Finding herself outside of her hut, Azula entered the building and sighed a sigh of relief when she felt the warmth coming off the fire. Warming herself up, she smiled when she saw Ty Lee enter the main room from the small bathroom.
"Are you feeling any better?" Ty Lee asked as she walked over to Azula and gently cupped her face.
"A little," Azula replied, pulling Ty Lee in for a hug. Taking a deep breath in Azula closed her eyes and let the familiar scent comfort her. She had had a long day and needed some comfort, something she would never admit out loud. "What did you get up to while I was seeing Akna?" she asked, still holding onto the other girl.
"I went to the dining hall and saw that it was empty so I went to the main campfire and talked to Aang for a bit. We fed Appa and Momo and brushed out Appa's fur. Katara joined us once we had finished and she asked about you. I told her that the pain from your injuries was starting to bother you again so she offered to take you back to the stream today if you want to go back out but if you do we would need to leave soon," Ty Lee replied, gently pulling out of the hug, placing a tender kiss on Azula's forehead.
"I'm tired but I'm tired because I can't sleep and I can't sleep because of the injuries. What do you think I should do?" Azula asked, feeling overwhelmed at having to make a decision.
"Azula, my sweetest, take a deep breath in for me," Ty Lee said, taking deep breaths in with Azula until she saw the other girl begin to calm down. "How about we go and do a healing session so you can sleep when we get back. I've already gotten out a tank top for you and a pair of thin cotton shorts so it'll be easier to heal you. There is only one thing different Katara would like to try and that's leaving the stream water on you after the session to see if the spirit energy helps with anything. I already went about getting a large towel to wrap you in if you're up for it," Ty Lee added, taking hold of Azula's hand and leading her to the bedroom.
"I guess we can try it, I'm close to trying just about anything to make the pain go away," Azula replied, taking off her jacket and shirt, and putting the tank top on.
"When we get back I'll make you a nice hot pot of Uncle Iroh's special tea, it does have special calming abilities that will hopefully help you sleep," Ty Lee offered, noticing a new bruise on Azula's stomach. "Azula, what's that from?" she asked, lifting up Azula's tank top up and showing her the new bruise that was above her stomach.
"I don't know it wasn't there yesterday. That area was a little tender last night when I had dinner. When I tried the spicy stew it made it hurt more, kind of a burning but I didn't think much of it," Azula replied, gently touching the area.
"Azula, that doesn't sound good at all. I think you should let Katara know and see if she can help when she does the stream healing on you. I would also like to check them all out too once we get back, make sure there are no more surprises, if that is okay with you?" Ty Lee asked, doing a quick check of the bruises as Azula stood there in her thin shorts and tank top.
"That's okay, we should probably keep an eye on them after every session and between the sessions just to make sure no more like the one on my stomach appear out of nowhere," Azula agreed, putting her thicker clothing on over her stream outfit.
"We will from now on," Ty Lee agreed. Grabbing the large, thick, blue towel from the bed, she put it into a bag she was given by Katara and placed the bag over her shoulder. Checking to see if Azula was really to leave, she gave the other girl's hand a gentle squeeze.
Quickly placing some more wood onto the fire, they exited the building and walked through a few rows of huts before they got into the centre of the village. Noticing Sokka walking around and chatting to everyone, Ty Lee took Azula's hand and tried to steer them away from the teenage boy.
"Ty Lee, can you please just tell me one thing," Sokka said once he had run over to them.
"What would you like to know?" Ty Lee asked, making sure she put herself between Azula and Sokka.
"Did I do anything wrong while with Suki for her to decide to end it with me?" Sokka asked, his blue eyes big and round.
"Sokka, I have told you before, I really have, Suki didn't like the distance and she hated that you barely visited her and when you did it was always while Aang was doing Avatar business in the Earth Kingdom. Maybe you should think on that for a few days," Ty Lee replied, not really in the mood to deal with Sokka today.
"I've been thinking about it for months, and I can't come up with anything," Sokka asked, reaching for Azula and grabbing her tight.
