Responses to Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: Lao Ge, one of the characters from the Kyoshi Novels, was the most mysterious to me.
Pan2000: Yes, a big part of his story is dealing with anti-Fire Nation sentiment caused by the war. It's the reason why he's lying to Chen after all.
Zigzagdoublezee: She's worried about him and especially her daughter, and she thinks he put her in danger. She's not suspicious about his identity yet, but that might change.
As Always, Please Review!
Omashu dominated the landscape around it, a huge conical mountain surrounded on all sides by a large wall and a deep trench, covered in houses and with a big palace right at the very summit. The only way across the trench was one bridge leading to the gate.
"According to the map, this should be our last major stop before we hit the southern sea," Sokka told them, Aang's tourist guide in his hands.
"It is," Rinzen confirmed. "I've flown this way before, there's not much more to the south of us."
As they got closer, Yue looked down and could see more refugees crowding on the bridge, trying desperately to enter the city. The queue stretched off into the distance, the line of desperate humanity seeming to go on forever.
Yet more people whose lives have been uprooted by this stupid war, she thought. Clearly they believed that having strong fortifications between themselves and the Fire Nation was the only guarantee of safety.
"That's interesting," Sokka said. "Apparently, the old King of Omashu was one of Avatar Aang's best friends."
"Was?" Rinzen repeated. "I think you mean 'is'."
"No, it says they were childhood friends," Sokka pointed to the scroll. "Aang goes on in great detail about their adventures here. That would make him insanely old today!"
"Yes, it does," Rinzen nodded. "It's the same man. He's been King for about eighty years at this point. At least depending on whether he's still alive, he may not be. The last time I was here was several years ago."
"Wow," Yue marvelled at that. In this city was a living link to her predecessor, someone who had grown up with one Avatar and lived into the era of a second.
Below them, she could increasingly see the green uniforms and wide brimmed helmets of soldiers scurrying about, standing on top of the wall, directing refugees, manning the gate, and some of them were looking up and pointing at the bison. It was obvious that Omashu was militarising in the face of what could very likely be imminent Fire Nation invasion.
Gembul soared over the walls and Rinzen snapped the reins, bringing him into a slow descent into a courtyard beneath him. People looked up, pointed, and then scattered as he touched down.
Sokka, Katara and Yue immediately jumped down and tried to get their bearings on solid ground. Yue noted that everyone was staring at them.
"Sokka..." she said. He looked up from checking his purse.
"What?"
She gestured around them.
"Oh," Sokka realised what she was getting at. He cleared his throat.
"Behold!" He called. "The Avatar is here!"
Yue felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment at the introduction.
"She's just taken a break from her usual business of saving the world, stopping the Fire Nation, you know, all the normal things an Avatar does, to come here and buy some food."
He nodded.
"Can't save the world on an empty stomach, you know."
"Don't you think this is a bit much?" Rinzen muttered.
"There's no such thing," Sokka replied. But before he could go on, troops began filing in to the square.
"Hello Officer!" Katara grinned at their leader.
"Who are you?" The man grunted suspiciously.
"Ah, this is the Avatar!" Katara gestured to Yue, who nodded politely. "I'm Katara, Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, and this is Sokka my brother."
"Your brother, the Prince," Sokka added.
"Yes, my brother," Katara repeated. "We're just here to stock up on supplies."
"Why didn't you come through security?"
Yue sensed they might be in trouble here.
"We don't really have time to be queueing all day," Rinzen shouted down. "I'm Rinzen, by the way."
"How do we know you are who you say you are?" The guard carried on. "Do you have passes?"
"I didn't know we needed them," Yue said.
"Ah, the entitlement of youth," the soldier shrugged. "No passes, snuck through security, can't prove you are who you say you are..."
He paused.
"How do we know you aren't a Fire Nation spy?"
"Do we look like spies to you?" Rinzen asked, outraged.
"No, but that doesn't prove anything," the captain pointed out. "You would be terrible spies if you did."
"Look," Yue tried. "We're under a lot of time pressure at the moment. We just need to pick up supplies and then we'll be out of your hair."
"Oh no you don't," the Captain sneered. "If you're the Avatar then the King is going to want to see you."
Yue glanced at her companions.
"Would that be king..." Katara prompted.
"Bumi," the man responded. "King Bumi. He'll be very interested in you lot."
Yue shrugged.
"Alright," she said. "Take-"
"Wait!" Sokka interrupted. "Can I say it?"
"Say what?" Yue was confused.
Sokka grinned and turned to the officer.
"Take us to your leader," he said. And then, as an aside, "I've always wanted to say that."
The officer nodded and then began barking orders. Gembul groaned in surprise as his feet sank into the earth, stopping him from taking off, and suddenly the soldiers around the square were firing small earthen projectiles at them. Yue yelped and held her arms up, only to be knocked over as the rock fastened itself around her wrists. Sokka and Katara were also bowled over.
"What was that for?!" Rinzen protested. He tried to jump down to help them, but the soldiers had better aim than the pirates had had with their nets. He too went down.
Yue heard footsteps nearby and found herself being hauled to her feet by soldiers, one on either side of her. She scowled at the man.
"Was that really necessary?" She demanded. "We were coming quietly."
"One can never be too careful," the officer said smugly. "The security of the King is at stake, we are at war, and we don't know who you are. I wouldn't want to let a Fire Nation assassin have a free run at His Majesty, would I?"
He grinned.
"Now then, shall we get going? If you are who you say you are, the King will be very interested to meet you, and if not... well, let's just say you'd better be telling the truth."