"I think Ursa is more the type of person, who shows physical affection." I agree there, Ursa is more for physical than verbal. I'd also agree that Azula showing physical affection was probably shut down by Ozai at some point. I feel like he raised her more as a solider than a daughter.
"You need them to drive your heros to the edge and sometimes over the edge, too. Without them, all these people you're talking about wouldn't have a character to hate, because it's like you said, there would be no story." Villains are the whole reason for the story and they are what (imo) keeps the story compelling."Hate the bad guy, if you want to, but never forget, what he or she is." Never forget what they do for the story. That said, Ozai has earned a break from being the bad dude. "But I know that this kind of discussions needs a sharper eye on phrasing sentences and connotation of words to transport your ideas and opinions correctly. Doing this in English is kind of tricky for me, but necessary to become better. Happy that it worked :)" Frankly, the way I see it, the more challenges you take on and the more you work with a language, the better you get.
"But I had sucha feeling, that things are coming to an end, slowly." Part of it is that I might be getting a new job soon so I won't have time to work on two fics at once anymore lol. Plus I think that the story is at it's natural conclusion. "I think, she'll hear these things more often, when TyLee thinks, she needs a little tease." Or when TyLee gets bored. "And he works hard for the ones he love." That's exactly what makes him a loveable character in my opinion. "But yeah, Ozai is protective. But Sokka has got the gentle version, even if he might disagree with my opinion." Ozai is firm but he means well lol.
"An nice new chapter and some last lazy time for Azula." Well earned lazy time at that. All of them have worked so hard. "You definitely got the spring vibes here." Nice, nice. Because I was absolutely feeling them lol. "Azula knows, that she'll have less time for those things in the future, if everything went out as planned. Also Ozai has mixed feelings for this day. He knows, that his little girl grows up. And that he will have less time with her. He believes in her success and he knows, that this means, that his girl will be away more often." It's a very bittersweet and kind of frightening concept for her. "Aslo a great difference to his canon character, who had no problems to send away his children." Kinda hoped to draw that parallel. This is a very different Ozai. "I know, I'm repeating myself, but they could all use such good times and you give them a lot." Agreed, these characters have earned some heart-warming moments. A nice feel-good fic if you will. "Nice work with this new chapter and happy to see, that Spade is fine." Thank you! Lol, I had to check in on Spade.
It wasn't quite dark yet, the sky hung somewhere between a soft indigo and the black of night. At the very bottom of the horizon, Azula could see the last tinges of orange and gold. Soft pops and sparkles danced in various spots in the yard.
"Hey, over here! Pass me one!" Toph shouted.
Azula watched Jet rummage through a cooler and toss Toph a bottle of orange-cream pop. For the most part she had gotten good at sensing where objects were, but this time the bottle fell to the grass and she had to stoop down and feel for it.
Across the way, TyLee was weaving flowers into the hair of Zuko and Mai. Near the treeline Katara was waving a sparkler in front of Aang and waiting for him to try to imitate her motions. A little ways away, on the hill, her father and Iroh were working to set up for the firework display.
Azula herself was seated on one of the picnic tables in her yard with a plate in hand. Three attempts in-the first two being chilly in the middle-later she finally had an edible hotdog on her plate and a boyfriend sitting next to her looking entirely pleased with himself. "Not bad fer my first time on the grill." He commented.
"Eh, coulda been better." Azula shrugged.
"Hey!"
Azula smiled at him and picked a slice of watermelon off of her plate.
"I werked hard on them first two." He added in a mumble.
"Ya sure did, but they still tasted mighty awful." Azula replied with a shrug.
"No! No! You scram! Git!" She heard her dad hollar from the hilltop. She looked over to see Tom-Tom and a pack of rouge school children rolling down the hill giggling and squealing in delight. Noticing the commotion, Mai stood to retrieve her brother. The boy took off in a wild sprint, leaving Mai groaning as she tried to catch up to that human ball of energy. He darted about, nearly slamming into Zuko and shoving between Suki and Yue. The poor girl was so startled that she dropped her bombpop onto Suki's toes. "I knew I shoulda worn sneakers, stead'a sandals." The girl muttered.
"I got 'im!" TyLee shouted, darting in Tom-Tom's direction
Azula wasn't one for pictures or videos but she turned her camera to follow the mini-frenzy. She was going to miss this brand of small-town chaos. At least the videos would give her something to assure her that she would never lose the feel of it.
Tossing her father's no pigs at the table rule to the side, she lifted Spade onto the wood. She supposed that picnic tables weren't the same as dinner tables anyhow. She wondered if she could smuggle him onto the plane.
"Hey!" Chan called from by the picket fence, waving she and Sokka over. "Com'mer fer a moment."
