literature

Life, Love and Happiness Ch 20

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Aang and Katara enjoyed the time they got to visit their family and friends at the Southern Water Tribe.  However, as much as they longed for the old times when they could live and travel together, they knew that times changed and relationships changed and life moved on.  It did feel good to sit around a campfire for the remaining nights they were there and share the stories of when Ozai was still in power.  It was a scary time, but also a time of bonding and friendship for the Avatar and his friends.  Now they were older and most of them had their own nations and families to think about.  They did promise that at some point – and in regular intervals after that – that they would meet so everyone could reunite and reacquaint.  Aang and Katara would be sure to pass this news around to each set of friends that they met within the coming weeks of the worldwide tour.

The next stop was Omashu and Queen Toph.  Having spent just over a week at the Southern Water Tribe, Aang and his entourage packed their belongings back onto Appa and spent the next day leisurely traveling north to the majestic city where earthbending originated.  

Unlike the last time they were here, this time they were personally met by Toph and The Duke.  A worker at Toph's palace came and showed Appa to his pen behind the palace where he would get food and water after the trip.

"What?  No fancy-schmancy greeting like last time?" asked Aang as he walked up to Toph.

"Nah," she replied reaching up to him to give him a hug.  "I'm over it."

She turned and hugged Katara.

"Toph, how have you been?" Katara asked.

"Oh, you know," she replied.  "It's been kind of boring actually."

"Boring?" chuckled Aang.

"You know I like action," Toph responded.  "…Not that we'll ever get action like we did when we were younger."

"You can say that again," said Aang.

"So Twinkletoes, aren't you going to introduce us to your gang?" asked Toph.

Aang turned around to see the other members of his group just standing there watching him make small talk with no less than the queen of Omashu.  

"Oh right," said Aang, a little embarrassed.  "Toph, I'd like to introduce you to the world's newest Master Airbender, Youfeng."

Youfeng came forward and kissed Toph on both cheeks as is done in formal situations.  

"Can I call you Twinkletoes Junior?" she smirked.  

Youfeng, still a bit uncomfortable with the situation, only said, "S-sure.  I guess."

Aang leaned over to his friend and whispered, "Don't sweat it.  She may technically be a queen, but she's still one of my best friends.  There is nothing formal about us being here."

"This is Youfeng's daughter, Meifeng….," and so Aang continued introducing his party one-by-one to Toph and The Duke.

When they were finally done, Toph introduced everyone to The Duke.  She called him her companion.  Aang and Katara made note of that term - they had wondered how close the two had become since the last time they saw them.  Toph also invited everyone to stay at the palace with her as there was plenty of space.  Also, that they should feel free to come and go as they wished with the only requirement being accepting an invitation to a formal dinner the following evening.  Of course, Aang accepted for everyone.  Guards came and showed all the members of the group to their respective rooms.  

Aang and Katara flopped down on their comfy royal bed and laid there for only a few minutes when they heard someone knocking at the door.  Katara got up to answer it.  

"You didn't think you were going to get away that easily, did you?" Toph stood there and asked in the doorway.  

"No – but I didn't think you'd be here quite so fast.  You must have really missed me," responded Aang.  

"Ha, ha," said Toph.  "Seriously - I wanted to ask you guys if you wanted to come to my private quarters for a late dinner and some hanging out tonight."

"Sure Toph, we'd love to," answered Katara.  "See you tonight then."

The door closed as Toph left.

"Well, I suppose…," started Aang.  

"Yeah, I guess you'd better track everyone down and figure out what you guys are going to do while you are here," said Katara.

Aang left Aria and Katara in the room and found Youfeng and the other airbenders already in a nearby sitting room huddled around discussing something.

"Oh hi Aang," Youfeng remarked seeing the Avatar walking towards them.

"You guys are fast," said Aang.  "It's good to see you taking the initiative.  What's going on?"

"We were just thinking about how we're going to do things here in Omashu," said Youfeng.

"What do you mean?" asked Aang.

"It's just so much different than the Southern Water Tribe.  I mean, it's a true city with a much larger population.  Even if we 'presented' ourselves at the formal dinner, most people still wouldn't know we were even here," said Youfeng.

"Why don't you just spend a day or two training on some of the fields around town?" asked Aang.

"So says the guy who has been here multiple times," joked Youfeng.  "Are there even fields here?"

"Sure there are.  The children can't be completely cooped up all the time.  I'll show them to you.  Let's go," said Aang.

With that, Aang took the airbenders on a mini tour of the city.  There were definitely small fields that were located throughout the city, though they were relatively tiny compared to what Youfeng had expected.  Land was at a premium within the city limits for sure.  Then again, it's not like there were hundreds of airbenders needing a place to train either.  These would do just fine.  It was then decided - throughout their stay, Youfeng and his students would pick a small field and train there for the day.  

Later that evening, Toph hosted her good friends, their daughter, and her boyfriend for a nice gathering in a sitting room that belonged solely to her.  

"It's really great to see you again, Toph.  How is life in Omashu?" asked Aang.

"I told you.  Boooring!" she replied.

"C'mon, Toph.  Be serious," said Aang.

"Ok, ok.  It's good.  Life is good.  There's really not much to report.  The city practically runs itself and I like it that way.  We did have another Earth Battle," she said.

"Oh?  How did it go?" asked Aang.

"It was just as fun as the first one," she replied.  "A little different since you guys weren't there, but still a lot of fun.  That was a good decision I made to start them."

"At least you don't compete in them," remarked Katara.  "You'd win every time."

And so the conversation went for the entire evening.  Much of it was spent talking about all their friends who were not there.  As expected, Aang passed along the news that they would try to have a gathering every so often so they could see each other again on a regular basis.  Toph thought that was a great idea and said she'd be sure to attend no matter how far away it was.  

