AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 3

"Thanks! Can I help?" Katara offered, rising to her feet and following her to the kitchen.

Sokka stood up, scanning the place. The bookshelf, the glass door leading to the garden in the backyard. And then a picture on the coffee table. "I think these are her parents," Sokka pointed out as he looked at the picture. It did seem to be a family portrait--with a much younger Athlea.

Zuko looked at the picture. The woman in the picture was dressed in blue, but the man in red. Were her parents from different Tribes? Well, that would explain why she lived with her uncle. His Tribe wasn't keen on people from different Tribes being together... "I think they are," he agreed. The woman had her eyes, and the man had her hair.

"They are different," Sokka said as Aang moved to look, too.

"Different Nations!" Aang said. "A forbidden loveeeeee." He chuckled.

"That isn't a joke," he said quietly. "Forbidden love is fatal in the Fire Kingdom. I wouldn't tease like that in front of--" He stopped talking as Athlea and Sokka's sister returned, plates in hand.

Sokka looked at Zuko, putting the frame back into place. "You're boorrriinggg. Maybe they went against the rules, which is badass," Sokka said with a nod and a grin. However, that grin disappeared in an instant as he saw his sister return and glare at him. He gave her a nervous smile.

Athlea had returned as well with some food for everyone. The two girls set the plates down for each one of them on the coffee table. "Eat up, and then you can rest. Tomorrow we've got work to do," Athlea said.

Sokka had already delved into the food. "This is good!" He said, with his mouth full of food. He was a foodie. Especially when it came to meat.

Zuko reached forward for his plate.Katara took her own plate, standing up halfway and glaring at Sokka. "Manners," she ordered sharply, her blue eyes sharp. Zuko looked down, trying not to laugh.

Zuko was one of the first to finish eating, besides Sokka, who could finish half a plate in two bites. "Should we... sleep in here, or do you have a guest bedroom?" he asked awkwardly. He was used to a house with more than enough extra rooms. "We usually sleep separately, but Toph and Katara could sleep together and I could sleep in the same room as Sokka and Aang." He glanced around. "If that's alright."

Katara nodded, swallowing and clearing her throat. "I don't mind that. But Toph doesn't like sleeping if she isn't close to the ground."

Athlea raised an eyebrow. "Katara and Toph can take my room. I'll set up an extra bed for Toph." She nodded.

"Now these are manners," Toph said as she faced Sokka.

Sokka looked at her, annoyed.

"And then for the guest room, I'll set up another bed there. I'll sleep here in the living room plus another set-up bed for whoever wants to sleep in the same room," Athlea said calmly as she ate. She finally set the plate down on the coffee table. "We also need to work on your clothing. You stand out too much," she pointed out. "We'll have a training session and then a shopping session, because you need it." Her eyes moved to Zuko now.

"That's fine by me." Toph said with a shrug.

Zuko looked down at his clothes. "I guess," he agreed. Though it was getting later in the afternoon, they wouldn't have to go to sleep quite yet. "When were you thinking?" He stood up, holding his fist in his other hand. "The sooner Aang and I get ourselves together, the better."

Althea looked at Zuko. "Tomorrow," she said with a nod. "You can all relax for today, but tomorrow we are starting; we can't waste too much time." She stood up to gather the empty plates. Zuko nodded.

"I can't wait for tomorrow then!" Aang said having overheard the conversation.

"Someone's awfully excited," Athlea mentioned.

"Twinkle toes is always excited," Toph responded.

"Twinkle toes?" Thea asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, she gives us nicknames. She'll have one for you eventually." Sokka grinned.

Katara turned to Aang. "Uh, Aang, I'm pretty sure we're missing someone. Y'know, a giant flying buffalo that has a saddle with all of our things on his back? Can he land anywhere nearby so we can grab everything we need?" She turned and saw that Athlea was already talking to Zuko. She looked back at Aang. "Wanna go scout somewhere out?"

Aang turned his attention to Katara and then he stood there silently for a few seconds. "APPA!!!" he called out loudly.

Katara flinched away from Aang as he yelled. "Jeez, don't you have a whistle for that?" she complained, her hands over her ears.

"Ah! Yeah!" Aang said with a nod and looked around.

Athlea covered one of her ears and closed an eye before opening it againg. "Yeah, the garden is big enough, so it shouldn't be a problem. This part of town is very quiet and, well... no one cares, basically." She shrugged.

Aang smiled. "Thank you!" T Avatar moved to the garden to use the whistle and call Appa.

"Well, I'll just hang around here while you all deal with everything," Toph said with a smirk.

Sokka's left eye twitched. "Why does she get to stay and leave us to do the work!" he complained to his sister, obviously bothered.

Katara glared in return. "Should she be helping us look for Appa?" She began picking up plates with Athlea, and Zuko looked around.

"Well, what should we do until night?" Zuko wasn't really used to relaxing. Katara stopped, looking at him blankly. None of them were used to it, really.

Athlea and Katara eventually moved to the kitchen to take care of the plates and put them away. Sokka was relaxing on the couch, his hands behind his head now, eyes closed. He held a pleased smile. "Relax," he said.

"For the first time, I agree with Sokka," Toph responded.

"Relaxation equals resting equals time for yourself. Self care," Sokka said.

Zuko watched Sokka and Toph as they settled into relaxation. He thought of asking them to explore the backyard, but before he could ask, the girls were back faster than he expected.

***

A/N this is a bit of a filler, really, but it's good to get to know Thea and how she fits in with the others. you also know by know this is a bit of a more modern AU. and here we see Sokka being Sokka.