Two weeks pass and, the pair fell into a friendly routine. Sokka would meet her at the library, annoying her as she studied her scrolls and paintings. She would allow him to ask her questions throughout the day, noticing that they had gotten lighter in subject as the days went on. The Princess realized that he was trying to get to know her, not use things against her. Asking about her favorite foods and hobbies, all things that she hadn't thought about until he asked.

"Is it red?" He asked her after the silence filled the room. She blinked before looking back at him, his question still bouncing around in her head.

"No, I think it's gold," she finally tells him and, he smiled.

"You think?" He teased her and, she rolled her eyes.

"My favorite color is gold," decided the Princess.

"Something a noble would say," he joked with her and, she scoffs.

"I've never thought about my favorite color. Everything was always some shade of red or black and white. But gold, gold always stood out. No matter how little was there, it stood out," Sokka hung on to every word as she describes what she liked. As Sokka listened to her speak, her voice stood out to him the most. It was gentle and soft, like singing a lullaby to a baby. Something that was certainly new for both of them to hear.

"Is yours blue?" She teases with a smirk and, he laughs sarcastically at her correct assumption.

"It is actually. The best color in the world! Even the oceans are blue," he tells her.

The Princess shakes her head, "Predictable."

"Do you miss being in the Fire Nation?" The change of subject was quick enough that Azula almost didn't notice it. She paused as he stared at her, looking for an answer that she didn't have. Of course, she missed the palace, she missed her home but, she wasn't sure if that was even her home anymore. Walking around the palace after leaving the asylum felt cold. Azula now felt like she was an outsider in the place she spent her whole life.

"I do miss my home," that was the best answer she could give him at that moment. Her home was not the same but, she couldn't see anywhere else accepting her, not after everything she had done. Sokka looked at her with sad eyes and, she scoffed, wishing she had something to take her away from this conversation and the turn it had taken. Azula didn't need him to look at her like some wounded animal.

"I'm sorry, I've upset you with my question,"

"Your question did no such thing," the Princess assured and, he raised his brow.

"You made a face,"

"Oh, you mean the same face you made when I answered your question?" The annoyance was stood out in her tone and, Sokka almost groaned as it began to click for him.

"I didn't mean to look at you like I pity you, I don't and. I know you don't want it. Sometimes I just-"

"Can't help yourself, can you?"

"I simply realized that things are a bit more complicated than I thought,"

"Hmm," was her response. She wanted to know about what was going on through Sokka's head but didn't want to be any more uncomfortable than she already was. Her home was on her mind now despite her attempts to push it down. She didn't want to be reminded about her standing with the palace right now.

"Is there anything you want to do once you're home?" He asks a lighter question, hoping it would raise her spirits.

"Firebend," the answer was simple and, there was no hesitation when she said it.

"You've been able to firebend here," Sokka points out.

"I've been able to light fires and boil water," Azula counters, "When I'm training, bending, I can do whatever I want, I can use my full strength with nothing stopping me and, that is what I am looking forward to the most," Azula explained. Sokka nods, taking in her answer.

"Well, until then, maybe you could do something small. Nothing that would melt the place, of course." He suggested with a small smile and, she returns it. With each conversation, they seem to keep meeting each other in the middle instead of trying to prove the other wrong. And with that came a newfound appreciation for each other.

"Why are you doing water bending poses?" Sokka walks up behind her, and she let out a deep breath as she finished her pose before facing him.

"Learning about the way other benders move proved to be an advantage in combat," Azula explained before positioning herself for her next pose. The sun had barely risen, but she had already been outside for at least an hour. He watched as Azula took her position and perfected her next stance, staying still as she breathed in and out. Sokka watched on, amazed by how quickly she picked this up. Her breath was controlled, and she stated that way for minutes at a time, using the stances and moves until she decided it was time for the next one.

"But you don't know what they're doing with the water," Sokka added but was met with rolled eyes and a shaken head.

"While that might be true, I now know where their weaknesses are," the next part was a bit more complicated and took more time for her to position herself just right. Learning these poses and stances was challenging when she could not use water with them. She simply hoped she studied them enough to do them correctly. Sokka watched her again repeated the previous move and then finally released her breath as she returned to her normal stance.

"Can you skip the library today?" He asked, and she looked at him as she started her stretch.

"Whatever for?" She rose from touching her toes and looked at him with curiosity.

"I wanted to show you the Otter-Penguins," Sokka was unable to hide his excitement about the animal. Azula had heard of the animal through her studies, but she had never seen one in person. She hated to say that it sounded appealing. She had never been overly enthusiastic about animals. She knew the turtle ducks at the palace pond would definitely agree with her. Yet, there was this juvenile and almost giddy feeling that came with Sokka's offer.

"That does sound like an intriguing activity," she tries her hardest to sound nonchalant, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.

"I promise it's fun! We don't have to stay too long if you don't want," Sokka assures her, and Azula nodded.

