Jiggle and Bulge

Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation, sat on the Earth King's throne, peering imperiously down at the man approaching her. An army of Dai Li agents came in his wake, he at their head; though he, himself, was a better earthbender than any of the men at his command. But Azula was unbothered by this show of force. She didn't care about any of these men. She was superior to all of them.

"Now comes the part where I double-cross you," Long Feng said confidently. "Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation princess."

A pause. The assembled Dai Li did not move. Azula smiled.

"I said, ARREST her," Long Feng shouted. He turned back to the Dai Li, who continued to stand, immobile. "What is wrong with you?"

"It's because they haven't made up their minds. They're waiting to see how this is going to end."

Long Feng was practically snarling as he whirled on Azula. "What are you talking about?!"

"I can see your whole history in your eyes," Azula said, so smug, so satisfied. "You were born with nothing, so you've had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with." She smirked. "The fact is, they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down." Azula leered at him, so utterly confident. "But I know. And you know."

Azula turned and walked back to the throne. She sat upon it. It felt good. It felt right.

"Well?" she said. She peered down at him, golden eyes so bright. She smiled.

Then Long Feng smiled. "Yes," he said. "We DO." He stood up straighter. "Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation princess!"

Azula was so shocked she couldn't even move for a moment. And that was enough: two Dai Li swung past Long Feng in earthbending maneuvers, and the arms and seat of the throne suddenly came alive. The stone rose up and shackled her in place, binding her arms and her legs.

"W-What??" said Azula, golden eyes wide and wild. "WHAT?!"

"You see, princess," said Long Feng, walking imperiously up the steps to the throne, "the trouble with being BORN to rule, with thinking you have the RIGHT to rule, is that it makes you complacent. Lazy."

Azula could have breathed fire at him, but she didn't even think to do it. She was just in shock.

"I can see YOUR life in your eyes, too," said Long Feng, smiling as he leaned in towards her. "All your life, you've been handed things. Gifted things. And it's never dawned on you that those things you were handed were earned by other people: people who came before you, people paid to work for you, people who were... well, like me. People who had to struggle, connive, and claw." He smiled. "The people who ACTUALLY run the world."

A scraping, struggling sound came from off to the right. Azula turned, and her shock increased. "Mai! Ty Lee!" Indeed, her two friends were being moved towards her by Dai Li agents, tightly bound by those rocky gloves they all wore.

"Ah! Your friends. More people who were handed things in life," said Long Feng with a smile. "More people who got lazy."

"Azula!" Ty Lee said desperately. She struggled, but the stone bonds might as well have been iron manacles.

"Let me go!" Mai shouted angrily. "Do you have any idea who I am?? Who WE are?!"

They were shoved to the ground around Azula. Long Feng smiled, staring down at them all.

"Oh, I assure you: I know full well who, WHAT, you all are. And you are going to be very useful to me... now, and into the future."

"I... I..." Azula blinked, and gasped. She felt her whole world crumbling.

And now, Long Feng was the one who smiled. Who leered.

"Princess Azula, Lady Mai, Lady Ty Lee... the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

YEARS LATER

"Hmm hmm," hummed Azula, lounging about. Her huge body was sprawled across her ornate, comfortable chaise, propped up on the softest of silk pillows. Her face flushed: she was reading a very racy romance novel, a true bodice-ripper. It sent tingles through her flab and rolls. She was just getting to the good part.

She idly reached for another bon bon and popped it into her mouth. She chewed gently, a little slobber coming out from between her plump lips. She automatically reached for yet another bon bon after swallowing the previous one. She'd gone through an entire batch already, and was well on her way to polishing off a second. The maids knew to expect this.

"Ohh, Zhufeng," Azula said, flushing at the steamy scenes she read. "Ohh, I wish you were real..."

frrt

prlt

Out from between her immense ass cheeks, soft turds began to flow. Azula only barely noticed. It's not like she could stop it. A gentle, lazy flow of poop issued from her. Pee, too, came, a warm soaking of urine around her seat. Her specialty undergarments kept her clothes safe; she was grateful she'd gotten larger sizes in the last month.

