I Don't own Avatar the last air bender.

chapter 48

Xing had to catch breath as the dark place disappeared. The hellhound escaped by the length of a hair from death, it knew it. And it couldn't help but be mad at itself. The master's orders were clear: leave the moment the strong spirit showed itself.

And yet, Xing stayed there. And almost died for it. Stupid. But Xing couldn't help it. That wolf had to be brought low, Xing had to show dominance, to be the king. Never mind, the mission was complete. It was time to return to the master.

Xing tried to go to the shadow place again, but stopped before spending energy. An instinct told the dog that it was too soon, the body didn't regain enough solidity to not break up in another trip through the dark place.

With a scuff, Xing had no option but to get up and find something to eat. The faster the hound regains strength, the faster it can return to the master. And so, Xing sniffed the air, only to find it… strange.

It didn't smell like something Xing recognized, even the trees smelt and looked wrong. Actually, now that Xing pays real attention to the surroundings, everything seemed not right. Otherworldly even. Everything had the much too familiar smell of the creatures that Xing hunted in the valley and the two spirits.

That was bad, it meant that the enemies that Xing will face were likely spirits as well. Caution is paramount now, Xing can't make the same mistake that got the hound to this place.

As if to prove the hellhound right, a strange glowing creature came to view. It was a butterfly like thing with the head of an elephant, and it was about the same size as Xing's head.

Xing immediately pounced. The thing didn't even register what happened before it was torn apart by razor sharp teeth. The taste was strange, Xing noted, but not unpleasant. More prey is needed.

Suddenly, Xing smelled something. It was something new. Xing couldn't describe how it smelt, only that it smelt very good. A prey of some sort maybe?

By all accounts, it should have raised an alert in Xing's head. Now especially, Xing had to be extremely careful. But something inside told the hellhound that Xing had to investigate, that it was a duty. It was almost the same feeling Xing got when it sensed the chrysalis of the false idol, only different.

Xing continued to track the smell, deciding to trust the instincts that saved the hound's life so many times. In any case, Xing took notice of the environment for any opportunity it may present, and any dangers.

A fact that proved greatly beneficial as Xing avoided a blue wisp of flames just in time. Curious, Xing did not remember flame being in this color. It just showed how strange that place was.

The creature coming out of the woods was a fox in appearance, only with two tails instead of one. A pathetic looking male, Xing noticed. Weak and fragile, not a worthy rival nor an actual threat. It was about the size of an adult imitation, so again, it was not a threat.

The whelp acted all mighty and tried to pounce at Xing, but the hellhound just swiped it with the paws. The strike was strong enough to break a few ribs as the fox crashed into a tree.

Annoyingly enough, the fox didn't get the message and tried to attack the stronger beast again, as if it had to prove something. Xing decided that the fox was given more than enough opportunities to back down and decided to end this.

An upside-down strike brought the fox's head to the floor, being held there be a much stronger limb. As the smaller beast trashed, Xing brought the maw to the nape and bit. Hard. The fox couldn't even let a sound as it died.

Seeing no reason to let a meal go, Xing began to devour the now dead fox. The hound felt how the energy inside its own body replenished, and in a much greater amount than a meal that size should. Was it because it was a spirit like that blasted wolf?

Never mind. What's important is that Xing had now much more power to move on and investigate. And a good thing too, because a few minutes later Xing encountered another fox, this time it was a bit bigger and had three tails.

This is going to be a long trip, isn't it…

This is going to be a tuff one, Iroh thought. After the brother, came the sister. And there was no denying the fact that she was an air bender. Oh, how are they going to get out of this problem…

The woman in question was there like all the times before. She wore a simple red cloth as she sat there in chains. Iroh wondered why the change of clothing, but after some thinking he was relatively sure that he knew the reason.

Her brother wasn't there. As his judgement was passed, he was escorted back to the cells to stay there for the duration of the trail. Iroh didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse for the siblings.

Zuko, or more specifically the thing that poisoned his nephew's head, wanted to mark Jasmine as fire nation. The red color, with black and gold here and there, made Jasmine looked like the regular citizen instead of the foreigner she is. She looked like someone's daughter from the city.

"The next accusation is against non other than Jasmine, the air bender herself!" The royal accuser declared. "The mere fact that she is an air bender is a reason enough for exicution. But besides that, she was still a suspect at poisoning commander Zhao. She was wanted even by the whatever can be called athurities in Amora for fraud and leaching off young men."

