Laval Asher: A good lot of it has to do with her being desperate for release and also that she's still not quite herself at that point lol. I'm glad that you liked it. :) And thank you!
"Where's the bison anyways?" Azula asks.
"I took a boat to get here." Aang replies.
"Well that's inconvenient."
"I figured that I'd be mostly staying on facility grounds so there was no point in bringing Appa."
"In that case, I suppose that it would be impractical to bring the...Appa along."
"You do have enough coin to pay for a ship ride back to the Capital, yes?"
"Umm, well, I have something better."
Azula sighs, "Let me guess, 'I'm the Avatar so you will let me board this vessel.'"
"First of all, don't tell me that you haven't used the princess card. Second of all, I would have said something like, 'I'm the Avatar so can I please ride on this ship?'"
"You're too soft." She mumbles.
At last they reach the end of the jungle. It gives way to a small fishing village that smells of freshly cooked fish and spices, saffron, nutmeg, and ginger mostly. The atmosphere is lively with traditional song, the beating of a drum and clanking of jewelry as a performer dances. It is rich with Fire Nation culture, he wishes that he could spend some more time here but he assumes that Azula is growing impatient, even if she carefully concealed it away.
"He could have just sent me here or something." Azula grumbles. "It would have done me better."
At this he chances asking, "can we stop to get some real food?"
"I thought that you didn't have any coin."
"Watch this!" He grins. He sprints off to the nearest eatery, looks over his shoulder to make sure that the princess is still watching, and says to the man at the counter, "I'll show you some neat airbending tricks for a meal!"
"If I wanted a street performance I would go over there." He points at the dancer and her entourage. "She's more attractive."
Azula wanders up behind. "How about a meal for your princess." She lazily drawls.
"Sure." He replies. "If she were here."
Aang is surprised that she doesn't visibly recoil. She doesn't even flinch. Though he imagines that she is, inwardly. He can't imagine that this has done her shaken confidence any favors.
She shrugs, "if you say so. I'll be sure to send someone to teach you some respect once I get back to the palace."
"Azula!" He exclaims, though the man's face is quite priceless. "You can't just punish people for...for not believing you."
"I can." She replies. "I am the princess."
"At least you know that this man doesn't stand for imposters, right?" He tries. Though her bluntness is reassuring. Her manner of speech leaves him feeling optimistic about her recovering from her time with Sangyul so he won't hassle her too much for it.
Azula shrugs, "I suppose. But that doesn't get me my smoked crab legs."
"Is that all you want?" The man asks.
She nods. "Season it heavily and add a touch of pepper."
"And I'll have…" Aang starts
"What she's having." The man fills in. "I don't give out free meals to just anyone."
"Not even the Avatar."
"Do you know how many Avatars I see? And they all just so happen to be with tourist groups." He pauses. "Though this is the first time I've seen an Avatar and a Princess Azula together. Think of this dish as a reward for creativity." He hands a platter of crab legs to Azula.
"It is the truth." She assures him.
"Thank you." Aang smiles and tugs her away before she can argue. He leads her to the nearest table and sits down.
"I am Azula." She frowns. "I...am I not acting like it?"
Aang laughs, "trust me, I've never heard you sound more like you."
"Then why would he question me?"
"Probably because he never expected Princess Azula to show up in such a small town. Your haircut probably doesn't help."
Azula combs her fingers through her hair.
"Trust me, no one ever believes me when I say that I'm the Avatar. How do you think that we managed to stay on Ember Island without getting caught?"
She seems to stare off for a moment before picking out a crab leg.
"Just so you know, I agree." He says upon sitting down.
"With what?"
"That it would have done you much better to send you to a village like this. There's fresh air and lively people. You could have gotten to know a few people, make some friends. It could have been relaxing and you could have learned how to cook and..." He trails off. "But would you really have stayed if he did?"
"No." She shrugs. "But he could have had you act as a monitor."
"And you would have been okay with that?"
"Absolutely not." She snaps off part of a cooked crab leg and pops it into her mouth.
He chuckles. "I didn't think so."
"It still would have been better than Sangyul."
"Hey, wanna go watch the street performer?"
"We have to focus."
"We've been focusing and working hard since we broke out." Aang pouts. "I think that we could both use a break. I can anyways."
.oOo.
Just as he was unable to charm his way into a free meal, Aang had no luck procuring them a ship ride home. He did, however, swipe some parchment and paint. He'd left it to her to steal a messenger hawk. She watches him scrawl out a request to Zuko to have a ship or some coins to buy one sent to them.
She doesn't enjoy having to sit still and wait. Though she supposes that it is a necessary inconvenience. A ship sent from the palace would be much more comfortable than some rickety vessel from a small port town.
She questions Aang's decision to spend the night on the beach as lays back and listens to the waves crash against the sand. Sand that she has taken special care not to step upon, the last thing she needs is sand in her hair and clinging to her skin to add to the discomforts she already has.
Granted most of the discomforts come from within.
He has already assured her that it has nothing to do with her own demenor and yet she can't put it out of her mind the man's blatant dismissal of her royal status. No one has questioned her identity, no one that she hadn't wanted to. But this man refused to believe that the woman before him could possibly be his princess. And it must be something that she is missing. Something that she lacks that she hadn't before.
Maybe she has come across as too timid. Maybe she simply hadn't been as imposing as she used to be…
And she couldn't even flash her fire to put him in his place.
The waves give a particularly loud crash and she rubs her hands over her face. But the Avatar had assured her that she has sounded more like herself than she has in a very long time. Yet, since when did she have to depend on his opinion to form her own. Her nerves leave her queasy.
She wishes that, that was the only thing that has left her rattled.
There is something else. Something that leaves her disoriented with dread. Something that comes to the surface each time Aang does something either bold or comforting. It is only a little thing, an itch in her mind. A feeling that, even after so much time, the Avatar is still there in her mind. Somehow still lingering. Why else would Ai-Emi still be flitting about in her mind, gently imploring her to pursue the Avatar?
It isn't her.
It can't be.
Azula can't be smitten with anyone, much less the Avatar.
And yet there is something enticing about the boy's dark, do-what-needs-doing side, about his bold readiness to confront and argue with her. About his willingness to give her the harsh push that she had needed to find herself. That side of him, that sinister, brazen side of him is rather admirable. Appealing. That surprising cunningness that she hadn't expected of him…
She shakes her head. She she doesn't understand why she can't be rid of those soft shades of pink that he has put into her spirit energy.
It is no wonder the man hadn't recognized her. She still can't recognize parts of herself. She still hasn't reclaimed herself in full.
She isn't sure if it is more or less comforting to think that her mind is still touched over thinking that these feelings might be wholly and indisputably her own-the unintended by product of opening herself up to someone who truly seems to care for her.
She curls herself up beneath a palm tree and hugs her knees to her chest. Somehow she thinks that her feelings are indeed all her own. She wishes that she could know. She wishes that they hadn't shaken her sense of self so terribly.