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Steph is in the barn, sneakily going over her bike and wondering when Sokka will work out she's putting the occasional rock in the engine just to make him frustrated.

Boys are fun to tease.

So; short blonde in jeans and tank top, greasy to the elbows, half buried under her bike.

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Steph grins, a little dopily.

Change of topic before she bores the new girl to death.

"So -- I think Miki told us what your name was, but I've forgotten."

"Ai-Ling," says she. "I'm from the Earth Kingdom."

Because obviously Steph can tell she doesn't have a Water Tribe name.

"Cool!"

Steph is easily excited.

"That's right, Miki said something about you being Earth Kingdom. Oh man, I can't believe he's already gone. What a dork. I bet he's really impatient to find you and hasn't figured out to stay in one place."

BOYS ARE SILLY.

Ai-Ling nods solemnly. "He's really not that bright," she says. "I don't know what I'm going to do with him."

"Maybe you can train him," Steph suggests. "With a rolled-up newspaper and a wooden stick." She giggles.

Ai-Ling giggles, then laughs louder.

It's funny because that's so Steph!

Steph laughs because Ai-Ling is and she likes Ai-Ling.

"Oooh, ooh, hey, you absolutely have got to try some stuff while you're here. Chocolate, most of all. Sokka says your world doesn't have it and that's just cruel."

KITCHEN THIS WAY!

OKAY!

Ai-Ling gets up quickly and fo0llows Steph, hand on her hilt automatically.

"What's chocolate?"

"Chocolate is less delicious than fresh mangoes," Steph tells her, "and way more delicious than any other prepackaged food in the whole world." She grins, indicating some mangoes on the bench, thanks to Lucy. "Those are mangoes. They're next."

Ai-Ling pokes a mango.

"They look like orangemelons," she says.

"What's an orangemelon?"

"Fruit from our world." Ai-Ling pokes it agan, then brandishes her eating-knife. "You cut into it and eat the inside."

"Cool," Steph says, grinning. "Mangoes are a bit similar. The skin's kind of poisonous, so you don't eat that, but the inside's delicious. You cut it open and then kinda turn it inside out, here..."

Chocolate is forgotten for demonstrating how to eat mangoes. Mangoes are AWESOME. And sticky. And also, smell brilliant, and in short order attract sleepy toddlers who should be napping.

Loo toddles up to the kitchen door with her thumb in her mouth and blinks at Suffie and the stranger. "Me?" she asks, eagerly. "Me, Suffie?"

Toddler! Ai-Ling smirks down at her with a sticky mango mouth.

"Hey there."

"'lo," Loo says shyly, peeking up at Steph to make sure she's allowed to play with this person. "Suffie, meeee!"

Steph laughs and scoops her up to sit her on the table, bringing the bowl of sticky mango chunks over. "Okay, Loo-loo. Just one at a time, kay? Let's see if you can do that. Heeere you go! Where's your sister?"

"Tiny'nappin'," Loo informs her, through a mouthful of mango. "I have hers!"

"No, we save some for Tiny," Steph says, kissing her head. "Ai-Ling, this is Loo."

Loo grins messily at Ai-Ling. "Hiiii."

Great spirits this is Lu.

"...hi," Ai-Ling says, suddenly shy, and waving.

Loo waves back happily, a perfectly contented bundle of baby in a nappy that's starting to look a bit the worse for wear. "Maaan- go," she enunciates carefully, and offers Ai-Ling a sticky lump that's been in her fist.

"Sokka's niece," Steph says, unaware of any particular atmosphere, and grinning as she offers Ai-Ling the bowl of fresher mango bits just in case. "Tiny is her twin sister, Hana. They're Mel's girls -- have you met Mel? She's awesome, runs the farm. Multicoloured hair, you can't miss her."

Mel's here?

Ai-Ling shakes her head, utterly speechless.

Melaka is here.

"What about their dad?"

Steph shakes her head, and then hesitates. "Well -- a version of him is here. But the Zuko that's here isn't the girls' dad ... it's weird. Not easy for Mel." She winces, because it makes Steph sad that she and Sokka are so happy and Mel ... still doesn't have her husband.

That doesn't in the least bit mesh with what Ai-Ling has heard from Lu, regardless of Steph and Sokka being too young.

"That sucks, I'm sorry."

"It's pretty hard on Mel," Steph says, catching a drip of mango from Loo's hand before it splooshes on the clean floor and ditching it in the sink. "He always kind of intimidated me, honestly, but I still wish he was here."

"More mango?"

"Thanks," says Ai-Ling, because eating makes it easier to pretend.

"So what happened to him?"

"Daddy," Loo says clearly, and beams at Ai-Ling, proud of herself.

"Still in Eden, we think," Steph says, with another bit of mango herself. "He might still come through to here -- we all came separately -- but ... it's been nearly a year, so ..."

Another wince.

"Suffie," Loo says, tugging on her sleeve with a melontastic hand, "Suffie, I wanna flame mango!"

"Not inside, Bigger," Steph says firmly, kissing Loo's nose. "Want to come out and show Ai-Ling what you can do?"

"'es!" Loo beams at Ai-Ling excitedly, and in case she didn't get it, she adds "I flaaaame!"

It's all bad and wrong, she knows that much. But there's a toddler vying for her attention and maybe it's not going to be General Luwei, but it's still Zuko and Melaka's daughter.

Ai-Ling turns a bright smirk on to the baby.

"Firebend, do you? Can I see?"

Loo reaches both arms up to her for a cuddle. "Ou'side," she demands. Steph lets her, grinning at both of them, and helpfully carries the mango bowl.

Mango, it turns out, is quite delicious toasted.

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