!" she told me,finishing while gesturing to the counter I had seen her leaned over a moment ago.

Now that I could see it properly, I could see a small pile of flour and a lump of dough in the works,as well as a tray ready to receive the finished dough to go into the oven for baking.

"I see! What are you making right now?" I asked.

"Oh! I am making shortbread cookie. It's just flour,butter,sugar,and a tiny pinch of salt. Easy and delicious!" she told me as she went back to the table and started looking over the lump of dough before pinching off a small handful and gently rolling it into a small ball before placing it onto the counter and flattening the ball in a somewhat flat circle that was a little less than a small finger in thickness that could fit on the palm of your hand nicely.

She gently slid it onto her palm and brought it closer to show me. "Once all are made like this I will poke a few tiny holes in it in a simple pattern for fun. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure!I've never done anything like this before. Time to learn!" I replied.

"Okay! Go wash your hands in the sink and dry them and then you are ready to jump in." she instructed.

I did as told and dried my hands on a clean towel that was on the counter next to the sink before joining Kayleona at her current workspace.

The dough was cool and pretty smooth to the touch.

Kayleona pinched some off and I copied her step for step. It wasn't too hard,and it was fun.

Soon, we quickly had the large tray filled with almost ready to bake cookies. All we had to do was poke holes.

Kayleona grabbed two clean forks,handing one to me. She then did one to show me. She delicately poked a line from close to the top to close to the bottom, then did the same across the middle.

She looked up at me, " as long as you don't over poke it you can do whatever you can come up with."

I nodded before stepping up to try my first. I just did a small circle of fork dots pretty evenly spaced between the middle and the edges.

Before we knew it,we had fork poked designs on all of them.

Kayleona straightened up and put her fork down. I did the same. She then stepped over to the oven and opened the door to its belly. Warmth spilled out, I could feel it even from being a little bit behind her.

I then watched her as she grabbed the tray and carefully slid it into the oven, she then pulled a small pot holder from her apron pocket and used it to carefully push it in all the way before closing the door.

"Okay,so they will be done in just under thirty minutes!" she told me.

"Okay,great!" I said. I looked at her, "oh you have some flour on your left cheek! I meant to tell you when I saw it but I think I got distracted."

She laughed and swiped both cheeks with her palms before looking expectantly at me.

"You got it!" I assured her.

"Hey Kayleona,I think I will come back in a bit to help you sample those,if that's okay?" I asked.

"Oh that's fine with me! See you in a little while,Katara!" she said in return.

I waved as I went through the door.

*^*^*^* short time skip, now with Susan *^*^*^*

I held my work up closer to get a better look at it before handing it over to Ariana to look at as well. She gave it a critical once over before handing it back and saying, "looks good,keep going."

I nodded.

I was with mine and Lucy's attending maid Adriana up in my favorite sitting room,getting to know each other better as we practiced embroidery.

We were seated at the window in upholstered slightly higher backed comfy chairs, a small table sat between our chairs against the wall with twin oil lamps aglow.

Ariana did a few stitches of her own work,gave it a quick critical once over before looking up and asking, "how is learning and adjusting to everything coming along?It's been well over a month,now."

I set my work in my lap while I answered her, "I think it's going well enough,a lot to learn but I think mostly we have taken it in stride pretty well. Everyone being so kind and so very helpful and giving us grace whilst we are learning has put us at ease. We are slowly gaining more confidence now that we have started to get our footing here amongst the castle."

She nodded her head,seeming very pleased by my honest answer.

"And you, having someone that's helping me and teaching me that's become a friend has been very nice." I told her, looking her in the eye meaninfully.

She smiled a most sincere smile as she said, " I am glad to hear you say that, I feel as though you are a friend of mine,as well,and maybe almost like a little sister to me. Also I must tell you, I can see you and your siblings efforts paying off already.

I couldn't help but to smile,probably blushing a little at the heartfelt comments,and basking in the earnest praise,which from her was high end praise in my book.

She continued,her tone changing a bit to what is for her an almost conspiritorial/somewhat gossipy tone. " So, I heard about your fascinating guests that came whilst I was visitng back home for a few days."

"It's bout as amazing as our story,if not a little moreso,to me." I told her,leaning in slightly before asking, " what have you heard,Ariana?"

Ariana fiddled with her fingers slightly before setting them down and givin me a look, "Susan, you know well that I am not really one for gossip. I didn't hear much,though. They are from yet another far off and intruiging world,and that they have these abilities in relation to certain elements."

"That is all true,Ariana, so don't wring your fingers off from that bit of 'gossip' when it was true." I detailed,also teasing her a bit.