Not knowing what to do or say, Azula could feel her pulse accelerate as her breathing became more intense as hands held tightly onto her upper arms.
"Let her go Sokka," Ty Lee demanded, pulling his hands off Azula. "How about you do us all a favour and go visit her and find out why she dumped you in person. Goodbye Sokka."
Gently placing a hand on Azula's lower back, Ty Lee guided her out of the mass of people that had started to gather and took her over to the side where nobody was. "Azula, tell me what's going through your mind."
"Thoughts, bad thoughts, I don't like it when people touch me and he grabbed me and I felt trapped, like I couldn't move or do anything and it scared me," Azula admitted, trying to calm down her breathing.
"It's okay to feel that, I'm sorry that he grabbed you, he shouldn't have," Ty Lee replied, offering her hand to hold which Azula took gratefully.
"We should probably go and meet up with Aang and Katara before the sun sets anymore than it already has," Azula said, wanting to get her mind off the day's events.
"Only if you are sure you want to," Ty Lee replied, still a little worried by Azula's reaction when she was grabbed.
"I want to," Azula confirmed, pulling Ty Lee along with her by their joined hands. "Where was the Avatar when you saw him?"
"He should be in the clearing to the left with Appa," Ty Lee replied, walking over to them, offering them a small smile.
"To the healing stream we go," Aang cheered as he glided up onto Appa as the three girls got into the saddle. Making sure they were all in and comfortable before giving them a thumbs up, he held the reins tightly in his hands before patting Appa on the head. "Yip yip my old friend."
Looking out over the snowy expanse, Azula watched as a colony of penguins waddled around on the land near the open water, some diving in to catch fish. There were a few baby penguins in the middle that looked to be playing with each other. Flying further away from the penguins, Azula watched as their surroundings became white; looking over the side of the saddle she noticed four small huts outside of the village that looked like they hadn't been touched in a while along with an almost covered path that she guessed used to lead the way to the huts. The terrain was mostly flat but the further out from the village they got little hills began to pop up everywhere.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ty Lee asked, scooting closer to Azula.
"I'm okay, I'm just tired," Azula replied, offering Ty Lee a small smile.
"You seem to be lost in thought, and you're being very quiet," Ty Lee observed, knowing that Azula being quiet didn't end well.
"I'm just watching the ground below as we fly to the stream. The huts out here have me wondering why they aren't near the village," Azula replied, pointing down to part of a hut that still stood even though it had been partially destroyed.
"Hey Katara, what are these huts for that are out here?" Ty Lee asked, now also curious about them.
"I'm not too sure about them but I do know that the ones closer to the village were for hunters. Many generations ago there was a type of animal who wandered out this far and they were good for food. My dad may know something more about them if you ask him," Katara replied, never really have given them much thought.
"Are we close to the stream?" Azula asked, feeling a slight chill already.
"That line of blue in the distance, that's the stream, we should be there in a few minutes," Katara responded, noticing Azula wince slightly but choosing to remain quiet for now.
Getting to the stream, Azula gingerly got off Appa and walked over to the stream and watched as the water shimmered under the sunlight. The stream was still yet Azula could feel something coming from it, it was a feeling of calm and it made her relax slightly.
"I've sent Aang and Appa over there so we will have some privacy with no boys around. Azula, Ty Lee mentioned that you would have on a tank top and shorts so we can better heal you, do you want to get ready?" Katara asked, turning around as Azula started to pull off her clothing.
Removing her clothing and handing it to Ty Lee, Azula watched as Ty Lee took out the towel and shoved her clothes into the little bag. Removing her shoes and socks, she stood there next to the stream shivering like crazy. "I'm ready, I think," she said, hoping that the water was warmer than it looked.
"Okay, what area hurts the most today so I know where to concentrate the healing on?" Katara asked, a little shocked by the bruises she could see on Azula's legs that were still a dark purple blue colour.
Pulling her shirt up a little she pointed to the large bruise above her stomach. "Here, this hurts a lot and it's only come up over the last day. My shoulders and back hurt second most," Azula replied pulling her shirt back down.