"Ohh, he's so... so wonderful," said Azula, reading away. Her porky cheeks were flushed with arousal. Conveniently, her bladder and bowel movements had ceased, and she was beginning to be tempted to have a little fun...

"Ah, Lady Azula," said a maid, coming close. "The food is almost ready, and I received word from Lady Mai and Lady Ty Lee that they are on their way."

"Hmm," hummed Azula, putting a plump hand to her chest. "I don't suppose there's time for me to... be pleasured, a bit? Before they arrive."

"I'm sorry, mistress, but probably not," said the maid. "It would simply be too much work. Getting you undressed, getting you set up in bed, getting Feng here--you know you only like it when she uses your toys--it would be too much of a production. Lady Mai and Lady Ty Lee are too close; they would be here well before we had gotten you back into a state to receive them."

"Oh, poo," said Azula, sticking out her tongue. "Well, there is nothing for it, I suppose. And I am so looking forward to lunch; I always do with those dear girls."

The maid sniffed the air and caught the foul stench. "Have you had a poo, mistress?"

"Ah! Yes, I have. I shall need a change before they arrive. Come help me up, so we can be on with it."


About twenty minutes later, Azula was waddling through her expansive drawing room, clad in fresh undergarments and, at her request, a new, more formal dress. It was colored the most beautiful jade green with gold accents. Azula herself had her dark hair done up in an elaborate hairdo, with emeralds and gold for jewelry. After all, she was a patriotic Earth Kingdom citizen, and loved to deck herself out in her nation's colors.

Hauling herself through the room, it was easy to see how fat Azula was. She was an enormous, almost elephantine, woman. Her pale face was bloated and hoggish, with sagging jowls and a rippling second chin like a goiter. Her dress did little to hide the immensity of her figure: her big, bloated breasts that sagged like bags of cement. Her huge belly, that jutted before her in a great slope and always entered a room before any other part of her. Her enormous, wide, bloated bottom, two massive butt cheeks that jutted behind her, forming a shelf upon which sat her slabs of back fat. Her vast hips were hinted at by the width of her. One couldn't see her blubbery thighs, but one could see the hefty waddle they caused in her gait.

The gentle tap of her cane on the hardwood floor could be heard, sometimes muffled by her expensive rugs. It was a beautiful cane of bone-white ivory. Azula didn't always need it, but it was handy to have in case her weight really started to bother her as she stood and walked. And she frankly thought of it as another ornament: another piece of jewelry, an accentuation of her outfit.

"Kaida!" Azula said as she entered the kitchen. "Is my pre-meal snack ready?"

"Of course, mistress," said Kaida the maid. She promptly came in front of Azula with a bowl full of crispy fried turtle-duck. Azula smiled, and opened her mouth, and the maid used chopsticks to feed her the bowl, expertly popping each piece into Azula's waiting maw. It took less than five minutes to feed her the whole bowl; they had all gotten very efficient at this, both the lady and her maids.

Just in time, too: a loud bell chimed from the distant entrance. "Ah!" Azula cried joyously. She turned, lumbering, and began to move towards the front.

"Azula!" said Ty Lee, coming through the large, beautiful entrance hall first.

"Oh, darling! Oh, dear!" said Azula with pleasure, waddling forward towards her equally-waddling, equally-lumbering friend.

"Azula, oh, ungh," said Ty Lee, lumbering forward. Ty Lee was fat, too. Her face was flabby and froggish, with bulging cheeks. She had a pair of very large breasts, bigger than most melons, and her dark green dress conveniently gave her plenty of cleavage for naughty boys to ogle at. Her belly was a big bag, rounded and tight; Ty Lee carried a lot of weight in her upper body, and this included hefty, flabby upper arms. Her rolling buttocks jostled and shifted behind her.

