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[Telling Time] This is theYear of the Rabbit.
It is currentlyDecemberin Hou Tian. It's Winterof year107 ASC.
September
- Toph, Teo, and the rescue team finally find Aang in the Ukema Tribe. Having seen the explosion, they make plans to return as soon as possible.
- With the plague abating, Ba Sing Se reopens its gates for refugees and distribution of emergency resources.
- For three days, rumblings are heard from the Caldera of the Fire Nation Capital before it erupts. Chaos ensues.
August
- Sokka and Suki begin preparations for the birth of their child on the island of Kyoshi.
- A meeting of the Senate of the Original People of the Flame is scheduled for next month in the harbor city.
- Katara fails to find a baby in the North Pole, but does find someone else: Hama. Both women survive the encounter albeit with different perspectives.
- The Jade Shark manages to regroup in their underground headquarters in the desert, unsure of their next move.
- Toph forms a rescue team including none other than an old friend, Teo. Preparations are made for a journey into the heart of the Si Wong.
July
- Meanwhile, Aang is enjoying the hospitality of the Ukemanem Tribe on the Plains where he recovers from his ordeal--and makes some new friends.
- In the cover of peaceful Shu Jing, Azula continues her rehabilitation. It's slow-going, but progress is being made and it seems to be only a matter of time...
- Zuko and Katara venture North to see if a reincarnation of the Avatar has already appeared in the Northern Water Tribe.
- Toph journeys to Ba Sing Se to discover the truth for herself.
- The evidence is undeniable. Aang's death is announced to the world. Mourning commences.
- The infant princess, Lei, daughter of Zuko and Katara, has her coronation.
June
- Jun returns on the trail of Azula with new information that will lead the search party in the direction of none other than the Fire Nation.
- It's mutually agreed that Aang's airbending students will be moved to Omashu for safe haven until Aang's true whereabouts are discovered and a course of action is decided.
May
- The Jade Shark continue their trek through the desert only to be caught in a war between sandbending tribes that includes a bid for power and caravan raids, even daring to incur the wrath of Jibade.
- Kuei is alerted to Aang's disappearance and the discovery of the "body;" the matter is kept private to avoid panic.
- Zuko recovers in time to return home for a happy reunion with Katara's family and the introduction of their newborn daughter, Lei.
- With the water slowly but steadily purged of the infection, the residents of Ba Sing Se begin to recover. Quarantine remains.
April
- Seizing the opportunity, the Jade Shark catches the Avatar alone and abduct him, staging his death so they can take him to their base in the Si Wong Desert.
- Aang's intervention restores the international peace and ensures he'll stay behind after the summit is concluded to keep things on track.
- Zuko's illness causes Katara and Ursa to cross the ocean to seek to help, making ripples when they break the quarantine to do so.
- Azula reaches Shu Jing and her rehabilitation commences in full force; her presence is kept from even many of the Flame members.
March
- The plague continues to run rampant and strikes its next victim: Zuko.
- The Flame plan to harbor Azula in Shu Jing, where they'll hold their first Senate meeting in months.
- The trio hunting Azula tracks her to the city, but are waylaid by a side-mission (on Zuko's order) to try and find Jet.
- Efforts to infiltrate the Avatar's closest circle are put in effect by the Jade Shark; Jet contacts Katara, and a new airbending student has anti-bending sympathies.
- The political leaders converge on Ba Sing Se to address the mounting problems.
February
- A summit of the world leaders is scheduled for March in Ba Sing Se.
- Aang chooses to relocate his students to the Fire Nation palace for protection upon discovery of the Air Temple in ruins.
- The Jade Shark begins work on their chi-blocking jewelry.
- Azula and Na subsequently flee the city, heading to the western coastal towns to find passage back to the Fire Nation.
- The newlyweds encounter Azula on their honeymoon in Ba Sing Se.
January { SEVEN YEARS POST SOZIN’S COMET }
- The Jade Shark steals a Fire Nation ship from Kyoshi and destroys the Southern Air Temple.
- Sokka and Suki are wed on the 14th.
- Virtually the whole world gathers on Kyoshi Island for the upcoming nuptials.
December
- A plague breaks out in Ba Sing Se.
- It spreads through a poisoned water supply; the upper and lower rings are the worst affected areas eventually leading to quarantine and blockade of the city.
- The Jade Shark is held responsible.
- The sickness spreads to the north and west.
- Kuei falls into a coma, but later shows promise of recovery.
