An Azula-centric fanfic.
Disclaimer: A human's terminal velocity is between 200 km/h and 1000 km/h, depending on how she falls, and the density of the air.
Author's notes:
First I must apologise for the delay on this chapter. It has nothing to do with not being able to write, though, but more about something I didn't plan in my schedule. Anyhow, I think I'll throw up an extra chapter next week or so, to compensate. Or if you don't want that, tell me in your reviews.
By the way mT started his review, I almost thought he'd catch the divider code. All the words are there, just not in the right order...
/ Another Duck
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
Somewhere She Does Not Belong
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
Finally back on track again, Azula headed towards where she had seen something fly, as the dragon had suggested. This time, she wouldn't have to worry about the fuel for the balloon, as she could provide it herself. However, the speed had been boring to her now that there were other options, so she had taken to boosting it with her own power. It was very tiring, and she knew she couldn't keep doing so for any significant distances, but it was also good endurance training, which she needed.
She didn't quite manage to hold out till her goal, but she did get close enough to see it. A tall mountain rose through the low clouds. On it, she could spot buildings, and more importantly, several aircraft of various designs. It looked similar to the Northern Air Temple, but it couldn't be that. She wasn't that far off course.
When she approached, she was joined by a few of the gliders. Some were just curious about the visitor, as they rarely had those at this unfrequented part of the world. Others recognised her.
It didn't take them long to decide she was a threat, and with their much more agile crafts, it was an easy task to cut a hole in the balloon and let it crash. The messenger hawks abandoned ship, and Azula thought that a wise choice. Grabbing her pack, she leapt out with the intent to slow her fall enough to land safely.
However, as she rapidly approached the rocks below her, she found that she had spent too much energy while trying to travel faster. Her landing was rough. She had managed to slow down enough so her legs didn't break at the impact, but her head struck a boulder, knocking her unconscious.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
When Azula awoke, she found she could only see through one eye. She tried to reach up to feel what was wrong, but something stopped her. Something that rattled. Chains went around her lower body, pinning her arms to it. She didn't know what clothes she was wearing, but they had removed her shoulder armour. Her head hurt like nothing else, but otherwise she was feeling all right. Or at least, that's what she thought, as the pain was rather distracting.
"Is anyone here?"
There was no answer for a while, but eventually soft steps were heard. A small boy, several years younger than her, entered the room.
"Hello," she greeted. By the way he carried himself, it was apparent he had nothing to do with her current situation, so she decided to try to start off on a friendly note. At the same time, the ache made her want to get to the point quickly. Luckily, he seemed to have the same idea.
"Hello. How do you feel?"
"Are you the one who's taking care of me?"
"Yes. I'm Kyouya."
"I'm Azula. My head hurts. What happened?"
"You hit your head when you fell. I don't think you broke anything, but you got a gash on your temple. It was bleeding pretty badly, but I managed to get it to stop."
"Will it leave a scar?" The prospect of a permanent mark didn't frighten her, as she had given it some serious thought after she'd seen her brother get a far worse scar than she thought this would give, but at the same time, it didn't fit her vision of perfection.
"I don't know. I'm not very old, but I want to be a healer when I grow up. I'm pretty good at taking care of people, so don't worry."
It didn't quite make Azula want to relax, but she had little choice in the matter. On the other hand, someone was trying to take care of her, so it couldn't be that bad, could it?
"Just be still. I'm going to change the bandage."
He lifted her head and put a folded towel under her neck to give himself better access. A few seconds later he had removed the wrapping completely, and was just pressing gently on the bandage with his hand. She felt him dab the wound a few times with a cool, wet cloth, and she had to re-evaluate her previous opinion of him.
His skill was actually quite decent. He still had to have a lot to learn, and this wasn't a complicated wound, but he didn't do anything that made her feel any pain at all. Well, any more pain, in any case. She'd experienced what it could feel like at the slightest mistake before, with her own, trained healers. Even as a prodigy, she did get injured quite a lot while practising. Perfection had its cost.
"It doesn't bleed any more, and it looks good. How does it feel?"
Careful not to disturb anything, she opened her eye and blinked a few times. There was no swelling she noticed affecting her eye movement, but she would probably do best to avoid any grimaces involving that part of her face.
"I can feel that it hasn't healed, and it's probably a little swollen, but other than that, I just have a headache."
"You did hit your head hard, after all. You should probably stay in bed for a day or two."
"Do I have a choice?" It wasn't something that upset her. Resting for a while did sound nice. She still felt tired, and her head didn't help matters either. It also wasn't like she had a tight schedule to keep, so spending an extra day or two couldn't hurt.
