AN: Going overseas to work for a few months. As a result, my progress in writing has slowed. I will still try to post during that time depending on my work schedule. I fully intend to continue this story though, and this is NOT a cancellation.
Chapter 8 Squatting Rights.
Minister How sat atop his Ostrich-horse, overlooking the fields of the agricultural ring's southern quarter, the grass having been stamped down by the heels of nearly twenty thousand men. An entire division pulled from the Ba Sing Se provisional army, and an additional five thousand volunteers, most from the City Guard. It had been a long time since he'd laid eyes on a formation of such size.
Before the war's end, he'd only participated in one offensive beyond the city's walls. Pushing back the Fire Nation army after General Iroh's Siege of Ba Sing Se. Everything had changed. In those days earth benders made up the front line of the infantry, spearmen filling the secondary ranks, and cavalry was seldom used, though present. Now, what firearms the army could gather were in the hands of conscripts, and benders were held in reserve, far too many having been lost to the war. Personal swords, non-regulation knives, and other hand weapons littered the formation randomly. Senior officers appeared unbothered by the lack of discipline and uniformity they represented. Ostrich-horses pulled domestically made cannons on wheels, something How couldn't have imagined the Earth Kingdom ever making on its own. "Kingdom…" How thought it silly, the word still coming to mind despite the formation of the Earth Republic.
How briefly went over the route one last time in his head, while the officers organized their units in preparation to march. "A short walk south to board ships bound for the western half of The Great Salt Lake. A landing on Chu's north shore, and then the long march to Yu Dao." He thought, before saluting his officers, a horn sounding behind him, signaling the beginning of the moment. "Pray we might be home before the summer solstice."
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us to Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked her brother from Appa's saddle, as he passed up a bundle of dried fruits to her.
"I think it'd be a good idea to stay local until everything blows over." Sokka said.
"Alright… We should be back in a few days, just… Don't burn the place down while we're gone." Aang requested.
"Take care, you two." Toph said before Aang flicked Appa's reins and the bison jumped into the air, leaving Toph and Sokka standing outside of Yu Dao's west gate. "A good idea to stay local huh?" Toph asked Sokka skeptically, having sensed Sokka was lying about something.
"You haven't been with them the past couple months." Sokka said. "I mean, I'm happy for them and Aang's a good guy, but Katara's still my sister, and it's uncomfortable watching them be all affectionate with each other." He crossed his arms, before looking down at Toph. "So, how'd you get a school? I thought you were sort of… Distant from your family."
"One of my student's parents is super rich and wanted to send her abroad. They basically pay for the place." Toph said with a smirk.
"Neat…" Sokka said, before glancing around. "So, what's it like?."
Toph tilted her head up to Sokka. "Why don't I just show you." She said, before turning and walking west. "Come on, it's a little ways up the mountain."
Sokka shrugged, before following Toph along the trail. "I meant being a teacher, but sure, I'd love to see the school… That and I do need a place to stay until they get back."
"Oh." Toph said with a chuckle. "Well, I was Aang's earth bending master, and I loved it. But anyone could have taught him just earth bending. Metal bending though? I invented that, and teaching it to Connor made me realize that as its inventor I have a duty to share it with the world."
Sokka rolled his eyes with a small smile. "You just like telling people what to do."
"Yeah." Toph said with a grin. "That too."
Outside of Yu Dao's north gate, the Third and Fourth Combat Brigades had arrived and were greeted by the city's guard. The two brigade and some battalion commanders dismounted, and pressed ahead of the formation, entering the city with their guard details to see The Fire Lord and inform him of the plans they'd made for the city's defense. Kozato, like any other company commander, was to play his part in carrying out said plan.
The two brigades moved around the city's walls to the east. Before being halted outside the gate there. A battalion commander placed in charge of the formation sat tall atop his komodo-rhino, riding to the mass formation's left flank. "LEFT, FACE!" He ordered, causing the thousands of men to turn towards him. "Commanders, take charge of your units. Prepare encampment, and begin defensive preparations."
The various commanders turned to their men, and in short order, the units broke apart. Support elements began the process of setting up tents, and infantrymen pressed outwards into the rocky woodlands beyond the city, where they'd start making earthwork primary fortifications.
Kozato saw the infantry units walking off and dropped down from his horse-hound, patting its side as he passed the reins to the First Sergeant. "Platoon leaders, on me." He ordered, as his lieutenants dismounted and or walked over. The nearby freedom fighters did not move. "Smellerbee, that includes you." He added before the girl came over. "Scout platoon, make your way east to the border. If the Earth Republic intends to reclaim this colony in a timely manner, they'll have to pass through the hills and the volcanic spires there. Keep a line of communication open, though do not engage them unless attacked first. Go, we have no time to spare." He said, sending away the scout platoon's leader. "The rest of the men will be held in reserve. We're too few and too specialized to employ unless on the offensive or a flank, so until such a time as bullets are flying, they're to act as the night guard here at camp. Tell your footmen to get all the sleep and food they can." Kozato said to his shock platoon leader, who nodded and gathered his men. "Smellerbee, I want the child that's with you to stay out of the fight. Send him to work with the cooks in the sustainment battalion, or I can attach him to a quartermaster here at camp if he wants to help. The earth bender in your group can aid the infantry with their work for the moment. The rest, I want plusing up the shock platoon on night guard when the time comes. Until sunset they're yours."
Smellerbee was unsure how to respond. The entire situation was not what she'd expected. "Why isn't the army defending Yu Dao from inside its walls?"
Kozato had nearly turned away from Smellerbee, before raising an eyebrow. "There's a few reasons. For one, if we do battle with the Earth Republic, we're to face earth benders, that much is certain. They could simply remove the wall. Less prominently is the fact that even if they didn't have earth benders, the walls were made over 300 years ago. Unlike the walls of Ba Sing Se, which have compacted earth making up much of the interior, they're sections that are mostly hollow, housing the city's main guard and tunnels to the four towers and gates. They were no match for Fire Nation trebuchets of the early war, and I doubt they'd be capable of withstanding cannon fire. The walls are our last line of defense."
"So where's our first line of defense?" Smellerbee asked.
Kozato folded his hands behind his back. "Bring your earth bender, and I'll show you." Smellerbee turned to Juju, and whistled, catching their attention. Juju came bounding over to Smellerbee, as Kozato stepped off, the two freedom fighters following him into the forest. It wasn't long before the three came across soldiers tearing up the ground with shovels and picks, but Kozato continued past them, deeper into the forest. After some two hundred paces or more Smellerbee could see more soldiers digging. Beyond them, the forest floor turned into the downward slope of a valley. Trees were being felled around the earthworks and dragged in front of the dirt being piled in front of the ditch being made.