October
- Azula seeks refuge on Crescent Island.
- The Jade Shark begins work on creating ways to permanently block bending.
- Wedding plans begin for Sokka and Suki, who decide on a January wedding on Kyoshi.
- Katara discovers she’s pregnant with Zuko’s child.
September
- Toph finds an unlikely ally in Jun and manages to escape her captor with the help of his son; they head to the South Pole.
- Zuko and Aang attend a “summit” in Ba Sing Se with Kuei to discuss the next course of action in minimizing the damage of Azula’s escape.
- Katara is kidnapped by agents of the Jade Shark.
- Ransom letters are sent to the Avatar and Chief Hakoda, but written in the ancient language of the Si Wong.
- Taken to underground Ba Sing Se, she escapes relatively unharmed with little to no information about the Jade Shark’s involvement.
August
- Azula escapes from her cell in the palace.
- She becomes a fugitive, harbored by a Senate member of the Flame.
- The death count of her rampage is four with several more wounded and one palace wing destroyed.
- Wanted posters are publically posted, all trade routes are shut down, and Zuko starts negotiations with Kuei for aid from the Earth Kingdom in hunting down his sister.
- The entire palace (including all wedding guests) is evacuated and relocated to Ember Island while repairs are made.
- The Festival of Lights takes place on the island. During the festivities:
- Zuko and Katara sleep together.
- Toph is kidnapped by a financier of the Jade Shark who has arranged her marriage to his son.
- Sokka proposes to Suki and she accepts.
- Katara confesses her infidelity to Aang and leaves for the South Pole early.
- Zuko breaks his engagement to Mai and she leaves after her suspicions of his infidelity are confirmed.
- Ozai is successfully smuggled out of prison under the guise of death, and harbored by the Flame in Shu Jing where he assumes the identity of a commoner named “Shen.”
July
- An ex-soldier prison guard and member of the Flame devises a plan to break Ozai out of Boiling Rock.
- Jet learns that his base was infiltrated by Zuko, Katara, and Jun.
- The Flame begins to plot against the Jade Shark.
- The Jade Shark enjoys loose ties with the new court therapist installed in the Fire Nation palace.
- Mai returns from the EK; everyone is finally gathered for the wedding, still postponed for a few weeks.
- Zuko’s bachelor party is an all-around drunken disaster.
- Zuko and Katara rescue Ursa from the Labyrinth, and return to the Fire Nation with Jun.
June
- Katara hires Jun to venture into the Si Wong.
- She learns that Ursa is being held captive in the Labyrinth.
- In preparation for the wedding, Zuko and Touda fetch Sokka, Katara, and Suki from the South. Aang leaves to fetch Iroh and Toph.
- The former group stops at Seedy Merchant’s pier and discover information about the Jade Shark.
May { SIX YEARS POST SOZIN’S COMET }
- Jet and his Jade Shark continue to make plans from their HQ in the Si Wong desert.
- Patient Zero {Drak} begins his work in chemical warfare on their behalf.
- The Original People of the Flame successfully plant a new spy in the palace.
- The first assassination plot on Zuko’s life is hatched, but fails.
- The new spy is persuaded to become a double agent, aligning with the Dawn.
{ FIVE YEARS POST SOZIN’S COMET }
- Aang resides in and teaches out of the Southern Air Temple.
- Ty Lee returns to the Fire Nation after her time on Kyoshi.
Joined: May 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,369 Location: The Fire Nation
Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Thread Started on Aug 26, 2010, 2:16pm »
Late afternoon was almost her favorite time of day. Sitting in the parlor with nothing but the subtle tug-and-pull rustle of a needle through her latest project - that same little dress as before - and waiting for her baby girl to wake from her nap was one of the most priceless joys in the world. The way that blanket would start to move, and those eyes would open, and tiny fists would wave as if she already couldn't wait to be up and about like all of the adult counterparts in the household. It was definitely a treat each time.
The only thing better was when other people came to visit. Her father, for example, had warmed her heart in his adoration of that little bundle in the cradle. Or that afternoon that Zuko had let her sleep while he held their child on the balcony...
For all the pitfalls of that sojourn, it had given her some good memories after all.
That day was like any other. Greeting her daughter with a coo and a few kisses while she changed her, fed her, and finally located a pair of booties so the infant could go without her usual pink wrap was a happy chore. The babe was on her shoulder while she quickly brewed some tea before supper, smiles shared with both Ursa and Zuko - who also got a kiss or two himself - when she passed the cups out. Lei remained there even when she returned to the kitchen, taking inventory and writing her carefully-kept list of just what would need to be replenished once their stay was through.
