A Better Life Chapter 32: The Caverns, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

Review. Faster updates for this and other stories if this and other stories get more reviews. Would love to see art work of this or any of my other work. Faster reviews for my other less popular stories means that more updates at a faster pace. Or just more stories like this one.

Also any requests in reviews will probably be ignored.

Also just to be clear. I do not do pedophilia, all characters are aged up in this stuff or aged down depending on the character, no loli, no yaoi, no shota, I don't do watersports (Shit/Piss/fart fetish shit)I don't do stuff like vore or entire bodies getting shoved into places (Shrink play) I don't do blood play or torture (Ball/cock crushing etc) or certain old people, (Yes I am a fucking hypocrite) . Also if you ask for something in reviews that normally means I won't do it. So anyone who asks for that will be disappointed. If you have questions/requests/suggestions PM me instead.

Also have an ao3 account under the same name. and same titles.

The razor whisked neatly over the last of her eyebrow. Katara stared down at the clumps of hair as they sat in the small bowl. Kya pressed the corner of the small rag and applied the small layer of make up to Katara's face. The little bit of white made the girl look ghost like.

Katara curled her fingers against the small bowl. The water sloshed and then froze. She unfroze it and stared at her own reflection. The little girl looking back at her seemed adrift.

"They will be waiting for their tea." Kya gently prodded. Katara nodded.

"Wasn't it nice how Mistress Ursa permitted us to show our sorrow?" Katara nodded again, she was chewing on her lower lip. Her toes curled in her open sandals. Kya stared sadly at the top of Katara's head. The little gal was still refusing to stare up at her mom. The sorrow was wafting off of her like waves.

"Remember to thank Mistress Ursa. She was kind enough to let us wear the mourning colors and the mourning shaving." Ursa gestured towards her own shorn eyebrows. Katara stared upwards at her mother. She fiddled with the bowl and nodded sadly.

"They will be waiting for their tea." Kya prompted her daughter again. Katara nodded and stood up. She put the small bowl to the side. She then wrapped her arms tightly around her mother. She gave Kya a small squeeze. Their slippery tulip soft cheeks rubbed against the other. Katara then picked up the silver tray, stacked with two mugs, a small red tea pot with green vines on the side, and a plate of squared lemon cookies with chunks of sugar along the tops, and walked to the door.

Kya kept her smile on until her daughter had left the room. Then her façade crumbled like wet pastries. Her fingers clutched her lips and she let out a soft little sob.

Lu Ten had kept his word. He had returned, only it had been in a coffin. And now everything was different. The entire Fire Nation was in a national day of mourning. His body would be laid to rest that evening. Just as the sun set. As was the tradition in the Fire Nation when royal heads of state passed away.

Or in his case was brutalized. Kya had heard the descriptions. What the Earth benders had done. The sheer senseless slaughter of it. The cruelty of it. The pure seething hatred behind what they had done. Kya hadn't thought someone was capable of that. Of using their martial art to such a terrible degree.

Kya placed her fingers over her eyes. She held it back. She held the exhaustion and the fear and the pure grief back. She had almost gotten out, he had almost taken them away. He had promised them so much. She knew it had been naieve. She knew it had been too good to be true. She was of the Fire Nation. And she was never going to be free of them.

"Water?" Hama offered the other woman. Kya took the small cup and nodded. Her lips trembling, too overcome with emotion to even say 'Thank you.'

She took a sip and closed her eyes. Her entire body rolling. Her sigh came softly. Her eyes opened and she winced. Her breasts were tender today. More tender then normal. Even the soft silk of the outfit she was dressed in felt like they were being overly over stimulated.

Hama critically looked Kya up and down. The old woman loomed over her with a frown.

"Alright. Out with it then. How far along are you?" Kya spat out the water. Coughing and wiping her chin with her arm. She sputtered a couple of times and blinked in amazement upwards.

"What?"

"How far along are you? A week? Two? It's too early to tell for certain. Unless you missed your moon blood?" Kya blinked, then recognized the antiquated term. Her face turned beet red. She flapped her hands in front of her face in amazement.

"I…I…WHAT! You can't be serious! There is absolutely no way that I could be…I mean I…The chances of that….How could you even-"

"You have that glow. The glow that a knocked up woman gets. Now. Your moon blood. Did it come this month? Are you due? Overdue?"

