I'm sorry it took so long to post! I want to give you an excuse, but the only one I have is writer's block, and I feel like it isn't a very good one. So, here's the third chapter of my fanfic. Read it and love it! Or don't, I don't really care, just please leave a review!
Disclaimer: I… do… not… own… Avatar… unfortunately. But I'm working on it!
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Fierce golden eyes stared at the ground, picking the minutest traces of anyone passing through. It was rather hard, because the downpour of rain the night before had wiped away most signs. However, this girl did not need the normal tracking giveaways such as an unnaturally moved plant, thread or hair caught on a thorn, slight footprints on the ground. Her internal compass told her that she was bang on course.
The golden eyes were accompanied by smooth, well-bred skin and silky black hair up in a tightly flat bun that was decorated with a royal fire insignia. Her bangs framed the side of her shapely face. Her clothes were obviously Fire Nation, her body well-tuned yet beautiful.
Two girls were with her. One was smiling widely, her brown eyes large and excited. Her long, light brown hair was up in a high ponytail and braided. Her clothes were also Fire Nation, but her body was long and willowy, perfect for an acrobat. She was walking near to the other girl, as many others tried not to do, afraid that her boredom was contagious. But nothing could down Ty Lee's mood.
The other girl had a very pale, expressionless face. Her dark eyes took everything in, but nothing seemed to move her. Her long lack hair was up in two buns on the side of her head, and two pieces of thick hair came down from them and settled lazily on her shoulders. Long bangs were cut short just before her eyes, and she looked up through them. She was dressed also as a Fire Nation citizen, but in darker clothes. All three walked along quickly, following, and catching up.
Azula was lost in thought. She knew that her brother had been tracking the Avatar for the past three years and more. She also knew that somehow, by some miracle, he had managed to capture him for a little more than a week. No one had ever done that before. Azula viewed her brother as a miserable failure, with no more skills for anything than a hog-monkey. Her uncle was powerful, yet in her mind he was rarely there to make a difference, and she had gotten him good that one time after Omashu…
Azula's lips turned down in a small frown. Her uncle had redirected her lightning when she had first caught them; a move even she, the firebending prodigy, did not know.
The princess picked up the pace, and her two friends hurried alongside her. She smiled, her eyes narrowed. She was catching up with her tea-crazed uncle and her underachieving brother. The three were not using any mounts because they knew that the Avatar's friends were following as well, although the girls had quickly passed them in their tracking.
Their feelings are getting in the way, Azula silently scoffed. She returned her attention to their path and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Three traitors all in one place. One probably subdued and without strength, one unsuspecting, and one… well, one was her uncle. The words sounded lame, even in her head. Azula blinked quickly to get rid of the thoughts and glanced at her companions.
Ty Lee grinned and looked up at the clear blue sky above them. Ever since she had joined Azula, there was never nothing to do. Although the circus had been perfect, the girl now realized it had lacked something… probably, old friends. The ones she had played with when she was little. Now, all three were together again. She could tease Mai, be with Azula and… well, put her skills to a good use.
The acrobat couldn't resist anymore, and she bounced and did a cartwheel, landing easily at the end. Mai looked on, bored, and Azula just looked at her before starting to walk again. Ty Lee was a little disappointed, but she slung her arms around her two friends' shoulders and dropped into step with them. So far, this journey had been fun. Especially since there was that cute boy who was traveling with the Avatar.
A small smile danced around Mai's lips as Ty Lee put her arms around them. This was where she would be until she couldn't stand anymore. This is where she would fight, by the princess's side, until she didn't have the strength to anymore. This was her place now; if was better than being trapped in Omashu where the rest of her family was right then. And with Azula, there was less of a chance of being bored. Mai was always bored, so that really was saying something.
For a moment Mai wondered what had happened to Zuko that day he was exiled, when he was still a prince. She knew that his father had done something to him; but what? Rumors had been flying at the speed of lightning around the Fire Nation, even in the most remote places. The Fire Lord's son has been banished! But renditions of the story differed in important facts, and grew wilder with each retelling. For some reason, Mai hadn't brought it up with Azula yet.
Mai shifted in her robe and kept walking. They would see Zuko soon enough, since they were tracking him. It would be interesting to see if she still, um, felt the same way about him.
