For many years, Azula had watched Sokka from above and afar, witnessing his rapid responses to the chaotic situations that could unfold in any Arena's sand pit. She always had felt a nagging tug in the pit of her stomach, demanding that she joined the fighting, often to protect her gladiator, but sometimes simply out of the sheer enjoyment of testing her own combat skills against those of other powerful fighters.
Being in the thick of the action, however, was nowhere near as straightforward as she had ever assumed it would be.
Sokka's strategy to keep them at one end of the starting line, at a fair distance from the rest of the combatants, had been sound and clever: he had clasped her by the arm and yanked her as he ran at full speed, all of it so abrupt that Azula nearly stumbled as she kept up with him. It was apparent that his experience in previous events, such as the Scavenger Hunt or Gladiator Brawl, had compelled Sokka to ponder how to start with the right footing in this race, and his guess had been spot-on: one quick glance over her shoulder told Azula they had narrowly escaped the pandemonium the starting line had become. Now it was just a cluster of elements and weapons flying back and forth, screams, shouts, smoke and dust.
"Keep running, Azula!" Sokka told her, and she turned towards him again "Let them fight it out, we have an advantage over them now and we shouldn't waste it!"
"I certainly don't give you all the credit you're due!" Azula called back, smiling at him. Sokka smirked as she finally paced herself properly to keep up with his long strides "Your quick thinking's definitely a great asset!"
"That wasn't quick thinking, Princess, it was proper strategizing!" Sokka laughed "What you always told me I should do!"
She felt the urge to hug him, to bury her face in his neck and relish in the roaring pride inside her chest. She couldn't do it right now, of course, not when they were running as fast as they could, leaving the loud noises of non-stop battling behind them. But surely she could do it once today's leg of the race was finished, or perhaps at some point or another during this stage, if they had a chance to take a break away from all prying eyes…
It was truly fascinating to see him up close in the middle of a gladiatorial event. There was a hint of a smile on his face, his hand sliding down her arm until he found her own, but there was that sharp determination, the unyielding steel in his eyes that always sent shivers down her spine whenever he was taking something, anything, completely seriously. Sokka captivated Azula in countless ways, but the sight of his full-blown, hands-on warrior façade was nothing short of mesmerizing.
"Which way will we go, then?!" Sokka asked, and Azula bit her lip as she stared at the mountain that loomed before them "Up the mountain, or around it?!"
"Climbing an unfamiliar mountain by ourselves, without mounts… I don't think that'd work in our favor!" Azula said, gritting her teeth "Even if it's more roundabout, going around the mountain should still pay off for us! So… we go east!"
"Alright, then!" Sokka said, smiling approvingly as he tugged Azula towards the light foliage and plains that surrounded the mountains of Gaoling.
They had only begun shifting directions when the receding noises of the fight behind them became louder again. Azula frowned, daring glance over her shoulder, and this time Sokka did the same thing…
They nearly tripped out of shock upon glimpsing Toph and Iroh shooting across the sky on a large rock.
Unlike Sokka and Azula, Iroh and Toph continued onwards, straight towards the mountains ahead, with the old general clinging with difficulty at the rock while Toph made sure to bend it onwards. Neither one seemed all that injured, but there was a scorch march on Toph's sleeve and Iroh's top knot had come undone: they had been caught in the chaos, and it seemed they were only the second team to break out of it. It wasn't that surprising they would choose the mountain route, considering Toph would make easy work of traversing the tall peaks she had surely known since childhood… but it was further reason for the Princess and her gladiator to stay on the course they had chosen.
"Well… guess we're not the only ones ahead now, huh?" Sokka said, smiling awkwardly at Azula, who shook her head and carried on running with him by the foot of the mountain.
Chaos unfolded by the starting point of the race still: while some of the staff members had already taken flight on their hot-air balloons, others remained on the ground, braced against stray rocks, fireballs and projectile weapons that were flung constantly between gladiators and sponsors. Some fighters managed to break out of the brawl eventually, such as the Millennium Dragon and his sponsor, and shortly after them, the Light Bearer and the Dark Rook had dashed off with their sponsor as well, in close pursuit of the Millennium Dragon. But most the fighters still lingered behind: five minutes after the race had started, enough of them had broken out of the chaotic initial battle for Haru to lower the protective, sturdy glass walls he had erected around himself and Ty Lee, with which he had kept her perfectly unharmed while they waited for the fighting to die down.
"Oh, Haru, you're so dependable…" Ty Lee sighed, embracing him as he lowered the wall. Haru smiled proudly at his wife, nudging at her to stand up so they could discover what they'd be up against, now that the worst of the battle had died down.
Some fighters were still standing: Scoundrel's sponsor was in the middle of a fierce firebending duel with the Priestess of Flames, and a wild young man with long bangs that covered half his face was strangling another one with a tight armlock: by the looks of it, the strangler was a non-bender but he had decided not to use his many weapons to defeat the earthbender in his grasp, who was close to blacking out by now.
Others were in the middle of rushing off: the Ruthless Hero was one of them, and Haru recognized him immediately, apprehensive about going anywhere near the man with the golden headband. Many others lounged on the ground, whether feigning defeat to avoid further fighting, or genuinely beaten already.
"Well… that was an explosive start" Haru said, swallowing hard.
"Where's Azula?" Ty Lee asked, blinking blankly "You don't think they…?"
"Rushed off before anyone was the wiser? Yeah" Haru said, smiling "Isn't that what they're like?"
"Goodness, they're incorrigible…" Ty Lee mumbled, though her attention was claimed quickly by a rock cluster not too far from where they stood "Oh, look! Someone else shielded themselves the way we did!"
"Ty Lee…" Haru said, his wary tone a warning that she heeded immediately: he raised his fists, cautious about whoever might come out of the now-crumbling earthen shield…
Both Haru and Ty Lee blinked blankly and lowered their guard upon finding it was the team Azula had introduced them to earlier: Kori Morishita had been holding up a shield protectively for her gladiator, even if she seemed slightly worn out for it.
"I think it's mostly over now… we should get going, Kori" Sneers said, though concern glistened in his eyes "Are you alright? That wasn't too much, was it?"
"No, no, that was just… wild, and dangerous, and… uh, hey there" Kori said, smiling awkwardly at Ty Lee upon noticing her stare upon her.
"Hi!" Ty Lee exclaimed, beaming and waving as Haru sighed, blushing slightly. His wife was certainly unfit for violent events, ever eager to make friends rather than enemies.
"Seems like there's a lot of casualties by now, huh?" said Kori, grimacing "But I suppose the strongest ones already took off?"
"Yeah… I don't see Azula anywhere" said Ty Lee, with a shrug.
"Or the Millennium Dragon. Or the Blind Bandit. Not even the Light Bearer… well, that doesn't bode so well for us" Kori sighed, but Ty Lee grinned.
"Well, we should just go together! If we help each other, we should do much better at this race than if we fight all the time like all these people did" Ty Lee said, and while Sneers scowled at the notion, Kori was quick to smile too.
"That sounds good to me, four should be better than two… unless you disagree?" she asked, turning to her gladiator. He flinched upon being addressed, color rising in his face before shaking his head.
"I… I don't. It's fine" he said.
"Then let's go!" Ty Lee said, grinning as the small group got started, trotting lightly towards the mountain.
Even at a distance it was possible to see Toph's efforts to ease her team's climb over the tall peak. After having used a large rock to launch themselves ahead of the competition, now they were struggling in the uphill challenge the Blind Bandit had been determined to rise up to.
"Toph, really…" Iroh grimaced, following her as she smoothed the paths with great efforts "We could just look for natural pathways, couldn't we? It would be easier than terraforming the entire mountain…"
"It'd be a waste of time! Those roads are all convoluted anyhow, trust me on that! Besides, you saw those two, and I sensed them!" Toph declared, sweat dripping down her forehead "They've gone around the mountain, so that means they're going to take longer to get to the oasis than we will if we go fast enough! And the only way to go fast enough is…!"
