Chapter 30.2- And so the Dragons Danced

“I see. The others will be pissed when they figure it out” He said.

“I’m sure they will find it in their hearts to forgive me” I replied sarcastically.

XXXXXX

In the end, only a few members of the planning team had even bothered to make their dissatisfaction with my deception known. The rest had just moved on. It was clear to even the most unexposed of infantry members that we were taking a different route than they would have initially expected when they got their first glimpse of the coast line. Already, we had begun taking advantage of the coast to rest the horses more and give them room to drink water without risking our supplies during the march.

The Journey to Chen village ended up taking about eight days. It was an easy march. I did not force the troops to hurry, I even encouraged taking spontaneous breaks. It got me some looks of suspicion from the few infantrymen who could tell that this was probably too good to be true. They were right. This was essentially going to be the last rest the men would get for a long time. The second Siege of Ba Sing Se was going to be the biggest Fire Nation military action in decades. Might even the biggest thing the military would have ever done in its history- simply because unlike Iroh had. I would fucking succeed.

When we had breaks, I spent the time with either Toph or Toji. Suprisingly enough, Maki was still piussed at my decision to essentially recruit a Child soldier into the army and at the fact that said child soldier didn’t care that she was being used to fight a war against what were ostensibly her own people. It was a piece of sentimentality that I hadn’t seen coming from my friend, and so had not been prepared to deal with it. My answers when she questioned the decision that been far too blasé, in afterthought.

“How do I move fast like you?” Toph suddenly asked as I watched her make earthen structure after earthen structure and tear them apart one after another. It was one of the few ways I could help with her training- improving precision and pointing out when there were lapses in her concentration.

“Well, first of all, your model of Toji is highly flawed, but to answer your question- I do it by concentrating heat.”

“Heat?”

“At the end of the day, all fire is is concentrated heat and nothing more or less. I don’t bother with the fire. Instead, I feel for my chi within me and heat it up. I send that heat all across my body and somehow that makes me faster, stronger, more flexible, shit like that you know?” I said, explaining it to her. It was strange, to explain how I did something that had begun to come so naturally to me that it might as well have been second nature at this point. But that was the nature of being a teacher. Or a father, I realised staring at the girl that I might have accidentally adopted.

“So it’s not something I can replicate then” She said with a twist to her lips.

“No. No it isn’t. But maybe one day you will be able to draw upon the concept of earth and stillness to make it so no one can make your body move. I have heard myths of there being an earth bending technique that could let one become immortal even”

“Bullshit” She said instantly and I winced while looking around to make sure Maki had not heard that.

“What did we say about language like that, Toph?”

“You use it”

I facepalmed. Yeah, it was going to be awhile before Maki forgave any of my misdeeds.

A/N: WIP