[Earth on Fire] Zuko x OC

Chapter 18: The Blind Bandit (Part 2)

It was remarkable what "playing the Avatar card" could do. When we walked up to the guards, they glared at us suspiciously, but the moment Aang revealed his arrows we were ushered in and promised an immediate audience with the Beifongs, who invited us to stay for dinner.

"Avatar Aang," Mrs. Beifong said. "It's an honor to have you visit us."

"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Mr. Beifong asked Aang while eating his noodles delicately. Katara glared at Sokka, who was slurping his noodles eagerly, but she was duly ignored.

"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord before the end of summer," Aang replied. "But I can't do that without finding an earthbending teacher first." He shot a coy look towards Toph, who, although she could not see it, frowned.

"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land," Mr. Beifong said. "He's been teaching Toph since she was little."

"Then she must be a great earthbender!" Aang exclaimed cheerily. "Probably good enough to teach someone else-ow!" Aang leapt up in his seat, his face scrunched up in pain. I blinked, raising an eyebrow as silence fell over the table.

"Toph is still learning the basics," Master Yu said to dispel the awkward silence.

"Yes," Mr. Beifong said. "And sadly, because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master." Katara and I exchanged confused glances. What was he talking about?

"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is," Aang began, but was cut off with a yelp as his chair rocketed forward, sending him face first into his bowl of noodles. Furrowing my brow, I flitted my gaze between Aang and Toph, who was sitting demurely and eating her noodles, with only the faintest shadow of a smirk upon her lips.

Aang picked the bowl off his face and wiped his cheeks, glaring at Toph. Suddenly, his eyebrow raised deviously and he inhaled sharply, letting out a massive sneeze and sending food flying everywhere.

"What's your problem?" Toph cried, standing up and placing her hands on the table.

"What's your problem?!" Aang retorted, also standing up. An awkward silence settled over the table as Aang and Toph glared at each other like... well, like a pair of petulant twelve year olds.

"Well," Mrs. Beifong said, still somehow smiling despite the bits of rice in her hair. "Shall we move to the living room for dessert?"

"What was that?" Katara hissed into Aang's ear as she passed by. Aang swung around to look at her, his expression put out yet slightly ashamed.

"She provoked me!" he protested, the tips of his ears turning red with anger as Toph passed by, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Woah!" Sokka cried, grabbing ahold of the normally peaceful airbender before he could lunge at Toph. "Geez, Aang, calm down!"

"Keep your cool, Avatar," I muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you want, I can go talk to her. Maybe she'll hear it better coming from another earthbender."

Aang quit struggling immediately and looked up at me with wide gray eyes. "You'd do that for me?" he asked, his voice filled with so much hope you'd think I'd just offered to defeat the Fire Lord for him.

"Sure thing, buddy," I replied, stumbling backwards when he launched himself at me and hugged me. Yeesh, I thought, returning the hug tentatively. Twelve year olds and their mood swings.

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"Hello?" I called, knocking once on the door that Mrs. Beifong had told me belonged to Toph's bedroom.