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Ai-Ling was as good as her word regarding her conspiracy with her mother-in-law. Shortly after she moved to the South Pole, she began to experiment with leather dyes, and in the following year the villagers had to get used to this crazy Earth Kingdom girl who liked to wear their traditional coats in a rainbow of colours. She's particularly proud of the coat that Steph assures her is definitely eggplant.

If pressed, she'd admit the dyes are her attempt to see how far she can push the tradition of her adopted tribe, but the quirks that are just naturally her cause as many strange looks from the villagers. Thanks to Steph, they're used to a woman who can fight and who hunts,but it's still an oddity. And then of course, there's the broadsword a certain Fire Nation colonel gave to her as a wedding gift. She takes it as a compliment to her natural charm that she gets away with it.

Miki's out hunting with a small group of younger boys at the moment, and Ai-Ling takes the opportunity to prove she can also be a good wife, which is why she's all ready to prepare whatever food he brings home, and is now working on repairs on the igloo they share with his entire family.

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"Ow!" It's not much of an exclamation when Sokka is laughing at the same time. "You'll notice I'm not hitting you!" he points out, grinning and laughing and grabbing her wrists.

To toss her over his shoulders.

She reduces the force of the toss by flipping herself, kicking at the snow when she lands, but at least she stays there.

"That's because you didn't hink of it first," she points out from the floor.

"No, it's because my wife hits harder than you do," Sokka replies, chuckling as he gets up and brushes snow off his parka, offering a hand to Ai-Ling.

Though he's watching her carefully in case she tries to throw him again.

She doesn't, this time. Part of training with Toph os learning when to stay the hell down and save your victories for a better day.

"Your wife hits harder than everyone."

Sokka grins and then drops the expression, feigning solemnity. "It's very true. In fact, it's why I haven't divorced her yet. Every time I try, she manages to convince me not to... percussively."

Ai-Ling beams at him.

"I wondered where Miki got it from."

"His sense of violence?" Sokka suggests, grinning back at her, slinging an arm around her shoulders to lead her toward the fire for promised hot chocolate.

"Or his good-natured attitude toward being beaten up by his wife?"

"That one," Ai-Ling confirms, at the second option. She leans against Sokka, curling into his body heat because it's really stupidly cold at the South Pole and she'll never get used to it.

Sokka just laughs - for her response as much as the leaning - and curls her closer, beaming. Ai-Ling has been living with them for more than a year and he's always known who she was and who her parents were, she would have been family without marrying his son.

Now it's just official.

"Put your hood up and I'll get you that hot chocolate," he promises with a grin.

Ai-Ling obediently reaches around and pulls her hood up tightly around her ears.

"What time are they coming back?"

She misses her man, dammit.

"As soon as one of them agrees to wear a watch on their way out," Sokka replies good-naturedly, grinning a group of children run past them. "Not too long, I'd suspect. Their stomachs won't keep them away from the cooking fire too long."

"I don't know what a watch is, Sokka," Ai-Ling points out.

"'Cept once Lu was complaining that the Fire-Lord wanted all his soldiers to wear them. Are they weapons?"

Laughing, Sokka holds out his arm, shaking his wrist until the sleeve of his parka falls back to reveal a sort of bracelet, with three little ticking arms in a round face. "It tells time," he explains, patting her shoulder gently. "I've made a few and Iroh, I think, was having them mass-produced, but no one is much interested in them. I like to have it, though."

It's comforting, knowing how much time he's spent in one place, being happy.

Ai-Ling grabs his wrist and pulls it closer to her face to examine it.

"How does it work?"

The explaining process is ~~not Li's forte~~ long and boring - to most. For Ai-Ling, who's always so curious about everything, and Sokka, who could talk about electronics for hours...

They tend to have very long conversations.

"These aren't as advanced as the ones I've seen before," Sokka continues, having taken the watch off and handed it to Ai-Ling, "but those need to change batteries every year or so. These are eternal, since they're solar-powered. But I will occasionally forget to leave mine out and will have to wait until it's sunny again to use the stupid thing."

And like always, Ai-Ling will forget most of it by tomorrow. She's curious, but she can't retain information longer than about an hour.

She holds it up by the strap and squints at it.

"But when the sun's out you don't need it, because you can look at the sun."

At least, that's how it works in the Earth Kingdom. The days in the South Pole are strange and she's only just getting used to them.

"When the sun is out," Sokka repeats pointedly, smiling while Ai-Ling squints at the watch. "But what if it's raining? What if there's been a storm for days? What if you're here, or in the North, where during the winter seasons, the sun is only out for a few hours a day?

"But mostly," he grins at her as he sits down on the benches surrounding the communal fire, reaching for mugs of tea and chocolate both, "I wear it to annoy your mother-in-law."

Ai-Ling understands that. She grins up at him and keeps the watch in her lap while reaching for the chocolate.

"Why does it annoy her?"

Sokka grins and leans over to look at the watch. "Well... as soon as she comes out of the hut, I'm going to give her a big lecture on how we used to get up at dawn every morning, and at the moment, it is exactly four hours and seventeen minutes after dawn and she's still inside under the furs.

"Disgraceful, really."

Everyone knows Steph can't move well in the cold. Only her husband can snipe at her about it lovingly - or without getting his head bitten off.

"She's smart," Ai-Ling says. "I want to be still inside covered in furs."

"And Miki probably wouldn't protest too much if you did," Sokka agrees with a deep nod.

And smirks at her.

"Which is probably why you don't do it, huh?"

"Don't mind so much about Miki," Ai-Ling admits. "I just don't want the hunt to keep leaving without me."

"I'm afraid you'll just have to beat thoughtfulness into that group," Sokka informs her, Vry Sad as he drinks his tea. "They're much more stubborn in numbers. I have faith in you, though."

"Beat thoughtfulness into Miki."

Literally.

"I can do it with the rest of them."

Literally.

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