A/N: Written for day one of Fire Nation week (organized by Ds-hina on deviantart). The prompt was "Home."
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Azula narrowed her eyes against the cold wind and ocean spray, adjusting her grip and footing. She was cold and wet, and her hair alternated between clinging to her face and blowing out behind her. The wind roared in her ears.
"Azula!" Ty Lee's voice, though she stood only a foot away, sounded distant.
"What is it, Ty Lee?" she shouted back over the wind.
"Could you please explain to me again why we're riding an elephant koi back to the Fire Nation?"
Azula frowned, glancing down at the giant fish. She adjusted her footing again, its scales slick under her bare feet. "Do I really need to? You know this is the fastest way back to the Fire Nation."
"I still don't understand why we couldn't have—"
"We don't have money for a ship, Ty Lee. And besides, the earliest any of them were leaving for the Fire Nation was two months from now."
"Well, what about—"
"You remember what happened the last time we did that."
"Well…I still don't see why it had to be an elephant koi. It would have been easy to steal a little fishing boat."
"Oh, yes, a little fishing boat crossing a vast, unpredictable ocean." Azula rolled her eyes. "That's a wonderful idea."
"It's better than an elephant koi! I mean, how are you even steering this thing?"
Azula scowled and pulled strains of her hair away from her face. "Shut up, Ty Lee. I'm done with this conversation."
"Do you even know where we are?"
Azula glared at the humungous fin she was holding on to. Ty Lee was safely hidden on the other side for now.
"For all we know, we're lost!"
Azula scanned the horizon, desperately hoping for something to prove Ty Lee wrong. After a minute, a distance speck caught her eye, and she grinned.
"No, we're not. Look! There's the Fire Nation now!"
Ty Lee was silent. Azula reveled in her victory a moment before becoming serious once more. Every second the Fire Nation drew nearer. Every second Fire Lord Zuzu drew nearer and so did her destiny. She would overthrow him and claim what was rightfully hers.
It was only a matter of time.