The Burning Truth-Harmony

Part 17~Scams

Zuko took in a cautious breath as he pulled a headband over his eyes. "Okay. I think I'm ready."

"What a great vote of confidence," Isu joked as she played Pai Sho with Iroh at the side. Hachi and Sokka were tending to the bison while Katara and Toph faced Zuko in a fighting stance.

Zuko gently took steps before feeling the vibration in the ground. He dodged the three earth pillars that shot out near him when he heard the water moving. He shifted the water, throwing it at Katara before stopping the boulder Toph threw at him. He pushed power back into it, throwing it at Toph, who easily caught it.

"Good job. Visualise, then attack," Toph instructed as she chucked the boulder back. Zuko ducked down, burrowing into a hole and causing the boulder to hit Katara, knocking her off her feet.

"Maybe you should take your own advice, Toph." Katara brushed the dust off her clothes as she stood up.

"What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy-Britches?"

Katara's eyebrow twitched as she glared at Toph. She angrily created a wave, sending it to Toph, who got splashed. "Oh, sorry. Did I splash you, Mud-Slug?"

Katara created an ice ramp, and Toph made an earth ramp. They charged at each other, crashing into one another and going flying.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today," Isu commented as Zuko climbed out of his hole.

"Are we taking a break?" He pulled the blindfold out of his eyes when Sokka jumped out of the bushes.

"Sneak Attack!"

Zuko created an earth wall, not even watching Sokka splat against it. "Sokka, I'm pretty sure sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud."

"You're also meant to be helping me," Hachi shouted from the other side as Sokka fell to the floor.

Isu stood next to the girls, trying to reason with them without actually stepping in the mud they were creating.

Katara waterbent a stream of mud at Toph, knocking her down. She quickly jumped back up, creating a pillar underneath Katara and sending her flying toward a wall. Toph began running toward Katara when they heard Zuko.

"I thought we were supposed to be training me," Zuko claimed as Katara took a few steps forward.

"Very well, pupil. I believe we've had enough training for today." Katara walked away as Zuko gave Isu a questioning look. Isu shrugged before rushing off after Katara.

"While Katara cleans up, let's go have some fun," Toph bent the mud off herself before grabbing the boys.

Iroh paused, looking around. He spotted that he had been forgotten again. "Teenagers."

~~~

Toph, Sokka, Zuko and Hachi walked into Fire Fountain City. Sokka looked around, casually carrying his sword on his shoulders, when he spotted the messenger hawks flying in and out of a large coop. "Look at those messenger hawks. You know, I've been thinking about getting one for myself. That way, I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I could just send them messages."

"I gotta say, I like the idea of not talking to you," Toph commented, receiving a glare she could not see.

"You know, messenger hawks are much more than another way to talk to people. Fire Nation Messenger Hawks are trained from birth and have the job of carrying messages all across the nation. They're taught how to avoid enemy fire, and the fastest and most skilled of every flock is entered into a competition with other breeders and the Fire Lord's personal Hawk. The winner becomes the Fire Lord's Hawk for the next year until the next competition, and if a breeder wins, they get to supply all the messenger hawks for the palace for the following year."

Sokka gave Zuko a look. "I did need that history lesson."

"It's not a history lesson. It's cultural."

Hachi chuckled, holding Zuko's hand. "Have you ever had a hawk before?"

"Once, as a kid, but normally, they're all kept by the keeper of the messages, who owns most of the hawks."

"So, guys. What are we gonna get with our last silver piece?" Sokka looked at the others as Toph stopped walking.

"We can get more money. Right there." Toph pointed to an area beneath them where two men sat across from each other, surrounded by a crowd. The table had three shells on it. The first man placed some money on the table, and the second man lifted the shells to reveal that the middle one had a rock underneath it. He placed the shells back down and started moving them around.

"This is where you see people are at a disadvantage. Everyone guesses wrong because the dealer moves the rock at the last minute. But I can feel it with my earth bending," Toph explained as the scam artist blent the rock out from under the shell and into his sleeve.

The scam artist stopped, arranging the shells in a line in front of the gambler, who pointed in the middle. The scam artist lifted the shell to reveal nothing as the gambler walked away with tears in his eyes.

The crowd move, showing Toph as the dealer noticed her. "You there. Wanna play a friendly game?"

"How can I possibly play? I'm blind," Toph questioned, waving her hand in front of her face.

"You don't have to see to be lucky."

Toph sat in front of the table, feeling around it as she pretended to be helpless. She placed their last silver on the table. The artist showed the rock under the shell before he began moving them. When he made the switch, Toph pointed at the correct rock.

"Nice job, Toph," Zuko praised as the dealer smiled.

"Wow. Fancy guessing. You are amazing at this. Would you like to make the game a little more interesting?"

"More interesting? How?"

"Well, let's say you toss in your friend's fine sword there, then I'll put up twenty silver pieces against it, and that's more interesting."

Toph grabbed Sokka's sword. "I'll do it for forty silver pieces."

Sokka stared in shock as the dealer agreed, putting more money into the bag. He began to move the shells, faster this time. He slid the rocks into his sleeves, planning to not leave a single one to be found when Toph moved the rock back under the shell.

The dealer stopped as Toph pointed at the shell in the middle.

"Sorry, little lady, but," the dealer lifted the shell, staring in shock at the rock.

"I won," Toph cheered, grabbing the bag of money. Sokka grabbed their sword, and they ran off.

The group laughed as they headed back to camp, holding the baskets of goods. Katara stood over a pot, cooking their food as she spotted their return. "Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?"

"Toph got us money," Hachi explained, grabbing an apple. "She scammed one of those guys in town who moves the shells around all sneaky-like."

"She used earthbending to win the game. Classic," Sokka added as Katara stood up.

"So she cheated."

"Hey, I only cheated because he was cheating. I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm just saying this isn't something we should make a habit of doing."

"Why? Because it's fun? And you hate fun?"

"I don't hate fun."

Isu stepped closer, putting a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Calm yourself. I'm sure they won't do it again." Isu gave the group a look as Toph scoffed.

"The girl a-ok with murder draws a line at scams?"

"I am not okay with murder."

"Whatever you say."

~~~

So, today, we celebrate the 50th book being published and the fifth year of writing. A special rewrite of the first fic I wrote will be published throughout the rest of the year on the normal schedule. This will not impact this story, which will remain on its weekly publishing schedule.