An Acrobatic Accident
This is an alternate plot for the Azula/Ty Lee-focused part of Book 2 Episode 3: Return to Omashu. You'll probably remember which episode that is once you start reading if you don't know already.
Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA.
Ty Lee rocked back and forth and resisted the urge to wring her hands. She had no idea why she was so nervous; it was just another circus show. Stage fright was a thing of the past as her bubbly, outgoing personality didn't really allow for it.
The acrobat sighed and began twisting her hands together. She knew why this time was different and just didn't want to admit it. An enigma named Azula had shown up earlier that day and asked (ordered) Ty Lee to help with her mission to find her fuddy-duddy uncle, and Ty Lee had politely refused. Azula had looked significantly older than the last time Ty Lee had seen her, and her aura was a bit different in a way she couldn't quite pinpoint, and the sight of her brought back a lot of things she hadn't yet decided whether or not she wanted to remember, but Ty Lee had hugged her anyway and Azula had hugged her back. Luckily some things don't change.
When Azula said she wanted to see one of the circus's shows, Ty Lee, once she'd gotten over her initial shock, knew she probably had hidden motives. However, she still hoped that part of Azula was genuinely interested in what she was doing, and had been optimistic about the whole thing. Now, with her stomach tying itself in knots, Ty Lee was wishing Azula was anywhere but here. She wasn't entirely sure why that was what she wanted, but for some reason she was very concerned with what Azula thought of her and as a result was much more worried than usual about not screwing up during the show that was starting in a few minutes. They didn't make very much sense, her feelings about Azula, so Ty Lee resolved to not think about them for a moment.
From inside the tent Ty Lee heard the ringmaster announcing her, so she took a deep breath, straightened her orange skirt and sun headdress, and pushed through the canvas flap with a bright smile that, for once, didn't come naturally.
Azula was the first thing Ty Lee saw, lounging on her throne across the room. It didn't really matter what she was sitting on though, as Azula always made it look like a throne. It was as if whatever chair she was in realized she was the princess and adjusted itself accordingly. Ty Lee forced herself to concentrate as she did a few flips before climbing up to the top of the tent where the highwire and the elaborate contraption holding up the single pole she balanced on were. Just as she finally stopped feeling like she was going to throw up from nerves, Ty Lee heard Azula's voice float up to her from below.
"Incredible. Do you think she'll fall?"
"Of course not," the ringmaster answered from his seat below her, sounding quite sure of himself. Ty Lee couldn't stop a grin from spreading across her face. None of her six sisters are any good at this sort of thing, and Azula, who is never impressed by anything, had just said what she was doing was incredible.
"Then wouldn't it make it more interesting if you removed the net?" The smirk Azula was wearing was so pronounced it was audible. It really was just like Azula to suggest something like that, Ty Lee thought.
"A-ah the thing is... the performers," the ringmaster stuttered. Ty Lee felt sorry for him. Azula could be very intimidating.
"You're right, you're right, that's been done," Azula said contemplatively, and settled back onto her throne. Ty Lee exhaled. "I know. Set the net on fire," Azula commanded.
The ringmaster almost jumped out of his skin. After a fearful look at Azula's formidable countenance he was scurrying to obey. "Of course, princess."
Ty Lee couldn't help but appreciate how wonderfully regal Azula had sounded as the flames swept across the net so many feet beneath her. The burning net looked a lot like the Great Gates of Azulon, except instead of protecting the Fire Nation these gates were protecting Azula's authority. Ty Lee should have known she wasn't going to accept no for an answer.
Distantly Ty Lee heard Azula and the ringmaster discussing the circus animals, but wasn't really listening until Azula proclaimed "Release them all!" in that same regal voice that wasn't anywhere near as appealing anymore because Ty Lee had fully realized what Azula was doing. She was trying to scare her into accepting her offer. Did their friendship mean nothing to Azula? Ty Lee felt anger and a strange sorrow rising up in her, because this must've been the change she'd felt in Azula's aura. The princess hadn't ever been a nice person by conventional definitions, as she frequently "played" with fire very close to the turtleducks at the palace, and in general she was quite horrible to Zuko and anyone else she considered inferior to her, but she'd never hurt Ty Lee before, and the acrobat hadn't realized how important that had been to her until now.
Ty Lee looked past the net and felt her heart skip a beat as she took in just how many animals there were prowling around beneath her, most notably a lion vulture and several platypus bears. Ty Lee decided that she wanted to prove to Azula that she wasn't afraid, because she most definitely wasn't, not at all, and so with the help of a fresh rush of adrenaline she picked up her routine with renewed vigor, doing flips and twists that ordinarily would've terrified her to be performing on that five inch wide pole.
As Ty Lee landed her last jump, the pole wasn't quite where she thought it was, and abruptly she found herself hanging upside down with the wire tangled around her leg. From her new vantage point Ty Lee could see that the fire had spread from the net to the four wooden posts that were currently holding her and the highwire up, and she had a moment of panic where she frantically tried to free herself before there was a terrible splintering sound and the Great Gates of Azulon were rising up to greet her.
Ty Lee had time to curl up into a ball to protect her face from the fire (she didn't particularly want a scar to match Zuko's) and wish wistfully that she was an airbender so she could fly out of this mess before her back hit the inferno.
There must be something wrong with this fire, Ty Lee decided instantly, because it wasn't very hot at all. She cautiously opened her eyes, which she didn't remember closing, and the first thing she saw was that beautiful blue fire that only Azula could create, and it was very pointedly Not Burning Her. She was sitting on a decidedly flameless portion of the net, with all the various circus beasts staring at her with disappointed expressions through the sapphire blaze.
Ty Lee turned to face Azula as best she could with the highwire still wrapped around her. The princess had vacated her throne and was standing below the net with her right hand partially outstretched, and Ty Lee must've imagined the vestiges of shock, guilt, and relief in those golden eyes, because Azula never showed those emotions.
Actually, that wasn't true. Azula just hadn't revealed she could still feel those things in a very, very, very long time.
Ty Lee spared the ringmaster a glance, and saw him staring at Azula wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Presently the princess realized that she was the sole focus of the man's attention, and turned to face him with a scathing glare. "I wasn't about to let her die, you moronic imbecile." Azula sounded remarkably like Mai in that moment, her tone as bored and disinterested as the knife-wielder's habitually was, but Ty Lee didn't care. She lay back on the net and wanted to laugh and cry simultaneously, surrounded by the wreckage of the posts and Azula's flames, which were protecting her this time.
Later, Ty Lee would sort out some of her feelings about Azula, and she would decide that yes, she would go with Azula on her mission. She'd forgotten what the mission was at that point, but it didn't matter. Ty Lee was going with her old friend, new aura and all, because some things just didn't change.