Big Trouble in Little Gaoling <Gaoling, EK>

[meatandsarcasm]

Aside from the one incident where Katara and Toph had a silent clash, the rest of the journey to Gaoling occurred without incident. Appa touched down just outside of town, and Sokka slid down his back onto the ground. He stretched a little and moved around in what he decided was a good way to get his blood flowing again. He’d been in the same position for a long time, after all, and his butt had almost turned numb. After a few moments, he was all stretched out and decided it was time to get going. After all, he was the leader. If he was ready to go, so was everyone else.

“So, Toph,” he called to the girl. “Which way is your house?”

He glanced at the town after looking around. There were a lot of houses and shops, and while it wasn’t Omashu or Shai City, it was decently sized. They’d be able to get some supplies and a nice meal here for sure.

[blindgirl]

Toph did her best to climb down from the beast on her own, her hangs grabbed tufts of fur as she made her slow decent, not like she could see perfectly on top of the furry beast. After making half of the trip safely she slipped taking some tufts of the bison fur with her, the couple feet was enough to smart as she landed ungracefully on her backside. She now had fur in her face, with a bit more then a growl she wiped her hand over her face and got to her feet. At least they were on solid ground again, that was more than she could ask for at this point.

Her head inclined in the direction of the water girl, she huffed and looked away. Toph nearly socked her but Sokka interrupted her touch of rage. Toph Straightened herself out brushing down her tattered dirty dress. She then began her walk around the perimeter of the city, she didn't want to walk through the streets, encase someone noticed her, it would cause trouble. The proposition of being the avatars teacher ran through her mind and she mulled it over quietly, traveling with that sugar queen didn't sound very attractive, the air bender was flighty at best, he wouldn't be able to bend a pebble and the boy got on her nerves, it would get her out into the world, provide some adventure for her, maybe it they begged her she'd come along. That got her smirking. "This way"

[airnomad]

Aang hopped off of Appa's head, floating gingerly down to the ground with the aid up an uplifting current of air. He turned almost immediately toward the flying bison and rubbed at his thick shag of hair in appreciation of the lift. "We should be back soon, buddy," he said with a smile. "There should be some decent fields around here for you you get some food while we're in town." The massive creature let out a rumbling grunt that seemed to affirm the idea of getting some food. Once the others had cleared out of the saddle, Appa was off into the air with a powerful slap of his tail.

Momo had opted to stay behind and took a seat on Aang's shoulder. The Avatar scratched his pet between the shoulder blades and gave him a smile before fallig into step with the others as Toph lead them to her house.

"Do you have any other family here beside your parents?" Katara asked, her tone innocent enough. Despite whatever bad vibeswere passing between those two on the way here, the waterbender seemed like she was simply trying to start a conversation.

Aang wasn't worried so much about either of them at the moment, and instead his eyes were wandering around the town. It was refreshing to see that in some places the Earth Kingdom still thrived despite the war. Gaolings apparent peace and prosperity gave him hope that it was not yet too late to reverse the damage done by a century of war.

[blindgirl]

" I don't even know if my parents are here, I left them at the walls of Omashu." She admitted not once stopping to look back, she wasn't as taken with the city as the two of them. Honestly she hoped they weren't back, it would mean the staff wouldn't be mulling about the house, it would make things easier for her.

Already she didn't know how to explain this situation. Her mind was muddled with loop holes and excuses she could rattle off. Perhaps she could just dissapear, never come back, that would solve a lot of problems, but it would open up so many new ones. Her heart knotted it's self, she didn't hate her parents, they just smothered her.

She was a strong girl, they couldn't see past her disabilities, she was blind, a frail little doll that couldn't do anything on her own, if they'd seen the things she just did then they'd understand somewhat. No, they'd just be worried about her more, want her to never go outside, never earth bend again.

Toph walked into her own backyard without little explanation, over the small bridge and to her expansive mansion of a house. Her head tilted back to the rest of the assembled group with a rather sour tone. " This is my house, I don't think I feel anyone around so make yourselves at home..."

[zuko]

Every day and every hour that tauntingly flew by him was torture in itself. All those seconds that passed by him felt as if they turned and laughed at his antics for trying so hard. How aggravating this was! Was he getting closer? Or was he moving further and further away from the one thing he needed to find the most?