Cooking supper would be the next thing to cross off her mental list for the workings of a typical day. But in the lull, she opted to open a window, let the breeze still ripe with the scent and mist of rain tease Lei's dark curls and coax the cutest expressions of surprise out of her. Another reason she loved each and every day? Getting to know every single face her daughter ever made. If she could, she would have memorized them all.
Joined: Feb 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 407 Location: Shu Jing
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #1 on Aug 27, 2010, 10:23pm »
The young monk had bathed just for the occasion, scrubbed between every toe with cautious detail, and wore a pair of clothing he had not yet dawned around the city--he was getting suspiciously low on clothes, and a pair of his pants, maybe a shirt, had mysteriously disappeared-- yet all that precaution and pleasantry came to nothing when it decided to rain-- or, rather, drizzle-- halfway through his flight there. The oils he smelled of before had rinsed away, replaced with a sunny must the rain now emphasized. Dropping to the ground, he flapped those red wings as dry as possible, and footed it the rest of the way.
A gentle knock on the back door as he waterbended the cold moisture gathered on his robes, letting it fall, even shifted his stance from fluidity to rigidity to persuade the mud on his boots to fall away.
Familiar enough with their company, Aang didn’t even bother to wait for the door to be opened-- just turned the knob and walked in, chanced a restful smile, yet where sincerity reached his lips it did not glisten in his eyes, and for all the giddy feeling he thought he would be experience, none came; not yet, at least. He was calm, aloof, even…maybe the residual of meditation? Or an effect of that looming fatigue that had begun to characterize his stay in Ba Sing Se; either way, it mismatched the atmosphere, and he felt out of place as soon as he closed the door.
Mismatched because the reality of Ba Sing Se had penetrated him deeper than he consciously knew, and the scene if front of him played out as a dream, a vision simply difficult to digest after hours spent holed in up an earthen castle with the king and queens of their era. Worse, those quick minutes in the middle ring spent with fathers begging him to take their daughters away from here, children bedridden with the deepest coughs he swore he’d ever heard, and old, crinkled eyes telling him life too much to bear-- this? This wasn’t Ba Sing Se, but some hazy ambition of peace he only wished was pervasive in the city.
A quiet “Hey,” paired itself with an awkward shift and a scratch at the base of his head as a droplet of water tickled its way down his neck, but it was a while before his eyes found hers, skimming around for the others, “Where is everybody?” then that methodical ruffle of pink caught his eye, and a squirming softest he could only recognize at the very person he had come to see. Then? Then, just as gentle breezes caught in her hair and tickled her face, so his eyes tickled with sincerity, and he stepped forward “Hey there,” This was a portion of reality; just because the contrast was so striking didn’t mean he should be bitter for it.
I could have sworn I posted to this when I got home >.>. I'm so freak out that I dreamed it or something, because I did take a nap for once. .
Joined: Aug 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 3,220 Location: The Fire Nation
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #2 on Aug 29, 2010, 5:55am »
For Zuko, these days were just the lazy days. Relaxing about the kitchen with those elbows over the table harvested somewhat of a calm in this city, and they all recognized it. Though so far the afternoon wasn’t quite the eventful feat as they’d all expected most days, tea, cookies, milk—it was all the same—the lot of it so much that in light of coming boredom, Zuko had taken to studying that lion turtle toy, himself, to see what all of the real fuss was about.
So it was quiet, to say the least. From that end of the kitchen, there’d only been the subtle jingle of that toy and the clink of an empty teacup to attest to the Fire Lord’s contentment. Recently, that much had been frequent, and the woman just across the room could find that much to be a treat in and of itself as well, right? Random kisses and bouts of affection never quite garnered much but a smile on his behalf. Apparently, that was enough.
But it was a usual day, following the usual storm-pattern and the usual brew and fire—steam coming from the kettle while Katara took her inventory and he sat darn near a mile away at the table, feeling like a nerd and picking at the seams. ”Did they use white cotton?” found its way into that evening lull… even as the familiar face shuffled in and Aang was given a brow upon his entry.
There weren’t words, however. If the young monk could see, Zuko was giving a welcoming nod and resumed in the usual posture—chin in palm, elbow on the table, and let that be that.
