An Unexpected guest

[Avatar Aang]

Winds raged high above the kingdoms of man and beast, storms playing off the sparks of a nation as a thick clothed fellow walked through the fog that surrounded the royal palace in a gentle mist. The guards were sidestepped as easily as sinking through quicksand, the visitor calmly giving a bemused smile as the walls caved like the tongue of a dragon lashing silently through the battlements- swallowing all as the path to the throne laid bare. A healing spring began to balance the devastation while stone of earthbender make replaced the physical damages within moments, but by the time any of the perimeter detail were conscious, a wisp of smoke from an aerial impact had already broken through the inner walls from above.

A flurry of swinging steel and fire began to dance endlessly through the blazing pride of the fire nation, the elite guards meeting the stranger with weapons bared. A grin tilted under Bumi's hat as the swamp attire cascaded in waves of seaweed that discarded flame through damp clothing, hands snapping down half gestured palm attacks and sidethrusts as gingerly as the soft touch of a lover that bared fangs to strike. Stones rumbled before sinking under Fire nation footsteps, water pooling in the depressions under cover of fog- freezing as the air slammed the wind out of all too many soldiers before a cold snap rode through their ranks and knocked them over like the stone soldiers of Ba Sing Sei.

Immediately the wind bashed open the doors of the throne room as the stranger's grin turned wide and the seaweed swamp monster landed with a laugh inches from the throne, sitting cross legged as deceptively weak words tilted from its lips as a tilted hand raised in the sky showed the secret of airbending...

In the form of a circle of rapidly spinning stones.

"You know, you should see about adding a few bounty hunter beasts or something. I'm no expert, but a few badgermoles or rediscovering fire nation dragons would offer more of a challenge when half your soldiers have the same look about them as in Ozai's rule. If you took hundreds of them down so easily when you alone were masked, how easy do you think it would be for someone else to do the same...? Oh, and 'hi', Zuko." the anonymous figure said with a cheerful demeanor about him, the ripple of blue light glinting through his costume under an unrivaled set of tatoos as he yawned and poured a cup of tea. Obviously Iroh had gotten to him. Just a 'lil bit.

[Iroh]

Zuko was irate. Not only was his palace being attacked in what should have been a time of peace, but he had been dragged out of his private wing of the palace and away from the beautiful Earth Kingdom Princess. Furthermore, the guards that had found him informed him that the attacker did not seem to be Triad. There had not been a single upset since the ceremony, and Zuko could not imagine who would be doing this, or what reason they had for a motive.

Crashing through the back curtains, Zuko stormed into the throne room to find the strange guest already making himself at home. "What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded, then realization dawned on him when he saw the faint blue glow - a glow he had spent nearly half a decade tracing and hunting down. "Avatar! What reason have you for this assault? You know we are still at peace with the world! Only the Triad are our threat! Was there really reason for that?"

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, no longer on alert considering the guest was none other than his friend Aang. Zuko slouched against the throne, giving Aang a questioning stare. He hadn't seen Aang in over a year, not since the Triad started becoming a serious threat. He had assumed that Aang had been busy elsewhere, as it was unusual that he didn't stop by regularly to visit Uncle Iroh, even if Aang had nothing to discuss with him. "And is...that really necessary? You're certainly making a mess of everything, my friend. Why couldn't you have simply walked through the front door like you usually do instead of taking out my guard?" Or what was left of it, considering most of his army had been sent to Ba Sing Sey to train under Shang-hui; a gamble the Fire Lord was now partially regretting.

[Avatar Aang]

"Peace, you say...?" the Avatar asked with an arched eyebrow, Aang slowly rising from a respectful bow to make eye contact with the troubled ruler of the Fire Nation. Many rumors rode the wind even from high above the world, yet the desecration of his temples remained. There was no relief projects for the refugees who had lost their families during the war, Katara and Toph were lost to him in kami knows where, and the knowledge to rebuild was deep beneath the deserts in an attempt to ward them from the eyes of men. The haunted stare of the air bender spoke volumes, but he said no more of that.

