Chapter 17: In which it becomes fully apparent the spirits have it out for me (Patreon)

Ty Lee sometimes hated the fact that she was objectively a cute girl.

Her scowl directed at a smiling Zuko seemed to have as much effect as the breeze to a mountain, and she was almost positive it was because when she scowled, it looked far more like a pout to Zuko, one he had frequently experienced for far more mundane things, including not letting her braid his hair before an important meeting and not being given yet another sweet before dinner.

“Zuko,” she growled, but it was a squeaky sort of thing, and the infuriating boy just smiled in return. “Zuko,” she tried again, attempting to add fire to her glare. Zuko merely raised an eyebrow in response.

Damn him, fine if he wanted to play it that way…

Her eyes became immediately less fiery, softening to soulful, broken grey, and her lips turned down as she looked at Zuko, crossing her arms as if to hug herself for comfort, “Zuko, please,” she whispered brokenly.

Zuko’s face instantly paled, and he began to frown as he glared at her, “No, Ty Lee,” he said firmly, putting on what Azula had dubbed big brother voice, which admittedly caused Ty Lee’s heart to double beat, but that was far from enough to deter her in this situation.

A moment passed as Ty Lee continued to gaze sadly at Zuko. Zuko scowled, shaking his head and crossing his own arms, and turned to the side, “It doesn’t work anymore, stop,” he grunted.

Ty Lee didn’t stop as tears began to glisten in her eyes, and she raised a single hand up to his cheek, softly turning it to face her.

Zuko’s fierce, pale golden eyes stared into her own, his typical conviction there, but she could see it wavering.

“Zuko, please, I don’t want you to die,” Ty Lee whispered, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

Zuko's face became ghostly white now, and his arms uncrossed, wrapping them instantly around Ty Lee in a gentle embrace, putting them conveniently behind her back, leaving her with open access, “I’m not going to die Ty Lee-” he said, which was as far as he got before she moved.

Her left fingers lashed out into the side of his neck just as her right fingers found a point in his side. Several more blows flickered across him, hitting each chi point directly.

Zuko collapsed forward, and Ty Lee caught him, holding him gently to her chest, squishing him there for a moment as she slowly lowered him to the ground, arraying his body slowly as her chi diagrams were, fingers flickering over him as she checked over him, feeling gently over him, kneading each spot for a moment, attempting to find irregularities.

Zuko was looking at her with his eyebrow raised; she knew, but she ignored him as she continued checking, her hands traversing him.

Mai and Sosha walked over, surrounding them, Mai with her arms crossed, while Sosha merely had a raised eyebrow.

“Help?” Zuko asked questioningly, though his voice didn’t sound particularly hopeful.

Mai and Sosha glanced at each other, apparently weighing something, before they looked back at him.

“Not a chance,” they said in unison.

Zuko blinked, not looking surprised, before he sighed, “I figured,” he shook his head, “This was part of the reason I didn’t want to explain this nonsense, it’s a complete overreaction, I got checked over by a Master Waterbending Healer.”

Ty Lee glanced up at him from where she was positioned on his chest, “I can tell your chi says you’ve been healed of some serious injuries,” she said, beaming sweetly at the boy even as she momentarily had the fantasy of tying Zuko to a post so he would just stop doing things.

“Right,” Zuko released a small breath, “Literally was like the smallest deal ever,” he sighed, “like,” he hesitated, “like a really small deal, so much so that I wouldn’t worry about.”

“Zuko, shut up,” Ty Lee said abruptly, ignoring the incredulous looks of the other girls, as her fingers settled over his chest, pressing against firm, warm flesh, feeling his heartbeat through his shirt.

Zuko did, but still looked vaguely put upon with a raised eyebrow and a soft, reassuring smile.

Ty Lee took a deep breath, and for a moment, the air on her skin felt particularly sensitive. She brushed her fingers across Zuko’s chest again; she felt prickles across them, and she was filled with the certainty that Zuko’s chest was in perfect shape, and the lungs beneath it were clear of injury, and the air that rested in it was not being twisted to tell any current lies, and then she reached farther to where the color that her eyes could see was in her grasp and she realized that she was holding onto a soft warmth, curling gently against her fingers, caressing the tips in friendly greeting, before she felt the warmth change to a cool that liquidly dripped over her in a refreshing wave in spite of the fact she hadn’t been hot.

Ty Lee blinked, shaking her head, and then scowled again at Zuko, completely unsure of where that had come from, but still, she always trusted her senses, so she sat back with a sigh, pouting down at Zuko, “You’re fine,” she muttered grumpily.

