Book Four: Air

Zuko

"How it happened matters little now," Zuko said, looking at his fellow country men. "The fact is it has happened, and we need to prevent tensions from getting any higher. Any hostile acts against the citizens will only push them toward war, and though I agree we can't just ignore this, we must show them that we are not their enemies. We need them to understand we are brothers, fellow Fire Nation citizens. That is why I would like to request Avatar Aang speak with them on behalf of the Fire Nation homeland."

IC: General Narrative

Lord Shan looked towards his Fire Lord. "A good idea, my Lord," he said. "But... Will you not go yourself? I fear those who wish to secede from the Fire Nation might percieve your absence as an insult."

"Are you asking our Fire Lord to risk his life?" bellowed Yun. "Those fools might try and kill him!"

"I am not asking that at all! But if they were to see Zuko for themselves..." said Shan, slowly. "They might come to see that he is an admirable and trustworthy leader."

IC: Ozai

Ozai and The Voice were descending the slope of Crater Capitol, trying to stay two steps ahead of the guards that were now spreading out in a search pattern from the Capitol. Ozai was carrying the unconscious Mai in his arms, a large black and blue bruise covering the side of her forehead.

"Where is the large one? Drakon?" he asked The Voice.

Sokka rolled his eyes at his best friend, "I don't know. You might have to carry me."

"What do I look like? Your maid?" Toph promptly pushed him out of the bed. "There. You're out of bed. You can thank me later. Let's get out of here, before anyone realizes you're not where you're supposed to be."

Zuko

"I would like to share in your optimism, but I don't think that my presence will do our Nation any favors. There might be some who would come to realize that I am not a tyrant, but many others will not be swayed, and I might only incite them to do something regrettable. The colonists would listen to the Avatar, though, and most of them would likely understand the situation if it came from him, if only grudgingly," Zuko said. "If I thought there was anything more I could do, I would do it, but as long as they percieve me as an enemy, I am certain that I would do no good going to the colonies."

IC: General Narrative

Lord Shan could only sigh. "You make a fine point, my Lord. Forgive my short-sightedness."

"It is settled then? We shall ask Avatar Aang to speak with the Colony leaders?" said an Earth Kingdom noble.

"Ha! As if that would make any sort of difference!"

The new voice startled the council. They all turned towards the sound of the voice. A newcomer had come into the chamber. Dressed in a outfit that was not quite Earth Kingdom and not quite Fire Nation, he cut quite the impressive figure. He was tall and well-muscled, and handsome enough despite his graying hair and arrogant face.

"Who are you!?" demanded Yun. "This is a closed meeting, so you will kindly-!"

"Oh, spare me the lecture," said the man, smirking. "I don't need one. I'm Lord Kai, and I'm to join Lord Wuong as a representative of the Colonies. After the incident, we thought it best that I join him, and make our point clear. We want freedom. And if we don't get it...?"

He shrugged, and pulled up a seat.

"Well. That means war, doesn't it?"

"Spirits, when did I get a wife?" Sokka muttered to himself as he stood up. He was only wearing his pants at the moment since the night still felt hot to him so he grabbed a wrinkled shirt from a pile in the corner and put it on. He grinned, "Let's go."

"That's the spirit!" said Toph, pleased. This was the second day in a row that he wanted to spent time with her. She couldn't be happier. "Here, give me a minute. I can get us out without anyone knowing."

She moved to the wall that held a window. A few seconds later, a crude but effective stairwell had been erected down the side of the building.

"After you," she said with a grin.

"Nuh uh, ladies first," Sokka told her, gesturing towards the stairwell, remembering an old Water Tribe custom. He wasn't going to be emasculated by Toph... At least, he hoped not.

Toph looked surprised for a moment. As it was, she wasn't entirely sure how to act. It was one thing to be treated like a helpless little girl by people, and it was another thing entirely to be treated like a lady by Sokka.

She kind of liked it.

Not that she would ever tell Sokka that, of course. So she played it safe.