"I do hope that date of yours went well," said Azula, coming close. The two fat women couldn't quite press against each other; their bellies and breasts got in the way. But at least Azula could lean in, and peck Ty Lee on her fat, flabby cheek.

"He was a charming man, but he was a little cheap," said Ty Lee. "I'm having second thoughts. I'm a woman who demands a certain level of luxury, after all." She groaned and leaned heavily on her cane. Ty Lee's cane was sturdier than Azula's: it was made of metal, and had a heavier tip. "Azula, please, can I sit down?"

"One of your bad days, dear?"

"I'm afraid so. My knees are killing me, and my ankles aren't much better."

"Erika," said Azula to a nearby maid, "help Lady Ty Lee to her seat at the table."

The maid did so, coming to Ty Lee's side to guide her. "Ungh, urgh," grunted Ty Lee, visibly wincing as she was helped to waddle through the entrance into the drawing room. She leaned heavily on her cane, and the maid came to her other side in case she needed support there, too.

"Poor dear," said a voice over Azula's shoulder.

"Ah, Mai, darling!" said Azula, hauling herself around.

Mai squinted at her through her thick glasses, leaning forward a bit to take Azula in better. "I do hope you've got a proper feast for us, Azula," said Mai. "I'm famished. The bakery was all out of sweet buns this morning, so I didn't get my full breakfast. I had to make do with sticky meats."

"Ah, don't worry, Mai, dear," said Azula with a smile. "I've told the maids to indulge us. We'll want for nothing!"

Mai smiled. She, too, was immensely fat. Her bloated, hoggish cheeks gave her permanent dimples, and her double chin rippled as she moved her head. Mai was more bottom-heavy. Her breasts were large, but not spectacular like Ty Lee's or Azula's, and her belly was a sagging, rolling thing; it split into two big rolls, the biggest of which sagged, dough-like, more than halfway down Mai's thighs. Those thighs were colossal. Mai was prominetly hippy, her big, wide expanse making chairs and carriages difficult quite often. Azula gazed over Mai's shoulders. Her soft yellow dress did little to hide the vastness of her backside. Mai had a big, big bottom, a ballooning butt, almost like the arse of a horse. Azula had been to the baths with her enough to know that it was covered in cellulite, and rippled like water at the slighest movement.

Yet even so, Azula's butt was just as big. Mai was fat. Ty Lee was fat. But neither was as fat as Azula. She dwarfed them both: bigger, heavier, girthier, fatter. Azula took a faint satisfaction from that. If they were all going to be fat, at least she could be the BEST at being fat. Something in some distant corner of her mind liked being the BEST at something.

"Well, come, come, lunch is just about ready," said Azula, beckoning her friend into the house. A dribble of piss came out of Azula as she and Mai moved forward; this quickly became a full peeing, and Azula's specialty undergarments were soon soaked in warm urine.


"My ladies," said a maid, "lunch is served!"

With that, dishes galore were set at the beautiful wooden table in the dining room. Fried turtle-duck glazed in plum. Butter-fried hippo-cow beef. Honeyed ostrich-horse that was, of course, fried. Fried rice filled with egg and vegetables. Tempura-battered carrots, artichokes, and mushrooms. Glazed orange tofu with walnuts. Yet MORE fried rice, and some sticky white rice thrown in for good measure. And some spicy fried noodles.

"Ohmn," gurgled Azula as she picked up her chopsticks. With a greedy glint in her golden eyes she grabbed a chunk of hippo-cow and popped it into her mouth, drool oozing down her piggish jowls.

"Mnrm," mumbled Mai, slurping some noodles into her greedy maw. A little sauce had already spattered on her beefy second chin.

"Oh I'm FAMISHED," said Ty Lee, guzzling down three chunks of turtle-duck in an eyeblink.

"Mrnf, don't worry, girls," said Azula, eagerly tucking in to an entire bowl of fried rice. "There's even more where this came from."

"Oh, Azula," said Mai, picking up a fried carrot, "you DO know how to treat your friends."