Her smile widened, even though Mai tried to hide it. She knew that Ty Lee loved to tease her about her attraction to Zuko, and it had been very embarrassing when she was younger, before she had learned to shrug it off. But sometimes, Ty Lee still struck a nerve, and Mai's insides burned at what her friend said. However, she got over it, and Ty Lee remained frustrated, wondering why she couldn't get to her friend like she used to be able to.
Mai stopped, looking down. She said in her slightly flat voice. "Azula, look at this." She pointed at a deep set of footprints in the ground, and bark scraped off the trunk of a tree. It looked like somebody tired had rested against this tree, only last night.
Azula inspected the place and smiled. She straightened up and looked at her friends. "We'll be with my dear brother again soon." Her eyes flashed and she turned around, surveying the rest of the area around the tree.
"Great, we'll see Zuko again," cooed Ty Lee, glancing sidelong at the other girl, but Mai didn't flinch. A small frown plastered itself onto the acrobat's face, but her eyes still glittered.
"What now, Azula?" she asked, going over to her friend and resting a hand on her shoulder. Azula looked at them, satisfied with the other clues left by the three travelers. Mai moved up beside them and looked at the fire princess inquiringly.
"Now, we keep walking." Azula told them, her hands balling into fists. "Now, we follow them."
She didn't say anything more. Ty Lee shrugged at Mai, who looked stoically back. Azula began to walk, her mind drifting over the encounters she had had with the three before now. There had been that time when she had almost convinced Zuko and her uncle to come back to the Fire Nation with her as prisoners. It would have worked too, except her idiot captain ruined it at the last moment. She had had to fight Zuko, which admittedly hadn't been much of a fight. And that was when her uncle had redirected her lightning. The thought left a sour taste in her mind.
Then she had first met up with the Avatar and his creepy little peasant friends in Omashu, which the Fire Nation had taken over. She had almost gotten the Avatar when he had tried to escape with King Bumi. However, she hadn't gotten him, and the peasants had beaten her friends, surprisingly.
Then there was that time when she had tracked the Avatar and his friends by their shedding bison. When Aang had tried to lead her off the trail, she had tracked him to an abandoned town and fought with the enemies and the traitors, who were apparently on the same side. That was when she had payback for her uncle's audacity to be better than her. Then she had escaped with Mai and Ty Lee.
And now this. She would soon have all three in her grasp, because she had faith in the three, and when the others had escaped it had just been lucky for them. Humph! Azula nearly laughed out loud. Luck! I don't need luck. I might be lucky, but I'd be perfect without it. Good thing luck and fortune favor me. She smiled.
The three of them walked and walked, not talking very much. Ty Lee and Mai threw glances at each other every once and a while, and it was obvious what they meant. Azula was obsessed, more than usual. Something about this situation was nagging at her and she was determined to set it right.
They plodded on, the trees merging into one green and brown blur, rushing by them quickly. The sky flew past, and clouds were barely seen. The ground seemed to be slipping out from under their feet, and tears entered all of their eyes. Not from emotion, but a sudden wind that kicked up out of nowhere, or maybe it was just where the three Fire Nation girls were. Whatever the reason, they could hardly see where they were going, and twice Ty Lee almost walked into a tree before seeing it and moving out of the way just in time.
The sun started sinking, and stained the sky different colors. The rainbow was smudged together, so you couldn't tell where one color ended and another began. The clouds were large and puffy, many of them a beautiful golden color that shed a delicate light on the girls. The trees were disfigured, and shadows stretched and deepened, giving illusions to space and depth.
Ty Lee looked at the colors spreading from the setting sun, marveling at how something so simple could be so pretty. There was blue, orange, red, purple, a dark gold, a light yellow and a deep indigo that almost looked black against the brighter colors.
Blue is for the Water Tribe girl.
She was a good bender, but Ty Lee had gotten her. The acrobat paused for a moment to wonder why she was thinking about her enemies, and connecting them to the sunset no less! But it didn't matter, and Ty Lee went on in her thoughts.
Purple is for the cute boy with the boomerang.
She grinned and saw him in mind's eye, knocking Mai's dagger out of her hand, his arms and legs going limp when she hit him with the pressure points and paralyzed him. He was a good fighter…
Orange is for the earthbender that Azula says they have now.