Azula took Sokka's hand and led him to where Chan was leaning, plastic cup of pepsi in hand. "Just wanted ta congratulate you fer yer record deal. Yer gonna get to go to them big parties now." He made a grand sweeping gesture. "You'll have to invite me ta one a them one day."
"I'll keep that in mind." Azula replied. Of course she had his request on camera so she would be forgetting it that easily.
She stared out at the rolling open field beyond her fence. She didn't think she had ever seen so many fireflies. The critters were everywhere floating and drifting lazily like dust motes. They blinked on and off at random intervals. It was yet another thing she was happy to have caught in her lenses.
"Gochya!" She heard TyLee declare as Tom-Tom whined in disappointment and disbelief.
"Praise the lord." Mai grumbled. "Lil' demon, that one."
"Aww, he ain't no demon."
"Wanna sip?" Chan offered, drawing her attention back.
"Got my own, thanks." Azula replied.
"Hey, well, we're gonna miss you over here." Chan gestured between he, Ruon-Jian, and the rest of his gaggle of boys. "How 'bout a toast? Yer dorky boyfren' can join us too."
"Dorky!?" Sokka sputtered.
"To makin' it big." Chan declared.
Azula tapped her cup against his, hoping that the toast wasn't premature. Chan gave her a wide smile and a thumbs up. With that and a wave, she set off to meet up with Zuko. It was dark enough for her father to begin setting off the fireworks. She made her way through smoke bombs and dodged stray poppers that Toph was chasing Aang with.
"Get yer teeny butt back here Twinkle Toes, you ain't afraid of a few sparks are ya?" She teased.
"I kinda am, actually." Aang confessed as she tossed one at his toes. "Katara, help me!"
Katara tried to stifle a laugh.
"Should we…?" Azula started.
"Nah, Kat can handle Toph. She does it all the time."
Azula dropped herself onto the blanket Zuko had spread out for he and Mai and patted the ground next to her. "Well. Sit."
"But ain't that Zuko's blanket?" Sokka asked.
Azula thought for a moment, tapping her chin as Spade made himself nice and cozy in her lap. "If he wanted it so bad, then he shouldn't have left it open."
TyLee flounced up next them and laid herself, belly-down, on the blanket. "Gee, it sure were nice of Zuko to set up this here blanket for us."
"I set that up for Mai and I." He grumbled.
"Finders keepers." Azula retorted smugly.
"Guess I'm sittin' in your lap." Mai declared to her boyfriend.
Ozai waited for the last few to acquire their snacks and gather around. As soon as Iroh and Kya got the children to settle, Ozai lit the first. It sailed into the air with a sparkling gold tail, upon reaching its zenith it burst into a twinkling rain. One after the other, roman candles and bottle rockets spit fire and sparks into the sky. Azula hoped that she would shine as bright as them once she took to the stars. Stroking, Spade's fur, Azula gazed at her semi-crowded yard. Chan still leaned upon the picket fence, this time facing skyward, occasionally cursing as a scrap of firework floated down into his drink. Tom-Tom was snuggled up in his mother's arms as she protective shield his ears from the blasts. A few of the older children paid the fireworks little attention as they tried to catch fireflies. And Toph was still chasing Aang all around the yard. Sokka wiggled his way closer, putting his left arm around her and leaned into to press the side of his head against hers.
Colorful flashes illuminated much of the backyard and she thought of how Chan and Jet used to tell ghost stories about wild and unknown creatures dragging party-goers and campers into the forest between sparkling burts. She recalled one summer where Suki had made it her mission to dress up as such a creature and steal Ruon-Jian.
With a gentle fluttering in her belly, Azula wondered if she was going to have another moment like that or like the one she was having now. She wondered if this was going to be the last real summer barbecue she was going to have with her friends and family.
She supposed that she best cherish the moment in full and keep that camera close.
After the firework display a few neighbors began their goodbyes and their promises to come back for the next barbeque. In spurts guests would depart until their crowd dwindled down to a few stragglers and their closest friends and relatives. Soon Mai's mother left to take Tom-Tom to bed-being it was already far past his normal bedtime-with instructions to Mai to have a safe trip home.
For herself, Azula wandered onto the dock with Spade in her arms and TyLee and Sokka beside her. As always, she dipped her feet into the water, watching fireflies flicker between stalks of catkins. The pond had a more fishy smell even without the summer sun to make the scent worse. She knew that soon Iroh and Ozai would be using it to fish before going to bigger ponds and lakes. That they would soon begin planning their annual camping trip. The same one that allowed she and Zuko to always begin their summer shenanigans-it was just one more small little thing that she would miss.