"I will have you know that I—" She was. She was due over nine days ago. But….that could mean anything right? That could mean that she was just over due! Sure she had never been late before. In fact she was almost absurdly regular. But….two weeks? It was impossible to find out that soon right?

Kya stared into space. Suddenly stumped by what Hama had said. The older woman shook her head in annoyance.

"It was bound to happen. Your nipples have been tender? Don't give me that look we're both women. We're both mothers. And I've seen you naked countless times."

"Yes they are tender. I also happen to have two big honking rings through them." She said gesturing down cooly. Hama chuckled softly at that.

"Headache?"

"Its been a stressful few days."

"Nausea?"

"The…the heat's been getting to me! That's all!"

"It is soon. Probably too soon to be certain. But…" Hama walked to a cupboard and pulled out a small dusty jar. It had been shoved right to the back. Cobwebs were wrapped around it. She blew across the top and finally walked back. She opened it and fished out a small brown leaf.

"Okay. Open up. Calm down it wont hurt you." Kya let Hama place the leaf on her tongue. The two women sat for a few moments in silence. Kya tapping her fingers on her knee. Her leg bouncing a little. The stem of the leaf sticking out of her mouth. She felt vaguely ridiculous looking while doing this.

Hama checked the wall candle and then finally pulled the leaf out. She shook her head with a sigh.

"Congratulations. You're in the family way." The little brown leaf was now a bright yellow. The very tip a dark blue. The two contrasting colors stared out brightly at Kya. The woman felt her head leave her torso and she weaved forwards and backwards. Hama placed a firm hand on Kya's shoulder and pushed her back into place.

"Calm down there."

"I….Those leaves…."

"Just a glorified pregnancy test. It is nearly impossible to tell this early. But I figured it is worth it. And I was right. Congratulations. You're pregnant." The word echoed and crashed and reverberated around Kya's skull. She saw the words in massive red words around her. She saw the noise of it crashing around her. She almost tasted the way the words felt on her tongue.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

PREGNANT!

Kya leaned forward. Hands to her stomach in amazement. Her eyes were wide and unfocused. Her lips quivered, her body shook. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to will some tears there. But they stayed dry.

Hama squatted in front of Kya. A compassionate frown on her face. Tired eyes looking up at the young woman. She was still a young woman. No matter how many children she had that feeling would probably never go away.

"Do you know who the father is?" Hama asked softly. Kya shook her head. Her hair hanging around her ears in a great brown wave. She had not pulled it into a braid. She could barely stand to move today. And now this…right on her lap.

"I…They…all three…so much….I loved him…He loved me….so much." Kya hiccupped in pain and distress. Hama got her another cup of water. Kya's fingers shook as she took it. She chugged it fast and then took another.

Her shaking eased after that. And she stared at Hama with a very practical exspression. Hama pulled out a stool from beneath a nearby table and sat down. They still had time before the kitchen would be in use. They had time to sit and talk. Not as women of the tribe. But as single mothers. Or as close to single as they could be.

"So it could be Azulons or Ozai's or Lu Tens."

"You knew he was here?"

"My dear I am a servant. I know everything." Kya whined a bit then chuckled.

"Yes. Yes that makes sense. And yes. I…They were all on the same night. I suppose that it could also have come from earlier but…"

"But you don't think so." Hama said gently. Kya shook her head. No. No if she had gotten quick with child, it had to have happened that night. That one last special magical night. But who had done the deed, whose seed had swum the fastest, the hardest, the most dedicated…She could not say.

"I know the art of the Spirit Tea. The ingredients aren't as fresh here. But they will do their job." Kya fiddled with the cup in her hand. The Spirit Tea, the moon's spirit's greatest gift to the children of the Water Tribes. A natural medley of spices, roots, and herbs. It brewed in a small cup, because a small cups worth would do the job. It tasted vaguely of cut grass and lemons. And it was a natural abortifacient.

An expression is passed around the Water Tribes. 'All children are wanted.' That is thanks in part to The Spirit Tea. If a woman and her husband find themselves pregnant they have many options. Some keep the children and raise them as their own. Others have the child adopted into a nearby community. Or gift the child to a fellow family who are struggling to conceive themselves. And some drink the tea.

Some do not want the child. Some lack the support from family and community. Some don't have the time for parenthood. And there is not always the chance to gift the child away. So, some women drink the tea. It keeps the clan healthy, happy, and connected.

