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edenfallingThis is a request!fic for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
silverblade219, who wanted a sequel to The Two Secretive Princesses, which is part of a novel-length Avatar: The Last Airbender/Enchanted Forest Chronicles fusion that I am still determinedly not writing.
I went for something approximating a direct sequel after all. This happens fairly early in the story, not all that long before Aang meets Katara and Sokka. It is probably the worst thing that happens in the over-arching plot (well, along with Ozai's treatment of South Wolf River and the college of magicians where Aang grew up), and is much more tonally in line with Avatar than with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles elements of the fusion. Oops?
Toph and Mai during the invasion of Toure-on-Marsh. (925 words)
---------------------------------------------
The War of Secret Flames: Silent Screams
---------------------------------------------
Toph couldn't see.
She'd been practicing making pebbles jump into the ornamental pond, and suddenly the world had gone hard and hot and fixed. She could hear people running and shouting in the corridors around the courtyard garden -- she could smell flames and smoke, and the weird sweet-metal scent of blood, and the thick, dusty fog of rapidly broken stone -- but the rocks weren't talking to her and nothing was vibrating like it should. Or maybe she just couldn't feel the stones speaking.
She'd gone deaf.
She couldn't feel the stones speaking, and they couldn't hear her either. She'd tried to knock a hole in the courtyard wall, but all she could do was bruise her hands on the even blocks of granite.
Toph curled up under a bush and dug her fingers into the dirt and refused to cry.
She turned herself to stone. That was all she could do. That was the only escape this strange, alien magic had left her. She lay on the ground and turned to stone and waited for the nightmare to end.
Slowly, slowly, the flames and shouting faded away, but the eerie stasis remained. Now Toph heard steady, even footsteps marching through the corridors, and occasional calls as men and women declared one room after another to be "all clear" or "nothing but stone and ashes."
Where were her parents? Where were her tutors? Where were the knights and the footmen and the maids and the cooks and the court magician and... Were they even alive? She was only twelve! Her parents couldn't die. They weren't allowed to die; Toph wasn't ready to be queen.
She wasn't ready to be alone.
The garden door swung open, and something rustled against the leaves of the holly bush that encroached on the little path of stepping stones. Then silence. Whoever had entered made no sound, not like the invaders stamping and shouting through Toph's home.
Silence. More silence. Toph held onto stone with every drop of her will, held on longer than she had ever managed before. She was just a funny lump of rock, curled up like this. There was no reason for anyone to notice her. Nobody ever noticed her unless she made them notice.
Above her, leaves shifted. A soft indrawn breath. And then a laugh, bright and cheerful. "Wow, your aura's sparkly -- all green and blue and gold stars like fireworks," a girl said, her voice strangely familiar. "How'd you turn yourself to stone?"
"It's not Azula's spell?" another voice asked, dry and calm.
"Nope! Totally different colors," said the first girl. "I bet she can even move. I wonder how she does it?"
Someone knelt, and touched the tips of her fingers to the side of Toph's cheek. Toph shivered. "So this is your secret, Princess Tophelia," the dry voice said. "It's a good secret, I'll give you that. Do you still want to know mine?"
If she had been flesh and blood at that second, Toph's heart would have skipped a beat. What was Princess Mai of Veritand doing here, in Toure-on-Marsh, in the middle of an invasion? And if Mai was here, the other girl must be Ty Lee... and they'd mentioned Azula... and Azula was a fire witch. Azula had set the castle on fire. Azula had killed people. Azula had hurt Toph's parents. Azula had made Toph blind and deaf and scared, and stopped her from fighting back, and Toph was never going to forgive her. Never.
She wondered, dimly, if she should raise her head and answer Mai. But what good would that do? She couldn't see. And she was so tired. She didn't dare move, didn't dare let her grip on stone slip, or Azula's strange, hot magic might burn her like all the other people in her castle.
"Don't worry," said Mai, still touching Toph's cheek, her fingers feather-light. "Your parents are alive -- petrified, but alive. And I like you. I'll make another deal: turn back to flesh and come peacefully with me and Ty Lee. We'll take you to Veritand as a guest instead of petrifying you like everyone else--"
"--not that a stone spell would even work on her--" added Ty Lee.
