Four times Azula saw the light in those grey eyes- And one time she missed it.
1. Bright
The second thing a seven-year-old Azula at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls noticed about the peppy girl, dressed in that atrocious shade of pink, standing in front, practically bouncing like an overexcited Rabbaroo, were her eyes.
They were grey.
Such an odd shade of colour. Grey was a weak colour, a colour of blandness, depression, negativity. It was not the regal serenity of gold or the blazing prowess of crimson. Such a bland colour. How distasteful. Certainly not to be even considered by herself, the Princess of the Fire Nation.
Yet, this mere girl made this bland, pathetic, weak colour... not bland. Her eyes sparkled with a shining light of childish glee, wide open and bright, showing everyone everything in their wet depths. Perhaps the eyes shone from the fact that the Fire Nation's Princess was paying attention to her (Rightfully so. Azula was royalty, after all), combined with a natural exuberant personality, but whatever the cause, they shone. Azula had never thought it possible, but the colour grey was shining.
It was odd.
But not unpleasant.
"Hiya! I'm Ty Lee! Who are you?" The girl squealed excitedly, clearly delighted to being acknowledged. Her voice was high-pitched, undoubtedly feminine, excitable and happy. Another oddity.
But for a split second, the grey of her eyes glowed like the Summer sun, hot, bright and hopeful, and Azula, for a split second, felt her thoughts slip and she stuttered:
"Y-you have pretty eyes."
For a second, the eyes dimmed in slight curiosity and confusion, but if it was even possible, the grey suddenly shone yet brighter at the compliment, and this Ty Lee girl then squealed: "Thank you! That's really nice! I think your eyes are pretty too! Who are you?"
Her thoughts regained themselves, and Azula stood proud and tall: "I am Azula, Princess of the-"
"A princess?" Ty Lee squeaked with awe and amazement, cutting off the learning Firebender's words, and those eyes shone yet brighter. Azula felt like blinking. "Wow! Nice to meet you!"
And from then on, Azula decided to keep this Ty Lee around.
If only to see those eyes shine again.
Perhaps grey wasn't so bland after all.
2. Hide
"One ember, two ember, three ember, four ember, five ember, six ember, seven ember, eight ember, nine ember, ten ember! Ready or not, I'm coming to burn you!"
Within the grassy confines of the Palace Garden, the sun shining overhead, infusing any Firebender with it's precious energy, the pigeonrats squeaking and cooing to each other within the large tree, her Father meditating by the pond, the eight-year-old Princess Azula separated herself from the wall and turned to face the garden, eager eyes of liquid topaz staring around for her acrobatic friend, giggling softly at her choice of final words.
Put simply, it was just another game of Fire Hunt, a hiding-and-seeking style game and currently Azula's favourite. She love the thrill of hiding from her hunters, testing her ability to remain undetected, and the ability to locate the others in whatever spots they chose. Plus, it was kinda fun, but you know.
Regardless, Azula slowly moved forward through the garden. Loud movements would disturb her Father, and would also alert Ty Lee to how near she was. If she was quiet, perhaps she could hear the budding acrobat's smallest movements, rather then scaring her into ultimate silence. The pink girl, for all her bouncy energy, was remarkably capable of silence when need be.
Azula regarded the surroundings carefully. The bushes provided ideal cover, the long corridor that jutted out halfway through the garden, connecting two sides of the palace, was also useful for hiding within, and she had still to search through that other side. But this side first.
There were no clues to where Ty Lee had run to. The grass kept blowing in the light breezes, removing any traces of footsteps. There had been no clattering of shoes on stone, so Ty Lee was presumably on this side of the Garden. Her Father was not glancing anywhere, nor did he look disturbed, so the pink girl had not been near him. This left a general portion of the garden that logically held a Ty Lee.
But where to find her?
First, Azula snuck over to the closest bush, and promptly stuck a hand into the leafy depths. Nothing. The budding acrobat wasn't there. Nor was she in the second bush. Nor the third, or the fourth, or the fifth. She wasn't crouched in the shadowy corners. She wasn't hiding behind the tree. And the corridor was empty when Azula poked her head to look through it-
A tiny rustle, right behind her.
Trained reflexives kicked in, and the prodigy spun in an instant.
Nothing.
Just a small twig, having fallen from the tree.
