The rocking of the sea thumped against the cabin, causing it to shake slightly with every wave crossed; the Fire Nation vessel was moving with haste, away from the threat the Fire Navy would face against the now renegade Prince Zuko and his crew. Iroh pondered their current situation, sitting at his table, awaiting his nephew to return from his current training session; the Prince had absorbed himself into his firebending training after his bout with Zhao, perhaps to distract himself from his deed. He thought that Zuko might be just as disturbed as he was from his actions, especially after Zuko's experience at the hands of his father; perhaps it was a way of coping with the pain, by releasing it on some one else. Whichever way Iroh tried to justify his nephews actions, it just furthered his own fear- he believed that Zuko couldn't be anything like his father, not like Azula- who had the face of her mother but the heart of her father- but a loyal son who tried his best to act honourably in the interests of his nation, not out of pure hate and drive to dominate, as his father did.
Iroh decided to prepare some tea, as he thought it would soothe his fears and perhaps his nephew's temper, lest it get the best of him during his training. He could hear the thumping and echoes of fire blasts nearby, signifying that the session was still well in motion; Iroh would take his time with the tea, preparing it to be just right- like art or strategies in Pai Sho. He prepared some ginseng which he had stored for occasions just like this one, and put in his teapot; he knew that the longer the ginseng infused for, the better soothing the tea would be. He sat the teapot by his table and filled it with water, before slowly boiling it with his firebending- lightly, not to boil the water quickly, but to simmer it. Suddenly a knock hit the door, and Iroh responded at haste.
"Yes- what is it?" he called out, standing up to prepare for a conversation, which he didn't mind having at the time- he was a bit lonesome in his thoughts.
"General Iroh, a messenger hawk has arrived for you- it's classified."
The former general opened the door to greet the sailor, bearing a somewhat confused and fearful face, "Thank you friend, I will read it immediately."
"I sure hope it's good news sir..." the guard murmured, returning himself to posture once he realised he had spoken, "Sorry General, I just got lost in my thoughts."
"It is really no problem, every man should think about the little things in life from time to time, gaining perspective on your situation is the best way to make light of it." Iroh commented, making the man make a curt smile as he handed out the message, which Iroh received with his own smile.
"Thank you sir, I'll uh- head back to my duties."
"That would be best- uh actually, could you fetch my nephew? I've been meaning to have a talk with him."
"U-uh yes, I'll get the captain right away-" the man responded with haste, but Iroh clasped his shoulder.
"Make sure he's not in the middle of his training, ask afterwards; he doesn't take kindly to interruptions."
"Yes sir." the man finished, bowing slightly before marching himself down the hallway, leaving Iroh alone again with his new message.
Looking down on the message, he noticed it was marked for his eyes only, but not with any signifier of being sent from the Fire Nation military or the palace- meaning it was probably from one of his friends in the Order.
Opening the letter he began to read: "Esteemed Grand Lotus Iroh, I bare news of great importance to our ultimate mission- the Crown Princess has gone missing after a shipwreck in the Eastern Sea, and I believe that it is in the best interests of our organisation that he make use of her absence by gathering support for your nephew Prince Zuko. We already know of what you told us of his plans, and these align with our own- please do what you must to ensure the right path is followed for his sake, and for the sake of the world. Best wishes, from a friend"
Iroh gasped at the realisation of what this message meant- he had no idea that Azula was out of the capital at the time, no intelligence had been received until this very message was received. It was suspiciously unmarked, and Iroh feared the worst of this- what if one of their own had taken Iroh's plan to establish Zuko as the Fire Lord as a good enough reason to take down his own niece; Iroh didn't think highly of her, but he didn't want her murdered for any cause- she was still family, and he thought in his right mind that she could be brought into the fold if the opportunity provided itself- she was a pragmatic and prodigious girl, not megalomaniac conqueror like her father, even if she tried her best to be in his likeness.
