The results of the Race so far were announced before the runners assembled for the final stage. Many teams were tied in the lower levels of the race's standings, but the first place had two teams to its name: The Blue Wolf and the Princess were caught in a draw with the Blind Bandit and the Dragon of the West. They were immediately followed by the Millennium Dragon and Aonu, and the Light Bearer, the Dark Rook and Koshing came in right behind them: the gap between those four teams and the rest of the contestants was wide enough that it was apparent the race's ultimate winner would be decided amongst any of those teams.
"See? Told you we were tied with those two for first place" Sokka told Azula as the teams started to assemble into the usual line at the stage's starting line, once they had heard the announced standings so far.
"Unacceptable, of course" Azula sighed dramatically, shaking her head as Sokka chuckled mischievously "Especially after we defeated them as we did in the last stage. If only we had nabbed first place…"
With that, she shot a teasing glare over her shoulder at Aonu, who had overheard their conversation and merely shrugged guiltily in her direction. Azula smiled and shook her head, hearing Renzhi's loud laughter behind her.
"We didn't really mean to, if that makes you feel any better" Aonu admitted "I had thought you'd have crossed the finish line ages before we did"
"Reasonable, I suppose. We would have, if Toph and Iroh hadn't showed up when they did" Azula said, biting her lip.
"We still beat them, though" Sokka said, with a soft chuckle "We beat them, Azula. Can you believe it yet? They can't keep pretending they're better than us based on how things went when I fought her ages ago"
"Oh, I can believe it, I always knew you had it in you to beat Toph one day" Azula said, proudly, and Sokka chuckled giddily beside her "What I didn't know was that one day I'd fight my uncle physically, to be honest"
"And you beat him, too!"
"Well, yes, goes without saying" Azula smirked "I'm a little confused by his lightning redirection technique, though. I'd never heard of anything like it before, not from Lo and Li, not from my father…"
"Might be he's the first person to do it?" Sokka asked, with a shrug.
"Oh, well. Guess I can't be the pioneer to every novelty in firebending and its many arts" she sighed dramatically again, prompting Sokka's laughter to strengthen.
"Considering you've been pulling off new, crazy bending things constantly since you were born, apparently? I think it's fine if you didn't come up with that one" Sokka said, barely resisting the urge to wrap his Princess in a one-armed hug.
"Huh, admittedly, I've been told I cried quite loudly when I was born, enough that I actually made some fire in the process, and that's why they knew I was a firebender as early as that" Azula said, tapping her chin with a finger as Sokka, previously amused, now stared at her in astonished awe "I have no idea if that's rare, but if it is…"
"You know, I'd said that just to exaggerate, but I should've known you'd just prove I was right to say so" he said, shaking his head and smiling at her "Ridiculously amazing bender, I swear…"
The Princess laughed at Sokka's reaction: she had heard the story many times and asked for it to be retold often as a child, mainly because of how it irked her brother that she had shown signs of being a bender before he did. She had given the matter little thought in recent times, even in the wake of her many developments in regards of firebending. Sokka was certainly right to say she had little to envy Iroh for, considering she was often regarded as the most extraordinary firebender of her generation.
She allowed her eyes to flicker towards Iroh and Toph, by glancing over the Dark Rook's shoulder: Toph sported a few bandages, but she appeared to be herself once more, smiling and talking to Iroh with her usual enthusiasm. Losing against them yesterday apparently hadn't marred her mood much, or perhaps the knowledge that Sokka and Azula had no point advantage over them had kept her calm so far. Their draw would be decided today, one way or another… unless both their teams lagged behind and collected the same amount of points, that was. That appeared an unlikely possibility, and yet it wasn't one to be ruled out: who knew what kinds of dangers awaited them on their way to Omashu?
"Alright, if everyone's ready…!" the chairman spoke through the megaphone, smiling brightly at everyone from the platform erected for his speech "I would like to thank you all, once again, for joining the Race and taking part in an event that will absolutely go down as an extraordinary one in the League's history! Thank you for your enthusiasm and hard work! I expect the assigned food for this stage has been distributed properly by now, yes? Good! Then all that's left to say is… follow the indications on your map, and we shall be more than happy to welcome you into Omashu! The last stage begins now!"
The first team took off moments afterwards, and the next ones followed, ever at a set interval. Sokka breathed deeply, completely infected by Azula's competitiveness: he wanted to win. He didn't really know how they'd do it, if they could do it at all, to begin with… but upon sharing a complicit smile with his sponsor, he knew he wanted to stand side by side with her in victory, proving wrong all those who ever expected less of him, of both of them. They had begun their journey at odds, clashing for a thousand reasons… but after all this time their partnership was truer than any of the others in this race, he believed that wholeheartedly and he intended to prove it today.
"Ready?" Azula asked him, once Koshing and his gladiators took off: they'd only have a few seconds for their run to begin.
"Always" Sokka answered: where his eyes had gleamed with cold determination at the first stage, today there was fire burning in them, a powerful blend of courage and enthusiasm that Azula reflected with her own stare.
"Three, two, one…" counted the chairman, offering Azula and Sokka an encouraging grin before saying the final word: "Go!"
By now, their bodies were practically used to the constant strain of running. They had done it persistently for three days now, and as much stamina as they always had, it seemed they had vastly expanded their reserves of energy after all this exercise. It was one more thing to be grateful to the Race for, among countless others.
"Alright! What's our strategy this time, Princess?" Sokka asked.
They had to run towards another forest now, but the trees weren't so dense this time around: they would run along a tall cliff that hugged a natural cove, many meters below them. Beyond those cliffs stood tall, imposing mountains, far larger than the ones they'd seen so far, and more arid in appearance too: Azula identified them immediately as the mountain range Omashu had been built in. Returning to the city for the first time in so many years would prove interesting: her first visit had been dreadful, and she had no doubts this one would outdo it by far, regardless of whether they were victorious or not in the Race.
"We should've looked at the map, I guess, but… I don't think there's any way into Omashu that doesn't require going through those mountains!" Azula said, scanning their surroundings quickly "Otherwise the train-tank would've taken a different route when we first-… shit!"
A massive boulder flew in their direction: Azula instinctively punched it with her fire, but the attack had been so sudden and surprising they didn't have enough time to respond.
"Got you good!"
Toph's voice was an unpleasant sound so early in the race. Azula grimaced, her hand throbbing after her direct punch to the rock.
"Azula!" Sokka exclaimed, reaching to check his partner's potential injury "Oh, I'm going to kill that little…!"
An array of fire silenced them, but Sokka was fast enough to whip out Wolf's Bane and block the attack: Iroh stood beside Toph, the pair of them ahead of them in the tall cliff, clearly determined to avenge their previous defeat.
"You were saying, Dog?!" Toph shouted, a wild grin on her face as she raised her arms menacingly once more.
Beyond them, further fights were breaking out across the cliffs: fire and earth were flung back and forth, weapons clashed, and constant war cries echoed across the usually peaceful cove. Even if they defeated Toph and Iroh here, they would have to fight against many opponents who seemed a lot more resilient, desperate and stubborn now than they had been on the previous day.
Naturally, it wasn't long before another pair comprised by a firebender and an earthbender entered the stage: Renzhi attacked Sokka just as Toph launched her new, massive boulders at Azula. The Princess managed to fight back with her uninjured hand and foot, but if Aonu or Iroh joined the fray, she wasn't sure she'd be able to hold her own this time. Oh, this was ridiculous, truly. They had done so well so far, and now they'd be caught in a complicated, violent fight at the very beginning of the stage…?
It seemed wrong on so many levels to be defeated so easily, and she wouldn't stand for it. Thinking quickly, she dealt with Toph's spree of small rocks through a shield of condensed blue fire before shooting a stronger blast towards her with her feet: Iroh caught the attack, deflecting it and returning it to Azula, infused with more power, just as when he redirected the lightning the day before.
