If any of the villagers were put off by Azula suddenly vacating the area, they didn't show it. They were too excited by the outcome of the spar. An outsider managed to go toe to toe with their most skilled warrior. Even though the Island did not interact much with other landmasses outside of trade, witnessing a Firebender and a Kyoshi Warrior spar each other would definitely be the talk of the town for several days, at the least.
While the crowd slowly began to trickle out into smaller groups that conversed with each other -much of it having to do with the duel that just happened- Aang and Zuko headed in Suki's direction.
Aang wanted to congratulate Azula on the match, but every which way he looked, he couldn't spot her. He frowned, wondering if she had already returned to the house.
He wasn't completely sure, but Azula seemed just as upset as she was before the match, if not even more so.
He posed his line of thought to Zuko as they headed to where the impromptu spar happened. Zuko folded his arms, focusing on the ground in front of him with his eyes narrowed as he walked. It made him look older than he really was.
"She always gets like this," Zuko settled on saying. Honestly, he was unsure if he should even say anything past that.
"Why's that?" Aang asked, leaning forward a bit to try to draw his attention. "She's just...really super serious about everything," he observed.
He kind of liked that about her though. Even though it was just a sparring match, there was something interesting about how she put so much effort into something that seemed so trivial. If there was one thing that would remain constant, he believed, was that he couldn't say she wasn't dedicated to whatever it was she set her mind to.
While they spoke, they had arrived to the center of the village where Suki was still standing, talking with some of the other Kyoshi Warriors. Zuko brushed off Aang's question, promising he'd explain later.
Suki smiled as she saw the two approach.
"You two looked good out there," Zuko praised. Aang raised a brow. Was Suki blushing? He wasn't quite sure, but it looked like there was a subtle smile there. It might have just been the face paint. Zuko didn't seem to notice or acknowledge it, but Aang didn't really care about that though. He figured Azula would probably appreciate his company, if he could even find where she stormed off to.
With a wave, he politely excused himself, saying he was going to go look for her. Suki and Zuko briefly watched him take off.
"Thanks for the compliment," Suki humbly waved off Zuko's earlier comment. " But your sister is very skilled," she admitted, unconsciously palming the spot on her neck where Azula had held back. "I think in a real fight, she would have gotten the drop on me."
To Suki's surprise, Zuko laughed. It wasn't a loud or even very noticeable one, but she could hear the exhale of his nose and saw his shoulders briefly shook in amusement as the sides of his mouth tugged slightly upward. She felt her face warm, wondering why his laugh would make her embarrassed. "You're not making fun of me are you?"
"No, no," he assured, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Azula doesn't see it as a victory at all. Trust me, I can count on one hand the amount of people who've fought her to a draw."
"Huh," Suki hummed her acknowledgement. Suki gestured for Zuko to follow as she headed back in the direction of the dojo. "So," she said breaking the brief silence that followed, and changing the subject. "How long are you guys planning on staying?"
"Not much longer," Zuko answered, keeping pace to walk next to her. "We almost have the supplies we need to get to the next stop." He paused for a moment. "That was the first time I've seen someone fight with fans," he appraised. "How long did it take you to learn it?"
"Wow," Suki held back a small laugh. "I've kind of lost count how long I've used them," she said, a finger under her chin. "Goes without saying that I've practiced with them since I was a kid."
"We're still kids," Zuko deadpanned, eliciting a laugh from the girl.
"And you? Any weapons you use, or is it just firebending?" Zuko smiled conspiratorially at the question.
"Actually I've been trained to use Dao swords," he stated proudly, pointing a thumb at himself.
Suki's brows lifted in mild surprise. "Really?" she said, sincere interest on her face. "Would you care for a spar?"
Zuko nodded, a smile appearing on his face. "Sure."
Aang retraced his steps back to the shared shelter the team was borrowing. Unsurprisingly, all of the furniture was still set aside near the walls and Azula was in the center of the room, training...again.
She once again had her outer tunic folded over a wooden bar affixed to a wall as she went through forms. Aang recognized certain patterns as ones she'd done before the duel. Sweat was dripping from her forehead and arms, and one could assume she'd been training for hours. But it hadn't even been more than half an hour since the match ended.
"Azula?" he asked, a little bit concerned that she really might be overtraining.