Returning to his tea, he sat by heating it, continuing to read over the words that were spelt down before him; there was a chance that Azula was dead, even if she was skilled enough to escape the travesty of a shipwreck. The real blame would be on Iroh, and it was his obligation and honour to protect his family- could he even tell Zuko. He would have to now, Zuko was one of them: he opposed the Fire Lord as much as any of them, and he had more the reason to support their cause than most in the Fire Nation. He might not have been responsible in the same manner, but he should be privy to their actions, not just on the side-lines- Iroh would not make his nephew a pawn after all that had happened, to him- to the world; every one who was willing should be ready to do what they must in opposition to the absolute evil and megalomania of the Fire Lord. His brother had continued and worsened what had been a hundred years of fighting in the span of the seven years of his reign; Iroh couldn't believe that his little baby brother had become the monster that had maimed his own son because he felt insulted in a situation where he was clearly in the wrong to begin with. His train of thought was interrupted by a short knock on the door, before a face peered into the room.
"Uncle? You wanted to see me?" Zuko asked, sincerely confused by his Uncle's urgency.
"I wanted have some tea with my favourite nephew!" Iroh piped up with a grin.
"I'm your only nephew- and that's it? Tea?" Zuko asked back, somewhat confused by his uncle's demeanour.
"Oh not just that, but the conversation that comes with it- we do need to talk." Iroh replied, his tone more serious than before.
"Uncle, you could have just said that- didn't you say that you liked me taking you seriously." Zuko complained, making Iroh laugh at him.
"Ahhhh- that is true, my nephew; but in life you always need a bit of laughter on the side, it keeps you smiling."
Zuko sat himself down opposite to Iroh, and made a small but significant smile back, "Alright Uncle, what do you want to talk about?"
"Trust me Prince Zuko, you are not going like the contents of this conversation- that's why we have good tea to counter it."
"Always one with the spiritual energies- aren't you?" Zuko chuckled, joking more to himself than to make fun of his uncle.
Iroh held his hand on Zuko's shoulder and sighed deeply, "I have received some new information from my associates."
"A-ah, those Pai Sho guys- right?" Zuko questioned, making Iroh chuckle.
"Yes, my friends that like to play Pai Sho, and also happen to be part of an international organisation that seeks to re-establish balance."
"So does this have something do with our plans, to face my father down and show him my worth?" Zuko furthered, making Iroh reel back into his seat- he didn't know how to put what came next lightly.
"They have told me that your sister's Royal Barge was sunk in the Eastern Sea, en route to Ba Sing Se."
"Wait what?!" Zuko grew louder, fearing the potential outcome of such an event.
"She has gone missing- and my associates believe this provides us with an opportunity that there is currently an undisputed successor to the Fire Lord, that being you."
"That's assuming she's dead?" Zuko asked, his voice trembling with fear over the scenario- another dead or missing family member wasn't what Zuko wanted out of this entire affair.
"Well- dead or not, remember how your father took the throne because I wasn't in the capital?"
"Uh yes- that's when mum disappeared..." Zuko's voice now more solemn.
"Nephew- you are currently the only person who can physically proclaim themselves Fire Lord if your father was to be removed from power." Iroh explained, making Zuko reel back into his seat.
"It's a little unfair, wouldn't you think Uncle? I want my birth-right, but even Azula deserves a chance at proving herself." Zuko considered, making Iroh nearly spit his tea out.
"Prince Zuko, your sister could only prove her worth to your father by acting like him- with complete malice and ruthlessness; you're actually doing her a favour here by making sure your father can't force that situation- do you want to fight her?"
"U-uh... I don't even know anymore..." Zuko sighed, "I don't even know if half the things she did to me- however bad- she wouldn't have done if my father hadn't expected it of her; it would be dishonourable to treat her like him, she is really only following orders- like any soldier in this war."
"That is wise of you Prince Zuko, if I was in your position, I don't know I would have made the same decision- because she has gone missing you won't have to make it." Iroh explained to Zuko, making him smile back at his uncle.
"Uncle... I only want to do what is best for the world- and everyone in it, including my sister. I just hope that she gets out of all of her troubles alive- I don't know how I would forgive myself for treating her as I did if she really did die." Zuko's tone growing more solemn and fearful as his continued, making Iroh pat him on the back.
"Let us drink this calming ginseng tea, and perhaps play some Pai Sho, that would keep your mind off it." Iroh suggested with a wide grin.
"For once Uncle, I do agree with you on that; tea and Pai Sho doesn't sound that bad- my old mission doesn't scare me anymore, neither does this one."