Rumbling sounds on the ground behind them startled Toph, her ears peeled for any vibrations beyond her own. She hardly had time to turn around when another fire-and-earthbending team snuck up to them, launching a blended attack of scorching rocks towards Iroh and Toph.
It was up to Toph to slow down the rock, and to Iroh to stifle the flames: within moments, their new enemies were in plain sight.
"Not the royal I expected to fight… but I'll take what I can get!" Aonu roared, launching a myriad of rocks at Iroh that Toph protected him from with a tall earthen shield.
"Shit!" Toph growled, launching the tall barrier towards her enemies: the Millennium Dragon's fist of condensed fire tore through it with little effort.
"Keep going forward, Toph!" Iroh shouted, as he moved his arms and feet in the perfect rhythm to craft fire shields to protect both himself and his partner "We have the high ground, I can hold them off!"
"By yourself?!" Toph asked, astounded.
Without taking another moment to ponder his next move, Iroh amassed enough power to cast a potent fire blast at Aonu. Earth wouldn't be enough to protect him from the attack, and it was up to Renzhi to jump between his sponsor and the Dragon of the West's latest move. He wrestled the fire out of Iroh's control with difficulty, but he was unable to turn it back against the royal: by the time Renzhi and Aonu had extinguished the fire, the Blind Bandit and her sponsor were several meters higher than before, and the proud laughter of the earthbender resounded through the mountains.
"You're like a hundred years-old, Iroh, but you're wrecking everyone like you're twenty instead!"
"Well, now, I'm not that old just yet, but I appreciate the compliment regardless!"
Renzhi huffed as the pair before them continued to speed away, and he turned towards Aonu with uncertainty. The young man scowled at the rivals ahead, ever determined to triumph against odds that would never favor him.
"If we lag behind…" Renzhi started.
"They'll do all the heavy lifting for us, and we'll have a chance to pass them in more even terrain later on" Aonu concluded "Unless they're smart and stop easing the climb for everyone behind them"
"Doesn't look like they're that smart then. Let's do that" Renzhi nodded, and together they restarted their climb only when the Blind Bandit and the Dragon of the West had risen high enough that they'd be out of sight for them.
Many other gladiators had chosen alternate paths through the mountains, such as the actual, twisted path Toph had told Iroh about: Your Doom and his sponsor, familiar with Gaoling's terrains, were the first to reach the proper path through the hills, though they were soon caught in a scuffle with the gladiators and sponsors that had followed them: by the time the fight for the proper road had been wrapped up, the pair didn't emerge victoriously.
Ty Lee, Kori, Haru and Sneers chose to follow the smoothed path Toph had left in her wake: by the time they were starting their hike, other teams at the starting line finally regained consciousness and got started with the race. Constant battles were waged everywhere… except for the outskirts of the mountains, where Sokka and Azula could jog freely, at the edge of Gaoling's town, hidden enough by the vegetation that they could continue running while holding hands as they had so far.
"You know, we're taking it so damn easy I suspect Toph's probably already at the Oasis while we just run around as we have so far" Sokka chuckled, watching as Azula's hair flowed behind her elegantly.
"And we've established it's not like victory matters that much this time, haven't we?" Azula smiled "All things considered, it's probably for the best if we take it easy for the first stage. She'll be exhausted by the last one if she's bending constantly for four days…"
"I suppose it's likely" Sokka said, with a shrug "Guess everyone wanted to go through the mountain, though. I can't see anyone behind us…"
"If Toph is as good as tearing the mountain down to get through it… then I'm definitely not surprised they decided to follow her" Azula smiled, glancing at the tall peaks behind them. Rockslides, clouds of smoke and dust, the occasional glow of fire… chaos was definitely unfolding across Gaoling's landscape, and surprisingly they had gotten away from the worst of it all, if just for once.
"Well, that's not our problem" Sokka said, beaming as he propped the bag up properly on his shoulder "As far as I can tell, it's way better if they're all over there! Leaves us with the chance to be alone together without anyone snooping about, right?"
"Sure, but we're not going to make proper use of our alone time, alright?" Azula said, smirking "As tempted as I might be, we have a lot to do"
"You're tempted, really?" Sokka asked, amused "And how the heck did that happen? I wasn't trying to seduce you, Princess…"
"Like you have to try at all, fool of a husband" Azula hissed, speeding up and yanking at him to follow her. He nearly fell over himself, laughing as he followed her with a proud grin on his face.
The first day of the race continued, and the battles between the teams in the mountains seemed never-ending: as soon as they finally reached the top of the mountain they had been climbing, the Millennium Dragon and Aonu had launched a new attack on Toph and Iroh, who were only just starting the trek down towards a valley. Fighting from this angle proved much more difficult for the retired general and his fierce earthbender, especially when the effort she had put into easing their climb across the southern chain of mountains was getting to her at last.
"Be careful, Toph!" Iroh called to her, as she launched a rock at Renzhi: it was Aonu who defended his partner now, returning the rock with twice the power Toph had initially used to launch it.
Iroh had to yank Toph out of the way: she could sense the attack, but her reflexes were failing her. Iroh bared his teeth, scowling heavily: this wasn't the way this was supposed to go. They had a long journey ahead of themselves, and if they had these two chasing after them constantly, they would never reach the Oasis before the Blue Wolf and the Crown Princess did.
He raised his hands in a defensive posture, ready to fight and defend his gladiator, even if the situation was far from the ideal one…
A blast of fire, so bright it could have been white, shot down from the top of the mountain and hit Aonu on the shoulder.
"Aonu!" Renzhi called, snuffing out the flames before they could deliver lasting damage.
The two of them knew the opponent responsible for that fire, even if it was a mystery for Iroh and Toph. Standing high above ground, with the noon sun lighting up his silhouette, the Light Bearer stood side by side with his brother, who was thumbing his spear as though to take aim with it. Behind them, their sponsor appeared exhausted after the climb.
"Ah, so we found Aonu, did we…?" Koshing said, breathing heavily as Aonu and Renzhi rose up to a defensive position: they were at a disadvantage now, and they had to bear with the brunt of two gladiators' attacks the same way Toph and Iroh had endured theirs.
"I can handle Lighty, you go for Darky" Renzhi told Aonu, who nodded and did his best to ignore the burning sensation that still lingered over his skin.
With the tides finally turning to their favor, Toph and Iroh managed to race down the mountain, with the young earthbender easing their passage wherever it was needed. They ran together, exhausted and worn out, until they reached flat lands anew. By then, four hours had passed since the race had begun… and neither of them was in pristine condition anymore.
"Toph… Toph, come here" Iroh said, upon noticing a soft whimper accompanied her every intake of heavy breaths.
"I… I'm fine. I'm just… bit dizzy" she whispered, shaking her head violently "I'm…"
"Here. Eat this"
The notion of food had barely registered in her mind until now: suddenly she realized she was starving, and the loaf of bread Iroh offered her seemed miraculous to her. She ate it quickly, ravenously, caring little for the crumbs that dropped on the ground.
"And also, drink this" Iroh said, offering her a waterskin. They both had brought supplies, even if Toph had been convinced they'd win without needing food or water through the race. It was fortunate that Iroh was that much more cautious than she was, or else their run might not have been as smooth… and it already hadn't been smooth, to begin with.
She drained half the waterskin and wiped her brow with her forearm, breathing with difficulty as Iroh tucked away the waterskins in their assigned bag. The Dragon of the West turned to assess the situation in the mountain, watching as rocks rolled down the natural wall, casualties of the chaotic fighting between Aonu, Renzhi, the Light Bearer and the Dark Rook.
"We were fortunate a distraction arrived, and at such timely opportunity" Iroh sighed.
"How much further…?" Toph asked, grimacing as she rested with her hands on her knees.
"We're at the start of the valley right now…" Iroh said, turning to regard the distance ahead "There should be a town or another at the center. But we must go beyond that… beyond the mountains, altogether"
"Wha…? Beyond Gladiator Rumble, even?" Toph asked, grimacing "It's somewhere around these mountains, isn't it?"
