Disclaimer: You already know ATLA doesn't belong to me.
I just want to mention that this is my first real shot at writing an OC, so don't come at me if it's not perfect lol. Of course, constructive criticism is always welcome though; if I end up Mary-Su-ing my OC (something I personally hate reading and therefore am trying not to do), please tell me so I can rethink how things are going. Anyway, any clicks, favorites, follows, reviews, everything is appreciated! :)
"Move smoothly. The flame is an extension of yourself. You produced it and it is a part of you. Let it go too far and it is no longer yours to control." Henna watched as her daughter, only six years produced orange-hued flames. They were far enough off from the village so that unless someone was purposely trying to find them, there would be no passerbys.
Growling, Azya punched the air, the fire crashing powerfully into a nearby mound of snow. "Mama, that's not how fire works. You're a waterbender, you can't teach me how to firebend." Henna narrowed her eyes at her daughter.
"So long as you are in the water tribe, you will learn as a waterbender does. I care not what element you use, in the end it's all chi and it can all be manipulated. This is for your own good. Again."
Azya tried again, focusing on keeping her body flexible and relaxed as Mama had previously taught her. It was much easier when she kept everything firm and tense in all honesty. It allowed her breath to be more stable and gave her inner flame more room to flow her chi. Mama's way definitely worked well for waterbenders since they didn't produce their own element, but for her it felt nearly impossible.
The flame she produced when she used the waterbender stances were much softer. The fire which could glow thick, blazingly bright shades of red and orange, became little more than a pitiful, nearly translucent downgrade of it's finest self. But it was easier to control.
"You're getting it. Now, in a rope of fire detach it from your body- but do not let it go. It is not strong, and you will not send it far. You should still have full control over it." Azya did her best to refine it, envisioning it extending and stretching itself till it was long and thin. "Do not think of it as a separate entity Azya. Just do it. Until it leaves your person, it is still a part of you. Like how you would move your hand."
What had before rejected to act as she pleased, began to move as she envisioned it. "Now let it go. But don't set it free. Picture it as a leashed animal. You stop holding the leash and put in on the ground, therefore letting the beast move as it pleases. However, you always keep within close enough range to snatch the leash back up should the animal misbehave." Azya allowed the flame to dance around her, twirling and gleaming as it moved, her hands guiding it but not sending it off in a blast.
"You've done it girl." Her mother's words of praise were curt and short, her eyes cold as the ice she bended.
~{Cold as Fire}~
Azya watched as the flame in her palm, shaped like a tiny dragon, danced about. It was certainly more entertaining than listening to Zuko go off on Iroh for what felt like the thousandth time since their journey had begun three years ago. "Uncle, you need to teach me more! Spirits know when the Avatar will return and in my current state, how will I be any sort of match for a man who has mastered all of the elements, and has decades of experience over me?"
"Unless you master the basics first, anything else is impractical! I am weary. Old age is taking its toll on me. I will retire to my quarters for the night."
"Uncle!-"
"Azya has achieved quite the mastery over her own style of bending. I wonder what can be done with this information?" Azya could feel her eye twitch in annoyance. So Iroh was throwing her to the dogs was he? Zuko looked miffed at the thought of turning to her of all people for help, but he wasn't totally against it (much to her disappointment). She could tell by the way he even bothered to take the time to momentarily glare at her that he'd decided in favor of accepting the bait thrown by his uncle.
"Azya!" Azya rolled her eyes, turning to him and bowing mockingly at him.
"Yes your royal highness?" Sarcasm dripped off her tone.
"Train me."
"In what exactly?" Zuko, arms crossed and a dark eyebrow raised looked at her as if to say Is it not obvious?
"Firebending. What else would I say? Singing?"
"To be fair, we both know I'm a master songstress."
"More like a master of making me wish I was deaf."
"I thought you wanted me to train you. Little prince, insulting me is not the smartest of decisions if some professional insight is what you desire."