"Well then, lead the way," Azula agrees, and Sokka takes her hand to quickly rush off in the direction of the Otter-Penguins. Neither had time to think about the gesture, awe taking over Azula's thoughts as she saw the hills of snow and the herds of penguins sitting on them. Azula let go of his hand, moving closer to the animals in front of her. They were oddly cute, the four flippers at their sides and large eyes. They made this squeaky sound as they skid down the hill on their stomachs. It was more than anything she expected out of these animals, any animals. She watched them as the young followed their parents down the hill to the edge of the iceberg.

"Wanna go sledding?" He finally asked, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"On their backs?" Azula asked. Of course, she had ridden Komodo Rhinos and other animals, but never for fun. They were her tools for war and nothing more.

"Yeah, it's fun! And they're fluffier than they look, I swear," Sokka smiles at her, and she let out a nervous laugh.

"I'm pretty sure they're not going like me on their backs," Azula tells him, and he shakes his head.

"Trust me," he tells her, "Also, you might wanna put your hair up. It'll get in your face a lot. I can braid it if you'd like?" He tells her, gesturing toward her hair and, she raises an eyebrow. "May I? Free of charge," he smiles at her again, and she looks him up and down as she thought about his offer. Letting him braid her hair didn't sound too bad, she certainly was no good at it herself, but that meant allowing him to get close to her, a weird thing to even think about. Azula looked at him again. He didn't falter, his grin still plastered across his face.

"You better not ruin my hair," she finally gives in, and Sokka moves to stand behind her. He takes a section of her raven locks in his hand and slowly began to weave it between the other two sections of hair. Azula was practically holding her breath, she didn't know how to respond with him so close to her. It was weird, an odd sensation as he stood behind her, finish the braid. She was impressed that he could braid so fast, as it only felt like seconds before he was done. He stood in front of her, admiring his work, and she ran her hand along the braid. From what she could see, it was neat and even, something else she certainly didn't expect.

"You look nice with your hair braided," he complimented, and she could feel the dreaded rush to her cheeks.

"So I don't look nice with my hair down?" She countered and, Sokka froze in his spot.

"Of course, it- it looks amazing either way, but what I- I was trying to say that you look different with it braided. A good type of different," while it was freezing outside, Sokka was practically sweating bullets. Azula smirked as she watched him trip over his own words and continued to run her fingers over Sokka's work.

He's right, your hair is beautiful like this, Azula nearly let out a hiss at the sound of her mother's voice in her head.

"Let's get started then," Azula didn't want to think about what Sokka said or her mother's nagging, even if it was her own subconscious.

"Right," Sokka quickly recovered, grabbing his pouch from his back and pulling out a few pieces of dried whale blubber and fish. "We need this to attract them to us and, then once they're full, they'll be a lot nicer about us riding on their backs," Sokka explained, and she nodded, taking the pieces of dried fish from his hand. The pair held out pieces of fish and waited for the animals to notice them.

The spark of joy that filled her was indescribable as the Otter-Penguin waddled up to her. It carefully approached her, eyes focused on the dried fish in her hand. As it ate happily ate the fish from her hand, a crowd of them soon surrounded her. That joy faded into fear as they were on every side of her, looking for more fish.

"Stay calm. The penguins are just hungry," Sokka chuckled as he watches her smile fall into a look of shock.

"Yeah, and what's stopping them from eating me instead?" Azula pointed out and, Sokka walked closer to her, holding up pieces of fish to distract the penguins. A few of them left their huddle around Azula and heading to Sokka in hopes of more food.

"Well, this," he answers, nodding in the direction of the fish in his hand."Also, the fact that I doubt a couple Otter-Penguins would take you out." He jokes and, she rolls her eyes, looking back at the few penguins that we're still next to her. She took a few more pieces of the fish and began distributing them to the penguins. "Okay now, you just have to use the right moment to catch one," he tells her, and her confusion set in further.

"Catch one? How am I supposed to do that?" Azula asks him and, he chuckled before grabbing onto the back to the penguin.

"Like this!" Sokka exclaimed as he began speeding down the edge of the hill with the penguin. She watched him and looked at the penguin in front of her. Anxiety filled her as she quickly grabbed onto the penguin, throwing her legs over its back. The biggest surprise was the fact that Sokka was right. They were fluffier than they looked. As soon as her leg was over, the penguin made its way down the hill.

The wind pressed against her face as she and the penguin slid down the hill. She could hear Sokka laughing ahead of her as she just reached the bottom of the hill. Azula carefully gets off the penguin and watched it waddle away to a smaller herd. Sokka walked up to her and smiled brightly before wiping away some snow from his face and parka.

"Was it fun?" Sokka was hopeful that he was able to bring some joy to Azula's time at his home.

"It was what I expected," Azula didn't want to admit that she never had fun like that. It felt like her heart was in her stomach as she sped down the hill. There was nothing funny but, she found herself laughing as the wind brushed against her face. Saying she had fun would mean seeing Sokka's smug face as he realized he was right.

"Cmon," he whined, pouting at her. He wanted her to say just once that she was having fun. She looked at him and scoffed at a childish pout. He really thought that was enough to convince her to agree with him?