"It is, the entrance is on the other side of the mountains, though" Iroh said, sighing "We probably should have chosen that route, Toph… you're tired"
"Eh, not a problem" Toph declared proudly "The worst terrains are behind us already. I… I'm not going to falter, and I know you won't either, Iroh. So… let's go. It's time to shut them up about all that nonsense of being the best team there is"
"You really do hold a grudge over that, don't you?" Iroh asked, amused, and Toph scowled.
"'Course I do! People only started spouting that nonsense because I… I beat him up and she helped him out afterwards! So, it's even my fault, somehow?"
"That's… huh. Well, I guess if you look at it that way…" Iroh said, blinking blankly and stroking his beard.
"We've got to beat them. You know we do" Toph said, before smiling wildly "And we're gonna. I don't know if in this stage, or the next one, or the next one… but we're gonna"
"You expect we'll go up against them directly at some point?" Iroh asked, smiling a little.
"Don't you?" Toph asked, and Iroh laughed.
"Ah, that's fair, that's fair…" he smirked, before jerking his head towards the plains that spread ahead of them "Shall we, then?"
Not every team had brought proper food or supplies with them: it caused further detours, for those who had been following Azula and Sokka through the outskirts of the mountain had to head into Gaoling itself to find someplace to buy food. Those crossing through the mountains tried to forage or hunt quickly, but the mountains in question were so arid and dry that they wouldn't find anything to eat there easily. All along, the hot-air balloons followed the teams, hovering above at a safe distance from attacks, crewed by staff members who were ready to help out the teams who might need them, or, in Yang's case, to write down eagerly whatever new developments had unfolded whenever gladiator teams clashed against each other.
Sokka and Azula, though, were having the easiest race so far: not a single gladiator had challenged them by the time they had reached Gladiator Rumble's entrance. They relinquished their hold on each other unwillingly by then: many eager fans of the League, standing outside the Arena's cave door, cheered excitedly for them as they passed before them.
"Hey, you think the thumbs-up has spread this far?" Sokka asked Azula, with a mischievous smirk. She laughed and shrugged.
"Only one way to find out, isn't there?"
"You should do it with me too! You did when I fought the Mad Alchemist!" Sokka laughed, and although Azula rolled her eyes, he knew she'd do as he'd asked.
The supportive cheering for the pair was only bolstered when they raised their hands in Sokka's typical gesture. Azula did it less enthusiastically than Sokka, but she did it regardless: some of the Arena's visitors were even jumping up and down excitedly by then, and more of them scrambled out the doors of Gaoling's fighting facility to catch a glimpse of the Princess and her gladiator in their race.
"Ah, I love the love, don't you?" Sokka laughed, once they were well past Gladiator Rumble's entrance.
"You're so smug about it, really…" Azula smiled, shaking her head as they carried on with the rhythmic jogging they'd kept up with so far.
But with one glance at Azula, Sokka bit his lip and reached out to clasp her shoulder, slowing her down gradually. She raised her eyebrows as he smiled affectionately at her.
"Something the matter?"
"We've been running for hours, with very few breaks… pretty sure we could use one now" he said, raising a hand to caress her temples: upon touching her hairline, a droplet of sweat fell upon his finger.
"Hey, now…" Azula rebuked him playfully, smiling at his touch even if she knew they were in no circumstances for genuine intimacy right now. Sokka chuckled.
"I know better than anyone how much it takes to make you sweat, Princess" he said "We can rest for a bit, drink some water… heck, if we take a little detour there's a small stream down south, see? We could even wash up there…"
"Relying on streams for survival in the harsh Earth Kingdom…" Azula sighed dramatically, and Sokka snickered as they walked together towards the trickling river "What does that remind me of?"
"You know, we ought to get lost again sometime soon. Would be way more fun than it was back then"
"Especially since we could likely call Xin Long and he'd find us before long" Azula smiled "How lost can you be if you get lost voluntarily, I wonder…?"
"Beats me" Sokka laughed "But I think I won't feel lost at all as long as you're with me"
"And it was about time you said something corny. Been holding back for how many hours, is it?"
"About four or five, maybe?" Sokka winked at her, sitting by the stream and fishing through his bag for some of the food they'd brought with them "Not that you have any room to complain, you've been saying corny and romantic stuff to me way too often these days"
"Well, you ought to start calling me out on it, that way we'll truly be even" Azula smiled, leaning towards the stream to drink some of its water.
They didn't take too long in their break, merely eating and drinking water until their energy reserves had been properly replenished. The sun wasn't as strong as it would be in the Fire Nation so, as heated as their bodies were, the weather hadn't been inclement towards them so far.
"We shouldn't get right back to running, though" Sokka said, as Azula glanced at the mountains they'd already left far behind "I mean, we could end up hurling everything right back, so…"
"We can just walk for now, I guess" Azula suggested, before sighing "Look at that mess, though…"
"Yeah…" Sokka said, grimacing at the sight of rockslides and fire blasts pouring out all over the mountain "Makes me very happy we chose this route"
"And yet I…" Azula said, biting her lip to stifle a weak grin. Sokka huffed.
"What? You want in on the action?" he said "Goodness, Princess, and here I was, fascinated by our almost-romantic almost-picnic while you just wanted to go after all those fighters and kick their butts instead of being with me…"
She couldn't hold back the laughter at his indignation: her response was wordless, however, as she scooped up water in one firmly cupped hand and tossed it in his direction. Sokka's new, outraged gasp as the water splashed against his face and armor only amused her further.
"Okay, that's it! You have made an enemy out of your only friend in this race!" Sokka declared, his voice cracking as he splashed water in Azula's direction too.
The water was refreshing, and their playful banter was quite amusing for Azula, but as she jumped away from the river, avoiding the next of Sokka's splashes, her eyes were claimed by two men, menacingly standing north of the river, facing the pair of them…
"Uh, Sokka…?" she said, pointing at the team before her. Sokka, though, had his back turned towards them and huffed in disbelief.
"I'm not falling for that old trick, Princess! I'm way ahead of you!" he declared, but when she rolled her eyes in quick exasperation his certainty faded quickly "Azula…?"
"We've got company, you goofball" she growled, stepping towards him and scowling at their new opponents: The Ruthless Hero and his sponsor.
The man with the golden headband scowled at them, while his sponsor stood behind him supportively. No doubt, there was only one thing in the Ruthless Hero's mind, and neither Sokka nor Azula had to struggle much to figure out what it was.
"Playing around at leisure, aren't you?!" the Ruthless Hero grunted, raising a fist with bronze knuckles in their direction "Well, playtime's over!"
"Yeah, I think you said something along those lines too when I kicked your ass in the Green Gates" Sokka said, with a proud smirk. Azula snorted and laughed softly beside him "Here to avenge yourself, are you?"
"Damn right I am! You won't be so lucky this time around, thumbs-up idiot!"
"Heeeey, that's just rude!" Sokka huffed, scowling, but Azula stretched a hand steadily before him: Sokka blinked a few times as the Princess's eyes remained trained on the Ruthless Hero "Azula?"
"He might be right, you know? Maybe you wouldn't be so lucky if you fought him this time" she said, with a dramatic sigh "So I guess I'll have to do it for you"
"Oh, boy…" Sokka said, stifling a smile "Be careful, okay?"
"Such an unnecessary warning…" Azula said, confidently.
"I meant you should be careful not to go overboard" Sokka finished "We might need to save our strength to fry bigger fish later on…"
"Fair enough. Just some light frying for a small one, then" Azula declared, smirking.
It was almost comical that the Ruthless Hero could be riled up so easily. He was hot-headed, brash and reckless, and he rushed towards Azula with a war cry that had his sponsor hiding his face in embarrassment. Both his hands were fashioned with the brass knuckles, and Azula had her eyes firmly set on them, fire dancing around the metal as the Ruthless Hero powered his limbs with a potent fire attack…
He was running too fast to slow down when Azula stretched her arms out horizontally: she jumped, powered by her firebending, and with blue flames pouring over her feet, she spun in midair in a perfect, calculated wheel. The Ruthless Hero only had a chance to raise his head slightly, following the Princess's movements with a dumbstruck, wide-eyed expression… before her heel impacted painfully against the back of his head, sending him face first into the dirt.
