Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar.
I've gotten strangely addicted to the idea of Azula being protective. Fallen Star was my first attempt at that, but I really don't like the way it turned out, so I figured I'd give it another try.
Anyone who hurts what is Azula's will pay the price. It's as simple as that. From day one her father had begun teaching her things, many things, but this was one of the lessons that really left an impression on her: Whatever belongs to you, do not let anyone else touch it. It is yours, and whoever trespasses on it must die.
Azula is in the woods finishing some business when a cry rings through the air. Her blood freezes; that's Ty Lee's voice, she would know it anywhere. A split second later, Mai roars in rage, and there is a rasping sound of metal on metal that she knows all too well. Azula spins around just in time to see a boy with dark shaggy hair and twin hook-swords leaping toward her intending to slash her head off. She puts her hands in front of her and blasts blue fire, and the boy screams in pain, falling to the forest floor. She kicks him in the ribs, no doubt breaking a few, before racing off toward camp. Her heart thunders in her chest, an unfamiliar sensation, but at the moment all she can think of are her two friends.
As Azula bursts into the clearing, the first thing she sees is Ty Lee. The little acrobat is down on the ground, and although it doesn't look like she's injured, she isn't moving either. Two boys are lying next to each other; the tiny one is pinned down by shurikan, obviously Mai's, and the other, a huge hulk of a man, seems paralyzed. Mai is trading knife blows with a skinny girl wearing some sort of stupid hat. Behind her, an archer nocks an arrow and points it at the knife-thrower's back. Azula screams in fury and lets out blast after blast of azure flame. The boy leaps out of the way, surprisingly agile, and flings a dagger at her. She dodges with ease; fury boils in her chest and electricity sparks out of her fingertips. Lightning shoots from her hands and hits the archer boy right in the chest; he crashes into a tree and lies limp. Azula doesn't know and doesn't care if he's dead.
Mai is tiring but still fending off her attacker. Out of nowhere the big man jumps up and lunges for the knife-thrower, but a tongue of fire from Azula fends him off. She snarls in fury, baring her teeth as she throws fire everywhere, desperate to end the battle and get to Ty Lee. Finally Azula gets impatient; she leaps, lands lightly on the man's shoulders, puts her palms on his head and shoots flame as hard as she can. Lightly leaping off as he falls, the princess looks desperately to Mai only to see that her friend has felled the other girl with precise throws to her limbs and torso. Spinning around, Azula races over to Ty Lee.
"Ty Lee. Ty Lee, can you hear me? Say something for Agni's sake!" Azula is panicking, her heart in her throat; Don't let her be dead, pleasepleasepleaseplease…
"…'Zula?" The pink-clad girl cracks an eye open, blinking slowly. "I…what happened? These guys attacked us, they called themselves Freedom Fighters…" She winces, and Azula finds herself wishing the fight had lasted longer so she could inflict more damage.
"One got you in the back of the skull," Mai answers with her usual monotone, but the assassin's steel-grey eyes are bright with relief. "I made sure he regretted it."
Slowly Ty Lee sat up. "Are…are you two all right?"
"Few scratches, but sure," Mai shrugs.
"Never mind us, you almost died!" Azula snaps. "There's no excuse for that kind of sloppiness; you're lucky to be alive, you idiot!"
She's about to keep going, ignoring the way Ty Lee's lip shakes, but Mai interrupts. "I've never seen you fight the way you just did, Princess."
Two pairs of eyes turn to Mai; one liquid topaz, the other dark grey. "What do you mean?" Ty Lee asks, insults forgotten.
"Yes, what are you going on about?" Azula queries, irritable at being cut off. "I did what I always do, Mai."
"No, you didn't. Usually when you fight you're cold and methodical. You enjoy it. But just now, you were fiercer than I've ever seen you. You were rushing. Why?"
"What kind of question is that? I was trying to make sure Ty Lee wasn't dead, you fool!" Azula's face heats, much to her displeasure.
"That doesn't explain it," Mai states calmly, a shadow of a smirk tugging at her lips. Azula growls.
"Is that true, 'Zula? You were worried?" Ty Lee is smiling, and Azula's heart does a flip-flop, which is both annoying and strangely exciting.
"Of course I was! You were lying on the ground and you weren't moving for Agni's sake!" she retorts, dearly wishing to be somewhere, anywhere other than here.
"You saved my life too," Mai goes on. "The archer was going to shoot me in the back. It's not like you to look after someone else. Usually you'd tell me that if I can't be bothered to watch my back, it isn't your problem."
"I wasn't going to let him kill you! You're my—mine." Azula almost said friend but caught herself just in time. "Both of you are mine, and I don't let anyone touch what belongs to me. That's all. Now will you two please shut up?" She turns to head back to the tents but is stopped as a pair of arms wraps themselves around her.
"Thank you, Azula," Ty Lee says softly. "It's nice to know you were worried."
Azula's heart is doing that flip-flop thing again, and all the firebender can do is stand dumbly as her face turns red. She gingerly pats Ty Lee on the head and all but flees as soon as the acrobat lets go.
"You know," Mai says after a moment, "I think that was the first time I saw her turn red like that."
Ty Lee giggled. "Wasn't it cute?"
"Ugh."