"You've used the tea before?" Kya asked quietly. It was a very private question. And one that was really none of her business. But still, it was a question she had to ask. She felt like she was staring into a deep dark cavern. And she knew she would have to go in. But the darkness was so absurdly terrifying.

"Three times. All after my daughter was born. I never regretted a single one." Hama said firmly. Her eyes softened. "Have you?"

"Once. After Katara's older brother. There was a…complication…This was before Katara was born of course. And then later on we had her. My beautiful beautiful girl." Kya took a shivering breath. She chuckled and wiped her nose. There was some snot there.

"I felt sick as a sea dog afterwards. The damn stuff runs right through you."

"It won't be pleasant. Chances are good you will vomit. But…It's your choice. Do you want me to brew it or not?" Hama asked. Ever the practical woman. Ever the practical source of wisdom. A person that would lead her to the future. But would not force her path onto her.

"I….It could be Ozais. It could be Azulons. It could be Lu Ten's…It could be any of theirs…I…I can't…I mean I won't…."

"You can take it into the later months as well. That is also fine. You don't need to decide now. But know this. It won't bring him back. It won't bring him back to life. He is still dead. And you are still alive. And you need to live with that." Hama said forcefully. Kya nodded and rubbed her stomach.

"I know that he is gone. I know that he is not here….But….I can still hold a part of him. Just a little part of him." Kya said mournfully. Hama shook her head, patted Kya's shoulder, and walked out. Kya remained in the kitchen. Reflecting.

This leaf business was certainly a lot more pleasant then the other tests that they had. Down in the south you had to catch and pee on a toad frog. Then it would either vomit up a tadpole or change colors depending on the results.

The Tsalal people of the interior of the North Pole had a legend. That the world was birthed from a frog toad. That it had accidentally swallowed a stone when trying to eat a bug. The frog toad had then vomited up the stone and upon it was the whole of existence. But the Tsalal people were mere legends, a society that had faded into myths and camp fire whispers. Kya only thought of that legend because of the dim connection to the pregnancy test.

Her mother in law told stories of lost people. Of a race of squat dwarfs who met the first people of the South Pole. They would hop backwards and howl at the top of their lungs. They had been driven under the ice by the first South Pole Waterbenders.

There were other stories sung by the Water Tribes. Of a hairless man and child with sharpened teeth who spoke no language, not even the common, and communicated by high complicated finger gestures. They had wandered into the North Pole cities one day and seemed fascinated by the simplest things. Such as boats and harpoons. They had grown sick, the child had died and the man had spoken a single word. An ancient word. One that might have been the first word. He had left after speaking this word. Leaving the corpse of the child behind.

The word in the Water Tribes meant 'son' or 'sun' if you wanted to be romantic. The moral of the story song was that a tribe of two was still a tribe. If you could give your stories, give your thoughts, give your past to another, then you were a tribe. A tribe meant connection, happiness, community.

And now Kya only had Katara. And Hama to a certain extent. A trio of women, with no tribe but each other. No clan but each other. No world but each other. And maybe….Maybe another could be added?

Kya caressed her stomach. Staring off at the far wall. Staring through the far wall.

Ursa pulled the comb through her hair. The sound of the shuffling outer hall irritated her. There were servants running back and forth. Heads down, hands full of Lu Ten's possessions, hustling from one task to another.

Ursa sighed. Her idiot husband was busy preening to other visiting dignitaries. Mayors and generals, magistrates and ministers, merchants and artisans. Anyone who had even a whiff of wealth was in the city demanding, cajoling, begging for a piece of Fire Lord Azulon's ear. Or failing that a bit of Ozai's time. The regards would have meant more if they were sincere. But none of these rich and learned men cared that Lu Ten was dead.

Any bottom could sit on the throne. What they were worried about was their bottom line. Would they lose money with his death? Would they have to put some of their trades on hold? Would the war effort grind to a halt? Costing thousands of jobs and countless amounts of gold and coin?

Ursa was disgusted by it. By these people. By the soft handed smiling men. By their weeping women who offered her their remorse. By the people who pretended to care that her nephew was dead. That they were not trying to jostle and jokey into a new and higher position.

With Lu Ten dead and Iroh still in the Earth Kingdom's the future of the throne seemed up in question. For the first time in many centuries whose ass would be seated on the royal pedestal was suddenly in doubt.

Ursa gazed at herself in her vanity. She had only put on her lipstick. She still looked ravishing. But she could not go out looking just like this. She stood up and shimmied out of her gown. It fell to her ankles in a glorious fire like flutter. Like flame made liquid. The soft spider silk tickled her bare toes.