"She is known to stalk prince Zuko and wisper Agni knows what to his ears, how many times had the prince done what that foraghener told him? She already wormed her way to the daily life products in just about a year. She is not someone who can be trusted to be near power, especially the daughter of Mi-Sha."

Iroh took a deep breath to relax himself, it was not as bad as he feared. Jasmine, despite being an air bender, had basically committed zero offences ever since she joined. Besides probably breaking the hearts of a considerable number of young men.

"Defense?" Ozai turned his face to Iroh. "You're turn."

"The young girl didn't even know about her bending until she was forced to accidentally use it to not being kidnapped, and she would had spent her entire life not knowing. Can we truly call her an air bender because of that?" Iroh pointed out. "During her entire time under prince Zuko, she had been nothing but helpful and loyal. To treat her like the likes of her father, who threw her to the streets, will be nothing but criminal."

"As stated before, Zhao's case is close and over. Her innocence was proven then, and it holds just as strong now. As for any illicit activity before joining the crew, the same argument with Mi-Dved holds here just as strong."

"All of this is fair and good." Ozai interrupted "But non of those excuses her existence as an air bender. A clean record she may have, but by she is to be killed on sight. The fire sages did prophecize that the next Avatar is to be an air bender, and while it's clear that she is no avatar, she can still give birth to them. That's a risk the fire nation can't take."

Right… Before Zuko went out of the fire nation for the first time, they visited the fire sages at the crescent island. Those sages told them that the next avatar to surface will be an air bender, that's why his nephew was so sure in the start that the avatar will be some old man.

It's a hard point to disprove, especially because it was right. Young Jasmine's father was a complete monster, in both act, physic, and bending potential. Any child she may have, had the potential to be just as strong. And that was even disregarding the fact that this child may be the avatar.

No matter what Iroh said, he can't disprove it, so the only way was to make it a worthy investment. Ozai loved only one thing, and that would be powerful. An idea began to form in Iroh's head.

"It may be so, brother, but that was then. Times have changed, and to miss this opportunity would be… a shame." Iroh happily noticed the glimpse of interest in his brother's eyes.

"Continue." Was all the fire lord said.

"It is as you said, any child of her has potential. But most important, is the fact that it will be raised under the red curtain, grow with a fire nation mindset. And under your command."

This seemed to please Ozai. Iroh continued.

"The mere fact that such an influencal figure as Mi-Sha, for as vile as he was, he held power, was discovered to be an air bender showed the holes in Sozin's doctorain. There Are air benders out there, we know for a fact that Mi-Sha wasn't shy in bed. So while hunting them down is important, it will prove fruitful to have some in a controlled environment, fighting for our interests.

"It will be a generation at least until there will be some kind of a reward." Ozai said as he pondered. He was on the fance in this one, Iroh just needed to give one final push.

"It will be a final total victory over the air nomads, a spit on their non-existed graves."

There, that should do it. If there is one thing men like Ozai like besides power, is proving their superiority in whatever way they can. And twisting their foes into a mockery of their former selves is very high in that ladder.

"The Idea does have merit, brother…" Ozai was deep in thought before a cruel smile was on his lips. "Very well, I agree to give your idea a chance. The girl will stay here, under heavy surveillance. When she comes of age, a suitor will be chosen for her to bear children. Said children will be used for the nation, one way or another."

"Oh, and one more thing." Ozai added. "If at any point in time it will turn out that this idea of yours is a failure, she will be executed. And both you and Zuko will share the same fate, one for suggesting the idea, and the other for not doing his duty."

In other words, I will give you this win so that I will gut you next time. It reminded Iroh of a snapping turtle, a ruthless predator that lures fish with its wormlike tongue. Only when the fish takes bite, when it is clear that the fish couldn't escape, does the turtle snaps its jaws shut with force strong enough to cut metal. Iroh used the animal's strategy many times at his days as general, he remembered how he would let the enemy take some land and then decimate them from a favorable position while said enemy was exhausted from the conquest and the keep of the territory.

It seems that they won this battle but may have sacrificed the war.

A look at the girl who had her fate sealed revealed her look of horror. Iroh saw his nephew whisper something to her, and it seemed to calm her down a little. Iroh wondered what that was.