Yet Azula jumped out of the way, and the blast of fire caught an off-guard Renzhi instead. Aonu had been about to attack Sokka too, but upon finding his partner could be attacked by Iroh and Toph as well, he understood he couldn't just join forces with them to reduce the Princess and her gladiator. All bets were off today: every team was here to win, and no alliances or rivalries could be taken for granted. Clenching his fists, he stepped forward and raised his arms to conjure powerful spikes out of the ground, all of them aimed towards the four rivals they were facing right now.
Sokka joined Azula once the spikes split up the cluster of fighters. He reached for her right hand, finding it was red and swelling.
"Can you keep fighting like this?" he asked, and Azula shrugged.
"Do I have a choice?" she asked, before deflecting another rock, this time launched at them by Toph.
They were dangerously close to the edge of the cliff by now: Sokka clasped Azula's shoulder and tried to drag her further inland, away from the danger, but both earthbenders had an unfair advantage in this environment: every move they made was countered by blocks of earth or rocks of all sizes that flew in their direction, pushing them further back. Sokka swatted many of them away with his club, and Azula took care of the rest through her bending, but it was the first time in the entire race they had been cornered, pinned down by their enemies so effectively and mercilessly.
"Okay, okay, we need a plan!" Sokka said as they crouched behind a raised chunk of earth, which fortunately shielded them from another flurry of rocks, this time accompanied by a shower of fire that the Princess struggled to deflect.
"I… I have one. It's insane" Azula declared, glancing at him warily.
"What's that?" Sokka asked.
"How good are you at diving?"
His jaw dropped as he completely lost focus on the fight they were immersed in. His face was a mask of unfathomable disbelief and confusion as he turned towards Azula, demanding further explanations without even speaking a word.
"They can try to give us chase, but Toph… I don't think she'll like swimming, even if she knew the first thing about how to do it" Azula said, with an awkward grin "Firebenders are at a disadvantage in water, so Iroh and Renzhi aren't likely to give us chase, which leaves Aonu and…"
"And he's not likely to follow us if Renzhi doesn't" Sokka finished, moments before slamming a rock away with his club "Y-you're sure about this?"
"I'm not sure about anything right now, but they're bound to push us off anyhow if we can't turn this fight around to our favor!" Azula exclaimed, jumping back to her feet to attack Iroh this time.
Sokka joined her, shattering the rock spikes around them only for new ones to take their place, and to do so even more dangerously than before. His armor was sturdy enough to shatter most the spikes that slammed into him, but if any were to catch his exposed skin, whether on his forearms or legs…
They were fighting ferociously, and Azula even raised her injured hand to fight further, but the battle was skewed poorly against them. They were outnumbered, and for obvious reasons: without Sokka and Azula in the picture, either of the other teams would have a better chance at seizing victory in this stage, and the Race as a whole. Sokka and Azula were the obvious obstacle towards that victory.
Sokka glanced at his partner desperately, watching her struggle to bend back against the earthbenders: they were singling her out, likely because the firebenders in the scuffle knew their power would never compare to hers. Renzhi continued to focus his attacks on Sokka, and Iroh merely slid in to attack whenever Toph faltered, or whenever Sokka breached through Renzhi's flames.
Azula was right, despite it pained Sokka to admit it: there was but one way out. He had no idea if it would work, if it would hurt like hell… but at least it was water down below. It was better than falling down a deadly, nearly vertical mountain slope as they had back when chasing the Rough Rhinos…
He reached for her, a hand clasping her forearm as their eyes met. In just one heightened moment, Azula knew he was deferring to her. He had no better plan in mind just yet.
So be it, then.
With his hand touching her, Azula managed to craft a wide, thick shield of gold condensed fire: all attacks bounced back against it, and while they did, the Princess and her gladiator turned around towards the cliff and, without further hesitation, jumped off the ledge and into the open air.
"What the…?!" Toph exclaimed, sensing the jump even before the fire shield receded "You idiots, what are you doing?!"
Her voice no longer reached them, though: holding onto each other's hand firmly, Sokka and Azula continued to plummet towards the water together. The gladiator gritted his teeth, wind slapping against his face violently, his hair tie threatening to fly off as they dove lower and lower still. But just as he was about to calculate the best position in which to enter the water, he felt Azula's left arm wrapping around his waist and then… a boost. A mighty, powerful boost that sent them forward instead of downwards.
The heat along their feet alerted him that Azula was bending: a quick glance towards their legs revealed a massive cloud of blue fire in their wake, and Sokka gasped a soft laugh as he glanced at the Princess with disbelief. She was doing it again, just as in their first stage victory…
"Hold on!" Azula managed to say, as she straightened their course slightly: they hadn't quite averted a deadly crash into the water just yet.
Sokka reached out to wrap his own arms around her body, flexing his legs around her fully straightened out ones, in hopes to keep all his limbs out of the way of her bending. The Princess struggled to change directions, and the water continued to come closer and closer still: their speed was only increasing, even if they were changing directions…
She opened her mouth and screamed, and Sokka's eyes widened as he saw the powerful burst of fire pouring out of her throat, not unlike that which Iroh had unleashed on them the previous day. The flames clashed against the water, turning the closest of it to steam, and the new source of fire enabled the Princess to reorient her trajectory properly at last.
Sokka was gasping breathlessly as they rose above the waves: they were rocketing their way to the cove's shore, it seemed, and he could barely believe they were. By doing this, they would get ahead of Iroh, Toph, Aonu and Renzhi by miles, and chances were the two teams would be stuck fighting amongst themselves anyways, so the advantage they had wanted to obtain over Sokka and Azula would be lost easily…
Or at least, it would be lost if the Princess could hold her powerful bending for as long as needed. But with a swelling, painful right hand, it was no certainty that she would endure their flight as well as she ever could.
"Azula!" Sokka called her, sensing her every flinch as the pain worsened "You can stop bending! It's just water, we're close to the surface, we're not going to die if…!"
"We're in our armor! We're definitely going to sink!" she shouted "Why do you think I'm doing this in the first place?!"
"Shit, but you're injured! You can't hold this forever, Azula, you'll make it worse…!"
"I'll stop when we're close enough to shore, but until then…!"
"Azula…" Sokka said, his hands balling into fists over her clothes and armor.
Well, she had a point, of course she did, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Her performance so far had been amazing… he wanted to help her somehow, though he had no idea what to do to that effect. Surely arguing more with her wouldn't help, she'd waste more energy that way…
He didn't know much about the logic behind her current firebending technique: was it better with blue fire, or might it be better with gold? It wasn't a violent, aggressive, attacking sort of fire, was it? Then perhaps if she powered their flight with gold fire instead of blue, she would need to exert less power at it…
She was startled when his lips touched her cheek, to the point where she nearly stopped bending to turn towards him with a confused, accusing stare.
"Hey, don't answer me with words" he said into her ear, urging her to continue focusing on the distant strip of land they could see ahead "Do you think gold fire could make the flight easier on you? If you do, then I'll kiss you. If you don't, I'll stay put. Just nod or shake your head"
He didn't know for sure if she had heard him: the fire clashing against the waves produced a loud enough noise that it dwarfed most their words. And as Azula didn't nod nor shake her head right away, he guessed she'd either decided not to take any risks or she was weighing the possibilities still…
"You're impossible" she said suddenly, startling him when she turned her head towards him and reached back to claim a kiss from his waiting mouth.
He didn't hesitate, his lips pushing against hers with the eagerness they ever did, always conveying his reckless, powerful passion for her. His eyes were closed, so he didn't know if his idea had worked or not, but Azula did. She didn't respond too strongly to his skillful lips, but her trembling legs seemed to settle into gentler vibrations now as gold fire poured from her feet.
She had to tear her face away from Sokka's to ensure they hadn't changed directions in any significant way: they had risen higher, she found, away from the waves but not by too much. The speed largely remained the same, but she would ease down the flame output once they were close to the shore, just as she had told Sokka she would.
