Avatar: Lightning Strikes (IC)

[size=-2]If interested in joining, please see OOC thread.[/size]

Eight years.
It had been eight years now, Azula staring at those same four walls, those same steel bars, the same dark and disgusting cell that confined her. Her firebending was of no use here, creating only more trouble and pain for herself than any destruction on her confines. Her fury only grew as the years passed, the attempts to return sanity in the young woman's mind being of no use...

...How do you return something that never existed?

Instead, she played along with their fun little games, amusing the men in charge, acting like their little puppet on a string. All the while, however, she was gaining allies, those who felt the same as she about these attempts to control them. She was not one who could be controlled. She was the one who was to hold the power, to take what was rightfully hers. Her allies had the same motive as she; revenge, on the Avatar, on his friends... and her dear older brother, the new Fire Lord.

That was what burned her the most. That was her throne he seated himself so proudly on, the title that was bestowed upon her by their father. Suko had no right to act so mighty- and to destroy all their father's work to contrl the four nations! He had gone soft, so pitiful... Azula would have to show him the error of his ways.

"Are you listening, Azula?"

The young woman's darkened eyes raised as the man before her called to her, peering at her with a curious expression to his face. "Are you paying attention? You're making much progress. I'm very impressed. Perhaps in time we can return you home, to the welcoming arms of your brother. I'm sure that he would be most impressed with your recovery as well. How do you feel?"

"Feel...?" Her head tilted slightly with that, a smirk on her lips. "Oh, I feel so many things. So happy to hear about my brother's pride in such a pathetic thing I've become.. You really believe he'd be welcoming of me?"

"Absolutely."

"How wonderful." She licked her lips, staring at the man a moment before shrugging. "Well, he should begin preparations for my arrival. I believe I will visit him."

The man laughed at that, shaking his head. "Oh, no no, not quite yet, Azula. We still have much to do."

"Indeed we do." With that, Azula's hand darted forward, summoning the rage within her to create a fire to her will and directing it at the man. As he screamed out in pain, she slipped from the chair, turning her attention to the other 'patients' of the asylum. "Now, comrades! Let us leave this place! As the man said... we have much, much work to do!"


---


Elsewhere...
In the Earth city of Omashu...

"...Someone should tell her."
"I'm not telling her. You tell her."
"Does it really matter? I don't want to go through the same thing Jode did when he suggested she wear shoes..."

The whispered words were meant to remain between the three advisers, away from the Queen's ears. When the door to the throne room flew open, however, all three jumped, shocked at the rather agitated expression on the young woman's face. "Who's talking about Jode? And who said SHOES?!"

"N-no one, your majesty! It's just.... ahhh... Well, go on, Hayn, tell her." The youngest of the trio shoved forward the middle man, a panicked tone in his voice.

"Queen Toph... We've, ahh.. noticed that you prefer to go without shoes and-"

"I see with my feet. I've told you that. And besides, I'm still wearing shoes. Sorta." She proudly extended a foot, the top of which was covered with green cloth, while the sole was left bare. "Don't tell me you're still complaining about that..."

"Well, no, it's just... Ahh... We were only wondering if you could maybe... wash them a bit more often?"

Toph scowled, folding her arms. "You interrupt me for something as stupid as that?"

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

"Pft. No." She laughed as she began to close the door.

"At least for the meeting of the Four Nations this evening-!," he begged, his foot blocking the door from fully closing.

"Fiiine." She paused, jabbing a finger against the man's nose through the crack in the doorway. "But only because Zuko's there."

"Ow.. ow! What are you doing?" The Fire Lord snapped as he grasped at the hand brushing his hair in a seemingly tortuous manner. Eight years had passed but he was still young, especially to be leading a whole nation. Zuko often felt overwhelmed, though he did his best not to let such appear outwardly when addressing his people. Still, there was a level of informality that he reserved for himself, which was typically thrown out the window in favor of appearances when meeting with other nations.

"Brushing your hair. Someone with fashion sense has to do it." The somewhat monotone yet seductive voice of Mai spoke out over him, grabbing her hand back before starting again. The two had been together for some time now, and their love had already surpassed the worst of hardships. It seemed as if no obstacle was too much for the dry and cynical couple who seemed to dislike most everything but love each other equally. "If you want, I can get Ty Lee in here to do it, instead." She added with the faintest of smirks.

"NO! Just hurry up. You're always so rough..." Zuko muttered, watching his somewhat messy, long hair become decently manageable in the hands of a woman. Mai's smirk grew wider as she paused momentarily to wrap her arms around Zuko's neck from behind and nip at his ear.

"Huh... I'm pretty sure that's the way you prefer it." She whispered.

The usual pout of Zuko was softened as a smile crept across his face as well, turning to face Mai and tilt his face to touch their lips, initiating a rather passionate kiss. It was then that a knock at their chamber door interrupted them, much to their annoyance. Sighing softly, the two parted and the young Fire Lord turned to the door. "Enter."

A Royal Guard entered the room in typical black, gold and red uniform, standing with his halberd grasped firmly in his right hand. "My lord, the transportation to the Four Nations meeting has arrived. We will await you as soon as you are prepared." With that, the guard turned to leave, letting Mai and Zuko be alone once again. Zuko sighed softly, glancing upward as he tied his hair into the traditional top knot and letting Mai place the golden flame hairpiece to complete the look. "I still never know what to say at these... At best I can pull out one of uncle's proverbs, assuming I don't screw it up..."

"You can always just sit there and look pretty. You're good at that, for sure." Mai added in her usual casual tone, almost as if she was entirely serious. Zuko sighed again, standing up to adjust the royal robe, which he looked rather irritated to wear. "Stop pouting, already. You'll do fine." She added, turning him away from the mirror and straightening the garment a bit for him.

"And what do you plan to do while I'm gone?" Zuko questioned, making Mai scoff and turn away in mock offense.

"Like I need you here to entertain me all the time? I think I'm going to check on Azula..." She said more softly toward the end. Zuko's eyes narrowed as he glanced away, not really in the mood to hear that name. The name that almost ruined his life time and time again. Took pleasure in all of his pain. Constantly hurting innocent people. All while being his sister. If it weren't for his uncle Iroh, Zuko would claim not to have a family at all. His friends and Mai were his new family. Ironic, one being the Avatar that he had hunted so viciously in the past. Mai noticed the expression on Zuko's face and could only shrug.

"I know just as well as anyone that she'll probably never change, Zuko, but I think she's at least finally accepting everything that has happened. You were given a second chance, perhaps she deserves one as well?" The thin woman spoke out bravely, anticipating her companion's reaction.

"Don't try and guilt me. Not on this." Zuko said with a bit of a growl. He didn't want to admit it, but Mai had a point. He wasn't much different from Azula once, but he managed to turn himself around. However even in his worst times, he felt remorse if innocent people were hurt. He knew for a fact Azula had never felt an once of remorse for anything she did. How could someone like that ever turn around? Some people in this world were just plain evil. Zuko headed toward the chamber door silently afterward, hoping the conversation would end there.

"Hey." She said, stopping him right as his hand grasped the handle. As he turned, she smiled slightly. "Love you."

Zuko attempted to stay strong, but he caved and smiled back, nodding. "Love you, too. See you in a few hours..."

With that, he exited to head off to the meeting, while Mai headed off toward the asylum where Azula had been kept...

"Will you please get into the carriage?"

Toph smirked at the annoyance hanging in Hayn's voice, shaking her head as she continued to walk along the dirt roads of Omashu. "Nnnope." There was another frustrated sigh from the man, followed by the clapping thunk of the door sliding closed with force. Her inward laugh came to full fruition now, her dusty toes tickling against the tiny pebbles beneath them as she listened to him rant on to the other two men inside the carriage with him.

She really didn't understand why he was so frustrated with her. She had learned half of the things she did as Queen from King Bumi himself. He had told her that 'Torture Hayn' could be quite the fun game... and he was right! It was one of her favorite amusements lately.

"...Stubborn thing she is. You're only looking out for her best interests. Who knows how much trouble she could get into on her own- and being blind no less!"

Toph twitched with that, stomping a bare foot down hard in the dirt to brace herself, bending the road into a blockade before the horses only seconds prior to grabbing hold of the door, yanking it open. "Who said it?!," she demanded, her blank eyes narrowed as she shoved her head into the mobile room. "Who had the guts to even THINK it?!"

"Queen Toph, please, he didn't mean anything by it- You're royalty now, you need to expect that-"

"I expect to be able to trust my own advisers! If you only want to question my decisions- and MYSELF! You can get the hell outta that carriage and get back to the castle..." Toph's attention turned towards the youngest of the group, ramming a finger into his chest. "And they can join you in doing it, because you are officially fired."

Hearing the harsh gasp of Hayn, she turned enough to address him. "Something wrong?," She asked flatly, cracking her knuckles. "Because believe me, I'm just warming up.... You got somethin' to say, I'm all ears."

"N-no, your majesty."

"Ducky!" She grinned at him, though still had her finger stabbed into her third adviser's chest. "I'm serious, by the way. Get out, and have your crap out of my castle by the time I get back. Otherwise, I'll help you pack. And blind girls make terrible moving buddies."

Zuko sighed as he leaned against his palm, sitting inside his room aboard the royal airship which had originally been left over from the war. With the scale of the attack upon the Fire Nation, including the ingenuity of Sokka, Zuko was amazed any had survived. Once he had been made Fire Lord, he realized his time spent with the Avatar, and by association his flying Bison, Appa, Zuko actually became rather fond of flying. At the very least, he had spent entirely too much time at sea to enjoy traveling like that anymore.

The meeting was to be held in Ba Sing Se this time, as it typically changed locations every so often in order for diversity. The concept of flying to Ba Sing Se in a Fire Nation airship would have been taken quite differently just eight years ago, but times had changed for the better. Regardless of how the scarred Fire Lord felt he had been doing at his job, he knew it was a much better scenario than his father remaining at the position. Of course, that meant he had to deal with the politics and peacekeeping now, which was a much more difficult task than it sounded. He sometimes jokingly wondered if things would be easier if he just decided to be a tyrant himself. Naturally, that wasn't an option, besides, he got to see his friends at these meetings. He just wished they didn't have to be so formal.

Surely Aang felt the same way, being that, despite maturing, his childlike persona still mostly remained. Zuko wondered if the Avatar would even show up, as he had been known to skip out on the meetings before. One thing Zuko looked forward to, however, was a chance to see Toph again. Being that she was the new Queen of Omashu, they were both busy people and recreation was rare. Every meeting they had, he had been amazed at how much she changed physically but still was very much that fiery young girl he had met years ago. He never outwardly admitted it, but he had always been fond of the blind earthbender. She had been the first to trust him back when he first showed up at the Western Air Temple to join with the Avatar. Even after he burned her feet, she had realized it was an accident and didn't hold it against him.. much.

He couldn't get too attached, though, as he had Mai and cared for her deeply, but he considered himself lucky to have Toph as a friend nonetheless, as well as Katara, and the others. After seeing how powerful they had become, he also counted himself lucky that he hadn't remained their enemy... As the destination neared, Zuko straightened his outfit once again and prepared for the meeting.

--

Mai had ventured toward the outskirts of the Fire Nation where a rather massive coal black building rested alone. It may have looked fairly intimidating to outsiders, but the theme was not so different from other Fire Nation buildings, however there was a good amount more security... or at least there had been. As the porcelain skinned woman narrowed her eyes as she approached he gates to the Asylum. The gate guards were not at their post, which was very suspicious as they were highly trained and not the dolts that might slack off elsewhere. After all, they were guarding the most powerful firebender in the nation now that Ozai had been drained of his abilities.

Mai clasped her sleeves together as she walked forward, hiding the fact from any possible observers that she was gripping a number of concealed knives. Through the gates and into the main hall, the whole area was eerily quiet. Her eyes darted around in a paranoid fashion, noting the first cells she passed were empty... A breakout? She then turned her head forward to notice a charred body. Only from the remaining garments could Mai determine that it was one of Azula's caretakers and there was no more question of what happened. Immediately, Mai turned to flee, quickly heading back toward her ship....

Earth Kingdom, New Gaipan
Somewhere deep within the forest that surrounds the village.

It wasn't that she was a hard sleeper by any means. The moment anyone set foot in the threshold of her little 'hut', she knew it. The reason her eyes didn't snap open and she didn't reach for the dagger under her pillow was because it was him. She trusted the others enough to have her back during a fight, but he was the only one she trusted enough in order to sleep with him so close. So when she heard the familiar footfalls draw near, she let the oblivion of sleep drag her down again for a few moments more. They had a long ride ahead of them and ostrich horses weren't exactly made for good sleeping.

"Alright, I'm up! I'm up."