"Congrats on making it to state." Azula smiled.
TyLee offered a soft, somewhat somber smile in return. Azula wouldn't be the only one leaving home for a good while. "I'm gonna miss it here, ya know?"
"Absolutely." Azula replied.
TyLee perked back up. "Thanks!" She declared. "For the congrats. I'm really excited, after the whole broken leg thing, I didn't think I were gonna get anywhere. But now…" she paused. "I might be a professional horse racer!"
"You earned it Ty. You been practicin' real hard."
"I'm really gonna miss the both'a y'all" Sokka admitted. Azula could swear she heard his voice crack. She looks to the pond and its collection of fireflies drifting lazily over the water. She caught a glimpse of a toad croaking before it leapt beneath the surface. For a while they were quiet with only said croaking and the chirps of crickets to fill that silence.
"'Bout that, Sokka." Azula started. "I was actually hopin' that you'd come with me. It'd be awful hard to try 'n sing your parts on stage."
Sokka's face lit up, but fell almost immediately. "I don't think I ken afford-"
Azula hushed him. "You better not say no, father already bought yer plane ticket."
"Yer pops is a nice man. I outta give 'im a hug."
Azula punched his shoulder. "Don't you dare. He ain't like those."
Zuko and Mai come to join them on the dock with Katara, Toph, and Aang following close. Even Chan, Jet, and Suki tagged along. "Got somethin' for you, Azula." Zuko greeted.
Azula turned to see them holding up a small cupcake. "We each added something to it." Aang remarked. "I drew the icing smiley faces."
Zuko pulled out a pack of sparklers. "I figered we could all light 'em up tagether, one last time 'for life goes on." Azula knew at once that he wasn't just talking about her and TyLee's new found stardom, but about his own plans for college as well.
Azula gave a small grin. "I think we can all do that."
They each reached into the pack and picked out a single sparkler. "Do the honors?" Sokka offered to Azula. She took the lighter and lit her sparkler and used that to light Sokka's. Sokka turned and lit TyLee's and TyLee', Mai's. And then Mai lit Zuko's, until everyone had a sparkler burning. It was a dazzling display that reflected in the pond.
In that moment, nothing had changed at all. They were just a large circle of long time, small town friends sharing conversation and laughs as midnight transitioned into very early morning.
Just long time, small town friends, on a typical summer night.
.oOo.
"I know you got your camera, but I want you to have this too." Iroh handed Azula the small book. He observed her as she looked it over, turning to the page with the photo of she and her companions standing at the pond with sparklers.
Between the mighty sound of plans departing, Azula offered her thank you's. Ozai listened to his brother and daughter converse.
With nothing else to do her turned to Sokka, "you best take care'a her, boy." He narrowed his eyes. "If you ain't take care'a her, I will steal every last cow your family owns."
"I'm purtty sure she ken take care'a herself." Sokka pointed out. "But I'll help."
"You better, boy. You better." Ozai folded his arms over his chest. He didn't doubt that the boy would, he had always seemed to look out for Azula in the past, but it didn't hurt none to give him a good ol' fashioned mild threat.
"Hey, thanks fer the tickets, Azula's pops. We're gonna have a great time." Sokka spoke in way of a goodbye.
Ozai watched him dash to catch up to Azula. He allowed Iroh and Zuko to finish their conversations with Azula before coming to her side. He was just as little for cuddles and fluffy gestures as Azula was. But he didn't push his daughter away when she wrapped her arms around him. He curled one arm around her and pat her head twice with the other. "Don't you get into any trouble out there, you understand me?"
"I know, father."
"There's gonna be boys 'n booze, 'n I ain't want you mixed up in none'a that."
"I know." Azula repeated, already looking tired of the conversation. But he was her father and it was his right to give her a well-meaning lecture every now and again.
"I ain't wanna have to fly all the way over to wherever you are to come help you." He would, but, lord, he didn't want to. "So you stick to the music and you keep yourself out'a trouble. Also don't get too close to that Sokka boy, if you know what I mean. You don't know what I'll do to 'im if..."
"Dad…" Azula grumbled, her cheeks delicately flushed.
"Just…" He trailed off. "Just make your pops proud. Make your ma proud, I know she would be." He squeezed her shoulder.
"I will father."
He knew that she would. Still, it was hard to let her go. And harder still to watch her wave as she ascended the stairs to the airplane.
"You raised some good kids." Iroh took a stand next to him. "Both'a them are gonna go far."
Ozai sure hoped so. He watched the plane shrink into a small speck in the sky. He supposed that the next time he'd be seeing his daughter, it would be on TV.
"Wha'do ya say we start packin' fer our own trip?"
"My fishin' pole's already in the truck."