Rubbing his sore head, Sokka realised that he was most certainly conscious, and the pain he had endured the night prior seemed like it wasn't going to let up any time soon; opening his eyes, he glanced around to see that he was in a tent, not his small one which he had propped up the night prior, but Azula's own royal-sized tent. Turning his head with a grunt, he caught sight of her- the Princess was putting on her boots, sitting on the crate she had in the centre of the room- she caught eye of him and called out to him.
"How do you feel?" she asked him, her voice stoic and calm, rather than seeming overly concerned for his well-being.
"Uh- about as good as you would expect- I feel sore all over." he commented, the Princess chuckling at the maintenance of his humour despite his clearly pain-stricken situation; before he could try and raise himself from the floor, she quickly stepped her way over to him and held him by the shoulder, not letting him get up.
"Excuse me- you can't just get up in your state- at least let yourself have half a mind before you decide to jump on a komodo rhino again." she advised him, Sokka grunting as he dropped himself back to the ground, realising from the contact her hand had had with his skin that he was shirtless, making him feel immediately uncomfortable.
"N-now- last time I remember being conscious- I was wearing a shirt." he commented, to which she shrugged at him as she knelt beside his injured body.
"Your shirt was ruined- I don't think anyone here has the skill to mend it, so I got you another one from your bags, which to your luck, weren't desiccated when your tent was blown to bits." she explained to him, who nodded to the best of his ability.
"So did you strip me then?" he asked her bluntly, Azula glancing at him with a harsh blush before denying.
"No- only the shirt! What do you take me for- some kind of pervert?" she asked him offence, the Water Tribesman chuckling at her reaction, shrugging his shoulders.
"Ah- I was only checking- that's all, just wanted to make sure I wasn't being molested or anything." he explained, the Princess covering her mouth with shock from his rather blunt wording.
"Do you have any decency to keep your words clean- I already said I wasn't a pervert!" she defended herself, her face still red but also disturbed from the implications of his words.
He chuckled at her defensive attitude, "It's just a joke- I know you weren't going to let anything happen to me- I'm a valuable member of your team." he piped himself up, Princess rolling her eyes at him.
"Exactly." she said in a tone that he couldn't discern to being either sarcastic or serious.
Dismissing her comments, he raised himself out of the bed roll, noticing that the back half of the tent had been burnt off and left them out to the open, partially obscured by a tarpaulin over that side of the tent; he turned back to her and looked in interest.
"So are we going to pack up camp soon?" he asked her, who raised her hand to acknowledge the sound of the men outside working.
"As you can hear- the men are packing, my tent is packed last, as it is the largest- yours was ripped to shreds by the explosion, but as you can probably see, the bedding was still useful." she explained to him, who nodded at knowing that his bedding had at least been retrieved rather than his body being left on her tent floor.
He scratched his chin and raised a finger, "Why am I in here though? You could have just as easily left me in my sleeping roll outside." he questioned Azula, who shrugged at him nonchalantly.
"I'd rather ensure you were safe in here than the potential of perhaps somebody else trying to kidnap you- remember that?" she asked him, Sokka raising a brow.
"Would any of the Order's associates even know of my identity? I don't mean to sound any less confident, but I'm not that important in the grand scheme of things." he countered, considering it to be a long draw from the identity of the attackers to him possibly getting kidnapped.
"Enough people know of you and your association with me- they probably see you as a potential ally to get rid of me with." she waved her hand in argument, crossing one leg over the other as she sat on the chest.
"I mean that's a fair judgement- I was part of the original group that tried to kidnap you." he acknowledged, making her eye him more seriously.
"I trust that is all behind you- you are here to help me, are you not?" she questioned his motives, the Water Tribesman raising his hands defensively.
"Hey- I'm here to help you- not to kill the enemies of the Fire Nation- might I add- but yes, here to help you." he confirmed to Azula who nodded confidently at his practical swearing of allegiance to her, standing up before Sokka, glancing behind her to grab something- a plain shirt, which she threw at him with agility, shocking him as he was nearly hit in the face with it.