In any case, It is time for the next round.

Xing tore through the last fox, who had six tails. This was… getting frustrated. For the last few hours, Xing was going through different foxes at about the same pace as the jasmine smelling imitation that want to have master's cubs was going through clothes that time when Xing accompanied her on her trip through the "store".

Xing had experience in hunting, and the hound could say for certainly that a forest should not have such a dense gathering of predators of the same species. Or were they? There were the different tail numbers each had. So far, the number of tails in a fox was between two to six. The individual power seemed to depend on the tail number as well, with the fox being bigger and stronger the more tails it had.

Luckily enough for Xing, those foxes didn't seem to team up with over two members or else Xing would have been in serious trouble. Xing really didn't think that a battle with ten six-tail foxes would be winnable. Another strange thing was that Xing noticed that some of those foxes had wounds on their skin, as if they were bitten by other foxes. Why was that, the hellhound pondered. In the end it was irrelevant. They were enemies and Xing had to kill them. They had proven themselves troublesome foes with various dangerous abilities.

The two-tails were barely something worth mentioning, a tad stronger and faster than a creature that size should be but little else. The tree-tails had the additional ability to control wisps of blue flame and direct them. Again, those little flames were laughable compared to Xing's own explosions.

Four-tails had the additional ability to control objects with their mind. Additionally, the flames became bigger and harder to ignore. Five-tails had all the abilities mentioned before improved. They could lift boulders with their minds and their fire was a bit weaker than Xing's but with much refiner control.

Six-tails… were a step above the five-tails. They were more muscular than the five-tails, and had much better refluxes. Nothing compared to Xing's own, but a threat nonetheless. Xing was also having a hard time avoiding their wisps as the seemingly living flames danced around Xing by the dozens. To add to the trouble, it seemed that they were capable of speaking in Xing's head, which just felt outright wrong.

'Gojin' they called Xing, a stranger. An unwanted stain on their scared grounds in their scared time. From the tad bits Xing managed to gather when the foxes were talking to each other, it seems like they were in some kind of a competition. Which would explain the wounds some of them got. It seems like the foxes were aggressive to each other only a bit less than to Xing.

Another thing Xing noticed was that devouring the fallen enemies made the hellhound stronger. It was difficult to explain it, but Xing felt more energy inside the body. The fire became hotter, the muscles hardened even more. Was it because the foxes had the same strange smell as that wolf? A very interesting discovery.

As for now, Xing finished eating the last six-tailed fox. The ears picked the tiniest sound of a whistle and Xing jumped backwards with all the hound's might. And just in time as the place Xing was in got hit with a massive blast from a blue flame. Xing held the claws firm to the ground to not be knocked back from the shockwave. Once the initial blast ended, a figure jumped down to where the blast just hit. The ground shook and fractured again as the thing landed.

It was a fox, which was to be expected, but here ended all the similarities. It was larger than the other foxes, about two thirds of Xing's own size, and it had a… mustache for lack of better terms. From the base of the nose on each side came a whiteish grey thread of fur that went for about two or three feet. It had an "S" shape and was most likely signaling the seniority of this creature compared to the rest.

Only unlike usual elder creatures, who all give time its rightful duo, this fox didn't seem any less fit than the six tails. Its gaze held wisdom and experience, as well as unhidden contempt. And it has one, two, three… oh, it has nine tails. This will be by far the biggest challenge Xing would encounter in this forest.

It gave Xing a look as if Xing was nothing more than a trash in its eyes, an accidentally useful trash by washing up the rabble, but a trash all the same. One that should be grateful for the honor of being near the greatness of a superior being such as the nine-tails, and flee while the older animal feels merciful.

It of course meant that Xing had no choice but to teach that old fox a lesson.

A massive ray of flames shot from Xing's mouth to the body mass of the fox, only to be split in two around said nine-tails. It was as if the flame was met with an invisible force. The nine-tails simply snorted, as if saying "fool", and began its attack. The old fox glowed in spectral light and with eyes ablaze it lifted everything not rooted to the ground, a few trees as well, and threw all at the hellhound.

Xing had to use every ounce of agility in the hound's body to avoid most of the objects. Xing jumped from tree to tree, used a few boulders that were thrown at it as jumping points, even blasted some of them, but the objects didn't stop. If it goes on like this, then Xing wouldn't be able to even land a hit.