“Great,” Zuko sighed, “I’ll just lie here till this wears off, then,” he raised another eyebrow at Ty Lee.

Ty Lee scowled and then lifted up on her knees, turning around to sit with her butt on Zuko’s stomach, ignoring his soft huff as the air was forced from his lungs as she crossed her arms, looking up at Mai and Sosha, “So what’re we doing with him?’ she asked conversationally.

Mai shrugged her shoulders in a move that seemed strangely elegant for the motion, “I believe we likely need to at least punish him for that bit of daring do in Gaoling.”

Ty Lee blinked before her eyes widened as she realized what her friend was talking about, “That was totally him, wasn’t it!” She turned to pout down at Zuko, whose pale golden eyes immediately averted.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Mai interrupted, “If you lie, Ty Lee’s going to cry,” she said bluntly.

Zuko’s brow furrowed as his eyes flicked to Ty Lee, seemingly caught off guard, “Uh, really?” he asked hesitantly, and Ty Lee contained her amusement that even after falling for it time and again, Zuko still wasn’t so certain not to fall for it for the next time.

Ty Lee smiled sweetly at the boy before she raised an eyebrow, “Answer the question, Zuzu,” she said bluntly.

Zuko looked a little caught off guard, seemingly weighing their words for a moment before he slowly nodded, “Yeah, that was me,” he admitted softly

Mai nodded her head once, a single solemn motion before she knelt and placed her hand gently upon Zuko’s left cheek as she pressed her lips softly against his right cheek, “Thank you,” she said quietly before her hand on his cheek lightly pinched his flesh between her thumb and forefinger, “Don’t hide stuff from us,” she said bluntly.

Zuko raised an eyebrow at her, “You know, sometimes it can’t be helped. Stuff just seems to happen to me.”

“Probably because the spirits have it out for you,” Ty Lee remarked, shaking her head before scowling, “Which is probably because you do dumb stuff like dress up and hide your identity out of some misplaced sense of duty or whatever.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow as he looked directly into Ty Lee’s eyes, “I’m not apologizing for watching out for my friends.”

Ty Lee felt her cheeks color slightly even as something tense stirred in her gut, “Is that what we are?” emerged from her lips not so much because it was the words she wanted to say but more because they were words that couldn’t help but come forth, breaching her lips without really her say so.

Zuko blinked before a breath left his mouth, something like a chuckle, almost, “Is friends so bad?” he asked quietly, his eyes averting from hers.

Ty Lee raised an eyebrow at him, the tension tightening in her stomach, “If it’s the truth, no,” she said honestly, even as her gut clenched, tensing.

Zuko's head turned, and pale golden eyes bored into her own grey, and Ty Lee was struck for a moment by the absurdity of the refugee of a nation thought dead staring at the great-grandson of the man who had ordered their destruction.

Zuko opened his mouth to say something, hesitating a moment, before quietly, “I care for you a great deal, Ty Lee,” he said quietly, and Ty Lee’s heart soared even as he continued, “as I do Mai,” his eyes flicked to the girl, “And Azula and Yue, not to mention my growing affection for Sosha,” the girl in question eyes widened, “Suki, Ao, Yi, and Ya.”

He raised an eyebrow at Ty Lee, who still looked taken aback at his statement.

“See,” Zuko said bluntly, “It’s not so easy. Regardless of whether I care about more than one person, there’s a choice in the end that I have to make to hurt everyone else’s feelings for the benefit of one person.”

Zuko blew forth a breath, and he looked strangely tired in that moment, “I didn’t think I’d ever even have one person that I cared about like that. Now I have the amazing gift to choose who gets to suffer my emotional incompetence and who gets to deal with the consequences.”

His blunt words hung in the air, weighing its very essence as Ty Lee stared at the boy, her eyebrows still widened as she looked at the boy, “You,” she hesitated, not wanting to say the words, afraid they would disappear, “You care about me?”

Zuko blinked, looking at the girl, his eyes wide with confusion, “That’s what you took from that?”

Ty Lee flipped backward off Zuko, raised her arms, and shouted, “Yes!” before falling into laughing, giddy cartwheels, her stomach soaring beyond her bounds to control.

Zuko regarded her with his eyebrow cocked before turning to Mai, “What?” he said bluntly.

Mai’s cheeks were a faint pink, and her eyes were averted from Zuko, seeming to regard something out of sight of all of them, “Why didn’t you just say that, idiot?” she mumbled quietly.

