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Tense and awkward must have been the best ways to describe the dinner.
Rae was seated next to her cousin Huan and close to Korra, while Iroh was in front of her, closer to Lin than the Guardian. The woman tapped her fingers impatiently on the table, feeling the tension in the air. Their chef presented the food, and while Su was amazed, Rae could feel her mother's scowl even through her blindness.
Su's husband, Baatar, and their eldest son, Baatar Junior, came by the dining room but couldn't stay long. As Rae started slowly eating, Su told Korra more about their family.
"Five kids," said Lin sarcastically, "what a nightmare."
"No, no," said Su while shaking her head, "my children are a blessing."
"Yeah, mom used to say that too, but she never meant it."
While Iroh froze at the awkward turn of the conversation and glanced at Rae. She was shaking her head while eating, trying hard to ignore the conversation. Rae was glad that Su changed the topic of conversation, but her happiness was short lived.
"Oh, she's horrible," said Su about the Earth Queen, "she thinks she can do whatever she wants."
Lin rolled her eyes and muttered, "sounds familiar."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"I mean the idea of having a queen is so outdated... don't you agree Korra?"
The Guardian froze mid-bite and placed her chopsticks back in her plate. Iroh looked between the two older Beifong women with a tense look. Both him and Rae hopped they wouldn't start talking about the fire nation leading corp. After all, the heir to the throne was seated at the table among them. But Su didn't see the Fire Nation government the same she saw the Earth Queen. While the world evolved, as Suyin said, the fire nation evolved with it, while the Earth Kingdom didn't.
"Hey everyone," started Lin, annoyed by her little sister's comments, "my little sister is an expert on world affairs now."
Rae groaned and placed her elbow on the table, leaning her forehead in her palm. Huan gave her an apologetic look and a few pats on the shoulder before he continued eating, ignoring the older women.
"You wanna talk about what is really bugging you? Because I'm right here!"
The tension was so high that Rae thought it might break the wine glasses from the dining table. Fortunately for them, Varrick entered the room looking rather enthusiastically and sat next to Asami. The Guardian exhaled and went back to her food as Varrick and Su fueled the conversations. However, Lin wasn't done.
"Alright enough! I'm trying to keep the Avatar safe, and you're harboring a criminal?!"
"Ease up Lin. Sure, Varrick's made a few mistakes in his past, but that doesn't mean he should pay for it the rest of his life. My chef was a pirate, but now he's a culinary master. People change."
"You haven't!"
"Mother...," warned Rae, her voice dangerously low.
Before they could stop her, Lin stormed out of the room, pushing her chair back and slamming the door in the process. Korra shouted after her and Rae sighed. She placed her chopsticks next to the plate and got up, turning to Su, and bowing her head slightly.
"I have lost my appetite," were her only words before she walked out of the dining hall.
Iroh went to follow, but Opal, who was sitting to his left, placed her hand on his shoulder. "don't go yet," she whispered, looking at the door, "give her some time. Give both some time."
Reluctantly, Iroh sat back down, but his appetite, like Rae's, had been lost. He stared at his food for some time, playing around with a decorative leaf before the mention of his name caught his attention.
"What about you, General Iroh?" asked Su, "What brings you here?"
"Same reason as... the Chief," he said, and his hesitation at Lin's mention was easily caught by Su.
The woman nodded and went back to eating, not before glancing at Rae's empty seat. A big shake accompanied with a booming sound surprised the most people apart from Su and Korra.
"Maybe we should go check on them...?" asked Korra hesitantly.
Suyin nodded. "It would be wise to do so," she said with a shrug.
The Avatar nodded and rose from her seat. She rushed out of the room and towards the place where the sound originated from. Rae was walking away from Lin's room quite angrily, and Korra had to place herself in front of her to stop her from walking away.
"What happened?" asked the Avatar with a frown.
"My mother and Suyin happened," exclaimed Rae, waving her hands in the airs, "this thing has been going on for so long and I just can't find anything that will help! My mother is so stuck in the past and in a way, I understand because I am too, but it would be great if they just... didn't argue at diner."
Korra looked apologetically at Rae, but the Guardian only shook her head. She muttered a small goodnight before leaving Korra in the hall and walking to her quarters. She tried sleeping in earlier than usual, but she only kept tossing and turning. The trouble of falling asleep is a problem Rae often encountered in Zaofu. It was caused by the lack of moonlight shining through the window as the metal dome separated her from the sky.
When she realized there was no way she would fall asleep, she rose abruptly. Right then, a knock at her door echoed in the big room. She slowly walked out of bed and put her night robe on before opening the door.
Iroh waited impatiently. After he got out of dinner, he was cornered by Suyin's twins who kept asking questions about his life as crown prince and military officer, but also about his connection to Rae. He managed to escape the boys by telling them he needed some sleep, but he kept tossing and turning so he just decided to see if Rae was awake. He knew that if she was sleeping, it would take a longer time for her to open, but his eyes widened slightly when she thrust her head through the small opening she made only a few seconds after his knocks.
"Can't sleep?" she asked when she felt the familiar beats of his heart. The man shook his head, and she opened the door wider, allowing him inside.
"Neither can I."
She walked back to the bed and let herself fall on it, making Iroh let out a small laugh. He walked to the other side and lied down. Turning his face to his right, he saw Rae hugging one of the numerous pillows on the bed, her eyes already closed, and he smiled. Pushing away a few strands of the white hair that formed her bangs (a sight that troubled Iroh at first but he relaxed when he realised it looked messy because she couldn't see how to cut the hair), he closed his eyes, immediately falling in a pleasant sleep.