Wait, Xing needed to get in close quarters with the nine-tails so that the old fox wouldn't be able to use its (admittingly impressive) psychic abilities. Jumping through all that tornado of objects is obviously a no-go, but there is another way for Xing to prevail. Before, Xing needed to wait at least a sun-turn before traveling to and from the dark place, but after consuming all this strange energy, Xing was confidant in itself to make a few trips like that before needing to cool down.

Just as a rock the size of a house was about to crush Xing, the hound became one with the shadows. The hound timed perfectly it perfectly so that the crash would mask its escape. Once in the dark place, Xing immediately looked for a pocket that showed a spot near the nine-tails and behind it. Once the spot was found, Xing immediately pounced.

The entire process took about a second, from start to finish, and Xing was about to maul the smaller animal. And yet, it didn't happen. Xing found itself levitated in mead air as a spectral blue glow surrounded the hellhound's body. A quick look at the nine-tails, who had a frown with their blazing blue eyes, told who was responsible.

The look on the nine-tails's face just screamed "filth". The sheer disgust it felt to be close to something like Xing could not be described with words. It regarded the fact that Xing dared to not immediately die in front of it as the highest disrespect possible.

In other words, that old fox was a total racist.

You'd be surprised how much a single expansion can tell you.

Back to the more serious business, the nine-tails threw Xing like a ragdoll back and forth. It was only thanks to Xing's instincts that the hound managed to land in a way that softened the blows.

Finally, Xing had enough and the next time the dog was floating in the air. It released a roar that broke the old fox's concentration, making Xing fall to the ground.

The hellhound immediately ran to the more experienced beast and the close quarters finally began. The fox, Xing had to admit, was better skilled at fighting, probably because of the experience. But while it dished more than it got, Xing was just built differently.

Each strike of Xing was worth about five strikes of the nine-tails, the hellhound's body was more fit to battle than the fox who's enormous nine tails got in the way. And more importantly, Xing had much higher health and vitality. With all of that combined, even if the nine-tails deal more damage, it was Xing who will stay last standing.

And the old fox knew it too.

It tried to get away by disappearing and reappearing in another place, but Xing couldn't let it gain momentum. The hound didn't think it would survive another attack like before especially now that the fox took the fight seriously. Luckily, the nine-tails wasn't the only one who could get from one place to another momentarily.

From there it was a constant game of tag where Xing had to immediately shadow travel after the fox. It was dangerous, but for some reason Xing had easier time to get in and out of the dark place. Was it because of the energy it devoured or because for some reason the vail between places seems to be much thinner here.

From an outside perspective, it must have been a strange sight. The two animals bliped from place to place in different poses of attack as seemingly random pace. For Xing it was no less strange, jumping from pocket to pocket.

A tear here, a bite there, slowly but surely, the old fox was looking worse and worse to wear. The fact that Xing constantly interrupted psych attacks that cost a lot of energy didn't help. That wasn't to say that Xing was unscratched, the old fox was crafty after all, but as things are Xing has the upper paw.

And the fox new it too. It was too prideful to show it, but Xing smelt the uncertainty and fear from the aging animal. All Xing had to do was to find a good opening and… There!

The nine-tails raised its head high, no doubt to make a dozen wisps that will burn Xing to cinder, but in doing so it left its neck exposed. A mistake that Xing wasn't going to waste.

With a mad dash, Xing's teeth found their place in the old fox's throat. The nine-tails yelled in pain, but adrenaline kept its concentration. Xing felt the fur on its back getting hotter as the wisps shot to the hound's back. In retaliation, Xing moved the lips of its mouth back and forth, sawing the throat.

The wisps strock one by one, and they hurt. Badly. The old fox was pretty much dead at this point, it has a minute at most. The problem was that by that time, if the barrage continued, Xing wouldn't be in a much better state.

But wait, the fox is already dead, there is no reason for Xing to stay there and be hit. Xing immediately escaped to the shadows, letting the fox take the burnt of its own attacks. Xing then waited for the dust to clear, revealing a downed fox, and only then came out.

Looking at it, the creature beneath Xing was a sorry sight. It had more scars and burns than fur now, one of the mustache things was torn off completely while the other only half turn. Its mouth was gaping for air that would never come to its blood-filled lungs, and some things that should be inside were out.

And yet, despite all the fear and pain, the nine-tails continued to hold that look of pure contempt.