Zuko then turned to Sosha, who had her arms crossed defensively in front of her stomach, chewing her lip as she looked away before her eyes widened as she realized Zuko was looking at her, and her cheeks also reddened, “It’s not like I wanted my children to be heirs to the Fire Nation Throne in the first place,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushed a brilliant red and she turned around, “I mean if it came to that, I still don’t really know if I want your particular brand of idiocy for my children.”

Zuko blinked slowly before shaking his head, seemingly bewildered.

“This is more complicated than that,” he said bluntly.

It was Mai who responded unexpectedly, “It’s not.”

The attention of the clearing focused on her, Ty Lee with a happy, almost proud smile on her face, Sosha with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

Mai looked startled amber eyes blinking slowly, before she shook her long, silky black hair, “Maybe for someone not the Fire Prince of the Fire Nation,” she dipped her head to the side, “It would be more complicated. Yet you need allies, you’ve said so yourself. Marriage is fundamentally a form of alliance; more than that, you’ve said you want to end the war. Personal power only goes so far; the more allies you have, the closer you get to shoving unconditional peace down everyone’s throats, whether they like it or not.”

Zuko scowled angrily, “I’m not marrying anyone just to achieve a peace treaty, I wouldn’t do that to any of you girls.”

“Why not?” snapped Mai, raising an eyebrow, amber eyes growing cold, “Do you think the personal happiness of anyone outweighs peace after a hundred years?”

Zuko's golden eyes smoldered, “Yours does,” he said coolly, “Ty Lee, Sosha, Azula, Yue, Yi, Ya, Ao, Suki,” he hesitated, shaking his head, “If I wanted to end this war simply I could have done that when I was thirteen, I would have killed my Father and by doing so taken power for all of an instant before the world turned on the suddenly headless Fire Nation. More death and war would have been waged, but the war would eventually come to an end after I killed enough generals and nobles. With them would die countless other people, but the war would indeed end, perhaps with the righteous destruction of the Fire Nation,” he raised an eyebrow, before he shook his head, visible guilt flickering across his face, “And all of that perhaps I would find acceptable if it did not put what I loved in danger,” he said quietly his words echoing in the now silence.

Ty Lee regarded Zuko, her eyes wide at the unexpected forthrightness, surprised by Zuko’s words, taken aback by the boy, though she found herself not necessarily unsettled by his admission. Perhaps it wasn’t necessarily heroic, but what it was honest, selfish perhaps, but not necessarily in an unkind way.

“And?” It was Sosha’s words that broke the silence, a single eyebrow raised over unimpressed grey eyes.

Zuko frowned, “That’s it, do you understand my values now? I’m unwilling to sacrifice anyone I care about, even if it is for the world.”

Sosha visibly rolled her eyes, “No one’s asking you to, dummy, just not to be a self-righteous jerk where you make whatever this decision is without our input.”

Zuko blinked, looking befuddled.

Sosha sighed, rolling her eyes before she jabbed at Ty Lee with a forefinger, “Do you love him?”

Ty Lee’s heart clenched, and her eyes widened. Her hands began to wave back and forth in front of her rapidly, “Whoa, I mean, that’s a lot to say, kind of heavy, don’t you think? Maybe now isn’t the right time for that kind of-“

Sosha scowled and snarled, cutting her off, “Do. You. Love. Him?” She enunciated each word clearly with a jab at her, the wind gusting about them for a moment.

Ty Lee blinked, hesitating a moment, glancing at Zuko, who looked absolutely bewildered, and then at Mai, whose expression had now slackened from her usual stoic look to shaken.

Slowly, deliberately, she nodded her head, looking at Zuko, “Yes, I do,” she said quietly, even as her gut clenched instinctively as she said those words to the heir of the Nation that had destroyed her own, the same boy who had shown a girl that the world was not dark shadows.

“Great,” Sosha shrugged her shoulders before jabbing at Mai, “And you?”

Mai blinked, looking befuddled in a uniquely Mai way before her eyes flicked to the side away from all of them, and she gave a small but deliberate nod, “I love him,” she whispered, and Ty Lee saw Zuko’s eyes widened a bit further, not caught off guard but seemingly surprised Mai had been willing to say those words.

Sosha clapped her hands, and the air vibrated. “Excellent,” she then turned to look down at Zuko, “Perhaps you’d like to break both these maiden hearts at once rather than in sequence.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow at her before he turned to look at Ty Lee and Mai, “This is going to be messy,” he said quietly, and for a moment, Ty Lee’s heart dropped before Zuko shook his head, giving the pair of them a rueful smile, “I seem to have misjudged all of you,” he said quietly, “I thought I was sparing you pain and heartbreak but regardless seem to have inflicted it in the same move.”