Joined: May 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,369 Location: The Fire Nation
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #3 on Aug 29, 2010, 10:07am »
A wayward hum was Zuko's only affirmation. White cotton, green cotton, and brown felt - or velvet? - for the fur. It wouldn't do to build a child's toy out of real fuzz or the poor babe would tear it to pieces. Or worse, devour and choke on a tuft or two. "Why, you want to make another one?"
Needless to say, a project like that would be wholly welcomed on the part of both mother and daughter--and why not lump Aang into that happiness? No matter the slight awkwardness of his initial greeting, Katara had a warm smile for him and an even warmer, "Hi." Zuko was indicated with little more than a sideways glance, and a haphazard gesture with her elbow toward the staircase at the back was hopefully enough to intimate that Ursa was still resting upstairs.
"Lei," she cooed softly, retreating from the window toward the waiting Avatar. Away from that gentle breeze, the baby felt inclined to finally soften her scrunched-up nose and tightly-shut eyes, peeking open that ocean of cerulean when she tried to spy who was come to visit--or who was to blame for that funny tickle in her hair she'd felt just a moment earlier. "This is Aang," Katara added in a softer lilt, maneuvering one hand free of its cradle hold to capture one tiny fist before it could shield the infant's face.
Single forefinger now the anchor to that reaching hand, she was free to loft Aang another smile. "I'm glad you came. But I didn't expect you," ended in a laugh, a backward glance toward the slight scatter of things across the counter just yonder. "You're pretty much right in time for dinner, though, if you want to stay for awhile."
And really, what she meant - what her voice, her face, her eyes said as she looked at him again - was that she hoped he would stay. While she had no idea that the contrast was weighing so heavily on him between this tranquility and the chaos a ring or two away, he certainly deserved some measure of that steeply-purchased peace.
Joined: Feb 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 407 Location: Shu Jing
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #4 on Aug 29, 2010, 11:18pm »
Brow deepening, he followed her glance first to the stairs, and then to the table, where his silent friend looked with thoughtful or tired, “Oh,” he turned, catching the tail end of that nod as he made his way across the room, “I didn’t see you there,” Somehow… he’d skimmed right past Zuko when he walked in, of course, but thought often blurred true vision, and Aang had certainly been distracted, “Are you feeling better?” It was worth asking. The sooner he recovered, the sooner he could find rest in the comforts of his country.
Hearing the sound of his name, he turned again towards that peaceful sight, “Ooooh,” Aang cooed as he felt the warmth of affection grow in his chest, soaking in that first glimpse of softness “Firebending punch!” and breezing over to the cradle with playful enthusiasm.
Expect him? "I'm unpredictable," he shrugged as he slid his narrow frame between window and cradle. Then, on that whim of good humor, it seemed all to natural to talk through the baby, "She knows that already, yesshedoes" Indeed, the all powerful, well spoken Avatar had been reduced to babbling thread of upbeat tones and soothing hums, and it was all too evident that Lei had certainly struck an immediate chord of weakness; perhaps a strength-- Aang loved baby anything, be it saber-tooth moose lion or human, and paired with that caliber of history, love and loss, no infant had ever been so singular to him.
Stay. He caught her gaze, strengthening with all that clarity he could hear in her voice, he drew closer to the cradle, and peaked over Katara to lay eyes on her for the first time; and there she was, small as she was beautiful. He was already in love--sight, sound, primal instinct paired with fresh cognizance that made her ever so vulnerable yet ever so powerful-- she was dawn of newness in more respects that she would ever know. Catching at one of those tiny hands, he voiced an absent,"I could eat," before absorbing himself with that bundle of eyes and softness, “Mhmmhmhm” a happy chuckle seeped through his throat as he folded his arms in front of her, all conversation for that deep air of questioning eyes before him, “So, what do you think of the place” and with a baiting pause, he adopted a persuasive tone, “The world’s not so bad, huh?” Tilting his head with a lopsided smile, the young monk added, “You know, I’m the Avatar,“ as though this mere fact was going to convince her that he was the best, “I won’t let it get too bad for you.” She seemed to have stilled to only helpless, rather dumbfounded stare, trying to comprehend his form, -- he was certainly new to her realm of perception, not to mention colorful, right? Blue arrow, orange and yellow, bright eyes. Sure, he was interesting… maybe a little scary at first, but she seemed to be taking it well. At least, he hadn’t heard any wailing yet.