"Do you know what you're looking at?" Kozato asked.
"Not really." Smellerbee said.
"The engineer corps cooked this one up. A waist-deep ditch with earth and foliage piled in front of it, so the men can stand and shoot in line with only their heads and muskets exposed." Kozato said.
"And they're uphill from where the Earth Army would be coming from." Juju observed.
Kozato glanced in Juju's direction briefly. "This primary fighting line forms around the city's east side, following the valley here. So, unless the Earth Army wants to march an extra two days north or south, and deal with either open field or a box canyon, they'll be forced into an uphill battle."
Smellerbee looked behind her. "And there's another ditch behind this, then a third one could be made around the camp…"
"And if all else fails, the city walls will be all we have left." Kozato said, before turning to Juju. "If all goes well in the leaders meeting with the Governor and Fire Lord, more earth benders from the city will be coming out to assist us. I want you to aid these men in making this front line as quickly as possible alongside them. If you have any questions about the defensive layout, ask the nearest officer." Kozato said, before pushing past Smellerbee and Juju, walking back to camp.
Smellerbee followed Kozato, and he shortened his stride so she would not have to run. "Something on your mind?" Kozato asked.
"I'm just trying to figure out why you seem to care so much about the earth kingdom people of Yu Dao." Smellerbee said.
"Because they're not Earth Kingdom." Kozato said, earning a raised eyebrow from Smellerbee. "Regardless of anyone's nostalgic feelings for an era that passed before they were even conceived, the people living in Yu Dao, and every other Fire Nation Colony, were born and raised under the national banner of the Fire Nation, and are therefore its citizens. Diluting that fact by suggesting because someone's grandparents were from the Earth Kingdom that they too would be Earth Kingdom citizens is absurd, and exactly the kind of thinking that Fire Lord Ozai had which impeded Fire Nation Progress near the end of the war."
"But doesn't separating people based on where they were born ignore more than just whose blood they are?" Smellerbee asked. "The dialects different people speak, the bending arts, the cultures, even food? Where does all that fit in?"
Kozato went quiet for a moment. "Truthfully, I believe those things matter more than one's national status sometimes… But culture is also the most fluid thing of them all. And if culture was to determine who the people of the colonies belonged to… Well, the colonies would stand apart from the four nations themselves… And being born in the colonies, where would that leave me?"
Smellerbee slowed down, before she came to a stop, as Kozato continued to walk without her.
Toph led Sokka up the mountain path to her school. She could feel that there were four more people there than usual, but the ones inside weren't exactly as clear, probably because of the carpet. However, the three people outside Toph could see very clearly. They were her students. "And where do you three think you're going?" Toph asked, just as she would have come into view of the three, causing them to freeze.
"Sifu Toph!" Penga said.
"Oh man…" Ho Tun muttered, as Moo-Chee just closed his eyes and cringed.
"I thought I told you three to do blindfold drills? Why are none of you training?!" Toph asked.
"I'm guessing these are your students?" Sokka asked.
"Oh, right." Toph said, before holding a hand out to the three. "The fat ones Ho-Tun." He looked put down by the comment. "The girl is Penga." Penga's attention had quickly shifted to Sokka. "And the moody one is Moo-Chee." He halfheartedly waved at Sokka.
Suddenly Penga approached Sokka and grabbed hold of his arm. "You're my new boyfriend now."
With an eyebrow raised, Sokka pulled his hand free. "Right, and you're how old?" He asked, seeing as the girl was shorter than Toph.
"Almost sixteen." She answered with a smile.
"And by almost you mean?" Sokka asked.
"Nine." Penga answered honestly.
"Ah…" Sokka looked at Toph. "She's the one with rich parents right?" Toph nodded, and Sokka realized he was talking to a child so used to getting whatever she wanted on a whim. "Penga, I think you should wait a few years before you try getting a boyfriend."
"Awww." Penga said, frowning.
Toph stomped her foot into the ground causing it to rumble slightly. "Back to the question I had for you three. Why aren't you training?!"
Ho Tun spoke for the group. "We weren't trying to skip out on our training Sifu, honestly. We got kicked out of the school."
"Kicked out by who?" Toph asked in confusion. Moo-Chee looked at Ho Tun.
Toph quite literally kicked the door of her own dojo open and looked in the general direction that this "Fire bending master" was in, three little kids behind him. He sharply turned to face her. "Who dares disturb Master Kunyo's fire bending dojo?" He asked, as Toph entered the room, Sokka and her students behind her.
"Fire bending Dojo?" Toph asked. "This is the Beifong Metal Bending Academy."
"What nonsense are you talking about? There's no such thing as metal bending." Kunyo said. "Besides, this building belonged to me before the Fire Nation began to vacate the colonies. And now that a stay has been put on the return to the homeland, I and my students have come back."
"What a load of shit!" Toph said. "I purchased this place from the Yu Dao colony months ago, after the previous owner sold it. You're squatting on my property!"
"I don't recall ever selling the property." Kunyo said.
Toph clenched her fists, cracking the tile beneath her. "Abandoned the property, whatever, I bought it from the city, and the deed's got my name on it. This is the only time I'm going to say this. Get. Out."
Kunyo swept his hands out from behind his back and widened his stance. "Listen here, dirt girl. I am going nowhere."
"You really don't want to do that." Toph warned before Sokka cut in between the two.
"No seriously, the both of you, just don't. If you two are going to fight over the place there won't be much of it left." Sokka said. He rubbed either side of his head. "Look, Like Toph said, there's a deed to the place. It's probably in Yu Dao's record office. We can prove that she owns the place."
"And like I said. I own the place. I still have the land title from before I left." Kunyo said.
"So we're right back to an impasse." Toph said.
"Then…" Sokka said, trying to think of a way out that would leave anyone seriously hurt, or the building in disrepair. "Why not have the students be the ones who fight?"
"What?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a school right? And both of you are teachers? So whoever has the better students is clearly more fit to have the place." Sokka argued.
"You make a valid point." Kunyo said, rubbing his mustache. "A duel to the death to see who has the best students."
"I'm game." Toph said.
Sokka shook his hands. "Whoa, hold on, not to the death. Maybe up until like first blood or, the first team to completely drop out of the fight."
"Yeah, as much as I hate life, I'd rather not die over the school." Moo-Chee said.
Kunyo hummed. "Very well. A fight to first blood, or forfeiture."
"Great. Great." Sokka nodded. "Just, come back in three days, and we'll hold the match here."
"Why should we wait three days?" Kunyo asked.
Sokka smirked a little. "Well, that's because Toph doesn't have her best student here today. And we need to get him."
Kunyo hummed. "I suppose that is fair. In three days, three students each will do battle." He said, before turning to face his three fire bending pupils. "Come young ones, we will train elsewhere for the time being."