'To be bitten by the likes of you…' It said with its mind. 'I deserve no better end…'

'But know this, you filthy miserable gojin, she's mine! You hear me?! Mine! I cur-'

It was enough for Xing, who just crushed the skull with its mighty paws. The hound had enough of the old fox's racist bull. With that nonsense away, Xing began to eat. The energy the hellhound got from the nine-tails, Xing noted, was about half of the combined energy of all the other foxes.

Xing rested for a while, the hound needed it even if the excess energy it got from eating was healing its body. As time passed, Xing decided to clean up. Its mouth was stained in blood, and so were many parents of its body. For some reason, Xing felt the need to be as presentable as possible.

With everything done, Xing got up to the final part of the search. The hound's nose told that the source of the smell was near. What's more, there were no more foxes around. It was a clear path now.

Xing walked through the empty woods after the smell, until the hound entered a clearing. In that clearing, Xing saw the source of the smell resting peacefully.

It was another fox, but it looked different. It was slender than the other foxes, with yellowish golden fur that turned paler at the tips of the tails Xing managed to see. It crawled itself into a ball in a way that Xing didn't want to interrupt.

Another sniff told the hound the reason why this fox wasn't detected, it smelt different from the others. Instinctively, Xing knew that this was a female, a vixen.

Perhaps sensing that she wasn't alone, the vixen slowly woke up from her slumber. She yawned, in a very endearing way Xing may add, and stretched her slender front limbs while bending her back.

Her tails started to wake up as well as they slowly rose up in a hypnotic display that Xing couldn't help but look. One, two, three… nine tails. The vixen had nine tails as the old fox. Unlike the old fox, however, this vixen looked much, much younger. Much better looking as well.

This entire process took a few seconds at best, but during that time Xing experienced a few sensations that the hound had never felt before and couldn't explain. And when the Vixen turned her face to look at Xing with a small smile and a curious gaze, the hound's mind stopped.

Xing for the first time in its life understanding the meaning of the word "beautiful".

Unfortunately, that look immediately turned into confusion. It was clear that whatever (or whoever) the vixen was expecting, it wasn't Xing. A single sniff of her cure snot told her all about Xing's bloody path here, and it made her growl in rage and disgust as she prepared to attack.

For some reason, that act hurt Xing very deeply, more than most of the hits it got. So distracted Xing was, that it nearly missed evading her strike. The hound couldn't help but think that the vixen looked just as beautiful when she tried to kill Xing.

Katara helped her mom clean the fish as they prepared dinner. Things have calmed down a little since that, but the pressure was still in the air.

"So…" Mom began. "The boys are away for the next hour or so, so we have time for a long overdue talk about the important stuff."

Katara had a sinking feeling that she knew what this "important stuff" was.

"So, who is it?"

La damn it.

"No one, mom!" Katara yelled back in a voice that said the exact opposite.

"Come now, sweetie, mom can help." Her mother said. "Your mother has some experience, or else you wouldn't be here."

Spirits, Katara didn't need that picture in her mind.

"Mom, no…"

"Mom, yes!" The older woman didn't let go. "Honey, please, you're doing no one favors when you keep it inside."

"But there is no one, I swear!" Katara lied.

"Aha." Mom nodded her head mockingly, unimpressed. "And you clearly don't mumble 'Yes, I will be your princess' in your sleep."

Wait, what?! She did that?! Spirits, it was so embarrassing… Katara wanted to hide her face behind her hands, but they were covered in fish guts.

"Just give your mother what she wants." Gran-gran said from her chair in the corner of the room. "I am curious to hear about the lad who got my granddaughter's interest as well."

Dang, what can she say now?

"D-do we have too?"

"Yes." Mom said. "We have postponed it enough. As your mother I have the right to know who my daughter wants a future with, or you would prefer this to be addressed at the dinner table?"

"No!" Katara yelled as she thought about her father learning about her defiantly not crush on Zuko. "Ahm, I mean that it won't be necessary."

The to older women looked at her, waiting.

"Well, he's… Not exactly from the tribe…"

Gran-gran snorted in response. "Of course he isn't. Unless you are interested in your brother, there are no boys your age around here."

"Please, good-mother, let her talk." Mom said. "There is no need to antagonize her farther."

Grandma snorted again, but said nothing.