Her glare held no heat as she stared at Longshot, but that didn't keep her from grumbling as she threw the covers off of her stomped behind the curtain that made up what privacy she had in this place. To her, feminine and Smellerbee didn't exactly mesh, ever. After awhile though, even she couldn't deny that anatomy was a marked difference that, for the sake of common decency, couldn't really be ignored.

"I swear, I'm going to cut this mess off! It just isn't worth it."

They both knew she wasn't serious, no matter how many times the brush got stuck fast, causing her to viciously yank the tangles out. For some reason that was beyond her, she'd grown strangely attached to having long, if entirely unmanageable, hair. Probably some stubborn bit of vanity that came with the rest of womanhood. At least most people didn't mistake her for a boy anymore with such a mane. Scowling, she pulled the curtain back, travel bag in hand, and snorted at the look her friend was giving her.

"Well, of course, you'd say that. Your hair's perfectly fine. Mine's all coarse and snarly."

The first rays of dawn were just beginning to peek through the trees, lending a rather surreal feel of twilight to everything. Those that were awake primarily composed of the guard that would be trading shifts within a few hours, noticeable only by the various calls that echoed through the forest as way of an update on their current situation. Her eyes widened as she realized something and quickly exhaled the breath that she had just taken in. She was going to miss this place and these people. They were only going to be gone for less than a month, but it was the first time she'd left this place for more than a couple hours at a time for the past five years. To be homesick, it was a discomforting ache that settled firmly next to the one reserved for Jet. It had been eight years, but sometimes she still expected to see him here, smirking at how foolish they had all been to miss him. A hand fell on shoulder, causing her to be shaken out of her awkward moment and look up.

"Longsho..."

"Figured you'd be up already. Fiyero's already saddled up the ostrich horses and set you up with supplies. Oh, I'm going to miss you two!"

Before she knew it, she was being swept into a bone-crushing hug that Longshot had somehow managed to avoid. Traitor. No matter how much she had groaned over the years, Pipsqueak still dwarfed her enough to prove her struggles against him entirely ineffective. Something at which he laughed at in his own good-natured way.

"Pipsqueak! Pipsqueak, let me down. Let me down now!"

Giving another hearty chuckle, he finally obliged her before ruffling her hair, causing her to grumble as she smoothed the strands back down. They weren't official by any means, so everyone had been surprised when the Avatar himself came to invite representatives of their, not so, little band of Freedom Fighters to take part in the meeting of the Four Nations. Something about giving voice to the people that were normally overlooked.

Longshot was her second-in-command, so normally she'd leave him in charge for situations like this, but he'd insisted on coming with her. There were a few others that were angry that she hadn't chosen them as temporary leader, but everyone liked and respected Pipsqueak and the man had a level head on his shoulders. So with him at least she was confident that their hideout would still be here when she got back. Spying movement out of the corner of her eye, she deftly moved out of the way and jumped from the wooden ledge. Twisting in the air, she grinned, as Longshot got caught in the farewell hug he had missed before, and fell out of sight. She'd been at this too long. Long enough that she didn't have to look in order to grab the handles for the line that sent her flying through the treetops.

_______
Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi Island.

"Hmm, it just doesn't feel right."

Twirling the scroll around, the look on her face couldn't properly be called a scowl, but it was about the closest she had come to one in years. Mai had sent her a letter via messenger hawk a couple days ago, filling her in on her plans to visit Azula while Zuko was off in Ba Sing Se. It wasn't as if Azula had ever done anything wrong, exactly, the few times that Ty Lee had visited the fallen princess these past few years. It was just, the doctors said she was improving, but the girl's aura was still just as horribly full of hate and anger as ever. It made her shiver just thinking about it, because she knew Azula and she knew that she was only ever complacent when it served her needs.

"Ty Lee, where are you? Chief Oyajii is calling a mandatory meeting before Suki 's group leaves."

"Coming!"

Standing up, she teetered slightly in the breeze, as it cause her perch to waver, before tucking Mai's scroll into her belt. She was probably just being silly. Azula had a lot of issues to work through, that was all. It wasn't like those guarding her couldn't handle the woman if she got it into her head to escape or attack Mai or something.

She was awake. He knew it, and she'd likely been aware of him knowing it. The subtle changes in her breathing, easily missed by him for the longest of time, were enough of a verification for her actually awakening. She knew it was him. If she didn't, there was no way he could find himself standing only a foot away from her bed as she attempted slipping back into sleep. He said nothing, his brown eyes staring down at her neither signs of frustration or annoyance showing in them over her trying to sleep in, but he did allow a hint of mischief as he poked lightly at her still frame with the tip of his bow.

"Alright, I'm up! I'm up."

The ghost of a smile framed the corner of his lips as Smellerbee glared at him, right before she finally got out of bed and he stepped aside to allow her free reign of the room. He looked away when she went behind the curtain to change, despite not being able to see anything if he so grew bold and disrespectful enough to try.

"I swear, I'm going to cut this mess off! It just isn't worth it."

The young man gave a silent scoff over the suggestion, his eyes giving a halfhearted roll as his expression showed a look which, if she were to see it, would teasingly dare her to actually follow through on such promises. The look upon his face had resumed its normal expression by the time she came out from behind the curtain, waiting there with one hand idly gripping the bow around his shoulder, for lack of a better thing to do with his hands. But he did see fit to throw her a glance which reminded of previous talks involving their luck of not having their heads singed bald by one of the various rogue firebender bursts they so frequently faced in the past.

"Well, of course, you'd say that. Your hair's perfectly fine. Mine's all coarse and snarly."

Giving a brief smile as he started following his friend and leader, it didn't take long for him to take notice of her eventual change in demeanor. Following her gaze as he stood at the girls side, only a step or so behind her, Longshot almost instantly realized what was going through her mind. This place had been home for many of them for a much longer time then the majority may care to recall. Mentally, he'd made preparations for leaving here since Smellerbee agreed on letting him join her on her journey, but doing so could only achieve so much before the moment actually arrived.

Then there was Jet. His passing hit all of the original Freedom Fighters hard. Even those whom joined only a short while before the original disbanding seemed affected by hearing of his passing; whether it be due to an emotional loss or feelings of respect for a fallen leader. It seemed unlikely, however, that any of them took it rougher then Smellerbee. Taking a step forward and reaching out an arm, he silently placed an understanding hand upon the girls shoulder, showing her a look which mirrored his open palms intentions when she looked up.

"Longsho..."

"Figured you'd be up already. Fiyero's already saddled up the ostrich horses and set you up with supplies. Oh, I'm going to miss you two!"

His eyes went wide as he glanced up at the ironically named Freedom Fighter which wiped away a tear before suddenly outstretching his arms. Pipsqueaks intentions were clear enough for Longshot to suddenly sidestep out of harms way; leaving his leader stranded for the blunt of the large man's affection. A small part of him felt guilty for letting Smellerbee deal with the hug on her own, and this part was what made him partially shield his mouth as he smiled at his friends predicament; feigning scratching at his upper lip.

"Pipsqueak! Pipsqueak, let me down. Let me down now!"

Longshot continued rubbing at his lip as their mutual friend finally complied with Smellerbee's complaints, although he doubted she wasn't at least vaguely aware of his amusement. This feeling confirmed itself when Longshot let his own attention waver from the temporary leader long enough to find himself caught up in a similar breathtaking bearhug. The young man did let out a brief grunt, but otherwise remained silent as he struggled in vain within his friends grasp; his eyes glaring daggers up at Smellerbee as she swiftly found herself lifted out of sight. At the same time, he did note the grin on her face, which would have brought about a smile on his own. Would, if he weren't having a slight difficulty with breathing.

Without a sign of anger or even annoyance, Longshot gave Pipsqueak a stern look which reminded of how there remained a long trip before himself and the girl with an already healthy head start on him.

"Okay, okay." The larger man finally relented while offering another of his trademark chuckles, settling his friend back onto his feet before performing a sloppy attempt at helping to straighten out his clothing, "You two have a safe journey. I'll hold down the fort until you make it back."

Brushing a hand over his top as if dusting himself off, Longshot soon noticed how Pipsqueak's loud showings of affection had drawn about a small gathering of Freedom Fighters. His eyes surveyed those around as he slowly took a parting look et each and every single one. Some he'd known since the days of the great war, others joined up during the age of 'peace' across the four nations. All of them, however, he eventually came to consider as extensions of his unusual family. As he finished savoring this last moment, he gave a slow nod of his head to this motley crew and a smile as his vote of confidence to Pipsqueak.

"Take care of yourselves. More importantly, look after one another." He spoke reassuringly to those few gathered, reaching up and giving a soft tug before the rope lifted him into the treetops; placing his free hand over the hat he often wore as he continued gazing down at his friends and companions.

Granted, he probably didn't need to take the treetop route of exiting, but it was an old habit. Plus, it swept him away from the scene in a considerably quicker fashion, which made things a lot easier on his part. Longshot never did enjoy good-byes. Always seemed that, sooner or later, he said them for good to those he really cared about. For now, however, he needed to push such mood dampening thoughts aside as he pushed onward in the direction he knew Smellerbee was headed.

"Oh, here he comes now." The younger voice of Fiyero spoke upon catching a glimpse of the silent archer who made his way closer after landing from a nearby tree.

Longshot gave a nod as he walked toward the pair which waited by the ostrich horses. It did appear that the young Freedom Fighter had helped to take care of everything in advance. Fiyero. It'd taken Longshot a while before he grew used to the idea of Pipsqueak actually having a son. More then anything, it reminded him of how most of those in their original rank weren't kids or even teenagers anymore. How time flew when you were on the run or fighting for your lives.

The dark-haired youth gave Smellerbee a bit of a stink eye as he climbed onto an ostrich horse and prepared for departure. He knew she wouldn't mistake it as genuine anger, particularly since they were now even after leaving each other to the mercy of Fiyero's father. At the same time, the glare in his eye and slight smirk indicated that he wouldn't soon forget about her own act of 'betrayal' which allowed her the last laugh in their brief contest of sorts.

[size=-2](Firefox is a bitch. I wrote an incredibly long post that I had been working on the whole damned weekend... and Firefox crashed and took the post with it. Here's the majority of what I can remember.)[/size]

The giant of a man stood at the end of the main hallway, lurching forward on his feet as he spotted the young woman rushing towards him. "Azuuula?," He crooned, peering at the girl. No, that wasn't his firebending companion. This woman had fear in her movements, making it very unlikely to be his savior from the cell he once resided in. Azula seemed to have no fear at all.

"Up here, Ji Fen," Azula called from her perch atop the railing of the upper level, her gaze moving between the mammoth and the petite girl approaching. "She's here to hurt you, Ji Fen. To hurt all of us, the same way she hurt me years ago. She wants to make us stay here, to keep us locked up as freaks..."

"Don't liiike."

"Ah, good. Then we're in agreement," Azula said with a nod, smirking before looking back to Mai. "She needs to die."

"Dieee?"

"Ohhh, please don't try and think, Ji Fen. You have so many other endearing qualities, but your mentality is greatly lacking. Just do as I ask of you, my towering friend, and gather the others to board her ship. That will be ours now." Folding her arms over her chest, she watched Ji Fen start off to find the others, leaving her to deal with her former companion. A sneer curled her lip as she watched Mai, waiting until she was within range before unleashing a blue bolt of lightning into the other young woman's path.

As the bolt cracked into the floor, Azula jumped down from the secondary level, summoning up the flames that burned with her fury. "Hello Mai," She said crisply, smirking slightly. "Come to visit me? What a darling friend you are... To tear yourself away from the masquerade you put on with my brother. You're both nothing more than a piece to the costume to each other, aren't you? There to add to the whole charade... To bring the play to its fullest." Her steps barely made a sound as she moved along the broken tiles, her eye refusing to leave the woman before her. "The curtain needs to fall, Mai."


-----

The trip would have been an easy walk for Toph, finding it far more comforting to know where her steps were taking her than relying on other means of transportation... But the nagging voice of Hayn refused to leave her alone. Finally giving in, she had taken refuge in the carriage to make him leave her alone. As he began to go through the suggested topics of discussion, she only nodded- and soon nodded off, much to Hayn's annoyance.

Yet another habit picked up from the former King.

She awoke some time later, her foot scootching along the wooden floor to rest above the wheel, a smirk coming to her face. "We're there, aren't we?," She asked, though was already standing. The horses were slowing, and the earth beneath the wheels was a far different quality than that in Omashu, causing the vibration through the wooden rims to hit the pads of her feet in a unique way.

"Queen Toph-," Hayn started, silencing as quickly as he begun as a finger was shoved against his lips.

