Title: Warmth
Word Count: 3,067
Summary: Azula meets dragons.
Canon: Up to The Firebending Masters
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Bryke, etc.
"The cold-blooded fire," lectured Ozai as he demonstrated the circular motions to split yin and yang. "To bend lightning you must purge all emotion from-"
"Princess!"
Azula almost winced (actually wincing shows weakness) and rose from her meditation pose to face the intruding soldier with a glare. "What is it?"
"We have reports of the Avatar's sky bison. Scouts have seen them flying north of the Fire Nation."
'The north?' Azula thought. 'There's nothing of strategic value up there. Why would they be in the north?' "Your report is acknowledged. Prepare my ship... and fetch me a map. Dismissed."
...
Azula scanned the map of the Fire Nation, willing it to yield clues about the Avatar's whereabouts. 'Think,' she willed herself.
She knew that Zuzu had expressed an intention to teach the Avatar firebending. Azula doubted her brother's ability to do so effectively- the logical conclusion therefore was that the Avatar's posse would be seeking a real firebender. But there were no master firebenders of note in the northern Fire Nation...
Her eyes were drawn to the island of the ancient Sun Warriors. They had died out long ago, but the Avatar had displayed an affection for relics of extinct civilizations before. There were probably old temples that Zuzu might instruct the Avatar to seek out. It was a longshot, but given the lack of other candidates, Azula begrudgingly notified the captain of their destination.
...
Ten minutes spent on the island validated Azula's suspicions. There was a spike trap that had only been recently triggered (no doubt by Zuzu's usual lack of finesse). Making a note to be careful for more traps, Azula continued on towards what was Zuzu and the Avatar's most likely destination: the temple up ahead. To her surprise, there had not been any more traps activated (perhaps Zuzu was less clumsy than she thought).
Unlocking the sunstone placed at the temple door was easy (at least for her- Azula doubted her brother would have been able to figure out the trick). Once inside, Azula was greeted with a ring of statues, depicting what appeared to be some firebending form that she was not familiar with.
Well, that was unacceptable.
Two minutes later, with mastery of another form under her belt, Azula decided that there was nothing else of interest in the room. Although there was a pedestal in the center of the room, whatever had been placed there had been moved recently. The thought crossed Azula's mind that it could be a weapon of some sort... she would have to investigate the Sun Warrior ruins for any clues.
"Father! Father! Can I have a dragon when I grow up?"
Ozai glanced down from his tea. "Oh Azula, why do you want a dragon?"
"Why wouldn't I?" countered Azula. "Dragons can fly and are super strong and having one means you are amazing and I'm a princess so I'm amazing. I should have a dragon."
Ozai chuckled. "Well Azula, unfortunately you won't be able to have one. Do you know why?" Ozai whispered conspiratorially.
Azula shook her head. Ozai grinned. "It's because your uncle Iroh killed them all!"
And so from that day Azula hated her uncle Iroh.
Azula traced her finger along a carving of a dragon. Did the Sun Warriors have some special relationship with dragons? She hadn't given much thought to dragons since she had been a little girl- not since Iroh had so abruptly ruined her fantasies. Azula allowed herself to be sentimental for a brief moment, reflecting upon her childhood.
She was promptly rewarded for her moment of weakness with a blow to the back of her head.
…
When Azula woke up, she was surrounded by a group of what appeared to be tribesmen. 'So the extinction of the Sun Warriors has been grossly exaggerated,' thought Azula. She grimaced. 'If I hadn't been caught up in those stupid stupid memories I wouldn't have been caught off guard.'
"What's a pretty little missus like you doing all the way out here?" 'Well, that one's probably the leader.' She quickly considered her options- it would not be wise to reveal her status as a princess this soon.
"Have an airbender and a boy with a scar over his left eye come here recently?" she inquired.
The Sun Warriors looked among themselves as if unsure how to reply. "Erm... yes?" replied the leader cautiously.
'Good,' thought Azula. "Well, they are my traveling companions. They told me to wait by the shore for them, but it's been a day and they haven't been back and I'm worried about them." She gave an adorable pout for extra effect.
"I'm sorry missy, but your friends left yester-" The leader was nudged by the Sun Warrior next to him, who pointed at headpiece.
'Whoops. Oh well, I can still salvage the situation.'
"Well then, it seems you haven't been so forthright, have you, princess?" questioned the leader.
"Banished princess actually," responded Azula. "My father cast me out after I spoke out in a war meeting. He wanted to sacrifice a whole platoon of soldiers and I just couldn't let that happen." She said the last bit with just a little waver in her voice. She hoped news about the Fire Nation was rare on this island.
"I see... let me talk with the rest of my tribe, and we will see if we can help you."
"The cold-blooded fire," lectured Ozai as he demonstrated the circular motions to split yin and yang. "To bend lightning you must purge all emotion from your mind. No hesitation, no empathy for your enemy, no-"
"Princess!"
Azula exhaled slowly, then stood up. "Have you reached a decision?"