Azula didn't stop there: at risk of losing her balance, she pushed his head down further into the dirt with her foot before jumping right back to her previous position, hands outstretched to hold her balance perfectly as she waited for a counterattack.
"Ah… it ended so soon" Azula sighed, shaking her head "How unsatisfactory. How did this guy give you so much trouble in the Green Gates, Sokka, really?"
"You know full well we'd have a perfect victory streak if you were the gladiator and I the sponsor, Princess" Sokka laughed, stepping towards her and clapping her back in congratulations "Curses, but you're effective. I'm damn glad we're not enemies anymore"
"Only when you behave yourself, we're not" Azula smirked playfully, and Sokka chuckled…
The Ruthless Hero grunted menacingly, though, and he dug his face out of the ground while scowling prominently at his rivals. But as things stood, with both the Blue Wolf and his sponsor staring him down as they were, the Ruthless Hero's underdog status seemed fated to remain what it was.
"Look, he still moves. Guess my job's not done yet" Azula said, smiling smugly until she heard another voice roaring…
The Ruthless Hero's sponsor was a non-bender, and he had unsheathed a sword that he now raised against them. Sokka was quick to draw his own, though, and as the Ruthless Hero lunged for Azula, the Blue Wolf hacked the opposing sponsor's weapon into pieces before punching him square in the face.
Azula wasted as little time as Sokka did: the firebending punches the Ruthless Hero flung towards her never found their target. Instead, he lost his footing as she dodged his attacks and dashed quickly to trip him. Upon realizing physical attacks wouldn't be enough, the Ruthless Hero was backed into relying on his firebending instead… only to find, after launching a powerful blast at Azula, that the Princess would easily wrestle his fire out of his control: it turned blue once she was bending it, and she smirked before launching it back at him, with twice the heat and speed the Ruthless Hero had used at first.
He tried to defend himself, but it wasn't easy: Azula's moves were far too quick, and she finalized a flurry of fire blasts by charging a fireball with her feet, relying on the momentum of a double flip-flop to launch it straight to the Ruthless Hero's chest. And as she attacked viciously, Sokka's loud cheers brought a smile to her face.
The Ruthless Hero couldn't defend against her latest, powerful attack. He was launched by the charged blast straight towards the river, and he sank in it after a very loud splash. His sponsor watched him sink, impotent, but he cried out his gladiator's name and ran towards the water before long… at which Azula raised her eyebrows and smiled at Sokka.
"I take it that's our cue to rejoin the race?"
"Damn right it is…" he said, though he had a smile she recognized easily on his face.
"Sokka…? You alright?"
"Oh, not really. You have no idea how badly I want to just…" he said, gritting his teeth to hold back from speaking his innermost thoughts when the other two were still within earshot.
Azula snorted, shaking her head at his obvious recklessness, and she clutched his arm to incite him to run with her once more. It didn't take much convincing: Sokka put away his sword again, picking up his bag and dashing off after his sponsor, a love-struck, wanton expression plain across his face as he followed her wherever she might lead him next.
Up in the hot-air balloons, Yang sighed in bliss upon having witnessed the Crown Princess's flawless take-down of an opponent: he had asked his navigator to let him follow the Princess and her gladiator, if just briefly, and it had been worth every second. Even from above, the powerful team had taken down their opponents and carried on spearheading the race, whether consciously or not…
"Wanna go over the mountains again, Shuyu?" asked the navigator, and Yang nodded promptly.
"Let's see what's going on with the Blind Bandit! Last we saw she was still at the head of the mountain group, but that could've changed while we were here…" Yang admitted, jotting down the last of his notes before dashing to the other side of the balloon's basket.
The other important front of the race was much more chaotic than the one led by the Princess and the Blue Wolf: so far, the Light Bearer's team and the Millennium Dragon's own had been fighting their way down the mountain, but now that they had reached the plains, their attacks would often be cast towards the leaders of the race as well.
"This isn't going well!" Toph yelled at Iroh, who breathed heavily as he ran, shooting glances over his shoulder in case Aonu threw more projectiles their way.
"I know, but… Watch out!"
Toph slowed down her racing pace to a halt, ducking under a makeshift shield that she erected around herself and Iroh: as guaranteed, a powerful blast nearly sent them flying, and it shattered Toph's defenses with unexpected ease.
"You're… you're okay, Toph?" Iroh said, an arm protectively wrapped around his gladiator's shoulders.
"No idea" she answered, truthfully "What the hell was that?"
"I… fear they may have singled us out as the main threat to be taken down rather than fighting amongst themselves" Iroh admitted, watching the five men running towards them fiercely.
"Well… shit. They're gonna get what's coming, then…"
"Toph, you're tired! You can't just…!" Iroh started, but she stood up, a dangerous scowl upon her face.
She raised her hands, moving her arms in timed, perfectly synched movements that, at first, hardly seemed to have any effect on the environment. The enemies kept coming closer, and Iroh could see the benders were already winding up new attacks…
Then the earth rumbled, shook powerfully, and shattered in a thousand pieces.
Renzhi lost his footing, as did Koshing, who clung to the Dark Rook for stability. Only the Light Bearer and Aonu managed to stand their ground at first… but Toph wasn't finished. She carried on jumping from one steady position to another, moving her hands in perfectly timed strokes, fingers held out as though to aid each fragment of earth to rise into pillars: they shot upwards, further disrupting the race for their opponents by trapping them in a chaotic maze.
It had been no easy feat, though, and Toph gasped for breath after exerting as much strength as was needed to craft a complicated, dangerous earthbending trap for her enemies. But they had no time to waste, and Iroh knew it: he clasped her forearm, tugging her towards him and urging her to begin running before their enemies could tear down her earthbending creation.
They had already taken off, with Iroh as good as yanking Toph forward, when the fight to break out of the maze turned far more violent than Toph had even envisioned it might: the Dark Rook found Renzhi, slamming his rapidly-spinning nunchakus into him, while Aonu, who kept pushing the pillars off himself, wielded his earthbending to restrain the Light Bearer before his piercing fire could reach him.
Koshing slipped out of the chaos through an opening in the maze as soon as he had a chance: he was, in truth, no good as a fighter even if he was in good enough shape to run for several hours. His two gladiators were facing off against deadly opponents, and the pillars of rock threatened to bury them alive…
Aonu carried on crumbling the pillars steadily, attempting to get the Dark Rook off his gladiator. The Light Bearer broke out of his imprisonment before long, though, and launched an attack at Aonu… and it hit him just as he was calculating how to tear down one of the tallest pillars.
It crumbled upon all of them, and Koshing watched blankly from outside the maze as his gladiators were buried in several tons of earthly rubble, along with their opponents.
"Shit… they'd better not be dead" he groaned, shaking his head as he stood up, dusting off the dirt that had clung to him so far "Where the hell am I going to find someone to sell me decent gladiators with these shitty laws…?"
He was only a few steps away from the accidental earth tomb when the rocks started trembling… and he only had a moment's notice to shield his face before most the rocks were launched violently away, in all directions, some of them even reaching the edge of a crumbling town in the valley.
At the center of the chaos stood Aonu, breathing heavily, blood trailing over his face and arms. He didn't waste time digging through the rubble, seeking out his certainly injured gladiator… by the time he found him, both the Light Bearer and the Dark Rook had dug themselves out, coughing and struggling to regain their breath after the entire world had seemed to crash upon them.
"Renzhi? You okay…?" Aonu asked, pushing more rocks out of the way with difficulty – despite he hadn't used his earthbending as extensively as the Blind Bandit had, all the fighting was taking a toll on him as well.
"Heh! That was fun!" came the unmistakable voice of his gladiator… and Aonu sighed, rolling his eyes as he finally found his gladiator's boot.
