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Dance Practice
"Um, I'm not sure about this, Katara."
"Zuko, you and I both know that dancing is expected of the bride and groom at the reception, in both of our cultures."
"I know, it's just that, well, dancing in the Fire Nation is a bit…boring."
"Not from what I saw at the dance party Aang threw for those kids at the Fire Nation school several years ago. You remember that story, right?"
"Yeah, Aang's told it about ten times. But that was Aang. Dances in the capital are really stuffy."
"I'll be the judge of that. Just show me."
Zuko gave a sigh and signaled for the royal musicians to start playing. Zuko gave a bow and Katara responded with a curtsy. Zuko guided his fiancée through the rigid motions of imperial Fire Nation dancing. Katara quickly realized that Zuko may have had a point as they both stepped backwards several steps, stepped forwards again, then did a slow turn around each other, all without making any physical contact whatsoever.
Suddenly, the music was interrupted by the sound of snoring. Katara and Zuko both looked over and saw Sokka snoozing in a nearby chair. This was soon followed by laughter coming from the doorway, causing Zuko to grimace when he saw Azula.
"You both are going to look so ridiculous!" she cackled.
"You wouldn't look any better, Azula," Zuko snapped.
"Well, it's a good thing I don't 'do' dancing, then. It's so undignified."
Sokka had jerked awake at Azula's laughter in time to hear her comment about dancing.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with dancing," he insisted. "Just stuffy Fire Nation dancing."
"Hah! I bet you water peasants are used to running around in the dark shouting 'ooga-booga' in some hideous masks and consider that the highest form of culture," Azula replied snidely.
"On the contrary, Princess, the Southern Water Tribe has long had formal dancing customs."
"Oh, really? Well, I suppose any savage can dance. And what, pray tell, are your dances like?"
"I'll show you." Sokka pulled out a stack of music sheets and thrust them into the hands of the orchestra conductor. "If you would?"
The conductor shared a look with his musicians, who simply shrugged in response and got their instruments at the ready. A smooth, sleek sound began to fill the room and Sokka offered his hand to Azula. Azula stared at him for a moment before hesitantly accepting. She found herself spun around very quickly only to come to a sudden stop.
Zuko and Katara looked on, completely thrown, as their siblings performed a traditional, Southern Water Tribe dance. Azula appeared to pick up on it very quickly, moving in sync with her soon-to-be brother-in-law as the music alternated between slow and elegant to fast and complex.
A little known fact about Southern Water Tribe formal dancing is that it actually had roots in the Fire Nation, having been introduced by Avatar Chilaili after her return home to the South after her years of world travel. The more 'tribal' dances of the Water Tribe used for religious observances and festivals had been around considerably longer and were heavily influenced by the ceremonial practice in which participants would relinquish their senses of reason in order to become enthralled by the very nature of the music and the spirits. Both the older religious dances and the rural Fire Nation dances that Avatar Chilaili brought back, as well as later influences from further international contact, had been combined into a number of different dance styles, with the predominantly favored one being a form known as the Tango.
Sokka and Azula, completely lost to the music, became a blur of red and blue. Azula wasn't used to someone else directing her actions, so the dance had become a kind of battle of wills to see who would lead. Sokka, however, turned out to be more of a challenge than the Fire Princess had expected; whenever she tried to direct the course of their movements on the dancefloor, he firmly steered her in the other direction. It was quite a fascinating predicament for Azula, who'd never had much experience with people not bending to her will.
Zuko and Katara quietly edged out of the room, deciding to practice their dancing later.
Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the wait. I've been busy with things lately and I have been very focused on my other fanfics. Yes, there was a hint of Sokka/Azula in this that's foreshadowing their future relationship in my sequel fic to this (which will also be undergoing a revision).