Iroh smiled at his nephew and drank a sip from his tea cup, and thought of Zuko's words; a lack of fear should not be mistaken for courage, Iroh might have said, but he knew his nephew's confidence in facing his father was more vital than any words of wisdom Iroh could give, other than a few involving firebending tactics- of which he had a few in mind. Ozai was drawn to the cold-blooded fire, just like Iroh was once, and he is told to use it with swiftness and power- something Iroh knew exactly how to counter.
Swiping the sweat from his forehead, Sokka lay his back on a thick tree trunk, glancing out to check if anyone had been following them. Looking out into the forest, he saw little but the green foliage that had surrounded them ever since they entered the forest two days prior; Sokka was disoriented and somewhat dazed- fighting an earthbender had taken a toll on him. Azula was much more keen to get moving, but her ankle injury meant that she grunted nearly every time she took a step; Sokka had offered to carry her, but she was unwilling to listen to him and let herself seem any less than battle-ready. Pulling out his bone knife he stabbed it into the tree, listening for the vibrations to try and detect if anyone was coming up behind- he got nothing; unlike when there was nearby a stream, there was nothing that would wash out the noise, so Sokka was certain they weren't being followed just yet. He glanced over to Azula, who signalled to him with an aggravated grunt that they ought to keep running, making him sigh in frustration.
"For spirits sake- there's no one following us; even if someone had tried to follow us from the camp, we've been running for most of the afternoon." Sokka complained to her, making Azula shake her head in disagreement.
"You are an idiot if you think they're not coming after us- we killed their leader, and beat them to a pulp." she argued.
"That doesn't mean they weren't down for at least a few minutes, before they could even organise a hunt- which would take 5 confused guys a lot longer than us to run off in the forest and disappear for good."
The Princess heaved her chest, and sighed, "Let's go savage." and started to walk away into the forest, forcing Sokka to quickly put the dagger out of the tree and pace himself behind her.
"You're really going to keep up the tough act aren't you?" Sokka commented, making her glare back at him and cover her fingers with flames.
"Watch it there- you might burn your tongue." she remarked, the blue flames lighting her face a ominous shade.
"Come on! This is what I'm talking about, you're not actually going to do anything." Sokka complained, trudging behind her with his eyes focused on her still flame filled hand.
"Are you so sure about that? You follow me around for a day and you think I'm the most virtuous person on earth- I'm your future Fire Lord."
Sokka chuckled at her, "Okay Mrs. Evil-Overlord-of-Doom Junior, I'll remember that you're heartless and evil!" mocking her clear attempts to win him over.
"Oh- what a tragedy, how will I ever sway the savage to my side?" Azula jokingly asked, dropping her flame filled hand and continuing to walk on further ahead.
Walking through the forest, the two made their way from the valley of the mining village, climbing uphill toward a ridge-line, the incline becoming sharper, making Azula start to make slight sounds of pain. She eventually came to rest by a log while Sokka continued to trudge behind, noticing that she had finally taken a break.
"So are you going to stop now?" he asked her, making her dismiss his claims immediately.
"No- I am simply resting my foot, and then we'll be on our way toward whatever civilisation lays beyond this wretched place." Azula affirmed, making Sokka sigh and pulled the animal carcass off of his shoulder.
"At least can we cook the meat, I've been carrying it this entire way- I'd prefer it in my gut than on my back."
"F-fine, just be quick about it; those bastards might be just down the hill for all we know."
Sokka quickly unpacked his knife and got to work on cutting up the carcass, removing its skill an inedible portions, before turning back to Azula, who quickly prepared a fire with a short blast to some kindling; within a few minutes they had prepared all the small animals meat and Sokka handed Azula some to eat, which she begrudgingly complied to, as hungry as he was at the time.
"See that wasn't that bad; now if you demand to walk, I don't have a good excuse against it." Sokka told her, smiling to affirm that he was trying to get back on her side; Azula dismissed him, getting back on her feet and pointing up the hill.
"We better keep going, I'm not sleeping right here in the mud." she argued, her tone more concerned than aggravated now.
Sokka nodded and they continued their way up the hill, winding along in a zig-zag motion before they reached the top of the ridge, where they gained sight of the next valley as well as a clear view for miles on end.
Azula pointed toward a smokestack on the horizon, "That's a fair bit of smoke, maybe it's a village and not bandits this time." she considered, Sokka agreeing with her.
"Yep, I bet that'd have to some village- there's got to be some decent people somewhere." he remarked.