So they ate. They ate. They ate and ate and ate and ate and ate. With a gleam of greed in all three pairs of eyes, the fat women feasted on a symphony of food. The minute a single dish was empty, the maids swooped in and replaced it with an identical dish, full to brim with more, more, MORE food. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were eating away. The three enormous women had soon eaten enough food for a large family, and there was no sign of them slowing down, and no sign of Azula's kitchen running out of food, either.

"Urrp" belched Azula under her breath, then she said, "I'm told Lord Hanzeng is throwing another soiree next week. I'm TEMPTED to go, but he was a bit short with me last time."

Guzzling down rice, Ty Lee said, "You simply MUST assert yourself, Azula, dear. If he's displeased you, you have to remove yourself from his presence. That is HOW it has to be. We ladies must learn to stick up for ourselevs."

"I don't much like his house," said Mai with a jiggle of her chins. "There's not a lot of places to sit. Or, not a lot for people like us. I'm simply so... so CRAMPED! Over there. I still remember how embarrassing it was when I broke that chair. He really should be more considerate."

"Yes, he SHOULD take the friendship of his more ample friends into account," said Azula. "It's not just you, Mai, dear, I find myself positively pinched when I'm over there. His lordship has simply failed to take a woman of generous carriage into consideration in his decorating."

Ty Lee reached for more turtle-duck. "Ngh," she winced as she did.

"Wrist?" said Azula. Ty Lee nodded. "Poor dear, it IS a bad day for you, isn't it?"

Ty Lee pulled her arm back; her wrist was stabbing with pain. Mai squinted at her from behind her thick glasses, making sure to see Ty Lee so she could properly sympathize.

plrp

A soft brown goop puttered out of Azula's backside, staining her special undergarments.

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were a considerable fixture in the social scene of the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. 'Considerable' being true in multiple senses, only one of which was their combined tremendous size. The three were united by tragedy: they had all lost their parents at a young age, leaving each girl with enormous wealth, considerable luxury, and an army of servants to wait on them hand and foot. This combination of tragedy and privilege had drawn them together from an early age. They were all also united by their fatness. As far back as any of them could remember, they had been chubby, and now, well into their teenage years, each girl was very obese, indeed. Azula was the biggest, weighing well over a quarter of a ton; Mai and Ty Lee followed after her, their own bodies both exceeding a fifth of a ton.

They were all, also, united by infirmity. From a very early age each girl had been plagued by disability that had permanently held them back in life. Mai was extremely near-sighted; she was almost legally blind, and her thick glasses were required for her to even begin to navigate the world. Ty Lee had chronic arthritis that had plagued her from when she was young, and nowadays it was very difficult for her to move about, with or without her reinforced cane. Azula suffered from chronic bladder and bowel troubles, which these days had progressed to near-total incontinence. The three girls had found each other in their infirmity, and it had drawn them together into an unbreakable friendship, a bond of sympathy and good humor. Their disabilities had also contributed to their vast fatness; each girl, in her own way, was held back from doing much physical activity. They had never had the capacity to be active, and the things they did for fun largely consisted of sitting around, eating, or sitting around and eating. It had made all three of them gluttons, and it had swollen them to their considerable size.

But they were happy. Indeed, they loved their lives, loved each other's company, and loved their life among the luxury and privilege of the Upper Ring.

pllrrp

A load of poop emptied itself out of Azula, settling in her undergarments as she sat.

"Well, I DO have to compliment your burp cooks, Azula," said Mai, gorging her way through the orange tofu. "I swear, I am going to have to dismiss my chefs at this rate, my own food never seems to be as good as yours."

"That's just because friendship makes things taste better, Mai, dear," said Ty Lee. "Everything's better when you're with the ones you love."

The chimes of a clock issued through the mansion: one, two. Two o'clock.

And right on cue, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee said as one: "Medicine time!"