She admired herself. Her trim hips, her flat stomach, her long shapely legs, her very generous backside. She had full milk white breasts, nipples that flared slightly upwards, a cute belly button, and a respectable looking pair of ankles. She was beauty made flesh, she deserved to be standing on a stage. Worshipped and fawned over. Not by bearcats and government types desperate to get her approval. But by an adoring public. Who were entertained by the witty words that wept from her lips.

But instead she was playing the game of politics. A game that had deadly consequences. She felt her core tightened. Lu Ten was dead. He had called her Mama a few times by accident in his youth. She had met his mother once briefly. Even then it was clear that she was not going to live long. But the pure love she showered that boy with. It was heartbreaking.

The door to the royal bedroom opened and closed softly. Kya stood with a tray of sliced orange and grapefruit and lemon in her hands. She walked forward. Her high heels clicking. She looked so odd in the mourning colors. And the strange stark make up that graced her face. She almost appeared ghost like. Her face seemed slightly more nut shaped.

Then Ursa noticed that Kya had shaved her eyebrows. It really made her face seem larger, sadder, desperate to let out the passion stored in there. Kya placed the tray down firmly on a nearby end table. Kya's face was downcast. Her fingers fiddled with each other, her entire body was stiff and sad and awkward.

"Mistress I need to-"

"Shut up. Strip." Ursa ordered. Kya obeyed automatically. If Ursa told her to sit like a dog she would do it. If Ursa told her to storm a castle gate she would do it. She followed her owner's orders without second thought now. It was almost insane how quickly she would willingly obey.

Ursa walked to the bed and got on all fours. Her fat wobbly butt wiggling from side to side. She glanced over her shoulder with a frown.

"What are you waiting for? Start eating." Kya walked over, dropped to her knees. Hands resting powerfully on Ursa's ass cheeks. And with no hesitation she slammed her face in. Her tongue popped out and began to devour Ursa's hole. Ursa groaned and bit her lip. Her eyes rolling in their sockets.

Kya's extra long tongue lashed at Ursa's insides. Ursa's ass hole tightened around Kya's tongue. The South Pole slut's certified clit sucker was slippery and slobbering on Ursa's massive mommy mound. Ursa's cunt lips grew damp, her stomach was huffing and panting. Like waves on an ocean. Ursa's fingers dug into the bedsheets.

"You're…you're mine Kya! All mine! You…You're….fuckfuckfuckfuck. Eat that ass! Use that tongue like the fucked dumb cum slut I know you are! Get nice and deep! Ohhhhhh. It tastes good doesn't it?" Ursa's hips wiggled and her butt cheeks jiggled and bounced on either side of Kya's head. Kya groaned, pulling away for a moment. She gave Ursa's left ass cheek and then right ass cheek a kiss.

Her face paint had rubbed white marks onto Ursa's butt. Long thick slabs of white stared out at her. It was almost like she was staring into the eyes of a Orca Dolphin. She blinked and gave one butt cheek a kiss and then the other. She popped her longest fingers on her right hand into her mouth. Getting them slippery and sticky.

Kya then proceeded to attack Ursa's slippery juicy fuck mound. The waxed womanly wonder split and accepted the masterful finger fuck with minimal resistance. Ursa's moans reached a new crescendo.

"Yes! Yes! Just like that! Oh my! Oh my spirits! Oh my uh! Uh! Uh!" Ursa let out breathless little groans. "Yes! Just like that Kya! Eat my ass! Eat my royal fucking ass!"

Kya dove back in. Ursa tasted of water and sweat. The scent of her booty was perfumed. She clearly took good care of every last inch of herself. Such a professional woman. It made Kya ashamed. It made what she had to say next all the more humiliating.

"My…my mistress?" Kya pulled away from Ursa's ass. A long splatter of spit connected her to Ursa. Kya's lips were red and sore. Her make up was smeared and her eyes were glassy. Ursa let out as satisfied moan. Her orgasm burst around her with the ease of a well trained pussy.

"I've got something important to tell you." Kya said humbly.

Katara found the two of them near the gardens. They were seated on the stoop. Azula was curled up with her head in Zuko's lap. The little girl was staring off into the distance. Not making a sound. The two were wearing their mourning robes. The bright airy breeze was whisking around them. Making the two appear vaguely otherworldly. Like demons that had been transported to the wrong place. Or two lost spirits. Who had been desperately searching for something.