"Professional insight left when Uncle went to bed. Now I'm settling for mediocre in favor of variety." Zuko sneered. "Besides, I'm a prince. You do as I say."
"Whatever. What exactly is it that you want me to show you then? Narrow down the general term 'firebending' to a specific skill." Zuko thought about it for a moment. Much as he hated to admit it, Azya, annoying as she was, was a master firebender. Nobody could deny it. People could ridicule her bending style as much as they pleased, but she was far from incapable.
"Uncle is always bothering me about summoning my flame from the breath and core."
Azya sighed. "Not quite my specialty, but not impossible to fix I guess. Firstly, show me how you would do it." She stepped back, allowing Zuko to enter his stance. He inhaled deeply, before punching and kicking a series of flames, moving through the different katas. When he finished, he excelled steam from his nose as he moved into the final stance and cutting off the constant flowing of chi within him before turning to her for a response.
"Well?" Azya looked unimpressed.
"I expected more from you. You aren't even trying to take Iroh's advice, you're just inhaling and exhaling!"
"That's how breath works is it not?" Azya wanted to scream. Zuko was such an idiot.
"Before I begin, just remember that the standard Fire Nation katas are only my secondary style, so it's imperfect." Zuko opened his mouth, probably to make a snarky comment. Azya cut him off. "But either way, I'm better at this specific technique than you are so don't say a thing. First, observe, and then I'll guide you through it step-by-step." Iroh was a good teacher, but he was also the type who tended not to give much hands-on instruction unless absolutely necessary, instead preferring to simply give verbal instructions and leaving him off on his own to figure things out. It reminded her of how her own mother used to teach her.
As Azya worked through the same exercises previously demonstrated, Zuko watched intently. When Azya moved, it was somehow different from what he was used to. Her stances were inferior in comparison to his, but the power he felt behind her flame as she moved was incomparable to his own. It wasn't necessarily bigger or hotter. But it was firmer. Steadier. It's target would be more affected by her fire than it would his.
"Do you see the difference?" Zuko nodded. "Then let's begin. First stance!~"
~{Cold as Fire}~
"Uncle, do you realize what this means?" Iroh didn't even look up from his board.
"I won't get to finish my game?" Azya chuckled.
"Don't worry Iroh, we can play together later. For now we finish this damned unending quest, Zuko gets his honor, I get to try sitting on that fire throne," A promise made by the prince in hopes of bribing her into some extra sparring sessions. An opportunity she'd only get once. "plus access to the royal library- and you get the chance to open up a tea house or something. I'll help manage your funds. We'll be the most profitable business in the Fire Nation!"
Azya didn't mind traveling, really. She was comfortable on the sea thanks to her Water Tribe roots, but she could see the bright side no matter how the mission ended. If Zuko caught the Avatar than she returned to a life of stability with Iroh as her guardian and companion. If he didn't than she got to keep moving, meeting new people, experiencing new things, the pure rush of a battle. She didn't mind either way.
"It means my search- it's about to come to an end." Iroh sighed. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!"
"Or, it's just the celestial lights." Iroh countered his nephew. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing." He shifted a Pai Sho piece. "Come sit. Why don't you have a relaxing cup of Jasmine tea?"
"I don't need any calming tea!" Zuko, volatile as ever, roared at his uncle. Azya really wished the prince would stop lashing out at Iroh like that. Sure, the man had his annoying moments, but he never meant any harm and Zuko's temper was too short for his own good if you asked her. Whether or not you could remain calm in the face of chaos could be the deciding factor between life and death. In Zuko's case, it would probably be death. "I need to capture the Avatar! Helmsman, set a course for the light!"
As daylight began to fade, Zuko remained on the main deck. "Zuko, remember: don't lose your head out there. We don't know what kind of person we're dealing with. Now don't get me wrong, you're a total pain in my ass, but Iroh would be sad if you died and I can't have a sad Iroh on my hands alright?" Azya could tell how anxious he was.
"Don't be ridiculous. I was born ready. The Avatar is already practically mine."
