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There were times, during their childhood, when Mai found herself questioning what exactly she was to the Fire Nation Princess. She was a quiet, inexpressive child who tried not to speak unless it was absolutely necessary, and who tended to prefer to linger in the background while Ty Lee would unabashedly take the spotlight. She held similarities with Azula, yes, but they weren't things that would bring them close; maybe bring them together but besides that, she couldn't really be sure. There were cases when her and Azula couldn't even hold a conversation, and this made Mai wonder more about their relationship.
Usually when Mai was summoned to the palace by Azula, Ty Lee would be there as well; sometimes arriving a little after her, or sometimes, they would end up meeting halfway and would walk together.
There was one day, however, when Mai was called over to the palace, and it was her and only her alone with Azula for the entire afternoon. Ty Lee was at home, resting and fighting off a stomach illness that kept the poor girl bedridden. They had visited her yesterday but after a mishap involving the breakage of an almost century year old heirloom, the two girls had been banned from seeing Ty Lee until the girl recovered.
And so it was here, that Mai found herself sitting besides Azula while the other girl studied some complex looking firebending scrolls and pointedly ignored her. Mai was used to this, having much experience from attending parties with her parents, and she merely continued to sit there staring off into nothing with the occasional rustle of paper being the only break in silence between the two girls.
Briefly, ever so briefly, Mai wondered where Zuko was but stopped herself before she could dwell further into thoughts of the older boy. Though Azula seemed like she wasn't paying attention to her, the girl had eyes as sharp as a hawk sometimes and Mai knew she wouldn't be able to keep her face from reddening if her thoughts turned to her crush. And knowing Azula, the girl would notice and would tease her about it because that was something she always seemed to enjoy doing.
And so Mai continued to sit there in boredom as Azula continued to read her scrolls. There was a short respite when Azula ordered a servant to bring them some snacks, but even then as they ate their bread no words were exchanged and it had Mai wondering if things were always so awkward between her and the firebender. Usually Ty Lee's incessant chatter would be enough to fill in the silence for all three of them, and with the bubbly girl absent, Mai was finally starting to realize how important Ty Lee was to the communication of their trio. Without her here, there was a one too serious girl and a one too dispassionate girl with nothing to talk about between them, and Mai, despite her usual offhandedness, felt herself missing having the other girl here.
The hours passed by slowly, and Azula was almost finished with her scroll when she noticed the change of colors in the sky and she glanced at Mai briefly. Mai caught the motion, noted the sky as well, and moved to stand up. She patted down the seat of her pants to brush away the loose grass that had stuck to her and looked to Azula before starting to make her way to the exit. She took a few steps forward before she realized the princess was following her. She was surprised, though her face didn't show it and both girls walked in silence to the exit.
When they reached the tall metal doors, Azula ordered the guards to open the door for Mai, and after bowing to their princess they complied. Mai stepped outside, gave Azula a small bow to which the girl merely nodded, and then Mai turned around and walked home.
The next day, Ty Lee had recovered enough that her mother had allowed her to visit Azula; the girl had probably been driving the poor woman crazy complaining about being stuck in bed, and her mother most likely figured that if Ty Lee had enough energy to complain then she was well enough.
Mai had made her way slowly over to the palace, wondering if the day would be the same as yesterday, though when she approached the courtyard she could hear the familiar voice of Ty Lee drift through the hallway. Unsurprisingly Azula's voice drifted through as well.
When Mai arrived at her destination, she found Ty Lee stretching on the grass, talking about something one of her sisters had done, and Azula was sitting down, scrolls laid down beside her, half listening to the little acrobat's tales with disinterest.
"Mai!" Ty Lee had shouted to her as soon as the girl had come into view and had stood up to give the girl a hug. Mai noted that Ty Lee was moving a bit slower than usual; the girl hadn't fully recovered yet after all.
She stood there, neither relaxed nor tense as she felt Ty Lee's arms encircle her. The girl then pulled away and gave her a bright smile and though Mai did not smile in return, she realized that she had missed the other girl terribly and nodded at her instead.
