Hello everybody. I have managed to finish two chapters over weekend and here they are.

Oriande Moonshadow: Thanks :-) In general I have to say, that I enjoy writing for this story. I try to do some more weird and unusual things for Azula and with Azula, here and until now it's so much fun to give her this new direction. I have plans for Arashi/Azula and for Aang, but you'll have to wait for details, until the chapters will be written, sorry :-) All I can say again is, that no couple Aang/Azula or Aang/Arashi is planned here so far. And about more chapters. Two new chapters today *g*

Azula has to get her feelings in line a bit, because she is unsure, if Arashi's character has bled in some of her former actions, so she starts to search for another point of view on things. I wish all of you a lot of fun with this new chapter.


Another Point Of View

It was afternoon, as Azula finally woke up again. The sun was setting early in the mountains and she recognized through the window, that the shadows already grew longer. Dum-Dum was still snuggled against her and Azula woke him up, carefully by stroking his head. The creature yawned heavily and blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes, before he gave her a worried look, which made her chewing her cheek.

"I don't know, Dum-Dum. I had a really weird dream."

The impressions of the morning were crawling back into her mind. Aang's promise, the flying, the injured monks and her outburst against Gyatso. A cold prickle started within her stomach, spreading out all over her body, until it reached her toes and ears. It made her feel sick and a bit dizzy. She shook her head and stood up, followed by Dum-Dum, who took place on her shoulder. She walked back to her door and opened it carefully. The hall before her room was empty, beside her glider, which was leaning on the wall beside her door. She slipped out of her room, taking the rod with her and walked through the temple towards the stables. At this time most monks and nuns were at meditation, so she only met a few people, who greeted her with warm smiles and nods, as ever. She found Nari with Appa at the stables and the bison greeted her with an friendly groan. She petted her head with a shy smile.

"I had a really bad day, Nari, that's why I'm late."

The bison nudged her carefully with her head and Azula kept on stroking her thick fur. She looked around and recognized, that someone had done the work with the animal for her, probably Aang. A worried grumbling sound from Nari made her turn back to her.

"I don't know, what to do, Nari. I'm not her, but somehow I fear… I start to feel like her. Or to feel like I think she might feel. I don't know. This is… It's just wrong."

The bison's eyes focused on Azula and the animal seemed to think about something. Suddenly Nari released a determent grunt and laid herself down, lowing her head, to offer Azula to take a seat behind her head. Her jaw just dropped a bit and she shared a questioning look with Nari and then with Dum-Dum, but the lemur only started from her shoulder and took place on Nari's head and turned back to Azula, waiting for her reaction. She stared a moment at both, but then she placed her thumb and index finger at her chin.

"An external view on things. Not a bad idea, Nari."

She fetched a rope and knotted a bridle for the horns, like Aang had showed her some days before. She fixed it at Nari's horns and she took seat behind her head, using her bending skills to jump over the bison's head to to reach the neck of the animal. She rested there for a moment, watching her hands, which were holding the rope.

"Which words did the Avatar used to get his beast to fly? Oh right. Nari. Yip-Yip!"

The bison got on her feet and started with a whip of her tail in the air. Azula was astonished, how fast the bison could fly, the temple grew rapidly smaller as she headed Nari towards the valley, where she had spotted the smoke two week ago with Gyatso. She wanted to see things with her own eyes. She wanted to see, what really happened here. Maybe this would help her to understand her weird feelings and if these feelings would belong to her or Arashi.


She reached a small village about ten minutes later and landed with Nari at the central square, observed by some inhabitants. Azula's mood had started to drop as nearer she had come to the village and it kept falling as she faced the worried and scared looks of the people, who had recognized her coming. She had spotted some burned houses long before she had landed and also the other buildings seemed to need some fixes. But the eyes of the men, women and children, who had come to the place were the worst. The had this special scared glimmer in it, a glimmer, which was able to tell more, than words or burned houses. It was gnawing on Azula's mood. It had been a mistake to come here, she wasn't even sure, why she has done so and what she was expecting to find here.

"May the Spirits be with you, young nun. I am Ging Dao, mayor of this village here."

Azula turned to the source of the greeting. A man, about forty has come to Nari and her and bowed before the airbender.

"How are the nuns and monks, who got burned by the soldiers, yesterday?"

Azula stayed quiet, but her face must have told the man enough to elicited him a sad sigh. Suddenly he offered her a hand to come down from Nari.

