Path Ahead

Decisions

Zuko heard soft footsteps in the hall outside the Firelord's study and knew instantly who was approaching. There weren't too many people wandering around the palace barefoot, after all.

"Why didn't you go with the others?" he asked, without looking up from the parchment he was reading. Toph paused in the doorway.

"Are you sure you're not an earthbender?" she asked petulantly, and at that point, Zuko did look at her in order to properly enjoy the expression of consternation on her face. She'd obviously been hoping to surprise him, and he'd foiled that attempt. Partially, anyway; he had honestly not known she'd stayed behind today.

"I know the palace," Zuko shrugged, stretching to work out the kinks of sitting in one position too long. "Including its sounds."

"Hmph," Toph grunted, moving into the room and curling into an overstuffed chair near some shelves. "What are you doing in here?"

"I asked you first," he reminded her.

"I don't really like flying," she said nonchalantly. While Zuko knew that to be true, he could tell that it wasn't the complete answer. Since Toph was blind, she didn't know how to avoid certain facial hints that could convey when she was uncomfortable about something or attempting to be deceptive. A rebellious part of Zuko's mind hoped that she secretly wanted to spend some time alone with him. Because that thought was so silly, he quickly set it aside and answered her question.

"I'm looking through the court records of everyone who's in a Fire Nation prison," he explained. "I'm starting with the people here in the city, but I'll eventually have to review all of the cases in the rest of the nation and the colonies." Yesterday, he'd spent much of his time writing or dictating recall orders for the various military units spread across land and sea and making sure that the hawks were sent out promptly. He was wasting no time in righting the wrongs of his forefathers.

"You know, you can't do everything yourself," Toph remarked sagely. "If there's one thing I learned growing up in a high-class family, it's the importance of delegation." She made a face. "I would have 'delegated' my earthbending lessons if I could have. They were useless, anyway. All my real training came from the badger-moles."

"I don't plan to personally run everything forever," he assured her, even while he considered the novelty of learning bending directly from the creatures who originated it. He was still hoping to get some instruction from the dragons someday. "The problem is, I'm not sure who to trust right now. I had to dismiss all of the generals and admirals, obviously, and I don't know which of my father's councilors are trustworthy."

"I could help you with that, you know," she pointed out, sounding a little exasperated with him. "I can tell if people are lying."

"You'd sit through interviews with me?" he asked, startled. He'd known about her abilities but hadn't wanted to ask her about something so mundane. "It's bound to be really boring."

"I'd love to help you," she said quickly, and her cheeks reddened slightly. She also looked just a bit flustered, which was very unusual for her. It was kind of cute, actually. "I mean, we're all on the same team, right?"

"Right," he agreed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off from him. "Let's work on coming up with a list of questions to ask them. I'll send out royal summons for key people to meet with me tomorrow."

"You should also make it known through the city, and maybe even throughout the nation, that you're looking for dependable people to do some jobs for you. Maybe you could set up a system of regional governors that report to you, make recommendations, that sort of thing. The cities could still have their own councils or whatever, but you'd have your own people keeping an eye on things."