"I was just telling Azula what one of my meanie sisters did to me while I was sleeping yesterday!" Ty Lee gushed out and Mai merely gave another nod and moved to take a seat beside the studious princess.
Ty Lee flopped down in front of the two girls and decided to start the story over so that Mai would be informed as well. It wasn't long before Mai and Azula were both half-listening to the other girl as she chattered on and on.
As Mai watched as Ty Lee made an exaggerated movement with her two hands, she knew that if it weren't for the hyperactive girl, her and Azula would most likely not be friends. Yesterday was proof of that; they hadn't even exchanged one word to each other.
"It was a lot quieter without her here, huh?" Azula said suddenly and Mai started slightly as she realized that Azula had been talking to her. She looked over to the fire princess who had both an amused and annoyed expression on her face.
"…Yeah," Mai answered quietly, and glanced over to Ty Lee who looked like she was trying to reenact the scene using only her two arms as props.
Azula gave a soft hmm of acknowledgement, and then turned back to her scrolls, promptly tuning Ty Lee out once more. Mai had continued to watch Ty Lee's impromptu act, though she occasionally stole glances at Azula who was seemingly engrossed in her studies.
"Mai! Mai!" Ty Lee called to her and she raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "Can I braid your hair?"
"No, Ty Lee. You may not," Mai replied quickly and Ty Lee pouted and glanced over to Azula hopefully.
"Don't even think about it, Ty Lee," Azula threatened, though she merely flickered her eyes over to the girl before turning back to her scrolls.
"You two! Are no fun at allllllllllllllllll," Ty Lee huffed out as she settled back down onto the grass. Her stomach was starting to hurt again and she patted it gently.
"So what did you guys do yesterday while I was out sick?" Ty Lee asked as she started to lay down on the grass.
Mai looked over to Azula, who looked over at her, and gave her a small smirk.
"None of your business, Ty Lee," the princess replied, and Ty Lee looked over at Mai, hoping the other girl would answer.
Mai kept silent, mulling over Azula's actions and response.
"No faaaair!" Ty Lee pouted. She stood up, walked closer to the two girls and then squeezed herself in and sat down so that Azula was on her right and Mai was on left. "Tell me!" she demanded as she looked back and forth from the two.
Mai glanced over at Azula, who gave her another smirk, and it was then that Mai realized that the princess held her in as high a favor as she did with Ty Lee. It was true they had nothing to talk about, and that Ty Lee was probably the tie that held them all together. However, it was obvious that Azula considered her a friend as well; why else would she invite Mai over, even when Ty Lee wasn't there?
"Come onnnnn!" Ty Lee continued to pout and turned to look at Mai who was still quiet. "Mai?" Ty Lee asked hopefully.
Mai glanced over at Azula, who looked like she was enjoying teasing the other girl, and for once whose attention was turned away from those scrolls.
"Nothing happened, Ty Lee," Mai replied truthfully. Ty Lee frowned at her reply.
"Friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other!" Ty Lee declared loudly and Mai merely shook her head while Azula rolled her eyes. They exchanged another look to which Ty Lee frowned.
"You're almost as bad as my sisters," Ty Lee complained and a small hint of a smile could be seen on Azula's face.
The rest of the afternoon carried on with Ty Lee eventually falling asleep and Azula continuing her studies while Mai sat there in companionable silence. The day progressed and soon the girls found themselves standing just outside the palace doors.
"See you two later," Azula said lazily and after a brief hug from Ty Lee the three parted ways.
"So what did you two do yesterday?" Ty Lee asked curiously, still not believing the pair had stayed in doing nothing. Mai glanced over to the girl who was looking at her eagerly.
"Nothing, Ty Lee," Mai replied. "We did absolutely nothing.
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Author's Note: … what. Yeah this story makes absolutely no sense. I think in a way I'm trying to think of the relationship between Mai and Azula, and what kind of friends they are. It's obviously what kind of friendship they have with Ty Lee; she's such an outgoing person that it's hard to not be that girl's friend. With Azula and Mai, however, I would think they would have trouble communicating since they're both not very social people… and I don't know… take whatever you get from reading this.