Right on cue, the maids produced their pill bottles. Glass bottles, one for each of them, and from her bottle each girl took a pill. Azula's was white, Mai's was yellow, and Ty Lee's was blue. Unthinkingly, they swallowed the pills, and then resumed their conversation. They all took medicine multiple times a day, supposedly to treat their illnesses and their infirmities. They had been taking it for years now, and in fact, none of them had ever gotten better. If they had been more sensible, if they had been smarter, they might have wondered what the point was of continuing to take the medicine, when it seemed to produce no positive results. But they didn't. They just took the pills at each appropriate chime of the clock. Easy and simple.

At last, the last morsel of food was gone--down Azula's throat, of course. She'd eaten the most. She always did. She was a very gluttonous girl.

And on that note: "Now, ladies, BURP!, what shall we do about dessert?"

"Hmm," hummed Mai. "You buuuaarp sound like you've already got something in mind."

"As a matter of fact, I have," said Azula, her porcine face rippling as she smirked. "Girls, we are going to go to a tea house for dessert. One I've been meaning to visit for quite some time: the Jasmine Dragon."

"Ohh, I've heard of that place!" said Ty Lee, her froggish face rippling with pleasure. "Supposedly it has the best tea in the entire city. And the bakery's no slouch, either."

"Yes, well, I've never been, and there's no time like the present," said Azula. "Just give me a moment to get changed and we shall be on our way. Kaida!" she shouted out. "Kaida, where are you! I'm in need of a change!"

Mai and Ty Lee discretely sniffed the air. Sure enough, the foul stench of Azula's excrement was hanging above all the perfumed finery of the room. Azula often smelled of urine and feces; she wore lots of perfume to try and cover it up, but it still came through, and everyone just generally agreed not to bring it up. It was never usually all that bad, though sometimes Azula took a poo so terrible that she could clear a room. Even then, Mai and Ty Lee never left her. That's what friends did: stick together.


The carriage rode through the Upper Ring, headed for the tea shop. It was an extra-large carriage, meant to accommodate its extra-large inhabitants. Mai, with her vast bottom, had a bench seat to herself, while Azula and Ty Lee had generously agreed to squish into the remaining bench seat.

They sat, and in the carriage one could hear the sound of gurgling. The fried, saucy, syrupy, rich food in their bellies was digesting away, working through the engorged, swollen guts of each very fat girl.

FRRTT

"Ahh," sighed Ty Lee. "That needed to come out."

FRRRRTTTTTT

"Ahhhh," sighed Ty Lee as she farted again.

PRRTTTT

"I do love fried food," said Azula, who had farted this time. "But it does tend to distend the guts a bit."

"Oh, you know what?" said Mai. "We're all friends here."

PPRRRTTTTT

"Ahh," Mai sighed with a fart of her own.

By the time they reached the Jasmine Dragon the carriage was filled with stench; the driver had heard the three girls farting away, and was grateful to be sitting outside. A wave of stink issued forth when he opened the extra-wide door. Wide though it was, each girl had trouble squeezing her way out, especially Mai, and the carriage rocked and sagged on its suspension with the movement of their huge bodies.

"Mrng, urgh, UNGH," grunted Mai, who at last with a thrust popped through. Her enormous ass wobbled behind her as she settled her feet on the stone paving.

"Ungh, my knees," groaned Ty Lee, leaning heavily on her cane. "Come on, hff, pff, let's, ngh, go inside, uhn, my knees, my back..." Ty Lee was hobbling forward, looking like some injured war veteran.

Azula's innards gurgled.

FRRT

"Ungh, hff, pff," she groaned, leaning on her own cane. She was so fat that the effort of getting out of the carriage had winded her a bit, and she leaned on her ivory cane to catch her breath.

"Come on, dear, let's go," said Mai, the only one of the three not using a cane. She helped guide the fatter girl inside. Azula felt herself urinate as she moved through the door, the warm liquid soaking her special undergarments through. They were like a diaper in more ways than one, really.

"Well if it isn't the three stateliest maidens in Ba Sing Se!" said a high, cultured voice.

