As the raindrops echoed on the roof tiles and the wind howled for the third straight night, Sokka was beginning to question his wife's decision to visit the palace at this time of the year, at the height of monsoon season. Multiple times Sokka had almost fallen asleep, only to be roused by the howling winds rattling the doors. As much as he wanted to just ignore it, there was the possibility that the next time he opened the door he would find either or both of his precious twins looking for comfort and reassurance from daddy and mommy.
On the opposite side of the courtyard, Risa and her brother Miska huddled under the blankets, every light tap of the branch on the window making them hug each other tighter. Both of them regretted their decision to sleep in separate rooms when their parents offered them the choice of sleeping in an adjoining room connected by a door or sleeping on the opposite side of theirs.
Then again, their abilities to bend gave them a false sense of bravado, with Risa taking after his mother in terms of firebending talent while Miska inherited the ability to waterbend. In any case, the twins were delighted to have their own room to themselves as while their parents' apartment in Republic City were by no means lacking, there was only so much space in an apartment unit, even if it was the penthouse unit and the largest one of all, given that it also housed the princess of the Fire Nation, who was serving in an ambassadorial capacity as well as a military attache to the budding United Republican Army.
Now, each of them were at this point suspicious of every tap, groan and squeak emanating from said room. It didn't help matters that right before they went to bed, their cousin Izumi, who was older than them by a good five years, decided to regale them with stories about the palace's past inhabitants, some of which she claimed, had never truly departed for the Spirit World.
"Stop scaring your cousins Izumi, they're only six for Agni's sake." Zuko chided.
"But it's the perfect weather tonight for such stories." Azula replied.
"Mom, are any of jiejie Izumi's stories true? Is there really a headless guard who watches over the north gate of the palace? Are there really secret libraries under the palace?" Risa asked.
"I've maybe explored a quarter of the tunnels when I was your age Riri, so I'm not so sure. But what I am sure of, that it is well past your bedtime kids. Now come along."
"Awww….." the kids uttered in unison.
Raising an eyebrow at them, Risa and Miska immediately stiffened, before stammering in unison "Y-yes mother.". As Azula led them away, Zuko nudged Sokka and asked "Are you sure she's not like, overly harsh on them or something?"
"Nah, the kids know better than to tick off mom. Though I will say, more often than not she's the one babying them, not me. I'm normally the one who has to draw the line someplace."
"Sure."
"Ask her yourself tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to attend to my kids."
A constant tapping sound was soon heard from the window. Nudging his sister, Miska asked "Riri, could you go and see what that noise is?"
"Me? Why?"
"Because you're a firebender and I'm not! Besides, you're my big sister, you're supposed to protect me!"
"I'll go if you go."
"No you first!"
"But what if it's a firebending ghost? You're a waterbender, you're the only one who can defeat it!"
"How am I supposed to defeat a ghost sis?!" Miska protested.
Suddenly, an eerie sound was heard echoing from the ceiling, leading them both to cry out in fear. Between the noises in the ceiling, the tapping sounds and the general moonless night, the siblings huddled even closer, each gripping the other so tightly their knuckles were turning white. Finally, the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was when a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the room in a pale white hue for the briefest of moments.
As it did, the siblings could make out some sort of a silhouette in front of their bed through the sheets.
Deciding that enough was enough, the siblings let out a shriek and ran out of their room in a panic, leaving the door wide open and soaking the carpet and the floor. Running across the corridor, Miska created a bubble around them so they wouldn't get wet while Risa frantically knocked on the door.
Inside, Sokka was beginning to grow rather irate at the knocking when he heard the plea of his daughter asking for help. Worried for them, he shook Azula awake, who wasn't too happy at having her beauty sleep disturbed to flick on the lights.
"I swear to Agni Sokka if this is some hallucination of yours, I will hit you so hard you'll be seeing stars for the next few days." she grumbled.
"Just put on a nightgown, I don't think it's a good idea to let the kids see you half naked." Sokka replied, heading to the door. With the light from the room spilling out onto the dark corridor, Sokka saw his two kids looking like lost squirrel kittens, soaked to the bone as Miska was too tired to keep up the bubble.
Immediately, his paternal instincts kicked in and he pulled them both in hastily, before shutting the door. The sight of her two kids soaked and shivering, their eyes as big as saucers on the verge of tears shook Azula into action and they set about drying them off the best they could, lest they catch a nasty cold.
When the children were all nice and dry, Sokka and Azula crouched before them and asked "What's wrong kiddos?"
A few letters was all they could stammer before they collapsed in their parents' arms bawling about how they were scared to death. Rubbing their backs, they soothed them with hugs and kisses and that they were now safe here. Carrying them on to the bed, they laid them both in between them.
"Sorry mom, sorry dad." they both uttered.
"Nonsense. Mummy and daddy will keep you safe. Now go to sleep." Sokka replied, ruffling their hair as Azula tucked them in. Cuddling his two kids along with Azula, Sokka finally dozed off, drained from the sudden flurry of activity.
The next morning, Izumi went to her cousins' room, only to find it empty and the carpet and floor soaking wet. On a hunch, she figured they would be in their parents' room and so tiptoed quietly inside, not wishing to disturb her uncle and aunt. There, she saw her relatives fast asleep, with Sokka and Azula each slinging an arm over each other while in the middle, Risa spooned her brother protectively, who buried his face in Sokka's chest while Azula's other arm held her daughter tightly. All of them were snoring at various timings and volume, which led to a bit of head scratching on Izumi's part as to how they didn't wake each other up.
Seeing their current state of peaceful slumber, Izumi eased out of the room, content to let them be while she looked for a servant to clean up the mess in the opposite room.