Having a powerful lock onto those china blue eyes, he fell to staring himself for a beat, gaze tempering to a glow of tenderness until an idea thumbed its way into his mind. Zuko looked like he could use some stimulations, and besides, Katara told him it was his job to teach her all the fun things in life...Picking on Zuko just happened to be one of those things, “You know what you gotta call your dad over there after meeting me, right?” Looking up at Katara for a moment, a secret glimmer of mischief sketched across his face, he articulated a pulsating, “Si-fu Hotman,” accentuating those heavy vowels, he smiled; Lei seemed to find the shift in facial features amusing, so overwhelmed with the action of grinning that she made a bubbly noise, and kicked around with a squirm of composition, “Haha, not bbabth” Was his useless correction, wiggling that mushy little hand around with his finger, “Hotmaaaan,”and tapering off into a chuckle as her excitement seemed to drift towards a peeked fascination with the way his eyebrow rose and fell, he smiled, chancing a glace over towards the Firelord with all the innocence he could manage to feign,“You’ll get it.”
When she looked away for awhile, he thought he’d give her a break from those sunlit gushes of adoration…“She’s beautiful” Those familiar dimples fluxed against his cheeks as he gave the baby one last fond glance before looking up, glints of brightness surfacing beneath that watery sense of pure meaning, “Really.”
Joined: Aug 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 3,220 Location: The Fire Nation
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #5 on Aug 30, 2010, 1:18pm »
Sitting there in the back, it’s what Zuko did.
White cotton queries aside, there’d been that fascination along the seams of the lion turtle that went along with them. As it were, hiding about in that seat only a few feet away, the greeting out toward the Avatar was subtle in its own right—”A lot better than I was,” being the only answer granted out toward the young monk while the Fire Lord let his chin rest in his palm to watch.
…And what a scene, really.
Chords stricken between Aang had only lightly been plucked on that solitary Fire Lord across the room. Though it may have just been the fatigue clouding his thoughts, it was evident in this that what enthusiasm encompassed the Avatar hadn’t overcome him in such a way to allow those inhibitions to burn. As he stilled himself in that corner, he could spare a wistful smile toward the lot of them at least. No wrong in keeping to the sidelines, right?
Of course, sidelines meant other things. Sifu Hotman certainly wasn’t expecting that one, even though maybe he should’ve, and in conjunction with that, of course, there’d been the slight furrow of those brows—incredulous or exasperated or something between the realm of not really being quite as amused in that way they all expected. But objective was clear enough, and at that, all Zuko was willing to say across that distance was a mere, ”Wait until she meets Toph,” that’d spell doom enough for all of them.
That’d been a ways off, surely—before any of those useless nicknames went into effect. So in the interim, Zuko could chance changing seats and sitting a little closer with his chin on the back of the chair now as Aang had risen and made his proclamation. At that, really, Zuko hadn’t much to say, and would instead offer Katara that wayward glance—wondering if her reactions would be as predictable as they’d been in those last few days.
”She seems to think so,” or think that the baby was the most perfect thing in the world and he’d let her revel in all of that for as long as she needed to, what with one mush of an Avatar being around to deflect it. ”I think its just her eyes,” that one similarity. He’d raised a brow in question and shrugged it away; of course that hadn’t been the whole of it, but she’d bombard them all with everything if they really let her.
Joined: May 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,369 Location: The Fire Nation
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #6 on Aug 31, 2010, 9:23pm »
"Sifu Hotman" was definitely unexpected, but not unwelcome if her laughter was any indication. It was rich, warm, a whole-bodied mirth that tapered with a glance from the gooey Avatar to the equally warm and fuzzy Fire Lord creeping ever closer. At least that was something the two most important young men in her life had in common: they could both pull out all the stops when they really put their mind to it.
"Or maybe just 'Daddy,' when the time comes," was her own addition, reaching to tease a wayward curl from the baby's forehead as that tiny mouth gaped open in reply to the touch. "I think it'll have to grow on Zuko more than it will on her." And maybe, in the same way, grow on all of them. Some days it seemed like just yesterday they were still kids fighting a war.
But the compliment was the clincher. That mommy gush was inevitable at that point, eyes even misting over--those same eyes that matched the little ones in that precious baby face. "She's beautiful all over," she felt a need to interject, with a backward glance toward Zuko that still harbored a lot of affection no matter him downplaying the absolute beauty of their child. "Thank you, Aang."
Thank you because she knew it meant a lot more coming from him.
