An Azula-centric fanfic.
Disclaimer: The episode, "The Beach" was written by Katie Mattila and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos.
Author's notes:
As I mentioned in the last chapter, I'll consider throwing in an extra chapter next week to compensate for the previous delay. Just tell me if you want that, or I'll keep to the regular schedule.
A little clearer on the hint I gave before on the divider: It's not rearranged. It's coded. How it's coded is up to you to figure out.
/ Another Duck
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
The Good, the Bad, and the Loopy
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
"Suki, Suki! We have a visitor!" One of the children on the island ran breathlessly into the building where the Kyoshi Warriors were practising "It's a glider!"
"Really?" The excitement from the little girl was partially reciprocated in the older one. "Do you know who it is?"
"It's someone from the Fire Nation."
"Oh."
Suki deflated a bit, but any lost air was immediately picked up and quadrupled by one of the other warriors. "From the Fire Nation?" she repeated before vanishing out through the door, leaving a spinning Suki in her wake.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
Azula was unpacking her glider to find some dry clothes. She had miscalculated the wind, and ended up landing a little bit short of the shore. Luckily the pack, along with the rest of the aircraft, had escaped the water. Of course, that was at the expense of herself, as she had dumped the heaviest piece of cargo to let the glider fly the last bit to solid ground. Or sand, as the case was. She was halfway done rummaging through her equipment when she realised she wasn't alone anymore.
"Um. Hello, Azula."
That voice she recognised. It lacked the usual happiness, but it was definitely her.
"Ty Lee!" She turned around to greet her old friend. "It's good to see you."
It really was. She was one of the rare real friends Azula ever had. The acrobat was for the same reason one of the few people she had been truly relaxed around. Ty Lee, on the other hand, didn't appear relaxed at all. Confused was a better word.
"You're not mad at me?"
"I may be mad right now, but it's not at you. I can und..." The princess didn't get further than that before she was tackled almost to the ground with a hug.
"I missed you so much, Azula." As the two girls were embracing each other, the shorter one observed something. "Azula, do you know you're soaking wet?"
"Thank you for telling me. I hadn't noticed." The humour in her voice had the dryness the rest of her didn't have.
"I'm glad you're not mad any more. I was worried that you'd think I really wanted to betray you." She seemed as if she was about to continue, but for some reason, she suddenly tensed up. "Um, Azula, not to be rude or anything, but could you stop hugging me, please?"
"But you're dry," Azula protested.
"Not anymore, but that's not what I meant. My girlfriend might get jealous."
"Oh, no, please continue," a third voice cut in. It held a hard-to-define edge to it. "I like to watch."
Azula let go of her friend to look at the newcomer. It was another of the Kyoshi Warriors who stood there with her arms crossed. She had her head tilted, and an amused, sideways smile adorned her face.
Her hands on her friend's shoulders, Azula looked between the two trying to absorb the new information. "So, you," she looked at the girl she was holding, "and you," she shifted her attention to the other girl. Both nodded simultaneously. "Well, it figures." The princess shrugged. "You've got the same taste in men." Suki started to stare at her girlfriend, who grinned sheepishly. "Speaking of that, I thought you hit it off with waterboy."
This time it was Suki's turn to look embarrassed, scratching the back of her neck, but she didn't quite smile. "Yeah, well, it didn't quite work out."
An awkward silence followed till Azula broke it. "I know you don't attack me on sight because of Ty here, but is there any chance I can get a place to stay for the night?"
The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors put on an official demeanour. "Why would I give you that?"
"I don't suppose you'd do it out of the goodness of your heart?" The words were hopeful, but the tone behind them was not.
"I'm afraid I don't have much of that left over for you."
"Suki!" Ty Lee protested, but the princess waved the help away.
"It's okay. I don't want to take any short-cuts with this." She turned to Suki and matched her poise. "Very well. As the princess of the Fire Nation, I have come here to offer restitution for the damages our nation has caused you during the war. We would also like to take the opportunity to investigate if there are any possible trade agreements that can be negotiated."
Suki took a few moments to assess the situation. "Ty Lee, tell the others I will be busy the rest of the day."
"Will do. Azula, I'll check in on you later. Have fun, you two!" She gave them a hug each before running off.
"Perky as ever," Azula mused.
"She sure is," agreed Suki with a tone that made the other girl give her a curious glance. The light-hearted mood quickly disappeared to make way for business. "Grab your gear. I'll show you where you can stay. The glider should be safe here." She didn't wait for Azula to finish, who just unfastened the pack and took the little she had unpacked before Ty Lee came under her arm.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
The formal meeting was over fairly quickly. Neither part was particularly interested in spending more time on it than absolutely necessary. As soon as they had signed the last document Suki sighed and gave Azula a pointed look. "Okay, why are you really here?"