Toph chuckled. "Why do you think I was waiting for you?" she asked, teasingly.

Zuko

"Watch what you say," Zuko said. "I cannot allow sucession, the Fire Nation needs all the help it can get to rebuild and to help the other Nations rebuild. The colonies cannot just seperate from us, and take Earth Kingdom land. If you will not listen to reason, and declare war on us, the colonists will only have themselves. We will recall our soldiers and use all our force on you. You must see that coming to war between us will crush the colonies when all I'm asking for is patience and compromise."

IC: General Narrative

"Patience? Compromise?" Lord Kai shrugged. "Pretty words, but coming from you, I'm am going to say they are meaningless. Let's not forget that just a little over a year ago, you were willing to turn over the Avatar to your father. And all for honor! I suppose what counts for honor amongst us is not the same thing in the Fire Nation."

He held up a finger, eyes narrowing. "And also, it was your people who made the first move. Many innocent people were died or severely injured in this riot. And you ask us to think of patience, of compromise? Why trust that, when you cannot even be bothered to speak with us yourself?"

Wuong

For the moment Wuong stayed silent. He was a bit disturbed that Lord Kai was the new representative chosen. Unlike himself, this man was more zealous toward the cause of succession. For now, Wuong would let him talk unless he threatened war again.

Zuko

"Does it not matter to you what I did after that? I've made mistakes before, I would like to know who hasn't, but that doesn't mean I'm a tyrant," Zuko said, getting angrier. "And I refuse to believe that the citizens were innocent of starting the riot. I want proof from both of our sides of who began it before I accept blame. However, that does not make the riot acceptable, and I am trying to find a solution so more lives aren't lost. It sounds like the colonists have made up their minds about everything without waiting to see my defenses. If I must, I will go to the colonies. If that is what it takes to help stop this talk of sucession and end hostilities."

IC: General Narrative

Kai sneered at Zuko. He looked unaccountably pleased with himself.

"What a temper you have, Fire Lord!" he said. The title held no respect. "So fiery! You share that with both your father and your sister, do you not? How interesting..."

"Enough!" Shan slammed his hands on the table and stood. He was an easy-going man, but he did not take kindly to anyone insulting his leader. "We are getting nowhere with these threats. We must take action, and action that will help everyone!

"So I suggest this... Let there be a council, as Fire Lord Zuko has previously suggested."

Kai lifted a brow. "A council? You think something like that will convince my people to stand down?" He scowled, and snapped, "Fools! After that riot, we have a reason to fight! An eye for an eye, as the saying goes."

"No one wants that," said Shan, evenly. "And if you want your voice to be heard, Lord Kai, a council is the best thing for it. And this council should be in the colonies."

Kai smiled. "Better, better... Wouldn't you say, Wuong?" he said, leering at his fellow representative.

***

IC: Toph

Moments later, Toph and Sokka were out of the mansion and scurrying away from said mansion into the city. The knowledge that they were probably not supposed to be running around only added a sense of adventure to their antics, and Toph was pleased and enjoying herself.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked Sokka. "With that meeting going on, it'll be a while before they notice we're gone."

"Hmm... I don't know. There's the beach, there's shopping, there's gambling, and then there's this Firebending tournament I heard about," Sokka listed.

IC: Toph

"I like the sound of all of 'em," she said. "Except for the shopping one." Toph shuddered. She did not have too many happy memories of shopping. Either it was her mother, or Katara, forcing stuff on her, or people laughed at her. "I swear, you're the only guy I know who enjoys that stuff."

"Only when I shop for manly stuff," Sokka said with a grin. He continued, "What about the beach first? It might be nice to cool down."

"I like that," said Toph. She was burning up, and although she still didn't know how to swim, having a plunge in the shallows would be nice. "I'm hot. Let's go for it, Snoozles."

The two wound their way through the streets of the city and through the dock-yards. Once the wharf was behind them, they found themselves on a peaceful beach. The sand was white and the water a clear turquoise color. A fresh breeze cooled the small cove considerably.