Katara obediently walked in and placed the tray to the side. She poured a cup of tea. She kept her eyes down as she offered the cup to Zuko. Her owner took it with one hand. The other was busy stroking Azula's ear and neck and the tip of her head. Azula did not say a word. She did not move. She didn't even seem to be breathing. All she could do was stare in silence at the garden.

Katara took a few small cakes and some sliced fruit off of the tray. Her tummy grumbled. She had not been fed yet today. Everyone was too busy mourning to get anything down their stomachs.

Katara placed the plate in front of Azula's nose. Katara began to pull away. But Azula's hand snatched out and grabbed Katara's wrist. Katara stopped and stared down at Azula. Azula was frowning as she studied the little girl.

"What happened to your eyebrows?"

"Mistress…Mistress Ursa said we were permitted to shave them." Katara said softly. Azula's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Why?"

"It's a sign of mourning. It is a way to express the sorrow we feel when we lose—"

"You didn't lose anyone. He was my cousin. Not yours. Never yours." Azula snapped. Katara nodded sadly. Her lips quivered a bit.

"I know." She said softly. Azula snorted and began to sit up.

"No. You don't. You don't know what it was like to go to Ember Island with him. Or the way he trained us both. Or the sparring sessions. Or the gifts that he brought back from conquered inferiors. You don't know how it feels for him to be torn away by someone that you've never met! Simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time! So no! How dare you! How dare you think you are permitted to mourn him! He was my cousin! Mine! And now he's gone!"

"Azula." Zuko said sharply. Katara was kneeling in front of the two now. Her fists pressed to her knees. Her chin shaking and her shoulders quaking. Her eyes were wide but dry. Her lips pressed together tightly. Azula was breathing heavily. Staring wide eyed and furious at Katara. Azula slowly began to lean back over. Her head heavy.

She plopped into Zuko's lap. Her hands curled up in front of her.

"Why did he have to leave me?" Azula said sadly. Katara laid down on the bamboo floor next to Azula. Her fingers reached out and gently took the little Fire Nation princess's. Katara leaned forward and pressed her lips to Azula's fingertips. One per finger. A pop here, a pop there, a pop pop pop. One after the other.

"I'm so sorry mistress Azula." Katara said softly. Azula's breath was shuddering. There were thick stains on her cheeks and chin. Tracks where she had cried her make up off. Reapplied it, cried it off again, over and over.

"He was going to…I was going to…and now he's gone."Azula sniffled some more. She then sat up and rubbed at her eyes aggressively. Trying to not cry in front of the two of them. Zuko's hands were on her cheeks instantly. He pulled Azula's face around until they were face to face.

He stared at her, golden eyes blazing.

"But we're not. I'm not going anywhere. We will be together okay? Always? I will never let anything like that happen to you. Or to me. Or to Katara." He said it forcefully. He said it passionately. He said it the way that few oteher older brothers ever said it. Azula's heart went thump thump thump in her tiny chest. Katara's hands reached out and slapped painfully onto Zukos. She wrenched his head around. They were eye to eye. The little serving girl stared at him with her bright blue eyes. So deep and so loving that you could drown in them. Her nose was flared and her hair was almost standing up on end.

"You both are mine! Just like I am yours! I am not going anywhere! I promise to protect you both." Katara said with as much seriousness and passion that she could possibly pull up. Zuko's eyes widened, his blush was going from his ears to the base of his neck.

He leaned forward and he placed his lips to Katara's forward. Drawing a surprised gasp from the little girl. Katara reached up and pressed a fingertip there. Zuko turned to Azula and did the same thing.

"I promise. I promise both of you." Zuko said with as much steel as the little fire bender could place in his high pitched voice.

"Are we interrupting something?" Ursa said from the doorway. She and Kya were standing side by side. They were wearing the mourning clothing of the royal family. Kya was blushing and was holding a glass of water. Ursa had her hair in a complicated braid with a small crown on the tippity top. The mourning crown was reserved for very special affairs. And this was definitely one of them.

"Because children?" Ursa wrapped an arm protectively around Kya and lead her into the room. The blushing Water Tribe mother placed a hand on her stomach, vaguely self consciously, vaguely in embarrassment, and with the vague sense of pride.

"We have some news."