They then slowly made their way downhill, following the same zig-zagging motion toward the base of the ridge, where they found another stream, Sokka immediately racing to it for a drink. He turned back after a few mouthfuls.
"I'm guessing you wouldn't want me to wash up right now?" he asked, assuming the worst reaction from something she had already complained about.
"Knock yourself out... on some pebbles." she tried to joked, making Sokka laugh at her.
"You cannot be serious- that's the best you can come up with?"
She fumed at him, "Don't you act all high and mighty, your humour is a peasant's art."
He laughed again before returning to a pout, "But can I? I really need to clean up after all of the shit we went through today."
"Would have it been worse if you really did go through shit?" she asked him, making Sokka pout in genuine sadness.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah- that was horrible- I don't want to have to do that again; I'd take hog-shit any day over that." Azula then laughed at his situation, not taking pity after what she herself had to deal with.
"Go on, I'm not waiting more than 10 minutes." making Sokka beam with hope.
"That's all I need!" he proclaimed before racing down the stream away from the Princess, turning back to shout again, "No peeking!"
Sokka raced out from the Princesses sight, before finding a relatively deep portion of the stream, which was harder than Sokka expected- there wasn't much water to speak of. After a few minutes he finally reached a slower part of the river that ended in a short rapid- leading Sokka to quickly discard his armour and then clothing, hanging them over a tree branch before going into the water with just his underwear, which itself was simply a cotton loincloth- the most expensive article of clothing he owned; he chuckled at the thought of it as he rushed himself into the water, splashing up the riverwater over his body, cleaning off the left over sand and mud from his two day adventure in the forest. He had to also clean his bruises and other injuries, mostly burns he had received during his duel with Azula actually. His forearms felt somewhat looser after the water touched them, his muscles being tense after the shock of the earthbenders strike; he didn't want to have to fight an earthbender again- they were tough, and found bad step on his behalf and he would end up with bruises all over. Sokka was just glad he could take a moment to rest after all the stress of surviving the day- although he assumed ordinary shipwreck survivors wouldn't have to deal with Earth Kingdom deserters.
Azula didn't want to continue stressing over the earthbender and his gang, but she couldn't help it; she had no guards- just Sokka, between her and the brute strength that those men had to face her with. Firebending prodigy or not, she still feared pain and sufferring like all other people- even if she didn't show it. She knew after a few minutes sitting by the stream that they should at least keep moving- she knew from the smokestack in the distance that they could get to that village within a day or so, and the less of a chance she had sleeping rough, the better she would feel in the end. Azula guessed that the ten minutes she had offered were up, so she simply pulled herself up and started to stumble downhill along the stream- she would find Sokka and pull his ear for taking so long- or maybe she ought to burn his hair to teach him a lesson.
It took her long enough to get down the hill that she expected him to be dressed and ready- but she knew not to expect much of the boy, he was slow to do anything- if his sleep patterns were suggestive. As she came to a bend in the river, she saw him still prancing around in the water- but Azula's might was diverted to something else; he was shirtless, standing behind the mid-afternoon sun- the shadows of his body showing his defined features- she had joked about his intelligence, but not his physique, and now she had been proven right not to. She had thought of him as lanky and somewhat nimble- a bit like herself, but he was certainly well built for someone of his young age- she now realised there was obvious reasons why he was able to swim to shore while many others could not. Sokka turned his head up and his face was filled with utter shock when he realised she was watching him.
"Argh!" he nearly squealed, stepping backward awkwardly before falling into the water, "I told you no peeking!" he shouted at her in frustration and embarrassment.
"Oh, well how about next time you actually clean yourself in an orderly fashion- it's been more than ten minutes! I was coming to berate you, and as such I will!"
"Aw come on!" he shouted back in desperation, "It took me a while to find this spot, you can't expect everyone to be in and out just like that" he explained, making Azula laugh at him.
"You're a slow savage, I wonder if your physical and mental speeds are connected some how?"
"Aw nice one," he said with sarcasm, "you're really trying to be nice aren't you."
"That wasn't a joke- you're really into taking your time with stupid things like this. We ought to keep moving!" she shouted back, her face red with frustration and embarrassment.
"I need to get dressed, gimme a minute" he grumbled, standing back up and walking toward his clothes, before looking back at her and frowning, "and stop looking at me! C'mon, I actually want to get dressed without you ogling at me."