"What?" She answered quickly, not pausing in her forms. She threw a controlled punch toward the wall, a small plume of fire exploding from her knuckles. It died out before it could leave any damage.
Aang scratched the back of his head. He remembered their earlier conversation and how she didn't seem to appreciate him trying to downplay the whole sparring match.
"I thought you were almost perfect out there," he complimented, cringing internally. He hoped he didn't sound like he was trying too hard. To his relief though, Azula's eyes seemed to soften and she relaxed her stance. She sighed miserably.
"Almost isn't good enough," she stated, as if reciting from something she'd read. However, she sat down and crossed her legs in a lotus position, her elbows resting on them.
"Who told you that?" Aang asked, taking a seat next to her and resting his staff horizontally on his lap.
Azula sighed but didn't hesitate. "My father." She didn't look tired, but she simply looked exhausted in other ways. She was gazing at the wall ahead of them but wasn't really looking at it.
Aang decided he should keep his limited opinion about Ozai to himself. So far, he seemed like a bit of a jerk and the topic was a little out of his depth, so he changed the subject.
"Remember what you promised to do after the match?"
Azula looked at him questioningly. Aang's shoulders sagged.
"Oh, come on, you forgot already?" Aang said helplessly. "You said you'd go exploring with me."
"I knew that," Azula replied much too quickly for it to have been honest. She glanced side to side as if she were a forager caught snooping around someone's yard. She snatched her outer tunic from the wall.
Azula sighed, promising they could go walk the village after she'd cleaned up. Aang waited outside the building, feeling a tad nervous.
Inexplicably, he found himself adjusting his collar and tunic. Did he look presentable? Was his undershirt tucked in? He even smelled his own breath by blowing it onto his hand.
They were just hanging out, right? Maybe he was thinking too much into it..? So he took several deep, calming breaths just in time for Azula to step outside.
"So, where to?" Azula asked, dressed in a similar getup to what she wore before her exercise regiment. Identical reddish tunic and pants, sash tied around her waist. It was very similar to Zuko's except it didn't have sleeves, where her brother's had sleeves ending just above his upper arm.
Aang caught himself staring at Azula's arms and he scratched at his imaginary hair.
He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. "I guess we can check out the outskirts first."
"Good idea, we can can get an idea of what the perimeter looks like."
Aang blinked. "...Right," he answered slowly before leading the way.
Suki led Zuko to the Dojo entrance. As they reached the large double door, Zuko admired the architecture. It was very quaint looking, and blended in with the rest of the buildings of the village. Structured with fashioned wood and sloped roofs, the main thing that set it apart from other structures was its size. It was about as twice as tall and wide as any of the others, even Chief Oyaji's home, which was quite large.
They both stepped inside onto the flooring which was comprised of smooth, well woven tatami. Zuko scuffed the tip of his boot on the floor, silently admiring the carpentry.
"I don't think I apologized for the whole tying you guys up thing earlier," Suki mentioned, embarrassed. "So, worrying about that."
Zuko waved it away. "Don't sweat it," he assured. "You were just protecting your home."
Suki smiled in mild relief, and she observed as Zuko drew a sword from his scabbard. The scabbard had been confiscated when he and the rest of the team were captured on the Island, but quickly returned once it was revealed they were companions of the Avatar.
Zuko held the blade in one hand, before twirling the handle with a flourish, and suddenly, he had a sword in either hand.
"Impressive," Suki praised.
"Thanks," he answered. "I learned swordsmanship from one of the greatest sword masters, Master Piandao," he added, going through a very brief series of practice swings and movements.
Suki drew out her own fan, leaving the second holstered in her sash. "The Kyoshi Warriors are taught by the eldest members of the organization," she began, performing some movements with the fan. "Then leadership is passed down to the most capable of the graduating class."
One moment it was flowing as if it was an extension of her arm, and then suddenly it was unfurled. She continued some of these graceful movements, and it all reminded Zuko of the flight of a
dragon's wing.
He watched her practice, finding himself lost in the fluidity of her movements. When she stopped, he hadn't even noticed. She lightly cleared her throat. "Zuko?"
He shook his head. "Sorry, I was...lost in thought," he answered lamely. Suki only smiled, replacing her fan to the sash of her armor. "So, what do you think?"
"Beautiful," Zuko said, before seemingly choking on spit. "The fans, I mean."