"He's… tall?" Katara tried, it was hard for her to talk about boys. "Like, this high. With a very fit figure, strong arms and rock-hard abs."

"How many?" Mom asked in interest.

Katara made a number with her fingers and her mother whistled in appreciation. "Not bad, sweetie, not bad at all."

"By the way." Mother added. "Should I be worried about how you knew about his abs? You weren't up to any mischief, were you?"

"N-no!" Katara blushed. "I-it's just that he works out shirtless…"

"Completely unaware of the attention he's getting, no doubt." Mom said sagely, while meaning the exact opposite. Honestly, Katara was pretty sure Zuko was just that dense and clueless.

"So, what's his name?" Mom asked as they washed their hands.

"And is he a bender?" Gran-gran added.

Spirits, she can't say Zuko's name!

"Well…" Katara postponed the inevitable. "He is a bender…"

"So he's an earth bender?" Mom asked.

Mom's look quickly turned sour as Katara had trouble finding a reply. "La and Tui, a fire bender? Your father is going to have a stroke." Gran-gran only snorted again, as if saying that a stroke would be the best reaction possible.

Katara, on her side, hid her face behind her now clean hands in shame and tried to look as small as possible.

Katara felt a calm hand resting on her shoulder, when she looked up, she saw her mother's understanding face.

"Look sweetie, I'm not mad at you." Mom said. "I may not approve, but I do not hold it against you. Consider everything, you didn't have many other alternatives. So I understand, I don't really like it, but I understand. Just let's keep it between us ladies, alright?"

Katara nodded, relieved.

"So how did you two meet?" Mom asked.

"He… was on Zuko's ship." Katara said, not really lying.

"How old is he again?" Mom asked, a silver of concern in her eyes.

"About a year or two older than me, why?

"Oh, nothing dear." Mom sighed in relief. "Please go on."

"Well, he was very nice to both Sokka and me, much better then I hoped." Katara remembered her initial fears when the two of them got aboard the ship. "He also promised to help searching for you, more than Zuko bargained."

And wasn't that true, Katara thought that Zuko was just going to point dad to the right direction and leave it at that, but the prince actually went all the way through and assaulted Amora, fighting that monster Mi-Sha on his own. Sure, Zuko had his own reasons, but Katara couldn't help but imagine as if he did all that just for her.

"He also helped me a little with understanding how bending works." Katara remembered with a little blush how close the two were when Zuko instructed her. Her adolescent mind couldn't help but evolve the situation, especially when Zuko held her to correct her moves.

"Hm, and what's his name?" Mom asked the single question Katara couldn't answer.

"I… am, I don't remember?" Katara tried to dudge, miserably so if the faces of the other women were any indication.

"Look, it's not like it matters. I'm not going to see him ever again." Katara said before adding somberly. "Besides, he had this cow that always around him."

"Oh?" Mom was interested. "Do tell about the competition."

Katara then began to describe Jasmine and the complicated relationship she had with her friend slash competitor.

"And it's just not fair!" Katara exclaimed whenbshe complained about the physical differences that the spirits decided to give to the two young women. "I can't compete with that!"

"Honey, you're much prettier than you think." Mom calmed her down. "Besides, the one true way to fetch a man is through his stomach. I hardly think that this Jasmine has your talent."

Katara thought about that single time when Jasmine tried to make a breakfast for Zuko to get his attention, the less talked about the thing, the better. Katara still didn't understand how someone could butcher a salad. Those black fumes from the dark purple goo was unnatural, and she swore that she saw a face crying in agony between the bubbles.

"Maybe you're right…" Katara concluded. "But it's not like I will meet him again, let alone manage to cook him."

"Hopefully." Both older women muttered.

"Don't worry, dear, I'm sure that you'll find the right man soon enough." Mom said as she hugged Katara.

"Where?" asked Katara.

Mother opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. She tried again, but didn't have the words once more. Mom turned in the end to Gran-gran for help, but the old woman just shrugged her shoulder.

"I'm sure that he'll come when the time is right." Mom said in the end.

It was Katara's turn to snort now. But then again, Zuko did come out of nowhere, maybe he'll do it once again. This did put Katara in a better mood.

"You still didn't tell us his name." Mom stated.

"Lee!" Katara said quickly, it was the name Zuko sometimes used when he wanted to walk around incognito. The other women caught up her slip, if their looks were anything to go by, but decided to not press.