"I'm not allowed to release you. I don't like keeping you like this, but the adults would get mad at me if I let you go. You don't look like a bad person, though. Are you?"
Ah, the innocence of youth. She had to smile at that. "I was a bad person, but I'm trying to be good now. The people here know of me only as a bad person."
"Are you mad at them?"
"No, I'm not." Contrary to her last experience with the dragon, she was feeling very reasonable. Things made sense to her again, and it was quite relaxing. "They do what they think will protect your people."
"I should go now. They don't want me to talk with you."
"Before you leave, could you give me some water?"
"Okay." He took a ladle and scooped up some fresh water from a wooden bucket. As he tilted it to her mouth, she drank. It wasn't the most dignified way to drink, but she took what she could get. It was also very refreshing, since it had been sometime since she had last taken a sip.
"I need some rest now." As she closed her eyes, she heard him walk quietly out again. Even with her head hurting, it didn't take her long to fall asleep.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
A bucket of water woke her up in an instant. In the same instant, she was thrown down from the bed she was lying on, and she had just enough presence of mind to soften her fall with her forehead to avoid crushing her nose or aggravating the injury she already had. As her head was swimming among miniature flying sky bison someone pulled her up and yelled at her. It wasn't anything she actually heard, though. She waited until she thought they had stopped talking.
"Can you repeat that?"
Someone pushed her harshly against a wall and held her there. It appeared to be a middle-aged man, but her vision was still a little blurry. "You think you're so high and mighty so you can just choose when to pay attention, don't you?"
"No, I just can't hear anything when my head is ringing." She was truthful, but at the same time, she knew it probably wasn't the best thing to say. However, she wasn't feeling like being cooperative at the moment.
"Funny little girl. I know who you are, and you're going to pay for what you've done. We'll see how spunky you are after a few days."
They left her alone for the rest of the day, so she spent the time getting some more rest. She couldn't believe how exhausted she had been, but the previous days with little sleep probably wore her down more than she realised.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
It was night when she woke up next. It suited her just fine, as she no longer planned on staying there. She wanted to talk with her enemies, sure, but only those who were actually willing to talk without attacking her on sight.
Now that she actually tried, she found that they had made a poor job of tying her up, even if they did so with chains. With some fidgeting, she managed to get her hands free enough to reach the lowest part of her restraints. A small, concentrated flame was all it took to soften the metal enough to pull it loose. In short time, she had freed herself completely.
She found her pack and armour just outside the door, but no guards. Briefly wondering why she had bothered taking the plated garment with her in times of peace, she pulled it on, just preferring the familiarity of it. Her pack on her back where it belonged, she made her way out of the caves, or at least where she thought out was.
A closed door met her, and she could see a few stars out through the barred window in it. Sneaking up to it, she found she was rather high up on the mountain, and a couple of guards. Well, they probably preferred to stay outdoors rather than in the dark cave. There were a few more objects of interest. Her two messenger hawks were perched on a nearby railing, and there was a glider that looked ready enough to fly.
The plan was simple: Just run out, knock out the guards, call the messenger hawks, and steal the glider. The execution of the plan was actually almost as simple. She managed to catch one of the men unprepared, and got rid of him just as the other turned to her. Instead of charging her, as was surprisingly common, he yelled for help. A well-placed jab ended the shout, and gave her some time before reinforcement arrived.
She had time to secure her pack to the glider before anyone showed up. Lifting it up, she found it rather heavy, and wondered how it could actually fly, but seeing as she knew the people living here used it as such, she had no doubts it would work. Taking a running start, she leapt off the high cliff and found herself soaring between her two companions.
A glance backwards revealed that she wasn't safe just yet, as several other gliders were already on her tail. Still, they could never catch up with her. She did have one trump up her sleeve. Grinning to herself, she focused her power to her feet, and dual jets of fire launched her through the air and upwards where they couldn't follow her. They needed updrafts, but she didn't.
She soon found out it took more effort to just remain in a decent position to fly, so she wondered how the others dealt with it. Most of them most likely didn't have the physique she did, and she was getting tired in her arms and legs. Carefully looking around the aircraft, she found a few sets of straps, which she immediately hooked herself up with. Now that was comfortable. She could almost sleep like that.
Once the sun rose and she got a better look of the land, she found out she wasn't actually that far from her goal, Kyoshi Island. Her travelling speed was much higher than anything she'd ever experienced before, so she estimated only a few hours left.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
Author's notes:
Thus ends the sixth chapter of the story. I don't know where this chapter came from. I don't know where it actually takes place, or what landmark that told Azula where she was. It wasn't planned at all originally. There are a couple significant details in it, though. It's probably somewhat obvious to which those are, but I'll remain silent for now.
/ Another Duck