The afternoon sun streamed through the open window in a warm, strong beam, lighting up a swirl of springtime pollen and dust particles that floated around the room. Birds sang cheerily as they swooped over the balcony and descended into the surrounding city. Ty Lee rose to her tip-toes and leaned far out the window; her long braid slipped over the windowsill and swayed in the gentle breeze. Her eyes widened in excitement and a smile lit up her face. After months of being confined to the indoors, the season was finally changing!
"Azula!" She chirped just as blithely as any springtime bird outside as she ducked back through the window and spun around to face her friend.
Azula was draped languorously over a bed of throw pillows, her limbs set in a feline-esque stretch. "Mmm?" She responded, simpering mostly because she could; she toyed with an uneaten cherry, regarding it as if she expected it to tell her why she should waste any time eating it.
Ty Lee's response was a dramatic twirl, followed by more excited babbling, "It's so nice outside! Why don't we go for a walk tonight! It's going to be beautiful this evening! The stars are going to be so bright and - "
Azula shot upright, interested despite herself. "Ty Lee, let's go into town tonight."
The young acrobat halted her incessant spinning and twirling to regard Azula with an open-mouthed smile, excitement bubbling over. "R-really!" She quipped, and at Azula's eager nod, she careened forward and balanced herself upside-down on her hands, "Oh, Azula! It's going to be so much fun!"
"We'll bring many guards," Azula went on with a slow smirk, "Everyone will know who we are. We'll cause such a ruckus."
"'Specially you, 'Zula," Ty Lee added as she walked on her hands over to the bed of throw pillows, then let herself fall backwards on top of them, right next to her friend. She beamed. "I mean, you're so cool! Everyone will be so jealous."
"I know," the princess agreed, soaking up the compliment; she tossed the forgotten cherry aside, as if it had lost its case. It wasn't worth her taste buds. "Everyone will want to talk to me. Of course, they will all be ignored." She lay back next to Ty Lee and grinned smugly.
Ty Lee's smile faded and she rolled over onto her stomach, her brow furrowed slightly. "You won't ignore me, will you, 'Zula?"
Azula arched a slender eyebrow at her friend. "Ty Lee, sometimes you're incredibly stupid." When her friend looked further crestfallen, she shook her head in exasperation. "You're a noble. Of course I'm not going to ignore you."
Ty Lee burst forth with giggles as joy took over and she threw her arms around Azula's neck amidst her happiness; the princess patted Ty Lee on the back as though she were a small child, endured the hug for a moment longer, then firmly pushed the girl away. "Alright, alright, stop," she said, her returning smile dripping with conceit, "Make sure you don't act like this tonight. I really don't need you cramping my style."
Ty Lee's head bobbed eagerly. "Right!"
The princess regarded her friend for a moment longer; big, stupid eyes, dopey grin, completely empty-headed demeanor. Without explanation she found herself laughing. At Ty Lee's curious inquisition, she was only able to reply amidst bouts of chuckles, "Any concept of being cool completely eludes you, Ty Lee."
Caught between being embarrassed and confused, Ty Lee grinned abashedly with the princess, then said, "Well, I guess it's a good thing I'll have you with me, right, 'Zula?"
Azula's laughter died down to a contented, self-satisfied quirk of her lips. "Definitely."