"I will do my best," Katara responded, keeping it short as she didn't realise the extent of the injuries. "The stream is calm today, please get in and float on your back," Katara added, watching as Azula tested the temperature of the water.
"It's freezing cold!" Azula shrieked, hesitating to get in.
"Come on Azula, just think how much better you will feel after you get healed a little," Ty Lee said, trying to convince Azula to get into the water.
"Fine," Azula replied through gritted teeth as she got into the freezing cold water and floated on her back.
"I'm going to start with your stomach," Katara said, moving the water around Azula as she started to heal the girl. Concentrating on what she was doing, Katara slowly moved the water back and forth over Azula's stomach and it was like she could sense where the large bruise was. Her instincts were telling her that there was definitely something worse under it. Confining the water to the one spot over Azula's stomach, Katara moved it around in a circular pattern until she felt like it wasn't a concern anymore.
Spending a good ten minutes going over the rest of Azula's body with her healing; Katara could see the girl getting colder as each minute passed. "I think we'll finish up now," she said, allowing Azula to get up.
Barely able to feel any of her limbs, Azula held on to the side of the stream and tried to stop herself from shaking. Watching as Ty Lee and Katara came over to her they both offered her a hand and pulled her out of the stream and up onto the snow covered ground.
"Here, let's try to get you warm," Ty Lee said, pulling Azula to her feet before wrapping the large, thick, blue towel around her.
Pulling the towel tightly around her body, Azula was thankful when Ty Lee pulled her close, sharing her body heat. "I feel a little better," she softly said, resting her head on Ty Lee's shoulder.
"When we get back into our hut you can sit by the fire and warm up," Ty Lee softly replied, placing a tender kiss on Azula's head.
Walking over to where Aang, Katara, and Appa were, they joined the group and listened to the conversation.
"Anyway, Azula, feel any better?" Aang asked, leaning against Appa.
"I feel a little better; it doesn't hurt as much to move. I think I've just had a long day and need some rest," Azula replied, shivering as a bout of wind blew through the area.
"How about we head back to the village, the sun is starting to set," Katara suggested, getting up into Appa's saddle.
"Sounds good," Aang replied. Turning to Azula and Ty Lee he grinned. "Allow me to help you up." Creating a small gust of wind he used it to lift the two girls up and into the saddle with ease.
"Um, thank you," Ty Lee said, sitting down in the saddle and pulling Azula close to help warm her up.
"Yip Yip Appa," Aang sang out, feeling the giant air bison begin to soar through the sky.
"How do you think the healing went this time Katara?" Ty Lee asked, wanting to know if she thought it helped.
"I feel like it went okay. The big bruise I could sense something was under it so I healed it until I felt nothing bad. I did a general heal of everything else just to relieve some pain," Katara replied, watching as Azula pulled the towel closer around her.
"Thank you Katara. My chi paths are still blocked aren't they?" Azula asked, still not feeling the energy from her bending flowing through her body.
"They still are," Katara confirmed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I don't expect them to heal overnight," Azula replied, feeling colder and colder as each minute passed.
"When all the bruising is gone I'll try a technique I have learned to try and get them to mend," Ty Lee said, moving position so she could sit behind Azula and pull her close.
"Okay," Azula agreed, leaning back into Ty Lee, feeling a little warmth penetrate into her back.
"When we get back into the village I'll let my father know how today went. He's been a bit busy trying to keep Sokka's mind off Suki. He took Sokka out fishing today to give him some words of advice," Katara said, trying to start some small talk.
"Sokka still isn't taking things well? I saw a girl almost throw herself at him yesterday and he didn't bat an eyelid," Ty Lee replied, wondering if she should have a word with him.
"He was a mess after the initial break up, then he was angry, followed by being his normal self but since he got the letter from Toph in Suki's handwriting he's gone back to being a mess and crying over every little thing. I think he should be fine in a few days, he started to perk up a bit more today," Katara responded, glad she was able to talk to someone about it.
"If he doesn't go back to his normal self in a few days I can have a talk to him. I worked closely with Suki for a while," Ty Lee offered, knowing how the Kyoshi Warrior was.