As Kunyo and the kids left the building, Toph turned to Sokka. "You really just went and volunteered Connor to fight a bunch of kids."
"Uh, yeah, yeah I did." Sokka nodded, realizing how ridiculous it sounded out loud.
Appa was flying at nearly record-setting speed, owed mostly to the lightened load of fewer passengers, and being able to travel in a completely straight line for once. They'd stopped to rest when night fell, and in the morning set off, making it to Ba Sing Se before the sun could go down again. They landed atop a grassy hill in the middle ring and disembarked. Momo leapt off Appa's horn and flew in large lazy circles above the couple.
Aang rubbed Appa's nose. "You can stay here for now buddy. We'll be back after we get our meeting with Hei." He said. Appa grunted in response.
Katara took Aang's hand as they set off on foot. "Right, but first we should also find somewhere to sleep. Hei's probably retiring for the night, and we've been flying all day."
"Well, why not just stay with Appa then?" Aang asked as they made their way towards the upper ring's wall.
Katara rolled her eyes playfully. "I want to sleep on a real bed since we've got the chance."
"Oh." Aang said. "Well, Iroh's tea shop isn't very far from here. I'm sure he's got a couple of spare rooms."
"A couple of spare rooms?" Katara asked herself in thought before a shrill "Eeeeek!" came from behind the two.
"It's really him!" Aang and Katara both turned, breaking their handhold to find two girls roughly their age, wearing robes the color orange with green beneath it. "It's really you, flying lemur and everything. Avatar Aang!" The girl on the left said as Momo landed on top of Aang's staff.
A couple of eyes from passing citizens glanced their way, but nothing seemed too out of place. "Yup, that's me." Aang said.
"Oh my goodness! Where are my manners?" I'm Hei-Won, and this is Won-Yee. We're the co-presidents and founders of the Avatar Aang Fan Club, Ba Sing Se chapter." Hei-Won said, introducing herself and her friend before Momo jumped across the gap between them and flew circles around their heads. "Your lemur is super cute."
Aang turned to Katara. "Wow, they made a fan club for me." He said with a smile.
"Wonderful." Katara said, less than enthused, as she crossed her arms.
Aang bowed politely to the two. "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Aang. The lemur's name is Momo."
"Aww." The two girls fawned as Momo landed on Won-Yee's shoulder.
"And this is Katara." Aang said. "She's my girlfriend." He added, blushing a little.
"Hi." Katara said, raising a hand in greeting.
Won-Yee bowed to Katara. "It's an honor to meet The Avatar's first girlfriend."
"First?" Katara asked. Won-Yee gave Katara a knowing smile, and it unnerved her to no end. The implication was clear. Won-Yee intended to become The Avatar's second girlfriend, and while Katara didn't feel her position was threatened by the pudgy girl, it was still incredibly creepy. "Right…" Faster than she probably should have, Katara took Aang by both his hand and shoulder, turning him away from the girls. "Uh, Aang, we should probably get going. It's getting late and we still have to find a place for the night."
"You're looking for a place to sleep?" Hei-Won said, causing Aang and Katara to both stop in their tracks and for Katara to cringe a little. "You guys can, like, totally stay at our clubhouse."
"Hey, that's a great idea." Aang said, smiling, turning back towards the two, Katara reluctantly following suit.
"It's just down the street. We tried to make it look like the Western Air Temple, since most of our members are girls and everything." Hei-Won said.
"I'd love to see it." Aang said as the girls began to lead him and Katara off to the clubhouse.
The building was a short distance away, inside of a walled-off courtyard. It appeared to have been abandoned by the previous owners at some point or another, whether due to the city's revolution, its occupation, resistance, or liberation Aang couldn't tell. Aang could tell that the girls had indeed tried their best to make the building look like the Western Air Temple. Window shutters, awnings, and even the porch's roof were all upside down.
"Do you like it?" Hei-Won asked.
"I love it." Aang said, before turning to the two girls. "I'm flattered, really." He took Katara's hand. "Come on, let's check it out."
Katara took a calming breath. "Can't wait."
The building was longer than it was wide, with a sitting room and kitchen occupying the front half. There was a hallway down the left wall. Leading to what Aang assumed were bedrooms and a stereotypical middle-ring "in-house" toilet and bath. "It's not much, but it's ours." Hei-Won said.
"It's cozy." Aang said as Momo jumped off of his shoulder to perch up on one of the rafters.
"Let me show you the rooms." Hei-Won said, walking past the cushions on the floor and to the hallway. Aang and Katara followed her, coming to stand beside her at the entrance to the first bedroom, which had several haphazardly arranged bunk beds and a hammock occupying the room. "Won-Yee and I share this room. We live here basically all the time, but sometimes the rest of the members sleep over with us." Hei-Won said, as her friend brushed past them all to flop down on her bed.
"And the other room?" Katara asked.
Hei-Won turned down the hall, and they followed her. The next bedroom, separated from the other by the bathroom, was far smaller, housing only a single narrow bed, a nightstand with a lantern on it, and a chair. There was a window beside the bed, allowing the last few rays of sunlight to peek in. Katara was sure she could touch the four walls from the center of the room if she tried. "We don't usually use this room, we were going to turn it into a storage closet."
"Actually it's perfect." Katara said, squeezing Aang's hand a little.
"Are you sure?" Hei-Won asked. "There's plenty of beds in the other room."
"Oh, but those already belong to other people." Katara reasoned. "Besides, Aang and I are fine with sharing."
Hei-Won looked a little shocked before she blushed. "Oh, of course." She bowed slightly. "Well, I'll leave you two in peace until morning."
"Thanks again for letting us stay here." Aang said before Hei-Won left the two at the door.
Katara was the first into the room, but stopped just past the door, hand resting against its edge. Aang entered, and once inside rested his staff in the corner between the wall and the nightstand, then created a small flame at the tip of his index and middle finger to light the candle inside of the lantern. Katara closed the door, which creaked obnoxiously and clicked twice, first as the bolt set into the frame, and the second time as Katara turned the lock.
"Uhm…" Aang said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess we should get ready to go to bed huh?" He asked, blushing a little, before reaching over the bed to pull the shutters closed. Katara blushed a little too, once Aang had closed off the room from the rest of the world. They both stood there for a moment, the dim lantern's glow enveloping them.
In practice, they'd done this sort of thing almost every night. Camping, sharing rooms, bathing or water bending in rivers and ponds. Most of the gang knew what everyone looked like in their underwear at least, and there wasn't any shame in that. They were close enough, and more than mature enough not to be bothered by the idea. Further, Aang knew that the people of the Water Tribes didn't fear being seen without clothing when indoors, as opposed to many in the more populated parts of the Earth Republic, who had an aversion to such an idea.