"You don't believe I'm here to do business for my country?"
"You're almost as bored as I am, and even if I know this will go a long way to secure the peace between our nations, that's not why you're here."
"I did actually want to do this for the Fire Nation on this side of the war, but you're right. I have several reasons for my travels, but I don't think you're interested in most. In short, I'm trying to learn a few things my dear father neglected to teach me. Little things, like morals and compassion."
"I can see what that could do to a person."
"Yes, I've walked past many mirrors."
"Are you trying to excuse what you did?"
"Oh, no. Definitely not. Seeking forgiveness isn't something I'm ready for any time soon. However, I did want to try to apologise. I am aware that what I've done isn't exactly moral, and I do respect you, even if I haven't shown it."
Suki's head tilted slightly in suspicion. "Why do you say try?"
Azula cringed a bit, something quite unusual for her. "Because I want to actually feel sorry about it. As it is, my feelings tell me I did what I had to do because you were my enemy."
Biting her lip softly as she considered her feelings on the matter, Suki gave the other girl a neutral glance. "You know what? I sort of feel the same. I don't feel like holding a grudge, in particular in respect for Ty Lee. I'm not saying I want to be your friend and hug you, but we're no longer enemies. I still want a rematch, though."
Confusion was written all over Azula's face. "I'm not sure I understand. How can you feel the same way I do, when you have a conscience and I don't? And I didn't exactly treat you well as my captive."
"I think you do have one, but you're just not aware of it. If you didn't have one, you wouldn't have bothered to come here in the first place. As for your treatment, well, I probably made it harder than necessary on myself."
"Grinning like a cat owl isn't the best choice of action in those situations, no. I have to admire your resolve, though."
Suki gave the princess a confident smirk. "Now, if we're done here, what about that rematch?"
Azula matched her smirk. "Just name the place."
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
Ty Lee kept her word, and entered the place Azula stayed at. Quickly finding her old friend being put to bed by her new friend, she ran up to them.
"What happened?"
Suki turned to her, but Azula appeared to be sleeping. "I'm not sure, really. We were fighting, and then..."
"Fighting?" interrupted Ty Lee with a distressed voice. "Why were you fighting? I should never have left the two of you alone."
"Calm down, Ty. It was only a friendly sparring match."
Ty Lee examined the girls suspiciously, finding many bruises on both of them. "Friendly, huh?"
"Okay, so it got a little heated. Anyway, as I was saying, I was kicking her butt, and then she just fell over, unconscious. I hadn't touched her for a while at that point, so I have no idea what happened."
"Is she all right?"
"I am," the girl in question unexpectedly answered, startling both of them.
Concern was quickly replaced by chiding. "What were you thinking, fighting Suki like that?"
"Calm down, Ty. It was only a friendly sparring match. And keep your voice down. My head hurts."
Wide-eyed glances were traded between the two sitting girls, which confused Azula. "What?" After a while she decided she wouldn't get an answer, so she explained what she thought was wrong. "A few days ago, I ran into some trouble, and I got a concussion." She pointed to the scar she thought she still had from the balloon crash.
Ty Lee bent over to examine her closer, and found only a trace left of the scar. "If you had a scar here, it's almost healed now. I can barely see anything. It's certainly less than all the scars Suki gave you." She emphasised her words by glaring at the offender, who held up her hands in surrender.
"Hey, I just gave as I took. No real harm done."
"No, it was a good fight, what I can remember of it. But please, let me sleep now. I've travelled all day and fought Suki here, so I'm quite tired."
"Suki, go ahead. I'm going to get her wounds cleaned up a bit. I'll take care of you later."
She looked hopeful. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
There wasn't really much to speak about what happened the day after. Suki kept her distance, and let the two old friends catch up a bit, until Azula decided to leave. Suki was happy, though. She did get to kick some princess butt. That wasn't something she got to do every day. She was also glad that her girlfriend was happier than usual, which said a lot. Even if it wasn't directed at her.
Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M
Author's notes:
Thus ends the seventh chapter of the story. This was the most fun chapter to write so far. I could've added a lot of innuendo, but I restrained myself. Suki and Ty Lee just happened, probably as a result of some of said innuendo. It was one of those unplanned events that just ended up making the story so much better. Both of them are fun to write, and Suki is my third favourite character. I'm not quite happy with the ending, though, but I'm not sure what to do with it either.
/ Another Duck