Aang and Katara made their way back to their bedroom late that evening.

"Weren't they cute, Aang?" asked Katara as they traveled down a long hallway.

"Yes, they were," he replied.  

"I can't believe they are still together despite their age difference," Katara remarked.

"I always thought they'd make it," said Aang.  "There is just something about Toph when she is around The Duke.  She is so happy just to sit next to him or hold his hand.  I can tell they are getting closer."

"I wonder if they'll get married someday," said Katara.

"If they do, it's still years away," said Aang.  

"I'm just so happy for them," she said.

OlOlOlOlOlO

The week in Omashu was definitely different than the week spent at the Southern Water Tribe.  The airbenders agreed though that it was just as fun.  All of them enjoyed hanging out with the Queen of Omashu and her boyfriend, The Duke.  Just because she was a Queen, she didn't have any nuances of being stuck up or above anyone and she could often be found running around chasing the children of the group.  

The airbenders did get their message out.  Each day they would start their training in a different part of town.  By the time an hour or two had passed, crowds had started to gather around whatever field they were on that day.  By the time they had started sparring, you could hear "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd who had never seen airbenders before in their entire lives.  Toph even joined them one day and sparred against Youfeng to end the morning's training.  The match ended before either one of them could technically win, but they both enjoyed it all the same.  

The formal dinner went off without a hitch.  The same airbending routines that were performed at the formal dinner in the water tribe were also performed here.  Their audience was definitely smaller as Toph only invited a handful of select individuals to dine with them.  

One treat that they got was that Toph organized a small demonstration of earthbending right outside of town.  Many of the airbenders had seen earthbending to a small degree (they grew up in Qi Cun, a village in the Earth Kingdom after all), but had never seen such skill as Toph and the few others she brought along with her.  It was a great treat for them to get exposed to other great benders and what they could accomplish with their skills.  

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

Soon the group traveled to their next destination, the Fire Nation Capital.  They were definitely getting their routine down-pat.  Appa and the airbenders landed on the palace grounds and Zuko had his servants looking out for them so that they could be met properly when they arrived.  

Again, as it was with Toph, Aang instructed his group that even though this seemed to be a big deal, that they should not consider anything formal and that Zuko was just a good friend of his and Katara's.  

A large formal dinner occurred two days after their arrival.  All of the Fire Sages, nobles, and higher ups in the government were invited to attend.  Youfeng and Aang also agreed that they should visit some of the parks around the city to bring the existence of the airbenders to the everyday city dwellers as well.

Aang and Katara enjoyed seeing Zuko and Mai once again.  Aria and Daja were practically the same age and were finally old enough to play together completely independent of either of their parents.  One afternoon, Zuko and Aang sat together talking and watching their two daughters interact.  Aang noted to his friend that their daughters seemed to be getting along quite well and surmised this might be the start of a great friendship when they got older.  However, the conversation wasn't only about the friendships of two-year olds.

"So Zuko, what was it you were going to tell me about Azula?" Aang asked his friend.

"Hmm?" Zuko replied.  "I don't - ohhhh, I remember.  I sent you that scroll a little while ago."

"You said she was dating.  Is that...safe?" asked Aang.

"Safe, in what way?" asked Zuko.  "You know she isn't like she used to be."

"I know better than most," replied Aang.  "But still, she has a temper.  I'd hate to be anyone who got on her bad side."

"You haven't seen her since the visit to the Sun Warriors though, Aang," said Zuko.  "Not only is she powerful, but she is now so far beyond any firebender I've ever seen that she is almost.... "

"Almost what?" asked Aang.

"I don't know quite how to put it.  She's just...," said Zuko, hesitating yet again.

"What?!" Aang said.  "You're driving me crazy."

"Let me put it this way.  When you are that good at something that you don't even worry about the small stuff anymore...when you are so confident that you can truly be calm and lack the effort or worry that you see in the faces of regular people," explained Zuko.

"I think I know what you mean," said Aang.  "It is when you are finally at peace with who you are and what you can do.  There is often a different air about you."

Aang smiled knowing that some of what he talked about pertained to him as well.  He had been through it.  He remembered what it was like to have to struggle and clamor and train to get where he was today.  He always felt like he had so much to live up to and he constantly worried.  

"Exactly," said Zuko.  

"So even if she is Miss Confident-Calm-Carefree now, you still haven't told me who she is dating," said Aang.

"There was a guy who you once invited to one of the parties at the palace right after the war ended - it may have even been the party before Mai and I got married.  I think he was a friend of yours.  He ended up moving to the capital and becoming one of the palace guards a little while ago.  I don't know how they met or how it went further than 'guard-princess', but they are now officially dating."

"And his name is...?" asked Aang.

"Shoji," said Zuko.

Aang's eyebrows raised in surprise.  "Shoji?" he asked.

"You know him, right?  You were the one who first asked him to the palace if memory serves," said Zuko.

"Yeah, that's right," said Aang.  "I met him right before you joined us, when your father was still Fire Lord.  He was a really nice guy."

"He's not so little anymore," said Zuko, laughing.  "His bending skills are pretty good, too."

"He firebends?  I didn't know that," said Aang.

"I'm surprised you didn't know that," said Zuko.

"Well, technically we hung out for about two days before I had to go," explained Aang.

"Oh, I see.  Well, he and Azula have been training together for a while now," said Zuko.

Go figure, Aang thought to himself.  He thought about the Azula he knew before and the Shoji he knew from before.  He never would have linked the two of them....ever.
Here is chapter 20 for your reading enjoyment!

Chapter 21: [link]

Chapter 19 (rated M/warning): [link]
© 2011 - 2024 chakragoddess
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SueaNoi's avatar
awesomely written! XD