"The kind of moment, when you know, something was done right, by the author, but you couldn't put a finger on it, why." Those moments are always fun too. "That's why I love discussing your fics with you." That's also why I like discussing fics with writers. They can give you insight about their work, which is a lot harder to do with authors like Rowling and Meyer. Plus, it's interesting to hear suggestions from readers. Typically I have a plan that I stick to but every now and again, a reader will spark some inspiration. "Trust is hard to be earned, but so easy to loose." Oh yeah, there have been so many times IRL where I've had this happen. It's sad when you are about someone but you have to learn to take some of their actions/words with a grain of salt. Child abuse is a big one for me as well. "Ursa has done grave mistakes in the canon story with Azula, she has hated her cruel and heartless sides, but not Azula." I would agree to this, though more so, I think that she was simply afraid of what Ozai was turning Azula into. And like you said, emotional distance from a child can be just as harmful especially if the child's other parent is outright abusive. "But I think a Postpartum Depression as an aspect of the troubled relationship between mother and daughter would also give the canon plot an interesting point of view" Tbh I never thought of something like that for the canon show but I can see how it could work. "I think most people would say, it should be "normal" to love the new born child. Mostly it is, also for ( really, really not an offence) biological reasons." I would also say that there's a primitive motherly instinct, but like I said, sometimes things just go wrong for some reason or another and the important thing is to be understanding and/or not give up. "But no one is to blame for it and it need a lot of love, help and understanding to get out of it." Exactly.

"I saw that coming :) You have mentioned heavy storm clouds lol." Lmao it was literal storm clouds this one...rather one very large pissed off cloud."I like the fact, that Ozai is worried about his children." Like I said, trying to make him a better father than he was in canon...not that standards are high lmao. "Trying to run away is hopeless, the storm is faster." I put some research into that decision. Some interesting myths. I learned that overpasses and highway bridges are actually not good shelters. I also learned that in some cases (like a highway/road with no shelter in sight) it is your best bet to try to out drive it-however you'd need to really know the direction of the tornado. Basically I learned that if you're in a situation like the one I put Azula in Sokka in, there really is no 'safest' option. "I only know tornados from television." Luckily I haven't been in one myself either. But I've recently been impressed by them. Which is funny because, as a child, I was very afraid of storms. Now I kind of just wander around outside in them and stress my grandma out a lil'. "The fact, that both have survived this storm together will bring them together even closer. Now Azula has some more things to write a song about." Lmao, because that was pretty much the point of the chapter...that and I really just wanted to write a tornado scene. I can't make a country AU and not have tornadoes! "And even if everyone is alright, they'll have to check, if the storm has damaged their farms, fields or has killed some of their animals." The storm, though large pretty much tore through empty fields, it just missed the town. Though the BeiFong's have a new basketball hoop in their yard and a second mailbox. "And strong work with describing nature again, this time the wild side of it." Thanks, nature is my favorite thing to describe!

The sun beat down as hard as it could for late mid-November. It had taken a few hours for the news to relay footage the destruction and an hour more for anyone to arrive on the scene. Sokka, perhaps more for his own comfort, hugged Azula tightly to him. She didn't protest nor push him away. He'd come to notice that there was a pretty good gash on her ribcage and a few smaller scratches on her cheeks. He listened to the sound of water spilling from a broken pipe and the turning of that battered bike's wheel. "Ya saved us both." He commented at last.

Azula nodded. "I ain't wanna end up like cousin Lu-Ten."

"Yer hurt."

Azula brought her hands to the gash on her side and winced. "I'll be fine."

It was hard to tell how she was feeling. But he was glad that she was with him. God forbid he was alone when the storm struck. He had a good feeling that he wouldn't be around, he didn't deal well with storms like that.

"If only Kat were here, she'd know what ta do 'bout that. She were always good at that kinda stuff."

"I'll be alright, Sokka." Azula insisted again.

But he was still worried. He wasn't even sure what had torn her leg like that. He held her hands and rubbed the back of them with his thumbs. His gaze never leaving hers even when they didn't speak. She didn't have to talk to him, it was enough that she was there.