He was equally okay with the concept. Nakedness to the Air Nomads wasn't something to be ashamed of. Their clothing was conservative, true, but predominantly that was a result of it being practical. Similarly, Aang recalled that in his travels around the more rural parts of the Earth Kingdom, and the outer Fire Islands, nakedness, in part or in whole, was relatively common in the summer owing to the equator's oppressive heat. Aang wasn't sure if this entire time Katara and Sokka were unaware of this, and avoided exposing themselves for everyone else's sake.
Aang was okay with it. Katara was okay with it. Aang knew she was okay with it. He was certain Katara had to have seen him naked at some point when he was recovering from being shot. She'd intentionally said they would share a bed in a private room. This was something both of them wanted in some way. So why were they both being difficult about this? Aang took a breath. Katara was the one who didn't know what was acceptable here, so he'd have to be the one to make the jump.
Aang began disrobing first, not bothering to face away from Katara. She blinked, before chuckling to herself, and as well Katara started to take off her clothes. Aang had gotten down to his trunk-length undergarments, and Katara her fundoshi and sarashi. She'd paused when Aang stopped taking off layers. A finger tugged at the edge of her chest wrapping, unsure if she should take them off, as Aang pulled back the covers on the bed, and sat down on the edge. Stopping herself for now, Katara sat to Aang's left, and took the ties out of her hair, setting them on the nightstand.
There was a silence between them. Then, Katara let her right-hand drift until it reached Aang's left. They looked at each other and saw their own ideal of beauty. Katara had originally been the taller of the two, but that had since changed. Aang's jaw had sharpened, and long gone was the wiry frame of the boy she'd pulled from the iceberg. Katara had always looked beautiful with her hair down in Aang's opinion, but now especially so. It outlined the flawless skin of her face, which appeared nearly a shade of red under the candlelight.
Aang leaned in, placing a kiss on Katara's lips. It came almost naturally, which was probably helped by the fact that it wasn't their first. They were well past the hesitations of a first kiss, though hesitation towards other things remained. Perhaps it was because, while they seemed aged and experienced amid the war, they were still very much young to the ways of love. Again, Aang would have to be the one taking risks.
He gently raised his free hand to Katara's chin, then traced her jaw. Katara had allowed her own free hand to slide across the distance between them, and travel up to Aang's chest, where it stopped over his heart, having come to rest on one of the several small scars he carried.
Aang's hand began to slowly move down to Katara's neck before he realized that he had no idea what he was doing. He chuckled at the thought, before finally breaking their kiss. "What's so funny?" Katara asked.
"It's nothing. I just… I don't know what we're supposed to do." Aang said. Of course, that was something of a lie. Aang knew what sex was, at least from a clinical point of view. He was educated on the subject by the monks. The basics of anatomical differences, that it led to the conception of life, (if the spirits ordained it,) that it was supposed to be beautiful, an act of love.
Katara giggled, and Aang smiled, happy that she wasn't put off by any lack of experience. Not that Aang expected Katara to have had any either. "That's alright, Aang. This doesn't have to be our first time for everything all at once."
Aang was relieved to hear that. "Oh, well I guess that's probably a good thing. The walls seem kind of thin."
Katara had to suppress a dirty thought and replace it with a far tamer one. "But… Maybe it can be a first time for one or two things…" Katara pulled her hands away from Aang, and much to his wide-eyed excitement, began to take off the bindings covering her breasts. Aang had to pause, as heat gathered in his cheeks. Conceptually, seeing anyone naked didn't warrant getting flustered, he'd done so in the southern air temple's baths, but practically Aang recognized that this was the first time he'd ever seen a woman's bare breasts, let alone those belonging to a woman who he loved with all his heart. A heart she'd given new life to. A heart beating a little too hard for comfort and sending blood to places other than his head.
Katara tossed the cloth towards her pile of clothes, then slowly placed her hand against Aang's chest again. Daintily, Katara laid down on the small bed, putting her left hand beneath her head. She let her right arm rest at her side and covered her navel with her hand. She curled her legs up so she didn't kick Aang. "Well… Aren't you going to lay down?" Katara asked. Unsure of what to do, Aang shimmied back and laid down behind Katara, propped up awkwardly on his shoulder, allowing as much space to exist between them as he could given the small bed. They both tucked their feet beneath the blanket, as Aang pulled it up to their necks, keeping his hand balled behind her back, before letting his head hit the pillow, his left arm mimicking Katara's.
A second of silence passed. The light from the candle flickering. Finally, Katara turned her head to speak to Aang. "Could you hold me?" She asked quietly. Aang swallowed a small lump in his throat, before allowing his right hand to travel down Katara's back, and then slide over her abdomen. Without warning, Katara placed her own hand over Aang's, and pushed it up, until he was cupping her left breast. Aang sharply inhaled, as Katara sank back into him, erasing the space between them.
Emboldened, Aang pulled his left hand out from under his head and snaked it into the space between the bed and Katara's neck. Their hands collided once more, and Katara again took his in her own, wrapping his left arm over her shoulder, filling the void between her neck and the bed, before his hand was placed on her left teat. Katara had slightly turned her torso so she was at least partially facing Aang, and the stir of Aang's hands brushing up against her sensitive skin for the first time in such a way caused her to gently moan. It was then that everything seemed to click. Aang leaned in and kissed the edge of Katara's mouth, before Katara turned ever so slightly more, letting Aang lock their lips together, silencing her next moan, as Aang gently squeezed her breasts in his hands.
Suddenly Katara broke away, breathing a little harder. "Wait…" She said. "The candle."
Aang chuckled. "Wouldn't want to accidentally light anything on fire." He said, before inhaling and then blowing forcefully on the wick, casting the room in darkness. Katara giggled, as Aang kissed her ear before the two slowly fell asleep embraced.
In one of the many guest rooms in the Yu Dao Governor's house, sunlight seeped through the curtains well past dawn. Connor sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Finally. I thought you were going to sleep through all of breakfast." Azula said from her cushioned seat at the mirrored dressing table, as she tied her day robe tight around her waist. Other amenities such as the wide robe collar, and hair pin lay on the table.
"After last night, I'd expect us both to be late risers." Connor said, before sliding out of bed and standing up to stretch with a yawn. Azula looked at her naked fiancé in the mirror and smirked, keeping an innuendo to herself as he got dressed.
Connor had been pestering the royal tailor to recreate more "respectable" articles of clothing for formal appearances. Tight pants and similar pants-like things, stockings that went over his knees, anything and everything with buttons and embroidering. Hats. Azula was undecided on whether she liked the style itself, but she knew why Connor sought to make such statements of fashion. He was trying to be even more eye-catching than normal, likely an unspoken facet of a plan they'd lightly discussed.