"Nah-ah. Don't even start. I'm still mad at you guys for the whole blind girl pity-fest you were trying to start earlier." Moving the finger down to instead shove her palm hard against his chest, she pushed him out of her way and stepped out of the carriage, barely even turning as she continued to speak. "I don't need either of you to come with me to this. It's not like there's some big crisis we need to deal with... Just the basic, run of the mill blah blah blah hooplah. I'll be sure to take good notes for ya."

"But... you can't write..."

Toph grinned at the obvious fact Hayn brought up, giving a shrug. "Hm. You're right. Guess you guys are outta luck, huh?"

(I felt very uncreative writing this post, so my apologies if it's not as good as usual)

Stopping in her tracks as the lightning struck, Mai kept her back turned to Azula for a moment, almost as if she was trying to convince herself that this wasn't happening. Finally, she slowly turned to face her old friend, noticing the rage in her eyes and the insanity that had taken the place of any humanity that there may have been in the girl. Mai kept her arms together, her hands still up her sleeves. There wasn't going to be an easy way out of this... However, she remained calm, her eyes narrowing slightly upon listening to the firebender's words.

"Nice to see you again, too, Azula..." Mai commented, her tone still quiet and emotionless. There was another bit of silence before a soft chuckle escaped the pale-skinned woman. "You're speaking nonsense... If you haven't realized by now that you and your father were wrong, then there never was any hope for you after all. If all of this is just to get revenge, then.. I pity you. You could have been stronger than that... The only charade here is the one in your head thinking that you'll be able to change anything..."

Despite her best efforts to stay strong, Mai began to tremble slightly. There really was no way out of this. Zuko had been right all of this time, and she likely would never get to tell him so. "Whatever you plan to do will fail. You're not even as strong as Ozai was, and there's no comet coming.. Zuko and the Avatar will have no trouble stopping you, and even if the Avatar is merciful, I doubt Zuko will be... After all you've done to him...

As Azula continued to approach, Mai tried to step backward, until she realized the gate she had entered from had been closed behind her. Cursing under her breath, she glanced back to Azula and smiled lightly. "I suppose our battle was unavoidable after all..."

With that, Mai withdrew her arms from her robe sleeves and out flew a number of sharpened kunai, swiftly cutting the air straight toward Azula. Mai then vaulted off the door, twirling in midair to leap over her opponent, dashing off in the opposite direction once she landed. Having her back turned to Azula was suicide, but.. there was no other choice... It was her only chance to get away and possibly find another exit... still, in the depths of her mind she knew the truth, and her eyes began to water slightly at the thought.

--

Zuko had arrived without much fanfare, trying to keep a low profile in Ba Sing Se in order for their meeting to go undisturbed. The extra security around the main temple wasn't very subtle, but expected. After being escorted to the main temple's door by the Dai Li, it soon opened to reveal the Earth King, himself... as well as a very large bear. Immediately, the animal waltzed up to Zuko and proceeded to lick his face, much to the disdain of the Fire Lord. Sighing, Zuko retrieved a cloth and cleaned himself before glancing toward the bespectacled King.

"Fire Lord Zuko! Good to see you! Seems like Bosco is excited!" The man cheerfully commented.

"That's.. wonderful. I apologize if I'm late." Zuko replied as he entered after being motioned to do so.

"Actually you're one of the first to arrive. A few Water Tribe representatives are here, though. I believe they're those friends of yours, if I'm not mistaken. Follow me!" The Earth King replied, guiding Zuko to the meeting room. Zuko would be pleased to see Katara again, though Sokka was a different story. Even though he was older now, he still acted like a kid most of the time, which could be a bit frustrating. He was exceptionally bright, however, so having him at meetings was usually wise. Of course, he also looked forward to seeing Aang and Toph again. He just had to remind himself not to stare at the blind Earthbender this time. Not like she would know he was doing so, but it was still inappropriate. Nonetheless, he rarely could believe how beautiful she had become. Most likely many others thought the same, however her personality didn't lend itself to be tamed very easily. Which was probably why she hadn't met anyone yet...

"Looks like Long Feng is long gone!" The Southern Water Tribe native stated in a near shout while wrapping up one of his most recent recaps, giving a hearty laugh at his old joke while raising a hand to wipe away a tear from the strenuous laughter, "Oh, yeah, you should have been there. I came up with that right on the spot, too."

"Often as you talk about it, Sokka, I almost feel like I was." Came the response of a younger tribesman who stood beside the now legendary war hero, giving an amused smile despite obviously having spent a few hours too many around the other male during past few days travel.

This wasn't the first time Ryota had spent time around or traveled alongside Sokka, but it certainly was the longest. Their paths crossed several times during a number of assignments in the past few years, with the pair exchanging words on most of these occasions. Ryota even became reassigned to the now rebuilt Southern Water Tribe during last year. Too many bad memories around his home tribe, it would seem. At times, he believed it was this loss which made among those the other warrior seemed to take an interest in; though neither were exactly alone in losing people during the war.

Regardless, he did appreciate the company as they stood and waited near a large table in the meeting room, considering how he knew little about those gathered outside of the small entourage which joined Sokka and his sister inside the Palace. At the very least, his stories provided a way of passing time until the rest of the invited representatives made their presence known amongst the leaders gathered.

"So, what type of animal was that with the Earth King?" The younger man queried as a means of passing the time, 'though he did hold a genuine interest in the answer.

Raising an eyebrow, Sokka mewed over the question a second before realizing what the young Waterbender was talking about, "What? You mean Bosko? Oh, he's a bear."

"Yeah, but what type of bear?" Ryota pressed on with the previous question, clearly not having satisfied his curiosity about the unusual species he'd crossed paths with earlier.

Putting his hands up in an unsure gesture, he clarified as best he could about the peculiar breed, "Just, you know, a bear-bear."

Pausing for a moment as he thought it over, a curious expression on his face, Ryota gave a slight frown as he said in a completely straight tone, "That poor animal."

Giving a shrug of his shoulders as he briefly glanced about at those mingling, Sokka could sympathize with the other tribesman, but also remembering how such sources of confusion often seemed worst then they turned out to be.

"I know, I know. It's a little strange the first time you're out this far, but you'll get used to all the weirdness." The slightly older warrior explained while reaching a hand up and scratching at the light chin hair he'd let grow there, his eyes brightening as another thought came to mind, "Oh! Did I tell you about the time I defeated a giant owl with a single strike?"

"You hit him from behind, Sokka!" His sister called out from across the room, having heard her brothers words like everyone else in the immediate area, "And he got right back up from it, afterwards!"

Scrunching his face up into a scowl, Sokka spun himself around in order to face Katara's direction, "So?! It still counts if he was out for a whole minute!"

Watching on as the water tribe girl started ignoring her brothers attempts at defending his victory, Ryota stood near the side of the warrior in silence, his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly; questioning for not the first time just how he helped in defeating an armada of fire nation aircraft's. Not as if he hadn't witness the man's ingenuity and tactical genius first hand by now. It was more a matter of moments such as this leaving him to wonder if the young war hero suffered from a few too many blows to the head.

Brushing it off as he usually did, he adjusted the strap around his shoulder which held his pouch of bending water while listening to the siblings finish off their short exchanging of words. Soon enough, things started returning to a semblance of normalcy within the room; though Sokka was left fuming a bit and grumbling a number of incoherrent words. Ryota couldn't help but show the hint of another smile on the side of his lips as he watched the warrior and resumed awaiting for the others to show up.

Xia

The day dawned, and The Sun slung its lazy way through the sky.

Xia sat in The Agrarian Zone of Ba Sing Se, surrounded almost as far as the eye could see with great green farmland, the very source of food that made Ba Sing Se very nearly immune to siege conditions. Fortunately, they hadn't had to undergo a siege for almost a decade, but it paid to be prepared.

She was surrounded almost as far as the eye could see, because far far ahead in the distance, she could see the inside of the great Outer Wall of the city, and if she glanced back over her shoulder at the city behind her, she would see the outside of the mighty Inner Wall.

Also, her perch was atop a rocky perimeter thrust up from the ground by a very special Earthbender. This was the containment wall for the zoo, a zoo which had been moved under very harrowing circumstances out to The Agrarian Zone by that selfsame Earthbender, and some families hadn't recovered from the trampling of beasts for weeks and months later.

(Xia herself had nearly been stomped by a platypus-bear, but she had managed to outrun the thing. She had always been good at outrunning things, even back when she'd been ten.)

She sat, her brow furrowed with the stress of her thoughts, and she stared to nowhere, her hands loosely grasping a half-consumed loaf of bread.

Below her, down at the base of the wall on which she sat, turtle-ducks quacked at her insistently.

After a few moments, she blinked, and sighed grumpily.

"It is written," she instructed the turtle-ducks darkly: "'The goodness of giving is in the timing.'"

One of the turtle-ducks quacked at her with the force of a honking goose, utterly impatient.

"I can see crumbs of wisdom are wasted on you," Xia harrumphed, her still young face contorted with disdain. "But fortunately, I have these other crumbs."

And she began to tear little fragments off of the loaf and flicked them out to the amphibious avians below her, and they cackled delightedly as they fought over the scraps.

"Happy to be of service," she sighed. "I don't suppose, in exchange for sustenance, you guys could give me some advice? I need to sneak by some guards into The Upper Ring. They don't let us Lower Ring plebes in amongst the hoity-toities."

The honking turtle-duck snapped at her, as if offended she would even ask such a thing.

"Yeah," Xia scowled at the snarky creature, "well, 'he who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.'"

And then a great dark shadow passed over her and she glanced up, popping a chunk of the bread into her mouth and chewing slowly as she regarded...

A chill ran down her spine.

Her eyes snapped wide.

Memory punched her in the stomach.

...a Fire Nation airship. It was directly over her head, and thus in that instant it seemed to eclipse The Sun, it seemed to take up the entire wide wide sky.

Two memories seemed to tangle in her mind, a dual helical stairway racing up behind her eyes.

One was the sight of the Fire Nation's flag waving within the walls of Ba Sing Se, sizzled to ash by The Order of The White Lotus. With that memory came pangs of hunger and fear that she wished to remain firmly buried, memories of that successful siege of Ba Sing Se. She had been ten.

She'd lived her whole life in violent circumstances. But the occupation had been something else entirely. Going back to brawling after The War had ended had almost been a relief.

The other memory was an old lady with a mysterious smile.

A woman who had told her her future was in the skies.

The airship kept cruising along, and Xia watched it fly, Xia watched its shadow flutter and flow across the undulations of the ground, and every time that shadow passed across a farmer or a soldier, they glanced up and squinted at the source of that shadow. And every time the shadow passed them by, they went back to the work.

I need to sneak past some guards.

Her eyes flickered from the shadowed earth to the ship in the air and back again, and she watched the men and women of The Agrarian Zone glance upward every time the airship's shadow passed above.

Her eyes flickered to the wall of the city, the outside of the inside wall.

She could not see, but she could imagine: there were guards on that wall, too, and at all the deep deep layers in between, the layers between The Rings, and they would glance up at the shadow as it passed.

Human curiosity was nearly a constant. It could almost be counted on. Almost.

Could she count upon it now?

She squinted her eyes.

Her eyes flickered to the monorail track that slashed through the air above The Agrarian Zone on beautifully-shaped supports.

Impatience resurgent, the loudest turtle-duck quawwwcked at her, and she threw the loaf of bread at it, and the creatures scattered in fright.

When the feathers and the dust settled, Xia was no longer sitting on top of the wall.

Air puffed around her feet as she landed in a crouch on the monorail track.

She had jumped. She had jumped from the ground to the monorail track so very very far above, an impossible distance. She'd like to see her accursed Earthbender brother jump like that. But doing one impossible thing would not be enough to get her where she felt she needed to be.

Xia stood straight up, her fists as white-knuckled balls at her sides.

The airship was still going, and it was going so quickly... it was able to cut across the city as the Raven-Eagle flies, but she would have to make her own way... crossing the entirety of Ba Sing Se on foot could take two days.

From the outside ring to the centre was only a day's walk. But she needed to traverse this in moments.

She would have to run faster than she had ever run before. And she would have to time it perfectly. Absolutely perfectly.

"'Thousand miles,'" she whispered, "'single step.'"

She drew in breath. And she ran.

The wind screamed around her, the green giving way to the dark tiles of The Lower Ring's slumped and broken edifices.

A monorail train loomed in front of her, propelled by Earthbenders of a calibre only surpassed by wall guards and The Terra Team, and her legs bunched beneath her, gathering power...

She bounded up into the air, floating this time impossibly far instead of impossibly high, letting her own momentum carry her forward and over even as the train's own momentum slid it neatly beneath her.

She hit the track running beyond the back end of the train and she blazed along without ever slowing.

