Mai
Mai didn't know what she was expecting when she went to meet the daughter of the Beifong's but a little blind girl that could barely move without her mother walking with her was not what she was expecting.
She had started to dread what a conversation with her would be about, Mai's mother and Toph's mother left them alone so the two little ladies could speak in private, the atmosphere was so bad that Mai missed Azula for a second there and Mai never thought something like that would ever happen.
With nothing to do Mai decided that she might as well try to be friendly, perhaps the girl had some hidden depths (she doubted it but hope was a beautiful thing). Mai took out one of her knives and was planning on putting it on Toph's hand to see how she would react but before she could reach the girl Mai's instincts screamed at her to jump, not knowing what the danger was Mai jumped just in time to avoid a rock springing up in front of her.
"You're an earthbender!" Mai said in wonder as she fell back onto the earth.
"And you have a weapon, I don't know what you were planning but I can tell you right now that you will be tasting dirt before you reach me!" the sudden strength she had in her words was completely at odds with the demure character she had exhibited previously as was the pose she took.
Mai smirked as she looked at Toph with new eyes not that the girl could see that "I wanted to see your reaction at handling a weapon but I can see that it won't be necessary anymore" Mai sheathed the knife and walked calmly towards Toph who seemingly relaxed.
"Well, you got it…" Toph finally let down her arms "so what happens now?"
"Now I want you to tell me why someone like you is pretending to be someone she is not."
Toph shrugged as she answered "My parents believe I'm made of glass because I'm blind, they don't listen to me at all and they seem happier when I act like the little girl they believe me to be"
"For someone that was about to put me in the ground that seems strange"
Toph shrugged again "They like it better this way."
"But you don't" Mai didn't understand she had never been like this with her parents who despite their objections to some of the things she wanted to learn never stopped her from doing as she liked as long as it wasn't something that could damage the family.
"So what happens now?"
"Since you don't have to act anymore you can show me what you do for fun"
"You think I'm allowed to have fun in here?" despite being blind Toph was very expressive with her face and if she was looking directly at Mai that arched eyebrow would be far more impactful.
"I think you're smart enough to know how to escape this place, it shouldn't be hard since you're an earthbender, unless you're very weak"
The earth quaked as Toph pointed a finger at her "Listen here lady I'm so tough my name is Toph, and I'm about to rock your world"
Toph had a personality that reminded her of both Zuko and Azula but the puns were too much for Mai who finally laughed at something that had nothing to do with her friends.
Mai smirked as she calmed down "And how do you plan to rock my world?"
"I'm going to take you to the best place in this city, the Earth Rumble! You're in luck too as the tournament is about to start."
Mai was not one for spectacles but she was curious about how the people of the Earth Kingdoms entertained themselves, it was also a good way to see how strong earthbenders were, while not a warrior by creed Mai knew her way around a fight and she was skilled enough to defeat some benders.
"That sounds like a plan, now we just need an excuse to visit the town"
Toph winced at that and Mai prepared herself for the bad news "Yeah about that…we're not getting out of here or at least you aren't if you try to bring me with you but I can do what I always do! Say that I feel weak tell them to leave alone in my room and then dig my way out"
"…That almost sounds like a prison escape" perhaps it was rude to say such a thing but Mai was never one to pull her punches.
"…" Toph remained silent, stewing in Mai's words but in the end, she said nothing as they made their way back into the house, once her feet were off the ground Mai noticed just how much Toph relied on her bending to 'see'.
Mai wondered if she would be able to do what Toph did, to be able to lie to her parents and the world about who she truly was, and if it was worth it to do so just to make her parents happy.
Mu Lao
To the Fire Nation nothing was sacred, not old relics or temples, not the art of their people, not even the children were spared from their destructive desire to dominate the world and now not even the sky that was once ruled by the Air Nomads was safe from their grasp. The slow-moving machines didn't seem that threatening when Mu and his fellow soldiers saw just how fragile they were as the men hidden in the mountains around Omashu launched volley after volley of rocks.
That all changed when lighting started to strike.
Mu had heard of it before, the cold fire, wielded by those few that were strong enough to control it. Some of the oldest veterans that had once lived in Ba Sing Se still told stories of the unleashed fury of the dragon of the west, how the mighty walls that had protected Omahsu shook by the onslaught of lighting and how the earth itself trembled as the fury of nature struck the ground.
He had thought it all mere exaggeration, stories that old men told to make themselves seem more important but he had held his opinions to himself and simply nodded along like the others as they heard the tales.
Mu believed them now.
He saw bolts of lightning rain down on the mountains tearing apart what had once been symbols of Omashu's safety, no army could try to enter the city thanks to the mountains that surrounded it, now he saw that they only protected the city because the Fire Nation hadn't been trying. The rumbling sound of an avalanche drowned out any other sound except the thunderous roar of lighting as it scarred the land.