She could see strange natural rock formations within the cove by now, near the shore: rock arches, topped by weeds or grass of some sort, obstacles she'd have to sort out by the time they reached them. But right now…
Sokka's idea had been unsurprisingly brilliant, and Azula had no qualms with making the most of it while she could. Once again, she raised her head over her shoulder and stole another kiss from his lips – could it be stolen if he offered it so readily? His arms, at first clinging to her for dear life, now held her as warmly as they ever did, with the confidence of a man who knew they would survive this wild, firebending-flight-powered venture. Her heart ached as it sank in just how deeply he believed in her, how ready he was to put his life in her hands…
The gold fire strengthened with those thoughts, and she smiled when they parted again, checking once more that the shore was looming closer. She felt weaker, and yet stronger than before. Sokka trusted her so deeply her heart could only be ablaze for it.
They were lightheaded after sharing many kisses, both for entirely different reasons, but even if they were close to the shore, it wasn't close enough yet… and as powerful and helpful as the gold fire had been, Azula's strength started to falter.
"S-Sokka, I… I can't hold it anymore, I can't…" she confessed, gritting her teeth. He offered her one more reassuring kiss, right below her ear.
"Shh, it's okay. I'll swim us to shore, you did amazingly" he whispered, hugging her tightly "Just take in deep breaths, and I'll take care of everything now"
The Princess couldn't know if he would be successful with his promise, but she was in no position to doubt him anymore: her limbs gave way, the gold fire faltering just as they neared the first of the natural arches, and they sank in the water with a loud, painful splash.
She had been right to assess the armor would be a hindrance, but Sokka held onto Azula tightly with one arm as he swum them both, underwater, towards the closest pillar of earth he'd seen. The water was still deep, too deep to even think about standing effortlessly… so Sokka didn't bother seeking ground underneath his feet as he kicked powerfully with his legs. Azula clung to him now, arms as tight as they could be: their survival hinged on his actions now.
He kept swimming as fast as he could, the blurry silhouette of the arch ahead of him… he had to reach it. It wouldn't be the best solution, but it would have to work for something, at least until they could catch their breath and swim to the next arch in line. That was all that mattered for now, and they could do it, they absolutely could do it as long as he didn't falter…
His hand finally hit the rock, and he struggled to climb upwards, to push them both through the water that seemed so keen on bringing them down, lower and lower into its clutches… it was, sadly, the right moment for him to be a waterbender instead of a non-bender. He could have gotten them right out of this mess in no time if only he were like Katara…
He was nearly breathless by the time his hand finally breached the surface: he pushed Azula up first, ever prioritizing her health over his own, and he only raised his head above water after she'd done it herself, the two of them gasping for air and coughing awkwardly at the same time.
"Ah, shit… shit. That was… wow" Sokka said, turning to find Azula was in no better shape than him: her right hand was even more swollen now, and each breath she took was accompanied by a soft whimper "Hey, Azula…"
"I'm fine. I'm… I'm fine. I've got… good lung capacity. All that firebending training" she assured him, pressing her head to his shoulder "I'm just tired. That was… useful and awful at the same time"
"It's okay, we'll avoid those jerks for the rest of the race. I promise" Sokka said, rubbing her back reassuringly with a hand.
"Y-you don't think… anyone saw us kissing while we were flying, do you?"
"Uh… really? After everything we just went through, that's the first thing you're worried about?" Sokka asked, amused and touched as he stroked his lover's wet hair. As much as she was exhausted, Azula's cheeks were tinged pink as she averted her gaze from him.
"It's not the first thing, but it's… it's one thing to worry about anyhow" she finished.
"I hope they were all really busy fighting amongst themselves to notice us. Not to mention we were going so fast I don't even know if anyone could have seen us at all, to begin with" he said.
"Hopefully" Azula agreed "We… we have to get to shore"
"Breathe, love. As much as you can, for now" Sokka said "I'll get us to shore in a bit, and we'll rest more there… but for now, just try to catch your breath again"
"Alright" Azula said, nodding gently.
Her hand throbbed, and she had no doubts her fierce bending had done more damage to it than Toph had, initially. One glance at Sokka revealed their assigned pack he had ever carried, with all their provisions, had been dunked in the water, rendering most their supplies useless.
"Ugh… do you think we can salvage the map, at least?" Azula asked, and Sokka grimaced: he had forgotten all about his bag until now "Looks like everything's soaked…"
"Shit. Well, guess that's something to deal with once we're at shore. That's just our luck" Sokka sighed, shaking his head "Truthfully I'd forgotten all about the pack until you brought it up"
"Maybe we'll find another apple tree… and another moose-lion for you to become best friends with" Azula smiled, and Sokka laughed softly, his free hand caressing her hair.
"I don't know if we'll be that lucky, but I'd welcome it" he admitted, cupping her face to kiss her lips with a quick peck "You're beautiful"
"Heh, I doubt that… especially right now" she chuckled, burying her face in his shoulder "My hair's a mess, and I bet my makeup is another disaster too… can't even fix it because it's all wet. Brilliant"
"We'd have ended up like this anyhow, they were trying to shove us off the cliff one way or another" Sokka whispered "And they succeeded, alright. Guess we made way too many enemies after all"
"I suppose we're not so undefeatable if it's two teams against one" Azula sighed.
"Depends on who those two teams are. We got through a lot of lesser ones yesterday" Sokka said, reassuringly. Azula smiled at that.
"It's weird how I always feel like a champion when I'm with you, even if we're exhausted, soaked and at risk of drowning" she laughed, and Sokka huffed in disapproval "Doesn't matter if they nearly got us, because… we got away. On our terms. And we did something those guys never could have, so…"
"Yeah" Sokka smiled, kissing her temples softly "Whatever happens now, no one can compare to us, wife"
"And no one ever will, husband" she replied: his grin was warmer yet, and he squeezed her tighter against his body after those words.
After around ten minutes of catching their breaths together, Sokka offered his back for her to climb on, much as he had back when they had been crossing the river in the northern Earth Kingdom. Azula followed his suggestion, her arms and legs shaky but still responsive enough to wrap around Sokka's body. The first time she had embraced him fully like this she had been terribly aware of their closeness, her heart beating wildly… now she was just as aware of it, and she relished in it completely. She felt safe, comforted by placing their survival in his hands now, just as he had done it earlier by trusting her to fly them as close to shore as possible.
Swimming this way was a struggle, and they went under water several times. Sokka's legs were unrestrained by armor, but even his strong kicks wouldn't be enough at times and he would be forced to hold his breath for what felt like ages until they found another stone arch. Removing their respective armor would amount to little: they'd still have to drag them along with them, and the weight would be no less of a problem that way. Yet after each break at the arches, Sokka's feet eventually found soil underwater. Walking was much easier than swimming; Azula gasped for breath, relieved by his newfound stability in walking once her head broke out of the surface. Not long after, Sokka's did too: however exhausted she was, Azula didn't stop kissing his cheeks and hugging him tightly until Sokka stumbled when reaching the edge of the water, falling face-first on the earthen shore before them.
"Okay… okay, I think I'm more tired after that than after… all the three previous days of the race combined" Sokka said, his chest heaving against his armor "Let's never jump off a cliff again, or into water while wearing armor, 'kay…?"
"Deal" Azula whispered, offering one more kiss to his face before rolling off his back and sighing in relief.
Well, they were alive. They were off course, she supposed, and they would have to climb over the mountains next, which wouldn't prove easy at all, but they had survived through their joint efforts. It was hard to say whether what they'd done had given them an advantage, or a disadvantage… but considering how exhausted they were, and for how long they'd need to replenish their energies, it was probably the latter.
Their pack was a disaster: Sokka nearly sobbed at the sight of the watered-down meat and thoroughly soaked rice. They could salvage the map, despite their fears, but the parchment would need some time to dry off properly if they didn't want to risk ripping it by accident.
"This area isn't quite as barren as the desert" Azula whispered, once she had finished spreading the map over dry ground "It's more likely we'll find some fruit in those trees around here… at least, I'd think so"
"Hmm. Guess so" Sokka mumbled sadly. Azula rolled her eyes but smiled at him.
"We'll eat all the meat you want once we reach Omashu, alright? I doubt either of us is in shape for hunting after what we just did, so we're better off enduring our circumstances for now"
"Sure…" Sokka sighed, hanging his head. Wet strands of his hair had fallen out of his wolf's tail. He had noticed it, but had lacked the willpower to do something about it yet "How's your hand?"