She couldn't breathe. The wind was too fast, her mouth and lungs could not catch it. She was approaching The Middle Ring and already she was blacking out... her legs were like fire beneath her and there was a stitch coalescing in her side.

(Xia had to make it to The Upper Ring. She had to make it to the palace, this at the direct centre of Ba Sing Se's terraced citadel, this the highest point, its lowest point higher even than the astrology tower of The Middle Ring's University of Ba Sing Se. She had to make it there, because this had thus far been the only explanation she could decipher for the old woman's fortune.

But citizens of The Lower Ring were barely citizens at all, they were dirty and untouchable and were not permitted at the heights the palace reached. Not without a personal invitation from someone of the Upper crust. And Xia had thus far not managed to win over that sort of someone.

She didn't always do so well with. People. Especially not pompous ones.

She had to make it.)

...the monorail track veered but she needed to go straight ahead, there was another track going in the right direction a few blocks ahead she could see it she could see it in front of her but the track she was on was going to abandon her...

Again, she took to the air, she leaped, but there was no way she was going to make it, no way she could jump all the way to the next track, she landed instead on the vibrant green tiles of a Middle Ring rooftop. Again and again she bounded, never stopping never slowing, gogogogo--

--she landed badly, she slipped, shingles cracked and slithered and slipped beneath her she was falling and she was cursing virulently--

--she skidded down a wall, scraping her elbow-- hun2dan4! --and she bounded away from the wall towards a relatively unoccupied space on the flagstone street...

...the "relatively unoccupied space" towards which an ancient-looking agricultural vendor wheeled his cart, stacked high with green leafy orbs, a happy little smile on his face as he regarded his wares.

...the "relatively unoccupied space" towards which an official walked with a quill and a jar of ink and a clipboard, a royal health inspector...

...Xia landed in the space between the cart and the inspector and a tiny gust cushioned her fall and still she grunted with the impact. She wasn't good at this and she'd lost her step she was wasting time.

"Hey!" the vendor of green leafy round things scowled at her. "Where'd you come from? Clear the way, I'm trying to make a living, here!"

The health inspector gazed at her with wide, wide eyes. "She just came out of. Nowhere. She dropped from the sky, as might have a spirit!"

Xia barely afforded them a glance. "I don't have time for this."

And she threw a punch. She threw a punch that, from an Earthbender, might have caused a great boulder to launch, or caused the flagstone road to tear asunder.

But she was not an Earthbender. And thus the effect was mostly for show, using the wrong style for the wrong sort of Bending, but it was quite a show indeed...

The contents of the vendor's cart exploded skyward in a torrent and a gout of billowing green green leaves, and in the instant in which the vendor and the health inspector bellowed and reeled from the onslaught Xia launched herself away once more.

She was gone. Quickly as she'd arrived, she'd gone.

And the vendor slapped himself on both cheeks and screamed: "GYAAAAAH! MY CABBAGES!"

And the health inspector plucked a leaf off of his shoulder and found a strange little gastropod sitting on the cloth of his uniform.

His eyes snapped wide. "CABBAGE SLUG!"

The Cabbage Merchant's stance went slack, and his eyes clenched shut.

"Awh," he mumbled. "Ai1ya1! Huai4le5."

Xia's feet found the next track and she ran even faster before even though her legs were a conflagration beneath her and the stitch in her side was like the gouging goring pain of a boar-q-pine tusk. Harder harder faster faster gobabygo.

She blew through the last monorail station of The Middle Ring like a streak of burgundy lightning, and the people standing waiting for their train gasped in surprise as the wind nearly blew them over.

Two old men sitting on a bench glanced at each other.

"What in the world was that?" Wei asked his brother with a quirk of a snow white eyebrow.

"I dunno," Gin replied, "but it was faster than a speeding... locomotive!"

Wei paused, and regarded Gin with disdain. "You've always been prone to hyperbole. But that was weak."

Gin sighed. "You're right. It's missing something. I'll keep working on it."

Gritting her chattering teeth, Xia glanced skyward.

There it was.

Just above her.

Just ahead of her.

It was almost there.

She was almost there.

The shadow of the airship fluttered ahead of her like an ashen Fire Nation banner.

She clawed ahead, reached, as if she could drag herself into it. She needed to be beneath the shadow...

...she needed to be within the darkness when the eyes of the guards were aloft...

...ten feet...

...five feet...

...inches inches inches...

"Hhhrrrrrrhnnnnhhhh," she strained, her eyes squinting at the wind and bulging with the effort...

Darkness enclosed her.

The guards by the monorail entrance to The Upper Ring glanced skyward in mute amazement just before a massive gust of wind nearly scattered them like game pieces on a Pai Sho board.

Bewildered, they looked around as had the people of that train station, but they found nothing. A freak weather anomaly caused by the airship's passing? Whatever it was, it was long gone...

Helplessly, incredulously, they shrugged, and exchanged wide-eyed glances.

Blocks away, Xia lay curled up in an alley, sobbing tears of triumph.

She vomited bits of bread onto the alley floor and, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, struggled to get air back into her lungs.

She'd made it. After a year of fighting to get past that checkpoint, she'd made it.

She had run upon the wind.

She could wait a few moments before again she walked.

Xia laughed, and Xia cried, and Xia tried to recover herself.

"It is written," she rasped to no-one at all: "'When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.'"

Xia lay there in a huddle and waited for the traces of herself to come back to her.

"You're as stubborn as a foxmule, Queen Toph!," Hayn shouted from the carriage window as the horse started away, Toph only grinning hugely as she started towards the castle wall's main gate. "You learned far too much from your predecessor!"

"Bumi was the greatest," She mused with a sigh, still feeling the twinge of pain in her heart from remembering the insane old man that had left such a great influence on her. He had shown her how to harness her abilities to far more than she could imagine, though she had even managed to impress him with the unique abilitiy to bend metal, all thanks to her deeper connection with the earth.

"Your bond with the world around you is of great importance, Toph. It gives you quite an upper hand to even those of us with the years of bending experience. Never see your blindness as a weakness." Bumi cackled with that, shrugging and taking a cloth from his sleeve, wrapping it around his own eyes before extending his arms out wide. "It can be quite the advantage! I've been trying to see the world with your eyes, and it can certainly be an amazing place!"

"You're picking on me." Toph scowled, shoving an accusing finger into the old man's chest. "And I don't need you to tell me I'm advanced in bending! I'm the world's greatest earthbender, and don't you ever forget that!"

"Ahha, and there's the temper that could even burn a firebender! Stubborn as a rock, you are! Just like me."

"Hey, you gonna open those doors or what?" Toph crossed her arms as she approached, already sensing the blocked area before her. The smirk had actually yet to leave her face, proving that she was only jokingly teasing the men before her.

"Apologies, Queen Toph! We... had thought that Adviser Hayn would be escorting you..."

She shook her head, shrugging a bit. "He's a little occupied right now. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of handling things on my own without him holding my hand...," She said flatly, starting through the doors as they were slowly opened. "Are there any others here yet?"

"Yes, actually. There are a few from the Northern Water Tribe, and Fire Lord Zuko arrived just a few minutes ago as well. Are.. are you sure you don't want a guide?"

"Remember what happened last time you asked me that?," She replied with a raise of the eyebrow, catching the sudden cough from the man and grinning. "Nice to hear I'm running late, as usual...," She sighed, starting down the halls to find the rest of the gathering group.


[size=-2](Azula post coming in a bit. Need to change comps.)[/size]
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[size=-2]Sorry if it stinks. Firefox is doing it again.[/size]

She was speaking down to her. As though she were a child; a pathetic, foolish child. This only infuriated Azula even more. "Revenge? Oh, no, no, dear Mai. You misunderstand. It's not revenge I want. It's the proper order of things. Don't you see? Zuko stole what he has. He stole it from me. The throne of the Fire Lord is MINE. It was given to me on our father's order. He has taken what is rightfully mine... and to make things even worse, he has gone against the wishes of our father."

While she spoke, Azula began to pace, her eyes refusing to leave the young woman before her, much like a predator stalking its prey. "The Fire Nation should not be mingling among those of the Earth and Water nations in such a carefree manner. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that he's started developing feelings for those insignificant slugs. The only purpose they serve... is to serve US. They're all lost wild animals, too stupid to understand the world around them, and need the strong commanding hand of the Fire Nation to direct them. And what does he do instead?" She tossed her head at this, a disgusted look in her eyes. "He lowers us to their level, basking in the filth with the sickening dogs."

She smiled as Mai's back hit the gate's closed bars, the smile growing further as Mai spoke. "Oh, now we get to play....?" She laughed at that, only to give an infuriated shriek as one of Mai's knives slit into her shoulder. She managed to avoid the rest of the attacking blades, but just the single slicing into her flesh was enough to send her into a fury.

"That's right, Mai- Run! It's been so long since I've been able to play!," She called after her, reaching to rip the knife from her shoulder. She debated dropping it- but changed her mind, slipping it instead into the top of her pants. She was after her in moments, now deadset on bringing down her former friend.

She was really in no mood for cat-and-mouse games, however. Her rather minute army of criminally insane was waiting for her, and she had far greater plans to put into action. To spend too long playing games with Mai would leave her far behind schedule...

She was growing tired of this already.

Using the flames to propel herself forward, she closed the distance between them easily, removing the dagger from her waistband once again as she approached. "Mai! You've forgotten something!," she called in a saccharine-soaked voice, hurling the blade back to its owner in the center of a firey blaze.

"After traveling so much, coming home to a palace was actually a bit saddening! But I suppose the duties of the Earth King must be fufilled. People treat you much differently when they do not know you're royalty, you know? Well, I suppose you do know. I found it somewhat refreshing! To be one of the people! It was like-"

Zuko walked only a few steps behind the Earth King as he was lead to the meeting room, but he hadn't heard a word the man said. His mind was left upon other things. For one, he had no idea what he would say at this meeting, but he was also overcome with sudden worry. For reasons he couldn't explain, his stomach was uneasy, but nothing was out of the ordinary, right? Finally, they reached the meeting room where they were greeted by Sokka, Katara and a man he did not recognize. Sokka's eyes immediately lit up as he gestured excitedly toward the door.

"Heeeey it's Zu-zu!" He grinned, rushing over and slapping the Fire Lord on the back, who simply replied with an annoyed glare. "How ya doin', buddy?"

"Sometimes I miss those days where you were afraid of me..." Zuko muttered as he shrugged away from Sokka and entered the room, locating a seat at the table centered in the room.

"Sokka..." Katara sighed before turning a smile to Zuko. "Well, it is good to see you."

It was difficult not to return said smile, which he did shortly after, nodding slightly. "It's good to see you too, Katara.."

Sokka's face seemed to immediately melt into a frown until the Fire Lord finally sighed and decided to finish his sentence. "..and Sokka." His goofy grin returned as if it had never left, making it seem like perhaps he had a bit too much cactus juice lately. Zuko's gaze turned toward Ryota momentarily before returning to Katara. "Who's your friend?"

She could barely read and she couldn't write, but she knew what her name looked like. Her actual name, the one given to her by a woman whose memory she didn't care in justifying. The familiar brush strokes just sat there, staring at her. The passport had served as a glaring reminder the moment it had been created all those years ago in order to enter this city specifically. It had been the first time she'd uttered that name to anyone since the fire. It was weird how that stuck out to her. The scribe hadn't cared that each syllable felt heavy on her tongue, foreign. He had just dutifully set her information down on the vellum along with the other two. Then they'd had the oddest conversation about tea. At least, she thought that's what that conversation had been about. Time had dulled most of the memory and it helped that she'd been half-asleep through most of it. So what she was left with was the garbled mixture of the unfamiliar Scribe's voice and the far more familiar one of Jets, with a background of warmth when she'd succumbed to gravity and fell head first into Longshot's shoulder. She was almost glad for that one memory, tainted peaceful by her sleepy mind. She'd forgotten Jet's face over the years, bit by bit, but his voice, always with an under current of energy, remained clear.

"Miss Tao Lin.."

"Smellerbee."

"Miss T.."

"Smell-er-bee."

It was an epic stare-off. They'd been standing in line for hours. Even without the sheer exodus of refugees that the war had brought into the city last time she'd had to go through this, the checkpoint was still unbearably busy. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear the crabby old woman glaring at her now was the same one that had approved their admission eight years ago. She didn't care if that was what it said her name was or that this woman was a stranger and it didn't matter. She wasn't going to be called by that name and refused to answer to it. The old woman's mouth set in a thin line, before she opened her mouth, the words slipping out too fast for Smellerbee to stop her.

"Miss Tao Lin. Mister Howin. I trust you will observe the rules of our city during your stay."

