Azula was woken once again, and this time she readily sat up. She had almost looked forward to her next visitation. However much she hated admitting it, the water tribe had been amazing. She saw a blue light drift into her room, materializing into Avatar Aang. He nodded at her, smiling warmly, and she climbed out of bed to approach him. He took her hand, and she was engulfed in his blue aura. Together they walked through her wall out into the open night sky. The view of the Fire Nation was breathtaking. With the celebrations lasting deep into the night, Azula could still see parades full of sparklers, firebender performers, and intricately designed dragons. The whole city emitted an orange light, a stark contrast to the darkness of the palace. She almost smiled at the festivities, but she knew it was pointless. Who would be stupid enough to waste their money on colorful paper and sweets for just one night, with no profit? She shook her head in disgust and looked away. Aang looked back to her momentarily before they began to pick up speed. Faster and faster they went, the cities nothing more than a blur of color. The wind was frigid, and Azula wished she had more on than the flimsy red silk of her nightclothes.
After a couple of minutes they finally began to slow. Azula could make out dozens of enormous mountains, stretching so far into the sky that she couldn't see the peaks through the thick clouds. They went towards one of the mountains, which seemed to be emitting a soft white glow.
As they got closer she made out a large group of people all laden in festive yellow and orange robes, chatting contentedly. They stood outside on a large circular platform that was covered in a spiral of stones. These were air nomads! Small blue lights seemed to dance around the air, and Azula spotted a man standing in the middle of the circle manipulating the air to create the effect. It was beautiful. Small children zoomed through the crowd on air scooters, weaving through the adults and laughing playfully.
Aang brought them closer, until Azula's feet gently touched the ground. She walked around the scene, passing through the people with only a small flutter of blue smoke. Everyone was so happy, as if there wasn't a care to be had in the world. Aang stood back a ways, staring almost wistfully at the scene. He seemed to snap back into reality, and grinned at Azula before leading her inside.
They crossed the threshold into what seemed to be a different reality. Beautiful lights hung from the ceiling, casting a blue glow through the room. A man made rose petals flutter around for a little girl, who stared in awe. There were traditional air nomad desserts scattered around the room, and Azula couldn't help but wish she could taste them. A few different couples danced slowly to some music coming from a source that Azula couldn't find. They looked into each other's eyes, seemingly zoning out everything else in the world. Azula couldn't understand how someone would want to be so attached to some other person, as if they were equals. It was insane.
She turned away and followed Aang as he started walking again. They went out of a different door on the other side of the room, and arrived in another clearing. Numerous flying bisons were lazing around, munching contentedly on hay while a bunch of small girls were creating flower crowns for them.
All of the sudden a loud, clear chiming sound rang through the air and the girls immediately jumped up and ran into the room where Azula had been previously. She followed, feeling foolish for running after little girls. But she saw everyone else, even the adults, going too. That helped.
They all went outside to the clearing where Aang and Azula had arrived earlier. Everyone gathered and formed a circle around three men. Around the outside of the circle were people with massive instruments that Azula didn't recognize. They started playing, creating the most joyous music she'd ever heard. She turned her attention back to the circle when the crowd started cheering.
The three men had thrown sparklers into the air and were now swirling them around to make beautiful designs in the night sky. Azula tried her best to blink the white spots out of her eyes to get a better view. She never knew that something like this was possible. The sparklers left orange streaks in the sky, taking shape of different mandala-like patterns.
After doing that for a while the sparklers finally went out and the performers stepped out of the center and joined the circle. Three women came into the center this time, wearing robes so extravagant that they looked like royalty. Not as royal as Azula, of course. The music stopped, and four girls took their place as a small choir. The song was almost eerily pleasant, but soothing at the same time.
The women in the center started to dance. First they joined hands and walked in a slow circle around one another, robes sweeping gracefully behind them. Then they separated and started dancing solo, while still staying in sync with one another. They seemed to be three parts of a whole, almost floating around each other. Although, as Azula thought about it she realized there's a chance they could be floating. They were air nomads after all.
After the dance ended the instrumental music returned and everyone scattered again to chat amongst themselves. Azula put a hand to her face, feeling a smile spread across it. She never knew how enjoyable the holidays could be. But they were still a waste of time and money. She grimaced and swiped her arm, and the scene dissolved into a swirl of blue-gray smoke.
Once again she was standing in her bedroom, darkness shadowing her face. Aang had disappeared, and she was alone. She crawled back into bed, not knowing what to make of these experiences.
A/N: This was my entry for round 5 of pro-bending circuit. This is part 3 of the Catgators' Christmas Carol.
My prompts were:
(Word) Joyous
(Action) Dancing
(Restriction) No dialogue
I used my element: air,and the word count is 1,017.