"Uh… weird" Azula said, grimacing "I think it's not as bad as having an arrowhead stuck between my knuckles… I can move it. But it hurts quite a bit anyhow"
"Maybe I can bandage it for you?" Sokka suggested, but Azula waved her uninjured hand in his direction carelessly.
"Best not. I might end up setting the bandages on fire by accident if we're caught in any other fights after this" Azula said, shaking her head "I'm honestly not sure where the main damage is either. I guess Song will have to look at it once we find her in Omashu… provided they're already there"
"They better be" Sokka huffed, shifting closer to her to press the softest kiss to her reddened hand "I'm sorry you got hurt. I should've had my guard up…"
"I should've had mine too" Azula shrugged "Those two were ready to ambush us from the start. I guess we were overconfident we'd get to the end of the race without much trouble because we'd done so well so far…"
"And we didn't expect Aonu and Renzhi to join forces with them either. Here I thought they liked us" Sokka pouted, and Azula laughed under her breath "I suppose it's every team for themselves for real, huh?"
"Certainly looks like it" she whispered "Well, then… if we don't get moving, we're never finding a way up the mountains. We should get going"
"Yeah… I don't think the map has any indications on how to get out of this cove, does it?" Sokka asked, glancing at the nearly-fully dry parchment.
"No, but I suppose it's through that forest" Azula said, gesturing at the vegetation that spread behind them.
Sokka breathed in deeply, weariness settling in him softly. He certainly appreciated traveling with Azula, working alongside with her directly, but suddenly the chore ahead of them appeared too large to be dealt with. If they came across any other foes he'd be tempted to surrender on sight and let them get ahead, his earlier thirst for victory as good as forgotten by now.
But it was better for them to get up and keep moving forward: they carried the drying map still extended as they walked side by side, with aching feet and limbs, towards the path that led into the forest ahead.
Despite initial expectations, however, the path's surrounding foliage decreased as they progressed through it: they were headed in the direction of the mountains, for they loomed ahead, but so far there was no sign of how to climb them. Instead, the first unexpected sight they came across was that of strange ruins on the side of the road.
"Woah. Who'd you think lived here?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows as he took in the large columns that still stood the test of time.
"Considering the number of wars the Earth Kingdom saw in ancient times… I couldn't even venture a guess" Azula admitted, sighing as they slowed to appreciate the lingering structure of the old buildings "I suppose once I'm Fire Lord I can send some people to investigate this area, if I remember to. It's always better to learn more about our world's history"
"Might be people in Ba Sing Se know about it, in their university" Sokka suggested "They did have one, right?"
"Yeah… an oversight on my father's part is not having built one to rival it in the Fire Nation" Azula said, biting her lip "Seems like it hasn't quite occurred to him so far"
"Just one more thing to take care of once you're in his place" Sokka smiled "We ought to make a list, at this rate we'll end up forgetting half of the things we talk about fixing…"
"We'd better do that once we're in the safety of my Barge, then" Azula said, glancing about herself "I can't see any way to climb the mountains yet. I don't like this"
"You think we'll have to backtrack into the cove for another path?" Sokka asked.
"Could be. But as we are now, it's…"
Her words trailed off when she turned her head to her left. The path continued onwards in that direction… right into a gap between two mountainsides. Even at a distance, she could see the silhouettes of two people standing there, near what appeared to be…
"A cave?" Azula said, and Sokka stiffened immediately, following her gaze with his own.
"Uh, no. No caves, Azula, not if we can avoid it…!" he said, scrambling after her when the Princess started walking purposefully towards it.
"It's not just the cave, look…" she said, raising her uninjured hand towards the people Sokka had ignored so far.
They didn't have to wait for them to turn around to identify them: even if they seemed to be covered in dirt, the pink clothes worn by the shorter member of the pair was unique to someone they both knew very well, which meant her companion could only be one person.
"Ty Lee and Haru. Oh, boy, please tell me they won't want revenge for leaving them behind yesterday…" Sokka sighed, dropping his head as they walked more slowly now.
"I don't think either of us is in any condition to deal with her chi-blocking… so we might as well ask for a truce if that happens. But I doubt they want to fight us any more than we do" Azula sighed.
Their footsteps and voices reached Ty Lee and Haru by then. The non-bender had been clinging to Haru's arm so far, but she turned quickly upon sensing their approach: she had a couple of bandages on one arm, and Haru sported several bruises over his face.
"Woah… you guys!" Sokka gasped at the sight of them "Are you okay? What happened…?"
"Not a step closer!" Ty Lee squealed, raising her hands in a defensive gesture that backfired, for the pain in her arm shot back through her and made her flinch "Ouch…"
"Ty Lee, dear, don't…" Haru whispered, pulling her closer into an embrace "If they mean us any harm, I'll just… restrain them with the rocks around here or something. Don't worry"
"Okay, okay. I'm just on edge, you know, after earlier…" Ty Lee said, pouting as she dropped her head against Haru's chest.
"Guess you guys got caught in the middle of a bad fight too" Azula asked "Did they shove you down this way, or…?"
"Nah, we came this way willingly. Knowingly, rather" said Ty Lee, shrugging "But only after we got attacked by some really aggressive teams. It was awful! I don't know what got into everyone today, but even that guy you're friends with, Sokka, that Knight of whatever, he punched Haru in the face!"
"Guess the last stage has made some people frantic" Sokka sighed "Last chance to get a decent haul of points, so…"
"Well, I don't know why they bother, it's obvious you two are going to… wait. What are you two doing down here instead of being up there fighting everyone else?" Ty Lee asked, blinking blankly "Oh, don't tell me you guys have heard the song too and came here to check out if the tunnel was real!"
"What? No!" Sokka exclaimed "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, a legendary song, I heard it on my travels with the circus…" Ty Lee said, grinning to herself "But… if that's not it, how did you guys end up here? And… huh, you look like you're drying up. Your hair's all messy, Azula! And yours too, Sokka, so… wait a minute, you two weren't…!"
"No, we weren't" Azula said, cuttingly. Sokka pouted.
"I'd rather that were the explanation…" he mumbled.
"Me too, frankly" Azula sighed "We got caught between Aonu, Renzhi, my uncle and Toph. They ganged up on us, we had no choice but to jump off the cliffs and into the water, I tried to fly us to safety but I wasn't in the best shape, so Sokka had to swim us to the shore, and… that's what happened"
"Woah. That sounds nasty. Here I thought you'd be the ones doing nasty things to other people in this stage" Ty Lee said, blinking blankly.
"We were caught off guard, I guess. I didn't expect everyone to be so cranky for the last stage, most people can't even catch up to us anymore, points-wise" Sokka sighed. Ty Lee pouted, though.
"We can!" she declared "If you guys finish last, and Haru and I finish first…!"
"Yeah, you do realize Toph and Iroh need to end up amongst the last ones too for that to work, right?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows "As do Aonu and Renzhi. And the Light Bearer and the Dark Rook and…"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Haru and I are going to get ahead because we'll go through the Cave of Two Lovers and everything will be fine!"
The puzzled expressions on Azula and Sokka's faces spoke for themselves. Haru only laughed softly as Ty Lee's jaw dropped, indignant by their confusion.
"Don't tell me you two, of all people, have NEVER heard of the legend!" she said, shaking her head "That's absurd! Come on, Azula, surely you heard the song before!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, so however absurd it might be, it's the truth" Azula said, smiling dryly.
"Cave of Two Lovers…?" Sokka said, grimacing as he finally looked at the tunnel ahead properly.
The opening in the mountain was sizable enough that Xin Long could have fit through it with ease. A strange, ancestral sensation clung to it, a feeling that the tunnel was in fact something quite extraordinary… and that couldn't have felt more foreboding for the stubborn Blue Wolf, no matter how classy the earthen plaque above the entrance announced that this was, indeed, called the Cave of Two Lovers.
"Yeah, I don't like it. Let's go around and find something else to…" Sokka said, turning on his heels as Ty Lee gasped in outrage.