"--whether the spell would work on you or not, since I'm sure Azula knows some even more unpleasant ways to keep you helpless," continued Mai, with a hint of bite in her voice. "You'll end up in Veritand one way or another. You might as well keep as much freedom as you can. And if you come willingly, I'll tell you my secret."
"You have secrets?" asked Ty Lee, an audible pout in her voice. "Mai! Why haven't you told me any of them? Don't I tell you all of my secrets?"
Mai sighed. "They're not secrets from you. They're secrets from Toph. Now hush and let Toph realize it's stupid to be Azula's prisoner instead of my guest."
But before Toph had to decide whether surrendering to Mai was a cowardly betrayal of her family and her country, or the only way she'd have any chance to help her family and country, the hot, still blanket of Azula's magic thinned and vanished.
Toph could see. She could feel the world again. She could hear the stones.
The earth of Toure-on-Marsh was screaming.
But the stones listened when she screamed back, and they sang when she promised them retribution.
"Well, Toph? Do we have a deal?" asked Mai.
Toph relaxed back into flesh and turned her face in Mai's general direction. "No," she said.
The earth swallowed her whole.
---------------------------------------------
End of Story
---------------------------------------------
Well, that was depressing.
...
All three of them make it safely to the end of the story, Mai and Ty Lee switch sides, Toph's parents get un-petrified, and it turns out that at least 80% of the people in the castle survived as well. Still, a lot of people died, and died horribly. This is what happens when Ozai decides to conquer all the countries around the Mountains of Morning and make magic-users rule over non-magical people.
-----
-----
-----
ETA! The story was so depressing that I wrote an alternate version to be a better tonal fit with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I am not sure yet which version is the 'real' one, but I am leaning toward this new one, since I am trying to slide the Avatar characters into the Enchanted Forest world rather than vice versa, and the Enchanted Forest has strong implicit canon about what level of realism and darkness is allowed.
So. Let's try this again: Toph and Mai during the invasion of Toure-on-Marsh, take two. (1,025 words)
---------------------------------------------
The War of Secret Flames: Turn to Stone
---------------------------------------------
Toph couldn't see.
She'd been practicing making pebbles jump into the ornamental pond, and suddenly the world had gone hard and hot and fixed. She could hear people running and screaming in the corridors around the courtyard garden -- she could smell flames and smoke, and the thick, dusty fog of rapidly broken stone -- but the rocks weren't talking to her and nothing was vibrating like it should. Or maybe she just couldn't feel the stones speaking.
She'd gone deaf.
She couldn't feel the stones speaking, and they couldn't hear her either. She'd tried to knock a hole in the courtyard wall, but all she could do was bruise her hands on the even blocks of granite. And somebody had locked the door.
Toph curled up under a bush and dug her fingers into the dirt and refused to cry.
She turned herself to stone. That was all she could do. That was the only escape this strange, alien magic had left her. She lay on the ground and turned to stone and waited for the nightmare to end.
Slowly, slowly, the flames and shouting faded away, but the eerie stasis remained. Now Toph heard steady, even footsteps marching through the corridors, and occasional calls as men and women declared one room after another to be "all clear" or "nothing but statues, and who has the teleportation amulets anyway?"
Where were her parents? Where were her tutors? Where were Uncle Arthur and Aunt Ermintrude and her stupid, annoying cousins? Where were the knights and the footmen and the maids and the cooks and the court magician and... Were they even alive? She was only twelve! Her parents couldn't die. They weren't allowed to die; Toph wasn't ready to be queen.
She wasn't ready to be alone. She'd even rather be with Aunt Ermintrude than be alone.
The garden door swung open, and something rustled against the leaves of the holly bush that encroached on the little path of stepping stones. Then silence. Whoever had entered made no sound, not like the invaders stamping and shouting through Toph's home.
Silence. More silence. Toph held onto stone with every drop of her will, held on longer than she had ever managed before. She was just a funny lump of rock, curled up like this. There was no reason for anyone to notice her. Nobody ever noticed her unless she made them notice. (Except Aunt Ermintrude, of course, but that was different.)
Above her, leaves shifted. A soft indrawn breath. And then a laugh, bright and cheerful. "Wow, your aura's sparkly -- all green and blue and gold stars like fireworks," a girl said, her voice strangely familiar. "How'd you turn yourself to stone?"
