Word count: 1,054
If she was surprised, angry, or delighted – Ty lee was blissfully unaware. Maybe she was too taxed with weeks of being bedridden? Weeks of physical therapy and overwhelming amounts of moving, constantly moving, either way the bubbly girl was simply too tired to do anything but offer a thin fragile twist of lip, scratching a surface of her fear and doubt. Ty lee could never say she feared the fallen princess. As much as they'd traveled together, as much as she'd seen Azula's capabilities she'd never felt them firsthand. She'd brushed against the azure once or twice during training, narrowly avoided it– but Azula had never actually hurt her. She'd always dabbled it off as Ty lee being too valuable to injure (though that never stopped Azula from hounding her, honing her skills) always played on some sort of reason why it would be far more beneficial to keep the acrobat intact. She'd been flattered at first by this (she was a good fighter?) then she'd been touched (Azula likes me, she doesn't want me to be hurt) and she'd believed it whole-heartededly. Ty lee had never actually been hurt by the prodigy, not seriously anyway, and so she'd never truly feared the girl. Appreciated her talent, a little cautious of it, but feared her? No. She thought she'd never be capable of it. But Azula was capable of anything, wasn't she?
Including Inspiring fear in her, who would have thought unintentionally? It was ironic enough to laugh about, one of those bubbling tragedies she saw on smutty festivals and plays. Something savagely comical about trying to coerce someone into something only to have them fall into your trap when you and them least expected it. It had taken Ty lee a whole two weeks of silence to laugh. Although if it was because of her misfortune, or Azula's. Who knew?
Ty lee watched the princess silently, running a soothing palm along the rising hackles at the back of her neck trying to think of something meaningful to say. Casual small talk.. well obviously it wasn't going to catch flame, especially not with Azula and Ty lee was almost too hesitant to start up a conversation.
But anything was better than this .. stare off.
Azula's golden gaze always made her uncomfortable, always watching – waiting for a slip up. She was like a shark turtle waiting for the right moment to strike. "How have you been sleeping Zula?" she questioned, switching foot to foot timidly.
No answer.
"How are you feeling today?"
Nothing.
Exasperated and probably a little impatient perky girl threw up her hands in defeat and inclined a fraction closer. "Are you just going to ignore me now then?"
And the princess fluidly moved into a well-practiced kata, her footing slightly off, hands not quite raised high enough to emit the flame she might have normally. They'd shackled her close for this reason, she took small steps (took her forever to get to places Ty lee thought) but nobody knew what Azula was capable of. And so nobody underestimated her. Especially not Ty lee.
"You're going to burn me?" She half sobbed, looking forlorn and defeated, sinking shoulders and taking a half step back. Normally the Kiyoshi warrior might have raised her palms, waved them like a demented monkey, took notice of the chi points – lunged for them. But not again. Not to Azula again.
So she just watched the princess slide a foot in a inkbrush arc, pull the hands back, take another half step and then in a breath release -
Nothing. A small spitfire maybe, coming to life but dying just as suddenly and violently.
Ty – lee managed to look something like a scorned dog, looking at Azula through long eyelashes pleadingly. "Im sorry, Im sorry." She started, was interrupted by Azula's half snarl and lunge, grasping at the bars with pointed smooth fingers. Tightening her hold, wild eyes blazing. Ty lee reared backwards shook her head and tilted it accordingly trying to see, trying to understand. She was always trying to understand this anger building up in her friend. Always trying to understand her method of madness.
"Zula, I didn't know what to do okay? I was scared, I didn't want either of you hurt, I love you both so much you are my friends. My close friends and I just .. I didn't think. I didn't think Azula. I never think." Well, not until recently. Recently she'd been thinking a lot about things. About what she had done, on rather or not she had deserved to be burned, thrown into jail – about Zuko. About Mai. About if life was fair and rather or not she should tell Suki or one of the kiyoshi warriors about this sense of failure bubbling up inside. About how much she missed the Princess and her violent ring of protection. They'd say something was wrong with her, she was a masochist, she needed to be locked up and put away, she needed to see someone. But she had, Aang, and he'd been as clueless as she was. Only told her she was the loyalist person he'd perhaps ever met and the road to Azula's heart again would be a rough one. But she'd still wanted to try. Because of the love she had for her friends, because of her loyalty.
Ty lee reached forward with her less dominant hand and heard muffled and slurred -
"Your arm."
Stopped, gathered herself a bit and her thoughts. Ty lee offered Azula a soft familiar smile, perking the corners of her mouth and not quite reaching her eyes as she took a second to debate on telling the Princess about the horrible burn that traveled up it and onto the blunt of her shoulder.
"I was burned. Katara couldn't do much." She responded simply, not quite lying nor telling the truth. Even in her dementia Azula was probably as intuitive as she had always been. "It's slower, aches, stings, and itches a lot."
Ty lee waited for a response, hoping the Regent would perhaps dip into a plethora of things to talk about, like old times, she waited for a few minutes, a hour, would have kept waiting perhaps all night if it wasn't for the knocking on the door. A guard peeking his head in. "Your time is up."