Funny enough. It wasn't the illicit name that set her off, but the tone of the woman's voice that clearly showed that she thought that a couple of dirty hicks like them would destroy their precious Upper Ring in a matter of days, shaming the entire Earth Kingdom with their uncultured ways. Needless to say, her reaction probably did little to change the official's opinion. Sharp blades leapt to her fingers in moments along with some half thought out threat, before a hand clamped over her mouth. Then an arm snaked over her ribs as Longshot physically hoisted her away. Not that it stopped her from struggling as threats were vehemently mumbled as she disappeared from sight. Once they reached the ferry, she pulled from his grasp and huffed for a good amount of minutes before settling down some. Which still wasn't much judging by the scowl on her face as she tended to soothing the ruffled feathers of the ostrich horses. They hated being out on water like this it seemed.

"It was her own fault, acting all high and mighty cause she's the one that passes us unworthy people into Ba Sing Se... Don't tell me that! I know I need to calm down!"

It wasn't the woman. It was the city, this place. She was fine coming up here, but now that they were practically in Ba Sing Se it was like she was nothing but a really taut bow string just waiting for the wrong pluck to snap it. She kept trying to tell herself that this was nothing like last time. They were guests of not only the Earth King but the Avatar as well. It was a legitimate official gathering that might not be ambushed by those blasted Dai Li. A legitimate official gathering in which the Freedom Fighters were about as close as you could get to the bottom of the totem pole. Everything about Ba Sing Se was all rules and structure even in the Lower Ring you had to be have a certain way or risk being imprisoned. Or brainwashed. That was another thing about this city that pissed her off. How were her and Longshot supposed to stay here without being reminded of who they had lost.

At least the tree tops held no memory of his demise. Even ferries did. She couldn't even look at the people around her that were surely gawking thanks to her outburst because all she could seem to see was them stowing away and trying to keep Jet quiet as they escaped. It seemed like it would only get worse the deeper they went. How was she supposed to do this?! She couldn't even keep it together at the gate. How was she going to talk peace with a bunch of people that she'd never met before and who probably wouldn't give the concerns of the Freedom Fighters the time of day cause they were lifetimes higher than any sort of social station any one of them could even begin to hope in reaching. It was ridiculous! Aang was ridiculous for ever thinking this could work!

"We should just turn back, right now. Wait until we hit the dock and take the next ferry out of the city."

A rather dumbfounded expression masked Longshot's face as the stare-off commenced and dragged out between the two women. This was soon followed by a cringing body gesture as the older woman quickly spouted their names and a warning about observing the rules of the city. He recognized the implications which came with the tone of her voice, but this wasn't what caused his reaction; nor did he really care so much about what she thought of them. Rather, it was in expectation of Smellerbee's own almost inevitable reaction to her words, which was probably the main reason he acted fast enough when she started to lunge for the grouchy old witch.

As he pulled her away from the scene, the young man offered a number of apologetic glances toward a few of those standing by and dealing with their own checkpoint issues. A healthy portion of the muffled words spilling out from between his friends lips certainly weren't for the ears of those younger passengers waiting with their parents or guardians. Keeping his arms securely fastened around her waist and mouth, he imagined a few of what she tried to scream out weren't even suitable for the ears of most 'civilized' adults.

Loosening his grip upon reaching the ferry, she wasted little time in pulling free of his arms. Longshot took a few deep breaths as he started to let himself relax after the strenuous effort it took to keep 'Bee from getting out of control. The stronger of the pair he may have been, but she definitely could have broken free of his hold if she wanted it badly enough. Feeling grateful for the small miracle which kept her from doing as such, he stood by his friend and watched as the stretch of land they'd departed from steadily faded into the distance. Soon enough, the primary reason he'd made certain of sticking by Smellerbee even after the ferry had left would make itself known.

"It was her own fault, acting all high and mighty cause she's the one that passes us unworthy people into Ba Sing Se... Don't tell me that! I know I need to calm down!"

Which she truly did, as his stern, yet understandably concerned, gaze made clear to his fellow Freedom Fighter. All the same, he had expected this, at least to an extent. The meeting itself would prove stressful for almost anyone who attended for their first time. Standing among Kings, Lords, Queens and the like. Granted, a couple of those expected to show were known to them before they reached such titles, nor was Bee the type who normally folded under people for reasons such as class and rank alone. No, it was for more personal reasons. Much of Ba Sing Se's image as a place of hope and for a new beginning was shattered after the Fire Nation's occupation of the great city. For them, it stopped being looked upon as such a few weeks prier to the now infamous coup.

"We should just turn back, right now. Wait until we hit the dock and take the next ferry out of the city."

His eyebrows lowered as he watched her struggling within, a sympathetic look showing as he understood what she must have been going through at the moment. It soon shifted, however, to a more determined expression as he reached out a hand and placed it upon the shoulder nearest to him. Longshot could understand why she was having these doubts, why her nerves were acting up as they were about returning to the great city after all these years. But he also believed, he knew for a fact, that she could go through this without fail if given the chance; both by others and by herself. Besides, it wasn't as if she'd have to go through all of this on her own.

Letting his hand reach across her back in order to place a reassuring arm around the girls shoulders as he stood beside her, he gave a gentle, but firm, pull of herself against his frame. This was one thing he couldn't try to push her into doing if she truly didn't feel like she could handle it. Thing is, as he smiled down at her as he gave a firm nod of his hand, Longshot wanted her to realize that he knew she could. That he would be there for her every step of the way. That she needed to do this or it could haunt her forever. Not just the meeting, but her memories of Ba Sing Se. One trip wouldn't make the pain of loss go away, but it would be a step in the right way of healing.

As this went on, the ferry continued carrying the pair closer and closer to their next destination. They would arrive eventually, and perhaps sooner then either would need for properly preparing themselves. Still, it was time enough for her to at least think over and decide on what she wanted to do once they docked on land. Regardless of what she decided, he would respect her decision and stay by her side. He'd failed once before at remaining by Smellerbee when she needed him. He wasn't about to let it happen again.


-----------------------------------------------


Despite the momentary squabble between the water tribe siblings, things had more or less returned to normal during the past several minutes. Which was a mixed blessing for Ryota, as he had to listen while Sokka listed off a number of names he originally came up with for 'Combustion Man', as well as a few which he'd thought up after the man's death. Some were making for a rather amusing anecdote, while others....not so much. Though he had to admit toward having a soft spot for Sparky Sparky Boom Man.

It also proved to be a mixed blessing when they were rejoined by the Earth King himself. While Ryota had found a source of endearing amusement from the Earth King's occasional naiveness, brought about by years of a formally sheltered life, his eyes narrowed slightly as he also found himself not caring so much for the current company he was keeping.

Trailing behind Sokka and Katara as they greeted their friend, the young man recognized Fire Lord Zuko's important for finally ending the war. At the same time, he'd eventually heard about what happened behind the scenes at the Northern Water Tribe so long ago. While he wasn't directly responsible for those who lost their lives during the lunar eclipse, Ryota couldn't keep from wondering on how different things could have been, had the then banished Prince not kidnapped the Avatar and drew everyone away from the Koi Fish pound.

Trying not to dwell on such thoughts as the brief exchanging of greetings commenced, he needed to try even harder to keep any chip on his shoulder from showing when the conversation turned to him.

"Oh, I guess you've never met Ryota before." Katara stated while glancing toward the other bender, taking a step toward the young man's side as she made the introductions, "Ryota? Allow me the destinct honor of introducing you to Fire Lord Zuko of the Fire Nation. And, Zuko? Ryota of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Previously of the Northern Water Tribe; until relocating to our sister tribe about a year ago." Ryota quickly interjected for reasons he didn't completely understand, giving a courteous bow to the Fire Lord as a means of diplomatic respect between the once warring nations.

Ryota also didn't want to show any disrespect which would look unfavorably toward his tribe or, more specifically, those whom he was assigned to escort and help protect during such important procedures. Besides, while he may not have any love for the average Fire Nation citizen, he also didn't need to glare at them as if he didn't mind it if their head exploded. Tempting as this thought and tantalizing as the image it brought about may have both been at times.

"Um, correct." Katara stated in response while simultaneously raising an eyebrow over her young friends unexpected comment about his origins, though she could fathom an educated guess as to his reasoning for having done as such.

Before she could say much more in way of introductions, Sokka apparently felt it necessary to throw in his own comments as he strolled up to the young benders available side, "He's part of the entourage which accompanied us on the voyage here from the Southern Tribe. He's also one of the lucky few we decided to bring up with us for the meetings. So, he gets to sit in with the big kids this time. Isn't that right, Ryo'?"

Without warning, Sokka threw an arm around the Water Bender's neck and playfully pulled him closer, ignoring the younger tribesman's surprised protests as he held Ryota in a headlock while quickly performing that which is commonly referred to as a 'noogie'. And while his actions may have seemed strange for most, they were somewhat expected when it came to the young warrior. Particularly when, in reality, he was interjecting himself as such to try and defuse the growing tension he sensed from Ryota only minutes ago.

"Help.....me...." He let out in a nearly defeated tone of voice as he struggled to pull away, his eyes falling upon Katara and, yes, even Zuko himself for any help on this one.

"Sokka." Katara let out in her usual scolding manner as she stared at her older brother, not bothering to say anymore as she awaited for him to release the Northern Water Tribe native.

"Okay, okay." The elder of the two siblings relented as he released his hold upon Ryota, patting the young man on his back while adding in a half-sarcastic tone, "Anyway, yeah, he completely looks up to me."

"Undeniably, Sokka." Ryota stated as he shot a halfhearted glare toward the young warrior while straightening out his hair, then returning his attention to the Fire Lord whom he was being introduced, trying to maintain some semblance of respectful formality, "It is an honor, Fire Lord Zuko. Katara and Sokka, especially, have told me a lot about yourself during the time I've know them. The good deeds, along with those which may not have been as flattering, I assure you."

For what it counted, his tone wasn't as flat, nor as cold as it may have seemed when first being introduced to the Fire Lord. Kinda hard to immediately retain such a gloomy mood when your hair's just been ruffled by a guy who occasionally talks to a hawk as if it were his baby.

She could hear voices now, Toph smirking as a few in particular caught her attention as she approached the room; the exhuberantly cheerful sound of Sokka, the unforgettably motherly tone of Katara, and the flatly unamused words of Zuko. There was one missing, though... Aang. Hm. Well, there were still many things that required his attention, even without the warring between nations. He'd be along in his time, no doubt. It was nice to hear familiar voices, though. Being surrounded by the constant nagging tones of Hayn and the other advisers was starting to wear on her.

"He's not gonna keep yakking for this whole meeting, is he?," Toph inquired of Sokka as she entered, smirking still as she moved towards the table. "I know how hard it can be to get him to shut up..." Her hand rested on the table's edge, taking a moment to gauge which seats were occupied before settling into the nearest empty one.

She realized then who she had seated herself next to, the light smoky scent that touched her nose a rather dead giveaway to the location of the Fire Lord in relation to herself. "Oh. Um... Hello, Zuko," She said softly, only to quickly address the rest of the room. "Katara. Sokka. New Guy."

"Nice to see you again, Toph. How are things going in Omashu?," Katara asked, still giving her brother a rather ominous glare for his 'kind' attack on Ryota. "I'm so sorry to hear about Bumi... That must've been hard for you..."

"Hey, it happens. He was old." She shrugged, though a frown came to her lips at the mention of her mentor. "As for Omashu... It's still standing, so I guess I'm doing something right."

Zuko remained silent as Ryota interjected quickly about his own history. Afterwards, the firebender nodded slightly as if he had some sort of interest in the subject. It wasn't that he did not care about the newcomer's history, after all if he was a friend of Sokka and Katara's, he must have been special in some way. However Zuko wasn't entirely sure he would know how to converse with him. It wasn't terribly often that he met new people from other nations, and when he did, he got glances not unlike the one Ryota had given him upon first arrival. He expected it, after all. It would take more than 8 years for many people to get over the effects of the war, and what his father had done.

"Good to have you with us, Ryota." Zuko said calmly with a slight bow before watching the helpless water tribe boy get attacked by Sokka, futilely gasping for help in a way that made even the Fire Lord crack a smile. "I suppose I should mention it's mainly good to have you here as you will likely take the blunt of Sokka's.. um.. friendly gestures."

Sokka was in usual form, stating that the younger water tribe member looked up to him, which Zuko half rolled his eyes at. Though in all honesty, Sokka was not a bad role model. He may have been painfully silly, clumsy and sometimes immature, but he was also immensely clever. "Why shouldn't he, Sokka? I hadn't met anyone who could hatch a plan to escape the Boiling Rock before I met you... even if we do owe the actual escape to some crafty women." Zuko added still with a hint of the smirk from before.

