Sokkla Month Day 1: First Encounter
Earth King's Palace
Upper Ring
Ba Sing Se
If Sokka had to talk with another of Kuei's ministers one more time, he would not hesitate to kneecap said minister, diplomatic niceties be damned. Despite his status as a naval attache from the Southern Water Tribe and the son of the chief, the willfully ignorant (at least to him) officials could not look past the fact that he was from the 'basement of the world' as they put it and asked inane questions such as How cold does it get?Do you still live in igloos? Do you drink seal milk? Do you get vegetables down there?.
At least there was a free flow of drinks, he thought to himself. Granted, the Earth Kingdom's naval forces had not been it's strong suit, with the bulk of the budget going to the army and the national guard. Still, there were enough rivers and large bodies of water surrounding the kingdom that there had been some budget allocated to the navy, as small as it was. Thus, he was brought on as an advisor on how to work with the 'meager' resources they had in patrolling the multiple riverine approaches as well as their coastline, the reasoning being that given the Southern Water Tribe's distance from just about everyone plus their extensive coastlines, they surely would have the know how and experience in operating under such hostile conditions.
In addition, the crumbling reach of the Earth King had forced him to bring in outsiders from the various nations as advisors to perform the thankless task of foreign internal defence, as regional upstarts and rogue actors meant bad news as trade and commerce were threatened by such actors. Thus, while the Southern Water Tribe focused on their naval components, their Northern brethren dealt in High and Sub-Arctic operations whilst the Sisyphean Task of whipping the garrison of Ba Sing Se and its immediate surroundings fell to the United Republics and the Fire Nation. Through his contacts, he heard whispers of the national guard and special forces advisor, who was strangely a woman with a military pedigree that would put even the most battle-hardened veteran to shame. That she was of the same age made her all the more intriguing to him, not to mention her status as a royal. In fact, her insistence on being out in the field with the very men whom she was advising and training made her even more of an oddball even among the advisor community, who would very much like their air-conditioning and being waited on hand and foot.
Though he yearned for a chance to see who this mystery woman might be, he didn't realise said woman was just standing beside him.
"You know, sometimes I wonder what the hell we're doing trying to shore up this buffoon's power when all he cares is throwing parties and feeding his pet bear."
Not realising who it was, he replied "You're damn right.", knocking back the glass of sake in his hands. Turning to face his partner, he found a petite woman in heels, a red and gold dress with high slits up her thighs and an open back that revealed twin dragons of red and blue on each shoulder blade. Of course, he was but a red-blooded male and thus, his gaze was drawn to the teasing neckline that revealed as much as it covered.
"Ahem." she coughed. "My face is up here, not here. Surely they taught you basic manners in the tribe, no?"
Embarrassed, he turned his gaze up to find a pair of lively golden eyes framed by twin bangs staring back at him in mild annoyance.
"Sorry." he muttered weakly.
"I blame the retards at the embassy who made me wear this. Do you know how many creeps at this Agni-blasted gathering tried to get frisky with me?"
"I suppose you feel more at home in fatigues and a pair of combat boots out on patrol."
"And I suppose you'd rather be hunting down privateers in your corvette than endure some middling small talk with some old geezer who only got the job because his great-granddaddy was some high ranking swinging dick."
"A kindred spirit I see. Pleased to meet you. I don't believe we've met before."
"You don't say. Judging from your accent, you're from the Southern Water Tribe. Which means you're the naval advisor. You are Sokka, son of High Chieftain Hakoda, amirite?"
"Seems you know everything about me, but I know nothing of you. That's hardly fair."
"Boo hoo, cry me a river."
"You know, they say the special forces and national guard advisor is a woman who can beat the shit out a platoon single handedly and has a military pedigree that'll give any general a run for their money."
"Really now?" the woman replied, feigning surprise. "Tell me, what else do you know?" she asked, before sipping on her champagne.
"Rumour has it she's also a princess and a beautiful one at that."
"So it seems."
"Indeed."
"What if I told you said princess was at this very ball right now?"
"Last I heard, she wasn't due to be back from the field for another month."
"Well then, your source is very much mistaken." she tutted.
"Wait a minute…..you're Princess Azula aren't you?"
"Perhaps…." she teased.
Bowing low, he took her hand and feathered a kiss on it, before responding "It is my pleasure to finally meet you, Princess."
"Seems you do have a brain up there. I wonder what other surprises you can conjure up."
"Is it an invitation to what I think it is?"
"Ever so quick to jump headfirst into the gutter. Truly, you are a sailor through and through."
"That's not a no I'm hearing. Besides, think of it as strengthening ties between nations."
"I shall consider this proposition of yours." Grabbing a nearby pen, she wrote down an address on a napkin and handed it to him. "Come find me tomorrow evening and we can discuss this 'proposition' of yours. Do be punctual, I do not entertain tardiness." she replied, before bidding him a good night, her long ponytail swishing seductively like a siren as the scent of her lingered in the air like a phantom, cherries and wildflowers. Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore her hips were swaying just a touch more as she disappeared into the crowd.
Carefully tucking the napkin in his breast pocket, Sokka knew deep down that this first encounter would definitely be the start of many more to come.