Wait... the tree!
Stupid Azula. She had clearly underestimated Ty Lee's physical ability. It made sense that the pink girl would have taken refuge in the tall botanical organism. A very rare chance of being found in it's leafy cover. But that twig was too thick to have snapped off from wind or flyers. Something heavy was in the tree.
So, Azula snuck over to the large life-form, and carefully, in the shady part, stared up at the tree, looking for a misshapen hunk of shadow, or a shade of pink, or a jutting limb, or a flimsy braid. But the shadows were strong, hiding any trace of anything.
But then, the prodigy noted a small gleam. And an identical gleam next to it.
The Firebender smirked and declared: "Found you!"
She heard a grumbled, and Ty Lee promptly darted onto a lower branch in Azula's full view.
"Aw, how did you find me? I was really hidden!" Ty Lee protested, pouting, but eyes gleaming with fun nonetheless.
Noting that her Father had turned to look at them, Azula casually replied: "The eyes say it all."
Those bright eyes...
3. Air
At the age of ten, young Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation and Firebending prodigy, read all about Airbenders.
She didn't really know why she learning about an extinct race, a bunch of weaklings who had been nothing against the might of the Fire Nation. But, well, she was curious. After all, old fuddy-duddy Uncle the failure said to learn from the other Nations, to make one a better warrior.
As if. Fire was the only art worth learning.
But she was curious. Hence why she was in the great library. It hadn't been too hard to find a history book regarding the airy weaklings, so she sat down with it, and read.
She found out quite a few things. Airbenders were taught that all life was precious, hence why they practically only ate fruit and vegetables. They learnt their arts from an extinct species known as the Sky Bison, or Flying Bison, great peaceful animals who could utilise air to fly and attack. They typically used gliders as both staff weapons and tools of flight. They were a highly spiritual race, and all of their number were benders, due to their connection with the spirits. Masters of the art would tattoo themselves with arrow markings, similar to the natural patterns on a Sky Bison, as respect for the great beasts and their own prowess. And they were people of care and freedom, like the wind.
But what struck Azula most was the most defining aspect of an Airbender.
They had grey eyes. They say that grey eyes are the defining characteristic of an Airbender.
Grey eyes.
The first thing Azula did when she left the library was to find Ty Lee.
The acrobat was currently performing a one handed handstand within the garden, balancing herself perfectly, her slim body poised elegantly, almost like a peaceful serpent. But that didn't matter to Azula.
Because once the pink girl looked at her, golden eyes met with those shining grey.
Grey.
"Hi, Azula!" The acrobat giggled cheerfully, casually flipping her legs down and standing upright, before sinking swiftly into a respectful bow for five seconds, then springing back to her feet with a graceful air.
"Hello, Ty Lee." Azula replied casually, hiding behind her perfected facade of clam and neutrality to mask the boiling curiosity and wonder.
"Where were you today?" The acrobat asked curiously, her grey eyes conveying the same emotion in her voice, as her left leg stretched upwards till her foot was over her head, a symbol of flexibility and physical athleticism.
"The Library, studying Airbenders." Azula replied coolly. "Quite a weak breed, in my opinion. Air is such a lowly art."
Ty Lee shrugged. "To each their own."
A perfect opportunity, if any. Azula was trained to seize the moment and throttle it, and thus she did.
"Do you think otherwise?" She asked, Ty Lee dipped her left leg back down and now stretching up the right limb, the prodigy rather impressed by the acrobat's flexible body.
"Fire is awesome, but air is so... nice!" Ty Lee giggled. "I'd love to able to just fly in the sky, just feel the wind against me..." The acrobat smiled in her fantasy. "And be able to do little poofs! Poof!" Another giggle and a flip of a braid.
"I see." Azula noted, sensing such happiness exuding from her friend. Ty Lee really was taken with this flying-freedom-air thing, though she'd never talked about it before.
Ty Lee noted her slightly less neutral tone (Damn, she'd have to work on that) and asked, looking slightly worried. "You're not annoyed or anything?"