She visably relaxed a smidgen.

"What are they like?" she asked me,truly curious.

I filled her in without relaying too much detail as they aren't my stories to tell without permission,"Well,two of them are basically children themselves, well young teens like Peter and I. The other one is older,like an older uncle,which is fitting as he is the uncle of the boy. They have quite difficult stories and their world is currently are nice, you would like them. They want to get back home,but"

"Aslan," she finished for me, " but Aslan, of course. He will come,but on his own time. It is said he will come when he truly is needed,so maybe he will visit soon,for their sake."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"You should meet them at dinner,tonight,Ariana." I then told her,eying her half curiously half expectantly.

"I usually don't dine my last meal til after your dinner by roughly an hour" she told me, thinking of completing everything she needs to. I could tell. She has outstanding morals and works very hard.

"How about you eat with us,and I will help you with a few things you need to do afterwards? I would be willing to do that to be able to have my friend eat with us tonight." I offered.

She looked at me incredulously,clearly not expecting what had just come from my mouth in earnest.

I took her hands in mine and smiled at her.

"Oh,alright Susan!", she folded.

I let out a triumphant chuckle.

"Their abilities really are interesting,and their world." I told her as I set my chin in my hand thoughfully,entirely dismissing the work in my lap for the moment.

She nodded thoughtfully before finally saying, "it sounds like it,and I don't even really know anything," shrugging lightly.

I gave her a look which included an amused knowing smile. "Well you can learn more for yourself tonight at dinner."

I then picked my work back up and started carefully outlining the next leaf I was working on on my handkerchief.

Ariana made a small amused noise as she went back to her work as well.

A few moments passed with both of us working on our projects in comfortable silence.

We noticed the wind picking up,and heard it whistling around the nearby corner of the castle.

Ariana paused and shifted slightly to glance out the window we were next to.

"Autumn will be here very soon I think. It may hit suddenly,too." she told me as she looked out the window at some of the trees that were waving in the distance under the wind.

I nodded thoughfully. "I bet it will be beautiful."

She agreed.

She went back to her work briefly before speaking again,this time looking at me as she spoke. "Christmas will be a big event this year,Susan, it will have to be duely celebrated since it's the first Christmas since defeating the White Witch. I will help with whatever you need when it gets closer to."

"Oh, Lucy with be estatic, she loves Christmas,and Narnia,both so much." I paused and backpedalled carefully, "we all love it here,but its different with Lucy."

"Oh, I understand!Not to worry me,Susan." she assured me,meeting my eye with a knowing look on her face.

"It will be exciting though, I bet it will be absolutely beautiful to see this castle decorated for Christmas." I added.

"Oh,yes" she agreed.

"Oh, do you want to see something cute?" Ariana asked me,her eyes shining.

"Of course!" I set my work down in my lap and gave her my absolute attention, my curiousity piqued now.

I watched her as she gently dipped her hand into the left pocket of her dress and withdrew something that overflowed from her cupped hand that was furry.

She held it out in front of her slightly, and it moved and suddenly a cute head popped up from the mysterious ball of her. A chipmunk!

"A chipmunk?" I asked her in a slightly hushed voice,disbelief and awe coloring my tone.

"Mm-hmm, his name is Fitz." she told me with a dab of adorable enthusiam.

"He's utterly adorable!" I exclaimed softly,reaching out to pet his back getnly with a single finger. He turned over slightly in his sleep in response. I gasped softly to myself at the cuteness I caused.

Ariana giggled softly.

She then went on to tell me , " so shortly after I began training here I was outside and heard rustling next to me (I was sitting under a tree while taking a short break and eating something) and I leaned over and saw him. I held out my hand gently to him and spoke softly and he came over to me and sniffed my fingertips curiously before looking up at me briefly and then skittered into my open hand. We have been best of friends ever since."

"Aww, how sweet you two are,Ariana!" I exclaimed oh so softly,smiling before withdrawing my hand so she could return him to his cozy napping spot in her left dress pocket.

We got back to our embroidering, mine was going slow but well,and Ariana had told me she was working on a gift for someone back home. Her's was going quite well I think,from what little I knew and from what I saw from time to time.

~*~*~ Time Skip To Dinner, Iroh's Point Of View ~*~*~

We had all just sat down for dinner,and I had noticed a new face,who was sitting between Lucy and Susan.

Once we got settled, Susan started the introductions. She started out by telling us this is her and Lucy's attending maid as well as their friend. She then went around the table pointing out the new (to her) faces which was Katara,Zuko,and myself.

We all gave greetings as called upon by Susan, myself being last , "well hello Miss Ariana, its a pleasure to meet you!"

