Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Avatar: The Wind on the Waves ❯ Chapter 8

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The earthbender couldn't resist a smile at the sound of two very surprised people jumping apart and backing into the counters and islands respectively. Despite Toph's blindness, Aang rubbed his face as though to dissipate the flustered look on it.

“Is the food ready yet?” Toph continued, the devilish smirk never leaving her face.

“We're just—yeah…” Katara sputtered. “There's just one more that needs a few more minutes…”

“You know, you're both lucky it's me that came up here and not Sokka. He was going to come up here himself, but I beat him to it.”

“Thanks…” Aang managed to sputter.

Toph took a few deep breaths, savoring all the delicious smells around her. Her mouth watered, but she kept herself composed.

“Do you need help getting this downstairs?” she asked.

“We do.” Katara replied. “We were going to put it in smaller bowls and carry it down ourselves, but if you've got a better way—“

“—I do.” Toph interrupted, touching the kitchen floor and seeing the layout of the temple with her bending. Getting back up, she spread her arms wide. “Stand back!”

A few solid motions and the floor beneath the giant cauldron became a platform lowered its load securely to the bottom floor. There was a neat, perfectly circular hole in the kitchen where the cauldron had been.

“What about the floor?” asked Aang.

“We'll fix it after we move it to the courtyard.” Toph replied. “Any other big loads needing to go down?”

“I think we've got it from here on out.” Said Aang. “Thanks Toph!”

“No problem.” She smirked. “Oh, and don't worry. I won't tell Sokka you two were smooching up here!”

“Thank you…” Katara let go of the relieved breath she'd been holding.

The party hit it off with barely a hitch. The `musicians' got off to a bit of a clumsy start, with the main issue being familiarity, or unfamiliarity for that matter, of the music of choice. But with some help from sheet music from the music room and strong memories, they managed to come together rather decently.

The feast started off with what Aang called Desert Wind soup. It had a smooth herbal taste with a little spicy bite to it. It had been this recipe, Katara recalled, that she had added the burn berries into.

Then, there had been the salad; the greens used were not large-leafed as a traditional one would have, but rather smaller, reedy herbs mixed with crunchy nuts and even some fruit. Sokka would have remarked about it being rabbaroo food, but sharp elbow jabs from Suki and Toph, on each side of him, cut him short.

A flaky, cornbread-like pie was the main course. It had a strong herbal taste that would make even the most die-hard carnivore water at the mouth. Suki remarked how similar it was to a native Earth Kingdom dish. Zuko seemed rather surprised that it was not spicy, given that most Fire Nation dishes were very hot on the tongue. Jit-Seng laughed that it was the first meal in a long time that didn't upset his stomach.

Dessert was none other than the air cakes that Aang himself had whipped up. The three different colors denoted the three flavors that there were to be had: red, green, and blue. The red one was flavored with the fruit Aang had given Katara to sample up in the kitchen. The green one was sweet and citrusy, and the blue one had a smooth, but tart taste to it.

After the meal, the musicians picked up their instruments again to lighten the atmosphere. They started off with some soft, air nomad melodies before moving on to the stronger, louder earth kingdom tones. They had to stop at one point because of Toph; absently tapping her foot to the beat, she was unintentionally earthbending small tremors that increased in force over time. Only when Jit-Seng fell over did she realize what she was doing, apologized, and stopped.

“Sokka, dance with me!” Suki whispered suddenly to water tribe boy beside her.

“What!?” Sokka nearly choked on his dessert. “Dance? I don't know the first thing about dan—“

“—I'll show you!” she suddenly leapt up and pulled him with her out to the more open area. Poor Sokka had no chance to protest. Suki pulled his ear in close and whispered. “Remember our Kyoshi Warrior training?”

“Y-yeah?”

“OK THEN!”

She feinted several invisible fan swipes at him, and for a few numb moments, Sokka was unsure of what to do. But as he recognized the kata from when he initially met Suki, he mimicked the same feints and false blows, turning the fighting maneuvers into an intricate dance with his beloved Suki.

The onlookers made clear their approval. The Duke hooted and hollered. A warm smile broadened on Chief Hakoda's face.

“That guy's pretty good!” remarked Jit-Seng.

“That's my son.” Hakoda replied warmly.

As the music picked up in tempo, Sokka seemed to lose a bit of his edge, but that didn't seem to stop him. The kicks and dodges were getting closer and closer, and just as the song came to a close, a delay to dodge on Sokka's end wound up as a none-too-light punch to the face. After countless apologies and laughing it off, both sat back down. Katara froze some water for Suki to nurse her sweetheart's cheek while Sokka silently nursed his wounded pride.

During the intermission, Toph wandered over to the band and whispered something in Zuko's ear. The fire prince gave her a curious look, but when she made a gesture like she was going to punch his arm, he quickly nodded. Satisfied, the young girl returned to her seat.

“What was that all about?” Aang asked.

“Nothing, Twinkle-Toes!” Toph replied, a large, mischievous grin widening.

The band stirred up a loud, upbeat Fire Nation melody. The song was immediately recognized by Aang and Katara, and memories of a secret dance party welled to the surface afresh. If Toph could have grinned any more, she certainly would have. The skip in her friends' heartbeats told her this choice of song had had the desired effect.

Aang and Katara glanced shyly at one another, a rosy color rising in their cheeks. With a nod from Katara, Aang pulled her out into the open area, where they bowed to one another to commence. Extending their arms to one another and touching wrists, they went through the motions of their first dance as though it had just been the day before.

“Wow!” remarked Suki. “They're pretty good!”

“Aw, they're just show-offs!” Sokka huffed.

A feint, a false jab, and a cross-crouch led to a half spin and high somersaults. Aang spun in toward her, and Katara turned likewise. Though their lips never met, the heat of one another's breath on their faces did not go unnoticed. Suki ooh'd and Toph laughed. Sokka glared, but made no other indication of what he thought. Hakoda seemed mildly surprised, but smiled.

A tumble and twirl later, Aang caught her in his arms and dipped her low. An applause went up, but neither of the dancers paid heed to any of it, for they only cared to gaze into one another's sweat-dampened faces.

There had been more music, more dessert, and of course, some more dancing. Despite Sokka's best efforts, he and Suki could not seem to outdo his sister and the Avatar. When he sat down grumbling, his back was turned to the air cake that flew straight towards him.

Tired and partied out, the group cleaned and setup their supplies for the night. The skies above were clear, but all slept where they could be protected from the elements. After all, Katara reasoned, it could still rain even during the dry season.