"Get dressed- I want to have this tent getting dissembled in five minutes, got it?" she asked of him, who nodded with the understanding of his need for haste.
"Yep- I'll uh- just wait for you to leave." he acknowledged, the Princess raising a brow, making him grumble in frustration, "A little privacy, please?" leading her to sigh before she stepped through the canvas and left him in relative privacy.
Quickly pulling himself out of the bedroll, Sokka pulled the shirt over his chest, noting the slight pains he found from the cuts and bruises he had- the injuries were minor, but enough to make him wince from contact; the Water Tribe warrior noticed that his armour was sitting beside his bags, which had been dragged into the tent along with him, probably at Azula's orders. Sliding on the grey and red chest piece and over-shirt, he felt slightly more comfortable and protected after his ordeal with the explosion- he noted that he ought to wear his armour more often if only for the safety it provided his body in such dangerous situations; he then pulled his tipped boots onto his feet over the ends of his pants, giving him a fine layer of protection over his lower body. Finally he slid his arm-guards over his forearms and tightened them, stretching his fingers to check if they were too tight; he pulled himself to his feet and once again acknowledged the somewhat alien look the armour provided him- he barely seemed Water Tribe with such a distinctively Fire Nation attire, but even he could acknowledge the comfort and protection it provided him from the threats that existed out in his harsh world. He then thought back to his placement within the tent, and acknowledged how unusual it was that she would trust him sleeping in the same tent as him- this was a very different situation to sleeping in that old mining village, and it made him consider that she mightn't have been wholly truthful in her explanation to him. He rolled up his sleeping roll before tying it together, slinging it over his shoulder before he exited the tent, outside of which the Princess was waiting relatively impatiently for him.
She turned to him with a face of slight surprise, "You did get dressed quite quickly- now get the rest of your stuff in there- you can help the men take the tent down once all my belongings are outside." she explained to him.
He nodded understandably, dropping his sleeping roll outside the tent, "Uh yep- I'll get to it." he acknowledged before walking into the tent once more to collect the rest of his things; Sokka grabbed his bag and his weapons before walking back to the canvas door.
Lifting it out to see her he narrowed his brow, "So- uh- are any of the men going to get your stuff?" he asked, Azula shrugging her shoulders and looking out to the busy campsite.
"The men are dealing with prisoners and their own belongings, I expect them to take their time- you could get my things if it wouldn't be too much of a bore." she acknowledged, which he nodded as he dropped his own belongings outside.
"Yeah- I'll dissemble your bed and get that chest of yours- I don't know exactly why you needed a chest of all things though." he admitted, the Princess rolling her eyes.
"Somewhere secure to put my messages and anything that is valuable on my person." she explained, the Water Tribesman shrugging at her need for such protection- coming from a relatively open and communal culture, he didn't really understand her people's obsession with private goods- you had your things, but everything else ought to be used for the good of the tribe.
"Uh okay- got it." he confirmed, walking back into the tent to deal with her relatively simple orders.
He quickly grabbed the bed and begun to dislodge it's parts- from the looks of it it was a conjoined bamboo frame with a fabric forming a place to lie upon; he unsheathed the fabric and rolled it up before grabbing each piece of bamboo and tying them with their respective parts, laying them on the floor for him to pick up later. He grabbed one end of the chest, realising it was too heavy for him to carry in his arms, and dragged it out of the tent, out to Azula who nodded at the arrival of the chest, Sokka smiling in response before returning to pick up each of the parts of her bed, grabbing the blanket she had as well, dropping all of the parts outside.
She acknowledged his work and tilted her head back into the tent, "You can use the tarpaulin as a bag- put all of those parts in the bag so it can all be mounted on the komodo rhino."
He shrugged at the command of more work, but walked in with a simple nod; he dragged the tarpaulin that was covering the hole in the tent, and dragged it down from the roof, folding it a few times to form a more smaller shape that he could put the bed's parts into. He walked out of the tent with the tarp-bag and placed all of the bed parts into it, nodding at her upon completion.
"Good job Sokka- I guess this makes up for you getting to sleep in my tent." she acknowledged, making him raise a brow suspiciously in return.
