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One… two… three… four. One… two… three… four. She slowly counted the numbers in her head, timing her steps as she repeated the sequence over and over. One… two… three… four. One… two… three—oof!
She collided with the body in front of her, barely managing to stay on her feet as she felt the girl she stumbled into pitch forward from the impact. She let out a small squeak as the other girl quickly whirled around to face her.
"TY LEE!" Azula shouted angrily at her, her face scowling in apparent annoyance. She tore her hand away from Ty Lee's grip and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had been annoyed the first time Ty Lee had run into her, and angry the second time. This time, however, she looked absolutely furious and Ty Lee felt a small wave of fear wash over her.
"S-sorry," she apologized quickly and bowed her head. She felt a small squeeze on her left hand and felt reassured knowing that Mai was there. She returned the gesture while keeping her head down low, hoping that Azula's anger would diffuse quickly. Sometimes—on a good day, Azula would be amazingly patient. On a bad day—well, Ty Lee was hoping that today wasn't one of those days.
After a few tense moments, she heard the princess sigh loudly and chanced a glance up. Azula was looking off to the side with a distracted expression on her face. Ty Lee raised her head back up slowly. The movement brought Azula's attention back to her, and though she knew the other girl was no longer angry, Ty Lee couldn't help keep down the nervousness she felt even as she gave Azula a hesitant smile. She felt a small tug on her arm and turned slightly left as Mai joined her at her side. Azula looked at both of them and then gave out another sigh.
"Your timing was off, Ty Lee. You too, Mai," Azula declared as she placed her hands on her hips. She was looking at them expectantly, demanding an answer.
Ty Lee gave Azula a sheepish looking grin in response while Mai merely raised her eyebrow. This continued for another full minute.
"Ugh… whatever!" Azula threw her hands up in exasperation and then looked pointedly at Ty Lee. "This would probably go along a lot more smoothly if we weren't holding hands," and here she scowled.
Ty Lee promptly pouted at those words. After all, it had been her idea for them to hold hands in the first place. She had made up an excuse, saying that she would be able to follow Azula easier if they held hands. And although it did help with their marching, Ty Lee had another reason for her actions.
Lately, Azula was starting to look more and more distracted, and was becoming more and more distant. It was becoming harder and harder to get the prodigy to play with them, and even then it always had to include something important, like military strategies or some type of training. They were marching like soldiers for Agni's sake! Though Mai never said anything (she hardly did about anything really) Ty Lee could tell the quiet girl was also worried; the numerous looks she gave Azula at times was obvious even to Ty Lee.
Ty Lee looked at Azula as the girl stood in front of her. Sometimes, it felt like Azula was moving forward—much too quickly, and much too soon. Sometimes… it felt like her and Mai were being left behind as their friend continued onward without them.
Ty Lee reached out and grabbed Azula's hand.
This brought Azula's diverted attention back to her once more. The girl looked at Ty Lee and then glanced to Mai, her eyes shifting between the two as if searching for something, and then she finally sighed and shrugged. She made no move to pull her hand away.
The firebender turned suddenly so that her back was facing the two once more.
"Follow me closely," Azula ordered sharply, and Ty Lee looked over to Mai who gave her a small but brief smile.
Seconds later, Azula started her march again, and Ty Lee felt her right hand being pulled forward.
One… two… three… four. One… two… three… four. She slowly counted the numbers in her head, timing her steps as she repeated the sequence over and over. One… two… three… four…
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Author's note: okay sadly enough I already have kind of an established-ness? Of how I view these three +_+ and my writings/drawings/whatever else I make tend to lean toward these views… which is kinda apparent … creative license I suppose? :( whatever. This prompt is based on this one drawing I drew … if you know it, good for you, if you do not it's okay it's not really needed to read this. I…should work on other things, but this idea has been in my head for a while and I decided to write it out. I would tell you to look forward to more updates but then I'd be lying.