"You're mental. Fun?! We just got buried alive, you fool…!" Aonu growled, finally clearing the rubble enough that Renzhi could sit up again, even if he groaned in discomfort and pain upon doing so "Wait, Renzhi, are you injured?"
"Nah, nothing serious, nothing serious" said Renzhi, waving a hand carelessly in his direction "You think the little earthbender's gone now?"
"I'm pretty sure she is, and… I'm also pretty sure we're close to the finish line, Renzhi" Aonu snarled, fist clenched "She's going to beat us there, at this rate, and…"
"And what's so bad 'bout second place, anyhow…?" the Millennium Dragon groaned, pushing himself up to his feet: his sponsor scowled heavily at him, just as Renzhi had known he would.
"Keep saying that kind of crap and I'll bury you all over again. Let's go" he huffed. Renzhi sighed but obeyed, climbing out of the debris and following his impossibly stubborn sponsor across the plain: The Blind Bandit and the Dragon of the West were nowhere in sight anymore.
The race was indeed coming to a close: the Misty Palms Oasis stood beyond the mountains, near the southern edge of the Si Wong Desert. And as fast as the Blind Bandit and the Dragon of the West dared go, it wasn't fast enough: Toph collapsed eventually, the heat and exhaustion overwhelming her and prompting her to fall to her knees. Every intake of breath was painful, and that soft whistling sound would leave her lips each time she tried to fill her lungs with fresh air.
"Toph…" Iroh called her, gritting his teeth as he knelt beside her.
"Y-you should just… go on, you're in better shape than me" she said, shaking her head "I'll catch up with you later, but if you go now…"
"I won't win without you, Toph: that's even one of the rules" he said, with a gentle smile "Either we cross that finish line together, or we don't cross it at all"
"Heh… that's shitty" she said, with a soft laugh "I'm willing to fall behind and let you win for me, stupid rules…"
"Here I thought it sounded like the right way to be a team instead" Iroh said, breathing deeply and urging her to wrap an arm around his shoulders "Come, Toph. I know it's been difficult, but we'll be at the Oasis in no time. You caused the others enough trouble as it is…"
"But maybe… maybe they're not the ones we should be watching out for" Toph said.
Iroh was already rising to his full height, an arm around his gladiator's waist, when her words gave him pause. There was guilt in Toph's face, but more than that, she seemed unwilling to lose. He couldn't blame her for that… especially considering who they might be losing against, if they truly faltered now.
"Then we'll get to that Oasis before they so much as catch the first glimpse of it" Iroh said, with fierce determination "Let's go, Toph"
"Aye, aye, captain…"
The tall mountain range, and the sparse vegetation, offered little relief to the Blue Wolf and the Crown Princess once they were headed northwards: the sunlight was becoming fiercer, and the territories they ran through were much more arid, the brown soil of the small hills turning gold, even if grass still grew on it…
"We're getting closer, huh?" Sokka asked Azula, as they carried on running side by side. Their quick break, and their easy fight against the Ruthless Hero, had kept them in good shape for the rest of the long trek.
"Must be!" Azula said, with a proud grin.
"You do realize, though… that the ones who took the mountain might have beaten us to the first place by now?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows. Azula only snorted and shook her head carelessly, waving a hand in his direction.
"I don't think I could care any less for total victory when I already feel like…" she started, as they took one last turn around the foot of a hill…
The Si Wong Desert spread before their eyes now: a large expanse of golden sand, with nothing but dunes and occasional cacti in sight. Mountains and canyons wrapped around the desert, but most of them were so far away they could scarcely see their silhouettes. But even at such a distance, they could see the line where the grass ended and the desert began, as well as the wall that enclosed the Oasis and the humble buildings inside it.
"Okay…! I think that's it!" Sokka announced, grinning encouragingly at Azula.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Azula smirked, urging Sokka to keep up with her by jerk of her head. He chuckled and followed, beaming brightly.
"You know, as much as we fought the Ruthless Hero, this has to be the easiest event I've ever joined! Probably because you're in it too, but still, it's been so much calmer than all those other stressful things…" Sokka chatted happily, smiling to himself "I really have a good feeling about…"
"Sokka?"
Azula's voice was ominous… despite it sounded cheery, to a fault. The Blue Wolf blinked blankly, glancing down at her to find she had her eyes set beyond the Misty Palms Oasis… they had been set, instead, upon two shapes that seemed to be limping their way towards the small village, from the west…
"Are those Iroh and Toph?!" Azula asked, and all her leisurely, calm attitude regarding victory seemed to have faded to oblivion. Eager ambition dripped from her words, from the set of her eyes and the vicious smirk she was suddenly sporting in her face… and as much as Sokka knew that anyone else would be terrified by such a sight, it sent jolts of anticipation to his lower belly.
"Uh… well, looks enough like them, I guess?" Sokka shrugged, as Azula continued to run beside him, her eyes drifting further west, in the direction Toph and Iroh were coming from… to find a cluster of smoke, dust and earth rising as another team, or perhaps several teams, struggled to catch up with the Blind Bandit and her sponsor.
"That's… that's Aonu. And the Millennium Dragon!" Azula exclaimed, with a bark of disbelieving laughter "If they're all back there, then… Sokka, no one has crossed the finish line yet!"
"So…?" he said, amused… and then Azula stopped cold on the hill they had been climbing down on their way to the Oasis.
"We're not going to beat them unless we go the extra mile" Azula said, before smiling wildly at him "Come on. You know what to do"
"Uh… no. I really don't"
"Climb on my back!"
"Wait, WHAT?!"
Azula didn't offer further explanations, instead simply moving to stand right in front of Sokka: she draped his arms around her neck, and as much as he enjoyed the closeness of any kind of embrace between them, he knew there was no erotic intent in this case whatsoever.
"I'm going to boost us… and we're going to win" Azula said, and again she bore that dangerous smile on her face that led Sokka to whimper.
"Is it possible to be scared and aroused simultaneously?" he asked. She only laughed at his question, leaning down as she readied herself.
"Grab on tight, Sokka! This will be pointless unless we cross together, so stick with me and we'll make it!" she said, and as much as he wasn't sure about this, not even slightly, Sokka did as he was told and held onto her strongly even before she took the first step.
With a quick movement to gather her strength, Azula stretched her arms out behind her body and fire began pouring from her limbs, all at once.
A wall of blue fire rose as they shot off onwards, and if just by fear of catching fire, Sokka found himself raising his legs over Azula's thighs. He dreaded that his weight might throw off her fire-propelled near-flight… but it didn't. Azula had measured her firepower for their weight perfectly, leaning forward while keeping her balance and releasing as many flames as she could manage.
The other teams, exhausted and frustrated as they were, hadn't noticed the pair on the hills at first… and they might not have seen them at all if the tall wall of blue fire hadn't sprung up out of nowhere, seemingly. Iroh, busy carrying Toph, gasped in horrified disbelief.
"Oh, no. Oh, curse her…!" he growled, hurrying up as Toph struggled to move with him.
"What's…? What happened? Iroh…?" she asked, hardly capable of sensing what was happening so far away…
For they were still several hundred meters away from the Oasis, and Azula was further away still… but the speeds she'd reach with her firebending boost couldn't be compared to the pace of an old man carrying an exhausted young woman across his shoulders. He gritted his teeth, still willing to try his best…
But it was for nothing: the Blue Wolf, half-screaming, half-laughing in his sponsor's ear, was going to cross the finish line before anyone could stop him, and even when Aonu and Renzhi weren't all that far behind Iroh and Toph – and neither were the Light Bearer or the Dark Rook –, it was clear there was no stopping those two. Azula's fire fueled her, shooting her so fast to the Oasis's entrance that in no time she had crossed the last of the green fields and entered the golden sand…
"No, no, they're crossing, they're…!" Iroh cried out, and Toph grimaced. She knew exactly who he had to be talking about… and she wasn't happier than him about that outcome.
Many staff members were gathered by the Oasis's entrance, and they were rather excited as they encouraged the Princess's to continue her wild progress through the village gates. One of the hot-air balloons hovered above as well: the entire world was watching, and before all those expectant eyes, a fire-powered Azula and an amused and panicked Sokka rushed past the finish line's indicative poles, earning an uncontested victory in the first stage of the Gladiator and Sponsor Race.