"You can't leave! Are you crazy?! You don't even know the legend yet! Sokka, come on, you guys should be thrilled to be here!" she said, smiling dreamily at the cave "It's the most romantic location in all the Earth Kingdom"
"Right. An old, dusty cave in the middle of nowhere. Guess the Earth Kingdom people have really weird ideas for romance, don't they?" Sokka said, an eyebrow twitching.
"You just say that because you don't know the song. Ehem!" Ty Lee cleared her throat theatrically, closing her eyes as she focused on her newest venture.
"Oh, crap. Now she's going to sing" Azula said, sighing and shaking her head as her friend swayed from side to side rhythmically, as though to mark the beat of the song.
"Two lovers! Forbidden from one another!" Ty Lee began, and although her voice had better pitch than Sokka's, it wasn't quite the best singing voice there might be. Even so, Haru smiled and clapped along with the beat "A war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart! Built a path to be together… and die!"
"And die?!" Azula exclaimed, taken aback by the unexpected turn in the song. Sokka snorted.
"That sounds so very reassuring, yep!"
"Oh, come on! That's just the first verse! Then the chorus goes… Secret tunnel! Through the mountains…!"
"Okay, I think I heard enough" Azula said, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. Ty Lee pouted in frustration as Haru patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry, you can sing the rest of it to me while we're walking through the tunnel" Haru said, and Ty Lee's dreamy smile now was directed at her husband.
"You're seriously going through that thing?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows "How doesn't it bother you that these so-called lovers went in there to… die?"
"Die together! That's the important part!" Ty Lee said, smiling brightly.
"You know, people need to start coming up with uplifting romance stories instead of all this tragic nonsense" Sokka said, grimacing "This is about as bad as the Fire Lily stories you told me about, Azula…"
"Oh! But that's so roman-…!"
"It's horrible, is what it is, Ty Lee!" Sokka exclaimed, his voice cracking "But you know, at least the Fire Lily tradition isn't so terrible, it doesn't say you'll die if you give your loved one a flower, but this…!"
"The legend says you need to trust in love and you'll get through the tunnel" Haru said, shrugging. Ty Lee grinned and hugged his arm tightly again "I heard about it a few times when I was younger, so…"
"And you believe this too? For real?" Azula asked, skeptical eyes studying both her friends "No wonder you got married, you're definitely perfect for each other"
"I know!" Ty Lee exclaimed, beaming as Haru chuckled.
"See, I'm guessing you guys got beaten up a lot and decided to come here for a detour, or whatever" Sokka said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingertips "But how exactly do you plan on reaching Omashu through this tunnel? That song doesn't say anything about that"
"That's because you wouldn't let me get to the next verse, you jerks…" Ty Lee mumbled, turning her face into Haru's chest.
"Oh, so you really think this tunnel will get you all the way there?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow "That's… convenient. If it weren't a cave, I'd even consider going for it, but as it is one…!"
"Well, I can't see what's so bad about it being one. Pretty sure you have plenty of experience plunging into some kinds of 'secret tunnels', yourself…" Ty Lee said, pointedly looking upwards.
The indignant gasp from the Princess revealed her teasing remark had landed perfectly. Ty Lee allowed herself a wicked smirk as she watched the color rise in Azula's face. Oh, the Princess might make her cry in retaliation after that, but embarrassing her so thoroughly had been priceless…
"Well, believe it or not, I don't" Sokka said, hands on his hips. Azula's promised rant was frozen cold with his intervention "Guess you people have some stupid stereotypes about us southerners, but that's not how things work with us"
"Oh? Is that so…?" Ty Lee asked, her amusement only growing "Then all the rumors are nonsense? You're no cave explorer, after all?"
"Ugh, well, it's not like I've never done it before!" Sokka huffed, gritting his teeth as Azula gave him a meaningful glare that he remained utterly impervious to "We did go into a cave before, me and Azula, when we got lost that one time… but I told her we shouldn't go further in for good reason, okay? But then she insisted we had to, and…"
"Oh, my! That sounds like such an exciting story! Azula, you never told me about that!" Ty Lee exclaimed, her face sporting the widest, cruelest grin Sokka had ever seen on it.
"Uh, Ty Lee? You okay?" Sokka asked "We're just talking about… caves?"
"Sokka…" Azula said, her voice small as she covered her face with a hand. Ty Lee couldn't seem to hold back a spree of giggles as Sokka eyed the Princess with uncertainty.
"What? Did I say something…?"
"Oh, you said all the right things, for sure! Ahahahaha!" Ty Lee laughed carelessly, holding onto Haru's chest as she nearly cried of laughter against him.
"I don't get it. What's gotten into her, and into you, Azula? We were talking about caves…!" he said, and Azula sighed, shaking her head as she patted her own cheeks, hoping the blood would relocate elsewhere soon.
"Dirty jokes and nonsense aside, can we please focus on the situation at hand?" Azula said, hands on her hips. Only then did Sokka reflect back on the conversation, especially on Ty Lee's voice tone, and he gasped in realization.
"Shit! I…! No, that's not what I…! Ty Lee!" he squeaked, and it was his turn to feel heat rising in his cheeks and ears. His protests only worsened Ty Lee's laughter spree. Azula huffed, shaking her head.
"Focus, people!" she shouted "This cave looks really old, really dark, and who knows what kind of dangers lurk inside! Sokka may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean he's necessarily wrong, okay? Haru is an earthbender, he can bend us a staircase of some sort all the way up to the mountains again and we can go to Omashu over the mountains instead. Simple, right?"
"Simple… and boring. We're not doing that" Ty Lee declared, shaking her head. Haru chuckled.
"You're a firebender, so I guess you could help with the darkness" Haru said "If not… I could craft a torch, perhaps. You can help me light it, and then we can see what's ahead that way"
"Are you guys serious?" Sokka asked, grimacing.
"Look, I can bend us out of there if we get stuck" said Haru, with a shrug "I think we'll be far from most enemies once we're inside the tunnel, so it's a good idea if you don't want to be attacked anymore, right?"
"And if he bends us out of the tunnel once we're deep in the mountains, we'd probably get ahead of all the jerks who attacked us… and those who knocked you guys down, too" said Ty Lee, with a proud grin "Why not?"
Azula and Sokka exchanged a hesitant glance. It didn't sound like the worst idea, yet it sounded bad enough that they were tempted to turn tail and leave immediately.
"What are the chances we'll find another path to climb up the mountains…?" Azula asked Sokka. He shrugged.
"To be honest… no idea. I'd like to think they'd be good, but… I can't be sure. Truthfully, sticking close to a friendly earthbender probably is our safest bet to finish this damn stage in one piece"
"And apparently the lovestruck newlyweds won't go anywhere but into this damn cave, no matter what we say" Azula sighed, shaking her head "I suppose that means we're going too, then?"
"Just nifty" Sokka grumbled "Why is it always caves? Why can't the answer in these situations ever be something fun, like going to the beach, or to hot springs…?"
"The wild doesn't conform to the man, it is the man who must conform to the wild" Haru recited, and Ty Lee smiled brightly at him.
"My husband is so wise…" she said, enthralled by the man beside her.
"Well, fine, then. We'll get going, but hey!" Sokka said, raising a hand menacingly "If we see a single sign of danger, any creepy beasts or anything threatening in here, we're turning around and getting out immediately! Alright?"
"Well, I don't know about those two, but I agree with that notion" Azula said, with a dry grin "I don't regret what happened when we found Xin Long, but I doubt we'll find another isolated dragon in this place"
"Oh, don't be such wet blankets, both of you" said Ty Lee, rolling her eyes "Like I said, this cave sounds like the right place for you two, secret lovers who can only ever meet in secrecy!"
Azula rolled her eyes at her claim, but that element of the story didn't bother Sokka too much. He smiled a crooked grin at the Princess while Haru scouted the area, looking for any stray branches or wooden stakes worth using as torches. It took him around five minutes to find a decent, thick branch, and he fished into his pack for an old clothing item he wrapped tightly around the tip of the branch. Azula lit it quickly, and now they had one constant light source to rely on for their journey into the dark tunnel.