Days had passed since Prince Zuko and his crew landed on the northern sea port leading towards a town called Gaoling. Zuko wasn’t very familiar with it, but those days ago he happened to come across something more valuable than ever asked for; something he had desired to hear for what seemed like forever: a lead. He remembered it clearly. After weeks of going from town to town, Zuko finally had come across several merchants along the northern port, saying they saw a giant, flying animal pass by. One merchant recalled it being a ‘bison in the sky’ and that it had headed in the direction of Gaoling.

It had to be the Avatar. Whether if the information was plausible or not, Zuko hardly hesitated to order almost all of his troops off his ship and prepare a land trek toward Gaoling. This lead was too valuable and too precious to pass up. He had to be getting closer.

But for almost a week, Zuko and his crew marched onward into the wilderness, taking the never-ending path that headed toward Gaoling. Zuko now sat atop one of his battle rhinos, looking ever more aggravated for every moment that passed by. He had become surprisingly quiet, even when one of his crew members happened to drop their supplies along the path. Zuko simply continued onward without looking behind him – he wasn’t going to stop for anyone. Even as his Uncle Iroh jabbered on and sung songs with other crew members while he sat atop his own rhino, Zuko’s only reaction was either a blink or a muffled grumble.

“You shouldn’t keep your hopes up like this, Prince Zuko,” his uncle would often times say whenever the prince became too quiet, “…You could become very disappointed in the end.”

How troublesome Uncle was.

Before Zuko could retort his uncle as soon as he began to bring another one of his proverbs up, the prince caught sight of something in the distance. Green and gold rooftops appeared over the trees – that was it! Finally, after the long trek, Zuko’s eyes laid upon the distant sight of Gaoling. There: that was where his goal had to be.

As some of his crew cheered, Prince Zuko immediately barked at them to hurry, not wanting to waste anymore time. Briefly, Zuko looked downward and caught sight of his servant, Sho, who had surprisingly made the journey this far after all; however, he was no less troublesome than Uncle was.

[airnomad]

Aang couldn't help but feel like they were breaking and entering. Even with Toph leading the way, sneaking around the back with the intent to grab some things and leave almost seemed like a mild form of robbery. Granted, it was her house, but the Avatar got the distinct impression that Toph didn't want to be seen or stopped for questioning.

The group passed through the rather elaborate garden that was enclosed by the estate's walls, and Aang couldn't help but say, "This place is beautiful." Of course, as soon as he'd said it, he shrank back a little bit as he realized that Toph couldn't actually 'see' the topography to know it was beautiful. However, aside from the slightest hissing intake of breath for his blunder, Aang just remained quiet and hoped that she didn't take offense.

As they neared the house itself, Katara asked, "Would you like us to wait out here?" Aang glanced her way briefly, figuring she was probably right to ask first before the three of them just walked into Toph's home unbidden.

[sho]

Sho’s focus had grown increasingly dull throughout the course of the trip, for, how long had they been wandering like this? Sure, at first the refreshing sight of land and forest had been intriguing, but, even after a few hours, Sho rediscovered that hiking was not his specialty. Quickly he grew weary, sometimes even falling behind among the group, even though he was probably the youngest of the ship’s crew. However, once he did fall behind with the older members, Sho’s jaw locked in determination, and, after ignoring the pearly beads of sweat that rolled down his temple and the ache that throbbed in his limbs, he stumbled forward at a broken jog to catch up to the crowd of rhinos that led the way. Yet, even this small accomplishment was bittersweet, though more bitter than sweet. It was nice to know that he could keep up, but he still realized he had fallen behind in the first place, which was embarrassing. And keeping up front meant having to face the scarred profile of the prince. And that relationship brought on an entire new wave of uncertainty.

Their interaction even as crewmates was strained to say the least; Sho was annoyance to Zuko – that was obvious. Because of this, Sho had decided it would be best to keep quiet during this trip, for Sho only had a faint idea of what the prince must be feeling right now. Excitement? Disappointment? Frustration? The last is what most of the crew suspected (and they felt mostly exasperation themselves), so Sho was sure his comments would only add to the negativity. He really wasn’t an outgoing person anyway.