Azula slowed the output of her fire gradually, cutting off the flames at her feet first even if the momentum still threatened to make them fall over: they continued to run for a few more meters, with Sokka clinging to Azula despite he no longer needed to, until finally she extinguished the last of her blue flames: Sokka was laughing in utter disbelief by the time the fire was gone, and the blue glowed gold just before vanishing altogether.
"You… you said you didn't care!" he told her, between laughs, and Azula bent over her own body to laugh with utter abandon "And yet you just went and…?! Oh, Princess, you're amazing but you're going to kill me at this rate!"
His accusations only bolstered her amusement, and she was still laughing by the time the staff members reached them where they had finally reached a stop, at the foot of a tall iceberg that rose out of the sand. Sokka had dropped on the sandy ground by then, his head thrown back in disbelieving laughter as the chairman of the League eyed them with utter wonderment.
"You… you did it! The both of you!" he exclaimed, beaming "Well done! You're the winners of the first stage of the race! Uh, are you alright, Princess?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…!" she laughed still, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes as she forced herself to stand up and face the chairman directly "I'm fine, it was just… an impulsive, crazy decision, but it seems it paid off"
"Oh, it most certainly did!" the chairman laughed "You were wise to choose the longer, but easier road instead of the more direct one! Well done, well done!"
Staff members rushed to them, offering refreshments, food, towels to wipe off the sweat, anything they might need after their sudden victory. The usual medical examination took place as well, and physicians prowled around them to ask if they had been injured at all, and to ensure that they were still in peak condition after running for several hours with few breaks.
They were halfway through their medical check when the second arrivals finally crossed: the chairman rushed to the Oasis entrance to greet Iroh and Toph, and it didn't surprise Azula in the least to find her uncle would level a resentful glare in her direction. Shortly afterwards, Renzhi and Aonu arrived, but not without bringing some chaos with them: the Light Bearer and the Dark Rook had given them chase, despite their injuries. Now they arrived behind them, with Koshing panting and cursing his fourth place with every breath he took.
"Well… guess we're off to the best possible start, huh?" Sokka said to Azula, smiling awkwardly as the physicians rushed to tend to the many new arrivals – most of them bore scrapes and bruises, though the bloodstains over their clothes – and in Aonu's case, the trickle of red down his head – did suggest they might have slightly serious injuries.
"Let's hope our luck lasts for a bit longer, then" Azula said, with a sigh "I… I know what I did was crazy, reckless, you name it…"
"It was amazing" Sokka finished, and she smiled warmly at him "I mean, it was terrifying, but absolutely amazing"
"It's hardly the first time you have to endure one of my firebending-powered flights" Azula laughed.
"Yeah, it's the second time, actually, and it was every bit as scary as the first one" Sokka smirked "Though I admit this was an improvement: no crashing through roofs, you didn't punch me breathless before taking off… yeah, definitely another case of our 'we did it better the second time around' situations"
"Might even be better a third time" Azula smiled "Though I don't really expect we'll do this again. I fear we'll have a much harsher race going forward… no idea what the terms for the next stage will be, but winning the first round as good as paints a target on our backs. We'll have to be extra cautious and prepared for much more fighting than we handled this time around"
"Well, if our fight against the Ruthless Hero is anything to go by, we should be okay" Sokka said, with a proud grin "We do good work sometimes, Princess"
"I'd rather you admit it's most times, gladiator" she smirked "As long as we keep it up, this race will be a lot of fun, despite I doubt it will be easy"
"At least we got ourselves five hundred points, huh?" Sokka said, with a relieved sigh "No idea what else will happen, but that's definitely a good thing, isn't it?"
Azula nodded approvingly as two more arrivals crossed the line, another man and woman a few years younger than either Azula or Sokka. Barely five minutes later, it was Ty Lee and Haru crossing, and behind them, Kori and Sneers.
"Hehe, you guys made it to the sixth and seventh places!" Sokka congratulated them after their medical checks "Not bad at all!"
"And what happened with you two?" Ty Lee asked, still catching her breath after running for as long as she had "We lost track of you from the start, so we didn't really know if you were okay… but knowing you, you must have gotten the first place, huh?"
"Eh…?" Sokka said, smiling at Azula with a guilty grin that triggered a bout of guilty laughter from his sponsor.
"Oh, you two are just…! You're the worst, by far!" Ty Lee exclaimed, despite she was smiling too.
"Wow… seriously, first place?" Kori said, with a disbelieving smile "You guys beat the Blind Bandit, and the Millennium Dragon, and…? Woah… we really do have a long way to go to catch up to them, huh, Sneers?"
"Not like that's news, we've known that since ages ago" said Sneers, though he smiled and nodded in Sokka's direction "Good going, Blue Wolf"
"Heh, you managed to keep up with the race just fine too, Bear-Axe" Sokka grinned "Truthfully, you guys all seem to be in fine shape, despite you must've taken the mountain path… you did, right?"
"Yeah, though it wasn't easy" Kori admitted, glancing over her shoulder at the chaotic, terraformed mountain.
"Whenever we needed to smooth the path, Kori and I worked together for it and we all made it through safely" Haru explained "Those guys ahead, though… they were really violent. I'm surprised they're all alive"
"Let's hope they'll cool down for the next stage" Sokka said, grimacing.
"We could always press them against this weird iceberg, that ought to cool them off quite a bit" Azula smirked, and as ever, only Sokka laughed at her joke.
"I'd heard there's a tavern here that serves iced drinks… I never knew how before now, though" Ty Lee said, admiring the tall iceberg with interest "This must be their secret!"
"Might as well look for the tavern, then" Sokka said, stroking his chin as he glanced about himself for any signs of such an establishment "Because even if we already got to drink some water, my throat is … hey, wait a second, I know that guy! Azula, that's the Sentinel Knight! I hadn't even realized he was in the Race until now!"
"And I suppose you'll just run off and say hi?" Azula smiled.
"As long as it's okay with you…?" Sokka asked, biting his lip awkwardly and Azula laughed.
"Go ahead, silly" she said, jerking her head towards the finish line.
Sokka snickered before dashing towards it, just in time for the Sentinel Knight and his sponsor, both weary after their own struggles through the race, arrived twelfth, after several other teams had reached the finish line right after Kori and Sneers had.
"That talk about the tavern did sound kind of nice, though" Sneers admitted, pointing at the tavern after spotting it far faster than Sokka had.
"Then we might as well check it out, huh? We'll have plenty of time to do that, we're supposed to be spending the night here, after all" Kori said, smiling encouragingly "You guys coming?"
"To a tavern? Always!" Ty Lee exclaimed, beaming as she led Haru towards the rundown building, even before Kori and Sneers could make a single move towards it.
"She's still so energetic" Kori said, with a sigh "I kind of envy her, honestly. Anyways, Princess…?"
"Yeah, I think I'll join you after I let Sokka know where we'll be…" Azula nodded, and Kori smiled approvingly. But before either woman could make a move to their respective destinations, the chairman approached them again, and this time with a nervous smile on his face. He had greeted several other gladiators who had crossed the finish line, but other staff members had called his attention before long, presumably about whatever he intended to talk to Azula about now.
"Princess! And by chance you're with lady Morishita, too… how fortunate!" he said, smiling awkwardly as both women turned to regard him "I, uh… well, you see, we have a bit of a problem with the two of you"
"Oh? And what's that?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows inquisitively.
"Well, it's nothing serious! You won't be disqualified or anything, if that's what you feared!" the chairman laughed awkwardly "But, well, you see… the way the tournament's arranged, we had set things up so sponsors and gladiators would bunk together for the night, you know? To foster teamwork and synergy and all those important and essential things for a proper team, right?"
"Right…?" said Azula and Kori simultaneously. That only seemed more foreboding to the chairman, who swallowed hard.
