Aang lit up, "Look, a cherry cake! I'll be red like Zuko's scar!" he paused as I looked at him, "What?"
"I don't know if Zuko would want a red cake." Sokka said, "He told me his favorite color is blue."
I flipped to the next page, "Where are we going to find a blue cake? Unless it's blueberry flavored, I don't know what else is blue and cake edible." I stuck my elbow on the table and my chin on my fist.
There passed a moment of silence as we all watched me flip through the book. The light from the early afternoon sun was just enough for us to see by.
We were about coming to the end of the baked goods section, when Aang suddenly straightened, "What about tea? Zuko likes tea."
I gasped, a brilliant idea coming into my head, "Good idea, Blueberry tea. I think I have some in the spice rack." Abandoning the book, I strode over to the spice cabinet. Pulling it open I smelled a wave of exotic scents come over me and paused before looking for the tea.
"Alright, a tea party!" Sokka threw his hands up in the air as I located the bag of tea, then turning, dropped it on the table.
"Let's make it into a square cake." Aang suggested.
Okay, so a square, blueberry tea cake. I smiled. I'd make it work.
Sokka leaned both elbows on the table and he watched me get out some ingredients from the pantry, "Sooo, is this a surprise cake? Are we going to decorate the house? Should we get Zuko a present?"
See, ecstatic birthday planner.
"I think we should keep it a secret." Aang placed his glider-staff against the wall, and leaned up on the table alongside Sokka, "And get him something."
"But what?" Sokka fingered his chin thoughtfully.
Before either of us could suggest any ideas, Toph entered the house, her bare-feet padding against the stone floor, "Why is the door open?"
"Toph, can you think of any birthday presents to give to Zuko?" I asked her, looking for a few more ingredients in the cabinet. Her green tunic was slightly dirty, and her knees were coated with mud from the garden.
I could hear her smile impishly, "Sure, I'd love to give him a knuckle sandwich for knocking me over yesterday." she paused, "Wait, it's Zuko's birthday?"
She walked over to the kitchen and stared in blankly, "What's going on Katara?"
"We're making a cake for him." Sokka said proudly, as if the idea had been his all along.
"A blueberry tea cake." Aang added.
I added onto the pile on the table and stared at it indecisively, "We're going to need some eggs, and more flour, and if you want icing, we need some sugarberries."
Sokka and Aang both looked at each other. Toph grinned, "Great, when you're done, can you sneak one of my fingernails into it?"
I scrunched up my nose at the horrible suggestion, "Eww, no."
For Toph being a girl, I wished that she was a little bit more mature.
Sokka almost jumped up, "Wait! We can all go to the market together. We'll get the ingredients for the cake, then a gift for Zuko!"
"Yeah." Aang jumped up with him, "And we can get more hay for Appa."
They gave each other a high-five, as if this was the first time they ever had come up with the idea of multi-tasking.
Taking the coin bag off the wall, I slung it over my shoulder and deciding that today could be a barefoot day, started for the door, "Come on, let's get there before he comes back."
They were all out the door before me, Aang flipping his glider-staff, Sokka trying to pull up his boots, and Toph jogging after both of them. I shook my head, my still wet hair falling over my shoulder, and followed them.
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Next part soon. :)