The comments which came next were to be expected. Zuko's eyes closed for a moment as he thought back on the times before he joined the Avatar. "It is important for people to know my past, as well as who I am now. Sometimes difficult journeys are required to find your true self... Hm, I think I'm beginning to sound a bit like Uncle. I'm not sure I'll ever reach his level of insight, though."

It was then that the group was interrupted by another arrival, the voice immediately resonating in Zuko's mind as the ever-blunt and wild Toph Bei Fong. As he turned to observe her entrance, he found himself being yet again entranced by how she had changed over the years, even though he had seen her fairly often. Granted, ever since she had been made Queen of Oma'shu, it was less often than he would have liked. It was still fairly amazing that she was now in a position of power herself, yet not surprising. After all, she had a noble name, and knowing how crazy the previous ruler was, she was actually a giant shove toward sanity in the case of Oma'shu leaders. When she had chosen her seat next to him, he made an effort not to stare at her for any long period of time. Not as if she would notice, but if word got back to Mai, he would have daggers for breakfast for sure. Still, he couldn't help but admire her for all she had accomplished, and be thankful for her for being the first to trust him eight years ago, as well as being thankful for her not grinding him into dust after accidentally burning her feet.

"Glad you could make it, Toph." He replied politely, though it was more than just manners, he was genuinely glad she had arrived. Things were always more interesting when Toph was around. Though the combination of Toph and Sokka was sometimes dangerous. The conversation between the Earthbender and Katara that followed left Zuko silent. He was never sure how to be comforting. "Aang is late again.." He finally spoke up after a few moments of silence had passed. "Someone should inform him that being the Avatar doesn't mean we have to adhere to his own special concept of time..." Zuko muttered, crossing his arms and sighing impatiently.

make-up post? ok I really just like mad!Smellerbee

"Yeah yeah. Enough of the pep talk. I'm calm now, see."

To illustrate her point, she grinned far wider than was even remotely necessary, before shrugging his arm off of her. She was calmer, at least. Calm enough, that she could consider her options without her stomach twisting in knots. Her nerves didn't really matter. This wasn't about her after all, but all of them and those like them. If she turned back without even trying to change things a little bit for the better, then all of this would have been an absolute waste of time. If there was one thing she had learned throughout these years of being a leader, it was that she didn't have the luxury to be a coward. They were doing well enough for now, but what about the future? Didn't they deserve to be able to live without having to be ever watchful for bandits or rogue soldiers that though their rank meant they owned anything that caught their fancy? It wasn't like they wanted an impenetrable city, like the one before her. They just wanted something resembling a normal life. Looking at the high wall that was looming ever closer before them, Smellerbee sighed and leaned her arms on the ferry's railing as she busied herself with squashing all the stupid reasons she still felt like high-tailing it out of here.

He didn't know because she'd never told him, but she'd come back to Ba Sing Se before this day. At the time, the memories that the capital held had only served to fuel her own. The fear and heartache they inspired let her comb the Lower Ring twice over avoiding necessities until she absolutely had to give into the need for sleep or food. Ba Sing Se was known as the largest city in the world and for good reason, but what would normally take months, she did in weeks. It had been pointless in the end, but she hadn't know where else to look, where else to start. By then she had already tried Gaipan and a dozen other odd cities between. It was after Ba Sing Se, after she had ran into The Duke and found out how things were, that she finally headed back for good to the only place she had really considered a home. Even then she'd been hoping, maybe, he'd be there. She absolutely refused to think of him as dead. After Jet, she couldn't bear to lose anyone, especially him. The Freedom Fighters were her friends, but Jet and Longshot had been her family. If she had lost them both, even the memory of thinking such a thing still hurt.

Five years ago. In the forest outside of New Gaipan.

"How dare you."

Her words were whisper quiet and they probably would have gone unnoticed except for the fact that it was the first time she had breathed a word to him since she'd been captured three years ago. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened to him then. She only knew that in the heat of battle she'd seen him notching an arrow and she had turned to stab the soldier closest to her. Something slammed hard into her skull. Then she'd woken up in chains with the killer headache from hell and her side sticky and tight with dried blood. There were others with her, but no Longshot. She was fairly certain he was alive at that time. One sharp ray of optimism that persisted. Even when they were all loaded up on the prison ship, even through the months before Fire Lord Zuko assumed the throne and had all prisoners of war freed, that hope had stayed.

She had started searching for him right away. She hadn't thought about how weird it felt, being alone in the big bad world. She'd had enough time getting herself into trouble at the prisons that she'd learned not to reflect on that particular loneliness. It was a feeling disturbingly familiar to the one she'd felt wandering around after her mother's home was consumed by flames. When she'd come back to the Freedom Fighters, there had been no word of Longshot, but she'd waited, even after everyone else had given up hope, because there was no way he could be dead too. Which was why it had come as no surprise to her when yet another old member came back to join them, bearing news of spotting Longshot a bit back. By that time she had responsibilities and duties and so many other things that seemed to need her attention, that she just had no other choice than to wait for her friend's inevitable return. Which she did rather patiently, and then not so patiently as time went on. Then not at all because he wasn't coming back and she didn't understand why.

"How dare you come back! After all this time without a word. Not one single word!"

He had come back, after all, eventually. Everyone had been so happy to see him. Even she was for the first couple of moments, but then that faded away. Because she got it now, she got why he hadn't come back or sought her out or anything, unlike her own actions. It was her fault. He just hadn't wanted to see her. Well, tough luck for him, cause she was here to stay. She'd been accommodating enough though, hadn't she? She didn't speak to him, didn't look at him, and made sure not to be anywhere near him if she could help it. That had been weeks ago and all the hurt and anger had just been building up until this one moment where she hadn't known he was coming this way and therefore couldn't avoid his presence any longer.

"Smellerbee.."

The hand on her shoulder was such a simple gesture. One he had done time and again to calm her down, but it didn't work this time. Not even his seldom heard voice was enough for that. It just made her throat hurt with tears she never bothered to shed, still couldn't be bothered to shed. She was too proud for it. So she did the one thing she could do. Smellerbee whirled around, pressing him against a tree, before planting a khukri in the wood near his head. Refusing to pull away from his gaze now that she had his attention, she stretched on the tip of her toes in order to stare him square in the face.

"I thought you were dead, damn it! It wouldn't have hurt you to give some sort of sign otherwise!"

"I'm sorry."

He didn't fight, didn't struggle. Even though she hadn't expected him to, she found she still wanted it. Despite everything, how could she fight with him when he was being so damn accommodating about it? More than anything, his apology took the fury from her that she had been depending on for support all this time. Glaring, she pulled the blade away and ran off.

Come the next day, she was back to her old self around him again. She still didn't know where he had gone all those years. He'd never told her and she didn't ask. Because she still wasn't over it, not completely, but she could ignore it. Just like most everything else in her life that was too much like betrayal to be fully remembered. If she broached that subject, she'd just be angry all over again and, underneath it all, she was still afraid that she'd do something wrong again and all of her family would be gone, for good this time. If acting like everything had always been fine between them was the cost of holding her life together, then so be it. She'd just take what she needed for information from the past and nothing more. Like how, even now, she could still trace the familiar alleys and by-ways she had traveled as the smoothly glided over head in the train car. It could prove useful for some reason later on. Always good to be prepared.

The differences were glaring. Walking her through the royal palace of the Earth King himself, Smellerbee had never felt so absolutely disgusting in her entire life. Even the servants stared and whispered about the pair as if they hadn't had a bath within a week. Well, she hadn't, not a proper one with hot water and soap, at least. They'd been in a hurry after all and it wasn't like her pockets were overflowing so that it would have been a simple task of hop-skipping over to the local bath house. While she held her head high, it really was no mystery why her mood just got darker and darker with each passing step. As they followed the guard escorting them, she mumbled to herself a mantra about how this wasn't about her or what people thought and she should just get the hell over it. Then all of that fell away as they came to their destination and Smellerbee just stared, wide-eyed with shock, before managing to point an accusing finger.

"You!"

It was him! That boy that Jet had been so obsessed with proving him and the old man were fire benders. With everything in their lives, she'd barely given it a second thought, but now that she was faced with it, she'd recognize that scar anywhere. Jet had been right after all, clearly by the dark reds that clothed the man. Her eyes only got wider as she took his entire visage in. If she'd ever been the type to do so, fainting sounded about the right thing to do at this moment. HE was the FIRE LORD! Jet had not only been completely justified in his paranoid, but the guy had been Fire Nation royalty as well. She wasn't really sure whether to laugh or to stab him. If it wasn't for his sorry ass, then Jet wouldn't have gotten into a fight and been brainwashed by the Dai Li. Then they wouldn't have gone to Lake Laogai and Jet wouldn't have...

"Longshot and... Smellerbee? Is that you?"

She hadn't really had time to notice Katara was there until that moment, but now that she did, she was fully aware of the others as well. Of course Sokka was around, but the other water tribe member she'd never met and the blind woman had been a brief acquaintance at best. Katara's confusion with them was fairly understandable. It had been a long time after all, eight years. They had never bothered to check in like Aang did. Not that she could really blame them. It wasn't exactly the place of warm, cozy memories during their brief stay there among the Freedom Fighters. Yet, her confused vexation with the apparent Fire Lord was let out on Katara instead.

"Do you happen to know anyone else with red stripes on their face?!"

"Yeah yeah. Enough of the pep talk. I'm calm now, see."

Longshot raised an eyebrow over her wide grin, followed by an amused half-smile as she shrugged off his arm. Stubborn as a mule at times, but at least now she appeared calmer then before, which clearly didn't mean she was anywhere near a relaxed state of mind either. Not that his own nerves weren't fairly rattled over the meeting itself, despite how his calm demeanor may lead one to believe otherwise. Part of this was due to concern over Smellerbee herself, but the rest was over obvious reasons which ran through his head countless times since deciding upon traveling with his friend.

Standing a short distance behind Smellerbee, he watched her for short while as he mused over what my be going through her own mind, before shifting his gaze toward their destination. The wind blowing against his face as the large hat resting upon his head shaded him from the rays of the sun, Longshot let the minutes tick away into hours as he started idly strolling along the deck of the ferry as a means of passing time while enjoying the simple pleasure of traveling by boat. Still, he never let her stray too far from his protective gaze as she remained lost in thought. He knew she harbored hurt feelings after his previous absence. Fact is, he couldn't blame her. There were reasons, and he did secretly check up on her immediately after her release and a few times after, but he knew now it was a mistake. One he intended to rectify regardless of how long it took or what it required.

The remainder of the voyage upon reaching land proved rather uneventful in comparison to their near fight at the checkpoint or even Bee's near freak out on the ferry. As should be expected, they were greeted by a few stares which made even Longshot a little uneasy as they traveled to the upper ring. Throughout it all, however, he frequently gave his friend the same confident, assuring expression whenever their eyes met. After a while, it probably annoyed her more then anything, but at least even that would be a needed change from those emotions which made her consider turning back earlier. Besides, focusing on his concerns for her helped to keep his mind off the memories the various familiar locations brought back to the young man.

After having been granted entry into and following their escort throughout the massive Palace, again having to ignore the frequent stares and comments which failed in masking themselves of their attention, the pair at long last reached their final destination. On instinct, his sharp eyes took in the image of every person which already awaited within the meeting room; finding a couple of familiar faces and some which he could only recognize as ones belonging to each respective nation. His eyebrow rose slightly as he noticed one face in particular, apparently only a split second before Smellerbee herself took notice.

"You!"

Longshot's eyes widened as she pointed an accusing finger toward the obvious, and clearly familiar, Lord of the Fire Nation. While he believed, hoped, that Smellerbee wouldn't be so rash as to attack the Fire Lord in a room full of representatives for the three remaining nations, his body did tense up noticeably on the off chance she took such an initiative. Jet may have been right in his accusations, but it didn't mean she needed to make a similar mistake based on emotion rather then logic. Problem is, unlike the near scuffle back at the checkpoint, Longshot didn't know if he could hold her back if she did. Fortunately, thanks in part to the intervention of another, it turned out he needn't discover the answer to this query.

"Longshot and... Smellerbee? Is that you?"

"Do you happen to know anyone else with red stripes on their face?!"

Between the two options, it was probably better for Smellerbee to redirect her attention toward the Water Tribe girl. Better, but neither was it the best way for the girl to deal with how she was feeling. The silent young man placed a firm hand upon his friends shoulder as he stood by her side, telling, rather then asking for her to settle down. Particularly when one took into consideration that, if there were anyone in this world outside of the Freedom Fighters who didn't deserve grief from either of them, it was Katara.