"But you said you put in me in there to protect me?" he questioned her, who simply shrugged at him in response.
"Every action has a thousand reasons." she told him with a smirk before chuckling at her own proverbial statement, "Is it just me or am I turning into some kind of self-righteous philosopher? I'd prefer not to be my Uncle." she questioned him, who broke down into laughter upon understanding the context of her behaviour.
"Oh that's an irony I've got to remember- 'declares enemy to be bad influence while imitating said enemy'." he declared, the Princess rolling her eyes at his mockery.
"Yes- I'm sure I am bound to make hypocritical actions- the key is to make sure no one knows of them." she smirked at him who stepped back.
"Don't make it this the thing that you're going to kill me for- that'd just be... Well it'd be kinda stupid." he told her, who glared back at him for a few moments before begrudgingly acknowledging him.
"Well you are right- sometimes." she admitted to hi, who smiled at the respect he had been afforded.
"That's what I'm here for right- strategy and advice, because I'm smart?" he asked her, Azula shrugging at him with a mocking tone.
"I don't know- are you?" she questioned Sokka, who rolled his eyes and he twitched his head back.
"I don't need you undermining my self-confidence on top of my own doubts." he complained to her, who grabbed him by the chin with unexpected speed.
"What did I advise you- never doubt yourself- and then you'll never be wrong." she told him in a serious near commanding tone.
"Uh- okay." he quietly acknowledged, noting her grasp of his chin before she let go of it; feeling somewhat awkward from the tone of their conversation, Sokka patted his belly, and made a jokingly sad face, "So do we have any rations- or did they get exploded along with those tents?" he asked her, who rolled her eyes in frustration.
"Thanks for reminding me- we're going to need to find some place to stock up after that attack, since a large portion of the supply cache was destroyed- hopefully there's a village nearby that can feed us- preferably a colonial village- I'd rather not have to deal with Earth Kingdom grievances just yet." she admitted to him.
He nodded understanding her logic, "Yeah- I think we should get these men moving quickly- the less hungry they are the better chance we have of dealing with whatever we find next." he explained, the Princess taking his advice fully to heart, stepping forward to shout out to the camp.
"I want this camp packed in 10 minutes!" she shouted out loudly, the guards closest to her immediately acknowledging her command, a number of them pacing up to her still standing tent.
"Your highness- we'll handle your tent at once." one of the guards affirmed to her, noting her bags and chest packed outside already, "The Water Tribesman's dealt with your belongings- good- we'll take it from here kid." the guard acknowledged him, patting him on the shoulder before he and the other guards got to work on dissembling Azula's damaged tent.
Turning to face her, Sokka rubbed his bruised face and smiled jokingly, "Well I gotta say- I'm surprised I was able to fight those guys last night- that explosion beat the crap out of me." he admitted to her, who nodded in agreement.
"I thought you might've died when I first saw you lying on the ground." she bluntly told him, her tone somewhat disturbed at the morbid possibility.
He shrugged, "Definitely didn't die- it hurt like a club to the chest though." he joked making Azula chuckle.
"It'll take more than that to kill you now- shipwrecks, the Dai Li, explosions- what's next? Defeating my brother for me?" she joked, the Water Tribesman squinting momentarily at her suggestion.
"Ah- I'll take a pass on that one."
Sitting in Zuko's private lounge, one might've mistook his luxurious accommodation for an actual palace bedroom, rather than his private quarters in his tank-train; the Fire Lord sat on his expansive sofa alongside Mai, who with which he was discussing their lives since their split over five years prior when he had been banished from the Fire Nation. Both of their stories shared a common theme however, boredom and frustration- for different reasons as they could both clearly understand, but the same feelings nonetheless; he had been forced from his home, to travel the high seas in search for a man who most believed to be either dead or impossible to find- she was on the other hand forced to follow her father's plans and ventures in the name of pleasing his own father, which meant she was always moving from place to place, most recently to Omashu, later renamed New Ozai- they both missed the homeland, each other, and the normality of life before they were both thrust into their adulthood by circumstance.