"Whatever. If you're going to be stubborn, there's nothing I can do. Goodnight, little prince." Zuko scowled, not responding to her.
Iroh was the next person to step out and interrupt Zuko's brooding. "I'm going to bed now," He yawned, "Yep, a man needs his rest." Zuko seemed to hardly even notice him. "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep." He advised his nephew. "Even if you're right, and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him! Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed!"
Zuko finally responded. "Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's 100 years in hiding are over."
As soon as Azya walked out onto the deck the next morning, Zuko was the first one to speak to her. "Azya, you're my second in command for now. Go put on some armor and round up the soldiers."
"Yes your highness."
Azya buckled on her armor, what was basically a less weighty version of what Azula and Zuko wore. She tugged her hair: thick, brown, and curly, the only resemblance she showed to her mother, up using a gold hair cone. Made specially to be able to hold up her wild tresses, a dragon design was melded into the gold, twirling itself around the center of it as flames lined the edges. She had several of them in different sizes so she could put her hair up into different styles.
"Jee, Wu, Lau, Jae- you guys are coming with Zuko and I."
Before their arrival, Zuko got in a final training session with his uncle. Azya almost facepalmed as she watched him move. The other day, it'd taken a while, but she'd managed to get him doing the technique correctly. His irritability was probably affecting his focus and that made all the work she'd done her best to hammer into his brain and muscle memory, basically worthless.
"No!" Iroh stood, "Power in firebending comes from the breath! Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body, and energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!" He sent out a burst of flame, evidencing the power Zuko knew his uncle, even in old age, had. "Get it right this time."
Zuko however, on edge as they got nearer and nearer to his upcoming encounter, was not in the mood for criticisms. His judgement was currently impaired by his ambition and lack of concentration. "Enough! I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set, I'm ready!" Azya sincerely doubted that. Zuko produced flames, ones hot enough to be worthy of his royal title definitely, but in all honesty, past their heat, they were nothing special. Rather weak if you asked her. So long as he continued to fight against the teachings of herself and Iroh, to make use of his inner flame, core, and breathing, rather than solely using his muscles and forcefully pumping out fire, he would never improve as a firebender. A swordsman and warrior, perhaps. Azya knew that's where he truly excelled, but he had much to learn in the art of his people.
The fact that Iroh had given in to Zuko's demands of learning something he was not completely prepared for itched at Azya's temper, though she admitted that the prince's temper tantrum should've been expected with all the stress on his head.
When their ship docked at the South Pole, Azya was almost giddy. She'd never met an airbender before, and so long as Zuko didn't catch her being civil with his prisoner, maybe she could convince the Avatar to show her a trick or two.
"Where's your helmet?"
"That helmet looks ridiculous."
"It doesn't need to look pretty, it just needs to be functional. We don't know what we're dealing with. Put your damn helmet on!"
"No." She smiled sweetly, much to his annoyance. Fine. If she wouldn't take his advice, he'd laugh when something happened to her head that could've been prevented had she worn a helmet.
As the ship opened, exposing Zuko, herself, and the guards brought along with them to the light, Azya could immediately feel just how cold the South Pole really was. It was almost homely. A boy in war paint came running at them, only for Zuko to skillfully kick out first his weapon, then his person from their path. "Where are you hiding him?"
He pulled an elderly woman from the small crowd. "He'd be about this age, master of all elements?" Azya took the time to examine the South Pole. It could hardly even be called a village. It was simply a few tents put up, and women and children trying to get by as their men had already left to go fight in the war. She pitied them.
Zuko's patience was already wearing thin, she could tell. She watched as he sent a slash of flame in their direction, the villagers cowering in fear. "Hey, stop it Zuko. Look at them. They wouldn't withhold anything from you. They're powerless. You don't need to threaten them." Zuko shrugged off the hand placed on his shoulder to calm him, but didn't say anything. Azya took that as a good sign.
