I don't know why, but I had a HORRIBLE time with this chapter.

Air cut through her clothing and sliced across her skin. The ground rapidly approached. By tucking her thin yet powerful body, Azula turned herself around so her feet, instead of her head, pointed towards the ground. She shot flames from her feet causing her decent to abruptly stop and her body to propel upwards. Timing was essential. She had to make sure she timed her bending with her decent perfectly. Azula stopped bending and allowed herself to fall a few more feet, before repeating the process. After doing this for a few minutes, Azula was able to break the speed of her fall. It was as if she had jumped down one foot instead of fallen fifty seven feet. Azula landed on her feet with just a slight bend of her knees, she turned and walked away.

Azula smiled as a few healers rushed to tend to her father's general. The man had made the fatal mistake of challenging Azula to an Agni Kai when she pointed out how totally incompetent and unsuited for his post he was at a meeting. He should have known better than to challenge her. He certainly should have known better than to say "I would have thought you'd have learned to be silent while the adults are talking after your brother's mistake, child." The last word had been spat at her. Naturally Azula needed to teach him, and everyone around, a permanent lesson. The healers carefully laid the man's smoking body on a stretcher. He was alive, barely. His rank would be stripped from him. Azula had no doubt that he had learned his lesson. Sending a smile to those who had observed the battle and receiving flinches, Azula was certain that the ex-gerneral was not the only one who learned.

She was Azula, she was not afraid of anything. Certainly not a pathetic little Waterbender. Azula broke the girl's gaze because she needed to keep an eye on the other three as well. It had nothing to do with the unknown emotions floating in her eyes for all to see. Nothing at all.

Azula observed the Earthbender, the Avatar, and the Watertribe boy standing with lost and worried expressions. The Earthbender's eyes were emptily staring at the stone floor as she used her bending to 'see'. The Watertribe boy's hand was resting on his boomerang as his eyes darted between his sister and Azula. The Avatar appeared to be the most relaxed.

"You're almost out of your panic attack." As the girl smiled, Azula had a flash- a memory.

Zuko had a test in his Firebending training coming up. If he passed, the teacher would allow him to work on more difficult forms. If he failed, he would have to stay in his current level. Azula had been taunting him, making ZuZu angry was a favorite past time. Azula figured it was her duty, as his younger sister, to show him where he should be, so she performed a small routine Zuko couldn't hope to do. When Azula finished and Zuko's face was red with anger, Ursa walked in. Azula couldn't remember what happened next, but she remembered Ursa comforting Zuko and telling him that he'd do wonderfully even if he had to stay in his level a little longer.

That smile, the strange look in her eyes, the gentle voice. This girl was...comforting her?

"You're doing great, just a little bit more."

This girl thought she needed help, she didn't believe that Azula was a monster. Even after...whatever that had been when Azula ran- Why did she run?- the girl still believed. Azula could use this naivety to her advantage.

'Always assume that your opponent is one step ahead of you and is just waiting for the right moment to kill.'

-break-

Mai watched as Azula walked back into the room with the Avatar's group. She was moving carefully and seemed afraid, obviously an act that the group was buying.

Why was Azula with them? How had she gotten there? What was going on with that Waterbender Katara who was hovering over her like a mother hendog?

Mai might not like Azula, but she knew of the girl's devotion to her nation, so that ruled out defect. Azula would never have gone with them willingly unless... Maybe she found a way to bring them down from the inside. If that was the case, then why hadn't Azula told both her and Ty Lee. Leaving things up to chance was not something Azula did.

Katara handed Azula a bowl of something and carefully put her hand to Azula's forehead to check her temperature. Azula was still in Watertribe clothes and her hair hung loose. When Katara checked the princess's temperature, Mai watched her carefully brush Azula's hair to the side.

What in Agni's name was going on?