His pale golden eyes closed for a moment before they flicked open, staring at Ty Lee, “I love you both,” he shook his head, seemingly bemused with himself, “Just as I love Yue,” he grimaced slightly, shaking his head, not disgust but seeming confusion, “And Azula,” then he began to chuckle a deep vibrating sound, “What a piece of work I am huh?”

Ty Lee blinked, and perhaps while the situation was abnormal, extremely so even for Fire Nation nobility, she did not restrain the warmth in her chest, even as a soft smile emerged on her face, far unlike her usual wide grin’s as she fell next to Zuko wrapping her arms around him, “I love you too,” she whispered quietly into his ear, not able to say the words louder in this moment but letting her breath gust against the shell of his ear.

Mai kneeled on his other side, brushing her lips against Zuko’s ear, whispering something meant to be quiet, yet the air easily carried it to Ty Lee’s ears.

“You’re mine, even if I have to share you.”

Ty Lee blinked, then restrained a giggle from emerging from her lips.

That was just like Mai.

Sosha looked with a small, satisfied smile on her face that had the faintest trace of wistfulness to it.

-

My chest felt lighter in a way that didn’t quite make sense. Every breath was easier now than it had been before, air gusting free from my mouth that I had to consciously avoid freezing or turning to flame.

Ty Lee had done something to my chest which I really could not guess at; truth be told, I didn’t think she knew she had done anything.

I watched from the sidelines with Mai as Ty Lee and Sosha moved slowly through the forms I had directed them in, the forms I remembered from my time among the Air Nomads.

I could feel the heat distortions in the air as it bent along with the particles of moisture that still moved through it.

Fundamentally, I knew what it meant now that I had taken on this task: a visit to the Air Temple was now mandatory for one thing, but more than that, a visit to Wan Shi Tong Library would likely be next.

Along with either more prayers to the spirits or complete abstinence from them. Being responsible for some of the last airbenders in existence and their training was a heavy responsibility, but I didn’t necessarily see another option.

Either way, as Ty Lee stirred a gust with her palms, her eyes widening and her lips doing a strange motion I didn’t know how to interpret, I found myself confused.

Mostly with the spirit's sense of humor, and with my own helplessness in the face of it.

I had been born weak and insignificant; every inch of ability I had gained, I had thought painstakingly through my own effort.

Then water had been given to me, and I had dealt with the fact as best I could, yet regardless of that, I had not been grateful.

Now fate, destiny, or chance had seen to put some of the last remaining airbenders in the world in front of me, and I was distinctly concerned. I was fully aware why these airbenders had likely not been trained beyond, at most, keeping them from bending, why Ty Lee’s parents, whom I had met in passing, all smiles directed my way, were covering well hidden caution.

The airbenders kept existing as long as they weren’t known, kept hidden by their own secret and the fact that the Avatar had not emerged, thereby proving that at least in some way the cycle had been stopped.

Of course, proof that airbenders existed, I knew, also meant that Anya was very much still likely alive.

Yet I had given that even more thought at this point. Sure, in the hypothetical waking, Anya would be beneficial because then the Avatar could once more bring balance to the world, at least thought the White Lotus.

But a thought had been bothering me, and now surfaced with Ty Lee.

The Avatar kept the balance of the Elemental Nations, and more specifically, the Avatar kept them separate.

What would the Avatar have to say about the fact that the air nomads had now dispersed and lived among the other nations? I hadn’t known Anya all that long, and I wasn’t quite sure what lessons she took from her people.

Would the airbenders have to move back to their temples, ones that had not been inhabited for a hundred years? Would Anya desire to restart the air nomads in general?

There was nothing I could really do to stop her in the first regard; she was the Avatar, yet that thought almost brought the same frustration I had with the Firelord. Either way this world and war went, it would be one of them deciding how things went.

Having met Anya, I did not think she would purposely force others into her way of thinking, yet it was undeniable that, as the Avatar, she had more effect than others might in her beliefs.

I was caught between two points, both of which were unilateral authority over the world, and while certainly the Fire Lord did not deserve such power.

Was it really that the Avatar did?

Wind stirred as Sosha shifted her arms, taking a martial bent like she was carrying her fans, bringing her hands down as a blade of wind sliced across the clearing, slicing a huge gash through a tree.

Ty Lee turned distracted, “That was so cool!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down, her chest bouncing with her pendulously to the point I had to avert my eyes.

Sosha scoffed, crossing her arms, though I saw the briefest of smiles break through on her face as she turned away, “It’s nothing, I’ve,” she shrugged her shoulders hesitantly, “Somewhat experimented before, I’ve had to restrain myself a bit when fighting as such.”