It was easy to get lost in the monotony of the week-long escapade, no matter how much the travelers might try to entertain themselves. Sho was often dazed, unthinking, simply focusing on taking another step, so he was a little jostled when he heard some of his crewmates break out into a cheer.

Sho stopped, glancing up while running a hand through his short, damp locks. His eyes instantly brightened, and the faintest hint of a smile was apparent in the very corners of his lips. They were finally here! Civilization! He was looking forward to walking on real pavement…

Suddenly, Zuko barked out an order, and Sho instinctively glanced over to the prince, immediately meeting his gaze. His smile hardened in an attempt to look dignified, and, of course, this happened right as he tripped over a root, leaving Sho jerking his gaze away as he fumbled a few steps, grimacing.

What an idiot he was.

[meatandsarcasm]

Sokka followed silently as they walked to Toph’s house. Well, mostly silently. There was the occasional remark about some such odd looking thing or another, but for Sokka, he was quite quiet. He was still thinking about the encounter with Bumi in Omashu, particularly what he’d said about Toph. The possibility of her teaching Aang earthbending was still certainly open, as he’d decided she definitely had the talent, but could she teach? She wasn’t exactly looking like a team player, much less an encouraging teacher. Then again, maybe that was because she’d never really had a moment with just Aang. Katara and Toph hadn’t exactly hit it off, and she seemed to take to a back and forth whenever Sokka himself talked to her.

He scratched his chin for a moment as he studied Toph’s house, and then spoke up, “Actually, Katara, I think we should take this chance to go get some supplies. Aang, you go with Toph and make sure her parents know she’s all right.”

Katara gave him a quizzical look, but Sokka returned with a hard stare before turning away, his eyes giving off that “I know what I’m doing” feeling.

“Uh, yeah,” Katara said a little hesitantly. “We’ll meet you back here, okay, Aang?”

***

A short walk later, Katara and Sokka were in the markets in Gaoling’s main street, looking around in the shops. Sokka had explained his intention on the way, and Katara had agreed that it was a good idea to test whether Aang could train under Toph, albeit hesitantly. Sokka, however, shared no such apprehension, and happily browsed the wares of a shop.

“Ooooh, Katara, look at this nifty bag!” he said giddily, holding up a green and gold bag with an Earth Kingdom emblem. “It’s so big and spiffy looking!”

Katara sighed, “I must have the only older brother in the world who likes shopping more than his sister…”

[blindgirl]

Toph shrugged a Aang's comment, she could see enough of it with her feet to know it was at least big, what it looked like didn't matter to her. Of course she was going to shoot a remark back at him but he seemed to cover that base all on his own remembering her stigma. She was disinterested in the whole topic, cleaning out her ear with a pinky, she didn't feel her parents home, it was a good thing. She wouldn't be able to explain the whole situation to them anyway, she'd take the money she stored up from tournaments and run off. That seemed to be the simplest option. But she'd need to at least leave them a note, so they don't send people after her...

The girls attention was diverted when the annoyingly huffy girl began to speak again, once more she was a hair away from chewing the girl out when her brother spoke up, her temper was cooled a bit, at least she'd be leaving now. That was a high point of the day. " Whatever" Toph muttered loud enough for the assembled party to hear. Not like she cared all too much what they were doing, after she had her things together she didn't mind if they crashed, she wouldn't be around for it anyway if she could help it.

Opening the door she walked into the back sitting room letting her senses adjust to her house, remembering where everything she'd need was, where her room and the attic were, ink and paper, after than her head tilted back towards the form connected to the earth she knew to be the air bender. Snapping she managed to make out a . " Are you coming?" She had a job for him, considering she couldn't see well enough to write his services would be rather usefull.

[airnomad]

Aang was a little surprised that his companions were splitting off without him, but he figured they proably had good cause. After all, they were always in need of fresh supplies and they could do some master hunting while in town. "Okay, Katara," he said, tossing the Water Tribe girl a smile. "I'll catch up with you guys later." The siblings went their seperate way and the young Avatar watched them until they were out of the garden. At that point Toph called for his attention and he realized that she was already moving into the house.