"Ah! Hello, Fan Feng," said Ty Lee brightly, smiling even as her knees and ankles were hurting. A much thinner, more conventionally pretty girl was standing just inside the Jasmine Dragon.

Fan Feng grinned at them. "How are you lovely ladies doing today?"

"Oh, we are MARVELOUS, dear," said Azula, smiling gently. "We're popping in for some tea and cake; we've never been here before."

"You are in for an absolute TREAT," said Fan Feng. "The tea here is to die for. I swear, the old man in the back is a magician. And there's this serving boy here..." she leaned in close and grinned. "He's CUTE. Hope you get him."

"Oooh, I could do with seeing some nice man meat," said Azula, twittering her chubby fingers. Her fat face flushed at the thought.

"Well you three had best be careful. He's a lean and wiry fellow." Fan Feng leaned in and grinned. "Don't sit on him, or you'll break him!"

"Oh ho ho, I'd love to break SOMETHING in him," said Azula, licking her lips.

"Oh, Azula, we MUST meet for a picnic some time," said Fan Feng. "It's been too long since you and I really had a chat."

"We shall get it done absolutely, my dear," said Azula.

"Pardon me, ladies," said a girl wearing a serving dress. Her nametag said 'Jin.' "But are you the Azula party? Party of 3?"

"We are," said Mai, smiling behind her thick glasses.

"Well, your table is ready. Right this way."

"Ta ta, Fan!" said Azula with a wave of her plump hand. Her cane clacking away, Azula allowed Jin to lead her to their table, her huge body taking up most of the space between tables. Mai came after her, and Ty Lee brought up the rear, groaning and grunting from the pain in her joints.

Jin did her best to help them sit down. It was tough. These women were HUGE, and she and another server had to maneuver the chairs around to give Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee the best chances to fit their big bodies into the table's space. Ty Lee didn't help matters by being so feeble.

But eventually, they all settled down. Azula sat down last of all, on a seat the size of a bench. Her vast bottom hit the cushion with a THUD.

"Whew," said Jin, wiping sweat from her brow. "Okay, your server will be with you momentarily."

"Ohh, imagine if it's the cute boy!" said Ty Lee.

"Mmm, I'm interested to see if he's as cute as Fan Feng said," said Mai.

"It has been far, far too long since I went on a date," said Azula. She grimaced. "But... he IS a peasant boy."

"Oh, come come, Azula," said Ty Lee. "You know how things are these days. Those class barriers don't matter near as much as they did before the war ended."

"Yes, but EVEN so," said Azula, folding her hands together and resting them on her fat belly. "I'm a woman of taste and dignity. I must date the RIGHT sort of man, no matter what class he comes from."

Soft turds began to flow into her undergarments. Azula began to poop, barely paying it mind.

"Hello there!" said a bright voice--a MALE voice. "How are you ladies doing today? Miss..." a pause.

They looked up. The young man was reading from his notepad. He couldn't have been much older than any of them.

"Oh, you ARE cute!" said Ty Lee, fat face rippling as she grinned.

"Miss..." the boy was staring HARD at his notepad. "Miss... Azula?! Miss Ty Lee and Miss Mai?!"

"That's right, sweetie," said Mai. She leaned forward. "Let me see if I can read your name... Mister... Lee?" she squinted through her glasses.

"That scar of yours is so fetching!" said Ty Lee. "It's strange to say that, you know! But it makes you look tough. Daring! Dangerous!"

"Mmm, it does indeed," said Azula. She licked her lips. Her fat face jiggled as she smiled. "You ARE quite attractive, Lee. You're a very handsome boy."

'Lee' gaped at the enormously fat, bloated women sitting at the table. Especially at Azula, as she stared at him with greedy, golden eyes. He sniffed. Something nearby smelled like shit--like literal poop.

"Say, Lee, darling," said Azula, smirking, her double chin oozing out of the collar of her dress, "if I may ask, where did you get that scar?"