"The two of you, though, are… well, you're royal, and you're noble. And your gladiators are, well…"
"Men?" Azula asked, with a dry grin. The chairman laughed nervously.
"Of course, you understand!" the said "Well, yes, they're men and it would be highly inappropriate for you to share rooms or tents with them. I'm sure you understand that, too, so… I was wondering if you might consider sharing rooms with each other instead? And your gladiators would share as well, of course…"
"Well, that's not fair. If sharing rooms will bolster our teamwork and synergy, this would put both our teams at a disadvantage…" Azula said, crossing her arms over her chest as she regarded the chairman with a cold stare.
The chairman seemed utterly perplexed by her reply: Kori was visibly astonished now, waiting for the Princess to finish her piece and, presumably, convince the whole Gladiator League that she could share rooms with her gladiator without it meaning anything too deep or complex…
But then she smiled, shaking her head as she chuckled softly.
"I'm only jesting, though the look on your face was certainly worth it. I have no qualms with sharing rooms with Kori" Azula finished, and the chairman released his breath with enough relief to lean forward for it "Though if you're right and sharing rooms has something to do with synergy and teamwork, the results of the second stage might make me reconsider these arrangements…"
"Of course, of course!" said the chairman, smiling as Kori chuckled at Azula's mild threat.
There were various inns in the Oasis, and the chairman had taken care of booking enough rooms for gladiators, sponsors and staff members throughout the rundown town: it was far from a bustling, beautiful place, and Azula had the feeling most people in the area resembled the rowdy crowd she'd been so repulsed by at June's tavern. Still, they were giving them far more business in a single night than they likely would have in over three months of visitors, so the bartender and the many innkeepers appeared perfectly pleased to host them all.
Sokka rejoined Azula before long at the tavern, bringing the Sentinel Knight and his sponsor, a highborn girl named Eri, with him: their table was fully occupied by then, with four teams eating and drinking together, everyone sharing their own anecdotes of the race:
"The mountain trail was a disaster" the Sentinel Knight was saying, his eyes wide "We thought it'd be a good idea, but some crazy earthbender smashed the road eventually…"
"The ones who barreled over the mountain also tossed some rocks at us, at several points in time" Eri continued, with an awkward smile "If anything, we got out of trouble far too easily compared with others"
"I'm starting to think this is all a matter of luck, huh?" Sokka said, with an awkward smile "If you choose the path everyone else chooses, chances of confrontation are much likelier…"
"What about if the other teams were to knock each other out, though?" Ty Lee suggested, with a proud grin "Imagine if the Millennium Dragon and the Light Bearer had done that! Us, Kori and Sneers would have been, uh, the fourth and fifth arrivals!"
"It's not so likely the second and third best gladiators of the League won't be resilient, though" Azula said, smiling as she raised her ice-bowl filled with juice in Ty Lee's direction "Next time? Try not following them"
"Then we'll follow you! You two won't try to knock us out, will you?"
"Nah, but Azula might dump you in a river if you're too annoying" Sokka said, smirking at the Princess, who smiled proudly.
"And it's Ty Lee, so the likelihood of that is…"
"Hey! I'm not annoying! Quit saying that!" Ty Lee complained, blushing as the pair across them on the table laughed carelessly.
By dusk, everyone was ready to get some well-deserved rest: some of the last teams to arrive had only crossed recently, so when their group vacated their table the new arrivals took their chairs quickly, many of them bearing bruises and injuries of different kinds. Amongst them, Azula and Sokka noticed, were the Ruthless Hero and his sponsor. But this time the gladiator of the gold headband hardly regarded them, as though unwilling to acknowledge either their presence or his embarrassing performance against them.
The chairman and some staff members were handing out the keys for inn rooms near the center of the Oasis: a young woman that Azula recognized as Scoundrel's sponsor was standing near them, bearing no shortage of light burn marks over her body, but she still smiled and bowed her head respectfully in the Princess's direction, her gladiator by her side.
"Ah… you are married, is that right?" the chairman asked Ty Lee and Haru, who nodded promptly "Then I suppose it goes without saying that you'd share a room… here you go!"
"Thank you!" Ty Lee exclaimed, taking the key and clinging to Haru's arm as he guided her towards their assigned inn.
"As for the Princess and Lady Morishita… here you go!" he said next, handing the key to Azula "Ah, lady Eri! You can share with lady Naoko here, she needed another highborn lady to share rooms with!"
"O-oh… Right" said Eri, grinning as Naoko waved in her direction.
"For the gladiators… here you go, Blue Wolf and Bear-Axe" the chairman continued "And of course, Scoundrel and the Sentinel Knight!"
Sokka sent a wistful glance in Azula's direction as he clasped the key in his hand: they had spent all day together, but some very gullible part of him had hoped they would be able to share a room under the same logic other gladiators and sponsors would. But while all-male and all-female teams were free to share rooms without any issue, it seemed every male-female pair would be split unless they were legally married, just as Ty Lee and Haru were. Again, the unfairness of their situation stung him, most of all after their idyllic week where they had pledged themselves to each other for good. If only the world could know the truth…
But he knew exactly why no one could, and so he swallowed his frustrations and put on his goofy front, twirling the key in his fingers as he walked towards their assigned inn: fortunately, it seemed he and Sneers had been assigned to the same building as Azula and Kori.
"You don't think we'll be staying at inns for the rest of the race, do you?" Sneers asked Kori, softly "I saw the map and it looked like, well…"
"Like we'll go through places with very little civilization? Uh, yeah, I guess so" Kori shrugged "But I think in the starting speech they talked about tents, right? So I guess that's what we'll have to deal with by then"
"Tents, huh? So, if that's how it is, do you think…?"
"Ah! That's got to be our room!" Kori cut him off suddenly, startling all the rest of the group as she pointed at one of the doors in the hallway.
"Uh… yeah. That's why I was walking that way" Azula said, with an awkward grin. Kori's face flushed as she lowered her hand.
Sokka raised an eyebrow and smirked at Azula. It wasn't all that difficult to interpret what they'd overheard of the conversation between the other two, not for them…
"Alright, this one's ours, Sneers. Looks like we'll be neighbors" Sokka smiled as he stepped towards the door to the right of where Azula was standing "So, guess we'll see you two tomorrow?"
"Get proper rest, Sokka. Don't spend all night sharing scary stories with Sneers or something stupid along those lines…" Azula said, rolling her eyes, and Sokka gasped, indignant.
"Well, then, if that's what you think of scary stories, you're not invited to our storytelling session!" he declared stubbornly, prompting Azula to roll her eyes but smile, despite herself.
"Good night" she said, with a dry grin, before pushing the door open.
Sokka chuckled and opened his own door: he stretched a hand towards the dark room, smiling at Sneers:
"After you, pal"
Sneers gritted his teeth visibly but nodded, sparing a quick glance at Kori that left her gazing at him remorsefully. But the gladiator slipped into his room quietly, and Sokka waved in Kori's direction before closing the door behind himself. The noblewoman sighed heavily, her shoulders slouching as she moved to her own room: the Princess was already inspecting the beds, having lit the lanterns within the small quarters with her bending.
"Well, it seems adequate, although I suppose there may be bedbugs. I'd advise you to check your mattress as thoroughly as possible" Azula said, and Kori smiled weakly "There's a small privy, too… nothing fancy, but enough that we may be able to clean up there, to a fault"
"It's a good idea to do it now, doesn't look like we'll have many chances to clean up in the next stages" Kori said, biting her lip "You can go first, if you like"
"Very well then" Azula said, nodding as she filed to their room's private bathroom.
Kori bit her lip, watching the Princess go… as soon as she was out of sight, though, realization dawned upon her: they didn't have any clothes to change into, because both their gladiators had been carrying their shared packs! She smiled brightly at the excuse to stop by at the neighboring room, and there was a spring in her step as she rushed out the door.
Her knuckles tapped the door softly: to her disappointment, it was the Blue Wolf who opened it.
"Oh? Need anything?" Sokka asked, and Kori grinned weakly.