"Iroh and I had conversed through letters. It would have been deemed an 'unstable influence' should the avatar be taking an active hand in fire nation politics- I could not stay while your people needed to see they could rely on your newfound strength as the Fire Lord. You may rule over their lives, but if their hearts reject you the people could have overthrown 'Zuko' for his political stance since Ozai. However, Iroh was hiding something from me- and I have come to find out what." Aang stated almost offhandedly as he watched the Fire Lord's expression. There was a bit of Roh the Face Stealer in everyone, and it was obvious he wanted nothing less than the truth. Besides, they had some time to kill while the Avatar's healing water restored his guard to full health and he was not known for his subtility.

"Zuko, you would not post guards with no reason, and I assure you I would fill as an adequate bodyguard from whatever threats you may encounter while your men recover. Now, why would the Palace be so heavily fortified? Zuko, what are you afraid of?" the monk asked quietly, rather worried but confident that he could fight for what he believed in- protecting old friends was worth whatever dangers risked, and there had to be a reason for this madness. Hostilities built from nations stockpiling soldiers and weapons of war rarely turned out well, but the fire nation's ambition had been broken since Ozai. So why...?

[Iroh]

Zuko stood silently with his arms crossed as he listened to the young Avatar. He and Uncle had been keeping in touch - ? Yet another thing he hadn't been informed of. Not that his uncle's personal life was any of his business, but considering he hadn't heard a word from Aang in such a long time, it would have been nice to know that at least someone in the Fire Nation was still in contact with him. Aang hadn't even attended his wedding, something Zuko was still slightly hurt over. He'd thought that, of all people, Aang would have shown up with his friends. It was very possible that news of their engagement had never reached Aang and that was the reason for his absence. Zuko hoped that was the case.

"There is much less unrest in my peoples' hearts now than there once was, Aang. They trust me, more than they used to, and certainly more than they did my father. He ruled with fear, I rule with respect. The Fire Nation is loyal to me, even if progress to repair damages from the war is slow. But to speed things up and take short cuts would stunt my nation's healing, instead of doing what is right by the land, the spirits, and the other nations. You more than anyone should know better than to judge by first impressions." Zuko walked tot he front of the throne, putting out the usual wall of flames that burned before it, and sat, resting his elbows on his knees. "They're healing, slowly. A hundred years of war won't disappear as quickly as any of us would like. But there have been... many changes lately, all of them making progress and fending off the Triad." He thought of his peoples' instantaneous love of Raisa, and how she had given them assurance and comfort with her mere presence - something he couldn't do. Something about that girl seemed to enchant the world.

Raisa... Rai, who was in his private wing, waiting for him to return. At least, he hoped she was waiting, and wasn't thinking of doing something rash. Then again, they were so alike, he wouldn't be surprised if she came charging out ready to defend the palace. He would have done the same. He made a mental note to talk to her, beg her, later to remain hidden if there ever was a siege on his palace. He couldn't live with himself if anything ever happened to her. Aang was right, of course. He was afraid of something. More than afraid, he was terrified of losing Raisa. "And, well, the extra guards..." he felt his cheeks grow hot, thinking of Raisa's musical laugh and her gem like eyes. "I'm currently entertaining a guest, and I thought it only necessary that my palace be as secure as possible during their stay."

[Avatar Aang]

Blinking lightly, the Avatar got up and placed a cheerful arm round the Fire Lord's neck. With a laugh that hadn't been voiced for seasons come and gone, Aang smiled and gave an almost resplendent grin to the master firebender. His voice light and merry as the airbender took in the proferred information with a little less grace than necessary, he immediately perked up upon the red haze that appeared on Zuko's cheeks.

"You dog... Blushing already of thinking towards your guest? I assure you, the correspondence was limited- no need to advertise the location of the avatar and all that. For what I missed, I apologize along with my own assumptions. Life has not been as kind as I had hoped during my isolation."

Turning as Aang veiled his arm patters and swirled his arm back, he immediately slammed a colossal fist straight into the stone as the vulnerabilities he made in the defenses were crushed and refortified under a thick bedrock of stone and steel. Cracking his neck lightly, Aang gave a cheerful smile.

"Aha..Forgive me, but do you have anything to eat? Cabbage vendors I saw along the way apparently hate me now for some strange reason. By the spirits, I'm famished..."