"You know you want to go again," Sokka teases as he jogs in front of her, heading back to the top of the hill. Azula watched him leave her and had it in her to stay where she was out of spite but, when he appeared at the top of the hill, she felt her will beginning crumble.

"They miss you, Azula," Sokka shouts as he held up a smaller, wiggling, otter-penguin in the air and, she almost chuckled.

"They miss the fish I was feeding them," came her response after swallowing her laugh and shaking her head at him.

"Yeah, that's true but, they miss you too!" His smile widened and, the same feeling from earlier returned. Her heart was thumping in her stomach and her cheeks feeling warmer than if she had a fever. Azula wasn't sure what was going on but, she knew it was not good for her. The Princess looked up and, Sokka and his smile were still looking down back at her.

"I'm going to wish I hadn't done this," she muttered as she stomped her way back to the top of the hill. The sound of Sokka's distant cheers filled her ears and, she cringed at the sound of his success. She may not have said the words outright but, they both knew what happened.

Azula was having fun.

Sokka and Azula sled down the hill a few more times before they ran out of fish and, the penguins went on their way. The two then walked back to the igloo, Sokka teasing her almost the entire way back. Azula practically ran into the igloo, letting out a sigh of relief as Kanna and Hakoda greeted her.

"He took you sledding, I see," Hakoda chuckles at the distress on Azula's face. Sokka had been raving about taking her for a week now. Hakoda had a feeling that Sokka might have had too much excitement for Azula to handle.

"You knew about this?" The Princess glares at the two of them. Her tone was sharp but, it was clear she was annoyed, not upset. Yes, Azula enjoyed herself but, with that came Sokka's interest in her, something that made her feel awkward, and today it was tenfold. He asked her more questions the entire way back and, it didn't take long for them to work her nerves regardless of what fun she had.

"My grandson was very excited to show you the Otter-Penguins today," Kanna adds and, Sokka walks in behind her with a grin on his face.

"I think today was successful," the Warrior's enthusiasm was almost childlike as he peeled off his snow-covered hat and gloves.

"It doesn't look like it," Hakoda cracked and, Sokka looked over at Azula.

"Oh cmon, you had fun," Sokka insisted and, she turned away from him, her attention now on Kanna. Azula frowned and, Kanna softly smiled before looking at Sokka.

"Alright now, we ladies have to get started on supper and, you are not allowed in here while that's happening,"

"That was one-time Gran-Gran,"

"It was not! We can not have you eating all the food. You're not the only one that has to eat," Kanna scolds.

"But I'm so hungry," Sokka pouts and, Azula could finally understand some of the

"I don't think that's the point," Azula comments

"No child, I will see you at supper," Kanna led Sokka out of the igloo and returned back to Azula.

"What's wrong, child? You don't look too well," Kanna places the ingredients on the counter, starting her preparations.

"I'm fine," Azula smiles awkwardly, hoping to reassure the elder that she was fine.

Trying to reassure herself she was fine.

They prepared dinner in silence, a gesture Azula was grateful for. She didn't understand Sokka's enthusiasm about her having fun. She was still having trouble trying to accept his friendship. It meant trying to undo everything she had known and, that left a foul taste in her mouth. Having to admit to herself and, essentially everyone else, that she had always been wrong felt like an even greater failure. And that was what scared her the most.

Once dinner was prepared, Sokka and Hakoda returned to the igloo for dinner. The four of them had settled into a steady routine of eating dinner and talking about the day and plans for the next day. Azula typically listened, speaking up here and there. She still felt out of place when interacting with all three of them, like an outsider looking in on a wholesome family moment. She scoffs at the though of her family in this situation, sitting around the dinner table, enjoying each other's company. She could only imagine the scolding that Zuzu would receive from their father. Their mother coming to Zuko's defense and ignoring everything Azula brought up. For a few second she imagine what it would be like if they were an actual family who wanted to spend time with each other and that only distracted her further.

No need worrying about something that didn't happen, Azula thought bitterly.

"Azula, you okay?" Sokka asked and she looked up from her plate to face him.

"Of course," she forced a smile and Sokka made a face that told her he didn't believe her.

Dinner finished as usual, the four of them cleaning up and getting ready to retire for the night. Once Sokka grabbed more of his painting supplies, he and Hakoda left and Azula was left alone in the igloo. While she was happy to finally be alone, it meant dealing with her thoughts with no distractions. Her new friendship with Sokka along with her brothers pending arrival had her on edge most of the time. Always thinking about what what would and could possibly happen with every outcome to match. She needed something else that she could focus on.

Hours later and a couple of scrolls were sprawled across the couch around her as she looked between them. The main scroll laid open on the small table in front of her next to a brush and ink. She had been thinking about the conversation she had with Sokka a few days ago. Her place at the palace was still up in the air but, she thought of a plan that would not only get her back in good political standing but gain the trust of her brother. She might have felt unsure about going home but, now she knew what she needed to do.

Take control of her own destiny.