Happy Australia Day to all my Australian readers! From a friend on the other side of the world.

Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: If such a thing existed, sure. I would need to learn to harness such power.

Zigzagdoublezee: Everything the Fire Nation has done with their metal tanks and their metal ships, the Earth Kingdom has been watching. And they've been taking notes.

As Always, Please Review!

Yue bowed in greeting. The new girl, Toph, didn't react.

Poppy must have seen the lack of reaction and assumed it would cause offense, so she jumped in quickly.

"My daughter means no disrespect!" She said. "She did not see your gesture, that is all. You see she is blind."

"You're the Avatar?" Toph asked, not letting anyone have time to react to that statement.

"I am," Yue confirmed. "Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm pleased to meet you," Toph replied. On the surface she looked calm and composed, but Yue recognized a vague air of defiance about her.

"I want her to grow up in a safe world, a peaceful world," Poppy told them. "That's why I'm doing this; for the memory of my husband, and the future of my daughter."

"So you think he is actually... gone, then, not captured?" Katara asked gently.

"Who knows?" Poppy replied. "Certainly not me."

she turned her attention back to Yue.

"Just say you can win this quickly," she said.

"Er..." Yue trailed off, deeply unsure of what to say. She wasn't especially sure she could win at all, if she was being honest. Certainly not right now. She knew what she had to do; the war was being driven largely by one man, and so she had to kill him. After what he had done to her home, Yue was sure he deserved it.

But Ozai was heir to a martial tradition stretching back centuries, if not millennia, and so would have been training in combat and firebending for his entire life. By contrast Yue hadn't even known she was a bender at all until the night the Fire Nation attacked, and hadn't even started any of the other three elements. She had no idea how long that would take.

Poppy must have noticed the hesitation on her face, for her expression softened.

"Never mind then," she said. "Better to wait until you are ready than rush into a confrontation and lose."

By now most of them had finished their meals.

Poppy stood up.

"I know people," she said. "Some of the finest earthbending masters in the land. I can write to them for you, I'm sure that they'll be delighted to teach you."

Yue nodded. She had known that already, she was the Avatar after all.

Then Poppy turned her attention to the others.

"Prince Sokka, maybe I could have a new sword made for you. Or you, Suki. Or I could have you measured up for a new set of armour."

Yue considered. Should she ask for a sword? Or at the very least some kind of weapon. Avatar Kyoshi had used fans, and Avatar Aang had apparently been known to use his glider staff as a weapon if the situation called for it, so she wouldn't be the first.

But before she could ask, Sokka was shaking his head.

"I brought my club and my boomerang with me," he said. "I know how to use them. Thanks for the offer, but I think we need provisions more than weapons."

There was a pause, then he remembered to add:

"Please."

Suki nodded. Her weapons were markers of her warrior order, based on those which Kyoshi herself had wielded.

"That's fine," Poppy nodded. "All I can do is ask. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask!"

Yue decided not to ask for a weapon. She was the Avatar. Bending was her weapon. A sword would just be another thing for her to learn, and that list was already too long as it was.

"In the meantime, why don't you get some sleep?" Poppy told them. "That's another thing we have in abundance here; comfortable beds."

As she said this, Toph turned around and began to leave.

"Oh, goodnight darling!" Poppy hailed her as she left. Toph stopped, not turning around.

"Goodnight mother," she told them. Then she addressed Yue and the rest of her group.

"It was nice to meet you," she said earnestly. "Good luck saving the world or whatever."

"Thank you," Sokka said earnestly. "I think we'll probably need it."

A small smile played at the side of Toph's mouth. And then the girl was gone.

"Great!" Poppy turned to them. "Shall I tell my household to prepare you rooms?"

"Shall we?" Yue looked at the others.

"It is getting late. I don't think Gembul would appreciate flying back so soon," Rinzen nodded. "And I haven't quite mastered flying at night yet."

"Well, I guess that settles it then," Sokka shrugged. "Yes please Mrs Beifong."

"Great, I'll go and make the arrangements," Poppy paused at the door. "Then I'll write those letters. Get them sent off as soon as possible. No time to lose!"

She left the room, and Yue could hear her shouting orders at servants as she went.

"She seems... nice," Katara whispered once she had gone.

"She's giving us food, and rooms for tonight, and pretty much anything else we ask for," Sokka said. "So yeah, she seems nice."

"I'm not sure," Yue leaned back in her chair. "She says she'll get me a master. I don't think any of them will be who I'm looking for. Aunt Wu-"

"Aunt Wu is a fake," Sokka pointed out. "Whether she knows it or not."

"You know I would love to think that," Yue shrugged. "Considering she said I'll have to make some grand sacrifice to end the war."

"Do you know what that means?" Rinzen asked.

"No, because I've been trying not to think about it," said Yue. "But that's not the point. She said I'd find what I was looking for, but in an unexpected place. I wouldn't say the finest bending academies in the land are all that unexpected."

She stood up.

"I think I need to go to bed," she announced. "Maybe I'll have worked something out by the morning."

"Are you alright?" Sokka asked, standing up and looking at her with some concern.

"I'll be fine," Yue told them. I think I just need some sleep. It's been a rather big day."

The rest agreed, and then they set out to find their rooms for the night.