With a groan, the avatar threw himself back against the ground, arching his neck as he landed rather cooly upon a shimmering bed of clouds that seemed to carry his weight under a blast of concentrated air mixed with spring water to perform concentrated condensation. Aang's current training was mixing the elements, so even in rest diligence to his studies was ground upon him through Monk Gyatsu's teachings to hone his skills. Effectively, it was also to smooth out the earthbending a moment before so as to quickly erode the contours of his fist from the floor of the royal address, but Aang decided not to mention such. Selective memory was a terrible burden sometimes...

[Raisa/Darkmoon]

Stay hidden... right... like Zuko's the only one who can have fun around here? I can fight just as well as he can...

True to form, Raisa had stayed in Zuko's chambers as instructed for a grand total of three minutes before she decided that the damsel in distress role wasn't for her. She'd quickly rummaged through the closet and threw on an outfit that she had a suspicious feeling was the exact same style as that that Zuko's banishe sister had worn. The tailors had said that all of her attire at the palace was custom made, but the robes looked awfully familiar... at least it was floor length and hid her tattoo, so she had the luxury of going barefoot without the danger of her foot showing and exposing the vines inked across it. She had the ability to remove her circlet, even if Zuko could not remove his cuffs, and she did so as a precaution; her her platinum blonde hair was still a dead give away. She quickly braided her long hair and tossed it over her shoulder, looking out the window.

"Funny... either we're being attacked by Triad members of all four Bending disciplines, or..." Raisa didn't wait to finish her sentence, taking off at a sprint down the hallway. She made a mental note to kiss Shang-hui for all of the grueling endurance trainings she'd suffered through. Half way through the palace, the walls and floor trembled, and the broken outer walls visible from the windows were miraculously repaired. "So, I was right after all..."

Just outside the throne room, Raisa heard Zuko speaking to a younger boy, probably not much younger than herself. The rest of the palace had seemed to have gone back to normal, and a maid carrying a tea tray (probably to the chambers she had just fled from) with fresh cut fruit and berries was headed her way. Raisa politely took the tray from the woman and entered from the curtains behind Zuko's throne.

"Good evening, gentlemen!" She said brightly with a smile. "My Lord, it's not very polite of you to entertain without refreshments! I thought you might appreciate this..." Raisa set the tray down on a small table, kneeling beside it and pouring three cups of tea. She knew that Zuko would probably be furious for coming, though she couldn't find it in her to care when all she had been concerned about was his safety. And besides, without a tiara or royal robes, no one in the palace even recognized her. There was no danger of the Avatar, whom she'd never met, placing her. Zuko could reveal her at his own discretion.

"Young Monk, I am terribly sorry for my Lord's slightly inadequate hosting etiquette. I'm afraid things have been rather hectic around here lately and he seems to have lost his manners. Though it is an honor to meet you, Avatar. I do hope that I'm not interrupting."

[Avatar Aang]

*Coughing lightly as he glanced expectantly for a time to which Zuko might add in his own response, the avatar waved it off with a gust that blew through the room like the echolocation of a bat to tell if there would be any more visitors. Smiling without hint to appearances, he bowed his head lightly in a respectful yet distant approach- not yet sure if Zuko might take offense to an old friend taking so casual an approach to the unknown lass.*

"Its nothing. Considering I came relatively unannounced and Iroh has a tendency not to give all the details, it was as much for your protection and everyone else here as his own I'm sure. Zuko has learned from his father's mistakes and rebuilt the Fire Nation in an era of peace, and to confront an intruder personally to protect his household is a sign of character without regard to station or title. Think nothing of it." Aang says calmly, a ball of air rolling against the heels of his feet to relax the muscle tone gently over time. If the sudden appearance of the avatar here was to judge how zuko would react, then it was obvious the fellow had passed. Much to everyone's relief at that.

"As per the interruption I have no qualms towards the event now that I am outside general seclusion here. Just don't expect me to know the latest trends, fashions, etcetera...and this monk shall be fine. For what it is worth though, best to ask the host in case there was anything specific he felt needed to be addressed privately- I am but a simple guest, and not worthy of being asked to matters of social etiquette."