The leader shuffled his feet before responding, "Well, there are some of us who don't believe your story. You don't strike me as a liar personally, but some think it is awfully convenient that your companions never mentioned you. We've decided that we cannot judge you; therefore we leave that task to the masters Ran and Shaw."
'Well that sounds interesting. I guess Zuzu found the Avatar a master after all.' Azula nodded. "I will face these masters. Where are they?"
…
Bringing the flame to the top of the mountain was a trivial task, Azula decided. She had set off as soon as the tribesmen had handed her the flame (all the nonsense about maintaining the flame was for amateurs- she had full control of fire since she was four). After reaching the top of the mountain, one of the tribesmen had eagerly directed her towards a flight of stairs (all the while mumbling something that sounded like, "Oh I can't wait to see them eat her"). Now she was standing at the top of a steep flight of stairs, watching the Sun Warriors do some sort of tribute. 'Wow, these masters must really be full of themselves if they make the Sun Warriors do this to summon them. This had better be worth-'
Azula's thoughts were interrupted when the ground began to rumble. Before Azula had time to process what was going on- 'Dragons! There were dragons!' They were circling her like prey- no they were dancing- so Azula used the form she had seen in the temple, and then the last thing she saw was the dragons engulfing her in flames.
"Doesn't it seem kind of weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" asked Katara.
"I told you," responded Zuko, "my father hasn't come here since our family was actually happy. And that was a long time ago. It's the last place anyone would think to look for us."
"Well I'm going to have a look around!" declared Sokka. "There's gotta be something to eat around here."
Unfortunately the kitchen proved much harder to find than Sokka had anticipated. He was just about to give up when he came upon a beautiful garden. A divine scent hit his nostrils ('maybe the kitchen was right through here') and so he sprinted along the path leading through the courtyard.
He just barely avoided hitting the girl who was meditating on the ground. And who was on fire.
Sokka was about to shout, but then he noticed the hairpiece. 'Oh no oh no oh no Azula was here Azula was here oh no oh no he had to warn the others he-'
"Are you going to sit?" asked Azula, still not opening her eyes or standing up.
'had to get out of here but why weren't his legs moving he couldn't move he-'
"You should really sit down," repeated Azula.
'couldn't scream he was going to die right here and then Princess Crazy was going to-'
Azula rolled her eyes and sighed, climbing to a standing position. "Look Sokka, I'm not going to hurt you. You should really sit down, you look like you are about to have a seizure."
'find the rest of the gang and- wait, what?'
"Look, this will make a lot more sense if you would just sit down. I'm just going to sit down, with no sudden movements, and you can sit down or you can run. Either way I'm just going to sit here."
Sokka's curiosity eventually won over his flight instinct, and he sat on the ground next to Azula. "So... why haven't you killed me yet?"
"I suppose that's a fair question given our... past," started Azula. "Where should I start... here, take my hand."
Sokka looked skeptically at Azula's hands, which like the rest of her body, were still on fire. "Uh... that doesn't look safe."
"Look," replied Azula. "I know you're a smart guy- you masterminded the breakout at the Boiling Rock. So we both know if I wanted to burn your hands I could have done it already. How about this: close your eyes, extend your hands slowly, and when it starts feeling too hot you can back up."
Again, Sokka's curiosity won out. Closing his eyes, he slowly moved his hands forward... until his hands found Azula's. A heavenly sensation instantly rushed through his body, like dipping into a hot bath at the perfect temperature, and he melted (figuratively!) at the pleasure. He opened his eyes, and he nearly jumped at the observation that he was on fire but he wasn't burning. Azula smiled across from him, not an evil 'I know exactly how I'm going to kill you' smile but an actual, genuine smile.
"How... how is this possible?" asked Sokka.
Azula shrugged. "Erm, I'll start at the beginning. First we spotted the Avatar's sky bison in the north..."
…
"Sokka... Sokka... darn it Sokka, where did you go?" groaned Katara as she roamed the halls of the beach house. She reached a balcony, from where she could see-
Azula was burning Sokka alive!
Her hands instantly reached the waterskin by her hip, and she leaped down from the balcony, bringing water crashing down in a wave that instantly soaked both her brother and Azula. Katara rushed over to her brother, preparing to heal him when-
"Hey, what was that for!" shouted Sokka.
Sokka was... fine? Katara looked at Sokka, then Azula in sheer disbelief. "What the heck is going on?"
"Azula's not our enemy anymore!" declared Sokka, which did nothing to wipe the look of disbelief from Katara's face. Azula just nodded in agreement.
"Look, why don't you find Zuko and Aang and whoever else is here and then I'll only have to tell this story once," reasoned Azula.
"And can you bend us dry on the way?" added Sokka.
Sokka and Azula strolled out of the garden, a stunned Katara only regaining her senses and following after they had turned the first corner.
…
Aang and Zuko were practicing firebending forms when Sokka strolled in. "Hey guys," started Sokka, "so I don't want you to freak out or anything, but there's something you guys have to see."
The two firebenders turned to face Sokka. "So I was exploring the beach house, when guess who I found!" He gave a signal, and around the corner came-
"Azula!" both Aang and Zuko yelled, striking defensive bending poses. Zuko sent a plume of flame at Azula, which she promptly caught and snuffed it harmlessly.
