AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 27

"I think Sokka had the biggest change out of all of us, while still maintaining his upbeat personality," Aang commented.

Dai raised an eyebrow. "I'll judge that after hanging out with him for a day, Aang."

"Okay, so what do we have now in our team? Two Royals, a chieftess, an Avatar dating my sister, a master earthbender, and me. Great," Sokka said, crossing his arms.

"Being a chieftess makes me royalty, too," Dai reminded Sokka sharply, her eyes still gleaming. "I'm leading a whole Tribe now. Alone. And we occupy the south. Look at Zuko. You really think he'd have any idea what to do without Athlea?" Zuko gave her a look, then smiled and looked at the floor, shaking his head.

Sokka looked at Dai, eyes narrowed. "Okay, Your Highness, if you say so." He glanced at Dai and then at Zuko. Dai nodded, clearly satisfied, and Zuko snorted with amusement.

Athlea moved next to Zuko, giving him a small warm smile before facing the others. "Did you even offer anything to them? Food, drinks? Anything?" she asked, suddenly scolding her partner, a slight tease in her voice.

"How rude," Toph commented, teasing the Lord with a giggle.

"Very rude." Sokka joined in and the two laughed. Zuko scoffed.

Zuko glanced at Athlea, locking arms with her. "They're family," he protested. "They can get their own goddamn drinks."

Athlea shook her head. "How polite," she teased, smiling at him. He shrugged.

Dai laughed again, shaking her head. Katara suddenly bolted for the kitchen, despite the fact that it was filled with staff. "I want a strawberry milkshake and I will kill anybody who gets the blender before me!" Katara shouted all in one breath as she bolted away.

"Oh hell no!" Dai chased after her. The crystal on her staff suddenly opened and water streamed beneath her feet, pushing her forward. She smirked at Katara as she went by. "Staff beats canteen." Katara swore, fumbling with her canteen.

Zuko's head jerked forward. "Strawberry milkshakes? In my kitchen? Without me? What the fuck!" He faced his hands toward the floor, blasting smoke and shooting toward the girls. Athlea let go of his arm, sighing.

Athlea watched, blinking. "What the..." She glanced from Zuko to Aang.

"I guess we all love strawberry--well, not as much as the two of them," Aang said with a chuckle.

He led the others into the Lord and Lady's private dining room. The staff opened the doors for them, bowing to Zuko and Athlea, then Aang, before they stood upright again.

"We should celebrate before getting back to business," Sokka said, grinning. "Team Avatar is reunited, baby!"

"Feels good to be back," Aang agreed with a nod.

"I think some food will do us all well," Athlea agreed, smiling.

A moment later, Zuko brought out an armful of milkshakes to the table. His hair was sopping and he had a scratch on his face. "They do not joke about milkshakes," he said miserably.

Athlea stood up at the sight of Zuko and she helped him set the milkshakes down before cupping his face. He made a fish face, and Katara pretended to gag. Athlea smiled and kissed his cheek. "You and your milkshakes." She giggled as she arranged his hair a bit before going back to her seat and sitting down.

Dai and Katara came out after him, already sipping on milkshakes and laughing. They had apparently returned their water to their respective containers. Dai walked over and plopped herself down on Athlea's lap, throwing an arm around her. The staff glanced at each other. "So. We should probably discuss why we're here?"