The Fire Lord smiled at Mai, feeling comfortable in her presence, "You know- I've been meaning to ask, should I change the name of New Ozai? I don't want my father looming over me any longer than he needs to." he asked her, who shrugged in response.
"I mean it was originally called Omashu- something to do with the founder of the city, some romantic tragedy or something- I don't know if that's any better a story." she shrugged, explaining to him what she had offhandedly learnt during her time in the city.
"Well I think that's a little better- romance is better than self-aggrandisement." he admitted, Mai raising a brow at Zuko.
"One with the big words are you now?" she jested at him, the FIre Lord rolling his eyes.
"Uncle was always one for educating me after we set sail- he didn't think it proper for a Prince not to know his words, and I guess I see why now- it really helps with dealing with meeting the nobles and officers." he explained to her, who nodded in understanding.
"My father always has taught me to be as eloquent as possible- it's easiest to do that by not speaking at all." she countered his story, making him nod with surprised agreement.
"I mean- you're not wrong- that's a lot easier." he raised a finger to his chin in thought.
"Or you can pull 'the Azula' and respond with fire." Mai considered, making him furrow his brow.
"That's not how to conduct diplomacy- how would she ever run our nation?" he questioned her with a rhetoric tone, who shrugged at his rather obvious question then looking at him blankly.
"Through threat and fear, just like your predecessors." she simply stated, Zuko placing his head in one hand, considering for a moment his past actions.
"Maybe we're not that different after all?" he thought aloud, making Mai look at him with confusion.
"Zuko- I can't really see how you're similar at all-" she tried to explain to him, who simply looked at her with a sense of disturbance.
"I brazened half of General Bujing's face like a piece of meat just to send a message- if that's not ruling through fear, I don't know what is." he explained himself, Mai holding a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Zuko- that was so you could assure the loyalty of the military- to make sure you could do what you needed to do so no one else would die fighting pointless wars- just like you told me." she affirmed to him, who cringed at the thought of his misdeed.
"I don't regret it- and that's what scares me- I feel like I'm two steps away from being the same, or maybe worse than Azula." he admitted with a face of shame.
Mai held her hand on his shoulder, "Don't let your fears define you Zuko- be who you want to be." she advised him, Zuko grabbing Mai into a hug, feeling overwhelmed by his thoughts.
He chuckled lightly to himself, smiling as he held her, "I'm just glad you're here with me- another voice of reason to back Uncle up." he told her, making her return a light chuckle; he lifted himself from the hold and looked at her in the eyes, "That's not the only reason though- I- uh- well I think-" he tried to explain himself only to be interrupted by her holding her hand over his mouth to stop his words.
"Stop- just let it happen." she told him, before kissing him lightly on the lips, the Fire Lord blushing full red as he realised the situation he had found himself in.
"You're important to me Zuko- it took seeing you again to remind me how much." Mai admitted to him with a less pronounced blush, smiling at him in reflection of his own blushed smile.
Their intimate moment was broken by the shunting stop of the tank-train, which he immediately recognised by the grinding halt the vehicle made as it stopped; he stepped out of the seat and looked out one of the carriages windows, noting that he could see the port outside- their day-long journey by tank-train had taken them to the closest Fire Nation port- itself a much older Fire Nation colony than New Ozai.
"We're here- I'm sure my servants will handle your belongings- let's go." he explained to Mai, offering out of hand to lift her from her seated position, which she accepted, swiftly rising to her feet before stepping out of the carriage door before him.
Stepping out onto the stone pavement of the dock, he smiled at the sight of open waters before him- he found the sea calming in a way to him- as it gave him a somewhat unexpected and unusual nostalgia to his time at sea with his uncle; walking toward him was Lieutenant Jee, whose uniform had changed since his time on the ship- he now wore armour that was more ornate and respectful of his position as the first mate of his Royal Barge.
"Your majesty, we are pleased to see you have returned so quickly to the ship- I see that you have returned with Lady Mai;" he acknowledged, bowing to her slightly, who nodded at the respect, "General Iroh is waiting for you on the deck- he told me he has prepared a special tea for your arrival."
He chuckled at the reminder of his uncle's behaviour, "Uncle is always one for the courtesy of tea."