"You as well, Sir." she replied in kind,her voice a little softer spoken,and neither really high nor really low in tone.

I waved my hands in front of me as I replied heartily, "oh no, I'm not sir,here,please. It's Iroh or Uncle. I happily respond to both,so its whichever you are comfortable with...please"

She blushed slightly and I could tell she was trying quite hard not to fluster.

She let out a breath before turning to me and smiling, "alright,Iroh."

I nodded my head pleased with her recovery from becoming a little flustered.

She was still by my standards a young lady,though considerably older than all the others. Late twenties to very early thiries, I would carefully guess.

Short brown hair about the length of Lucy's, a tiny bit shorter with a similar cut,and soft features.

The door swung open and out came Kayleona with the first round of trays,one large one per each hand.

She steadily and still carefully came down to the table and set them both down and began passing around drinking glasses,plates,and utensils,as well as two pitchers set on opposite ends of the table so it could be distrubuted amongt us more easily.

Kayleona mentioned briefly as she caught some of us looking at the beautiful dark amber liquid, its chilled apple 's absolutely delicious!"

Then she was gone as quickly as she appeared,only to be coming back soon with more, I was certain.

I saw to my left that Ariana and Katara were striking up conversation already—good for them. Glad she got invited to dinner,and more friends the better. It was nice for Lucy and Susan to have a lady friend they could look up to here in this world.

I was brought out of my thoughts upon hearing Susan talking to Lucy.

"Lu," she started,with a half conspiritorial/half interagative tone strongly laced in her voice.

I glanced to see everyone else sort of stop to listen and watch Susan.

She continued, "did you know about Fitz?"

Lucy's face gave her away almost instantly,and she knew it too! "Yes," she told her sister honestly, clearly trying not to grin too hugely at being in on a secret whislt her sister hadn't been.

I couldn't help but to chuckle slightly before asking , "and who is this Fitz, you have been in the know about, Miss Lucy?"

A toothy grin spread across her face as she revealed, "Ariana's chipmunk friend."

She then shifted to face her sister better and asked, "when did you find out about him?"

"Earlier this afternoon during my embroidery practice. How long have you known?"Susan answered,then asked,an eyebrow raised in slight suspicion.

Lucy's cheeks flushed ever so slightly, "A little over two weeks ago, I think..."she said, glancing at Ariana who nodded after looking thoughtful for a few seconds,seeming to be checking what Lucy had said in her own head before confirming.

Susan looked more amused than surprised.

Peter commented, "being cheeky with secrets now,huh,Lu?",grinning at his youngest sibling.

She nodded before adding, "it's about time!It's been nice being considered for secret keepimg. You guys would never let me in on things,saying I was too young and would blab. I'm not a baby anymore,so..."

"We know,and you're right. Good on keeping the secret of Fitz for Ariana." Peter said warmly.

Susan spoke up, "you're both right."

Edmund nodded in agreement of the commentary from all his siblings.

Lucy looked absolutely happy.

I poured myself some of the apple cider and took a sip,enjoying its sweet and rich flavor.

"This is wonderful!" I declared softly,taking another sip before setting my drinking glass down.

I looked over at Zuko and said to hi, "nephew,you must try this, I believe you will like it."

He nodded and poured himself a little bit,taking a small sip. His eyes lit up,and a look of pleasant surprise settled across his face. "You're right, Uncle."

I looked over at Peter and thought of a question to ask him. His brother liked my game of Pai Sho,so perhaps he may enjoy it as well.

"Peter," I spoke up,gaining his attention, "i have a question for you. Would you be interested in learning to play a board game from my world? I taught Edmund,and he enjoyed it, so I thought to extend the offer to you as well."

Mild surprise flitted across his face. Clearly,whatevr he was expecting me to possibly say wasn't that.

"Oh,um,sure, I'd like that very much,though I must tell you,unlike my brother I am by no means a strategist at heart, but I will willingly entertain you with my best attempts," he stated honestly.

I was impressed,and a bit amused, I must admit,by his response. It was honest and mature, and the delivery was outstanding in my was showing maturity a bit beyond his years. Yes, I was aware that it had been delveloping well already,but it was different to experince it firsthand.

I smiled,leaning back in my seat slightly. I gave a small laugh, "Very well,not to will have a nice about Friday after breakfast?"

Peter smiled,looking a bit more at ease, "Yeah, I could do that,Iroh."

Zuko then spoke up, "Hey,uh,Edmund,Peter, after Peter learns Pai Sho from my uncle,would you two want me to show you how I weild twin blades? A few days ago one of you asked me about it and I remember agreeing to it."

