𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 | zuko

4: THE JASMINE DRAGON

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," I told Kyra, still taking in all the sights.  It was summertime, and there were tables outside the tea shop where some people were sitting.  They looked rather important; the type of people you'd usually see in the upper ring.  

We walked inside, immediately met by a warmth that made me feel very calm.  The scents of tea leaves and flowers overwhelmed me.  Kyra and I took a seat at a table near a girl whose bangs covered her eyes.  She seemed to be looking into the distance, only I couldn't see what at.  

A waiter came to the table, dressed in robes of emerald green and gold.  He bowed and then handed us each a menu, then walked away.

"Hey, Jin, look, this one's named for an earthbender!" said Kyra.  I looked over at her menu, then back at my own where she was pointing at the Metal Brew.

"It says she could bend metal! That can't be true," I said.  Probably louder than I should have.  

"Actually, it is true," butted in the girl with bangs at the next table.  

Kyra looked at her eagerly.  "How do you know? Do you know this girl?"

"Yeah, I know her.  She's me."

Kyra's jaw dropped.  "You can bend metal? "

"Sure can."

"Can we see?" I asked.  

"Do you have any metal?"

Kyra fiddled with a bracelet her cousin had gotten her for her birthday last year.  It was a steel bracelet, that looked as if it were multiple silver bangles.  Only it was actually just one.  

"Here," she said, putting it in Toph's hand.  She held it, then it hovered over her palm.  She balled her hand into a fist and the bracelet morphed into a sphere.  She did it again, and it was a cube, once more and a pyramid.  Then Toph hovered it between her two palms and morphed it back into Kyra's bracelet.

Kyra and I watched in awe.  "That's amazing," Kyra commented, taking back her bracelet and examining it, then putting it back on.  "How did you learn to do that?"

"I invented it."

"You invented metalbending?"

"Yep.   Hey, what's your name, anyway?"

"I'm Jin," I said.  "This is Kyra.  And you're Toph, right? I read it on the menu."

"My name's on the menu?" she asked. 

"Uh, yes? You didn't read it?"

"I'm blind," she replied.

Kyra's face became even more surprised.  "You're probably the greatest earthbender in the world! You're blind?"

Toph nodded.  A waiter came to the table and asked what we wanted.

"I'll have the Metal Blend," said Kyra.

I glanced at the menu again.  "The Bender Tea, please."

"Good choices," he said, and with a nod, left.

"Hey, hold on," I said to the waiter.  He turned around.  "The owner of this place; is he here?"

"He is," said the waiter.  "He supervises the making of all tea, sometimes he makes it personally."

"Thanks," I said.  He nodded again and walked away.

"You know, if you need to talk to the owner, I know him."

"You're amazing!" said Kyra.  

Toph held her head higher.  "I know," she said.  

"What's the owner's name?" I asked. 

"Iroh," she replied. "What do you need with the owner, anyway?"

Kyra and I gave each other glances. "I'm just a fan of tea," I lied.  "Just wanted to know."

Toph scoffed.  

"What?" I asked. 

"I can tell you're lying."

"What?"

"I can feel it.  When people lie, their heart beats faster.  I can feel it.  Through my feet.  That's how I know where my enemies are and what they're throwing at me when I'm fighting; I feel it.  through the ground."

"You've been in actual fights before?" said Kyra, still amazed with the girl.  "The closest thing I've done to fighting was bent a rock at a Fire Nation soldier, then run away!" 

Toph smiled.  "That's a good start. But yeah, I've fought."

Kyra was in awe.

"So why were you lying, anyway?" she asked me.  If she could tell I was lying, I might as well tell the truth.

"I knew him.  When he was posing as a refugee in Ba Sing Se, I went to the tea shop he worked at every day to... see a person I liked."

"Ah," said Toph.  "Well, I could bring you back there."

"You could?" I said.

"Well, yeah, I know him really well.  If you want to see him, I could go and get him."

Kyra and I gave each other communicative glances once more.  

"Yes, please," answered Kyra, before I could even say anything.

Toph stood up.  "I'll be back in a sec."

While she was gone, the waiter came to the table and handed us our teas, steaming hot.  Toph came back, alone.

"He'll come in a second.  He's busy."

"That's fine," I said, taking a sip of the tea and almost burning my tongue.   A man came out of the door the waiters had been coming from and walked across the middle aisle toward our table.  He had gray hair and a beard and was wearing shades of green and gold on his robes.  He stopped at our table with a smile.

"Are you Iroh?" I asked, bowing slightly.

"I am," he replied, doing the same.  He looked up at my face, looking a bit confused. "I know you from somewhere," he said.

"Yes, you do," I replied.  "I'm Jin, remember?"

He thought for a second. "Yes, I do remember.  You came into the teashop every day.  You went out with my nephew."

I nodded.  "Your nephew the Fire Lord."

Iroh nodded with a smile.  "My nephew the Fire Lord."

"You went out with Zuko?" Toph interrupted.

"Yes, I did," I replied. 

"So you were like, a secret admirer!"

I smiled.  "I guess so."

"You want to see him again, don't you?" asked Iroh curiously.

"How did you know?"

"A feeling.  I was quite sure you didn't come here to see me."

"Well, you're right.  And I understand why you lied about your names, and who you were.  But I'm glad the war is over."

Iroh smiled.  "And I'm glad I'm on the good side.  I'll see what I can do for you."

"Thank you, Iroh."

"It's nothing."