"No, just wondering... They say that Airbenders had grey eyes, and-"
Ty Lee burst out laughing. Were it not for their close relationship, and the fact Azula liked this girl more then most other people, Azula probably would have burnt her hair or something. As it was, she merely glared at the pink girl until the tinkling giggles subsided, and Ty Lee replied:
"Silly Azula! I can't Airbend! If I could, I would be doing really big jumps, or going poof! Poof!" Ty Lee giggled yet again, and mimed thrusting air out of her palms, grey eyes shining with cheerfulness. "Well, I gotta go now, anyway. See ya'!"
With a goodbye hug and a spring in her step, Ty Lee performed a cartwheel, and set off with skips, humming happily to herself as she went, with that gleam in her wonderful grey eyes. That gleam that the Firebender could not help but like.
Azula watched her friend leave. Though Ty Lee said wasn't an Airbender, and let's face it, she most likely wasn't, she couldn't shake some kind of suspicion-
A tiny gust of wind, gentle and warm, brushes against her cheek, lifting a strand of obsidian hair, and leaves Azula, for once in a long time, feeling slightly dumbstruck.
4. Fire
It was without saying.
The Fire Nation had conquered, destroyed and obliterated the Air Nomads. Even the Avatar was no more, and he or she was supposed to have been a Air Nomad. Not dead, but... vanished. After all, there were no Water Tribe Avatars, so something had disrupted the cycle. Whatever it was, it was helpful. The Fire Nation would never be defeated or driven back.
Regardless, the Air Nomads were no more.
But what if.
Twelve-year-old Azula felt... clingy, a rather childish thought, true, to some belief that Ty Lee held some kind of Air Nomad blood in her. The grey eyes, the caring respect for life, the free-spirited nature, the, well, air-headedness.
Was she an Airbender? A descendant? Or mere coindence(s)
Azula didn't know.
But one thing was sure:
Like the Air Nomads and the Fire Nation, Ty Lee was Azula's to control. Air fuelled Fire, after all. Ty Lee obeyed her, Ty Lee admired her, Ty Lee adored her. And Azula felt... gratitude, for the acrobat's soothing presence. Maybe more, she didn't know.
Fire needed Air to survive.
And Azula, well, she liked the idea of having Ty Lee, the Last Airbender, bent to her will. A one-of-a-kind prize and trophy that only she would have.
And her resolve only strengthened every time those grey eyes gleamed with happiness, admiration and kindness.
Those wonderful grey eyes.
5. Hurt
"You're both fools!"
How could she not have seen it? Those eyes, the eyes of a pink acrobat, said everything. Every emotion that the gymnast felt, her eyes poured it within themselves and showed it to the world. Azula knew every emotion that ran through those eyes.
But betrayal wasn't one of them.
Ty Lee had betrayed her. Mai had been understandable. She fought for her petty love for stupid Zuko. But Ty Lee-
Ty Lee had been hers. She never disobeyed. She always respected. Always did as she was told. Always Azula's...
Those grey eyes never even warned her of this. She had... trusted the pink girl. And this was it, all she got. Nothing left. Never before, even when Mother had left, had she felt this empty-
The Air Nomads got their revenge on the Fire Nation after all. Send one of them here, befriend her, help her, admire her, care for her, love her-
And hurt her, betray her, destroy her.
As the guards restrained the traitors, and asked her what to do, and Azula met those eyes, the grey eyes that had always filled her with wonder, she saw that fatal gleam in them again. Not happiness, not perk cheerfulness.
Hope.
Hope for her, Azula, hope for them, hope, hope, hope.
But Azula didn't care. Those grey eyes corrupted her, and destroyed her.
Only fair they never see light again. Just like she wouldn't see their light again.
"Take them where I'll never have to see their faces again-"
Gold met grey. Gold overpowered grey, just like Fire overpowered Air. And grey did not shine, the smoke of Fire polluting the Air. Never again would those eyes make her weak. How pathetic, how much she used to wonder over them. No more.
"-And let them rot!"
The Air Nomads got their revenge after all.
And a small wind blows against her cheek, harsh and hot, hissing softly, yet cruelly, into her ear, lifting a strand of obsidian hair.
Author's Notes: I must say that Ty Lee having some kind of Airbender blood in her, perhaps Airbending itself, is quite a relatively common theory. It's one I find intriguing, certainly :)
Probably OOC for Azula, but my first time writing for Avatar, so bear with me :P
Regardless, I hope you liked this. Be sure to review. Or Azula will kill you. Don't think she won't. 'Cause she will. She will 0_0