Toku didn't like at all where this conversation was heading. It didn't seem like Jael had any notion of indulging him. Rather, he was mounting the evidence against him. He didn't want to take any of this Avatar nonsense seriously. He'd never taken anything else seriously, so why start now? Yet something inside him told him that Jael was right. Everything had suddenly become so heavy. He sensed a great weight loom over him, and he would keep it from crushing him for as long as possible. 

"I don't know," Toku said, "You really believe I'm the Avatar? If you say it, then... but I can't be, can I? I mean, I might be the laziest Firebender in the Fire Nation. Have you ever seen me practice my Firebending before? Have you ever seen me work? Even if I am the Avatar, I'd make a lousy one. They should just wait till the next one shows up," he said stubbornly, and put his feet up on the table. 

"What about your folks? Don't they care where you are? Should maybe give them a heads up about staying at the Fire Palace. I don't think it's the first place they'll come looking."