A youth left under the guise of a palace servant suddenly recruited by the Princess after her successful adventure to the Earth Kingdom.

Dressed in dull-crimson robes alongside a yellow cloth-belt and bronze arm guards, Nik tightened the collar around his chest before the 'clunking' sound of his metallic boots remained as he swiftly left the Palace. His arrival did not cause major tension due to the fact that many handsome men were forced to servitude by Azula before they met a horrible end.

Of course, it was unfortunate that the did not have blood pumped with pheromones to seduce opposite gender or any of the Fire Lord's 'relieving' servant would have already taken the role of a queen.

With a light Pavāka dangling by his neck, Nik made his way towards the market of the capital to experience the cultural difference firsthand. Though, Nik wouldn't mind picking a beautiful lady that could catch his attention. 

Unlike the flattened roads of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Capital actually used bricks to structure a solid rod that went alongside the aesthetics of the people. The structures raised in the capital were all marked with a flaming red imprint and many flags were raised with a similar imprint.

To make the matters more interesting, most of the females of around him, except the young and old, all wore bright red hijab that hung around their body loosely while a black silk-like cloth covered their head and their lower face, only leaving their hands and eyes exposed.

Aside from some exceptional teen girls that did not conform to the society's sense of fashion, most women wore the same clothing, hiding everything underneath the cloth akin to a uniform.

'A religion?'

Nik speculated as the varied fashion taste of men around him didn't conform to the nation that would strictly follow a religion.

The ceramic tiles that covered the outer part of the constructed shops looked quite gentle and heartwarming, despite the actions taken by the navy and army of the nation while Nik continued his thoughtless gait while observing any part of the passing women he could. After all, with only their eyes exposed, Nik felt compelled to gaze at them further. 

It was as if finding out their true figures was the challenge to any and every man but soon, he was brought out of his daze by a lazy and annoyed Pavāka.

"Would you stop this already. It's embarrassing!"

"Why? And how can you get embarrassed if no-one can see you?"

"Because all the women you are ogling and ravaging with your eyes are married."

She snorted in return while placing her soft butt on his shoulders. Apparently, she could make herself 'smaller' but not bigger. 

Now, in a true pixie form, Pavāka sighed and explained further.

"If I am not wrong, a few years back, after the sudden assassination of the previous fire lord, all the married women were forced to hide their faces to signify the treacherous act of the current fire lord's exiled wife— Ursa."

"Oh..."

Nik didn't comment much as he was distracted by a pair of swaying hips once again. 

Zap

A sudden surge of Lightning immediately screwed with the muscles of his shoulders as he was once again woken up from his state of extreme observation.

"What was that for?"

Nik muttered. The purity Lightning, aside from a small amount of damage, itself has a numbing and healing property. So, it is not an understatement when Nik proclaimed that Pavāka really was the best girl.

But even then, the heart of a cultured man could only drift.

"Of course, that's what you get for looking at sagging tits instead of mine!"

She muttered with a pout while Nik shrugged, almost making Pavāka fall.

"Not sagging. But of course, I can look at yours if you remove your spirit clothes."

"Hey! I am not that kind of girl! Dummy!"

Immediately retorting with a hiss, Pavāka glared at Nik before tilting her head away.

"You can ask your skank for such kind of dirty actions."

"Aw, come on. I was just joking. Yeah.

Why would I want my dear Teacher to show her body to anyone else besides me?"

His sweet comments only received a sidelong glance as they both continued walking before they finally reached their destination after fifteen minutes.

The Library.

***

"The library of these worlds are unexpectedly harder to enter."

Veera muttered in frustration as the black-haired girl— Maira sighed and nodded.

"It was hard enough to enter the city unnoticed. But to understand the routes to other cities and the capital, we must get the map from the library or hire a local traveller."

The burly man appointed with the task to oppose most of Veera's decision looked surprisingly level-headed and nodded with a calm expression.

"Isn't the answer clear. Our physical bodies... well, at least my physical body is far better than the famed Earthen Warriors. 

I propose that I try and infiltrate my way through the city by disguising myself as an Earth Kingdom citizen. The rest of you clearly don't have the required conditions.

Most of you are pale-skinned and quite lean. Not to mention, the earthen ladies are known for their decent behaviour, which Maira is not capable of."

Oblivious to the darkened expression of the black-haired Maira and the wry smile leaking out of Veera's lips, the man continued.

"Either way, in seven months, the battle is supposed to go down, right? Before then, the Avatar is supposed to face the siege of Northern Tribe and the Southern Tribe.

Those are the places we cannot reach in time. So, all we have to do is locate the earth bending comrade of the avatar and wait."

Hearing the reason behind his plan, the rest nodded as the man continued his idea on how he would infiltrate the ranks in a quick, yet, brutal manner possible that once again gained the nods of quite a lot of members except a reserved few, Maira being one of them.

***

Thump

The blue-haired Brian fell on the deck with his body covered in cold sweat. His expression the synonym of absolute fear while his shuddering breaths an indication to his panicked heart.

Why wouldn't he fear? He just met the deity of the world, a titanic Lion Turtle whose bright yellow eyes still made Brian lose his composure.

"Avatar's spirit remains safe."

That's what he was told.

Suddenly, a warm hand came into contact with Brian's shoulder, making him jump up in fear.

"Mr Brian, are you alright?"

Gazing at the old Iroh, Brian stammered a bit before nodding.

"We are soon going to make contact with the survivors of the southern tribe. Your help will be most appreciated."

As Iroh saw Brian nodding and leaving, he directed his gaze towards the distant sea that suddenly erupted with mighty pressure.

'A spirit?'

He could only speculate as his nephew quickly called him to arrange various preparations to capture the Avatar.