The door to Zuko's royal bed chambers opened. He blinked at the dim light from the torches. Katara sat up, yawning. She rubbed at her eyes in irritation. It was the middle of the night. She didn't get all the much time to sleep. Who would be interrupting them?

Azula closed the door and marched forwards. Her bare feet leaving authoritative little smacks to the marble. In her arms was a thick large blanket from her bed. She got beside Zuko's bed and flipped the blanket onto it. With some ruffling and shuffling the blankets were soon even. Zuko blinked at it in confusion.

Katara rubbed at some dried drool on her cheek. Wondering just what was happening this time. Then Azula crawled underneath the covers and shimmied forward. The two of them watched as the bump that was Azula snuck up beside them. She stuck her head out of the top and curled up next to Zuko.

"Well? Goodnight." Azula said forcefully. Zuko blinked dully a few times. He was too tired from the funeral to figure out what was going on. He leaned his head back into the goose otter down pillow and was soon snoring again. Katara pulled herself closer to Zuko. She stared across his thin chest at his sister.

Azula blinked quizzically back at Katara. She then nuzzled up next to Zuko and closed her own eyes purposefully. Katara's fingertips reached out and brushed Azula's. The two girls hands latched on and gave little reassuring squeezes. As if to convince the other that everything was alright. And that neither had to fear anything. After all the three had promised the other that they would stay together right? That all would be well. That they would protect and love each other.

Katara's eyes closed and she breathed in the sweet scent of her two best friends. And brand new bedmates. She wondered in the absentminded way of children, what her new sibling would look like.

Iroh stood before the entrance to the caverns. Ba Sing Se was far behind them. Many days of hard march. They had left the sick and the wounded behind. They had torched every farm they had come across. Many of the farm owners had found themselves without food. Or in the worst cases mounted on pikes and left for the birds.

He took a deep breath. He had taken his army the long way for a reason. The crack between the boulders was dark and deep. Like the bottom of an empty tea pot it yawned at him. He could smell the rot of the earth in there. He could smell the smoke of the war fires behind him.

How many years had he been laying siege to that fine city? How many men had he executed for desertion? How many for insubordination? How many fathers, sons, cousins, boyfriends, scholars, professional killers, how many lives had he ordered taken?

"Sire. The men are wondering when we move on." His loyal retained had snuck up behind Iroh. The man wore the robes of a secretary. The chapped lips and the delicate hands betrayed the man, he was no military worker. He was a glorified butler. Brought here to make certain that Iroh was comfortable.

Like a song bird in a cage, or a race horse in a fine stable, he had always been comfortable.

Iroh stared at the young man compassionately. He reached out and rubbed the youth's bare hairless face.

"They have my permission to move when they wish. But I will stay. This is as far as I can lead them."

"My lord?"

"These are the ancient tunnels of Ba Song Sow. From hundreds of years before the Chin empire. These caverns are open, labyrinth like, and a favorite spot for suicides." The secretary was confused. Then dawning horror came over him.

"My lord!"

"Please. I do not want to be alive anymore." Iroh said with a small smile. "I give the generals leave to return to the Fire Nation and their families. I renounce my titles. This is not a prince refusing his duty. This is a father missing his son." Iroh unpinned his military badge and pressed it to the young man's hands. He unsnapped his dagger and tossed it aside.

"If you do not mind….I very much would like to enter the unknown alone." Iroh turned on his heel and strode into the entrance of the caverns. He felt his way along for a very very long time. He did not use his firebending. He did not want to know where he was going. The woosh of the cave entrance disappeared. He heard the tramping of feet overhead. For a brief period of time he heard the earth shift around him. And a drip of water from some great underground river.

And then he heard nothing at all. Just his breathing. And his walking. And his heartbeat. His eyes were closed. He had nothing to see. His fingers danced over the wall. Somehow he did not stumble. Somehow he did not trip. He didn't know how deep he went. But further and further he descended.

He stopped. Not because of exhaustion. Or for any real reason. He stopped because he stopped. He fell to his knees. He took many deep breaths. Suicide was the ultimate taboo in the Fire Nation. To take yourself from the empire. From the nation. It was shameful. It would bring his spirit no rest. It would not permit him to go back to the reincarnation cycle. His life would end here. His spirit would fade away to nothing.

He did not care. The sorrow that gripped his heart was overwhelming.

"Kill me." Iroh said into the darkness. He did not know to what.

"Kill me." The old man begged. He was alone. He had nothing and no one. His heart broke even further.