"Coming!" Aang said enthusiastically as he rushed over to catch up. He entered the room on Toph's heels and then followed a bit more slowly. The air nomad had seen his share of sights all over the world during his years traveling with Gyattso as well as in the last several months since he'd been unfrozen, but even he had to admit that Toph's house was among the most lavish estates he'd ever seen. Whoever her parents were, they were as rich as kings and had the services of a master of interior design.

"Wow," he breathed, taking in the sight of exquisite furniture and adornments. "Nice house..."

[blindgirl]

"It's alright." Toph said easily after his compliment, she didn't think much of it. She lived here, it hadn't changed much over the years, they thought that mooving things around may disoriante or confuse her.

The blind girl wandered through the small parlor they'd come into going directly over to the low desk and opening the compartment on the side. She fetched a peice of paper tossing it on the desk grabbing a bottle of ink and a pen, she ran her finger along the tip, that was the frayed one, she tossed it back into the drawer and took the finer brush setting it next to the ink before nodding towards Aang staring blindly into space. She backed away from the desk with her arms crossed, her head gestured to him and the desk indicating he should go over there to write for her.

" I need you to write a few things down for me." She didn't ask or bother to say please, once he had brush and paper she'd start to dictate her words to him. After that she could get her bag, her cash and make her way out of here. If she fought in a couple battles now and then she could earn more than enough to keep up her lavish life style, there were so many ways she'd be able to get by, people were stupid, she had no trouble using them. Her head turned back in Aangs direction and she raised an eyebrow at him. " You can write can't you?"

[airnomad]

Aang had broken off from following Toph for a moment as she went into a side room. She was still wearing her filthy clothes from Omashu, and the young Avatar suspected she would need to get changed while she was hear. He figured he would give her plenty of space to handle whatever she was doing in private, and in the meantime he finding interest in a solid jade carving of a lion-turtle. At the sound of Toph's voice he turned around suddenly, accidentally bumping his staff into an urn on a shelf. Aang made a slight gasp of worry as the expensive-looking container wobbled dangerously on its perch and he rose a hand to push it back into place.

"Sure thing!" he said, anxious to get away from the item he almost damaged. He entered the room and saw that Toph had already laid out the materials for him. Aang leaned his staff against the wall and took a seat at the table. "So, what would you like me to write?" he asked with a friendly tone. The airbender placed the two paper weights at the center of the page and then slid them out to the sides to press it flat. He then picked up the brush and swished it in the inkwell, dragging it across the edge of bottle to remove the excess before holding it expectantly over the page.

[blindgirl]

Toph ignored the boys rather cheerful state even after having nearly destroyed a family heirloom, not like she cared about it, her parents would be livid if it was broken though. She closed her eyes blocking everything out from her world and breathing evenly in through her mouth and out through her nose." Dear Mother and Father" She started simply enough, there was no better way to start a letter, it told them a few key things, that the letter was from her, that she was trying to be polite having not used Mama and Daddy also that she refured to them as dear. It seemed silly but that is how she learned that proper notes should always begin. The rest of it would have to be just as carefully worded.

" I'm leaving home for a while, don't bother looking for me. Love Toph." It seemed to tie up any loose ends. She nodded once to signify she was finished with the note, it shouldn't take too long for him to write the short blurb. "When your finished there leave it on the table, I'm going to change." Shaking off any feeling of responsibility she took off through the house to find her room, retrieving a bag and some of her things and then the attic to get her blind bandits costume and her saved gold. There was a sort of freedom in her stride, no going back now, she'd stuck it to the people who suppressed her so much over the years. They deserved it, just because she was blind didn't mean she couldn't see there was more to her than some poor little blind daughter of a rich family,

[zuko]

“Prince Zuko, sir…” came a steadied and formal voice from the side. Zuko looked to his left where a strong soldier rode on one of the rhinos next to him. The soldier held out a parchment in his hands, offering it to the prince. “Sir, a messenger hawk has just arrived. It’s from General Yuo, located in Omashu. Apparently they have some soldiers that say they were attacked by an airbender during an intrusion.”