Connor was a commoner at heart, brilliant and educated as he was, there was no nobility to his name, and it would be quite obvious if he was born a Fire Nation citizen due to his mannerisms. Worse, he was an earth bender, which naturally was bound to cast doubt on his citizenship, appearing as either a subject of the Earth Republic or a colonial-born slob. Though they were lovers a very small number of people knew this, and an ever smaller number of people knew the truth of his origins. To be married when she was of a proper age, and for Azula to not lose credibility with the half of the nation who likely still held earth benders and foreigners in general as lesser than Fire Nation citizens, the public had to be convinced that Connor would not be a stain on the royal family's status. Of course, Azula didn't personally care what the public thought, but it would be quite bad for her brother's rule as well.
Their plan then was to have Connor appear anywhere and everywhere with Azula in the public eye, to allow for stories to spread among the populace, to allow them speculation, to let questions germinate. To ask who he was? Where did he come from? What was his business with the royal family? And when those questions were inevitably being asked by enough people, when enough rumors had spread, enough that the court would have to raise concerns to The Fire Lord about who exactly was being kept in his family's company, other than known acting diplomats or people of importance the likes of The Avatar, the Southern Water Tribe's pseudo royalty, and the youngest Befong. THAT was when Azula planned for a written address to the nation to be made and hoped the press would scramble to sell the story.
She would tell the truth, or at least a version the people of the Fire Nation could stomach without creating a greater mass existential crisis than was strictly needed. To make clear that Connor was a young man from a far away land across the Yongheng Ocean, that it was an act of fate that he was able to survive the journey, and that his country was advanced enough to make the muskets Connor had so generously shared his knowledge of, that Connor while an Earth Bender was not born with the ability. Most important would be making clear that his people had no royalty, and that Connor was brought into the upper strata of Fire Nation society by Fire Lord Ozai's invitation for his contributions to their country. It wasn't exactly his blessing that they be married, but it was the next best thing, the illusion that Ozai must have known these things, and in elevating Connor, was arranging for their marriage anyway. A convenient alliance between the Fire Nation and America if ever the two civilizations were to establish contact.
As part of that plan, Connor's outlandish fashion choices when in the spotlight of formal events did well to deviate from customary Fire Nation dress, drawing the people's eye, and thus raising those questions about his origins faster. Even his less formal daywear attempted to mimic his world's own in earnest, and so outside of the very obvious Fire Nation spike-toed boots, and loose gray pants, he'd taken to wearing a red Tang vest over a white linen shirt and was tying his hair lower into more of a komodo-rhino's tail.
Having dressed, Azula and Connor both made their way down to the dining room where a combination of the Governor's servants and royal chefs had prepared breakfast. The governor's family had already left the table for the morning. Morishita to his study, his wife to the sitting room, and Kori having run off with a friend. Zuko however had not left the table, he'd left the food on the plate in front of him half-eaten, and as Azula sat down on the cushion beside her brother she noticed he had dark circles under his eyes.
"My my, we didn't keep you up last night did we?" Azula asked. Zuko hummed in response, not knowing what Azula was referring to. Azula rolled her eyes. "You look tired. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"No." Zuko said with a hint of irritation. "I'm just worried is all. Every day that Hei doesn't respond, or that Aang doesn't come back with good news is another day that the Earth Army could be spending in preparation for war."
Connor sat down to Azula's left, and after failing to pick up the two wooden eating utensils beside his plate, (mostly owing to his scarred right hand not wanting to function in the mornings,) grabbed a rice roll with his left hand instead and forewent appearing civilized. He took a bite out of the breakfast dish and shook his head. "I wouldn't be worried so much about the war itself restarting if it was done for the right reasons." He said through a mouthful.
"Well, that's exactly it." Zuko started. "I want to do right by my people, I want them to live here in peace. I see that as enough of a justification to go to war defending them, but this entire ordeal, Fire and Earth mixing in the way it has here on land that's been contested for a hundred years… It's something I don't think any Fire Lord has ever dealt with before. None of my education or mentorship could have prepared me for this, and I'm not sure if I'm making the right choices."
"Well lucky for you, something similar happened in my world already." Connor said.
"How similar?" Azula asked.
"The French and Indian war." Connor said. "I've told you about it before."
"Not in too great a detail." Azula retorted.
"Ay, well, the long and short of for Zuko's sake is, the French claimed English land in America. The English fought a seven-year-long war to protect the colonists from the French. To pay off all the debt from the war they resorted to increasing taxes on the colonists."
"What does that have to do with the colonies here?" Zuko asked.
Connor leaned in closer to Zuko. "The colonies that the English were protecting later revolted because we disagreed with the taxation combined with a lack of a right to self-govern." Connor took another bite out of his rice roll. "You can restart the war between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, and for good reason. I'd fully agree that you'd be doing good by protecting the colonists here. They've got as much right to live here as the people of the Earth Republic, but make no mistake, if you do restart the war, and you do win, the already unfavorable taxation is bound to get worse, and the colonies are not going to be happy about it. So don't treat the colonists, Earth or Fire, any less than you would the citizens of the home islands. If they get rowdy, don't disproportionately retaliate."
"I don't intend to." Zuko said.
"It's not so much the intent as it is the execution." Connor said, before taking a third and final bite out of his rice roll. "Just… Listen to the colonists when they speak."
There was a knock at the front door, and everyone's head turned towards the sound. Azula was the first to stand up and answer the door. She raised an eyebrow as she saw Toph and Sokka standing on the steps of the house. "Uh, good morning?" She asked in confusion.
"We came to get Connor." Toph said, as the redhead peeked around the corner and saw the two.
"Whatcha need me for? Is your back brace giving you trouble?" Connor asked Sokka, pointing to the contraption.
"I mean, it could be loosened a bit, but that's not why we're here." Sokka said. "I kinda volunteered you for a fight."
Connor's jaw dropped a little in confusion. "Against who?"
"I can not believe you two." Connor said as he followed Toph and Sokka up the mountain path towards her school, adjusting the cutlass and pistol tucked into his belt. "You do realize this entire ordeal is extremely childish. The local record office could clear this up in minutes."
Toph blew a lock of hair out of her face. "Yeah, that isn't gonna help, this Master Kuntyo said he didn't care whose name was on the land deed, and since all the city guards are occupied preparing for this stupid war, they're useless." She huffed.
"So we're just kicking him out ourselves?" Connor asked for clarification.
"Technically Toph's students are kicking his students out, and since she taught you metal bending, we figured it would be easiest to just come get you." Sokka said.
"That's incredibly stupid, why not just kick out the master?" Connor asked.
