Peace or Not (Avatar Roleplay)

"You were milking it," said Toph, with a shake of her head. "You liked getting pampered by everybody. Nobody cared that I had a headache and a stupid pump-knot. Let's just bring Sokka those fire-flakes he likes to much!"

"I was not," Sokka told her indignantly, "As soon as I regained my memory, I had people stop with the special treatment. And I was concerned with the girl with the headache and stupid pump-knot."

"Hmph. Whatever you say, Snoozles," she said, though she knew it was true. Sokka tended to worry too much about his friends and loved ones. He had a protector-complex, after all. "It's still sweet of you to say so."

"Yeah, most likely. I'll go get some breakfast ready, while you get yourself ready." Katara gave him a kiss on the cheek before going towards the kitchen. She couldn't help wondering how Toph and Sokka were getting along. The thought made her grin to herself.

Katara prepared some kind of salad, for Aang, since he's a vegetarian and ate some bread with eggs.

"Well, you know me. I'm the sweetest guy you'll ever meet," Sokka told her with a grin, "Compared to me, Aang is an angsty teenager."

Toph snickered. "I hope not. Aang is annoyingly cheerful as it is." She punched him in the arm. "Stick with your realism and pessimism."

"You know I do," Sokka told her with a laugh, "Everything has a logical explanation. Except for the Avatar stuff. That doesn't count."

"You must think you're so unlucky, being caught up with all us freaks who don't make a lick bit of sense," she said, with mock-pity. She patted his back. "Poor Snoozles. We must drive you crazy."

***

Aang met Katara in the kitchen. He grinned at the sight of the salad.

"Thanks, Katara," he said.

"Exactly. I don't even know how I've managed to keep sane over the years," Sokka told her with a grin, "Maybe you guys should start treating me nicer."

"As if. My job is to make fun of you. You'd get worried if I didn't do that."

Toph felt sand beneath her feet, and she knew they had reached the beach. The sound of the waves confirmed her guess. She grinned, and immediately began stripping down to her underclothes so that she could play in the water.

Sokka felt himself blush at her abrupt change of dress, not being able to help but watch for a second before stripped down to his own underclothes. He grinned at her and asked, "Race to the water?"

"That willing to lose are you?" she said, flashing him a daring grin. "Okay, then. You're on."

And she darted for the shallows she could just sense at the edge of the sand.

Sokka grinned and ran after her, noticing that his longer legs weren't as much as an advantage as they used to be. He grinned when he jumped into the ocean, feeling the cold water soothe his sweat away. He looked around for Toph, hoping he beat her before declaring, "I win again."

"Yeah. I guess it's okay if you beat me every now and again," she said. Toph charged into the water right after him. She immediately dunked and came back up, pushing her wet hair back. "Ah... That's much better."

"Yeah, it is," Sokka told her before becoming momentarily distracted. Toph looked, for lack of a better word, good when wet. There was something about the way that the salt water ran down hair and skin that seemed, well, otherwordly. He blushed a bit and swam further in, hoping Toph didn't notice him looking at her.

"You're awfully quiet. You swallow too much sea-water, Snoozles?" asked Toph, chuckling. She smacked her lips, tasting the salt in the water. "Yuck. I don't envy you, if you did."

"Nah, I didn't. I was just looking at something" Sokka told her, grinning at his friend's impulsiveness. It reminded him of his own. He shrugged before playfully sulking a little, "And can't you find a cooler nickname for me? I don't oversleep that much anymore."

"C'mon. I know you love your nickname." She returned his smile. "And if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

He sounded as if he were further out. Toph had not sensed him move. Water tended to mess with her bending-sight. It was why she was still a little nervous when it came to water, even though she could, for the most part, swim.

"Well, it does have some truth in it," Sokka told her with a shrug as he swam closer to her, "What should I call you, though?"

"So where is Zuko," Jet asked, only slightly interested. He was more interested in finding out what exactly happened last night, but he wasn't going to ask Mai that. Besides he doubted she knew too much.
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"I wish I grew up there. Living here when you're against how things are run was hard," Shizuka said. "You don't look too old. Can I ask how old you are?"

"I don't know," Mai told Jet with a shrug, "Knowing him, he's interrogated the prisoner already. From there, who knows where he went?"

*

"Let's see, I'm from my late teens to my early 90's. Clean living, you know," the masked man told her with a shrug.

"How vague of you. Does anyone know who you really are," Shizua asked, only midly annoyed. She understood him wanting to keep his identity a secret. Especially now that he was being watched.
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"So what do you think about what happened last night? I didn't se that coming at all."

"Not very many. The few that do, I'm sure are alive or not," the Blue Spirit told her with a shrug, "Just call me Blue Spirit."

*

"Probably rebels. Dissidents from the old regime," Mai told him matter-of-factly, "Their numbers are supposed to be dwindling, though."

"Well Blue Spirit I'm getting hungry. But I hope to see you later," Shizuka said, winking at him before walking off. She headed into eat and saw Suki and Haru sitting together. She decided to join them.

"Hello."
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"Yes they are," Zuko said from behind Jet, causing the Freedom Fighter to jump.

"Jumpy Jet?"

"No. You just took me by surprise," he said, frowning. "I didn't expect you to come up behind me."

"Uh-huh. Well if you'll excuse us I need to talk to Mai privately.

Jet nodded and walked off. Zuko turned to Mai, a serious look on his face.

The masked man grinned at her, "See you later cutie."

With that said, he began to walk around the garden, experimenting with how the guards reacted to him taking steps forward, then steps back, and then to the left and right. It was rather amusing since they were following him close by.

*

Mai nodded and turned to her new husband, frowning when she saw his expression. She took his hand instinctively and asked, "Is everything okay?"