#but etiher way its a surprise for sure

[feli026]

Igor's old design from the beta!!

[theotherace]

The Ruby Monkey, Chapter 1: a dusty room ao3

–oOo–

Sokka stares.

The monkey stares back, unflinching, unblinking, because it cannot flinch or blink – doesn't need to, etiher, because its limbs never stiffen, its eyes never get dry. Or maybe, the young warrior contemplates while lifting a brow, it would be more accurate to say that they are always dry.

Dry and red and-

"Sokka."

He blinks – because he can, because he has to – and loses and swallows a curse.

"Will you hurry up and put it away? Damn thing's giving me the creeps", Suki mutters.

"Something's up with this", he says and finally grabs the statue, finding it much lighter than expected. "I don't know what, exactly, but ... it has this ... aura. I can't explain it. I don't know why General Iroh'd want it around, though, because something about it is definitely not right."

Somewhere across the room, Toph snorts.

"Aura? You've been hanging around Ty Lee too much."

"No, he's right", Aang says. "At least if he's talking about the monkey."

He pops up behind one of the bigger boxes, right where Sokka suspects Toph is sitting, and pulls himself up onto it, clambering over to Sokka and Suki so quickly, they'd have missed it had they blinked. Atop a box still, he leans forward to better inspect the statue in Sokka's hands, who can count the hair on his friend's chin on one hands, as close as he is now.

"It's got a weird energy about it. I didn't wanna say anything when we got here, because you guys don't like hearing about my ... spirit mumbo jumbo-"

At that, he throws a pointed look in Toph's general direction. The girl's pale hand has already risen above the box to flip him off – they've been weirdly in tune with eachother this whole get together, but that's something to think about at a later time, Sokka reckons.

"-and really, I'm not sure what it is that bothers me. But something does."

"I've never liked that thing, either."

Zuko's voice is somewhat muffled, words a little hard too make out, but there is no mistaking the disdain in it, and Sokka grins. It isn't often that Zuko admits to disliking something his Uncle values, if pulled faces and forced grins when sampling a new kind of tea don't count.

"But he had to have it. Never understood why."

"Because he likes weird stuff. That's hardly new", Toph says. "Just put it away so we can get done here. Where'd all this stuff come from, anyway?" She grunts. "He can't have collected it all in the last three years."

"He's been collecting stuff all his life. Throughout our travels, too."

"Didn't somebody blow up your ship at some point? It can't be from then."

Zuko sighs, shrugging.

"Well, the monkey survived. Other things might've, too."

He's appeared beside a tall vase – easily tall enough for Toph to hide behind standing up – and glances at the thing. Aang is still staring at it intently, as well, grey eyes narrowed, lips pressed together.

"Put it away", Katara pipes up, not annoyed yet, but certainly tired of sitting in this dusty room all day, the same way they all are, and done with them talking endlessly about every third object they pick up – the monkey isn't the first thing that's held them up today. "It's just a statue. And an ugly one at that, really, so the sooner it goes in the box, the better."

"Admit that it creeps you out, too."

"It doesn't. It's just an ugly piece of art. I mean, your drawings don't creep me out."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny."

He moves, then, finally, to put the mokey into the open box right beside him, just as Aang reaches out both hands, all eager fingers and curious eyes, and Suki makes a grab for the statue as well, rolling her eyes in exasperation, to do what Sokka's out off for long enough. Their hands collide, of course, and the creepy thing falls before either of them can move a muscle, lands and breaks just as Aang flicks his wrist to pull it back up.

"Shit", Sokka groans.

Suki and Aang stare at the shards.

"You broke it", Zuko says, incredulous, though there is something like relief in his voice.

"Not on purpose!", they reply like one, eyes snapping up, gazes fixing on him.

"Relax", Toph says as Katara hides a snicker behind her hand and a soft mist begins to waver at Sokka's feet, as if rising from the broken statue. "I can fix it. My first and worst student–"

"Oi!"

"–should be able to, as well, but let's not leave it up to him. Wouldn't want Uncle to notice how clumsy the lot of you are, even when handling his–"

But the last word gets stuck in her throat, and then a surprised shout is yanked from it and all of them when the room tilts – doesn't seem to, does –, and boxes and young people fall, from the ground, past eachother, through space that cannot possibly fit into the small, dusty room the were in just seconds ago, and seconds turn into hours turn into years, not that any of them notice, before they all crash into floor – face first, in two cases.

Sokka groans, in pain more than confusion, at least for now.

The shards have disappeared from the floor.

"What just happened?", Zuko moans, whose nose feels like it has been permanently flattened. "Toph, that wasn't funny."

"Wasn't me."

She sounds offended at the very thought that he'd consider she'd done this, like flipping a room just to mess with them isn't exactly what she'd do – if she could. Sokka doesn't think she can. Or would. Move a mountain, maybe, but she can't flip a room without bringing down the house, and she wouldn't destroy the Palace like that.

Not until Zuko really pisses her off.

"Where are we?", Aang asks.

They look up.

The boxes are gone, the disarray and clutter, replaced by almost empty shelves lining the walls and even thicker layers of dust than they had already gotten used to. The sole window is covered by a heavy curtain, which it wasn't a minute ago, and the room is darker than it should be, but it is still the same room, walls and window and door in all the right places.

"The Palace", Suki says matter-of-factly.

"Are you not seeing what we're seeing?"

"Yes, I am, but where else should we be? Obviously this is the Palace and not an Air Temple. Easy enough to find out, anyway."

She pushes herself up and onto her feet swiftly.

Sokka attempts to do the same, but freezes when Suki does, just a step away from the door, hand already hovering halfway between herself and the handle.

"What is it?"

Toph answers, but that's just as well.

"Someone's coming."