"Alright! Let's get going!" Ty Lee exclaimed excitedly, as she and Haru, with their glowing torch, entered the cave without further dallying.
"Guess we have no choice" Sokka sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"I know how much you hate caves" Azula whispered softly, reaching to take his hand "We'll be much more careful this time. I'll try not to resonate with any dragons on our way to Omashu"
"Heh, wouldn't be illegal for the race if we found another one and it got us out of there" Sokka smiled "Taming newly-met creatures isn't off-limits, after all…"
"Can't imagine what it might be like to have two troublemaking dragons, though. One is enough of a handful as it is" Azula smiled, yanking him towards the tunnel's entrance.
Sokka sighed but followed her, unease creeping into him with each step they took. The tunnel's entrance was flanked by three statues on each side, but whatever they were meant to symbolize eluded both Azula and Sokka. By the time they had walked further into the darkness, the Princess raised her right hand and a speck of blue fire appeared over her open palm.
"Hey! You shouldn't bend with that hand, Azula, you're wounded!" Sokka pouted, but the Princess shook her head.
"It doesn't hurt that badly if I'm not drawing a fist" she said "This is fine"
"You sure? I don't want you getting worse and then claiming otherwise just to play the tough girl who can't get hurt…"
"Oh, please, like I'd be that irresponsible…"
"Did you forget that time you got sick and shot lightning THRICE while having a bad fever, Princess?"
"Oh now, that's not exactly…"
The sound of crumbling rocks halted their argument immediately: they weren't all that far into the cave yet, and the light of the entrance still reached them. But small rocks, seemingly, were crumbling down across it, going by the shadows they cast over the light source.
Both Azula and Sokka turned around immediately, their joined hands separating abruptly. It could be a simple landslide…
Or it could be Toph Beifong, standing before the cave's entrance with hands raised high. They only caught sight of her smirk for a fraction of a second before she moved her arms, pulling them down… and rocks and earth obeyed her wordless command.
"TOPH!" Azula and Sokka shouted at once, startling Haru and Ty Lee.
But it was too late: the rocks fell into place before Azula's fire could come closer, and there was no way she could break those rocks out with her bare fists, especially with an injured hand. Sokka drew out Space Sword and his club, slamming them hard on the rocks, but the slide only worsened, threatening to flood the cave further with earth…
"Fuck! Ah, damn it all, Toph Beifong, you piece of shit! You little devil, I'm going to skewer you when I get out of here!" Sokka roared, fear rising inside him vertiginously.
Trapped in a cave. Trapped, like Rhone had been. The way out was cut off.
"What happened?!" Ty Lee asked, running back towards the entrance with Haru. Azula gritted her teeth, reaching to touch Sokka's shoulder with a hand as he trembled in fury.
"Toph. I guess this is her tantrum for yesterday" Azula growled, shaking her head "Should've known she wouldn't just lose and take it like a grown-up…"
"Haru, can you open the way again?" Sokka asked, his voice deep.
"Well, I probably could, but… didn't we agree it'd be more useful if I bend us out of the tunnel further into the mountains?" Haru said, nervously.
Sokka didn't respond, prompting Azula to clasp his arm and pull him towards her. The only light source right now was Haru's torch, for upon Toph's sudden attack, Azula had forsaken her own small flame.
"Sokka… Sokka, listen here. We'll be fine" she said, taking his face into her hands. Despite it all, his fears and anguish diminished when looking into Azula's eyes, even in such dimly lit space "Haru can get us out somewhere else, hopefully someplace safer, away from Toph, so she can't screw us over anymore. So, breathe, and try to calm down, okay?"
"I… Yeah. I'll try" he said, reaching to take her hands in his own: she flinched at the touch of his fingers against her knuckles, and he released it quickly "Sorry!"
"It's okay" Azula said, smiling gently "Just calm down. Things aren't as dire as they were in the forest… or as they were for Rhone. Don't worry"
"Okay… okay. We do have an earthbender, so… yeah. Let's just get going" he said, nodding "Just… can we try to mark this place? I don't know, maybe you guys can use the back of your map to draw another map, ours can't really be scribbled on right now"
"Uh… yeah, I'd do that, if I hadn't, hehe, lost our map at some point back in stage two or three…?" Ty Lee said, with a guilty grin. Sokka's chagrin was only emphasized under the lighting of a single torch.
"You're kidding me, right?" he asked, through gritted teeth, and Ty Lee squirmed away from his glare.
"How about we mark the location itself?" Haru suggested "Leave something, a sign… the Princess can scorch a wall or something, maybe?"
"In this darkness, that's not much of a sign. Even under the torchlight it would be difficult to see a scorch mark" Azula said. Just then, Ty Lee jumped upright once again.
"Oh! I have an idea!"
In the blink of an eye, she had drawn out a portable makeup kit, one that earned her yet another harsh glare from Sokka, whose eyebrow twitched uncontrollably by now.
"No map, but you sure don't misplace your makeup, huh…?" he grumbled. Ty Lee merely responded by sticking out her tongue before leaning towards the closest wall and marking a small x sign across it.
"Isn't that too small?" Haru chimed in from over her shoulder.
"Ah, bigger, then?" Ty Lee said "Maybe I can make another one, right to the side…"
"How about another color? That could…"
"Excuse me?" Azula called them, startling the pair "Are you going to give the wall a full makeover, by any chance?"
"Uh, well, I…"
"We'll need to mark more walls as we progress through the tunnel. Save the rest of it for later" Azula said, sternly. Ty Lee pouted and nodded, putting her utensils away in the bag she shared with Haru.
"Alright, then, you grumps… let's get going!" Ty Lee said, clinging to Haru as the pair began their trek through the tunnel, their torch lighting the way.
Azula sighed, raising her left hand and procuring fire for herself and Sokka with it. He was so tense and uneasy she wasn't quite sure what was the best way to approach him right now. Still, once she took a step forward, he followed closely, silently, as he glared at the walls frantically.
"I know you hate this" she finally said, offering Sokka a gentle caress with her free, painful hand "But at least we're not alone this time. As ridiculous as those two may be, Haru can get us out of here"
"Yeah, he'd better. Because I have no plans of spending the rest of my life stuck in a lousy cave like this one" Sokka grumbled, fuming. His words brought a smile to Azula's face.
"Sometimes it's uncanny how much you resemble Xin Long…" she whispered, and he raised his eyebrows "He feels the same way about caves, as you must remember"
"Well, yeah, I know, and I sure don't blame him one bit. Caves are the worst" Sokka said, shaking his head "He spent so long cooped up in one without knowing there was a world beyond it… just the idea of living that way is terrifying"
"You're lucky to live in our day and age. From what I know, it seems some of your ancestors might have–…"
"Yeah, yeah, they probably lived in caves, all that nonsense" Sokka huffed, pouting "I think Gran-Gran mentioned it once or twice. Believe me, I am very grateful that my people figured out other ways to live our lives. Can't imagine how unpleasant it'd be to live in a wretched cave…"
"I suppose they mustn't have found it so bad, if it was the only way they knew how to exist" Azula shrugged "For that matter, mine apparently lived in wild jungles and probably in no shortage of caves as well, so we all come from similar roots, as far as I can tell…"
"Huh… guess I'd never thought about that" Sokka mused, raising his eyebrows "Somehow, I never stopped to think about what the ancient civilizations of your people might be like"
"Well, the Sun Warriors ruins do exist in an island near the Fire Nation, but I've never been there" Azula continued "Still, there's no way they simply came into existence and built a massive city immediately, right? Would be pretty unreasonable to expect as much…"
"Might be unreasonable, but if I'd been stuck living in a cave, I'd have gladly spent my life building a massive city outside it instead" Sokka sighed, and Azula glanced at him with uncertainty.
"Sounds ambitious on your part. Could be you actually pulled that off, believe it or not" Azula smiled, startling Sokka "If theories of reincarnation are true, it's quite possible that some of our past lives did live in caves, as much as you might have founded the first city at some point, for all we know…"
"Theories of reincarnation?" Sokka repeated, amused and confused "Is there any evidence that reincarnation is possible?"
