Mai was bored out of her mind again. Cloud watching from the ground was dull. The white bits of fluff floating through the sky did nothing to catch her attention for very long. Riding high above them and staring down past them at the ground had a more numbing effect than she'd previously thought possible for anyone not in a catatonic state.
She leaned dangerously over the side of the broad saddle next to Ty Lee who lay on her back with Momo napping on her stomach, both basking in the warmth of the sun.
"You know," she drawled, "at the start of this whole hanging with the Avatar business, I thought it'd be a lot more interesting. Traveling the world is so disappointing."
"Oh, come on, Mai!" Aang laughed from his position at the reigns. "It's not that bad."
Appa let out a low groan, as if agreeing with the air nomad.
"I knew you were going to say that eventually," Zuko said to the pale girl from his spot near the front of the saddle.
Eventually, everything disappoints Mai. According to her,so had he. Yet they still had this odd, on-again-off-again relationship. Currently, it was off.
"I win, Ty Lee," Azula smirked from her place opposite Zuko at the back, "Easiest bet ever."
"No problem," the former circus performer agreed, "I'll pay you back at the next town. Where are we going next anyway?"
"Hopefully, not another Water Tribe infested town where Azula feels the need to incite a prison barge full of earthbenders to grow a pair and fight back. After she gets herself arrested, of course," Zuko remarked.
Azula looked downright proud of the fact she'd nearly gotten everyone killed because of her spineless idiot complex while Ty Lee giggled. If Zuko hadn't been watching his sister's friend, he'd have missed the slight twitch of Mai's lips. He shook his head, bemused.
Girls were crazy.
"No, we're not, Zuko. Don't worry. We're going to Omashu! I used to visit my friend Bumi there all the time. He was a mad genius. And you are gonna love the mailing system they have!"
And, he was learning that airbenders weren't too far behind girls in that category.
The Fire nation teens all looked at Aang, not that he could see it with his back turned. Even Ty Lee rose up a little and gave him a funny look. The act disturbed the lemur on her belly, and he chittered in an annoyed manner before leaping onto Zuko's mass of shaggy hair. The firebender didn't even flinch, as he was entirely too used to being the creature's second choice of pillow. Mai pointed at her own head and twirled her finger around, subtly nodding to Aang.
Maybe it was an Avatar/airbender/result of being trapped in a volcano for a hundred years thing.
After a pause and seeing that no one else was going to ask, naturally, Ty Lee did.
"Um, Aang, what's so special about the mail?"
"It's not the mail, Ty. It's the way they do it. My friend Bumi came up with it first, but you guy's will love it!"
Azula centered a small, blue flame in the palm of her hand and cupped it with the other against the wind.
"You know, when you say that, we usually almost die," she commented.
"Almost though!" Ty Lee pointed out. "We're too awesome to do something as silly as die for real. We're Team Avatar!
"Yeah, Zula!" Aang laughed, and she cringed at the nickname, "You gotta be more optimistic about things."
"Exactly!" Ty Lee popped to her feet in an easy spring and vaulted over the small hump to sit next to Aang. "Your aura shines brighter when you do!"
"For the love of Agni, enough with the auras, Ty!" Zuko groaned.
Momo didn't like his tone, however, and swatted him in the mouth with his tail.
"Not until I see a marked improvement in them."
The Fire Nation siblings rolled their eyes, unified in their sentiment of the pink girl and her aura theory.
"Mai's aura is brighter than the both of yours right now!" Ty Lee declared, waving a hand airily to said girl.
Mai was now facing inward, her hands supporting her head as she watched her friends as avidly apathetic as the required the least amount of effort.
"Do continue. I find your conversation stimulating beyond words."
Zuko exhaled an annoyed huff of air. Azula snuffed the flame and clicked her nails against each other. Never a good thing on her part.
"How about I throw a lightning bolt your way. See how stimulating that is for you."
Mai paused as if considering the offered threat. Then shrugged.
"If you think it'll help."
Aang looked over his shoulder at his friends, grinning.
"You guys are hilarious."
Azula arched a brow.
"Sure, Aang. Whatever you say."
The conversation waned after that as the traveling fatigue caught up to them. Zuko let his head rest against the bridge of the saddle, and Azula focused back on sustaining a flame at the high altitude and wind factor. Aang and Ty Lee swapped childhood stories, comparing nomad life to Fire Nation life. Mai glanced at her friends, half aware that she'd pulled a knife at some point and was twirling it. She sighed with a feeling that came from deep, deep inside.
Bored again.
A/N: A short Fire Nation/Water Tribe swap. I like the concept as I love the Fire Nation characters more than…well, everyone but Toph. She's her own league.