"It's not Azula's spell?" another voice asked, dry and calm.
"Nope! Totally different colors," said the first girl. "I bet she can even move. I wonder how she does it?"
Someone knelt, and touched the tips of her fingers to the side of Toph's cheek. Toph shivered. "So this is your secret, Princess Tophelia," the dry voice said. "It's a good secret, I'll give you that. Do you still want to know mine?"
If she had been flesh and blood at that second, Toph's heart would have skipped a beat. What was Princess Mai of Veritand doing here, in Toure-on-Marsh, in the middle of an invasion? And if Mai was here, the other girl must be Ty Lee... and they'd mentioned Azula... and Azula was a fire witch. Azula had set the castle on fire. Azula had turned everyone into statues. Azula had hurt Toph's parents. Azula had made Toph blind and deaf and scared, and stopped her from fighting back, and Toph was never going to forgive her. Never.
She wondered, dimly, if she should raise her head and answer Mai. But what good would that do? She couldn't see. And she was so tired. She didn't dare move, didn't dare let her grip on stone slip, or Azula's strange, hot magic might burn her or take even this last escape away.
"Don't worry," said Mai, still touching Toph's cheek, her fingers feather-light. "Queen Alianora and King Parry are alive -- petrified, but alive. And I like you. I'll make another deal: turn back to flesh and come peacefully with me and Ty Lee. We'll take you to Veritand as a guest instead of petrifying you like everyone else--"
"--not that a stone spell would even work on her, I bet--" added Ty Lee.
"--whether the spell would work on you or not, since I'm sure Azula knows other methods to keep you helpless," continued Mai, with a hint of bite in her voice. "You'll end up in Veritand one way or another. You might as well keep as much freedom as you can. And if you come willingly, I'll tell you my secret."
"You have secrets?" asked Ty Lee, an audible pout in her voice. "Mai! Why haven't you told me any of them? Don't I tell you all of my secrets?"
Mai sighed. "They're not secrets from you. They're secrets from Toph. Now hush and let her realize it's stupid to be Azula's prisoner instead of my guest."
But before Toph had to decide whether surrendering to Mai was a cowardly betrayal of her family and her country, or the only way she'd have any chance to help her family and country, the hot, still blanket of Azula's magic thinned and vanished.
Toph could see. She could feel the world again. She could hear the stones.
The castle walls were screaming with anger. "Betrayed!" the stones shouted. "Betrayed, betrayed, betrayed! Foreign magic chains us! Who is the enemy? Where is the rightful queen?"
"Mother is sleeping," Toph whispered back. "Help me escape. Help me save her. Help me stop Azula. Please." Slow and faint, as if waking from enchanted slumber, the stones rumbled their agreement.
"Well, Toph? Do we have a deal?" asked Mai.
Toph relaxed back into flesh and turned her face in Mai's general direction. "No," she said. "And you don't have me, either."
The earth swallowed her whole.
---------------------------------------------
End of Story
---------------------------------------------
Still not fluffy-happy, but at least nobody (or hardly anybody) seems to have died. Also, I got to mention Aunt Ermintrude. I am quite fond of Aunt Ermintrude. :-)
silverblade219, who wanted a sequel to The Two Secretive Princesses, which is part of a novel-length Avatar: The Last Airbender/Enchanted Forest Chronicles fusion that I am still determinedly not writing.I went for something approximating a direct sequel after all. This happens fairly early in the story, not all that long before Aang meets Katara and Sokka. It is probably the worst thing that happens in the over-arching plot (well, along with Ozai's treatment of South Wolf River and the college of magicians where Aang grew up), and is much more tonally in line with Avatar than with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles elements of the fusion. Oops?
Toph and Mai during the invasion of Toure-on-Marsh. (925 words)
---------------------------------------------
The War of Secret Flames: Silent Screams
---------------------------------------------
Toph couldn't see.
She'd been practicing making pebbles jump into the ornamental pond, and suddenly the world had gone hard and hot and fixed. She could hear people running and shouting in the corridors around the courtyard garden -- she could smell flames and smoke, and the weird sweet-metal scent of blood, and the thick, dusty fog of rapidly broken stone -- but the rocks weren't talking to her and nothing was vibrating like it should. Or maybe she just couldn't feel the stones speaking.