"Well, the word is the Avatar was the same spirit reincarnated constantly all across history, as proven by the existence of only one person in each generation with the ability to bend all four elements" Azula shrugged. Sokka blinked blankly "I know, it sounds weird, but it's always written in books and spoken about as known fact… so of course, if the Avatar reincarnates, there's a chance the rest of us have past lives too"
"Really?" Sokka said, raising his eyebrows "Heh. I don't know how to feel about that"
"Neither do I, to be honest" Azula smiled "Though I do know you shouldn't ask our traveling companions about their opinion on the subject: the only reason I know about this theory at all is because Ty Lee spent years rambling on and on about reincarnation back when we were still studying in the Royal Academy for Girls. She'd come to school every day to announce she had discovered another past life of hers, and it was ever some girl who had been involved in an epic, tragic, torrid love affair of some sort…"
"Sounds like you had plenty of ammunition to make fun of her, then" Sokka laughed "What about you? Never had any curiosity about what your past lives might have been like?"
"Eh… not really" Azula shrugged "There were no great warrior princesses in the Fire Nation, not that I'd read of, at least. Short of thinking I'd been some grand Fire Lord from ages past, I decided I'd do best to focus more on being someone important now than worrying about if I had been important at some other point in history…"
"A wise attitude" Sokka smiled "Though if you wanted to be a female warrior… you could have thought you were a female Fire Nation-born Avatar, right?"
"Sokka, we've literally just established the Avatar is born and reborn in an endless cycle" Azula smirked "If I'd been an Avatar in a past life, it'd mean I'd be an Avatar in this one too"
"Heh, well, maybe you are. Have you ever tried bending other elements, by any chance?" Sokka asked, with a teasing smirk. Azula snorted.
"No, and I'd best not start testing my presumed skills now, or I might tear the mountain down upon us if you're right" she said, bumping him with her hip as he laughed "Aren't you the one constantly complaining that I'm already enough of a handful as it is? You seriously would like me to bend all four elements too?"
"Well… if it's you, sure" Sokka said, shrugging with a proud grin "In all honesty, Azula, whenever I see you in action, or whenever I'm near you when you're in action, I just… w-well, you know. I enjoy it. Quite a bit"
"Quite too much, some might say" Azula smirked, her eyes traveling down to his groin, which he covered promptly with his hands. The Princess laughed at his reaction "At least I'm no longer scared of your sudden boners, if that's what you're worried about"
"Well, you shouldn't be. They're usually your doing, and most times, you want them to happen" Sokka pouted.
"Most times? Mind you, I want them to happen every single time they do" Azula declared "Give me all the credit I'm due, will you?"
"Ah, I'll give you whatever credit you need, fine" Sokka smiled "But whatever, the thing is I never really thought seeing you bend with your mouth as you did when we were about to fall in the water would be so… well, exciting, extraordinary, whatever you may call it. Whenever you pull off crazy stuff like that, I can't help but be in awe of you all over again, like it was just the first time I've seen how amazing you are"
"Well, well. Keep saying such flattering things and I might invite you into my secret tunnel while those two aren't paying attention…"
"Woah, now!" Sokka exclaimed, laughing as his cheeks flushed "Pretty sure that's about as bad an idea in this cave as testing if you're the Avatar"
"You sure? We can't even afford slipping off to a dark corner to have our way with each other for, I don't know, ten minutes, maybe?" Azula asked, teasingly. Sokka's poorly stifled laughter was so honest she was convinced he had forgotten all about his well-deserved reservations against caves, if just for a moment.
"I doubt it, but I definitely appreciate the offer" he smiled "I thought that, after what we've been through today, you wouldn't exactly be in the mood for that kind of action…"
"I wasn't, but it'd be all your fault if that changes, yours and your boomerang's down there" she smirked, with an innocent shrug "Ah, well. Maybe I ought to try airbending first, then. How does one airbend, to begin with?"
"Hey, you're the bender here" Sokka smiled "If someone out of the two of us might have a decent idea of how to bend other elements, it's you, not me"
"Damn" Azula said, biting her lip before raising her hands before her, her fire fading away as she attempted to bend another element: Haru's torch still offered them enough light, so they wouldn't lose their way in the darkness "Well, it can't be too different from waterbending, right? Flowing movements, so…"
She waved her hands before them in a meaningless gesture that kept Sokka chuckling as he watched her. She had been imposing with her firebending so far, fearsome and admirable… now she was happy to make a fool of herself just to give him a reason to smile. Her previous offer became all the more tempting for it, as his chest tightened with love for the woman beside him.
"Did you feel that? A mild current! I must be the Avatar after all!" Azula announced proudly, after making a ridiculous flourish with a hand, and Sokka threw his head back with the strength of his laughter.
Ty Lee and Haru had seen no harm in dragging Azula and Sokka into the tunnel with them at first, but they had certainly felt guilty enough after Toph's landslide had blocked the entrance: a glance over their shoulders now revealed, however, that the Princess and her gladiator had returned to their playful banter, perhaps even a gentler form of it, as they both laughed together at Azula's failed attempts to airbend.
"Well, looks like they've cheered up all by themselves. That's good" Haru said, grinning at Ty Lee.
"Yeah… it's a good thing they always seem to fix each other so easily, even when we're the ones who caused them trouble, hehe…" she admitted, smiling awkwardly "I suppose Azula will want to have my head on a platter after we're out of here, though. If Sokka really hates caves that much and we got them stuck in here, she's definitely acting like that to appease him, don't you think?"
"Possibly" said Haru, nodding sagely. Ty Lee sighed, grimacing.
"She's going to kick my ass…"
"Now, now. If she tries, I'll defend you" Haru said, kissing the top of her head "Stop worrying so much, dear, and… hey! You can sing the rest of the Secret Tunnel song now. Maybe you can teach it to me, and we could sing it together"
"You want to sing with me?" Ty Lee asked, eyes bright as Haru nodded promptly.
"It'll be lots of fun" he said, beaming.
The chi-blocker made no efforts to conceal her joy, leaping into her husband's arms and kissing him happily. She nearly knocked the torch off his hands with her actions, but Haru only responded with a cheerful laugh, an arm around her waist. Without wasting another moment, Ty Lee launched into song, with Haru humming beside her. Their friends noticed their singing before long, but Sokka nudged Azula to continue testing the boundaries of her apparent airbending skills and she was quite happy to oblige, producing flames instead of gusts of wind.
They walked through the tunnel for what seemed like hours, and whenever Azula called for it, Ty Lee would mark the walls to ensure they wouldn't lose their way within the cave. Eventually, Ty Lee decided she was too tired to keep going and they stopped for a light lunch: the food meant for Ty Lee and Haru would have to suffice for four people instead.
"Consider our sharing to be, uh, a bit of an apology for dragging you guys into this mess…" Ty Lee said, as she divided the provisions as fairly as she could "Though in our defense, it was Toph who blocked the exit…"
"When we get out of here, I'm seriously going to tear her a new one…" Sokka said, snarling and punching his hand menacingly.
"Or try to, at least" said Azula, with a sigh "I doubt she'll just let you wipe the floor with her, no matter how determined you are to do so. I suggest you save up all that wrath for the future, you'll have to fight her one-on-one eventually once more…"
"Yeah, I will… if we get out of this cave, that is" Sokka said, with a sarcastic grin.
"Fair enough" said Azula, with a sigh.
They were sitting cross-legged in a small circle, eating slowly even if their stomachs begged for more sustenance. The thought of their wasted food had brought Sokka back to a state of miserable melancholy: however little he ate right now would have to suffice, and he knew it.
"That's seriously all we have, so you can quit making that mopey face" Ty Lee pouted "Maybe we should look for edible mushrooms in here, or something…"
"Doesn't look like there's much of anything alive down here. At least, I haven't seen any plants or critters so far" Sokka said, an eyebrow twitching "We'll just have to put up with it until we get out, which…"
"Yeah, yeah, well, quit being so pessimistic! Trust in love and the way will reveal itself!" Ty Lee declared proudly, prompting the Blue Wolf to look at her skeptically.
