"Oh, I did, did I? I don't recall doing so. That doesn't seem like me." Koda smirked to himself. He sat down at the dinner table and dug in without waiting for his father to arrive. "Say, Soyala, if you can last through dinner with my father, I'll push aside all differences and teach you how to firebend." He gulped down his drink, chewing rather noisily. It would be so simple to get Soyala to leave. As soon as his father entered, she'd know something was wrong and feel uncomfortable. He's sit by her, start stroking her knee, all the usual things he did to harass young girls. She's leave in no time.

There was a catch, there had to be, but Soyala narrowed her eyes a bit and nodded.

"Deal," she said. Because obviously, Koda had never dealt with anyone like her before. She could last an hour, easy. Just as she was sitting down, she saw the General come into the room. He looked just as unkempt as before, although he must have changed into a different uniform, because at leas this one wasn't stained, and was less wrinkled.

"So, sweetcheeks, if I may call you.. Have you enjoyed your stay at our lovely abode? I hope my son hasn't been a bother to you. He is quite a handful at some times." Nyamen chuckled, placing his hand on the lower part of Soyalas back as he sat down next to her. "Lacie, please bring in the second course! Thank you." He shouted to the scullery maid.

Koda nodded to the maid as she set the plates down, a silent thank you in their home. He dug straight into that course as well. Koda made a mental note to not pay any attention to what his father was doing. If guests were over and things took a turn for the worse, he would excuse himself and take his dinner with him. This time, however, he would stay to witness Soyalas impending departure. He smirked to himself.

"General, I would appreciate it if you didn't call me by any sort of nickname," Soyala said as she shifted away from him slightly. "And please... Perhaps I'm too accustomed to home, but in the Water Tribes, physically touching someone outside of the family unit is largely considered to be rude and improper. Please don't touch me." She glanced at him as she spoke, subtly conveying that she was the Avatar and would remind him of that if he tried again. She wouldn't tolerate his shenanigans anymore than she would from anyone else.

Nyamen snortled.. well, rather choked.. at Soyalas comment. Who was she to tell him what he should and shouldn't do? She was a child for pete's sake - and a scrawny one at that! No matter, he would still pursue whatever he wished, but in caution this time. There was no need to frighten the girl before anything serious happened. He began eating noisily and helping himself to the meal. If there was one thing in common with Koda and Nyamen, it would most definitely be their horrid table manners.

Koda chuckled at Soyala's remark toward his father. That girl really had some kick to her. He finished the second course rather quickly. Koda leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and let out a belch. His behavior wasn't uncommon in the household, so Nyamen didn't reprimand Koda for it. In all honesty, Koda was hoping his rude ways would frighten Soya and force her to leave out of disgust.

Soyala rolled her eyes a little at Koda. She knew what he was doing. Discretely, she waved a couple of her fingers and the tea in his cup swirled up and into his face. Not much, since she didn't want to make a mess, but just enough so that he knew she was on to him. At the same time, her other hand flapped in the general's direction as one of his hands tried to rest on her thigh again, and a cord of air snapped at him, leaving a red mark on his skin.

"Perhaps I was unclear, General," she said, glancing at him. "Don't touch me again."

Koda scoffed as the tea splashed him across the face. It was obviously Soyalas doing. He growled angrily under his breath. "Oh, little Soyala, you don't like my father coming on to you? What a pity.. I would've loved another sibling that was born from your family line. Too bad, I won't be able to hear you and my father shacking up together." Koda added lightly. Sure, he may have went too far, but the comment was directed more towards Nyamen than Soyala. Koda shot a disgusted look toward his father and excused himself from the table. His outburst was a complete and utterly melodramatic move, but he didn't care.

Nyamen cringed slightly as a whiplike slash of air slapped him. He grinned cheekily. "Oh, darling, I like 'em fiesty. I am a firebender after all. Haven't you heard that we like all things.. a little spicier?" He winked and chuckled to himself, not even noticing that Koda had left the table.

"General, out of respect to the fact that I am a guest in your home, I'll give you one final warning," Soyala said coolly, looking at Nyamen. "Touch me again, and I will break your arm. I don't know what you were taught, but in the Water Tribes, if a girl says 'no', then she is left alone. By all rights, I should have taken more direct measures the second time you attempted to touch me. I will not make the same mistake twice." Standing up, she set her napkin on the table and pushed her chair in. Without another word, she left the room. She didn't care that Koda had won the wager; she would find another firebending master, any firebending master, so long as she didn't have to deal with Nyamen again.