In a heartbeat, her arm was around her friend's neck for a squeeze that said all of that and more. Nothing quite beat those kinds of hugs on the best of days, and they didn't have to be so sparing. But for the meantime it was brief, because with a subtle nod toward the babe she had to ask, "Want to hold her?"
She wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. Before Aang could answer one way or another, he'd find himself the new holder of a baby bundle, just shy of squirming but about to. Dinner had to get started, so it was the perfect opportunity to leave him to coo some more, hm? And because it was a good day - a great day - and a new beginning in so many ways, she opted not to avoid the other young man seated nearby, making a beeline for him when she squeezed his shoulder and dropped a kiss to his temple for a softer, "Go help him."
Sure, Zuko wasn't an expert, but that was the beauty of it. They were all learning here--and it didn't just have to do with a baby in pink, either.
Zuko‘s comment inspired a few laughs from the young monk, and he added, “You might just make Toph think like an airbender” by which he meant be lighthearted and “twinkly,” or however it was she described him. It would be doom indeed
But speaking of their blind friend, “Toph-- Yeah, Katara? What going o--” he was about to comment on the earth bender’s letters of late-- or lack thereof-- when he found himself holding that tiny pink bundle, and stuttering an, “I--” as he tried beyond himself to quell the blurring his eyes; a culmination of gasped emotion exhaling all those tones of kaleidoscoping thoughts the simple act of holding her brought forth. He was so afraid of crying in front of everyone and ruining the moment that he became almost glad that Katara was over there, kissing Zuko on the forehead in an act they would never know how much he was not ready to witness-- not with every muscles frozen, his jaw threatening to tremble, and his mind honestly unsure what to think or ignore or contemplate or remember… but a more instinctive need wrestled uncomfortably in his arms, and he looked down to find Lei on the verge of making her displeasure known to the world, and some paternal want to make her comfortable overwhelmed any thoughts about Zuko and Katara.
It was something to digest and learn to accept later, but for now, he turned away with a shrug for Lei‘s sake, opening her yet again to those gentle breezes that flowed to the window-- his to guide if he so desired-- and entreated her something-of-a-smiles with soft coos and even softer nose-nuzzles, “You started it,” he voiced lowly, wiggling a finger into her hand, before that swell of tears finally sloped over lashes, and he slipped his finger away to catch them before they fell on her, leading them to the floor with an almost invisible act of bending, “The monks used to say that suffering brings beautification,” not that Lei even knew what he was, let alone what he was saying, but the musical way he offered to say it was affective enough to make Aang believe he had a good thing going for her, and lifting her to part a loving kiss on her head, he added, “So its not that bad to cry.” In other words, she could cry all she wanted; he’d just think she was getting more and more beautiful.
Katara’s lips were numb at his temple, but he saw that display before him ultimately unwinding on its own—even without his intervention. The inevitable squirm, as it were, and those scrunchy little faces seen from afar were only just barely leaving the Fire Lord at his perch. And there, there’d been restless… with his elbows bent at the back of that chair and his body tense at just the spring that maybe at some point he’d need to get up to help, if that’s what was truly needed.
He had doubts, however.
The pleading look in that young king’s eye turned to glance back toward Katara for only a second, and then his gaze found Aang again, cooing over that fussy baby and evoking somewhat of a sigh from him. And it was in his little bubble in the room that he’d found himself (listlessly) resting his chin over his hands—that same old bout of contemplation washing over while the Avatar took his turn familiarizing with that squirming bundle.
Silence was cautionary enough on his behalf though, wasn’t it? The way he watched with that keen eye, and yet sat so far away from what was unfolding before him…
No. He definitely didn’t need to help him, if all could go on well enough at the rate it was now. A tentative, ”Mind the cold,” could suffice—but that was all anyone was going to drawn from that young Fire Lord all the same.
For all appearances, it might have seemed the contrary... but six years didn't count for nothing.
Without even looking, she sensed his pain. Aang, her first friend, her best friend. The first boy she ever loved. The only person in her life she fully and truly failed. Of course she sensed it; she knew him inside and out. The calm of his breathing while he slept, the way the first smile he donned in the morning would always seem just a bit lopsided, how prickly that arrow could sometimes seem when he got so wrapped up in his students, or renovating the temple, or politics that he forgot to shave that one extra day. She didn't need Toph's blindness to have every inch of him burned into her memory.
Some mornings she'd still wake up expecting to be in the stone of the temple, rather than the marble of the palace.