"Stop that! She's not our enemy anymore guys!" shouted Sokka. "Katara, tell them that she's not the enemy anymore!"
Aang and Zuko looked to Katara questioningly, who shrugged and said, "She hasn't tried to pull anything yet."
"Look I'll just give you the short version," Azula interrupted. She turned towards Aang and Zuko before saying, "I met your friends Ran and Shaw."
Aang and Zuko looked in shock. Toph, Katara, Sokka, and Suki just wondered what that meant.
"And if you don't know what that means, well I'm not allowed to tell you," continued Azula. "But suffice it to say that they showed me that I have been... neglecting my firebending."
Zuko scoffed. "Neglecting isn't the word I would use."
"It's true," responded Azula. "I realized that I haven't added anything new to my firebending in the last two years, because I thought I had nothing left to learn. But I wasn't even close." She demonstrated by forming fire in her hands, shifting from red to blue to green to white. She turned to Sokka. "Would you like to help me demonstrate the other thing I've learned so far?"
Sokka nodded in acquiescence. He grabbed Azula's hand and instantly burst into flame.
Aang sprang to waterbend him, but Sokka stopped him. "It's fine Aang! Look, I'm fine!"
Zuko gasped. "Like the masters..." he said under his breath. Azula caught his eye and nodded, unspoken words going between them.
"It's not just a light show!" added Sokka. You guys should try this, it feels great!"
The gang looked among themselves hesitantly, before caving in one by one.
"When Ran and Shaw bent at me, this is what I felt," said Azula. "It felt better than any firebending I'd ever done in my life. I'm not exactly an expert on the topic but... I think this is what it's supposed to feel like... when someone loves you." Suki and Sokka crossed eyes and grinned.
"So... what are you going to do now?" asked Zuko.
"I'm going to travel," responded Azula. "I'm going to find all the techniques that were lost, and I'm going to master them. I'm going to be the greatest firebender who ever lived."
She looked directly at Zuko before continuing, "and that means I'm not going to have time to play politics, Zuko. I can teach you to absorb flame so you can rematch him in an Agni Kai. Ozai wants to destroy all non-firebenders, and I know now how much the world loses when bending arts are lost."
"You are really going to give up all claim to being Fire Lord?" asked Zuko.
Azula nodded. "I could choose between being a great Fire Lord, or being the greatest firebender. I chose the latter. You don't have the firebending, so I guess I have to let you be Fire Lord," she quipped.
Zuko smirked. "Well if you ever decide you want to be Fire Lord, I guess you would just Agni Kai me for it right?" Both siblings laughed.
…
It was nighttime at the docks. "Leaving so soon?" asked Zuko. "I feel like we have so much lost time to make up for."
"Well, Zuzu, just make sure you don't die and we'll have plenty of time," Azula said, wagging her tongue. "There's one more thing. Our... mutual friends thought you should have this." She reached into her satchel to produce a golden stone. "Apparently you haven't read enough of the old adventure scrolls if you thought it was a good idea to take this off its pedestal," she chuckled.
"What exactly is it?" questioned Zuko.
"It's their legacy."
"The cold-blooded fire," lectured Ozai as he demonstrated the circular motions to split yin and yang. "To bend lightning you must purge all emotion from your mind. No hesitation, no empathy for your enemy, no mercy. This is the ultimate sign of a firebender's greatness."
"Sifu!"
Azula winced, then turned around to face the student. "What is it, dear?"
"You have a visitor. It's the Fire Lord! This is such good luck for your school if he's honored you with his presence!"
Azula smiled. "Do send him in. And fetch us some tea."
…
"So," began Zuko, "the greeter seemed to have no idea why the Fire Lord would be at this particular place, or apparently even your real name. Care to inform me why that is?"
Azula shrugged. "I like being anonymous- people come to me because they like what I have to teach, not because of what my family tree is. And as far as the Fire Nation is concerned, no one's seen Princess Azula in two years because she had to be locked up for her own safety."
Zuko nodded. "Sooo... no eyes for the throne still?"
Azula snorted. "I would much rather deal with students than the royal court. You can keep them."
Zuko chuckled in response. "Well I won't disagree with you about the royal court. Anyways, I'm here because I have news... we found mother."
Azula gasped. "And she is... she's alright?"
Zuko nodded. "Yes. She returned to her old village after... grandfather passed, and found the person she was supposed to marry before father came into town. She was living happily. But she was saddened by the news that her baby girl went insane. I wanted to ask if it would be alright with you to tell her what really happened."
Azula nodded. "It wouldn't be fair to keep mother in the dark."
"Great!" Zuko exclaimed. "Now that all the heavy stuff is out of the way, what's new in your life?"
"Well, do you remember the Combustion Man?" Zuko winced. Azula snickered. "I learned how to do that- not that I would ever use it on anyone of course. What about you, oh great and honored Fire Lord?"
"Well, Sifu Izumi," Zuko shot back, "you should know that I'm about to be a father..."