--------------------------------------

Ryota raised a hand to give a simple wave as the young girl, whom he quickly figured to be Toph, entered the meeting room. This was followed by a moment of brief embarrassment when he realized he'd just waved at a blind girl. Granted, going by what had been described to him about the Earth Bender's abilities, it was likely she caught wind of the gesture. It'd take a while for him to grow used to the young woman's unusual way of seeing what's around her. Then again, looking around at the unlikely group of friends and allies, he figured that it would take time for him to get used to those outside of the Water Tribe in general.

"So, I'm guessing Aang's the type who's usually fashionably late to these things?" Ryota asked in response of Zuko's statement about the noticeable absence of the Avatar, directing his question at nobody in particular, though the person nearest happened to be Sokka.

"Well, you know Airbenders. They're always a little flighty." The older Tribesman stated with a simple shrug of his shoulders, his voice showing subtle hints of amusement over his pun usage.

The Northern tribe native stared at Sokka for a moment, then rolled his eyes and gave a light groan upon catching onto the tongue-in-cheek reference. Not that he terribly minded Sokka's sense of humor, so much as he constantly needed to remind himself of not automatically expecting a completely straight answer when in casual conversation.

Shortly after, the small group found themselves joined by a couple of others, though neither of them Ryota could put a name to on first look. Judging by their choice in garments, he could take a stab in the dark of them being Earth Kingdom natives. He could also take a similar guess of them not being part of any upper class, going by those same articles of clothing which they wore. Before he could try and put any deeper consideration into it, however, his train of thought was interrupted by the smaller of the pair pointing toward and shouting at the scarred Fire Bender.

"I....take it they're not exactly Zuko fans?" The young Water Bender asked as he watched the one with markings on their face starring daggers at the Fire Lord, wondering to himself on exactly what particular story those two held about personal loss thanks to the Fire Nation.

"I'm not entirely clear on all of the details, but let's just say Zuko has a lot of baggage from his past." Sokka explained in a rather serious tone of voice, tilting his head as he watched the surprising entrance of the Freedom Fighters with understandable interest.

When Katara went over to talk with the pair and was practically snapped at by the one who pointed toward Zuko only moments ago, Ryota took it upon himself to try and intervene as a precaution of any trouble.

"Is there any problem here?" Ryota asked as he stood beside the more experience Water Bender; recognizing that she likely wouldn't require his assistance if anything did happen, but also trying to do his job in keeping a watchful eye on the famous siblings.

"No, everything's fine, Ryota. Smellerbee and Longshot are old....friends." Katara assured him as he waved off his concern, the pause in her words being more due to a lack of informal meetings between herself and the two then any lingering hurt feelings of the past, "We met them twice during the war. Once was when he passed by the woods where their band of Freedom Fighters were located, and the other was here in Ba Sing Se."

The young Water Bender glanced back and forth between the two, a questioning expression on his face as he pointed out, "Smellerbee and Longshot? I don't mean any offense, but those are rather unusual names for a couple of gu..."

His words were cut short as Longshot raised his free hand which wasn't placed upon Smellerbee's shoulder, moving it around in a waving off gesture as his eyes gave a silent plead and warning against completing that last thought. Ryota could only stare at the silent man for several seconds, questioning why he didn't say anything, then turning back to his friend and, upon closer inspection, noticing the curves which he'd failed while focusing on her behavior in the short distance.

Showing a hint of surprise as he finally caught on, he tried covering as best he could, which came off fairly awkward in results, "Uh, that is to say, it's a rather....unique, set of names for a guy and his lovely female companion."

The young man let out a forced laugh over his words, but clearly wasn't in the most cheerful of spirits after his slip up when addressing the latest arrivals for this meeting of the nations.

"Thanks, Zuko," She said softly, trying to keep from blushing. This was among one of the few times that she wished she had actually attempted to make herself look nice. Granted, usually she didn't care, thinking that worrying about her appearance was a rather foolish thing for someone that couldn't even see herself. Still, to be in such a small room with people that she hadn't been around in some time- She regretted not trying to get a little help in being more 'presentable'. Hayn had tried to convince her on the idea, but she had been far more wrapped up in aggravating him than actually listening to the sense he was making. Maybe she should start listening to him more...

Toph's usual reactions to the people around her was held to a minimum, keeping the desire to make a smart-mouthed comment to the Fire Lord beside her contained- but not strong enough to keep one from the unfamiliar new person in the room. "He just waved at me, didn't he...," She asked flatly, stabbing a finger accusingly towards the guy in question. "I'll let you off the hook for it on the belief that you didn't know... though I highly doubt Sokka's mile-a-minute mouth kept it a secret from you."

She stayed as still as stone as the entrance of others was made known with a sudden explosion of anger towards her- No, not her, next to her. Someone wasn't too happy with Zuko. Well, that narrowed things down just SO much. Katara's addition to the conversation helped out somewhat, Toph briefly recalling the names.

"Hey! Calm it down, would ya?!," She snapped at the newly arrived, getting up from her recently taken seat to 'face' them a but more directly. "We all have had our issues with th e Fire Nation, but that's the whole point of this thing! We're trying to get past that, to get the Four Nations back to at least speaking terms! Not gonna be working too well if you're gonna come busting in here blowin' up at people, now is it?!"

------

The small ship seemed filled beyond capacity, Azula proudly standing at the helm as the airship drifted against the clouds. "Ji Fen," She called out, her large companion quickly taking her side. "Find a messenger hawk. I'm sure my brother would love to know about Mai."

"Haawk." Ji Fen nodded, going off to complete the task given to him as Azula took to writing the message to be sent to the current Fire Lord, a smirk drawing at her lips as she wrote out her note.

When the lumbering form of Ji Fen returned, bird in hand, Azula slipped the note into the bird's carrier, setting it into flight for the Fire Lord's castle. "There. Zuko will know about his beloved before the sun sets..."

"Why you tell?"

"Hm?" Azula glanced up at him, then gave a light laugh. "Ohhh, don't be foolish. I'm not completely cold hearted. Shouldn't I tell my brother about the death of his beloved? Why, he would be absolutely crushed if he had to hear of it from someone else..."

The Fire Lord could only raise an eyebrow as a couple of strange looking people that appeared to be dressed as if they came from the trees and not any sort of normal society. When the more feminine looking one, not to say that made the distinction a whole lot easier, glared his way and menacingly referred to him only in second person, Zuko just glanced between his companions to see if this individual was possibly talking to someone else. Not as if he wasn't used to random people glaring at him and venting their frustrations. Something about this one just seemed a bit more personal, however he just could not quite put his finger on why they seemed familiar.

When Katara decided to interject and announced the pair as 'Smellerbee and Longshot' the names finally connected in Zuko's mind as a few of Jet's companions. Jet had been a strange person as well, and perhaps even more morally gray than he himself had been. His quest to out him and Uncle Iroh as Firebenders seemed to get Jet into more trouble than it was worth. Eventually leading to his demise. It wasn't unbelievable for these old companions of his to put the blame on Zuko. That was the popular thing, after all. Thankfully, Ryota's less-than-thoughtful words managed to take some of the attention away from him, allowing Zuko to return his glance to Toph, who he noticed was actually carrying quite a pleasant smile from his greeting, something that was quite attractive on her, of course that faded quickly as she chastised Ryota for waving at her. The situation made Zuko chuckle slightly, not that he was making light of Toph's blindness, but she had never been one to be sensitive about it before, just very blunt about what bothered her.

He had to admit, he admired Toph's sudden urge to defend him, even though there were some things he deserved to be blamed for. Whether or not this was that time had yet to be determined, but the Earthbender was right, this was a meeting and not a time to air old grievances. They'd have plenty of time to do that afterward.

"It's all right, Toph." Zuko closed his eyes, reaching up to the girl's shoulder in hopes to calm her some. "As you said, this is a place where we're trying to mend our relations." He continued, once again keeping his comments short in order not to once again attempt one of Uncle's proverbs and mess it up. Thankfully, yet another interruption arrived which would soon distract them from the current complications. Aang quickly snuck inside the door, acting as if he was trying to hide from something.

"Whew, No one saw me... Hopefully no one will realize I'm..." He mused to himself, only to turn to see the whole room staring at him. "Late..."

"Heeey everyone! How about that weather! Appa sure doesn't like flying in the rain!" The Avatar chuckled, scratching his still-bald head nervously. Zuko rolled his eyes before turning his gaze back forward to nothing in particular.

"Looked fairly calm when I was out there. Not a cloud in the sky." The Fire Lord commented, trying to call Aang out on his excuse. "Perhaps your bison is just slowing with age."

"Hey, clouds are sneaky, all right? Appa is just as fast as ever! Anyhow, good to see you, Zuko ol' buddy! Smellerbee and Longshot! Glad you could make it! Sifu Toph, honored as always." He chirped happily, bowing at the end when referring to Toph before finding a spot at the table near Sokka and Katara, greeting them as well, though seeing as he saw Katara every day almost, he didn't call them out in any embarrassing manner. Though he did glance to Ryota and give a confused look before smiling again and holding out his hand. "Don't think we've met! I'm Aang!"

"I'm fairly sure he knows who you are..." Zuko sighed softly, already getting impatient.

The box began to roll down the stack of boxes coming to rest on the lip of the open cargo doors of the airship. She uncorked the top vile shooting the colored water like an arrow. She punched out one of the screws that held the box, she hated using bending. Three more screws and the lid popped of falling hundreds of feet. Lan crawled out of the box as it fell disappearing from view in a thick layer of fluffy white clouds. She explored the large cargo room for anything that might be used as a weapon.

She had brought little with her rumors were that merchants were using earth benders to search for illicit goods. She found a pipe that with some could be freed and used as a weapon. She grasped it with both hands and planted a foot on the wall pulling with all of her strength. The bar came free catapulting her into a hanging collection of glass bottles that chimes like a bell. “Damn its hot in here“ she slowly shed a few layers of her clothing searching for something to eat.

Lan opened another vile collecting the water between two fingers forcing it from one finger to another. She then placed the water back in the vile she would use bending only if she had to. She found a thin sheet of metal using her coat he folded it several time and worded it into the door jam. A fire nation door was one solid unit connected to the rest of the ship by only a few magnetic bolts. It should have stopped what she had planned, only she pushed down.

Even her slight weight was enough to pop the door out it rolled like a top echoing through the halls of the airship. She could have used her bending to rapidly freeze the lock but that would have been a failure. She crawled though the door wondering where the crew was a ship this size must be crewed by dozens. She tossed a coin onto the floor which rapidly turned red with heat. Using the railing she crawled through the thin corridor to main gunners deck.

All of the platforms were fire nation gunners would stand were empty her stomach lurched at the site of all that blue. The pills she had made were not working anymore and she was feeling airsick. She popped another one into her mouth that fire nation soldier better be right about Azula. If she had to jump out of this airship and go back to the hospital he was going to be very sorry.

Xia

The beast was white of fur and brown of marking. It had six legs and five stomachs, and it was beautiful to behold. An old man stood before it, feeding it apples one at a time from a basket at his feet; he fed it apples one at a time with one hand, while with the other hand, he rubbed its nose and made soothing whickering noises.

The beast seemed to sit and endure this, perhaps enjoy this, breathing calmly, though from the occasional movement of its great soft eyes, one might suspect that it secretly wanted to devour the entire basket of apples wholesale at a bite. It was definitely big enough to do this, big enough to bowl the old man over and take his apples all at once.

But there was calm between the old man and the beast, and neither one pushed the other too far.

Xia had gotten her breath back for the most part, and had made her way towards the palace. But that sight, the sight of that beast, this had been enough to take her breath away all over again.

Because this beast was just about one of a kind.

Its brown markings formed an arrow upon its brow and Xia's mouth hung open as she crouched in the mouth of one of the streets near the palace.

A Flying Bison.

The Flying Bison.

Xia found her mouth was dry and her fingers were trembling, her whole body was trembling in a way entirely unrelated to fatigue.

If the Flying Bison was here, then that meant. Then that meant.

Then that meant The Last Airbender was here. That meant The Avatar was here...

Was here.

Then that meant she could maybe get some answers and not have to deal with cryptic speech from fortune-tellers any longer.

Renewed resolve blazed within her.

In the distance, near one of the servants' entrances, two guards stood. One stood tall and straight, unnaturally stiff, and the other seemed a touch more relaxed.

She stood straight, and she narrowed her eyes, and she concentrated. She felt little crossbreezes, the natural ambient eddying currents of the atmosphere, wander past her ears.

And then she beckoned, ever-so-gently, to the little crossbreezes that wandered past their mouths. And the wind shifted, ever-so-subtly, and carried the sound to her ears.

...they spoke at a mutter, a hundred yards away, and yet she could hear them.