Those things didn't fade as quickly as she could pretend. It was the subtle things she remembered that she never breathed aloud, the subtle differences felt so keenly in some darker part of her soul--the same part that knew she deserved none of the goodness and kindness he still bestowed on her despite her betrayal. It reminded her that his palms had always been warm not for the sake of fire, but for hope, joy, love, and life. That if she was the sea, he was the foam and spray that played across it, that tickled the senses and evoked laughter, much more laughter than she'd been afforded of late.
But it also reminded her that for all she knew of him, some things - mysteries - would never be hers. She'd chosen to give them up to the boy who'd chased them, hurt them, betrayed them. He was the king of a country of traitors, deceivers, thieves, villains, murderers. Yet he'd also supported them, helped them, sacrificed for them... Perhaps even as much as Aang ever had for the world.
Because, when all was said and done, she knew that young man by the windowsill with a babe in his arms would give the world for them.
All of them. Even one such as she. Who had acted such a coward in not fighting for their relationship in those early years, acted a coward more when she retreated to her igloo with a seemingly fairy tale existence and a 'happy ever after' that wasn't nearly as happy as the stories they told. Who had taken a step of faith in the opposite direction, leaving him stranded, alone, desolate. Who now had placed a child in his arms that could have been his, were it not for her infidelity and indiscretion.
Did he think that, when he looked at the infant there? That those black curls could have been just a shade lighter, or those eyes maybe cloudier with grey? That the next expression she made could have been his lovable grin, rather than the mirror-image of Zuko's scowl? That if just one grain of sand - or one pandalily - had fallen differently, that the very world might have been a completely different place?
It pained her, that possibility. Like the thorns of that guilt that had been gnawing in her gut for two months in captivity, this was just an off-shoot, a branch not yet uprooted by forgiveness or grace. Grace, truly, was what she needed, after all. Her sins were far too numerous, far too wounding, to be forgotten by anything less.
This, all of this, was supposed to mark a happy occasion. A long-anticipated meeting of a baby she cherished despite the whole world telling her it was a mistake and the only person in the world who could possibly overlook how terrible she really was. It wouldn't do to cry, but as she forced herself to turn away from the precious sight, she couldn't help that inevitable pool of tears.
She had never felt so unworthy - of anything - in all her life.
Joined: Feb 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 407 Location: Shu Jing
Re: Simple Joys [Aang, Zuko] « Reply #10 on Oct 15, 2010, 10:37am »
Aang didn’t not know whether it was that deep part of himself yet connected to her, or the subtle flux in moisture that first alerted his senses, but he turned, slow and confused, and tensed his eyes deep against the Firelord’s, wondering into them while he searched for some trace of comprehension. And only naturally the shadows on his forehead wrinkled, navy hues scathing pervasive blue as he sought what had shifted the atmosphere enough to disturb him from Lei’s wistful charms; yet hardly a heartbeat has passed before his arms loosened against the bundle he bore, and he knew-- sneaky, subtle shift in pressure--had tuned his ears to notice every shift, every whisper of a sigh or hum of a moan, every spluttered whimper that might disentangle the gossamer of suppression she always laid between him and her true emotions because, though, through the years, his ears had been damaged with the roars of the winds he bended, no gale or gust nor length of time was strong enough to melt away his sensitivity. He sensed and he knew and those sharp shadows on his forehead dissolved into lightness.
And there, in that new light, he looked at her like he looked at the sky when he remembered it was blue-- atmospheric blue, the color of the eyes he saw in blurred awakening when he first came into this changed world; the color of the eyes he once hoped would carry him into his last breath, and the color of the eyes this child bore as she gazed up in rapture, a cerulean beset by dark locks that were a shade away from his aspirations-- looked at her soft and funny because he saw it there, the arrow he tattooed into her mind, unfinished and yet there where he thought it had faded forever, etched into every heart-fiber, pointing right to her heart, where he wanted to bury himself forever, an arrow that was shade away from being his to love and his to live for against the beckoning of the whole world.
