"Zeia is a firebender. She's the best firebender in the world. She can make the blue flame, but she finds her own golden flames more wholesome and less cruel than Azula's icy flame – Azula is her student, by the way. Zeia is, of course, Fire Nation. But she hates the Firelord, and when her thoughts come out, she must escape the Fire Nation. She goes to the Earth Kingdom, where she must disguise her identity as a firebender. But it all comes out in Ba Sing Se when she accidently burns down a building!"


Five years before Sozin's Comet…

A young girl crouched in the middle of a training rink, muscles tensed, like a predator preparing to pounce on her prey. Her dark hair was tightly pulled up, her eyes glinting dangerously. A second later, she sprung into motion, her body a blur in sharp, precise movements. Brilliant red fire threaded through with icy blue strands followed her hands until she finished the kata and retreated back to her crouch.

The courtyard was quiet, save the panting of the girl, until the other figure shifted her feet and clasped her hands behind her back. The girl leapt up and gave a slight bow, as was only proper between student and master.

Finally, the master spoke, unclasping her hands, a tiny smile on her lips. "Well, Princess, that was quite adequate."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in an expression that didn't seem quite at home on her rounded, childlike face. "But, Master Zeia, I did the high kick just the way you showed me, and didn't you see the bits of blue – I'm so close to the blue flame, and the kata was perfect!"

Zeia raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, loosely holding her elbows, and walked towards the girl. She spoke archly. "Well, almost. You are close, Princess. But it was far from perfect. We shall focus on that kata for our lesson today."

The Princess Azula's face darkened, her voice taking on a slow, livid tone. "Just that kata?"

"Yes."

Azula's relatively submissive posture was quickly shed and she pulled herself up to her full height, easily adopting her naturally superior air to her current purpose. Staring down her nose best she could at the Imperial Firebender – it ended up being a rather humorous attempt, for the ten-year old's best effort could never equal Zeia's lofty Fire Nation height – she glared at her teacher.

"Master, practicing just one kata in a whole day? That seems like a bit of a waste, to me. And I am a princess. I don't want to have my time wasted."

Zeia was unimpressed. "My dear pupil, you are mistaken. Practicing just one kata not only perfects the kata, but it encourages the pursuit of perfection and builds character. It will be good for you – my own master had me do this all the time when I was your age, and you see where it has gotten me?"

"But – but I am far better than you ever were at my age!" The girl's eyes were furious. "I am a natural – Father said so! You can't even make the blue flame! I am the best!"

A silence fell over the courtyard, much akin to the earlier silence, but this one was tense. The chasm was being dug deeper between the Azula and her idol, her firebending sifu. Finally, Zeia spoke.

"Yes. You are. But I am better than you, Azula. I am a master. You are my student. And I will always be better than you, Princess, unless you learn respect and follow my orders. Raw talent can never triumph over experience and years of practice." The sarcasm had left Zeia's voice, replaced by deadly seriousness. She saw the path her pupil was beginning to travel down, and it displeased her greatly. "You need to learn patience, Azula-"

The princess turned away and strode out of the training rink, shedding her hand guards as she left.

Alone, Zeia made a face. Azula had tons of power, potential, but she didn't have any conscience. That bothered Zeia, who despite her frequently casual or lackadaisical manner, was surprisingly balanced and could clearly see that Azula was not. She pitied the girl – but not enough to stick around much longer.

"They'll be looking for a new teacher pretty soon," she muttered.

Then she glared at her hand and the blue flame hovering above it – "And I can make it blue."


A/N: Yay! Chappy two.

Thanks Distant-Moon and Ookami Aya for the reviews!

Distant-Moon: The adventures the three friends have are what they actually had back in the Great War. They came up with these characters, who are actually long-ago reincarnations of themselves, and these following chapters are the long-ago reincarnations who are slightly less Mary-sueish than the girls thought up.

Make sense? Sortof? :3