"Kill me!" He bellowed. He had bellowed when they brought him his child. His precious baby boy. The arms and legs turned to splinters. The head caved in. The gorgeous face ruined. Iroh had screamed and raged and bellowed and sobbed. Like a dragon in human flesh. He had cradled his son for as long as he could. And then he had sent it away. Sent the body as far as he could.

He did not have the stomach to stare at the remains. He did not have the stomach to return home. To do the funeral rites. Let Fire Lord Azulon light the pyre. Let someone elses fire bending send Lu Ten upwards.

The earthbenders had taken his son. No…the Fire Nation had taken him. That wasn't even true. The war. The damnable stupid selfish endless WAR had taken his boy. For no reason other then he was there. Men had killed Lu Ten because otherwise they would have died. No hatred, no anger, just the need for survival. And Lu Ten had only been here because it was his duty.

So much death from duty. So much death from what was expected. Men played their games of war and grandeur and legacy. And old men outlived their young sons.

Iroh's fingers scrambled out onto the cold stone ground. He picked up a rock. He lifted it and crashed it to his jaw. His temple. His face. His nose bloodied, a trickle of blood ran from his forehead to his beard.

"Kill me! Let me die!" Iroh begged the world. His eyes bugged open. A blue spirit with white arrows on his head and hands studied the old man. The glow coming off of him illuminated the tunnel Iroh squatted in. Iroh dropped his stone with a gasp.

The spirit….It was…it was familiar. It was ancient…It was like a dream made flesh.

"You…How can you…." The spirit did not speak. Only glowed. The tunnel was full of diamonds. As thick as a man's fist. They bulged from the walls. Ancient volcanic glass and shards of obsidian reflected the earth around them. Iroh touched his lips. It was beautiful. He had only seen this lands farms and dirt. The rolling hills, the epic mountains, the dusty deserts.

But beneath it all….Earth was majesty. Earth was eternal. Like shards of a dragons scales…..The dragons…what would they think of Iroh's actions here? Iroh felt ashamed. Here he was, a man responsible for so much pain and misery in this world. So much unrivaled death and destruction….And he wanted to leave without making amends?

"What do I do? Please…tell me what I must do?" Iroh begged the spirit. It stared at him with a sad knowledge on it's face. It then turned and walked away. Iroh jumped to his feet. Boots clacking against the ground. He ran after the softly moving spirit. They turned a corner, turned another, and the spirit was gone. And the sound of crying was coming from around the next corner.

Iroh blinked, he summoned fire to his fingertips and permitted the flame to lap there. Like candle flames against a wax wick. He found that tears had leaked from his eyes. He flicked them off. Trying to look a little less frazzled.

He walked around the corner. Flame high, curiously wondering who else was down here. What he was not expecting was a little girl. A little girl curled up on her haunches. A small leather bag beside her. Her hair was in a high bun. Bangs covered her eyes. She wore a white and green dress. Dull mustard yellow squares highlighted the hem.

"What are you doing here?!" She snapped. She shot up as he approached. Iroh held his hands up, attempting to look like less of a threat. He knew he was not doing well. After all she was a native to the Earth Kingdom's. And here he was a Firebender deep in the bowels of this nation.

"Forgive me I did not see you there." Iroh said gently. The little girl snorted and crossed her arms.

"Oh yeah really funny." It was at this moment Iroh realized she was blind. Iroh flushed in embarrassment. He had not met many blind people in his time. The Earth Kingdom's had many mobile disabled. But the Fire Nation tended to keep theirs in institutions. So as not to inconvenience the rest of the nation.

"I…My name is Iroh. I appear to be lost." Iroh said gently. The girl sniffed and wiped at her nose.

"Well I'm not." She said gruffly. Iroh felt a headache coming on. Even though she was dressed so smartly, with small pearls woven into the bodice, and small golden threads along her wrists, she certainly didn't speak or act like a woman of high breeding or standards.

"Perhaps you could tell me the way out." Iroh said gently. She placed her fists on her thin hips and frowned back at him.

"Why'd I wanna do that?"

"So that maybe I could get you out as well? Get you back home? Get you back to your parents?" Iroh said as gently and calmly as he could manage. She snorted and spat on the ground dismissively.

"I don't have a home to go back to. Or anyone who cares about me."

