Her fingers brushed through her hair, something they'd been doing subconsciously for the past three days. Azula was still getting used to her new hair cut.
In a way she'd miss the way it cascaded over her shoulders. The way it swept wildly in the breeze.
And yet she was twice as fond of feeling the wind hug her now bare neck. She wouldn't really miss combing away the tangles every morning either, nor trying to tie it up.
Azula couldn't quite place why she had told Ty-Lee to cut her hair so short for her. But she had, figuring that if she didn't like it, it'd grow back eventually. Just as it had when she sloppily chopped at her bangs. At least her new look had some grace to it. Some precision. Some care.
Some purpose.
Azula just didn't know what that purpose was.
Ty-Lee seemed to think the change was beautiful and was currently pondering upon how she wanted Azula to cut her own hair. Of course she had to make a joke or two about how she questioned letting Azula near her head and her hair with a pair of scissors.
The girl decided that she'd let Azula cut her hair to shoulder's length.
Azula began unraveling the girl's braid—wondering all the while why Ty-Lee hadn't done so herself.
As she ran a comb through the acrobat's tangled hair she decided to ask what made her want a haircut.
Ty-Lee was pretty silent for a moment, aside from the slight humming noise she always made when thinking.
Once satisfied with the comb job, Azula reached for the scissors.
At last the girl offered Azula an answer. "I guess I just wanted some change."
Azula nodded. After a moment spent remembering that Ty-Lee couldn't see the visual response she added. "I suppose that's a good reason."
Ty-Lee nodded.
"Hold still." Azula huffed. She withdrew the scissors and surveyed the damage. She clicked her tongue. "See, now I'm going to have to cut it shorter to make it even."
"Oh! Sorry!" Ty-Lee moved her hands over her mouth.
"It's not my hair it's yours." Azula shrugged. As she set to work on fixing her error…well it was more of Ty-Lee's error than hers.
"Change huh?" Azula murmured more to herself as she cut away. That would make sense.She decided.
That was why she had chosen to let Ty-Lee cut her own hair.
Change.
Azula had promised herself she'd be a new person in some way or another once she got out of that asylum. What a better way to display change than this.
Cutting her hair, she realized, had essentially been clipping away the last of her old self to make way for someone new. "How symbolic." She mused.
"I guess so." Ty-Lee replied in her sing song voice. "I mean I didn't see it that way…I just wanted to change how I looked." She clapped her hands together.
"Of course you did." Azula rolled her eyes. She lowered the scissors again. "There. It's done."
Ty-Lee looked at her reflection in the water. "I love it!" She jumped up and hugged Azula.
"Well, of course you do. After all I was the one cut it for you." Azula jabbed the scissors in Ty-Lee's direction, with a prideful little smile.
Azula had to admit, Ty-Lee's new hairstyle made her look much more mature and less like a naive little girl. Perhaps the hair cut would inspire taking on such a persona as well. Azula could dream.
Looking at the acrobat, Azula wondered how the girl viewed her.
The girl finally pulled out of their embrace.
"Thanks Azula."
"Anytime."
Azula looked at the clumps of her hair scattered among the grass.
Change wasn't the word for Azula's motives. No, her motivation centered around something akin to rebirth.
A new Azula.
Maybe she'd like this person…the person she'd become.