"No." She shook her head. Her brother was already mentally chasing after Aang and had once again ceded the conversational lead to his sister. "Unless you'll permit me to steal Mai for a while."
"Certainly. In that case, if you'll excuse us, my wife and I must see to putting Tom-Tom to bed."
The older generation took their leave. (Iroh, meanwhile, had been alone with his tea throughout the conversation and had blissfully tuned out everything else. Or at least convincingly pretended to.) The atmosphere immediately became far more informal.
Ty Lee, for example, let out an excited squeal, launched herself at Mai, and immediately started smothering her in hugs. Azula, patiently waiting her turn, embraced her friend as well.
"I hope you're here to kill me?" the brunette asked in a weary voice.
"No, actually. I was planning to hand you over to Zu-Zu. My brother was so happy when he found out you were here..."
"Azula!" Zuko's mixture of embarrassment and indignation was downright comical.
Even so, the prince got up from the table and embraced Mai as well. Apparently, though, a simple hug wasn't nearly enough for the lady, and somehow one thing naturally led to another until the two shared a rather passionate kiss.
"Ahem... I'd say you've missed each other," Azula remarked with obvious sarcasm. "Hey, stop sitting there drinking tea. I still need to introduce you to my friend. Or do you already know her too?"
"No." I stood as well. "I haven't had the honor of being introduced to the lady."
"Hmm..."
Mai gave me a long, thoughtful look, then shifted her gaze to Azula and studied her just as carefully before raising an eyebrow.
"Well then, allow me to introduce you. Mai, this is Chan. The Dragon of the North, the Fire Herald, and my advisor. Chan, this is Mai, a close friend of mine."
"A pleasure to meet you." I gave a slight bow, which she acknowledged with a nod.
"Wait a minute. You're saying this guy is the Herald? Then... who's that big fellow?"
"Just a competent mercenary who fits the public image and allows me to do my work while attracting as little attention as possible."
"Interesting." Mai looked at me with noticeably greater interest now, the corner of her lips even lifting in the faintest hint of a smile. She clearly approved of the approach. Zuko, on the other hand, immediately began eyeing me suspiciously. Yeah... a homegrown Othello.
In any case, the younger generation—that is, us—decided to relax for a while and simply spend some time together. (Iroh, having claimed the teapot, quietly disappeared to the chambers prepared for him.) We exchanged news and stories from our various adventures.
About half an hour later, the messenger we'd sent returned with the Kyoshi Warriors and Toph, giving everyone another excuse to introduce themselves all over again and continue enjoying the afternoon.
Well... after everyone had finished laughing at yet another one of my "arguments" with the little menace, anyway.
"And this little monster here is Toph Beifong. Don't let her childlike appearance fool you! She's the most dangerous earthbender I've ever met, and she's su-u-uch a little brat—ow!"
A small fist slammed into my side.
Earthbenders, incidentally, hit surprisingly hard.
Even tiny ones.
"What?! I only told the truth!"
"Exactly!" the little bandit declared, lifting her chin proudly. "Who introduces people like that? Where's the tact? Where's the admiration for my genius?"
"I did say you're the greatest earthbender I've ever met." I put on the most innocent, sincere expression I could manage.
"You said it like it was some insignificant detail!" The blind girl folded her arms across her chest smugly. "That's not how proper praise works! Do it again!"
"All right, all right."
I surrendered obediently under the amused gazes of the Kyoshi Warriors and the thoroughly bewildered expressions of Mai and Zuko.
"Allow me to introduce the undefeated champion of Gaoling's underground no-holds-barred fighting tournament, a genius earthbender personally trained by the original earthbenders themselves—the badgermoles—the heiress of the Beifong family, and simply a tiny yet utterly adorable little tyrant... Toph, better known as the Blind Bandit! Please give her a warm welcome!"
I flashed my brightest smile.
"Oh—and she's su-u-u-ch a little brat!"
"Thaaaat's much better." The little girl nodded approvingly, positively beaming with satisfaction.
"She's an earthbender?" Mai focused on the most important part, allowing a flicker of restrained surprise to break through her usual mask of indifference.
Everyone present nodded.
"And she's on our side?" the aristocrat asked next.
The nods were repeated, while Toph positively radiated smug satisfaction at the entire introduction.
"...Good."
Mai simply accepted the information as though nothing particularly unusual had happened.
"Mai, don't listen to him!" Ty Lee suddenly exclaimed, throwing herself at her friend. "Chan's exaggerating! Toph's really sweet! Honestly, after traveling with him for a while, I've become completely convinced that anyone would eventually turn into a monster if they spent enough time around him!"
The aristocrat gave me a thoughtful look, and I immediately spotted an opportunity that absolutely couldn't be wasted.
"Ah... Your words have pierced my very soul, Ty Lee! I'm crushed... devastated! Whatever shall I do if even you—the very embodiment of kindness and positivity—see me as some dreadful monster?!"
"Chan!" The acrobat actually flinched. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"
Okay, the important thing now was not to burst out laughing. I was already struggling to keep a straight face. From the outside, my suppressed snorts probably looked more like someone trying not to sob, but she was just so adorably flustered, darting about in a panic...
"Heh, don't fall for this scoundrel's act!" Toph ruined everything. "He's just pretending to be an innocent victim. I bet he's already come up with some terrifying, devious plan, haven't you, Chan? So drop the act!"
"Damn it, Toph. Once again you've completely ruined my cover." I finally gave up and burst into laughter.
"Chan?!" Ty Lee looked so innocently hurt that I nearly lost it.
"Spirits... he's doing it again..." Suki sighed, covering her eyes with one hand.
"What can I do?" I spread my hands helplessly. "I'm the lone man trapped in the middle of an enormous group of women, and the only person capable of understanding me and offering some proper masculine solidarity is currently... occupied..."
I nodded toward Zuko, who had temporarily managed to forget all about the Avatar and had spent the last several minutes trying to court Mai. Rather awkwardly, admittedly. But he was making an honest effort.
All in all, it was a wonderful time.
Unfortunately, not everything was quite so pleasant.
Roughly two hours later, yet another breathless messenger came running to us. A pandemic had broken out in the city, and a deeply unpleasant word suddenly hung in the air.
Plague.
...I certainly didn't remember the children's cartoon taking that particular turn.
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