"Oh! Uh... uh... f-firebender," said Lee, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Bah! Those wretched firebenders!" said Azula, putting a fat hand on her enormous belly. "That evil Fire Nation! I'm so glad we defeated them. Our brave, proud earthbenders put them to the shame they deserved."

PPRRRRRLLLLFFFFTTT

The immense wet sound issued directly from Azula, echoing from her vast buttocks. Mai and Ty Lee exchanged glances; that was the sound of Azula taking a really, REALLY big dump. Her incontinent pooping usually didn't make a noise, but when it did, a large load was always the result.

"So, Lee," said Azula, barely paying attention to her bowel troubles, "have you ever gotten to know a noblewoman before?" She blushed at him, and stared at him intently.

"I... I... I..." Lee was stammering, he looked like he was going to be sick, the SMELL was hitting him--

"Lee!"

"Oh!" Li turned around. An old man with a long, gray beard was poking his head out from the back kitchen area. "Yes, uncle?"

"Come back here. Dishes are piling up. Jin will tend to our new guests."

"Yes, yes, uncle, sure!" Lee turned back to the fat women one last time, and bowed his head. Then he practically ran through the curtain to the back room.

"He was SO cute," said Azula, her face still flushed.

"He really was," said Ty Lee.

"Mmm, he was okay," said Mai, face neutral behind her glasses.

"Sorry about that, ladies," said Jin, coming close. "So, what can I get you?"

"Well, we have heard good things about your jasmine tea," said Azula.

"Oh! Best in the city, and don't take it from me. We won the Upper Herald's award last month."

"Well, we will get a pot of it, then," said Azula.

"I've heard you have great strawberry cake," said Ty Lee. "Could we get one of those?"

"Coming right up!"

"Ah, excuse me," said Azula. "I believe we will need TWO strawberry cakes. I should like a whole one for myself." She grinned.

"Coming right up!" And with that, Jin hurried off back to the kitchen.

"Greedy girl," said Mai.

"What can I say? I'm a large woman," said Azula. "I deserve more ample portions than you skinny girls." She leaned back in her seat, causing the huge load of feces in her undergarments to squish and ooze.

"Ha!" said Mai.

"I heard that Deng Lang is going to be giving a free tsungi horn concert later this evening," said Ty Lee. "That might be a nice way for us to wrap up our festivities today."

"Thanks, but no thanks," said Azula. She fanned her face. "I am starting to get a bit worn down. I believe after this little excursion, I shall go home, change into my nighties, and lounge about."

"All that eating and sitting really wearing you out, hmm?" said Mai with dark raised brows. She squinted behind her glasses.

"Now, now," said Ty Lee, wincing as her joints hurt her, "her bowels DO get a lot of exercise. That's not nothing."

Azula chuckled. "Yes, what can I say? I'm pooped!"

And the three of them laughed uproariously at the pun.


Zuko couldn't help but peer out the curtained window of the kitchen at them. He couldn't believe it. He could see them. He could hear them. He could SMELL them. Or at least he could smell his SISTER. But he still couldn't believe it.

"Nephew..." Iroh said, standing gently behind him.

"I... I can't believe it," said Zuko. "Uncle, what's WRONG with them? How did they get... like THAT?"

"Because this way they pose no threat to me."

Zuko and Iroh whirled around. A figure emerged from the shadows of the kitchen.

Zuko gaped. "Grand Secretariat Long Feng!"

"The very same," Long Feng said, inclining his head. "Well, boy, are you going to show proper respect?"

Iroh had already bowed. Zuko hastily bowed as well.

"Very good... Prince Zuko."

Zuko started. In fact, Zuko moved back into a firebending stance. But Iroh held up a hand. "Peace, Zuko! He means us no harm."

"Indeed," said Long Feng. He nodded towards Iroh. "General Iroh."

"Lord Long Feng," Iroh nodded towards him in turn.

"My... my lord," said Zuko, "so, I guess I can ask you: what happened to them?"