"Ah..." said Toph. She stepped into the water up to her calves. She closed her eyes and sighed again. "That's the stuff..."

Yes, you are, Sokka thought, unbidden. He blushed a little, for once grateful Toph was blind. Where did that come from? Toph was just his friend. Besides, he had a girlfriend already.

With those thoughts, he followed Toph through the city and towards the sea. He grinned a little as he stepped into the water next to Toph. He grinned, "Much better."

"I'll say," said Toph. "This stupid island is way too close to the Fire Nation, if you ask me. We should've gone somewhere a lot cooler. Still..."

She grinned, and scrunched her toes in the sand. She kicked the water a little, and was pretty sure she got Sokka wet in the process. "This is pretty nice."

IC: Azon

"Mr., can you spare a copper piece?"

Azon stepped back suddenly, the small boy appearing before him rather quickly. Next to him was a small girl, and both were dressed in rags.

"What? No. Why do you need money anyway?"

The boy held up his hand.

"Um...food."

Azon sighed.

"I'm not the Avatar."

The boy lowered his head, the girl beside him following suit. Azon gave another sigh, and looked around the street.

"Fine, fine; but I don't have any money....wait a minute...come with me, I have an idea."

IC: ?

"So... You're telling me that that idiot is still alive?"

The two men glanced at one another and then back towards their employer. The taller of the two cleared his throat. "Well, yeah. He's still alive. But you can't blame us for that!"

"Why not? I'm not paying you to almost kill him," said the figure.

The man who had spoken earlier flushed. His companion now spoke.

"The rat-vipers did their work. But one of his friends found him, and then they got some healer to fix him up. It was just rotten luck."

"Rotten luck that will keep us from attempting something like this again." The speaker leaned back in his chair. "But there is some good luck. You have me."

"What do you mean?" asked the tall man.

"I mean that I'm not going to give up. I'll have my revenge on the fool, one way or the other." He smiled nastily. "And I think I have an idea. All we need is a jian."

"That's the kind of sword that kid uses!"

The speaker laughed. "Exactly."

***

IC: General Narrative

"I am not finished, Lord Kai," continued Shan. "This council will meet under your jurisdiction, but we will have our own representatives. Avatar Aang will, hopefully, be amongst that number. I also think it would be best to have three mediators involved."

Kai frowned. "What...?"

"Three people to help bridge the gap between you and us," said Shan. "They may help us see eye to eye in this matter."

The new representative snorted. "Dream on. Nothing will change our resolve, not after this tragedy!" He leaned forward. "Just who do you have in mind? More Fire Nation-sympathetic fools, most likely, or Earth Kingdom barbarians looking to take back lands that haven't been theirs for over a century."

Shan glared at the man. "No. I ask that the mediators be the Avatar's friends. More specifically, Master Sokka and the Ladies Suki and Toph."

***

IC: Toph

The water was cool and refreshing, after such a long, hot morning. Toph was beginning to wish she had brought an extra set of clothes so that she could play around in the water. But right now, she was enjoying herself, and enjoying Sokka's company.

She decided to broach something she had been thinking about.

"So, Sokka..." she said, slowly. "How are you holding up? About this whole assassination deal, I mean."

IC: Azon

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" shouted the announcer.

"Welcome to the 23rd Annual Scorching Fire!"

The crowd cheered in the stands around the ring. The Firebending tournament had been set up in the middle of the town. It was a small, regional tournament, but looked highly upon by the locals. The announcer shot a ball of fire into the sky before continuing.

"The greatest tournament on the Whailtale Islands! The first match; in this corner, the Firebending maniac, The Inferno!"

A tall, brightly dressed man raised his hand, firing flame high into the air to the cheering of the crowd.

"Inferno! Inferno! Inferno!"

The announcer pointed to the other side of the ring.

"And in this corner, a newcomer to the ring, The...Sage!"

Azon was standing at the other of the ring, his hooded head motionless. Two people cheered his name, the small boy and girl that were in the front seats near him. Azon raised a hand to wave at them before turning back forward.