She'd gone deaf.
She couldn't feel the stones speaking, and they couldn't hear her either. She'd tried to knock a hole in the courtyard wall, but all she could do was bruise her hands on the even blocks of granite.
Toph curled up under a bush and dug her fingers into the dirt and refused to cry.
She turned herself to stone. That was all she could do. That was the only escape this strange, alien magic had left her. She lay on the ground and turned to stone and waited for the nightmare to end.
Slowly, slowly, the flames and shouting faded away, but the eerie stasis remained. Now Toph heard steady, even footsteps marching through the corridors, and occasional calls as men and women declared one room after another to be "all clear" or "nothing but stone and ashes."
Where were her parents? Where were her tutors? Where were the knights and the footmen and the maids and the cooks and the court magician and... Were they even alive? She was only twelve! Her parents couldn't die. They weren't allowed to die; Toph wasn't ready to be queen.
She wasn't ready to be alone.
The garden door swung open, and something rustled against the leaves of the holly bush that encroached on the little path of stepping stones. Then silence. Whoever had entered made no sound, not like the invaders stamping and shouting through Toph's home.
Silence. More silence. Toph held onto stone with every drop of her will, held on longer than she had ever managed before. She was just a funny lump of rock, curled up like this. There was no reason for anyone to notice her. Nobody ever noticed her unless she made them notice.
Above her, leaves shifted. A soft indrawn breath. And then a laugh, bright and cheerful. "Wow, your aura's sparkly -- all green and blue and gold stars like fireworks," a girl said, her voice strangely familiar. "How'd you turn yourself to stone?"
"It's not Azula's spell?" another voice asked, dry and calm.
"Nope! Totally different colors," said the first girl. "I bet she can even move. I wonder how she does it?"
Someone knelt, and touched the tips of her fingers to the side of Toph's cheek. Toph shivered. "So this is your secret, Princess Tophelia," the dry voice said. "It's a good secret, I'll give you that. Do you still want to know mine?"
If she had been flesh and blood at that second, Toph's heart would have skipped a beat. What was Princess Mai of Veritand doing here, in Toure-on-Marsh, in the middle of an invasion? And if Mai was here, the other girl must be Ty Lee... and they'd mentioned Azula... and Azula was a fire witch. Azula had set the castle on fire. Azula had killed people. Azula had hurt Toph's parents. Azula had made Toph blind and deaf and scared, and stopped her from fighting back, and Toph was never going to forgive her. Never.
She wondered, dimly, if she should raise her head and answer Mai. But what good would that do? She couldn't see. And she was so tired. She didn't dare move, didn't dare let her grip on stone slip, or Azula's strange, hot magic might burn her like all the other people in her castle.
"Don't worry," said Mai, still touching Toph's cheek, her fingers feather-light. "Your parents are alive -- petrified, but alive. And I like you. I'll make another deal: turn back to flesh and come peacefully with me and Ty Lee. We'll take you to Veritand as a guest instead of petrifying you like everyone else--"
"--not that a stone spell would even work on her--" added Ty Lee.
"--whether the spell would work on you or not, since I'm sure Azula knows some even more unpleasant ways to keep you helpless," continued Mai, with a hint of bite in her voice. "You'll end up in Veritand one way or another. You might as well keep as much freedom as you can. And if you come willingly, I'll tell you my secret."
"You have secrets?" asked Ty Lee, an audible pout in her voice. "Mai! Why haven't you told me any of them? Don't I tell you all of my secrets?"
Mai sighed. "They're not secrets from you. They're secrets from Toph. Now hush and let Toph realize it's stupid to be Azula's prisoner instead of my guest."
But before Toph had to decide whether surrendering to Mai was a cowardly betrayal of her family and her country, or the only way she'd have any chance to help her family and country, the hot, still blanket of Azula's magic thinned and vanished.
Toph could see. She could feel the world again. She could hear the stones.
The earth of Toure-on-Marsh was screaming.
But the stones listened when she screamed back, and they sang when she promised them retribution.
"Well, Toph? Do we have a deal?" asked Mai.