"Yeah… you guys took the bags" she said, with a shrug. Sokka gritted his teeth, smacking his forehead lightly.
"Dang, didn't even cross my mind" he said, making his way to the bed where he'd placed his backpack.
Sneers glanced at her, and Kori smiled with uncertainty at him. Unspoken words were exchanged in the bridging of their gazes, as they sought a solution for their current predicament…
"Alright! I'll just take out what I need, and then you can carry the bag back to Azula?" Sokka said, startling Kori out of her shared daze with Sneers "I mean, it's not very gentlemanly, but I figured you could carry it, since you'll have to go back anyways…?"
"U-uh… right! Of course" Kori said, and her forced smile would have been the most obvious giveaway that something wasn't right with her if Sokka hadn't sensed any of the previous signs "A bag? Anyone can carry one! There's nothing to it!"
"Yeah, that's why I figured I'd check if it was okay with you" Sokka said, with a shrug "You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's fine. I'll just, uh… pick out my own stuff from my pack, yeah" said Kori, smiling and making her way towards it. Sneers breathed deeply once she was standing near him, rummaging through the bag.
"Kori…"
"Hush. Never mind" she muttered, shaking her head. The longing gaze he gave her nearly tore her to pieces, but Kori shook her head again and made her way out of the room as quickly as possible, shutting the door behind herself.
"Weird. She didn't even say good night" Sokka said, blinking blankly at the closed door before shrugging and carrying on with his own business. He was, of course, aware of Sneers' glare upon him, but feigning ignorance and stupidity was surprisingly easy to do.
Kori returned to her shared room with Azula right away, and after the Princess vacated the bathroom it was her turn to clean up. Within less than half an hour, Azula had extinguished the lantern's lights, and they lay on their respective beds, waiting for sleep to claim them…
Or so it seemed. Azula had her back turned towards Kori, but her senses were sharp and ready to pick up any unexpected movements on the other bed. She ought to be resting, and forgetting all about whatever Kori was up to, she knew as much… but she wasn't sure she could help herself. If she was interpreting things correctly, then perhaps there was a way for everything to be resolved to the satisfaction of all the involved parties…
She didn't have to wait long. First it was the rustling of sheets, and then the sound of bare feet on the wooden flooring, which creaked slightly under the woman's weight as she made her way to the door…
"Where are you going?"
Kori gasped and drew her hand back from the doorknob, eyes wide. Azula turned around, an eyebrow raised in her roommate's direction.
"I-it's not… I just… I got thirsty" Kori said, smiling awkwardly.
"I think there's a water jug right there, isn't there?" Azula said, pointing at the only piece of furniture in the room: indeed, an old, ceramic jug sat on it, and Kori's face fell upon seeing it.
"W-well, I… I didn't notice. I'm stupid. I… sorry" said Kori, biting her lip.
"Not a dreadful enough mistake to warrant calling yourself stupid…" Azula said, and to Kori's chagrin, the Princess sat up on the bed, eyeing her with curiosity and confusion "Is something the matter, Kori?"
"N-no! I mean, not at all, it's… oh, curses, it's nothing wrong, I promise" Kori said, biting her lip "The truth is, I…!"
The doorknob spun suddenly, and Kori jumped away from it instinctively.
Azula was quick to depose her amusement and spring out of the bed, hands raised defensively before her body. She had certainly made enough enemies by winning the race, and if any of them expected to get the better of her outside the race, then…
The door swung open to reveal Sokka standing at the threshold of the room. Azula's jaw dropped, as well as her hands.
"Sokka?!" she said, her voice urgent despite she kept it low. He offered her a mischievous grin, his face lit gracefully by the lanterns in the hallway.
"So… I had a very interesting conversation with Sneers" he said, eyeing Kori now. The young woman blushed deeply before Sokka jerked his head in the direction of his assigned bedroom "Go. He's waiting for you"
"He…? Oh, shit. He told you? He… oh, I'm going to… I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing, I…" Kori rambled, her face redder by the minute, and she covered it with both her hands.
"Hey, hey, no need to be so flustered" Sokka laughed "Nothing to be ashamed of. Go on, now, go on. We're decent folk and we don't judge people for their secret affairs"
"It's not like that, it's… oh, never mind, it'll sound awful no matter what I say" Kori sighed, still visibly nervous as she lowered her hands "T-thank you, though. Y-you're sure? I mean, is it okay if you two… share despite you're not supposed to?"
"Heh, we've had to spend nights in forests, just the two of us, and nothing unacceptable happened while we did" Sokka smirked "Rest assured, I know my boundaries and so does the Princess"
"Huh… w-well, thank you. Really" said Kori, smiling weakly before dashing out of the room hastily.
Sokka closed the door after Kori, ensuring to throw on the lock for good measure. He turned towards Azula to find her most skeptical glare, her eyebrow raised, and her arms crossed over her chest. He could only smile cheerfully at her.
"We know our boundaries, do we? Really, now?" she asked.
"Well, I know fairly well that you love me and love spending nights with me, so if that's the case, no real boundary has been breached, right?" Sokka said, with an innocent grin.
"You're unbelievable" Azula said, shaking her head as she tried not to smile.
"C'mon, turns out this was the perfect arrangement!" he laughed, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Perfect, yeah right. We're supposed to get proper rest, remember?" Azula said, with a dry grin.
"And you always say you sleep well if you sleep with me, don't you?" Sokka asked, prodding her nose with his own before kissing her softly.
As much as she always enjoyed kissing him, he never expected all her protests to die down so easily: her hands cupped his cheeks as she pulled him in for a deeper exchange, caution well and truly forgotten as she allowed her impulses to do away with her common sense.
"Oh, I needed that" Azula admitted, smiling fondly at Sokka as she pressed her forehead to his "But you still shouldn't be here"
"You can be such a grumpy wife when you want to be" he chuckled "Who said we'll do anything other than sleeping, anyhow?"
"I say it. We had far too much fun winning that race today, and we couldn't celebrate our victory properly" Azula bit her lip.
"Then hold back, you hopeless, impulsive Princess" Sokka snickered, leaning in to kiss her again. She chuckled as his lips worked against hers, tongues venturing forth to greet each other.
"Who's impulsive now, husband?" she said, and Sokka's playful grin only brought further laughter out of his secret wife.
It wasn't as thorough or as long as they would have liked, but upon returning to Azula's bed, it appeared impossible for them not to shed their clothes and surrender to the urges that had been rising within them since the very beginning of their wild race. But quick lovemaking was certainly better, and much more satisfying, than nothing: by the time they were finished they had dressed each other up lightly once again, for hygiene's sake – who knew how long it had been since these sheets were properly cleaned, after all – and with Sokka choosing to remain shirtless as he held Azula against his broad chest.
"Funny how so many of us just keep falling for you guys" Azula smiled, caressing Sokka's chest gently. He kissed the top of her head softly, his fingers sliding through her long tresses.
"We gladiators are all just charming that way, Princess. You know it better than anyone" Sokka whispered "Say… things can get pretty difficult tomorrow. What you said about us becoming everyone's target… it really might happen"
"I know" Azula sighed, nodding weakly "Do you have any ideas on how to deal with it?"
"Beyond being willing to protect you against anything and everything that dares try to harm you? Uh… no. But I figured you might come up with something?" Sokka said, with a weak grin.
"Hmm… I've got one: protecting you against anything and everything that dares try to harm you" Azula smirked, and Sokka laughed, shaking his head.
"Best possible plan, now, isn't it?"
"I'd say so" Azula mused, pushing herself up to kiss his lips softly "Good night, my silly husband"
"Good night, my magnificent wife. I love you forever" he whispered between kisses, and Azula hummed.
"I love you right back, Sokka" she managed to utter between the brush of their lips.
With a gentle kiss, a growing wave of exhaustion washed over her, prompting her to close her eyes and settle with her head on her gladiator's shoulder. And until dawn arrived, they would remain locked in the warmest of embraces, their relationship a permanent oasis of their own in the midst of what promised to continue being a chaotic, turbulent yet no less amusing Race in the coming days…