Ty Lee’s expression became smaller as she looked across the water of the lake next to us, “I’ve never really had the chance,” she admitted before shaking her head, almost rueful, “It was always too dangerous in the Fire Nation.”

A frown pushed my lips downward as I regarded Ty Lee, unable to shake the small swell of guilt in my chest at her words.

Mai, who was lying back on the grass staring at the sky with a bland expression, interrupted my thoughts, “So who in the spirits' name was that ‘Toph’ girl?” she asked.

I blinked then turned to Mai, “It’s a story probably everyone should hear,” I admitted aloud, before I shook my head, “But the long and short of it is current pain in my ass,” I replied dryly.

“And the future?” Mai asked.

I released a long breath, a faint smile curling my lips up regardless, “Hopefully a pain in our enemies' asses as well.”

-

Ty Lee and Sosha had practiced for a day and a half, and by watching them do so, I had come to realize that we would have to be moving on soon because the practice afforded to them now wasn’t really enough to gain the mastery they needed. Without actual instruction from at least scrolls, there were certain techniques to do with airbending that I could not really teach.

Still, it was a remarkably more cheerful and relaxed group that once more entered the Beifong home to greet our friends, and as we sat down for dinner that night, our conversation began with Yue, strangely enough.

“I believe the trade deals that the North Pole wished for have been dealt with,” she dipped her head to the side, her eyes flickering meaningfully to Azula.

Azula smiled a smile of satisfaction, “As has the Fire Nation though,” she cocked her head to the side, seemingly amused at herself, “It is only in the trade of foodstuffs and commercial wares, for some reason, unfortunately, there was no ability to find more coal for Fire Nation ships.”

“How unfortunate,” Mai remarked dryly, raising an eyebrow at her friend, her voice oddly pleasant, almost good-humored.

Azula seemed to notice, looking at Mai with a small smile, this one strangely real, “I presume all of you had a pleasant trip?” she asked.

Mai shrugged, “It wasn’t boring,” she said simply, and then continued eating her food with diligence and grace.

Azula turned to me and raised an eyebrow, something amused, something smug crossing across her face, “With all that being said, I believe that it would be best not to overstay our welcome. I presume that you have prepared for our next destination.”

I cocked my head to the side, “I believe it would be best to visit an Air Temple, any of them should be fine for our purposes.”

I purposely left out which one for the moment; the Eastern or Southern Temples were the most obvious, but I wondered if any of my companions would have something to say first.

“Oh?” Azula said cocking her head to the side, an obvious question, but she seemed contemplative for a moment, as if she wished to figure it out for herself before she voiced something.

Yue blinked and then smiled a small, lazy thing, seated at my side currently, she let herself fall into me, her soft warmth conforming around me, her soft breasts conforming against my arm, as she stirred lazy swirls in her tea with a hovering finger.

“The records and other scrolls would have been looted or destroyed by now,” mused Azula, slowly raising an eyebrow at me, to which I nodded in agreement.

“After a hundred years, possibly,” I replied, “The Temples are relatively inaccessible, though to the average person, there could still be something.”

Azula hummed before her eyes flickered over to Ty Lee, something curious in them before she shrugged as if the matter was inconsequential, “Far be it from me to gainsay my future Lord and Husband,” she replied dryly, taking a sip of tea while Suki startled her eyes, blinking incredulously at the other girl before they turned to look at me.

“What?” she said, her tone understated, but I could see the confusion in her along with Yi and Ya, who had glanced at each other with widening eyes.

“It’s complicated,” I hedged quickly, attempting to buy time to figure out the best explanation, but such did not seem to satisfy Azula.

“It’s not,” she said dryly, an amused twist of her ruby lips upward, the red paint on them making the move oddly coquettish, “Zuzu’s going to do his duty and prevent a succession crisis, that’s the long and short of it,” she raised an elegant black eyebrow at me, daring me in so many words to contest it.

I hadn’t quite bought into such admittedly, but I also knew my sister. I was pretty sure, regardless of what I did in the end, I didn’t really have a choice in the matter once she had made a decision, in part because I knew that, given that my instinct was to spoil her at any chance, attempting to resist her whims was an exercise in futility and regardless probably wouldn’t end well for me and definitely wouldn’t for anyone else.

In short, I was far too attached to attempt to stop her despite my better judgment.

Considering the foibles of the royal family of the Fire Nation, this wasn’t the worst one to have, but it was something to consider, even if only within the depths of my own mind. Continuing as I was, allowing this attachment by Azula was not just the path of least resistance but also the one where I was, perhaps, allowing the girl to fall a bit farther than should be allowed in a moral sense.

