Book Four: Air

Katara

"Is he ok," Katara asked, dropping everything she had been doing. She felt bad now, they'd been here for awhile and had only seen Zuko, and that wasn't the best of visits. "Will you take us to him?"

IC: General Narrative

The servant had been replaced by a healer. The woman had come to inform the Avatar and Katara of Sokka's progress.

"He is doing well now, Lady Katara," she said. "Either the rat-vipers were killed before they were able to bite him, or he only suffered a very small amount of poisoning. He is tired and a bit shaken, but otherwise he will make a full recovery. Bed rest, though, is what he needs for the next few days, or at least light work."

She shook her head.

"He is sleeping now, however, so perhaps it is best if you put off your visit until tomorrow."

~~~

Tomorrow came very soon. It had been early morning when Sokka was attacked, and only a few hours had passed when dawn came over Whale-Tail Island. The council was to meet again as soon as possible, and only a few souls knew that the agenda had changed dramatically.

It was also whispered that the Avatar would be in attendence.

The council, though they were now missing Sokka, met in the city hall as they had the day before. And then the news Wuong had shared with Zuko was given to all.

"A riot...?" whispered Lord Shan. The Fire Nation noble, paling, shook his head. "This is not good. This will simply push things over the edge. We must do something about it, quickly."

Another Fire Nation man looked outraged. "I should say so! Those protestors should be rounded up and arrested, and charged with treason!"

~~~

"Wake-up, you lazy butt!"

Toph pushed at Sokka with a dirty foot. She sat beside his bed, and had a box in her lap. She continued to poke and prod at the young man with her foot.

"You've slept long enough! Jeez, you'd think you almost died last night or something."

Sokka grumbled as he opened his eyes. He looked over at Toph and muttered, "I almost did..."
He wiped his face. He glared at her half-heartedly, "You need to clean those feet. If you don't, I will myself."

IC: Toph

"I'd love to hear you try and clean my feet," she said. She graced him with a glare of her own, though hers missed the mark. "And it's not like I can help having dirty feet. I do walk around without shoes."

Toph opened the box and grinned at him.

"I snuck you in some contraband. The healers think you should just have foods that were easy on the stomach. I thought that was stupid, so I brought you some jerky. You like that stuff, don't you?"

Sokka smiled at Toph happily, "Of course. Aang burned mine on practically the first day of our journey to the North Pole, you know."
He reached into the box, took some jerky and ate all of it in thirty seconds. He spoke, "Thanks."

"No problem. I figured you'd need a pick-me up, after last night," said Toph. She had managed to save herself a slice of jerky, and chewed on it now. "Speaking of last night... How do you feel, Snoozles?"

"Fine, actually, just a little tired and hungry, but other than that, I feel completely normal," Sokka told Toph with a grin as he sat up. He continued, "What happened, though? Who healed me?"

"What, you don't remember?"

Toph was surprised by that. Hadn't he been awake? She guessed the poison had done a number on him. She decided not to give away everything about Azon, either. She owed it to him, for saving Sokka's life.

"One of the healers, I guess. You got lucky, you know." She frowned. "I was joking, but you did almost die last night."

"No, I remember the healer," Sokka told Toph with a frown, "I saw him. He did something, but I don't know what. I don't even know if it's proper healing."
He smiled at his friend a little, "I can tell when you're lying, you know. I know your face well."

She flushed. Well, darn. That hadn't worked out. Sokka could be pretty sharp when he wanted to be.

"Look, I don't know what he did," she said, all in a rush. "He used some of my energy to help you, but that's about all I get. He doesn't want that to get around, either, so we have to keep our mouths shut about it."

Sokka raised an eyebrow but nodded in understanding. He knew what it was like to have too much attention from the way he saw people crowd Aang.
He was, however, clueless about her blush. He placed his hand on her forehead, "Are you okay? You look red."
(Couldn't resist, mate. )

And here she thought she couldn't get any hotter. Toph felt her face blaze. She quickly shoved Sokka's hand away and scowled.

"We're close to the Fire Nation!" she said, thinking quickly. She was not about to admit she was blushing. "It's hot, even this early, and I'm burning up. Give me a break, Snoozles."