"Oh…I'm sorry. I assumed you were not an orphan!" Iroh said. He cursed his tendency to jump to conclusions. He should have known better. After all this war had taken many many lives. A rich girl, or a former upper ring of the landed gentry could have been a homeless orphan as easily as any poor working class peasant.

Toph did not bother to correct him.

"It's fine." She said.

"Maybe…You could still help an old man get out of these caverns? I seem to have lost my way. And I…I have many things I must make right. This war….I must end it. I must find a way to end it." Iroh said with as much passion in his chest as he could muster. She quirked a critical eyebrow. Her bare feet tapped the ground.

A rumble came from way below them. Iroh stumbled forward. The little girl slid down to him. She came to a pause next to him. And a massive badger mole sized hole burst open beside them. The badger mole came trundling out. It's many trunked snout waving in the air like a giant pink starfish.

The animal let out a bellow. Iroh gasped and stumbled back, an arm shooting out, attempting to block the little blind girl from the great monster. But she just ducked under his arm, marched up, and bellowed right back.

The badger mole blinked its small blind eyes, sniffed her, and then turned around. Toph turned with a grin to the startled Iroh.

"Come on! You wanted to get out right?"

The remnants of the army kneeled before the cave entrance. No one spoke. No one had anything to say. They were free to leave. They were free to continue to fight. They were free to go bakck home to what remained of their families. And yet not a single one could move. They felt as if there was a great rope that connected them to this place. To their commander. And no one was ready to abandon it just yet.

Iroh had brought them through Hell and high water. Through feast and famine. Through sieges and struggles. None of them could move on just yet. The main force of the army had moved along long ago. Leaving these straggling mourners behind.

A crack split the air. Then a crack split the earth. A small pair of hands wormed their way through, and with a crash the mountain cleaved open.

Toph and Iroh stepped out. They looked as if they had been on a small stroll through the middle of a small downtown. The men all shot to attention. Some exchanging confused looks with each other. Others openly gawking at the little girl beside the old man. Some gazed deeper into the crack and spotted what looked like a giant rolling deeper into the depths of the mountains.

And although none would admit it. One or two saw a blue man with pale air bending tattoos watching the proceedings.

"My brothers! My sisters! My friends!" Iroh shouted out. His normally cool collected voice discarded. He was standing the way thunder would stand. Powerful, confident, decisive.

"We are on the wrong side of history!" No one gasped. They were too shocked to. "We have taken from the weak, we have terrorized the powerless, we have permitted ourselves to be governed by weak men whose empty hearts have stolen the future. Our future! Her future!" He gestured sweepingly to a nodding Toph.

"No more! No more I say! The Earth Kingdom's will not fall to the nationalism of the Fire Nation! The Fire Nation will not sweep from pole to pole or from sea to sea, instilling fear and subservience into the freed peoples of the world! We shall force peace, we shall make the world a place where the next generation can grow healthy and happy. It is the duty of the old to make the world kind for the young!"

A man cried out in the front row. He was an older brother, his father was a tailor, he wanted to teach art history in a youth college. He joined the war effort as was expected. Tears were in his eyes.

"Lord Iroh!" He shouted raising a fist. Iroh swung to him, kindness in his eyes, iron his his soul.

"No! No longer lord! I renounce my title. I renounce my throne. I am a man of no nation. Any nation that dares to inflict it's will upon another is my sworn enemy. The Earth Kingdom's will not make war with each other. The Fire Nation will not raid its neighbors. I will not rest until peace and balance is restored to this world." He took a deep shivering breath.

"The Avatar has not risen. Therefore it is our duty. Our sacred duty, to restore balance ourselves!"

Someone else called out Iroh's name. Another raised their fist. A woman roughly yanked off her helmet. She grabbed her top knot and viciously cut it free. She held it above her head with a howl. Someone copied her, then two more. Soon there were dozens of fists, dozens of clumps of hair.

Iroh summoned fire and neatly clipped his own top knot. He turned to Toph with a gentle smile.

"Just like we said." She nodded, took a pose, and flung a head sized rock into the air. Iroh pulled back and flung a ball of white flame. Then more. Then two final blazes. The stone fell. A white arrow burnt into it's side.

"We shall make the world kinder for you Toph. For all children your age. For the oppressed. For the future. For those that were taken from us. I swear it." Iroh placed a hand on the little blind girls thin shoulder. The blind bandit grinned to herself. Things were going to get VERY interesting now.

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Also have an ao3 account under the same name. and same titles.