"--Omashu's Queen's really filled out in the last few years," the more relaxed of the two chuckled. "Kinda makes me feel all jealous of that Aang fella. I bet he gets his pick of any girl he wants, and he gets to pick from the crowd that includes the sexy blind girl? Then again, there's that Water girl..."

His counterpart, jaw tightening, regarded the relaxed one with a dour look.

"Please try," he seethed softly, "to show a little respect."

"Hey, I got respect," Relaxed shrugged easily. "I respect that The Avatar must have to fight the pretty little things off with a stick. Not that I would fight them off, if I were him."

"If you're going to besmirch The Avatar with your foul speech," Dour insisted, "please try to do so on a day when he is not present to hear your impertinence."

Xia bit the inside of her cheek. It was true, then, he was here.

This made it more important than ever that she get inside. Quickly, the fortune teller's prattling was transforming from nonsense into an imperative.

There were two guards.

They were likely more skilled than she was, braver and more competent. And they were capable of summoning more of the nigh-infinite guards that resided within The Palace itself.

But she had to get past them. These two were her first hurdle.

She wanted so very desperately to understand.

With a deft stroke, she drew her left-hand blade, and she scrrrraaaaped the tip of the sword along the flagstones beneath her feet, while at the same time shoving outward with the palm of her right hand, shoving towards the two guards...

Her rush of wind carried the sound and swelled it so that the sound of steel clashing on stone resounded in their ears like it was right upon them and they tensed and glanced around, immediately switching to powerful Earthbender stances...

...Xia was already running, already sprinting so very very quickly, they were distracted, like the guards who had seen the shadow, and she could do it, she could get past them--

She was just before the archway when one of them grabbed her 'round the arm and brought her skidding to a halt, her sword clattering to the ground as it tumbled from her grasp.

"Where do you think you're going?" the formerly relaxed guard demanded, storming up to her, as his partner held her to the spot in a fist that seemed literally to be made of stone.

"I need to see The--" Xia began to demand, but the man who held her interrupted her coolly.

"We need to see one of two things," he silenced her. "Written permission from one of the citizens of The Upper Ring, allowing you to traipse about the greater regions of Ba Sing Se under their recognisance, and/or written permission from The Earth King himself, allowing you entrance to The Palace as a commoner."

Xia stared at him incredulously for a moment. "It is written," she growled: "'The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.'"

The cool-blooded guard seemed unimpressed by this: "Is it not also written? 'To those whose talents are above mediocrity, the highest subjects may be announced. To those who are below mediocrity, the highest subjects may not be announced.'"

Xia's skill in the matters of Airbending was absolutely paltry. She was capable of parlour tricks and little else. But one thing she was good at was carrying sounds on the wind, and when she held up her hand in the cool-blooded guard's face and snapped her fingers it sounded like cannon fire in his ears.

To his credit, as he was reformed Dai Li, he didn't lose his grip on her, but his stance was shaken, and this was enough that Xia could move. She sprinted, fast as she could under the circumstances, dragging the cool-blooded guard with her...

...the more lackadaisical guard lunged for her, but she dodged his grab in the same movement that she ducked down and grabbed her blade from where it had fallen on the ground. She ran for the pillars that supported the archway and she ran straight up the wall, bounding off of it at about eye-level, flipping over the head of the man who still clutched her arm, and driving both her tucked-up knees into the back of his head.

He slammed into the pillar face-first and crumpled, barely conscious, and finally he let her go, his stone-clad hand snapped open.

The lackadaisical guard was running for her, but her lip twitched and she drew her right hand sword as she turned to face him. She slashed the blades in front of herself, the flats of those short weapons catching the wind and creating a simultaneous dual draft that literally blasted the other guard off of his feet and head over heels into the opposite side of the archway.

He crumpled, completely unconscious, and Xia turned to run, blood pumping in her veins--

SHHHKOW!

--literally, a bolt from the blue. A lightning bolt came from nowhere, blasting a small crater in the floor at her feet and she stumbled and cursed and was brought up short. She whipped her head around in a desperate attempt to see where this had come from.

The old man stood there, his hands tucked in the sleeves of his outfit, an eyebrow arched. Behind him loomed The Flying Bison, and it no longer seemed interested in apples.

"What have we here?" he wondered, a voice so ancient that it was almost made of gravel, and yet a voice so gentle that it was warm around the edges.

"You're him," Xia breathed, in recognition, in dawning recognition and quiet gratitude. "'The Dragon of The West.' You saved us all."

The old man smiled faintly, oh-so-faintly, wry humour and irony in his eyes and on his lips. "It is written: 'I am not at all interested in immortality, only in the taste of tea.'"

Xia lowered her swords. "Please, Venerable Sir, I need to--"

But again she was interrupted, as the old man walked up to her, eyes harder than the hardest Earth Kingdom stone and hotter than the hottest Fire Nation pyre. He cupped her chin in his palm and he gazed at her. He gazed at her deeply with those hard blazing eyes that had seen so very very much.

"The Fire Sages were scrying for Airbenders," he murmured, "when all of this began. I am glad to see that they were not as omniscient as they thought they were. Still, I cannot help but be curious, how did you escape the casting of their astrological nets?"

"It is written," Xia spoke slowly, carefully, trying her very best to be reverent though this was most difficult for her: "'Things are not what they appear to be: nor are they otherwise.'"

The old man nodded, and lowered his hand from her chin, as his eyes softened and extinguished into cooling coals. "Truer words have rarely been spoken."

"Please, Venerable General-Dragon," Xia murmured softly, "this one needs to speak with The Avatar."

"Yes," the old man agreed, "this one does indeed."

The cooler-blooded of the guards picked himself up, staggering to his feet, and dusted himself off.

He shook his head as if to clear it, and then stalked over to the young woman. His nose was broken and it was bleeding.

"Thank you, General Iroh," he growled, no longer feeling quite so cool-blooded, "I shall take her from here."

Iroh smiled at him, a big beaming smile with eyes squinted very nearly shut: "Oh, no, Mister Former Dai Li, that's quite all right. I'm perfectly happy to keep an eye on her for you. She's such a young and pretty thing, after all, I should not want to take my eyes off of her."

Xia's eyes widened, and she felt red coming to her cheeks. Is he serious?

This guard seemed shaken more than just physically, and his eyebrows climbed his forehead: "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely," Iroh laughed heartily, hands on his tummy. "In fact, I have never been more serious in my life. Except for that one time. And that other time. And there was -- well. I have been more serious before, but I am not kidding now, either."

"As an Upper Ring citizen," the guard frowned, a little off-balance, unable to resume his proper cool-bloodedness, "you can vouch for her presence up here in the higher echelons, but she cannot enter The Palace without permission from The Earth King."

"Okay then," Iroh grinned, looping his arm through Xia's and making as if to lead her off into the palace, "we'll just go get his permission and then bring it back to you."

Hurriedly, Xia sheathed her swords and clutched Iroh's arm, feeling a little bowled over by her good fortune and by this blessed ancient man coming to her aid.

"Sir, please," the guard tried again, utterly pained, but Iroh silenced him with a look and a very true statement.

"You just got beaten by a skinny Lower Ring girl, Mister Former Dai Li," Iroh pointed out, casual as could be, "and we both know I, too, have beaten you before in a fight. Or have you forgotten that anecdote that turned into a demonstration?"

"Yessir," the guard nodded, crestfallen. "No-sir."

As Iroh walked them deeper into The Palace, a great ear-splitting air-splitting roar sounded from behind them.

Iroh again glanced over his shoulder, and saw The Flying Bison standing just outside the archway.

"Oh, of course, I am terribly sorry!" he grinned at Appa. "Forgive me. Yes, help yourself. It is not like me to be so neglectful of my friends and guests."

Appa roared again, this time cheerfully and gratefully, and wandered over to that basket of apples. He ate it in a bite, basket and all, just like he'd wanted to do the whole time.

And Iroh and Xia walked together into The Palace, while the one guard tended to his unconscious partner.

"Thank you," Xia murmured, struggling through her standoffishness and her bewilderment to be at least temporarily polite. "There are no words for the good deed you just did for me."

"It is written," Iroh intoned wisely: "'She who takes some of the stuffing out of an overstuffed elitist peacock is instantly The Dragon's friend.'"

Xia blinked, dubious. "Really? That's written?"

Iroh shrugged, and grinned broadly. "Well, not yet. Remind me to jot that down before we leave? My memory is not what it used to be. Now, let us go visit my nephew and his friend The Avatar. (Granted, we should not interrupt so important a meeting, but I think they should perhaps fit us in at the end of their agenda.)"

Ryota watched as the assortment of friends and old enemies traded off their respective exchanging of words. The young water bender had already felt rather silly because of the waving incident; particularly after Toph's understandable, if rather blunt, reaction to him about it. Thus, it was probably of little surprise when he took the Earthbender's confrontation of Smellerbee as a chance for slowly slinking back in his position, as if wishing he could vanish before he ended up in the middle of a potential catfight.

Besides, it seemed unlikely either of the water tribe siblings would be in any danger with this group, nor was it as if neither one could defend themselves if it did somehow get to that point. If anyone was in any danger of a venomous attack, it was probably Fire Lord Zuko; at least judging by the female Freedom Fighter's reaction to his presence. Ryota could relate to her anger after having suffered his own losses thanks to the Fire Nation, but also recognized by her initial response that part of the pairs story was even more directly tied to the Fire Lord then his own.

The thought of speaking up again had crossed his mind, until everyone's attention suddenly shifted toward the late arrival of, perhaps, the most important person for this meeting. Ryota had seen The Avatar on several occasions during his numerous occupations between the Northern and Southern Tribes, but hadn't been given the privilege of formally meeting him. As Aang made his rounds in reacquainting himself with old friends and allies, the Water Tribe native kept warning himself of saying anything stupid when the legendary Airbender got around to meeting him.

As he stretched out a hand in order to accept Aang's own, Ryota gave a brief acknowledgment of Zuko's comment while introducing himself with a sizable amount of enthusiasm, "He's right: Who doesn't know The Avatar? I mean, everybody knows about The Avatar itself, of course. But who hasn't become familiar with you, specifically, after what you did when the comet passed over eight years ago?"

About there is when he caught onto the fact that he'd yet to let go of Aang's hand, causing the young bender to suddenly let go and place both hands at his sides; a look of slight embarrassment evident on his features, "Sorry, sorry. It's just an incredible honor to finally meet you face-to-face after all of this time."

His own attention was unexpectedly diverted as he felt a hand tapping his shoulder, which spurred the Tribesman to turn and find himself staring at Sokka once again, "Uh, Ryota? Why don't you just cut through the formalities and ask him for his autograph, already?"

Sokka's words were whispered with a hand shielding one side of his mouth, rather then shouted loud and clear for everyone to hear, but Ryota doubted it made much difference when considering the relatively close proximity of everyone in the meeting room. Groaning to himself, he started to figure it best if he kept his lips zipped until the meeting itself started up. Probably even during it, for that matter.

The Avatar chuckled lightly at Ryota's reaction. It wasn't ususual at all, but he disliked when people made a big deal out of his title. He prefered to have everyone treat him like they would any normal person, as that way a more genuine friendship could develop. Sokka and Katara didn't learn he was the Avatar right away, which he felt made his interactions with them all the more sincere. Though he could at least be thankful Ryota wasn't foaming at the mouth like some managed to do. After the greeting, Aang withdrew his hand and placed it upon his glider staff.

"Everyone in here and many others are responsible for our victory that day. No individual person deserves all the credit, and since you're a friend of Katara and Sokka's, I'm just as honored to meet you!" The Avatar spoke with a friendly grin, as usual. The cheerfulness of the atmosphere was beginning to take its toll on Zuko, who was leaning on the table with his cheek pressed into his palm, a very unamused expression planted on his face. The Fire Lord sighed softly, but likely no one heard him, especially since a few were chuckling at Sokka's autograph comment.

It was then that the door opened once more to reveal the olive-garbed Earth King as he poked his head in to glance around the room. "Oh! The Avatar is here... I was not informed of his arrival. And here I was waiting by the gate for no reason... Well, splendid. That means we can begin!"

"Speaking of your stealthy entrance, just what did you plan on doing once you got in, anyways? If you're the one late, that means everyone else is already here and sees you enter... sort of like, what just happened?" Zuko finally spoke up in curiosity. Aang glanced over to his old advesary and scratched his head as if searching for some sort of decent answer.

"Well.. I guess I didn't really think it through, heh. No matter!" Aang beamed, taking a seat next to Katara as the Earth King took his own at the head of the table, appropriately so being that this was his establishment. After adjusting his spectacles, he smiled lightly and glanced between the present group.

"The meeting of the Four Nations will now commence, then! Is there someone who would like to speak first?" The King questioned while Zuko noticably tried to shrink in his own seat slightly.