He couldn't exactly pinpoint when things had started to shift, but they had. He thought that maybe it was the night of the fair, when he came to comfort her. That was when things had changed for him. He had a feeling it had been some sooner for her, otherwise she wouldn't have stopped by so often.

But Azula was a hard person to read.

No, he didn't know when things had changed between them, but they had. He hated being stranded in the middle of nowhere, but at least he was stuck there with her. If she wasn't bleeding so much he'd be grateful for alone time with someone he cherished so much…

Someone he loved.

"Are ya sure that yer doin' okay?"

"Sokka, you ask that one more time, I swear…"

He laughs, the fight still in her was reassuring enough.

.oOo.

She picked the band-aids off of her face as soon as she got home. She hadn't wanted them anyhow, no more than she wanted the seven stitches in her side. They handed her a bottle of painkillers that she had no interest in and told her to come back in a week for a check up. If she ended up lucky, they'd be able to remove the stitches then. Her ribcage throbbed, but it was something that she could ignore of she threw all of her energy into finishing the song she'd written while in the waiting room. She thought it was a better one than her old one anyhow; nice as the song she'd written with Sokka was, there was much more intensity to a song about a tornado. She figured that the switch wouldn't offend Sokka being as he'd thrown a few lyrics at her in the waiting room as well.

It wouldn't be too much of a task, she'd simply sing the same notes and melody she'd been practicing with the other one. The only thing that'd change would be the lyrics.

Worse comes to worst, she wasn't bad with improv either.

No sooner had she pulled out her guitar did a knock sound at her door. She put the instrument down and opened it.

"Yer uncle wants to talk to you. You know how he feels about…"

Azula nodded.

"When yer done on the phone with him, come downstairs fer dinner.

Azula took the phone and nodded again, preparing herself for a good round of tears and having to comfort her uncle. Her close call had probably put the man back into a darker place. "I'm fine uncle, just needed a few stitches is all, I can handle myself…"

"Lu-Ten were an army boy." Iroh replied. "Tough as they come. It don't matter how tough you are, you ain't tougher than nature, girl." She should have seen the lecture coming. "I'll tell you what I tol' Lu-Ten 'for I lost him. When nature throws 'erself a fit, you don't try to fight 'er, you beg 'er for mercy. She ain't like a soldiers, she's stronger than that…"

Azula listened to him go on and on about the fury of nature.

"She takes what she will. You tell yer brother that too."

"I will." Azula replied.

"I'm lucky, yer dad is lucky that he ain't lose you. He's lucky he ain't know what it's like to lose a chil' so early."

Azula swallowed, truth be told he was making her grow uncomfortable. Before then she had lived and that was all there was to it. But he set her thinking. Thinking about how she had been perhaps seconds away from death. About what would have happened if they hadn't happened upon that house or if Sokka hadn't been able to get it open.

Would her father have broken again?

Would Zuko have?

"I'll be careful." She mumbled to Iroh. Of course she would still go out in stormy weather, but she'd pay it more attention.

"You best keep that promise." Iroh stated firmly. "This family lost yer ma 'n Lu-Ten. We ain't losin' you too."

With that on her mind she joined Zuko and Ozai at the dinner table. "You ridin' to school with me on Monday or is Sokka drivin' you?" Zuko asked.

"Haven't decided." Azula looked to her father.

"I'll have you a new car once the insurance company gets back to me."

Azula nodded and things grew quiet. A silence that was only broken when Ozai asked her how her song was coming along. She supposed that it was his way of dealing with or masking concern. "It's ready fer tomorrow."

"And yer ready to perform it?"

Azula nodded.

Ozai smiled. "That's my girl." He turned to Zuko. "Yer sister is resilient. Lives through a twister and she's still ready to perform."

It was just a radio show though, it wasn't like she'd have to stand or exert herself in a physical way. Still it was reassuring that he wasn't still going on about her first mishap. She felt an arm on her shoulder. "I don't know what I woulda done…" Ozai trailed off. "I already lost yer mother."

She couldn't remember the last time he hugged her and the weight of the situation set in. Just as well as she couldn't remember the last time her father hugged her, she couldn't recall the last time she'd cried.

How close she had come.

What if she'd made it and Sokka didn't.

She heard Zuko set his fork down and come to join them. Lord, was she glad that she was able to bring Sokka home to his mama.