"I trust in love so much I literally dove off a cliff because of how much I trusted it" he said, with a dry grin "If that's the only requirement for getting out of this place, I'm pretty sure we should be out of here by now"
"Uh, well… I guess that's true, but you know, you look all skeptical, so maybe the Cave doesn't know you trust love that much" Ty Lee said, pouting.
"What, it wants some sort of demonstration?" Sokka asked, staring at the dark ceiling "Guess we really will have to sneak off somewhere then, Azula…"
"Let's make that plan B, shall we?" Azula said, trying not to blush at speaking so casually about quick trysts in caves in front of a leering Ty Lee "As much as I trust in love too, I think I'd like to trust earthbending instead this time. Haru, Toph has always been able to see with… well, her earthbending, somehow. I don't really know how she does it, maybe you'd understand it better, but if you try to imitate what she does, maybe you'll be able to sense if we've made any progress at all"
"Oh… well, I know she uses her bending that way, I talked to her about it when we trained her for the Slate, but she refused to teach me" Haru said, biting his lip "She said we were there to work on her non-earthbending skills, so… I guess I'll have to try and figure it out through intuition?"
"Well, it's worth a shot, at least" Azula said, shrugging "I highly doubt Toph is the only earthbender capable of connecting with earth that way…"
"Aren't you the only firebender capable of bending blue and gold fire?" Ty Lee asked. Azula waved a hand dismissively in her direction.
"Just give it a shot, Haru. It's our best option to figure out where we are or if we're headed in the right direction"
Haru shrugged before crawling away from the rest of the group. He started by placing a hand on the ground, and he certainly felt the pull, the response of earth to his touch… but what else was he supposed to be looking for? He could expand his reach, perhaps, and sense a little more than what was immediately under his hand… but that was it.
"Maybe close your eyes?" Sokka suggested "She's blind, might be you need to stop seeing with your eyes to figure out her seismic sense thing"
"Stop seeing with my eyes, huh…?" Haru repeated. He wasn't quite sure that would be the answer, but it was worth testing out regardless.
He closed his eyes as requested and he focused once more. He still felt the earth exactly as he had before, and he was tempted to say as much… until a soft, rustling sound reached his ears.
"I… heard something?" he said.
"Yeah, I was changing positions" Sokka admitted, and Ty Lee shushed him dismissively.
"Oh. Huh, but I heard it pretty clearly, so… that could mean something" Haru decided, frowning as he focused again.
The silence in the cave wasn't particularly helpful. Most sounds he could hear he could locate easily amongst his friends, everything else seemed eerily silent. He bit his lower lip and dug a hand into the rock, wondering if exerting his power on it might reveal more about the tunnel…
"Hey…" he said, a shaky smile tugging at the side of his mouth "I think… it's a mix of hearing and bending. I'm feeling something"
"You are?" Ty Lee exclaimed, smiling as she crawled towards him excitedly "What is it, Haru? Anything good? Are we close to the exit yet?"
"Uh… well, no idea. Maybe, but that's not what I'm feeling. If anything…" Haru mused, though his brow drew into a confused frown now "Uh. Maybe what I'm feeling isn't a good thing, come to think of it…"
"What does that mean?" Azula asked, climbing to her feet quickly at Haru's ominous words. Sokka followed moments later.
"I… I don't know. It's like something big is… coming towards us?"
Azula and Sokka exchanged a worried glance once again. It could be, presumably, a dragon like Xin Long… which wouldn't necessarily mean good news. Territorial dragons could be dangerous, just as Azula's own partner had been when they had first met him.
"Guys, I think we should run. As soon as possible" Haru finished, eyes opening wide as he reached for his pack "Come on!"
Ty Lee joined him in collecting everything they'd used in their strange, cave picnic. Meanwhile, Azula raised a plum of fire towards the dark tunnel before them, in the direction they had been headed into.
"Which way did you feel it, Haru?" Azula asked "If it's this way we should probably turn around, try another fork down the path…"
"I… I don't know! It didn't really come from somewhere, I think?" Haru said, panic riddled in his eyes "I'm sorry I'm not more help, but this is the first time I try to use that weird seismic sensing thing and…!"
"So you have no idea where it came from, just that it's coming?" Sokka asked, staring at Haru skeptically.
"It was coming this way, that's all I can say!"
"Then maybe try again!" Sokka suggested, raising his hands in an exasperated gesture.
"Sokka…" Azula called him, and he breathed deeply, despite his tension didn't recede at all for it.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry for pressuring you, Haru, but…"
Haru had obeyed Sokka's command, even if halfheartedly. Yet now he jumped back from the wall, mere seconds after placing his hand on it, and he leapt towards Ty Lee, who was holding their torch.
"Haru!" Ty Lee exclaimed, struggling to hold onto the torch
"Get back! It's in the wall!"
"What?!" Azula exclaimed.
By then, all of them felt it too: the earth underneath their feet, and all around them, was vibrating. In the fraction of a moment before the imminent attack, the possibility that they were under attack by an earthbender – Toph again, perhaps? – crossed Azula's mind.
But all thoughts vanished when a massive, dark shape they couldn't make out with their limited source of lighting burst through the tunnel's wall, raining rocks and earth over them as it passed. Sokka yanked Azula back quickly, sweeping her off her feet as he tried to put as much distance between them and whatever was happening in the tunnel.
It wasn't until the rumbling noise was over, and the vibrations had decreased, that Azula ventured to raise her flame towards the new earthen wall before them…
To find Ty Lee and Haru had been cut off from them.
"Ty Lee! Haru!" she shouted, running right back to the newly erected wall.
She couldn't tear it down herself, and if Sokka tried, he would likely bring down further rocks on them, as it had happened when Toph had blocked their path before. But this time it wasn't Toph's doing: there was something in this tunnel with them. Something large, dark, and capable of earthbending.
"Azula!"
Ty Lee's voice was muffled, but still within earshot. Azula sighed in relief: whatever that creature had been, it didn't seem to have eaten their friends, at least.
"Can Haru bend this wall down again?" Azula asked. This time, though, she heard Haru's voice, whimpering "Ty Lee?"
"I… don't think so" Ty Lee finally said, and Azula's eyes widened.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka asked "Is he alright?!"
"M-my elbow…" Haru's small voice was nearly inaudible, but both Azula and Sokka understood the words perfectly.
"Y-you can't break down the wall with just one arm, so don't even try!" Ty Lee exclaimed "Haru, no, stay put…"
"Shit. Oh, I hate caves!" Sokka growled, clenching his fists.
Azula breathed deeply, trying to still herself. This was a chaotic situation, potentially a deadly one… but losing their minds to panic would do nothing to help them.
"We can try to keep going" she said, startling Sokka "If we continue onwards, maybe find the way out, we can get help for Haru once we find an earthbender in Omashu"
"And if we can't get there?" Sokka asked, gritting his teeth "Azula… that crazy beast thing is earthbending, and it's probably changing the tunnels. Chances are we're cut off from the exit just as we're cut off from the entrance…"
"Maybe" Azula conceded, breathing deeply "But there are less chances we'll get out of this cave if we stay here waiting for that thing to get us, and even less chances for Haru and Ty Lee to get out if we can't do anything for them"
"Well… yeah, I guess you're right" Sokka said, breathing deeply and shaking his head "Last time we're ever going into a shitty cave, I swear… Haru, Ty Lee? We're going to see if we can get out of here and find help for you guys, okay?"
"Okay…" Ty Lee's voice reached them as a whimper, and it was easy to imagine her hugging Haru tightly, both to comfort him and herself, in the torch-lit darkness of the cave.
"We'll come back anyhow if nothing pans out. Or try to, at any rate" Azula said, patting the wall before turning towards Sokka "Let's give this a shot, then"
Discouraged, pessimistic and moody as he was, Sokka offered Azula a light nod. Together, they took off into the depths of the dark tunnel, their way lit only by the blue flame in the Princess's hand…