Toph relaxed back into flesh and turned her face in Mai's general direction. "No," she said.
The earth swallowed her whole.
---------------------------------------------
End of Story
---------------------------------------------
Well, that was depressing.
...
All three of them make it safely to the end of the story, Mai and Ty Lee switch sides, Toph's parents get un-petrified, and it turns out that at least 80% of the people in the castle survived as well. Still, a lot of people died, and died horribly. This is what happens when Ozai decides to conquer all the countries around the Mountains of Morning and make magic-users rule over non-magical people.
-----
-----
-----
ETA! The story was so depressing that I wrote an alternate version to be a better tonal fit with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I am not sure yet which version is the 'real' one, but I am leaning toward this new one, since I am trying to slide the Avatar characters into the Enchanted Forest world rather than vice versa, and the Enchanted Forest has strong implicit canon about what level of realism and darkness is allowed.
So. Let's try this again: Toph and Mai during the invasion of Toure-on-Marsh, take two. (1,025 words)
---------------------------------------------
The War of Secret Flames: Turn to Stone
---------------------------------------------
Toph couldn't see.
She'd been practicing making pebbles jump into the ornamental pond, and suddenly the world had gone hard and hot and fixed. She could hear people running and screaming in the corridors around the courtyard garden -- she could smell flames and smoke, and the thick, dusty fog of rapidly broken stone -- but the rocks weren't talking to her and nothing was vibrating like it should. Or maybe she just couldn't feel the stones speaking.
She'd gone deaf.
She couldn't feel the stones speaking, and they couldn't hear her either. She'd tried to knock a hole in the courtyard wall, but all she could do was bruise her hands on the even blocks of granite. And somebody had locked the door.
Toph curled up under a bush and dug her fingers into the dirt and refused to cry.
She turned herself to stone. That was all she could do. That was the only escape this strange, alien magic had left her. She lay on the ground and turned to stone and waited for the nightmare to end.
Slowly, slowly, the flames and shouting faded away, but the eerie stasis remained. Now Toph heard steady, even footsteps marching through the corridors, and occasional calls as men and women declared one room after another to be "all clear" or "nothing but statues, and who has the teleportation amulets anyway?"
Where were her parents? Where were her tutors? Where were Uncle Arthur and Aunt Ermintrude and her stupid, annoying cousins? Where were the knights and the footmen and the maids and the cooks and the court magician and... Were they even alive? She was only twelve! Her parents couldn't die. They weren't allowed to die; Toph wasn't ready to be queen.
She wasn't ready to be alone. She'd even rather be with Aunt Ermintrude than be alone.
The garden door swung open, and something rustled against the leaves of the holly bush that encroached on the little path of stepping stones. Then silence. Whoever had entered made no sound, not like the invaders stamping and shouting through Toph's home.
Silence. More silence. Toph held onto stone with every drop of her will, held on longer than she had ever managed before. She was just a funny lump of rock, curled up like this. There was no reason for anyone to notice her. Nobody ever noticed her unless she made them notice. (Except Aunt Ermintrude, of course, but that was different.)
Above her, leaves shifted. A soft indrawn breath. And then a laugh, bright and cheerful. "Wow, your aura's sparkly -- all green and blue and gold stars like fireworks," a girl said, her voice strangely familiar. "How'd you turn yourself to stone?"
"It's not Azula's spell?" another voice asked, dry and calm.
"Nope! Totally different colors," said the first girl. "I bet she can even move. I wonder how she does it?"
Someone knelt, and touched the tips of her fingers to the side of Toph's cheek. Toph shivered. "So this is your secret, Princess Tophelia," the dry voice said. "It's a good secret, I'll give you that. Do you still want to know mine?"
If she had been flesh and blood at that second, Toph's heart would have skipped a beat. What was Princess Mai of Veritand doing here, in Toure-on-Marsh, in the middle of an invasion? And if Mai was here, the other girl must be Ty Lee... and they'd mentioned Azula... and Azula was a fire witch. Azula had set the castle on fire. Azula had turned everyone into statues. Azula had hurt Toph's parents. Azula had made Toph blind and deaf and scared, and stopped her from fighting back, and Toph was never going to forgive her. Never.