The airships of the Fire Nation opened the way to their target by tearing down the mountains in their way, the shadows of their passing were accompanied by explosions as bombs started dropping at the edges of the city. The screams that came as people were torn apart by fire drowned out the orders his captain was screaming at him.
A figure was standing on the edge of the metal cage that was carrying the Fire Nation soldiers, on his hand, a small flame appeared and before his eyes grew bigger, the fire started raining down on the city as if it was a river and soon the rest of the ships followed the example of the man.
Omashu burned and there was nothing they could do about it.
"Mu! Snap out of it" his captain screamed and finally got him to react, he turned to him and even though there was fear in his captain's eyes Mu could also see that he still had hope "King Bumi is calling for us, all of us, he has an idea"
Mu gave the burning city one last look before plunging down into the darkness of the earth, they had a hidden base beneath the city and the fire couldn't reach them there, at least Mu hoped it couldn't.
Azula
The invasion of Omashu, despite the initial barrage of rocks, started just like the generals had planned and Azula had the opportunity to see just how strong her father was firsthand as he rained fire down on the people of Omashu. Azula had killed people before but she hadn't stayed close to the dead bodies for long and she was unprepared for the smell.
Speaking of people unprepared for the smell of dead people, her father was busy cremating the dead bodies, he said it was to minimize the risk of sickness spreading once the city was conquered but Azula was sure it had more to do with the fact that ashes weren't as foul smelling as the corpses.
Despite the stories she had heard about the soldiers living in Omashu Azula found them wanting, sure they were good at ambushes and their physical strength was nothing to scoff at but they lacked finesse and more importantly their strategies were dreadfully simple and straightforward.
Azula heard it before she saw it, a sound like a beast roaring or a storm gathering in the ocean, it was a sound that resonated in her bones and when she turned towards the center of the city she realized what it was. A group of erthbenders led by the aging king of the city were moving in an avalanche of dirt that was swallowing everything in its path.
That was certainly a new strategy and more than likely the idea of the mad king, Azula threw a bolt of lightning at them but her enemies raised a wall fast enough to have it receive her wrath instead of one of them. The old king started laughing as she approached their position with ever-increasing speed, Azula didn't like to run but understood that retreat was necessary and this time she had a good reason to retreat.
"Father I think we have overstayed our welcome in the city" that was all Azula said as she ran past her father who turned to her at her voice, she would forever deny that she saw or that she enjoyed the dumfounded look in her father's face at what their enemies were doing.
Azula would also deny watching him run but that would only last until his death afterward she would make sure to have someone act out the scene, perhaps Zuko. Some might say that she was taking a threat to her life too lightly, but they had prepared for a situation like this one, this is why they brought so many bombs in the first place.
Azula jumped onto the airship with a backflip that left her in front of the wheel that steered the ship "You better start making this thing float"
The airship didn't take long in gaining altitude and neither did the others, those that had been held back for bombardment advanced destroying the city as they did, Azula could see great gouts of flame and hear lightning strike as her father did his best to fight while retreating. Ozai had not remained idle jumping in between houses and rooftops to evade the coming avalanche all while retaliating, her father had discovered a good way to distract his enemies and many civilians died as Ozai used them like the distractions they were.
Once the shadows of the airships were on top of him he grabbed onto one of the cables that they had used to get down from the ship, as he was hauled to the ship proper he issued a challenge.
"Bumi! I challenge you to single combat! You have fifteen minutes to decide in which I will stop the bombardment of your city, if you accept my challenge meet me at the gates of Omashu!"
It was a bold strategy and a very unnecessary one, they had already burned part of the city with their own hands and blasting what was left until they submitted wouldn't be cowardly, not after the retaliation of the earthbenders. Perhaps her father would just blow up the old man? That sure was something he would do but Ozai had demonstrated that he was acting different now and it would certainly be more impressive if he killed Bumi in a one-on-one fight.
If Bumi killed Ozai things could get complicated for Azula, Zuko wouldn't be as receptive to her advances if he was already Fire Lord and the Earth Kingdom could be emboldened to attack the colonies and from what she'd seen the economy of the Fire Nation was highly tied to them and any setback in their development would be terrible, not crippling in any way but dangerous for Azula's ambitions.
Azula decided that if Bumi was about to win she would intervene and kill the old man herself.
Author note: i was watching Pirate of the Caribbean 2 (again) when i wrote this and i just couldnt get the idea of Ozai hanign from the side of one of those thigns screaming out that this was the day they almost caught him, sadly that would have been too out of charachter for him... think. anyway, Toph being punny is fun and there you have the first interaction i promised and the way their relationship is going to be like, as for Mu Lao he was just an OC i threw in there to make things better in a narrative sense.