I wondered if Iroh would censure me, but did not find the prospect particularly frightening, not because I thought the man unformidable in combat, but because I knew Iroh was in some ways like me. Both of us would often take the path of least resistance if something was for the best.

And this…

Well, Azula may have had the right of it. As it stood, the only reason on my part to push back on Azula was for her own sake, out of a desire to protect her. Yet my sister, despite how I loved her, I knew she had been born broken in a way that could not truly be fixed. If marrying her kept her safe and at a relative degree of sanity, I supposed I could not really object.

So I merely smiled obliquely at Azula’s words and dipped my head to the side, “As my sister says,” I replied dryly, noticing the small ratcheting of tension in the room from Azula’s words dissipating somewhat, replaced by confusion.

Yi and Ya looked at Azula for a moment before seemingly they collectively shrugged, going back to their tea, perhaps dismissing the whole of it as Fire Nation royalty nonsense, not without reason.

Sosha’s grey eyes flicked to me, raising a singular eyebrow before something amused flashed across her expression, and she returned to her food.

Ao remained completely unmoved, eating her food with the dedication and diligence of one who knew the truly most important things in life.

Suki choked on her tea, sputtering across the table, before turning to Mai and Ty Lee, “Is this common in the Fire Nation?!” she exclaimed.

Mai and Ty Lee looked at Azula, their expressions decidedly neutral, though perhaps leaning toward fond exasperation, before Ty Lee shook her head fondly and Mai rolled her eyes, her lips turning up in private amusement.

Mai raised an eyebrow at Suki, “You’re welcome to make an argument, I would warn you from personal experience that those arguments can turn… heated,” she tasted the word, her lips turned up in amusement, “quickly.”

Suki’s eyes turned to Azula, who was smiling sweetly at her the way I had seen her smile at a servant who had been insistent that Azula sleep in her own bed rather than mine.

Huh, maybe I really had been blind.

Suki’s eyes turned to me, the gaze of a drowning sailor looking for a piece of wood to carry them on the waves. I shrugged, releasing a breath, deciding to take charge for once, “I believe I lost this argument close to six years ago, even if unknowingly, I don’t think fighting it again will reach a different result.”

Suki’s eyes widened at me, and for a moment, much was communicated even though we had not spoken all that much.

Suki sighed and shook her head, a small but wry smile turning up her lips, “I suppose I should not be overly surprised, I had heard Nobles, even Earth Kingdom ones, have rather strange ways.”

I would have liked to say something in my defense, but truth be told, the ground I was on was far too shaky to do so.

Speaking of ground, I could feel the small warm presence of Toph sitting behind a wall next to the dining room, her fingers drumming idly across her left knee, seemingly beginning to run low on patience.

“With all that said,” I said, bringing the attention of the room onto me, “I believe there is someone who wishes a conversation with me, and given as it stands that I’d like to clear the air, if you don’t mind, I would ask them to come in.”

Azula cocked her head to the side, looking at me, her eyes flashing in interest as she rested her chin unladylike on her palm. Yue’s relaxed posture next to me continued as it was; Ty Lee and Mai didn’t react at all besides exchanging a knowing glance, Suki raised a seemingly exasperated eyebrow, and Sosha rolled her eyes. The rest of the Kyoshi warriors simply looked confused at the sudden change of topic, with the exception of Ao, who continued to eat.

The wall next to us slid apart, and the small, angry bundle of energy that was Toph stomped in, looking markedly different in a silken tan dress, her arms crossed in front of her chest, pushing against the beginnings of breasts.

“Finally,” she grunted rudely, “I thought you were going to make me wait until I had died of old age,” she scowled at me.

I didn’t bother turning to her as I could still feel her perfectly well with my bending, and given that she was also looking at me, I felt that was only polite.

“This is Toph Beifong,” I said, “Daughter of our hosts and the preeminent earthbender of the Earth Kingdom,” I said, vaguely gesturing in her direction.

“Great,” Toph grunted, not even bothering to turn her head to the other people in the room, “Nice to meet me,” she waved a hand vaguely before crossing them again under her chest.

“You are an asshole,” Toph said bluntly, “You knew I’ve been waiting there for like ten minutes and you just let me sit there.”

“We were having a conversation,” I said, a small smile on my face, amused at the girl.

“Everyone’s always having conversations,” Toph groaned almost childishly, “This is why everyone sucks so much at bending, they spend too much time talking with their useless fucking mouths.”

Azula cocked her head to the side, and my stomach dropped as one of her more dangerous smiles flickered across her face, “I like this small, angry child,” she said.