The warpaint boy again tried to attack. Zuko swiftly dodged him before breaking the weapon and jabbing the boy with the blunt side multiple times. So long as it was the blunt side, Azya couldn't complain. When a metal boomerang came in from behind, thwacking Zuko right on the head however, Azya knew playtime was over. She watched as Zuko made knives out of his flame, a technique she personally considered perfect for him since it all but involved pressure and an overdose of muscle-produced flame to maintain.
She stepped up to the boy who had taken a fighting stance, quickly aiming for a pressure point that would knock him out. As he fell to the ground, a girl came running up to him, a horrified and angry look in her eyes as she glared up at Azya. "Don't look at me like that, girl. It was for his own good. Better to be knocked out by me than burned and carved into by him." She jabbed a thumb in the general direction of Zuko who was currently monologuing with some bald kid.
As she noticed the tattoos donning the boy, she gasped. "Holy shit, that's the Avatar!" She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she watched the boy go up against Zuko. Azya had never fought an airbender before and she'd be a fool to give up the opportunity to gain such knowledge.
"Zuko, Zuko, you gotta let me have a turn! Please Zuko!"
"No, shut up Azya. I'm busy. This is my destiny- my honor on the line, and I won't have you or anyone else fucking it up!"
"Tch." She turned to the tribe of women and children. "Any of you happen to be a skilled fighter who wants to give it a go with me? I promise not to kill anyone. I'm gentle like that." Her lips curled up slyly as the girl who'd previously been glaring at her came to the front.
"I will. I'm a waterbender. And I'm more than capable of taking out some ash-maker scum." Azya's eyes narrowed at that. Ash-maker scum. The girl used her two, least favorite derogatory terms at the same time.
"Waterbender hm? It's been a long time since I've fought one of those. Truth be told, I would much rather fight the airbender. Something different from the usue, if you know what I mean." The girl had one mean look on her face. Azya actually found it rather amusing. "Annoying as the Little Prince is, I respect his dedication, so you don't need to worry about me going for your little friend over there. Be warned though, Zuko's not as nice as I am. I mean, he's a big softie once you get to know him, but he's not so sweet on his enemies like I am."
"You do realize you just challenged a waterbender to a fight, while on an iceberg, surrounded by ocean and snow, right?" The girl looked at her as though she was stupid.
"You'll find that I excel whether in the cold of the poles, or the tropical heat of the Fire Nation. I hate the Earth Kingdom though. Just dry, muggy, and gross."
The girl had already stopped listening, and Azya tried not to laugh as she watched the girl, in an attempt to blast her with ice, instead blast it backward at her brother who groaned in his unconscious stage at the sudden cold. "Oh I see," Azya circled the girl like a predator, thoroughly entertained by the scared yet fierce look in her eye. "You haven't been trained at all have you? I don't want to fight you. Not yet anyway. When you go to the North Pole, if you can get the stamp of approval from Master Pakku, then we can discuss a battle."
"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" The boy stopped in his place. Zuko nodded.
"Hey, he's not harassing those people for fun you know. I have to say though, considering the fact that they're too idiotic to scurry back into their little tents even though neither the soldiers nor Zuko or I have shown any interest in them whatsoever, maybe they deserve to be burned. Azya snickered.
Zuko chopped her on the head. "Tone down the crazy, sadist." The guards already had Aang in their arms as Zuko and Azya walked side by side.
"You're mistaken there, little prince. I'm primarily a sub." Zuko groaned, rubbing his palms into his eyes.
"How much land do I need it give you after I become fire lord, to convince you never to open your mouth in my presence ever again?"
"Sorry princey, you're stuck with me. If only Azula were here…" Azya reminisced about her time spent with Zuko and Azula in the palace. She was the bane of both their existences, but she knew that deep down, each of them had some part that cared for her. She just stuck with Zuko since that's the decision Iroh decided to make. Of course, he said she was free to do as she pleased, but she loved and respected the man too much not to follow him. Azula's soft spot for her had probably melted away when she'd decided to go with Zuko of Iroh rather than stay with her.