Edmund looked over at Zuko and a look crossed over his face as if he remembered what Zuko had just mentioned to him. "Um,sure, that sounds fine to me." He the looked over at his older brother, "Pete?"

"Yeah,sounds fine by me. I'll be there."Peter answered before asking, "About what time,do you think?"

Zuko looked thoughtful for a moment before offering, "How about two hours after breakfast is done? Should give uncle plenty of time to teach Peter a bit of Pai Sho."

Edmund chimed in, "that sounds reasonable,gives me time to read over a few documents after breakfast is finished."

Peter glanced at the other two and said with a small smile,looking forward to the plan, "sounds settled to me. We will meet two hours after breakfast in the armory."

The conversations ceased temporarily when the door swun open,and we could instantly smell the delectable aromas of what Kayleona was now setting down around the table from the large serving tray it was all balanced on.

She placed the last platter down and said while tucking the tray somewhat awkwardly under one arm, " Tonight for dinner you have baked fish,roasted aparagus,and rice. Lemon Meringue Pie will be for dessert."

She then turned and went back through the door she had come through,the door swinging shut behind her.

Everyone tried and enjoyed everything. It was all quite delicious.

The food had all of us mostly quiet and content to just eat,aside from the occasional murmured comment on this or that related to the food itself.

Katara was especially excited about the fish. It probably reminded her of home.

I looked over at the girls to see Ariana laughing behind her hand at something Katara or Susan or Lucy had said. They all took sips of their cider in poor attempts to recover from the contagious giggles that had currently overtaken them.

I found myself smiling as I was witnessed their dinnertime merriment.

Kayleona came through the door once more,this time with slices of pie,just handing everyone a slice.

"Hope you all like it,enjoy!" she said cheerily.

I thanked her,and then every one else echoed my thanks.

She smiled brightly, "You're all very welcome." Then gone through the door she was again.

The pie was as lovely as it looked! Sweet,light and delicate flavors all in one dessert. The chefs and

cooks really outdid themselves here.

"Oh, I am stuffed!" Lucy exclaimed softly as she pushed her plate away,most of it eaten.

Katara and Susan did similarly soon after.

Ariana looked at the other girls amusedly. Then looked at Susan and told her, "thanks for inviting me to dinner,Susan, I really enjoyed myself! I would love to do so again sometime."

Susan brightened at this, "You're welcome! I'm glad for it,and absolutely. Maybe we could try to arrange for this once a week if your schedule allows,and if there's anything I can do to help let me know!"

Ariana blushed slightly at her honesty and forwardness. "Oh,Susan!"

Susan gave her a look when she seems like she was about to half heartedly protest.

"Oh, alright! You win,but don't let this go to your head,okay?!" she exclaimed slightly, elbowing Susan oh so slightly in good fun,surrendering to her lady and friend's antics.

"Deal!" Susan readily agreed looking pleased beyond measure at her little truimph.

Everyone else laughed at the whole ordeal.

I smirked behind my glass I had brought to my lips to take a sip.

Everyone paused and looked toward the window at the sound of thunder rumbling,followed by a sudden and steady onset of rain.

It wasn't fully dark out yet so we could see how hard it was raining and that the could were now a considerable few shades darker than they had been throughout the day.

Katara pulled her gaze from the window to look at the rest of us before say, " I felt the tug of rain right before it rained earlier today,but I didn't this time. Maybe I was too wrapped up enjoying myself at dinner to notice it."

"That makes enough sense to me,that's probably so." Susan chimed in right after.

"I agree." I revealed my thoughts on it as well,everyone else more or less nodding in agreement about it.

Lightning lit up the sky in a flash and a jagged pattern, thunder rumbling to a crash soon after.

The rain decided to hit even harder against the roof and occasinally onto the window due to slanting from the wind. At this point it was actually loud,the rain falling.

Lucy yawned, "surely we will sleep good tonight with the steady rain to lull us."

Her siblings agreed.

Ariana yawned next before pushing her chair back,looking down at the rest of us, "and with that I think I will find my way to bed. Goodnight everyone,dinner was wonderful. Susan,Lucy I will see you both in the morning. Oh,you too,Katara."

We bid her goodnight as she went through the door.

Everyone looked almost sleepy now,perhaps the rain was giving us a spell of drowsiness.

The boys started yawning next,then before I knew it we all were yawning a bit and starting to get up to leave,likely all to retire to bed more or less.

We headed back to the the hallway we all slept on and bid eachother goodnight before each heading to our own rooms.

Thunder rumbled again as I opened the door to my own room,closer this time.

It seemed it was going to be one of those louder stormy nights.