Sokka blushed a little himself. He felt rather stupid. Of course that was the reason why she was red. She'd have stayed in bed if she was sick and there was no way she was blush, right? He felt himself blush at the thought.
He spoke, "Of course. Oh, that reminds me. You can keep my coat. I don't think I'll be needing it as long as I'm up here."

"Well aren't you nice. Is that a thank-you for saving your life?" she said, with a crooked grin. She was just glad the subject had been changed. The last thing she wanted was for Sokka to guess she liked him as more than a friend. He'd probably laugh at her. "Then I'll accept. You probably wouldn't have wanted it back, anyway. It's got a good coating of earth on it now."

IC: Azon

Azon was sitting upon one of the flat levels of the elegant stairwell that sloped up to the mansion. His legs were crossed much like an Airbender, his hands together and his unhooded head bowed. The guards at the top of the staircase again seemed oblivious to his presence.

Interestingly however, the wildlife did not. Several birds would occasionaly land next to Azon, as if drawn instinctively to him. The trees themselves seemed to sway towards his position, their leaves all pointing towards him.

Azon's kept a steady inhale and exhale, and did not move.

Sokka chuckled, "I figured as much. And thank you for saving my life. How long are you going to hang that over my head?"

"For a while, definitely," said Toph. "And maybe when I want some first-rate service out of you. I guess you'll just have to wait to find out, huh?"

She leaned back in her chair. The smile slowly vanished from her face.

"You should know this, since you can't go. The council's back in session right now," she said. "I overheard when I was coming. It's not good. There was some sort of riot in one of the colonies."

Sokka frowned and sighed, "That can't be good. What's the matter with people? With the way they're acting, it's as though they were actually attacked."

Toph shrugged. "Who knows? I don't. I told you all I know. But a riot can't be good for anybody. It's just going to make things worse. As if we needed more crap to worry about..." She spat off into a spitoon not far away.

Sokka sighed as he laid back on his bed. He murmured, "I just wishe we could do something."

Mai's eyes widened slightly as she heard his last sentence. "Oh just p-" She muttered before blacking out from a blow to the head given to her by Ozai.
As she watched his fist head to her she realized that she was going to regret giving up, and that she had probably wrecked any trust Azula had put in her when she missed their appointment set the next day.

"Yeah, you and me both," said Toph. She looked downright sulky now. "They kicked me out of the meeting. I think I got in trouble for leaving my post so much yesterday. Stupid Sai said he had orders not to even let me in city all. He's an asshole."

She poked Sokka in the head.

"And you're on bed-duty until the healers say you can move around again. So we're both unlucky."

Sokka groaned, "But i feel great. I mean, I just needed a good sleep and now I'm fine." He smiled mischievously, all tiredness gone, "Want to sneak out?"
Toph was definitely rubbing off on him.

Wuong

"I think not! Those citizens are not the only ones at fault here. The city guards and the governor also share the blame. You would be only making things worse if those citizens were arrested. If the Fire Nation tries that, tensions will rise even more. Riots could occur all across the colonies. We would be only one step away from war then, and at that point it could not be prevented. If it all possible, I wish to avoid war." Wuong protested.

Jing

"How will this play into our capture of the girl?" Jing asked.

((Hey Big T, if you're done making that character I asked you to, mind if he or she comes into the meeting as a new representative for the colonies?))

OOC: I'll bring him into in a moment. ^_^

***

IC: General Narrative

"You wish to avoid it?" The nobleman looked skeptic. "You threatened us with war just yesterday! This is probably what you want!"

"Lord Yun!" snapped Shan.

Yun only glared at his countryman. "You are thinking the same thing. All of you are! And, besides..." He clenched his fists. "I am not so sure we are hearing the full story. The soldiers of our nation would never use such brutal tactics without a reason! Obviously they were provoked somehow!"

***

IC: Mercenaries

"I am wondering the same thing," said Chan, in a bland voice.

Maku sighed. "Well, that is for us to figure out. I can see several options. We use him as bait, and she comes running. We, through subtle means, force her to tell him he cares about her. The kid already has a girl, so he rejects her. Little Toph gets heartbroken and runs off, and we pick her up."

***

IC: Toph

She grinned. "I like it. Let's do it, Snoozles." Chuckling, she added, "If you think you can get your poor self outta bed."