From what she had heard, the girl was blind, but a very good bender anyway. She was fierce and sarcastic too, and even though Ty Lee had never seen her, she could imagine her in her head, and the girl looked smug.
The yellow is for the Avatar.
His happy-go-lucky attitude was almost like hers, although she had never really been with him up close. He was a very good bender though, and had escaped Azula many times, although the acrobat refrained from mentioning that in front of the princess. She tended to set fire to whatever was closest.
Gold is for Zuko.
The ex-prince who Mai had had, and still did, have a crush on. The one who had never wanted to play with them, and who she hadn't seen since she was much younger. She would see him soon though, that was for sure. Azula never lost what she was tracking…
The dark blue is for Mai.
Mai was a great friend, but she was cold and distant, more like fiery ice than anyone in the Fire Nation, or anyone that Ty Lee had ever met in general. She was always bored, but Ty Lee would not separate their little group for anything, now that they were back together.
And red is definitely for Azula.
Azula. Red for blood. That was what popped up immediately in Ty Lee brain when she thought of the color red. Azula was a Fire Princess, and great tracker, amazing bender and fighter. But, at least for the two she was traveling with now, she was also a friend. And Ty Lee would never label Azula cruel.
The sun had set while Ty Lee was thinking, and Azula threw out a hand to stop her friends. They froze and waited, eyes watching her intently. The princess lifted her head and crept forward, the hunter stalking her prey professionally. A gap between low branches of two trees gave her all the space she needed to see. The hunter watched the hunted, barely breathing lest they heard her.
Her uncle was starting a fire with a punch towards the pit. It erupted instantaneously, not too high, perfect for cooking. He then settled himself down in front of it, motioning for her brother to do the same thing.
Azula started when she saw Zuko. His hair had grown out so his bangs stopped just short of his eyes, shaggy and good-looking. Azula smirked. Her brother would never be good-looking, no matter how he tried. He sat down grumpily, for it was clear that he wanted to keep traveling.
The girl's eyes kept scanning until they came across another shape, leaning against a tree as far away as his two captors would let him be. He almost looked like a shadow, his head hanging down and his body limp against the tree. When he looked up, it was as though a shadow was over his eyes, or a storm cloud. Azula's stomach clenched at the look, but she relaxed and let the emotion fade.
She moved slowly backwards until she was out of the range and turned around to find Mai and Ty Lee very close to her. They waited eagerly, knowing some action was about to come next. Azula was ready for it too, but she wasn't naïve.
The princess sat down, and the others did too. "It's time to plan." She told them quietly. "My brother and uncle are by the fire, and the Avatar looks very unable to fight."
"We can take them," Ty Lee informed them without hesitation.
"I know," replied Azula. "But we need a plan. We can't just go storming in there. But it doesn't have to be complicated, since this will be easy. I'm thinking something as simple as just waiting until they're all asleep and then taking them?"
Mai thought for a moment before nodding. "Sounds fine with me." She sounded rather bored again.
Ty Lee looked disappointed. "Does that mean that we aren't going to fight them?" she asked, her ponytail almost drooping.
Azula looked at her. "Oh, I'm sure we'll do some fighting before this is over." She assured her long-time friend.
"Oh good," said Ty Lee, and she promptly lay down. Mai joined her soon after, but Azula stayed up, watching the moon rise. Her gold eyes followed its progress. "Now we wait." She whispered. She had heard that the moon spirit was a young girl from the Northern Water Tribe.
"You just watch moon spirit. Your reign will soon come to an end. You watch,"
The moon looked down sadly at the three groups of people traveling, and you could almost see a girl with snow white hair and a pretty face watching, tears flowing from her eyes.
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Author's Notes:
I love you, I love you all! Review please, anything is welcome… except flames, but criticism is fine, I'd love to know how to become a better writer. Especially tips for how to portray Ozai's Angels, because this was the hardest chapter to write.
So, go to school or work, do your homework, hang out with friends etc, and find time in there somewhere for about two seconds to write me a review.
Oh no! I saw Lake Laogai, and it completely ruined this fanfic. Oh well, life goes on right?
I don't really know where I'm going with this fic, but I have a question for you readers that I really want you to answer before I post the next chapter. And that is, would you like it if I brought in some OC characters? Maybe for romances, maybe not, I don't know yet. I'd just like your opinion.