His to quiet in the night when chills swept too far up from the floor and his to wash when finger-paint found a less conventional canvas of feet and faces... did he think of think like this as he stood lost for any solidity in thought? Of course. Of course his mind ever-so-cruelly recalled old aspirations lost to infidelity, because six years of dreams and seen yet one of fading. Never would he here the bells of a rattle sound upon temple stone, nor would nun’s lullabies ever warm in his throat to bridge his past with his present, and it bruised his heart to know that no little face would ever run to him in the night shouting father... but he saw more wrapped in those pink folds than regret. He saw reality and accepted it, because her life was just as relevant to him as his aspirations, and she deserved more than a love embittered by heartbreak. Looking down at her in the grey light of, with her face scrunched in a scowl and displeasure tugging at her limbs, he fell into love so enchanting it could only be called grace; grace for a child who knew nothing of the man with the blue forehead who held her in his arms and wept, and knew not why his fingers quaked when she caught his eyes. He wanted to love her and protect her and tell her stories and play pin the tale on the sky bison, he wanted to sing ancient lullabies and love her like he loved the air that swelled into his lungs.
She cried. He laughed. He no longer believed in himself.
Katara had been the first one to believe in him, the first to tell him he could save the world despite the voices of despair and the first to admire more than the Avatar part of his existence. She had admired the Aang part of him instead, the boy who owned very little and did very much, but somewhere in the womb of time, she’s lost her admiration, gave it up because he threw his panda-lilies into the belly of violent mountains for the sake of the world; in lovers terms, that just wasn’t acceptable, and no necklaces woven of fishing line were going to substitute.
Nor Hand carved charms of penguins or silly little hearts drawn on ever so official papers in the night; Aang was ancient and venerable, a spirit that has known a thousand wrongs an a thousand lifetimes, whose eyes glittered with swallowing depths of amaranthine if only to tell her that he would be okay in the end-- he had seen this before, lifetimes away, and knew in his battered heart that was best that he had lost his girl along the way, and that no one in this life was really going to make the difference to him after all. Happy-ever-afters were not stories his spirit told at all, only happy once-in-a-while’s and maybe-after-I-save-the-world-again’s; neither one of these blue eyed mortals were his to love at all, and no trinkets were going to change emotions lost to negligence; all were now burned or buried or cast with sadness into the sea, where only lion-turtles would remember them as relics.
She didn’t believe he could love, and so he didn’t believe he could either. And clearly, it was time for him to put his faith in something else.
Suffering brought beautification. and so, like a blossom that hard pressed to endure the frost of winter, beneath his circumstance, Aang had only ripened in wisdom; had learned the subtle difference between tickling and prickling, had seen that shadow of a discrepancy between look that said, with heated praise, I want you and a look that glowed to say I love you and, through scrutiny, had only become better for love. True to the nature of her element, Katara had changed him, and true to the nature of his, he shifted to accommodate. It was a patient wearing down that brought smoothness; shortcomings had been thought through, obsessed over, improved upon, matured where it mattered or kept foolhardy where love wanted childishness, subconscious alterations all born from conscious suffering, dormant until someone believed he could love like that again.
He could see the troubled love they thought was romantic; and perhaps, it was for now, but not forever. Not the sort of forever Lei deserve to see lit in their eyes when they looked at her, or each other. Not the kind that ten years could deteriorate into a war of words and suspicions. Aang would mind the cold for her; bidden by his heart, he would teach them to love as he loved, not in prurience, but in a much more lasting fire...one that never struggled to find the energy to sustain its light, and though winds of anger could dull it with chills and the bitterness of passion-- for passion was bitter if not sweetened with love-- could make it swell so high that everyone felt aflame, it would preside, nameless and eternal, and not even the blanket of death could smother it out.
Aang looked down again, straight into those wondrous pools of curiosity, and with heavy lidded eyes he smiled, a half formed grin sketching into his lips as though he'd shared a secret for her eyes alone. Then, drawing her towards his shoulder, one arm folded upward to hold her head in his hands while the other wrapped beneath her, he walked and whispered those same nonsensical things he once heard Gyatso mutter beneath his breath when they visited the nurseries, and made his quiet way towards her mother.
Angling his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes, swallowed, sighed and breathed with her in rhythm while his fingers swept against Lei's dark curls, steadfast until that old sense of closeness coaxed a smile as lopsided as the day they had met. "Okay?"
And no matter her reply, he rubbed his forehead back and forth with a flighty chuckle, stepping towards Zuko with the very air of change and dragging a chair close with his foot until it sat adjacent to the Firelord, "You're the one who taught me. Why don't you mind it? Besides, I think we'd-- hey" The red tassel on his monk's necklace dangled just above Lei's doughy nose, cuddled up in his arms as he rested his foot on the edge of the table, "Oh, like that, do you?" and grabbing the carved base, he joggled the tassels over her tiny hands, "--anyway, I think we'd both like a demonstration."
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