"How about a tea, you look like you could use one."

Azula looked at Nari and the man seemed to guess her question.

"Don't worry, your bison will be in best hands."

He turned back and three children between eight and thirteen approached out of the little group of people, who has come to the central place to welcome the guest.

"My kids will take care of it. This is Sozula, Raja and Azaahrn. They'll watch after your animal."

The three were now standing at their fathers side and bowed with shy smiles. Azula released also a sigh and jumped off from Nari. She bowed before the Ging Dao and his kids.

"Thanks. A tea would be very nice. I'm… I'm Arashi."


She was sitting with her tea in Ging Dao's house. He had made her a fresh jasmine tea and she had to admit, that it could match the one, her uncle was brewing.

"A tiny bit of ginger and a hint of peppermint, I guess."

The man's face lighted up in surprise.

"You have a fine taste, Arashi. You seem to know a lot about flavors."

Azula's face fell a bit.

"I have lived some years with someone, who could go nuts about tea and flavors."

The face of the mayor darkened in sadness.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't wanted to cut in open wounds."

Azula had to bit her bottom lip and she shook her head.

"No, he's not dead." She hesitated and a flicker of sadness rushed over it. "At least as far as I know, he only lives far away from me, now."

It was somehow the truth and Azula caught herself for a moment, that she would gladly choose to stay with her uncle right now, because if she could do so, she would be Azula again. In her own time and body. But Ging Dao ripped her out of her thoughts.

"How are nun Satora and the others?"

The voice was deeply worried and his face got paler, as he recognized the empty look in Azula's face.

"They're alive. I… We have taken care of their wounds, but they'll need time to heal and some of them will be marked forever."

Tears came to the eyes of the man.

"We did our best with the first aid. The soldiers have burned them really bad. We wanted to bring them back to your temple, but Satora had insisted and has given us the advice to leave the village."

Azula raised an eyebrow. She remembered the fire in the eye of the nun, as she had her quarrel with Gyatso. It sounded like her.

"The soldiers have demanded almost all of our stocked food and forage. They have threaten us and have started to burn some abandoned houses, when Satora arrived with the others. They tried to mediate, but Captain Thoi Ga got only mad and attacked them with his men. Your friends tried best to protect the houses and the people, also the soldiers, but so they got all injured. Thoi Ga left without taking anything, but he has promised to come back."

Azula felt, that her hand was shaking, because she had made a tight grip around her cup. This was all so wrong.

"You're Fire Nation, right? The buildings, the symbols, I have seen a shrine for Agni as I came closer to the village."

Ging Dao watched at her in confusion, which made Azula cursing herself, silently.

"My apologize for this strange question, but I have had an accident two weeks ago, which has troubled my memories. I'm still catching up with my… former self."

A wave of compassion rushed over the face of the man. He took Azula's hand and squeezed it, supportive.

"I'm sorry."

Azula chewed her cheek and took her hand out of the hold.

"You don't need to be, you're not responsible."

Ging Dao's eyes widened in surprise, but he nodded at her.

"Kind of. This land belongs to the Southern Air Temple, but it is under the protection of the Fire Lords as all other Air Temples, since the first Fire Lord has beaten the warlords. We are under Fire Nation administration and over centuries many people form the Fire Nation have moved here, but technically this land still belongs to the Air Nomads."

Azula stared with open mouth at the man. She had never heard of this story in her whole life. This has to be impossible. Ging Dao recognized her confusion.

"I recommend to ask some of the monks of the Elder Council, they should know the whole story."

Azula was still staring at him as a muffled moan from another room dragged away the man's focus. He excused himself quickly and rushed out of the room with haste. Azula heard him talking soothingly to someone and another painful moan. She didn't knew why, but she followed the man to the room and the bubbling anger, she had felt this morning, returned. She saw Ging Dao stroking the head of an woman. The arms and chest of her were bandage with dressings. It made her stomach cramp.

"The dressings must be renewed and you'll need an ointment between wound and dressing."

The man jolted up, facing Azula with tears in his eyes. She really had no clue, why she did that here, but she sighed heavy.

"I change the dressings, you get me the stuff. Keep an sharp eye on what I'll do, than you can do it alone next time.

A teary smile came to the lips of the man and also the woman managed to smile at her, thankfully. It somehow made her anger rising even more.

"I get my hands washed."