Defiance ❯ Atla

ᴠ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡɪɴs

Miko isn't sure what to expect from the King of Omashu. Violence? Threats? She doesn't expect a feast, but that's exactly what the king gives them when the guards present him with six juveniles who were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of cabbages -- the Cabbage Man is particularly bitter about that last part and demands that they have their heads severed off. The king spends most of the feast yammering on about utter nonsense, displaying his estranged talent for terrible puns, and cackling madly. He's unbelievably generous with his food, claiming his people have become obease due to too many feasts. Trouble only starts stirring after he tosses a chicken leg at Aang.

It's purely instinctual, a reflex. He doesn't mean to blow their cover, but he throws his hands up, encasing the chicken leg in an air bubble. Aang drops it as quickly as he caught it, but by then it's too late. Everyone sees.

The king rises from his spot at the head of the table, gesturing at Aang with one of his long, bony arms. "There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender." There's a wicked grin that spreads across his face here. "The Avatar!" He sits back down a moment later, his grin spreading so all can see his missing front teeth. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pippinpaddleopsicopolis?"

Lin scoffs at the news. She's been slumped over, moodily munching on her own food while the others talk. Li Kun perks up from beside her, but he stays quiet as the Avatar stands and throws his hands in the air. His voice wavers as he speaks. "Okay, you caught me! I'm the Avatar. Just doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe."

"How modest," Lin mumbles, earning herself an elbow to the side from her brother. She glares at him; he rolls his eyes at her.

The Avatar keeps going, evidently not hearing the rude comment. "Everything checks out." He lifts the table cloth to check under the table. "No fire benders here!"

The king leans forward, his grin widening even more so; he lets out a snorty little giggle. "Are you sure?" Miko swears he looks right at her when he says this. Her mouth goes dry. Does he know? Miko double checks her borrowed coat. It's still covering her red clothing. There's no way he could know she's Fire Nation; even so, there's this little spark in his eyes. It's like he's hiding something. She's not sure what he'll do to her if he does find out. Will he kill her? Torture her? Hold her for ransom? The Earth benders are ruthless. That's what she's learned and at the Academy.

Aang slings his arms around Miko and the Water Tribe siblings; they start to back out of the room. But before they can get very far, the guards are blocking the doorway. "You can't keep us here!" Katara stamps her foot. "Let us leave!"

The king, taking advantage of the words' pronunciation, finds a great opportunity for another one of his terrible puns. "Lettuce leaf?" He holds up a piece of lettuce, munching on it.

Sokka makes a face. He holds up his hands and leans over to whisper to the others. "We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts!"

The king doesn't hear, or perhaps it's just that he ignores the comment all together. "Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges! But for now the guards will show you to your chamber."

"My liege," the chamberlain says, leaning forward slightly, "do you mean the good chamber or the bad chamber?"

"The newly refurbished chamber."

"Wait. Which one are we talking about?"

"The one that used to be the bad chamber, until the recent refurbishing, that is. Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them." He shrugs, holds up his finger and says, "Take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!" And when they try taking the twins along with the Avatar and friends, he stops them. "Not my grandchildren. They're going to help me think of ideas for the deadly challenges."