He cringed inwardly at his stilted speech. Ugh, he thought. Focus!
"So how are we doing this?" Zuko abruptly asked, bringing the topic back on point. "First to knock the other down? Point system?"
Suki shrugged, "First to knock the other off their feet?"
Zuko nodded in acknowledgement, drawing his Dao swords again. He breathed in and out, focusing on the sparring session. Suki drew her fans, still closed, and held them in a guarding stance, one over the other in front of her.
They stared each other down for a moment, before Zuko launched forward, twirling the blades with a flourish.
There was a clang of metal as his left sword was nudged just so. His blade's flight path wasn't stopped, but redirected to swing just off course. Suki still remained in that same pose.
"Hm," Zuko grunted, intrigued. He renewed his assault. This time, he stepped forward, thrusting forward with his left blade, while following up with an overhead downward swing with the other. He wanted to see what it was that he missed.
This time, he could see Suki pivot her left wrist, the still closed fan sliding under his left blade as she stepped diagonally torward him. Predictably, his second swing went wide. Zuko stopped short, realizing she was closing into his space, preventing him from being able to extend his arms properly. He rolled forward on his shoulder, and reflexively raised a sword into a block. It collided with an open fan that was inches away from giving him a free haircut.
"You're good," Suki plainly stated, backing away a step. Zuko mirrored the action, holding his blades in a neutral position.
"I could say the same about you," Zuko replied. They both bowed lightly at the waist to each other.
It was now the late afternoon, close to dinner time now. Aang brought Azula on a tour around the village, but he had the feeling she didn't seem terribly interested at anything she saw. It wasn't all had though; he appreciated that she agreed to it in the first place. She could have easily just not have hung out with him. So it was a win in his book! Perhaps a very small win, but a win, nonetheless.
Aang, Azula, and Zuko were seated at a long table now, in a house different from the one they were staying at. It resembled their guest house, albeit much larger, which afforded the space more windows and a more expansive view of the village outside. While the guest house was on the main street where one side overlooked the forest, this building was an inn of sorts where villagers could dine in. As the inn was located closer to the market street, any window allowed view of other houses and some vendors that operated outside.
As team Avatar were guests of honor, they were treated to a large banquet, or to Azula, what passed for one for villagers.
Aang had already tore into his food, the table already stacked with plates of all types of food. It wasn't lost on Azula that lost of these dishes didn't look like any entrees she'd seen before.
"All right! Dessert for dinner!" Aang cheered, stuffing his mouth with two orange colored puffs at a time.
"Where's the rice, vegetables, and meat?" Azula asked rhetorically. "This is incredibly unhealthy," she said, sneering at the food. She picked up one of the orange puffs, the same food that Aang was devouring, turning it in her hand. Were these even safe to eat before eating something more sensible, like fish with rice, or even roast duck. She would have preferred even steamed vegetables. She dropped the food back onto her plate, instead grabbing the only thing that looked reasonable to eat, a bowl of rice.
"It's good, Azula! You've got to try it!" Aang insisted, handing her a cupcake of some sort. Azula made a face, but accepted the pastry anyway. She peered down at it then at Aang, who nodded insistingly with a huge smile. She sighed, not fully sure why she was going through with it.
"Fine, just a bite," she relented.
All the while, Momo peeked his head from under table, snatching a treat from Aang's free hand, to his amusement. After disappearing for a moment, he appeared again between Aang and Azula to snatch one of the orange puffs off of a plate, only to vanish under the table again.
"Zuko, you haven't touched your food," Aang spoke up. You okay?" he asked.
Zuko sat cross-legged next to them, his chin propped on a hand as he stared ahead past the food. He seemed to shake out of whatever stupor he'd been in, muttering a belated "Huh?" A bowl of steaming rice sat in front of him on the table, untouched.
Azula scoffed derisively, suddenly eating her rice with more enthusiasm. "Probably ogling that peasant warrior, even though Mai's waiting back at home." She knew her comment was a bit unfair, as she knew it was Suki that was doing most of the ogling any time she'd seen them talking.
Zuko started at the claim, scowling at Azula. "Hey, I wasn't ogling!"
Nevertheless, he still responded a bit too defensively, which Azula was expecting. She only rolled her eyes.
"Whatever."