"That would be nice," Katara replied, stretching out a little. "Do you have any plans for the night?"
"I think when we get back we'll just go straight to our hut. Azula is freezing so I want to warm her up for a bit then send her to bed, she's very tired," Ty Lee responded, moving Azula's wet hair to the side.
"I feel like I could sleep for days," Azula replied, yawning loudly.
"I don't think we'll be at dinner today not unless you feel like it," Ty Lee said to Azula, watching as the girl shook her head.
"I would suggest having something light to eat when you feel up to it, don't push yourself, your stomach hasn't been faring very well lately," Katara said, feeling Appa start to descend as they came to the village.
"I'll grab us both something light for dinner and bring it back to our hut, sound good?" Ty Lee asked, trying to keep Azula warm.
"It sounds good, get some bread too?" Azula replied, liking the freshly baked bread that was on offer every night.
"I won't forget it. How about we get you back to the hut now so you can get warm," Ty Lee said. Getting up she leapt off Appa's saddle and landed firmly on the ground, bag still by her side. Helping Azula down, she thanked Aang, Katara, and Appa for helping them out.
"I'm freezing and wet," Azula complained as they quickly made their way back to their hut.
"I know, we'll get you warmed up as soon as we can," Ty Lee replied, leading them back to their hut while trying to avoid running into anyone.
Getting back to their hut, Azula pushed the door open and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the fire was still burning. Watching as Ty Lee added a few more pieces of wood to it; Azula dragged a chair over and sat in it, absorbing what warmth she could get.
Placing the bag down on one of the benches in their little kitchen area, Ty Lee went into the bedroom and rifled through their pile of clothing, pulling out a couple of items of clean, warm clothing. Grabbing the comb before walking out of the room, she entered the main room and placed the clothes down on the large chair to warm up. Putting the comb down next to her bag Ty Lee quickly went into the bathroom and grabbed another towel before joining Azula.
"Is it okay if I try to dry your hair a little before you get sick?" Ty Lee asked, watching as it dripped down Azula's back.
"It's okay," Azula replied, feeling Ty Lee take her hair out of the classic Fire Nation style she wore it in.
Enjoying the feeling of having someone gently massaging her scalp, Azula closed her eyes and leaned back into the chair. She could feel the water leaving her hair as the towel absorbed it. Feeling nothing for a few moments, she softly smiled when she felt the familiar feeling of a comb gently running through her long dark brown hair.
"I'm going to put it in a braid now that it's mostly dry," Ty Lee said, beginning to section out Azula's hair and braiding it.
"Once you're done I would like to get changed, the towel isn't helping anymore, I think it's too wet," Azula replied, feeling her hair being tied off at the end.
"Let's get you dressed now," Ty Lee said, having perfected braiding hair a long time ago.
Standing up, Azula removed the towel and threw it onto the floor out of the way of the fire. "These clothes are sticking to me," she said prying off the tank top.
"We should definitely get them off you," Ty Lee replied, taking the wet clothing to the bathroom after Azula had taken them off.
Wrapping a dry towel around her body, Azula felt a little better now that nothing was clinging against her skin. Drying off the remaining water from her body, Azula sat back down and took a deep breath in. For some reason she felt embarrassed and she didn't know why.
"Would you like to get dressed now?" Ty Lee asked, handing Azula her underwear.
"I guess," Azula replied, opening up the towel and letting it hang from her shoulders as she put them on.
"Would you be okay if I checked to see if the bruising is healing or would you rather wait until later on?" Ty Lee asked, noticing the change in Azula's behaviour.
"You can do it now," Azula replied, watching as Ty Lee walked up to her and gently removed the towel, sitting it down on the chair.
"The main bruise above your stomach is much lighter. None of the bruising is black or purple anymore, it's mainly a mix of blue and green. I think it will be gone in the week or so. Your wrist seems to not be swollen anymore either, I think you're healing nicely," Ty Lee said, making sure she thoroughly checked the injured areas.
Noticing that Azula didn't have a response, Ty Lee got concerned. Her brows furrowed together and she lifted Azula's chin up so she could look her in the eyes. "What's wrong?" she gently asked, studying the girl's face.
