CONFLICTED EMBERS

A/N: This work is intended to be a one-shot, proof-of-concept story intended to gain an understanding of one's audience, and trial-by-fire of the writing stylistically. Feedback is appreciated and encouraged.

Late evening…

The small child giggled as she ran through the dimly lit garden. She crossed a small wooden-planked bridge where quacking could be heard from the turtle-ducks below. She pranced by an oriental-styled gazebo bathed in yellowish light from the lanterns attached to the red canopy. The silhouettes of small brush and twisted mid-sized trees were cast on the stone walls enclosing the garden. As the girl finally reached a small wooden porch adjacent to the garden, she heard a creaking sound which made her spin around to see the legs of a towering figure. "Izumi, it's time for bed," Mai said tiredly giving her daughter a weary smile.

"But I want to play with the turtle-ducks mommy!" Izumi protested stomping her feet.

"You can play with the turtle-ducks tomorrow. They need to sleep too you know," Mai pointed out as Izumi peered back at the pond where the turtle-ducklings were now huddling against their mother.

"Alright," Izumi admitted somewhat defeated as she entered the room as Mai slid the door shut behind them with a small thump. The tired child rubbed her eyes and entered her room with Mai following closely behind her daughter. Izumi observed the plush dragon laying on the floor and picked it up giving it a light nuzzle. Mai couldn't help but smile at the endearing spectacle. Izumi glanced at the walls momentarily, as if she were orienting herself in a foreign environment, but she smiled when she caught sight of her favorite drawing that Mai had helped her put up on the wall. Izumi finally clambered onto the bed and held her plush dragon closely as her mother sat beside her.

"I'm going to get daddy," Mai said as she moved some hair out of her daughter's face. Mai rose and disappeared through the doorway as Izumi lay on the bed staring blankly up at the wooden ceiling. She then heard footsteps and instinctively looked to the door.

"How's my favorite princess?" Zuko asked as he sat next to his daughter on the bed. Izumi crawled onto her father's lap and looked up at him expectantly.

"Story time! Story time!" Izumi cheered. Zuko gave a small chuckle looking to Mai who was sitting beside the two sharing a smile as well.

"There was once a royal dragon who lived and ruled over the dragon kingdom. The dragon lived with another dragon and they had a younger dragon, a royal dragon family," Zuko began.

"What's the younger dragon's name?" Izumi asked.

"Well of course, it was Izumi!" Zuko stated with a smile to which Izumi's eyes brightened instantly.

"One day, the younger dragon, Izumi, followed a turtle-duck family into the woods. The young dragon didn't know where her mommy and daddy went," Zuko continued with a look of shock which was shared by his daughter. "But fortunately, the dragon king and queen were never far, and they found the little dragon and they all returned to the dragon kingdom happily," Zuko concluded with a smile.

"I definitely won't follow turtle-ducks into a forest like that dragon!" Izumi said somewhat defensively.

"Even if you do, just know that mommy and daddy will always be there to find you," Zuko promised meeting his daughter's eyes.

"Alright, time for bed," Mai said softly as she fluffed Izumi's pillow. Zuko tucked the covers for Izumi and kissed her on her forehead.

"Goodnight Izumi. I love you," Zuko whispered.

"Goodnight daddy," Izumi responded.

Mai proceeded to kiss Izumi on the forehead as well and looked into her daughter's eyes. "Goodnight Izumi, mommy and daddy both love you very much," Mai whispered comfortingly.

"Love you too mommy and daddy," Izumi whispered back. As the lanterns were extinguished within the room and the wooden door was closed with a soft thud, Izumi closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Present day…

Izumi found herself breathing heavily as she broke from her slumber. Cold sweat dripped down her facial features and her heart raced as she felt a hand graze her back which made her stagger back slightly, wide-eyed and ready for a fight. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Remember, it's just me, Azula," Azula assured in a whisper. Izumi's breathing slowed as she came back to her senses.

"Sorry Aunt Azula, just another flashback dream," Izumi admitted as she consciously tried to regulate her breathing rate. Izumi glanced around at the sage-colored cavern where a fire flickered in the darkness. She felt the soft fabric of her sleeping bag and the cold metallic armor resting beside her as she laid down again.

"No worries. Just try to get some sleep. We'll continue the search tomorrow," Azula reassured as she wiggled into her sleeping bag. Izumi let out a tired and frustrated sigh as she closed her eyes, and the sage-colored stone was replaced by darkness once more.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this "teaser-like" work. Let me know what you think of it and if you would like to see more of this content (I did not want to risk cranking out an entire story just yet, so I resorted to this proof-of-concept work first).