Zuko immediately snatched the parchment from the soldier’s hand and frantically read over it. His soldier went on to describe what happened, a more serious look on his face, “According to what the soldiers said, the airbender is the same kid we met from before - no doubt the Avatar, of course." Zuko looked at the bottom of the parchment and saw that there was a rough sketch of that fimiliar face - a young boy with an arrow atop his head - confirming the truth to the soldier’s statement.

Yes. This was what Zuko needed to hear. Finally…the Avatar was still on the move, and perhaps close by. Evidence was right here in his hands!

“Prince Zuko…” came Iroh’s voice from Zuko’s opposite side, his face slightly grim, “Things are not getting any easier now. Soldiers will be sent to capture the Avatar at an even faster rate this time, especially if flyers are being handed out to Fire Nation officials..."

Zuko sharply looked up from the parchment, his face contorted in a scowl. His uncle was right. Zuko’s heart went from an excited and hopeful leap to now a dreaded and downtrodden fall. Suddenly, with a burst of anxiousness, Zuko kicked up the speed. He knew there was no time to waste now…

It wasn’t long before the small town of Gaoling was greeted by the sight of five or more rhinos, one of which was in front with the Fire Nation prince atop it. The stomping of feet, the rolling of several carts that were towed along, and the sound of metal armor clanking filled the quiet city with a sense of intrusion. The prince’s soldiers – with their faces already well-hidden behind their helmets – marched behind Zuko in an orderly fashion; even the prince had placed his helmet on as well, indicating that he was the one in charge.

People in the streets began to hurriedly move out of the way, grabbing their belongings and their children. The faces that stared up and about the small army were fearful, others hateful. Everyone stopped or quickly went somewhere else as soon as Prince Zuko violently pulled back on the reins of the rhino and halted his troops. As everyone stopped, Zuko paused and looked around the faces of the people that glanced or stared up at him, none of which he could recall. He then looked up and around – no sign of a giant bison either.

Zuko called out to the people while atop his intimidating rhino and held up the parchment with the drawing of the Avatar for everyone to see.

“Where is this boy?!” Zuko yelled out to the crowd of people. He didn't want to attempting shouting out about the boy being the Avatar; if any Fire Nation competiton happened to be around, the last thing Zuko wanted was a rival. “If anyone has even seen this boy or a flying bison pass, I demand to know!”

Zuko paused and no one spoke. People in the crowd looked from side to side, confused, but mostly worried. Typical, thought the prince. Of course no one was going to say a word to the Fire Nation…

The prince scowled and shoved the parchment into his belt behind his back. With a swift motion of his arm, Zuko gave the signal for his troops to begin the chaotic search…

[sho]

Sho obediently followed as the troops marched to and through the modest city of Gaoling, and, because the suddenly grim atmosphere, he redirected his focus. It was immensely important to stay with the group while maintaining a confident march, which was thankfully easy now they had reached actual pavement. He glanced around, managing to keep a stiff upper jaw and determined face; though, he did not feel so confident inside. Sure, this was a simple enough mission – find and capture the Avatar, don’t let anyone stand in your way. The only thing was… Sho was and had always been a servant, a worker, not a soldier.

It was odd, glancing around at the townspeople, analyzing their reactions. They seemed so afraid – afraid of him! That was certainly laughable, but it wasn’t so laughable when Sho remembered the small army he was traveling with. But, to Sho, it almost seemed wrong to make such a grand entrance for this search. All the faces they saw, well, they were all innocent people – not dangerous earthbending soldiers. For a moment, Sho’s tough-guy act slipped and he bit his lip; he hoped they could find what they want and leave without hurting anyone…

Though, this was the Avatar they were talking about. Sho wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He hadn’t been on this ship too long, so he hadn’t actually come face-to-face with him. His firebending skills – not harnessed well due to him becoming a modest servant – were surely no match. Not with the stories he had heard from the crew.

So, it was with much hesitancy that Sho met Zuko’s firm command. He decided he would stick near the prince while he searched. As he wasn’t truly a soldier, it would only make sense that he should be around the one who’d be giving the orders.

Sho stepped forward along with another nearby group of searching soldiers and began to follow the rhinos into the city. He gulped. Somewhere, here, was the Avatar...