"I don't know, I don't feel good and everything seems to be getting to me. I don't like that I'm taking so long to heal, I don't like the look of the bruises on my body. I want to feel like me again but without the world domination and the losing myself and going crazy part. I'm tired Ty Lee," Azula replied words spilling from her mouth. Taking a moment to take a deep breath in she felt like she was going to cry again.
"Azula, my dearest, healing sometimes takes a while and I know that it hurts and you don't like it but it is something your body needs to do. You've just gotten out of a situation that was horrible, it's going to take a little bit to adjust and you can take all the time you need. I'm here for you every step of the way and I want you to know that. If there is anything I can do to help right now let me know," Ty Lee responded, watching as Azula tried to compose herself.
"I would like to put a shirt on and have some tea," Azula replied, rubbing at her eyes.
Getting Azula her shirt, Ty Lee handed it to her and went into the small kitchen area. "What kind of tea would you like?" she asked, going through their limited flavours.
"I would like a cup of Uncle Iroh's blend, I find it soothing," Azula replied, sitting down on the large chair and moving the table in front of it. Watching as Ty Lee put the teapot and tea leaves on the table, Azula placed the correct amount of tea leaves into the infuser as Ty Lee placed a pot of water over the fire to boil.
Tracing one of the bruises on her thigh, Azula lost track of time until she heard the water being poured into the teapot. Noticing two mugs sitting in front of her she wondered when Ty Lee had the time to go and get them.
"We just need to give the tea leaves a few moments to infuse with the water," Ty Lee said, trying to keep the room as quiet as she could so nothing would overwhelm Azula.
"Okay," Azula replied, scooting closer to Ty Lee so she could rest her head on Ty Lee's shoulder.
Wrapping an arm around Azula, Ty Lee pulled her close and placed a kiss on her head as she watched the flames of the fire dancing over the logs, warming up the room.
"I think the tea should be ready now," Azula said after a few minutes, using the time to gather her thoughts.
"I think you're right," Ty Lee agreed, releasing Azula and pouring them both out a cup of tea.
Taking a few sips of her tea Azula let its warmth warm her up from the inside. She still felt a little cold but she knew that was because she hadn't bothered to put her pants on yet.
"Next time Zuko comes to visit, remind me to ask him to bring some more tea in different flavours," Azula said, hoping she had enough of the brew left to last a few weeks.
"Can do," Ty Lee replied, taking a long sip of her tea, enjoying the flavours it produced in her mouth.
"I'm really tired but I don't feel like I can lie down just yet," Azula said after a few minutes, feeling like she had calmed down a little.
"Would you like me to lay with you for a little bit until you feel ready to sleep?" Ty Lee offered, putting her empty cup down on the table.
"I would like that, but in a minute," Azula replied, yawning as a wave of tiredness hit her.
Feeling a bit restless, Azula put her cup of tea down and stretched out on the large chair, resting her head in Ty Lee's lap. Smiling softly to herself when she felt Ty Lee begin to gently massage her head, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation.
Hearing Azula's breath begin to even out and feeling her body relax, Ty Lee knew that the girl had fallen into a light sleep. Knowing she had to get Azula into bed so she could get a good night's sleep, Ty Lee gently shook the girl awake. "Come on Azula, let's get you into bed, you fell asleep."
"I didn't," Azula mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
Standing up Ty Lee walked over and picked up the pants and socks she had gotten out earlier. Helping Azula put them on; she made sure they were sitting right before she led the girl into their bedroom, getting her to lie down on the bed.
"Lay with me?" Azula asked, pulling the blanket up. "Just for a little bit," she added, patting the spot next to her.
"Of course," Ty Lee replied, sliding into the bed next to Azula and getting under the warm blanket.
Rolling onto her side, Azula repositioned her pillow and got comfortable. She had one arm under her pillow, and her top knee was bent over her bottom leg which was stretched out. Feeling Ty Lee move, she smiled when she felt an arm wrap around her midsection, pulling her close. Feeling loved and safe Azula closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.