"I've just been thinking about things, okay?" Zuko added, his voice more even now. "Remember when we stopped by Ukano's home?" he ventured, only for Azula to shrug indifferently.
"Oh yeah, the guy with all the antiques in his house," Aang spoke up. Zuko nodded, staring at his bowl.
"Well, Mai and I had an argument, and she probably thinks I'm avoiding her," he said with a sigh. "I forgot to leave Mai a message that we were kind of traveling around the globe." He ran a hand through his hair. "And it'll be a while before we can get access to a Messenger Hawk. We left before I could talk to her."
"So now your fishing for a new girlfriend," Azula stated, continuing to eat. Zuko's brows lowered. "Suki and I are not a thing," Zuko insisted. "I just happen to think she's cool, and she's into interesting weapons, like Mai."
"It's honestly a downgrade, but I won't judge," Azula sarcastically remarked.
Zuko's face softened, catching her off guard. "Look, I get it, you're upset that she almost beat you in a duel-"
Azula replaced her bowl on the table a bit forcefully, silencing him and making Aang cringe. "I am not upset," she insisted. Her face was calm, but her tone betrayed her irritation.
"Azula, calm down," Aang pleaded. "They kind of beat all of us," he reminded, hoping to defuse the situation. How did the conversation go from talking about Zuko's girlfriend(?) to Azula still being mad at Suki?
"That doesn't count, she snuck up on me?" Azula argued, folding her arms.
"They snuck up on all of us, then kicked our butts," Aang corrected calmly.
Azula wanted to yell at Aang, but the way he worded his replies made it hard to be mad at him. Instead she glared at both him and Zuko and stomped out of the house, only to backtrack and snatch the cupcake offered by Aang earlier from her plate. Then she stomped back out again.
"Man...that fight with Suki is still bugging her?" Aang asked Zuko, walking up to the window sill to study the scenery.
Zuko sighed, still a bit put off by Azula's comments about his relationships. "She probably won't get over it until they both fight again," he said, somewhat worried. Aang watched him questioningly, but Zuko didn't elaborate. He looked a bit bummed out, and Aang rubbed his chin in thought.
"Hey, want to see me ride the Unagi? I've been practicing!"
"Not really," Zuko deadpanned, and Aang's face fell. "But I guess I'll tag along, just to make sure you don't do anything stupid," he answered with a smirk. The grin returned to Aang's face.
"All right!" he cheered.
It was the early evening when Azula barged into the Dojo and Suki paused at what she was doing. She was currently closing things down as she'd just finished her last session and all training weapons had been put back in their place. She stood up from one of the containers situated by the wall. She had been conducting inventory on the metal fans so that there was nothing missing.
She turned around to see the Fire Nation princess glaring at her with folded arms from the entrance.
"Can I help you?" Suki asked a bit impatiently, a bit annoyed at being visited by Zuko's sister. Suki couldn't understand how their personalities seemed so opposite of each other.
"I demand a rematch," Azula stated, stepping inside onto the tatami flooring, her eyes narrowed at the Kyoshi Warrior. "And this time, you will lament in defeat."
Suki shook her head, eyes closed in disbelief. "It was a draw," she said, defiantly putting her hands on her hips. "What more do you want?" She knelt down momentarily to latch the container shut before standing up again, facing Azula. "Its not a big deal."
Azula stepped back into a stance, one arm over her head, and the other chambered outward. Suki exhaled through her nose and sucked her teeth.
"What's your problem?" Suki demanded, pulling out her fans in response to Azula's challenge.
Azula didn't respond with words. Instead, she charged forward, purposefully telegraphing her first attack. She chambered her right arm before thrusting it forward with two outstretched fingers. A dagger sized mass of flames shot toward Suki's chest.
Suki recognized the attack for what it was, and unfurled one of her two fans with the flick of a wrist. A swipe, and the flame was dispelled.
They circled each other slowly, scowls on both their faces.
Suki's back was facing the Dojo entrance now, and Azula charged forward again, this time without telegraphing. With a quick spin, she shot her leg forward, and a burst of fire rocketed towards the other warrior. It was too thick to simply swipe away, so she instead let herself drop backwards. The fire sailed past overhead, and Suki used the momentum from her fall to immediately rebound back onto her feet. Suki looked behind her, shocked, seeing the large burn mark on the ground. She returned her gaze to see Azula smirking.