"Oh come on now sweetcheeks, why are you leaving so soon?" Nyamen chuckled to himself. He took a swig of the wine that was being placed on the table. All of the girls around here loved him. Why was this one so special? He downed the glass of wine and poured himself another. The ladies always loved the drunk side of him, anyway.

Koda rolled his eyes as he heard the squabbling downstairs. Honestly, he hated his father for being such a lowlife. Shacking up with women your own age was one thing, but younger? Koda meandered around the house until he reached the guest bedroom where Soyala was being housed. If she had enough sense, she would return to her bedroom within a few hours. He opened the door and sat in a decorative chair, obviously thinking nothing about personal space.

Soyala ignored the general calling after her. She was livid; never in her life had anyone treated her so much like an object. Water Tribe women belonged to nobody but themselves, and before all else, she was Water Tribe.

Storming into the guest room, it actually took her a moment to notice Koda in the chair. She glanced at him, and then turned her attention away again. She didn't care that he was there; he'd offered the guest room in the first place, so as far as she was concerned, it was his. Besides, it wasn't as if she was staying. Quickly, she gathered up what few possessions she'd brought with her and put them into her travel bag. She wasn't going to stay there. She'd go back to the Fire Temple for the time being, until an actual, suitable firebending instructor could be found.

Koda stood up and cleared his throat. "So, dear Soyala, how was your dinner? Pleasant, I assume?" He smirked and stepped slightly closer to her. He knew she was eating her words at this moment. He figured that she wouldn't last a second with his father. She had actually lasted much longer than he expected, and handled it quite well. He admired her for that. No girl had ever lasted that long against his father - both at dinner and various other places.

"Don't bother trying to rub it in, Koda," Soyala replied crisply. "You win. And I'm leaving." She hefted her bag onto her shoulder once she was sure she had everything. She had all the essentials, at least; if she'd forgotten anything else, it would be easily replaced. She glanced at Koda again. "I don't know how you're able to put up with that, and I'm sure I don't care to know. But I know I can't, so I'm going back to the Fire Temple. The sages will have to find me another firebending master."

Habitually, she used one hand to check the water level in her waterskin. She didn't anticipate needing to use it, but she was always more comfortable when she had sufficient water on hand. She was proficient enough with air and earth, of course, but water was still what she was most comfortable bending.

"Oh, come on. Dont tell me you're already sick of me?" To be honest, he had started becoming fond of poking fun at her. She was technically the enemy, if the Fire Nation was going to continue attacking for god knows what reasons, but who doesn't love playing with their food before they ate it? "Come on.. Stay just a little longer. I'll teach you one move.." He batted his eyelashes at her childishly and laughed at himself, talking in the voice someone would use when speaking to an infant. He may or may not have had a little too much wine. Not enough to get him completely incapacitated of course, but just a little bit tipsy.

Soyala gave him a flat look.

"I don't know about you," she said, "but I try to take my training as the Avatar seriously. Which means I need a suitable teacher. And as it's been made very clear that I won't be finding that suitable teacher here..." She shook her head. "Tui and La know, learning air and earth was challenging, and I've been told fire is more challenging still. I don't want to half-ass my training here." She shifted her bag on her shoulder a little. "So I'm going to go. Good luck dealing with... all of that. Maybe if we ever run into each other again we can have a proper sparring match."

With that, she turned and started to make her way to the main entrance doors, one hand on her waterskin. She didn't trust that the general wouldn't try to corner her, and she was going to make sure it didn't happen.

"Fine, then. Suit yourself. You're missing a huge opportunity here... I'm quite the firebender." He grinned boastfully and plopped down onto the bed. Soyala had probably been long gone once he made that comment, but he didn't mind. They would meet again soon enough. Tensions between the nations were bound to become greater, and war would become imminent. She might have had her training completed by then, but there was always the possibility that something would go awry. Koda created three small balls of fire, "throwing" them up and catching them to entertain himself. All he had to do was wait.

True to her word, Soyala made her way back to the Fire Temple. The sages were surprised to see her back so soon, but they took it in stride well enough. It didn't take them long at all to find a suitable replacement for her firebending teacher, and her training in fire went underway.

Really, she was grateful she had learned the other three elements, when her fire training was first starting out. Having learned water and earth first had taught her the patience to learn the strict control necessary for fire. When her training in fire was finally, finally finished and her mastery declared, Solaya did what any normal young woman would do upon finishing her education: she went home.

There was no fanfare when she got back to the South Pole. She arrived in a small boat she'd built herself in the traditional Water Tribe style, and her Tribe welcomed her back with open arms. It felt good to be back on the ice, she reflected. At least for a little while.