Tale Of Two Avatars

Mini Adventure: Girls' Day Out

We decide to set up camp at a field close to a Fire Nation town after our narrow escape, deciding to spend a few days laying low there before we went out again. 

Presently, Aang and I were meditating silently, both of us closing our eyes and each of us focusing solely on balancing a rock in one hand and water that was in the other. The others the last time I checked, were doing their own things. Sokka was concentrating on his maps while Katara and Toph, let's just say they had nothing to do and were bored out of their minds. It was a relatively silent environment until Katara started complaining, making my concentration waver a little.

"Come on, guys, we've been stuck up here for days and there's a whole town just sitting there! Can't we go out and do something for once?" Katara pleaded.

"Shhhhhh! Concentrating!!!" Sokka chided.

I continue syncing my breath with Aang's, keeping the slight irritation I had out of my voice. "We're a little busy here if you haven't noticed, Katara."

"Yeah, sorry, Katara, but Suzume and I really need to get this balance right. Maybe later?" Aang asked politely. I try to block out as much of Katara's talking as possible but a little bit of it still manages to drift to my ears.

"Don't tell me, you've got some important toe picking to do?" Katara grumbled, presumably talking to Toph.

"Look, sweetness. The last time I hit the town with you, I came back covered in makeup and smelling like a girl," Toph countered.

"You are a girl," Katara deadpanned.

"Nobody's perfect," Toph argued.

"What if I took you someplace a little more... Tough?" Katara persuaded.

"No offence, but you're not really the tough type," Toph chuckled.

"Who says I can't be tough? I can be tough! I can be as tough as Suzume if I wanted to," Katara protested.

Toph snorts at this. "You wish, Sugar Queen."

"Don't try it, Katara. Just be yourself," I interjected, unable to help myself and feeling myself lose a bit of the grip I had on the rock and water in both my hands.

"Focus, Suzume," Aang reminded and I quickly corrected my posture, gaining back the control I lost due to the dip in concentration.

"Oh, you were listening in this whole time? I thought you were meditating," Katara teased.

"I am," I persisted, continuing to maintain as much of a grip as I could on the rock and water.

"Oh well, that's a shame, I guess you'll be missing out on steak," Katara teased.

"I'm in!" Toph shouted in excitement. The concentration I previously had instantly vanished and along with it, the grip I had on the rock and water. I open my eyes in interest, seeing both Toph and Katara smiling at me smugly.

I shake my head quickly, telling myself off internally. 'I can't let them tempt me. I need to keep meditating.'

This triggers an internal debate within me and another part of my mind was quick to argue with what I needed to do, 'But there's steak! You haven't had anything good to eat in quite a while, when was the last time you had meat?'

I gaze at Katara and Toph longingly, switching my attention back to Aang shortly after and seeing that he was still meditating.

"I can't go," I shake my head. "I need to meditate."

"Oh come on, you're always either meditating or practising your bending for the past few days, you should take a break, Suzume," Katara reasoned.

"It would be unfair for me to leave Aang meditating alone," I cast a sympathetic glance at Aang.