Suki clenched her teeth in annoyance, tightening the grip on her fans.
"Alright, you want a spar, you got one," she declared. She dashed forward, snapping her other fan open, and twirling them in front of her in a dizzying display.
Azula responded in kind, managing to step diagonally toward Suki in an attempt to launch a fireball center mass. Her opponent was prepared, though, and sidestepped while also extending her nearest arm, attempting a thrust at Azula.
Both attacks went wide; the fireball slamming into an innocent tree, while the fan embedded itself into the wall of the dojo. Both fighters looked at their opponent's aftermath before immediately turning their attention back on each other.
From a distance, it looked as if they were fighting hand to hand, but a trained eye could see the glint of metal from Suki's War Fans and the blink-and-you-miss-it flash of needle thin flames that Azula launched with each attack from her hands.
Both Suki and Azula were breathing heavily now, waiting for the other to make a misstep that the other could capitalize on.
Suki was down a War Fan, as her second one was embedded into the wall, and Azula was struggling to keep her arms up.
Without any prompting, they both collapsed to the ground on their knees, supporting themselves with their hands.
Still, they watched each other intently, as if they were still waiting for a mistake to be made.
Azula, surprisingly, broke eye contact first, rocking back on her legs to sit on her haunches. Suki did the same, raising one knee to rest her elbow on.
They both shared an uneasy laugh.
"I'll admit," Azula conceded after a lengthy pause. "You're not completely terrible."
Suki seemed to think about her statement. "And you can handle yourself-For a Princess I mean." The both of them snorted as if privy to some inside joke.
Suki leaned forward, slowly standing up, and stood over Azula, offering her hand. The firebender accepted it.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that? It reminds me of a friend of mine," Azula brushed loose gravel from her pants.
"I should be asking you that," Suki retorted, thoroughly impressed. She made for the wall where she'd thrown her War Fan. "I've never seen a combat style so aggressive and evasive at the same time."
"Believe it or not, it's a style of my own that I adapted from my teachers," Azula said with obvious pride. "And you?"
"Ours is adapted from Avatar Kyoshi's fighting style, at least from what's been passed down."
Azula nodded. "I thought I recognized some airbending," she commented. Momentarily, she looked away and sighed. "Look, I wanted to...make amends...or something," she added, sounding as if the word physically pained her to verbalize.
"This is surely a roundabout way to apologize," Suki replied. Heavily sarcastic. but there was no hostility there.
"Well, it wasn't at first," Azula bluntly admitted with a shrug. Suki raised an eyebrow. "I mean," Azula shook her head. "I may have overreacted to the idea of being ambushed."
Suki blinked. "Uh, apology accepted...I guess?"
"Well then, that was easier than I thought," Azula breathed a sigh of relief.
"I guess I'm sorry too," Suki shrugged. "I may have been a bit too standoffish initially-"
"I accept your apology," Azula cut in, looking smug.
"Your humility is boundless," Suki said after a pause. She was regretting having bothered to apologize already. She inwardly shook the thought from her mind. Nevertheless, Suki found it easier to hold a conversation with her now. The proverbial ice was broken.
"So, where are you guys headed from here?" Suki asked replacing her fans. "Zuko told me a bit about finding teachers?"
Azula stretched her arms, attempting to bring some feeling back to them after their fight. "Aang needs to find bending masters. We're going to find some ancient firebending warrior cult to teach us "Original Firebending" or some such nonsense," she placed her hands on her hips. "I think it's a waste of time, but it beats staying cooped up in our home."
"I think its interesting; traveling the world and meeting new people."
"Eh, it's overrated in my opinion," Azula retorted. Suki only looked at her questioningly before they both broke into fits of mild laughter.
The humor was short-lived as the suddenly heard the repeating sound of a gong.
"Is that what I think it is?" Azula asked. Suki nodded, and Azula followed behind her as they made a dash towards the village square.
"There's an emergency," Suki clarified. "We better check the shore to see what's coming."
They both arrived at the sandy area where Team Avatar first arrived to the Island.
In the distance was a large metallic vessel.
"The Water Clan," Azula frowned, observing the telltale blue paint on the ship.
A/N: I know it's been a while. I usually have an ending in mind for my stories, it's the thinking of how to fill in the middle that is the most challenging for me.The divergence in events from the canon storyline is starting to stand out a bit more.