"Because if we did I'd have probably trashed my own school, and to be fair I spent a lot of money on the decor." Toph answered.
Connor sighed. "I mean, earth bending could probably fix eighty percent of whatever it breaks, but I digress. If this guy's squatting and refuses to respect the fact you bought the place after he abandoned it, you do have the property rights to consider him trespassing. I'd gladly help with that." He said as they reached the end of the path.
"Yeah, well, I have a better idea." Toph said as the three crossed the dojo's front yard. Toph opened the door to her school and found her three students once more trying to bend three divided sections of her meteor bracelet with no success thus far. Upon seeing Connor, the three all recoiled in a combination of fear and uncertainty. "Oh relax ya' wussies." Toph said. "Connor, these are my three other students, Penga, Ho-Tun, and Moo-Chee." Toph said, pointing to each of them. "Class, my first student, Connor Campbell."
"Sifu, this… Man, was your student?" Moo-Chee asked.
"Too right." Connor said.
"He was the first person I ever taught metal bending to, and he's actually pretty good at it." Toph said, crossing her arms.
"Is he the one that's going to fight for us?" Ho-Tun asked.
Toph grinned a little. "He could, but no… I'm going to have Connor help teach you three how to metal bend."
"A new teacher?" Penga asked.
"I think I'd rather fight this Kuyo guy." Connor said jokingly before Sokka elbowed him.
"Yeah, a new teacher." Toph nodded. "I'm pretty great, but Connor is a metalworking genius, so I figured, while I can teach you guys the more applied side of metal bending, he can handle all the technical and theoretical stuff." Toph said.
"Right…" Connor said. "So how far along have they gotten?"
"They haven't gotten anywhere. The only thing they've been able to do is shake my bracelet." Toph said, pulling the meteoric ore pieces from in front of the three into her hand, where she crushed them back into shape.
"Oh brilliant, so we've got our work cut out for us." Connor said.
"I'm just saying if anyone knows metal it's you." Toph passed the bracelet to Connor.
He squished the material in his hand and felt the earth crunching alongside the metallic elements inside, though he couldn't identify exactly what he was holding. He shivered. "What is this?" Connor asked. He squished the material again and then spread his hand, the matter following along with the movement and creating a chaotic spiked ball. "What is it made of?" Curiously, Connor pushed his hands together and the rock flattened into a disk at his will. "Certainly there's carbon given the color, but this isn't behaving like any other rock, ore, or metal I've bent before."
"It's a piece of a meteorite." Toph said.
"Fallen sky stone?" Connor asked himself in English. He scrunched his nose up. "I'm sorry, it sounded like you just said this rock came from space."
"Yeah, it did." Sokka said, backing up Toph's claim.
Connor squished the strange rock once more, looking at it in disbelief. He'd only ever heard stories of rocks that came from the heavens, but none had been proven true to his knowledge. Yet there in his hand was a material unlike any other. "Right…" He said passing the material back to Toph. "Uh, there's a good chance that for whatever reason your students can't bend that material specifically because the earth in it, so to speak, isn't exactly earth."
"You did just fine with it." Toph said.
"I'm also already a metal bender, these three aren't there yet, according to yourself." Connor said.
"Well they should be, they know that it's got earth in it." Toph said.
Connor sighed. "Yeah, but the exact composition is still unknown. You're starting them out with something that's clearly more suited to benders with experience. Remember, I didn't get metal bending off of a feeling at first, I had to know exactly what I was working with… Why don't we have our first lesson start small, and rigid."
"How small?" Toph asked.
"Start with something that has a known composition, something dirty, impure." Connor said, before looking around. "This place got a kitchen?" He asked, before wandering off.
Ho-Tun looked at Moo-Chee who just shrugged in confusion.
Morning had come and gone in Ba Sing Se. Aang and Katara had been awoken by the smell of fresh bread wafting in from the kitchen, and the sound of a few giggles beyond the door of the room they shared. They got dressed, and stepped out into the hallway, finding that the clubhouse's sitting room was now full of girls wearing the same orange and green attire. Hei-Won saw the two from her seat and smiled at Katara knowingly. "Good morning, Avatar Aang!" She said, calling attention to the two.
"Uh, good morning." Aang said, waving to all of the unknown girls.
"I know it's probably a surprise to see the whole clubhouse full, but Won-Yee went home after dark last night, and like, totally let everyone else in the club know you stopped by." Hei-Won said, getting up. "Come sit down, Tiyto's making breakfast for everyone." She said, pointing to a girl with short black hair, who smiled and waved.
Taking two empty cushions, Aang and Katara were passed a plate full of bean buns. Momo swooped down and snatched one before they got their own, and passed the plate along. Tiyto sat beside Aang and smiled as he bit into the bun, and hummed in approval. "This is really good, Tiyto."
"Thank you…" Tiyto said, before looking at Katara, noticing her water tribe clothing. "Sorry I didn't make anything with meat in it, but The Avatar Aang fan club has a strict veggies only rule."
"Oh, no that's fine…" Katara started. "It's my brother who's a meathead." Was he really the only one though? Katara couldn't think of the last sit-down meal she had that didn't have at least some amount of a dead animal in it.
"Oh, I see. So as Aang's girlfriend, you're vegetarian too?" Hei-Won asked.
Aang and Katara looked at each other. "Uh…" Katara stammered. "Well, I wouldn't call myself a vegetarian, but it's not like I'd refuse food because it's not meat."
Hei-Won nodded at that. "Understandable." She said, before looking around. "Oh, Aang, why don't you show everyone some air bending."
Aang grinned, as he reached into his pants pocket. "Well, I guess I can. After all, it's not every day you get to see real air bending." Pulling out two copper earth kingdom coins, Aang tossed them up between his hands and spun them around each other. Several of the girls were wowed and awed by the small feat before Aang put the coins away. "And if you think that's cool, you should see the move I invented to get my Master Tattoos." Jumping up, and entering a spin, Aang conjured a ball of wind beneath his right foot, and he crossed his left foot over his right knee. Putting his fists together, The Avatar levitated on the ball and slowly bobbed back and forth. The nine girls of the club were all awestruck, and gave Aang a round of applause, as he relinquished his control of the wind, and plopped back down beside Katara.
Katara rolled her eyes. She'd seen Aang do things that defied what was considered possible on several occasions. A little floating hardly scratched the surface of his ability.
A girl across from Aang held her hand up. "Excuse me, Avatar Aang, I'm Yee-Li, and I have something I'd like to show you."
"Well, what is it?" Aang asked curiously.
Yee-Li pulled out a series of wood pipes from behind her back. They were bound in a row by a flat bracket which was carved to depict a series of clouds and a sky bison. The flute itself was aged, and a couple of the pipes appeared split towards the end from years of rough handling. "I bought it from a traveling merchant about a year ago. I figured since it had a sky bison on it that it had to belong to the Air Nomads."