"Who said I was ogling?! I was here to make sure you actually do what I tell you." she grumbled at him, pointing her finger toward the clothes as if to order him.
"Ah, your words tell me orders, but your eyes say otherwise."
"What?" the Princess questioned, her voice becoming more angry, "Don't act like you can read me peasant. I worked hard to become as stoic as a rock."
"Really?" he mocked as he remained turned away, pulling his pants up.
"Yes; I am a skilled liar, trust me."
"U-huh, so I should trust that you can lie to my face- I don't buy it." Sokka argued, putting his shoes and shin-guards on, now sitting on a low tree branch, turned back to Azula, "-And you're still looking at me! Turn your eyes away from me woman!"
"Are you a little embarrassed?" she mocked him in a babying voice, "Who's a little boy who can't do anything without the Princess telling him?"
"Aw come on, just look at something else! A tree, the stream, some rocks- just not at me!" he complained, grabbing his shirt and chest-guard, hanging them over his shoulder.
"So after all that, you're not putting your shirt on?" she questioned him.
"Nah, I've got to wait to dry- don't want to have an itchy and uncomfortable shirt."
"-I think all the mud is a bigger worry than any water you're going to get on it, crybaby."
"Ah- that too! You're giving me arguments here, now who's the stupid one?" She raised her hand with flames again, making Sokka reel back and pull a smile of concession, "Ah- I'll just shut up now."
"Good, now we can keep walking until we can't- I want to get to that damn village peasant! Hear me?" she commanded at him, making Sokka just wave his hand, "Whatever- just give me some fair sleeping time."
"Oh- sleeping time? Make sure you don't oversleep, or I will." she smirked at him, making Sokka grumble in contempt.
"Urgh- I swear- you're just the worst sometimes."
"This is the thing you hate me for now- ruining your sleep schedule, maybe I'm making progress." she spoke, as if to talk about her thoughts, to catch Sokka off guard.
"Ah shut it you- let's just go." he dismissed, pulling up his weapons and walking ahead of Azula in the direction of the smoke-stack.
Continuing through the forest, the two survivors walked between the dense foliage in a haphazard fashion, walking toward where they thought a village to be- somewhere northward, although neither of them knew really how far- they had no sense of scale in such a foreign environment. Sokka would usually be able to tell distance on a ship because of the scale and the horizon, which was always the same distance away- no matter what. After a few hours, the sky again turned orange- signalling the closure of the day; by that time they had reached another stream, this one leading to a small set of waterfalls- Sokka pointed out a stone outcrop near the falls.
"We could camp there, it's clear and clean- no mud this time. Fresh water nearby- you can't get better than that." Sokka argued to Azula, who simply waved his claim off.
"Yes we can, a village would suit our needs more than some waterfall- a bed, however small- is still that, a bed."
"Well Mrs. I've-lived-my-entire-life-in-luxury, suck it up- this better be an experience that you can use to gain perspective on the sufferings of commoners."
"Most commoners don't drudge through random forests- they go on paths and know where they're going- unlike you."
"Or you! You don't know how far the village is from here; it could be a day before we reach it." Sokka argued, making Azula concede.
"You're in luck that my foot is sore again- I'll take your stupid waterfalls."
"Aha! I knew you'd come around eventually. I'll get us a fire started, don't want to get cold out here, not fun."
"You could put your shirt on, for one." she suggested, making Sokka realise he had been walking around with his shirt and chest-guard over his shoulder.
"Ah crap, well-" he put the shirt on, "no time is better than the present."
"I can't believe you forgot about that- seriously." Azula chuckled at him.
"Whatever, you just sit down and let me get the fire going." he dismissed her, walking into the nearby brush to break off some kindling.
Azula sat on the edge of the stone outcrop, looking down the stream, which looked like it went on forever- she couldn't even see the ocean from here, meaning they must of gone well away inland; their journey had taken them quite the distance, but she didn't feel much closer to getting somewhere clean- or safe. Sokka came back soon enough, she turned back to face him; his face was full of confidence again, as it was when he actually accomplished something. He dropped a bundle of sticks in front of her, and pointed as to offer to her.
"Do what you do best." he simply put, sitting a bit aback from the bundle before Azula set them alight.
"Are you cutting down my value as a person to simply my ability to burn things?" she questioned him, making Sokka laugh.