She wondered, dimly, if she should raise her head and answer Mai. But what good would that do? She couldn't see. And she was so tired. She didn't dare move, didn't dare let her grip on stone slip, or Azula's strange, hot magic might burn her or take even this last escape away.
"Don't worry," said Mai, still touching Toph's cheek, her fingers feather-light. "Queen Alianora and King Parry are alive -- petrified, but alive. And I like you. I'll make another deal: turn back to flesh and come peacefully with me and Ty Lee. We'll take you to Veritand as a guest instead of petrifying you like everyone else--"
"--not that a stone spell would even work on her, I bet--" added Ty Lee.
"--whether the spell would work on you or not, since I'm sure Azula knows other methods to keep you helpless," continued Mai, with a hint of bite in her voice. "You'll end up in Veritand one way or another. You might as well keep as much freedom as you can. And if you come willingly, I'll tell you my secret."
"You have secrets?" asked Ty Lee, an audible pout in her voice. "Mai! Why haven't you told me any of them? Don't I tell you all of my secrets?"
Mai sighed. "They're not secrets from you. They're secrets from Toph. Now hush and let her realize it's stupid to be Azula's prisoner instead of my guest."
But before Toph had to decide whether surrendering to Mai was a cowardly betrayal of her family and her country, or the only way she'd have any chance to help her family and country, the hot, still blanket of Azula's magic thinned and vanished.
Toph could see. She could feel the world again. She could hear the stones.
The castle walls were screaming with anger. "Betrayed!" the stones shouted. "Betrayed, betrayed, betrayed! Foreign magic chains us! Who is the enemy? Where is the rightful queen?"
"Mother is sleeping," Toph whispered back. "Help me escape. Help me save her. Help me stop Azula. Please." Slow and faint, as if waking from enchanted slumber, the stones rumbled their agreement.
"Well, Toph? Do we have a deal?" asked Mai.
Toph relaxed back into flesh and turned her face in Mai's general direction. "No," she said. "And you don't have me, either."
The earth swallowed her whole.
---------------------------------------------
End of Story
---------------------------------------------
Still not fluffy-happy, but at least nobody (or hardly anybody) seems to have died. Also, I got to mention Aunt Ermintrude. I am quite fond of Aunt Ermintrude. :-)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-03 12:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-03 09:26 pm (UTC)Anyway, I have an urge to rewrite this so it is a tonal match with Enchanted Forest rather than Avatar -- bad stuff would still happen, but with much less death and trauma, and probably an incidental joke or two. *ponders*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 05:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 04:36 am (UTC)Oh, Toph :( That must be so frightening
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 05:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 02:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-05 12:18 am (UTC)...
I have this novel about 90% plotted out (minus a few places where my outline has notes like "insert wacky hijinks here," "find something for Yue to do at this point," or "so how is Ozai's secret spell of doom supposed to work anway?"), which is way more detail than I usually have when I start writing. But I don't want to write this story! *headdesk*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-07 07:35 am (UTC)I also like how Mai is trying to protect Toph here, and how there seems to be a hint of Mai disagreeing with Azula's methods.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-07 07:53 am (UTC)This is when Toph winds up with one group of rebels, which, yes, is made up of the Earth Rumble contestants. At least until Zuko finds them, because at this point in the story Ozai has taken him off the 'find new enclaves of magic users who might be allies or threats' job and put him onto something less touchy, since Zuko had started to notice that almost all the people he met wound up as statues in the secret caves under the castle of Veritand. :-) So Zuko and Iroh (who has just returned from a trip to Cathay, and is trying to figure out what the hell his brother is up to) are trying to suppress the rebellion, and Toph ends up as the only escapee from her group of rebels. (Possibly Xin Fu and/or Master Yu and/or the Boulder sell the others out to Ozai and turn up again later as minor antagonists...? I like that.) While she's on her own, Toph has a brief encounter with Iroh (they have never met before, so he doesn't recognize her the way Zuko would), and then runs into the Gaang and joins them in their quest to stop Ozai.
Mai thinks Toph is cute -- sort of like the little sister she never had -- and being an unorthodox princess herself, is trying to look out for Toph as much as she can given the situation. And yeah, Mai is beginning to disapprove of what Ozai is pushing her father to do, and the way Azula carries out Ozai's orders.