A loud, agonizing yowling made Azula startle awake so hard, the papers on her desk fluttered to the floor as she bolted back in her seat. Soon, two more yowls joined the first, all three of the kittens screaming their little heads off.

"Ty Lee! Wake up!" Azula hissed, shaking the girl's shoulder as she lay fast asleep in Azula's bed for the fourth night in a row. "Ty Lee, wake up!"

"What is it?" Ty Lee mumbled, sitting up and rubbing an eye.

"Your animals won't shut up," Azula replied as a wailing Traitor tried to crawl up her pant leg. "And they won't leave me alone!"

"Oh," Ty Lee said as Muki and Wuki pounced on her chest, yowling in her face. "Hey! I think I know what's wrong. You're hungry, aren't you?"

"Good, go feed them like you said you would," Azula replied, returning to sit at her desk. Studying. Always studying.

"But I can't, Azula!"

Azula cringed. "And why not?"

"I've been feeding them the milk from the cartons we get at meal times, but I forgot to get one at dinner!"

"Well, then I suppose they're just going to have to starve."

"No! That would be horrible!" Ty Lee gasped, and if possible, the kittens collectively howled even louder and higher than Azula thought they were capable of. "We have to get them something or else they'll die!"

"Then what do you suggest, Ty Lee? Breaking into the kitchen and stealing some milk for them?"

Ty Lee grinned. "Oh, Azula, you're the smartest person ever! C'mon, let's go!"

"I was joking, Ty Lee."

"No, you weren't," Ty Lee replied, jumping up and now tugging at her arm. "You never joke around."

"It's called sarcasm," Azula said with a roll of her eyes, but complied. "All right. Now, if we do sneak into the kitchen, you have to be quiet. Got it?"

Ty Lee grinned and saluted her. "I'll be the quietest of the quiet!"

Only half-convinced, the two girls slipped out of their midnight dorm and into the Academy hallway, torches illuminating the tall, wooden corridor in a gentle orange glow. A watchman in white at the end of the hallway had her back turned, and they stole down the plush rug and around the corner, sneaking between the shadows. The ability to walk like silhouettes was nothing new to them; they had practiced for years around the royal palace.

Three flights of stairs and behind many marble busts later, they arrived at their destination. Azula peeked inside the mahogany door of the kitchen first, scanning for signs of the chef, but she was fast asleep in her quarters.

"I'll go get it," Azula whispered. "You keep watch."

"Okay," Ty Lee whispered back as Azula vanished inside. Ty Lee held her breath in her absence, heart pounding out of her chest. They could get into so much trouble if—

CRASH.

"Azula!" Ty Lee hissed, abandoning her post and throwing open the kitchen door. "What's going—"

"Run!" Azula exclaimed, a jumble of milk cartons and other supplies in her arms, and shoved them into Ty Lee's. Suddenly, a ravenous and angry cat-gator was snarling and snapping at their tails, and Ty Lee shrieked, snatching up whatever belongings Azula had dropped and bolting back up the staircase.

Neither girl was sure how they managed to get back to Azula's room without getting caught.