"It's your best quality!" he said sarcastically, making her smirk.
"You're not the first person to tell me that one." she chuckled, before pushing a small but powerful blast into the bundle of sticks, setting them alight with a near-explosion, catching Sokka off-guard.
"Okay that was a bit more than I expected."
"You wanted fire- you got it." she smirked at him.
Sokka and her sat around the fire for a while, not talking much other than to recount to each other what happened on their end with the bandits they had faced. Sokka was not surprised by Azula's smack-down of most of the men she had faced, and joked that he barely needed to come in and save the day- although they both knew he had saved her arse, despite the fact they both disdained each other furiously. He asked her again, just to certain.
"So you're going to burn me if I sleep in? Is that it?" he asked, actually hopeful that she would give him a kinder response this time.
"Just because you fought some Earth Kingdom peasants for me doesn't mean that you just get a free pass to sleep in- you'll need to do a lot more than that."
Sokka heaved his shoulders down and fell onto his back, "Seriously? What worse of a situation could we get into that would get me a 'sleep-in' pass?"
"Nothing that would concern you until it hits you in the face..." Azula told him, her wording making Sokka scrunch his face up in confusion.
"So you're not telling me because you don't want to scare me- or you're keeping your damned Fire Nation secrets."
"National security is a big deal for the Fire Lord, savage; I will actually try to do my job competently- unlike you."
"How was I meant to know I was going to fight the most powerful firebender alive, barring 'daddy' himself?" he added, mocking the Fire Lord as he had prior, making Azula scrunch her face up and look at him in disappointment.
"You're an idiot- but I'm sure you already knew that.", she then thought back to a day earlier, when Sokka had been sleeping restlessly, "You can't claim you need your sleep as much as you do, you were keeping me up with your rambling."
"Oh-" Sokka replied, looking at Azula with a sense of realisation, "so, yeah- but I don't even know what I was talking about- I can't remember." he conceded.
"Well it sounded like you were having some emotional breakdown- over somebody."
"Wait what? Was I crying?" Sokka asked, in fear that his masculinity had been tainted by his own subconscious rambling.
"Uh yeah- who's the big man now?"
"I might have cried, but I'm not the one who walks around with a broken ankle and acts like there's no issue."
"Being stoic is my nature." Azula confirmed, making Sokka slam his hand into his forehead.
"I doubt it- you wouldn't get all pissed off and fall for my ploy on the boat if you were." he argued, making Azula's face tense in offence.
"You were destroying my ship! I had a right to be annoyed." she argued, making Sokka chuckle at her again.
"Yeah- I don't think you're emotionally stale as you think you are; can't blame you though, the upbringing must've been crap- and I mean real crap- I lived at the South Pole-" before she interrupted him with her hand set on fire.
"Shut it savage- you don't know the first thing about what you're talking about!"
"No I get it really- big tough Fire Lord dad makes you be an emotionless husk so you can obey like some kind of slave."
"I'm not a slave! I'm the Crown Princess- I will be Fire Lord."
Sokka chuckled again, less fearful of her fire-hand now, "Nothing to be ashamed of really- fear drives everyone, even me- I was scared that my tribe was going to really be destroyed by the Fire Nation, so I came out to fight you guys- then I ended up riiiight here."
"Shut up, I don't want to hear your stupid ramblings about fear and other things I don't need." she dismissed, turning away from Sokka and lying down.
"Well everyone needs to talk to other people- that's a thing-" he pointed out to her, "you can go crazy walled off by yourself." Azula glanced back over at him and her face contorted into that of anger.
"I don't want to talk to the likes of you- not when I have a choice." she snidely called back, turning herself away from him.
The two remained silent then by the campfire, not a word was spoken after, and soon enough the embers died out, leaving them in the dark, where they could do nothing but fall asleep, still disdaining each other's opinions and status- but not each other. Respect was a hard thing to earn for Princess Azula- standing up to oppose her will was something that she found frustrating if not infuriating, but it was nearly admirable- Sokka had no reason to be kind or forgiving to her, as did she to him; the Water Tribesman wanted to understand her, or at least he was trying to, and that was more than most people had done for her.