"Oh wow, a paixiao!" Aang said, almost leaping across the room with his air bending to get a closer look at the instrument, coming to a stop by sliding on his knees. "Monk Gyotso used to have one of these."
"Do you know how to play it?" Yee-Li asked with a small spark of joy.
At that, Aang paused. "Uh. Well, kind of. I'm not very good."
"Well… Maybe this is an opportunity for you to get better." Yee-Li said, holding the flute out to Aang. "This belongs to the air nomads. I want you to have it."
Aang took the small wooden instrument and smiled at Yee-Li. "Thank you. All of you. You have no idea how much this means to me."
Katara stood up and approached Aang. "I hate to ruin the fun, but we really need to get going."
Aang sighed. "You're right. Hei is probably up by now." He said, before standing. The two gathered their belongings and pulled Momo from the kitchen pantry before leaving the clubhouse. Aang waved goodbye to everyone as he left the property, and Katara set her jaw in slight irritation.
They walked towards the upper ring in silence for a moment, before Katara spoke her mind. "You certainly enjoyed their company."
"It was great wasn't it?" Aang asked. "I know it probably sounds silly, but I really liked the club. Everyone was so nice, and for a minute it was like I was back home in the Southern Air Temple." Aang blushed, before rubbing the back of his head. "And I'm glad you decided to spend the night."
Katara blushed a little as well, though not for the same reason Aang did. She was embarrassed. Embarrassed by how much of a jealous child she felt like. She knew she had no right to feel that way, especially not after the night they'd shared. One night of many more to come, of that she was going to make certain. Katara slowed her pace a little, and found Aang's hand with her own, squeezing it tight. She allowed herself to smile at the memory of the night before, which drew a grin to Aang's face.
Connor dropped three pieces of a cast iron pan he'd ripped apart in front of Toph's, and now his, students. All of them instantly locked their attention to the pale-skinned redhead, who held his own skillet in hand. "Alright. The metal bending basics. This martial art form is not like the rest. You're not just manipulating your element, you're manipulating it alongside a material antithetical to the bending arts." He started pointing the cookware around at the three. "The earth trapped inside the cast iron in front of you can not be pulled free from the metal containing it like water could be removed from mud, or air separated from the space it occupies. The earth is a part of the metal now, and barring extreme heat and oxidation, it will not come out. There are rules. Hard facts that you must learn. It's not enough to just feel the element you desire to bend trapped within, and be firm in your will to move it. The metal is far more sturdy than you or the earth. You have to know it, and know it well." Connor said before Penga raised her hand.
"Sifu Cannor." Penga said, mispronouncing his name. "Sifu Toph's always told us that metal bending is all about feeling the metal, so why are you saying we don't have to feel it?" She asked.
"Because Toph doesn't feel in the same way that you and I do, in most cases." Connor said. "Toph, see's with earth bending itself. She feels the vibrations in the ground. When she says that you have to feel the metal trapped inside, she means to see it as she sees it, as I can also see it. But I doubt that you three are capable of sensing vibrations to the same level, which is why I'm going to educate you in some of the basic rules of metal bending."
Connor cleared his throat. "The amount of elemental earth in a metal dictates if it can be bent. For this reason, metals that are easy to make pure, such as gold, or tin, and alloys of such that have no earth in them, are unbendable." To make his point, Connor held up his own fully formed cast iron pan in his right hand, and in his left, there sat a copper earth kingdom ban. "The pan is cast iron, a twentieth of it is carbon. The coin, pure copper." Connor held his hands out and attempted to levitate both the coin and the pan, only for the coin to remain still. He dropped the pan back into his hand and continued. "Tied to this, is the fact that at a certain point of chemical purity, even if a metal is bendable, it may require physical contact to be bent, depending on the bender, and the material." Connor let the pan clatter to the floor, pocketed the coin, and unsheathed the cutlass on his hip. "For example, my sword here has a lower carbon content than the pan. I can't levitate it myself just yet, but…" Connor grabbed the spine of the blade and with his bending, flexed the steel to a forty-degree angle, then passed it to Sokka, who curiously tried to bend the metal back, though was unable to do so. Connor took the blade back, and bent the blade back to true, before stowing it.
"Distribution of earth elements in a metal will affect its bendability." Connor took control over the pan, levitating it off the ground, though this time, allowing for the non-handled end to droop towards the floor as it desired to. "This cast iron pan specifically has a higher concentration of carbon around where the handle meets the bowl, and so it is disproportionately easier to move." He said, the pan finally reaching his hand. "It should be noted, that the metal's inherent properties will play a part in how it behaves when being bent. Cast iron is stiff, when it is bent into shape it will stay in that shape. A more flexible material may bend back to its original shape, or if the metal has less earthen materials, may break rather than bend."
"Lastly, the greater the mass of metal relative to the bender, the harder it will be to move, as less of that mass is earth. If an earth bender is trying to move a rock and an anvil of the same weight, he will have a far harder time moving the anvil." Connor said, before he turned the pan upside down in his hand, and then unfurled his fingers from around the handle, but kept it in place against his palm.
"Keep these three things in mind, and we may find out if you're metal benders yet." Connor said, before slowly dropping the pan to the floor. "Now the exercise I'm giving you is as simple as I can make it. Blindfolded or not, you will make physical contact with the piece of cast iron on the floor before you, and lift it off the ground with your bending… And if you can do that…" Connor said, before stomping his foot, sending the pan up into the air, before striking it with his shin, sending the metal disk flying across the dojo where it stuck into the wall. "Then maybe Toph can teach you how to apply metal bending in combat."
Connor left the three students to attempt their metal bending and joined Toph and Sokka on the other side of the room. "Feel free to use all that if you get more students."
"And sound like an egghead?" Toph asked with a grin.
Kori walked with a purpose through the streets of Yu Dao alongside a few of her cousins. The general flow of the crowd moved with them. Scores of citizens with muskets, and benders like herself without them, had headed the call her father had made early in the morning. A call for every able-bodied man to sally out into the Fire Nation Army camp and provide their services as a hastily formed militia. Kori was one of the few women who'd joined of their own volition.
The mob had made their way through the city gates out into a section of the encampment left bare. She'd pushed toward the front of the disjointed crowd and could see about ten Fire Nation officers standing around a desk. Her eyes widened as a man, far taller than the rest, adorned in shining steel armor, a helmet in his left hand, approached the officers, and bowed to them. Her attention was fixated on the conversation they were having, which she could not hear, before the officer talking to the armored man faced the crowd, and put a whistle to his lips.