[Iroh]

Zuko gawked at Raisa for a moment. Sure, he hadn't expected her to do as she was asked, but he had thought that she would have at least waited fifteen minutes... not two. Well, if nothing else, she was a girl after his own heart. At least she had thought to dress somewhat casually and not immediately reveal who she was - of course she had, Raisa was brilliant. That detail would not have been overlooked. And based on how she was presenting herself now, she was also leaving it up to his discretion to introduce her or not... meaning that she and Aang had never met? Zuko felt a slight shock go through him as an idea struck him; was she what her uncle was keeping from Aang? The union of the two most powerful nations in the planet's history, and Uncle hadn't told him? Was he trying to get Aang to visit, hoping that the three would some how come up with a plan? It seemed farfetched, even for Uncle, yet still...

Did Aang know her? It didn't seem so. "Aang, this is Raisa," he said. Raisa was an uncommon name, but certainly not one reserved only for royalty. "She is my guest - the one I told you was visiting." He took a cup from Raisa and surveyed her carefully. She was quick-witted and calculating, always one step ahead, it seemed. But he knew her character well enough at this point to know that she wasn't doing anything but being nosy. He didn't mind, he kept no secrets from her. "And Aang, please take a seat with us. Raisa is... well informed about my nation and its runnings. There is nothing we could possibly discuss that isn't meant for her ears as well."

[Raisa/Darkmoon]

Raisa put herself into the role of hostess, not entirely sure how she would yet be received. "Avatar, I wouldn't be putting too much pressure on your unexpected arrival. There has been a lot happening lately that none of us has anticipated. Lord Zuko could probably knows that better than any of us." She smiled and glanced at him, pouring a second cup of tea for Aang. "And though the Fire Lord may find me fit to sit in on your meeting, I'll gladly leave if you'd rather." She handed the cup to him and poured a cup for herself, setting out dishes for the fruit platter.

What was Zuko thinking? He was actually acting... nervous. And Zuko was anything but nervous. Over the past two weeks she'd been at the palace, Zuko had told her a lot of his past, including his tag-team with Aang against his father and all that they'd accomplished, but she thought that they were friends. Even facing his political enemies Zuko always won the battles. And now he was actually distracted, not completely himself. She supposed that Aang was a close enough friend that Zuko didn't have to put up his normal facade with him, but if that was true, then... what was Zuko so concerned about?

[Avatar Aang]

"Ahhhh...." the Avatar let out in a breath of fog that tightened like the rings around a mountaintop, rolling them about him as they slid off into a mold of himself and wove through the air in Aang's form. The airbender grinned and slipped off the beads of steam holding him aloft as he lifted a foot to arch a chair from the soles of his feet- doppelgangers of mist and fog weaving through the air in different directions like a mirage to disappear within moments of him taking a seat. "Then I would love to."

His fingertips rose with burning precision as Aang stomped and a steel casing arose from the floor. His nails grazing the surface as the cold iron and power was formed, the Avatar wove a stand of ice roses wrapped in a wreath of fire, gesturing for Raisa to place the tea she was holding forgotten upon a stand before the throne where they could mutually talk. Diplomacy was oft the better part of agressive conversation, and while he itched to test the limits of his power, Aang was practicing restraint. Yet as they each paused in their conversation, the airbender raised an eyebrow as the only thing they addressed to him was each other and their place in this room. "Ha...? Perhaps I should leave you two alone?" he joked, his gaze suddenly turning serious. "For what its worth, you were close Raisa. Your familiarity with Zuko was as passable as the breeze, and you forgot to address that you move like an earthbender in a land of firebenders. Probably not for long, too- Their movements are those of unbridled blasts of motion, whereas if a lady is harsh stone in a river of lava, they lose their anonymity regardless."

Taking a cup of tea from her, Aang smiled cheerfully and sipped; unsaid, it could have just been the tea pouring ceremony she forgot, something that anyone who so much as met Iroh would have noticed she didn't act upon and tip the Avatar off. C'est la vie. "'Rather nice to see negotiations between kingdoms are well developed enough for a foreign dignitary within the Court, though. Nice to meet you!" the monk said under the gentle smell of the tea leaves before enjoying the bittersweet taste, missing Katara and Toph but happy to see Zuko was letting himself near someone he cared about. Not every story deserved a happy ending, but the man before the monk deserved one sure enough.