The morning sun gleamed down to the forest floor, as two wanderers continued their march through the woods, although only one remained on their feet; Azula begrudgingly decided to allow Sokka to carry her until they got to the village they had been hoping to reach, knowing that her foot injury wouldn't heal unless she stopped walking. Sokka sadly threw off the remains of his armour, knowing too well that they were slowing him down, leaving them beside a stream, somewhere he'd hope to one day retrieve it- although he doubted he would; they had started walking at first light, Azula immediately shaking Sokka awake, who was glad not to have seen Azula's threat of setting him on fire fulfilled.
"I can't believe I let you carry me..." Azula mumbled to herself, holding her head away from Sokka, trying to not focus on the fact she had given into his begging- she was glad that he had decided to help and serve her, but she would have preferred her dignity remained intact.
"C'mon- we'll get there quicker than if you hobbled along on one foot, and this gives you time to heal."
"I don't need to heal- I need to get out of this damn forest." she corrected, making Sokka sigh in disappointment; he had hoped Azula's mood would improve after he helped them move quicker, even 'serving' her in a manner that she might have desired, but no- she wouldn't have her self-image tarnished by giving into help.
For a while they continued down through the bushes and foliage, keeping on track of where they saw the smoke coming from, before they arrived at a stream, where Sokka decided they should rest for a moment; Azula was more than glad to get on her own two feet and away from Sokka, who already smelt atrocious after the exercise he endured carrying her the whole way.
"Thank the spirits that you get tired- you really stink." she commented.
Sokka frowned, looking at his sweat drenched shirt, "Hey! I've been carrying you this entire-" he was interrupted by the realisation of the smell coming from his chest, "Argh! I take it back!" Sokka squealed, quickly taking off his shirt and wagging it in the wind, trying to drain the stench.
"That won't do much idiot; I thought you knew how to clean." she mocked.
"Ah- my body, not my clothes." Sokka admitted.
"Let me guess, that's 'woman's work'." she snidely told him, frowning at his sexist world-view.
"Hey! I do some work, the women do some, it's all fair really." Sokka tried to justify, making Azula nearly spit at him in disgust.
"You savages are really that backwards- and here I thought the Fire Nation was sexist."
"Well you do have woman-warriors, don't you?" Sokka asked.
"Yes- you're looking at one idiot." she affirmed, "Now are we going to get going?" she asked him, standing back on her two feet, making Sokka smack his hand on his forehead.
"Oh no you don't- I already told you walking is going to be bad for your foot." Sokka shouted in frustration- he did not want to have to deal with her prideful antics again.
As he paced over toward her she squealed at him near horror, "You're not even dressed you barbarian!"
"Shut it!" he commanded, making Azula squirm and frown in a rage of fury- she would not be undignified again.
She sent a short fire-blast at his head- which he dodged with ease before tripping her, grabbing her by the back and picking her back up, making her shout back at him in anger, "I'll get you back for this utter indecency!"
"Let's just go Princess, I'm sure we're not too far away." he told her in a more calm voice.
"Don't you give me that tone! I'll have your head you bastard!" she shouted at him again, forcing him to turn his head away as he started to walk down along the stream.
"Just be quiet for a second- I'll move quicker if we're not arguing." he explained, trying to defuse her anger- just to make her shout at him again.
"You be quiet! I demand to be treated with the proper respect."
"You're not a Princess in the middle of an Earth Kingdom forest, only just some crazy, deadly firebender." he commented.
"Did you just call me crazy?" she confronted him, her face bearing the stain of his insult.
"Ah well- I uh-" Sokka mumbled, before going completely silent, gaping his mouth in shock.
"What is it you fool?" she asked, somewhat confused by his shocked appearance, before jutting her head to right, seeing what he was: an Earth Kingdom village, in the distance, surrounded by an array of green and yellow fields of crop.
"We actually did it." Sokka proclaimed in amazement.
"Thanks for the ride." Azula commented with a smirk, before raising her foot to kick Sokka in the head, making him drop her into the mud below, before she quickly somersaulted back to her feet.
"Hey! What was that for?" he asked, his jaw pained again just like after she knocked him out on the ship.
"To remind you who's boss!" she shouted in triumph, before turning and running through the fields toward the village.
"Get back here!" he shouted, to no avail as she continued running- as if she had no foot injury- at all.
"That woman's mad..." he sighed, before trudging himself toward the village as well, relieved but frustrated- knowing too well he wasn't done with Azula's demands, insults and antics just yet.