Toph stiffened before jabbing a finger at Azula, “I don’t want to hear it from the crazy brother fucker,” she snorted.

The rest of the room stiffened, the Kyoshi warriors looked shocked, verging on horrified, with the exception of Ao, who looked up from her food with a raised eyebrow. Mai’s eyebrows had disappeared into her hairline, Ty Lee’s eyes had widened in pure shock, her normally cheerful smile sliding from her face.

Azula… giggled?

Azula placed her chin in her palm looking completely unbothered by Toph’s accusation, her dangerous smile widening even more in amusement, “Unfortunately for all involved our relationship has not progressed to that point, though…” she hummed before shaking her head, “No I suppose that can wait for now,” her eyes flickered to me and now her ruby lips were curved in something salacious.

Toph blinked, then visibly looked at me with her glassy emerald eyes, “Damn,” she grunted, shaking her head, “She’s actually fucking crazy,” she said bluntly.

“No,” Azula hummed, “I believe I just said I hadn’t yet, and I would keep those accusations towards my brother out of your mouth, my brother is perfectly sane,” she said sweetly.

The air smelled like the beginning of a lightning storm, and I realized I was going to have to intercede before the entire house exploded, not because Azula would be trying to kill Toph, even though I realized at this point Azula was far from personally insulted, but because the last line Azula seemed to have purposely taken in a way that somewhat demeaned me.

Which, judging by the chi beginning to pump through her system, was very much not a good thing.

“We can fight,” I shook my head, “I did promise you, though perhaps not in your parents' house.”

Toph cocked her head to the side before she sighed kicking the ground which shuddered a bit at the move though it didn’t travel far, “That’s…” she struggled for a moment, “fair,” she finally said shaking her head seemingly aggravated I had a point, “the arena isn’t being used tonight you meet me there,” she jabbed a finger at me, “or I’m going to bury you in your sleep.”

She stomped back the way she had come, easily slipping through the wall with barely a ripple, and I was left with the staring of my companions.

I shrugged, “She’s really not that bad when you get used to her,” I said in the ensuing silence.

The Kyoshi warriors did not look particularly like they believed me, nor did Ty Lee or Mai, for that matter. Yue seemed like an amused cat, her fingers trailing idly over my shoulders, and Azula was beaming brilliantly.

“I absolutely have to see this,” Azula grinned.

-

Staring into pale jade eyes from across the arena lit by glowing green crystals, I consciously tuned out my companions sitting in the stands relatively close to the stage as I observed the girl and her stance as she stood with her arms crossed, as she seemed to glare at me, though I knew such was impossible.

“Given that I can’t earthbend,” I said aloud, “Which bending would you like me to use, Water or Fire?”

Toph scowled at me, “I’m the world’s greatest earthbender asshole, I can take anything you throw at me,” she jabbed her finger threateningly at me, and I felt the stone underneath her shift slightly at the move.

Fire it was.

“Someone start the match,” I called, relaxed, rolling my limbs, falling out of pure orthodox firebending but not quite shifting to waterbending.

Azula crossed her arms, evidently bored by her posture, “Get it over with,” she drawled out.

Toph slammed her foot into the ground, sending an earthen spike shooting from it to send me flying.

My arms rotated the smallest amount, generating current in a second, before I pressed a casual finger to the earthen tip of the spike as it tried to skewer, and the air cracked and thundered as the world flashed, and the earthen spike exploded into a shower of shards.

Toph cocked her head to the side, and I felt the smallest flicker of her chi in her body heightening in interest, “the fuck was that?” she drawled, underselling her words based on her body's reactions.

“We all have our tricks,” I replied in amusement, “Come on, world’s greatest, show me that you’re not all show moves,” I drawled. Excitement began to flare through me as I realized for the first time, maybe ever, I was about to fight a bender to my fullest extent without attempting to kill them.

Toph’s nostrils flared, and the heat in her body accelerated as chi began to pour off her.

A simple shift of her feet had the stone moving to her will as she made several steps, pillars shot from the ground, attempting to send me flying.

The move from a pure bending perspective was amazing, a pure economic use of bending as she attempted to break my stance, the massive pillars of stone serving a double purpose to block me in.

I stepped forward casually, and blue flame bent beneath my feet, compressing for the briefest of moments for explosive power before I shot into the air in a burst bringing my palms together like I would hold a ball of water and flexed my chi into my palms in a flaring blue ball of flames that I juiced into explosiveness before directing it down where it rocketed before blowing through the earthen pillars sending shards of rock flying across the arena smoking and charred.