The high-pitched screech caught the attention of the militia and silenced what small conversation there had been. The officer who'd blown it, his hair gray with age, pulled the whistle from his mouth and addressed everyone. "Before any further instruction is given, I would like to commend you all for answering the call to arms. For those of you who do not know, The Fire Lord has decided that the colonies are to remain under his rule rather than be given over to the Earth Republic, and has communicated as such to the new government of Ba Sing Se. Though Fire Lord Zuko has made clear his willingness to negotiate, the Earth Republic is unlikely to appreciate his decision and is most probably prepared to fight us in the name of reclaiming the colonies. As such, until there is certainty of peace between our countries, we must be prepared for war… Yu Dao is unfortunately a significant strategic target, and well within reach of the Earth Army." Kori shifted uncomfortably hearing this information, before the old officer spoke again.
"I am Colonel Bang-Ting, commander of the fourth Combat Brigade, the unit you will be falling under for the duration of our stay." The older man said, identifying himself. "Before we can issue any orders, this militia needs a basic level of organization. I ask that any benders step forward, separate themselves from the main body of fighters, and stand to my right, creating a formation with ten men at the forefront." Kori, along with all five of her cousins, and nearly fifty others emerged from the crowd, and as requested, made a box of people, (though a highly disorganized one,) to the colonel's right, and appropriately Kori was at the front of the group.
"Of the men left in the group of non-benders, those of you without a musket, please step forward." The Colonel requested. Kori looked right and saw about twelve people emerge from the group, including Sneers, her somewhat husky boyfriend, an axe on each hip. "You all, fall in with the benders." Colonel Bang-Ting ordered, adding the twelve to their ranks. Sneers spotted Kori and smiled as he passed her.
"All of you who carry muskets please create a formation, twenty men at the front." The Colonel said. The process was slow going, but eventually, the mass of people created a loose box that extended into the end of the field.
Two of the officers beside Colonel Bang-Ting then walked between the separate groups and made their way back to The Colonel. He turned to the militia. "Three hundred twenty-seven musket-carrying men, and seventy benders or otherwise non-firearm-carrying fighters." He said, seemingly to himself, before he turned to his officers, addressing them all, before they saluted, and broke away, the majority moving towards the main formation, however, the man in shining armor approached the group of benders and those without muskets. He briefly glanced to his left, as one of the other officers pulled thirteen people out of the main body of militia, and directed them to stand in the group of benders. Kori glanced their way and recognized that the ones who'd been pulled out were what few women had taken up arms.
The armored officer frowned upon seeing Kori at the front of the formation, then cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Captain Kozato Masashi of Shock Company, Fourth Special Infantry Test Battalion, under the Fourth Combat Brigade. All eighty-three of you as benders, or those considered "under-equipped" for the possible upcoming conflict now fall under my command as a new company. Shock Company is currently split up. The scouts are afield, and the footmen are only particularly suited to the attack. As such they are on guard here at camp until they can be called out for a possible counter-offensive, leaving my command open for the time being. I regret to inform you all that our part in this mission is not one that will be considered particularly glorious. The main militia will be occupying the northern flank of the city. Maintaining the southern flank is our objective. We're unlikely to see combat." Kozato looked at the ground, before swallowing and continuing. "However if we do, internal unit organization is key to repelling attacks. I need you all split into three separate platoons. Earth benders, fire benders, and non-benders respectively. Do so now, and please attempt to maintain some semblance of organization."
Kori and three of her cousins grouped up with the other earth benders, as the fire benders and non-benders made their own smaller loose formations, dividing roughly into equal thirds. Kori saw Sneers smile at her, and she smiled back. Kozato pointed into the crowd. "You!" He barked at a frail-looking older gentleman with a top knot. "You're now the fire platoon's leader." The older man bowed politely.
Kori stood up straight as Kozato looked at the group of earth benders. He passed over her, pointing at a muscle-bound man behind her. "You're now the stone platoon's leader." The big guy nodded, seemingly pleased with his new position.
Kozato pulled his hand in, before turning to look over his shoulder, as a short girl with hair like a ball of fuzz approached. "Just in time." He said. Kori looked over at Sneers, who appeared visibly frightened by her appearance. Similarly, the girl looked livid upon seeing the formation in front of her. "Skirmisher platoon, this is your leader, Smellerbee. If you've any doubts about her capabilities, know that she participated in the battle for the Fire Nation home island."
"Now then…" Kozato said, catching the group's attention. "If you will all follow me, I shall show you where our formation is to be posted." He said, before turning and walking south.
The formation broke into a gaggle, and Kori hung back to see Sneers, who approached her quickly, before the leader of his platoon, Smellerbee, shouted at him. "SNEERS!" He flinched, before turning and rubbing the back of his head.
"Heeeeeey, Smellerbee." Sneers said, dragging out the greeting, as the shorter girl marched over to him.
"You know her?" Kori asked.
"Sorta…" Sneers said.
"Sorta?!" Smellerbee asked in indignation. "We used to work together. Where've you been? After we busted that dam, you just disappeared."
"You mean after we destroyed a village?" Sneers asked rhetorically. Smellerbee narrowed her eyes at Sneers. "I wasn't the only one who left after that."
"Yeah, but you didn't come back." Smellerbee said, clenching her fists, and gritting her teeth. "The Duke, Pipsqueak, Longshot and I all came back. We all went and fought on The Day of Black Sun. And where were you? Here in Yu Dao, living it up with the Ash Makers?" Kori's gaze hardened on Smellerbee at her racial epithet.
Sneers frowned before responding. "I came here because I wanted to start over. And what difference does it make…" Sneers looked at the ground. "We won the war in the end didn't we?"
Smellerbee relaxed… "Did we really? The fact we're here, preparing to fight for the Fire Nation tells me otherwise." She ruffled her hair. "This entire situation is messed up. I mean… What they did to Longshot… What The Duke said was happening in the camps… "
"I know, Bee. We all know." Sneers said. "Fire Lord Zuko apologized for how Earth Benders were being treated in the colonies under Ozai's rule at the end of the war. That's not how things are now."
"Who's side are you even on?" Kori asked Smellerbee, crossing her arms.
Smellerbee bit her tongue before giving her answer. "Yours for now."
"SMELLERBEE!" Everyone jumped at the shout, before turning to see Kozato still leading the gaggle of militia away. He waved them all over, cutting the conversation off.
Smellerbee started walking, Kori and Sneers following her. "Count yourself lucky that this time it's the Earth Kingdom that's trying to kick people out of their homes."
AN: Fun fact, Connor would have missed the first recorded meteorite landing in America by only a couple of months, which kickstarted the serious study of such a phenomenon in America, as there were only 3 other remotely conformable landfalls all having happened in Europe over the past 6 or so decades...