"Well then, since this 'Lee' got you interested so much, I think it's time for the mother-daughter talk." Mom said as she emphasized 'Lee'.

"B-but Gran-gran already told me where children come from!" Katara really didn't need to hrar that again.

"Oh, no, that was the first part." Mom clearafied. "I'm talking about the second part."

"Second part?" Katara asked in confusion as she noticed Gran-gran getting up and leaving.

"Oh, yeah." Mom nodded. "The first part is about the 'how', the second part is about the 'how to'.

Oh dear…

Katara started to run, but mom caught her and sat her.

"Now, when you see a boy that makes you feel good inside, the first thing you should do is-"

It was after she had finished the talk, and her daughter had run away with ruby colored face to find some dark corner to hide in, that her mother-in-law came back.

"You understand that she's smitten over the prince, tight?" The older woman stated.

"Obviously." Kya snorted, it wasn't that hard to put two and two together. "She's hardly that discreet."

"And you think that you and my son were any better?" Kanna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably not." Kya admitted. "But my daughter blown me in the forbidden love department, she bit you as well."

"This is a disaster." Kanna stated. "If even a rumor about this gets out, there will be chaos."

"Then nothing gets out." Kya stated. "But we need to keep her mind away from daydreaming, your side of the family has a history of doing reckless things because matters of the heart."

Kanna just sighed, there was no point in arguing over facts.

"We need new blood." The mother of the chief said. "A water tribe one. We can't go on like that, or we'll end up marrying brothers and sisters."

"Good luck convincing everyone after the greenhouse scandal." Kya stated. "It must be a water tribe, and the nearest tribe like that is on the other side of the world. It's literally in the name. Besides, if those stuck ups on the north even gave a dime, they would have done something in the last hundred years."

Kanna, who used to be one of said stuck ups, didn't have anything she could say to disagree.

"I'll talk to my husband, see what can be done about getting new people." Kya concluded.

Why things could never be simple…

AN

And here was the chapter, hope you liked it.

Now for the reviews:

deniswanheda :

Thank you!

First of all, I hope that I didn't cause you too much trouble at work.

To be fare to Toph, It's not like she actually understand all the art of Japanese classifications for love interests (not that I myself am an expert).

As for Ursa, I agree with most of your points. But, as this is a kid's show, everything needs to be as simple as possible. A clear bad guy and a clear good guy, this is why the show doesn't get too into the complicacy of the conflict and the people. There were a few characters outside the main cast that were shown to be good at the start but turned out to be not so great or even evil, and that's fine. Because that's what a kid's show is. This is why some characters that we saw no faults in as kids, are a bit more faulty as grown ups. (Like, seriously Ursa. You could kill Ozai with that poison at any moment and none would have been wiser, what gives?) Not sure about the politically evil, as from what we know so far Ursa was actually a decent person.

I agree, Ty Lee is extremely underrated.

As for the Mother of faces, she obviously got her hatred for Sai cloud her mind and didn't think things through.

Xpparda :

happy to hear from you!

Glad that you liked the chapter.

Now you gave me an idea with Toph... Oh, I can't wait to write Zuko's reaction.

Xpparda :

thank you.

The idea hat to get through some rewrites, but I'm glad you liked it.

As for the Azula part, yes. The Mother messed up. She was too angry at Sai, and looked at Azula as the sibling of the host of Sai, that her want to see Azula suffer was greater than her common sense. Which is already a big lap of faith when it comes to spirits, as they just think differently from humans. The things she said about Sai are foreshadowing to later parts of the story.

Lusamine :

Let it be known that the Mother Of Faces is not known for her foresight. In the next chapter, she will understand her screw up and will ask for help from an unexpected source.

02cjd :

Thanks!

For many of your questions I'll keep quiet as they are spoilers, but I will tell that he will learn the prophecy at some point. The tears on the daggers will bring us deeper to the story of the first overlord, and will be a big part later on.

Xing being a cruel killer is just him being a hellhound, not a sign of sadism more then expected from a predatory animal.

FF8cerberus :

To be fair, the Mother didn't care very much about Sai taking control over Zuko. It was more of the sheer disgust she has for Sai that clouded her judgment. This spirit in particular has personal hatred to Sai. But as I said in reviews above, the Mother will try to (have someone) fix her mess.