"Ugh, that psycho bitch. You psycho bitch. Psycho bitch, that's the only breed of female I ever make contact with!" He complained. Azya begged to differ.
"Girls would throw themselves at you if you simply got rid of that stupid-ass hairstyle. Of course, that's only to peg you though. If you actually want a relationship, the first thing that needs fixing is probably that rotten personality of yours."
"I'll show you rotten-" From behind them, Aang watched the older teens interact; clearly comfortable with one another.
"Y'know, Zuko, was it? I'm pretty good with girls. I could give you some advice in return for my freedom!" Maybe these guys weren't as bad as they seemed, was what Aang had originally thought to himself. Only to be proven wrong as Zuko scowled deeply the moment his voice had been heard.
"Stop talking. Keep at it and you'll be gagged." Okay, so he was wrong.
When they arrived on the deck of the ship, Aang's hands were tied behind his back. Zuko took claim of his staff, inspecting it. "This staff will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you would t know of fathers, being raised by monks." Azya had to wonder if by bringing up fathers, Zuko was trying to invite a sob-story session in which he and the Avatar went over their daddy issues together. "Take the Avatar to the prisonhold, and take this to my quarters."
Zuko had passed off the staff to Iroh. In turn, the golden-eyed man had turned to Azya, taking her hands and wrapping them around the wooden shaft. "Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?" Azya huffed as he walked away, slapping the stick into the chest of the most nearby soldier.
"Get it to Zuko's quarters." She smiled at the guard before sauntering off.
~{Cold as Fire}~
"Lady Azya, Prince Zuko demands your presence." Azya almost rolled her eyes. What did his royal moodiness want now? As she took her time getting to the deck, she could hear what sounded like a battle between Zuko and the Avatar.
The Avatar twirled his staff, using the wind it produced as a shield against Zuko's flame. She found it clever, and couldn't help but wonder how he'd fare in a battle against her, since despite using the same element, the bending styles between herself and Zuko were as different as night and day.
Zuko had managed to knock the Avatar overboard, and Azya had to ponder whether it was all truly done with. Was that really all the Avatar had to offer? Sure, he was definitely a master at his element- she could tell that much. But so was she, and Zuko, no matter his flaws as a bender, was a great fighter overall since his different skills rounded out his combative abilities. If the boy had only that to offer, than there was really no point in killing him. He was hardly even a bug to be squished.
And when he came back up beneath the surface, the water whirling around him and carrying him up, Azya was glad to realize she was wrong. The boy's tattoos and eyes flowed, and she could practically taste the power in the air as she watched him knock Zuko overboard, the little water tribe girl coming to collect him.
Helping pull Zuko up was admittedly more difficult than she thought it would be, as she struggled to haul the older boy's weight up the side of the ship. By the time Azya's gotten Zuko safely on deck once again, she was just in time to see the water tribe girl freeze her brother's legs.
The Avatar and the water tribe siblings loaded themselves upon the beast and set off, flying through the air. Azya couldn't fathom how a creature of such pure weight and magnitude could carry itself so smoothly through the air like that. "Shoot them down!" Zuko called.
"Focus, Prince." Together, they moved at once, going through the forms and attacking with flames produced from their very cores. Only for it to be turned against them as the Avatar knocked it in another direction with his airbending.
Trapped beneath snow, Azya could feel the heaviness of it crushing her. She shuffled out, pulling herself up with the hand Zuko had offered after he himself managed to get out of the snow. "Good news for the Fire Nation. The Avatar is but a 12 year old boy."
Zuko glared at the buried half of the ship before turning to Iroh. "That 12 year old boy did this," he jabbed a finger in the general direction of the damage. " I won't underestimate him again." He turned to go toward his quarters. "By the time I come out in the morning, this ship better be free of the ice."
No cliffhangers or anything for the first chapter, but I'm trying to be consistent with updates every 1-2 weeks so like I said in my first author's notes, all and any clicks, follows, favorites, and reviews, especially reviews, are welcome and appreciated.