I kicked the air behind me once with a flare of blue flame, rotating into a kick, bringing it down toward Toph's unaware form as in a massive sweeping flare of blue spiraling flame.

As I passed through the dusty stone air, Toph looked up, her eyes widening even as something like a smile crossed onto her face.

She kneeled to the ground, and the stone beneath her bent to form a shell around her, which erupted as my kick connected, sending charred stone flying, even as she emerged, her hands coated with stone, as she attempted to brush my kick to the side.

Toph had a moment to stiffen as she realized this blow wasn’t the type you blocked or parried, and she twisted her feet, sending her flying to the side.

Seeing that she had dodged the actual strike, I stopped hollowing out the strike and flushed it full as my kick hit the ground, blowing a massive crater out around me, sending shards of stone flying, even as I touched down lightly regarding Toph with a bemused expression as the shards flew around her with a subtle shrug of her shoulders.

Toph was an incredible bender, versatile, powerful, but it was clear to me from the start that she had never fought someone intending to kill her, through no fault of her own, of course, but there was a difference in how we fought.

Before I had decided not to use lethal moves, and I still held back from directing them at her, but the simple fact was that Toph had faced countless earthbenders and was not used to an opponent who blew apart earth with seeming ease.

Toph cocked her head to the side, a frown turning her face downward, “Spirits, what do they feed firebenders?” she asked bluntly, “There’s no way you should have the chi to do stuff like that.”

“The blood of our enemies mostly,” I replied dryly, beginning to calmly walk towards her as her face twisted into a frown.

“Why the fuck do you keep coming towards me?” Toph asked, sinking her toes into the ground, seemingly bracing herself for my next move.

I shrugged easily, “You’re truly incredible as an earthbender, as I said,” I replied easily, “But your stature and body conditioning aren’t suited for close combat,” I pressed my feet just as lightly into the floor as my last step, as the air beneath them ignited in a blaze of blue, and I shot forward, practically skating across the ground.

I was in front of Toph in an instant, even as she swung her arm to send stone flying where she guessed me to be. I slipped to the side easily, still in mid air, and her blind pale eyes stared past me unseeingly, even as my index finger lashed out before hitting her forehead lightly, “Dead,” I remarked blandly before my feet landed on the ground and Toph’s attention focused on me.

Toph blinked, then stumbled a couple of steps back, scowling at me, “That wasn’t fair,” she scowled at me angrily.

I shrugged my shoulders, releasing a deep breath, raising an eyebrow at the girl, “No, it wasn’t. If you weren’t blind, I bet you probably could react in time to that, but against an opponent like me, who doesn’t have to be on the ground, you have a current limitation.”

Toph frowned, scowling at me, her arms crossed in front of her chest defensively, and I could feel her tensing in frustration and anger before part of my words seemed to reach her, “Current?” she remarked, a frown twisting her face further down.

“Current,” I replied.

Toph cocked her head to the side, “You’re saying you could ‘fix’ my eyes?” she asked bluntly, and I heard the strange emphasis on fix.

A small smile curled my lips, and I shrugged my shoulders idly, “Maybe I could, maybe I couldn’t,” I shook my head, “I don’t know myself, that’s not related to this, your current issue is you can’t see anything in the air, that issue is separate.”

Toph released a small, almost confused breath as her eyes continued staring straight ahead, a long moment of silence echoed in the arena, “I don’t understand,” she admitted quietly, so quietly the words could only be heard by me.

I sighed, and for a moment I dropped the relaxed façade, amused façade, understanding now was the moment for honesty, “I know you can see, you can see better than probably anyone with actual eyes, being blind was what gave you your abilities, that shouldn’t be discounted, whether I could give you sight through your actual eyes is immaterial. If that’s what you want, I can try, but that’s a separate issue entirely. What I’m saying is that through my own bending, I have my own sense that I rely on, where I map the world via the heat signatures put out, it’s just as useful, if not more useful, than my sight. What I’m telling you now is that while you’re the best earthbender I’ve seen, there’s always more to learn.”

Toph blinked slowly, and her arms became uncrossed as she seemingly stared past my shoulder thoughtfully, though I could tell her chi was focused on me, seemingly analyzing me.

“No bullshit?” she asked, her voice smaller than usual, almost soft, even if it had her now typical to me profanity.

I smiled faintly, “No bullshit,” I replied evenly.

Toph released a breath and then stretched, cracking her knuckles, “Fine, teach me your ways,” then she jabbed her finger at me, “But I’m not joining your harem, get me?” She scowled, though this was not as dark and angry as her previous ones, something amused turning her lips up.

“Deal,” I replied easily, smiling down at the girl.