"I had your sister and her friends... reeducated," said Long Feng. "They attempted to seize and destroy the Earth Kingdom, and naturally, I couldn't have that. Your sister thought she could beat me at my own game... I proved her wrong." And Long Feng could not resist smirking as he said this.

"No harm has come to them," said Iroh.

"No," said Long Feng. "Certainly not. Rest assured, Prince Zuko, your sister and her friends are fine, apart from the weight they've gained and a few minor inconveniences I've saddled them with. All in all, they are fine. In fact, they live very luxuriously. They are pampered, and want for nothing."

Zuko turned back around. He peered through the curtain one last time. "They seem happy." He could see Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee laughing and joking as they drank their tea and ate their cake.

"As far as I can tell, they are."

"Prince Zuko," said Iroh, "perhaps it is best you go home. Take the rest of the day off. The Grand Secretariat and I have things to discuss."

Zuko looked from Iroh to Long Feng. He easily got the sense that he was rapidly becoming unwelcome. He nodded. "All right. I'll see you this evening, uncle." With that, he bowed to Long Feng again. Then he went out the back door, taking his apron off as he did. Very soon, the door had slammed behind him, and he was out of sight.

"I wish he had found out under more controlled circumstances," said Long Feng.

"Much as you wish, sir, you cannot control EVERYTHING that happens in this city," said Iroh. There was a tea kettle on the stove; Iroh took it off. He took two cups from off a shelf, and filled both with tea. He offered one to Long Feng, who took it; Iroh took the other for himself.

"True enough, I suppose," said Long Feng. He sipped his tea. "Not for want of trying..."

"What news from the Fire Nation?" Iroh asked.

"Oh, its pacification... continues," said Long Feng. "We've mostly mopped up the last of your brother's loyalists, but a few still remain, hiding in the mountains and the cliffs on the far fringes of the islands. But things should be under control there within the year."

Iroh sipped his tea. "Well enough, I suppose."

"Your cooperation, of course, has been eminently useful," Long Feng said. "Without your intelligence and recommendations, we wouldn't be nearly as far along in all this as we are." Long Feng smiled at Iroh. "I knew you were a practical and a compassionate man. All the intelligence reports said as much."

"I thank you, in turn, for sparing my niece and her friends," said Iroh.

"Oh, please! Killing them never entered into my mind," said Long Feng. "Even now, after all this time, they're far more valuable to me alive than dead. It's quite handy to have the former Fire Nation crown princess and two of her noblewoman friends tucked away in my back pocket, just in case."

Iroh shrugged. "My niece was always... troubled. Lust for power, seeking after perfection... it led her to a disturbing set of places." He sipped his tea. "There is a part of me that prefers her this way. Simple, innocent, carefree. Enjoying the filling of her belly and the pleasures of a life of luxury. All things considered, she is likely better off this way."

"On the subject of the Fire Nation crown," said Long Feng, "there is still a path for your nephew to become Fire Lord."

"Indeed?" said Iroh.

"Your nephew is kind, considerate, honorable, and just. Exactly the sort of Fire Lord I could use, in the newly reformed Fire Nation. And I'm sure he'd have no objection to continued Earth Kingdom superiority." Long Feng smirked. "It's funny. Fire Lord Ozai dreamed of a single nation ruling over all of the Four Nations. And now there is one... just not the nation he intended."

"And my niece? And her friends?"

"All things considered, leaving them as they are now is for the best," said Long Feng. "If they ever got an inkling of their former existences, they could become very dangerous to me, and to world peace."

"Yes," said Iroh. "Things are better this way."

"So we are at an understanding," said Long Feng. He sipped his tea. His green eyes looked out at Iroh and narrowed. "Just so long as YOU have no designs on seeking power, General Iroh."

"My conquering days are done," said Iroh. His own golden eyes were bright. "I would only move against you if I felt my nephew or my niece were threatened."

The two men sipped their tea in silence for a few long moments.

"Fair enough," said Long Feng.

"Fair enough," Iroh repeated.

THE END

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Pub: 09 Aug 2022 03:06 UTC

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