"Right this way." Jee told both of them, leading them from the tank-train toward the boarding plank, which they filed up easily with no one else to follow them other than his Imperial Guard, which was itself still organising themselves on his tank-train; the three of them walked onto the wide deck, in the middle of which sat Iroh on a mat, with a tea pot and some snacks- fire flakes and roast duck.
He grinned a wide smile at his nephew, "Zuko- You have returned!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet, before turning to her, "My lady- it is a pleasure to finally meet you." he bowed slightly to her, Mai returning the favour.
"And to you, General Iroh." she acknowledged, the retired general shaking his head.
"You can just call me Iroh- I'm not much of a general anymore- more of a tea-master actually." he piped himself up, earning a slight glare of embarrassment from his nephew.
"Uncle..." he chided, his uncle chuckling and sitting back down, grabbing his kettle.
"I'm sure you two will love my new tea- I especially procured this batch for the occasion of Lady Mai's arrival." he explained, pouring them both a cup of his tea, earning nods from them both; upon smelling the fragrance of the tea, Zuko nodded respectfully at his uncle's work.
"Wow- this actually smells pretty good- if it wasn't for my eyes I'd think I was drinking incense." he admitted, earning a slightly amused glance from Mai.
"Drinking incense?" she questioned him, who shrugged off her question.
"It was just a thought- it smells good, okay?" he told her, gis uncle smiling at both the appreciation and the banter.
"I'm sure you two had a lot to talk about- five years is quite a long time." Iroh noted, the Fire Lord nodding with a slight grimace.
"Far too long- I should have tried to see you sooner." he looked to Mai- who glanced at him with disagreement.
"I feel from what you were telling me about your time at sea that you mightn't have been the best person to talk to after The Comet." she admitted, the Fire Lord looked down as he sipped his tea.
"That wasn't the best time for me- I can barely remember the following months- it's all a blur." he admitted, Iroh looking to him with a slightly concerned face.
"Zuko was locked in his room for hours at a time- he would come out for the toilet and food- but he wouldn't leave- sometimes I'd hear him training, but most of the time it was quiet." he explained to her, Zuko feeling somewhat unnerved by his explicit detailing of his rather distraught time in his life.
"What happened then isn't important- I'm looking forward to my future, it's a bit nicer than that." he admitted, acknowledging to his uncle that he didn't want to stress over his past experiences, actions and plans that he had absorbed himself into for literal years.
"I'm sure of it." his uncle raised his tea cup to him, before sipping it down with glee.
Turning to Mai, he bore a curt smile and raised his tea-cup in a similar fashion, "To the future?" he asked her, who returned the favour with her own small but significant smile.
"To our future."
Bathing in the sun, Sokka smiled at the brilliant view he was observing- a grassy meadow, laying on a cliff beside the expansive Mo Ce Sea, the sun's rays through the clouds above into the water, the glittering making the water seem closer to crystals than a liquid; sitting beside his komodo rhino, the Water Tribe warrior scratched his sore arm, sitting down to rest himself momentarily as the group took a break by the cliffs.
She walked up to stand beside him, pointing out to the north of them, "There it is: the river- only a few hours and we'll be in the great city of Yu Dao." she smiled, once again confident that their group would find their way to the first colony of many on his list- probably the most important one in her opinion, for the prestige of holding the oldest Fire Nation colony in the Earth Kingdom was far too great to ignore.
He turned and noted the large river delta that expanded out across to the north of the meadow they were in- luckily for them there was a location they could ford over the river not too far off their course- his recent scanning of the map told him that they were currently located by a crystal mine, albeit one that was abandoned during the war; currently there was no people regularly inhabiting this territory- but he noted from the sight of decayed artefacts that there must have been some village or town in the region- long-abandoned, perhaps before the Fire Nation invaded the land before him.
She sat down beside him, noting his visible injuries and looked at them with interest, "So- how much does it hurt?" she asked him, Sokka shrugging.
"Enough that I can notice it, but not enough to stop me walking around, as you have seen." he simply explained, Azula nodding in comprehension.
"Good- I was considering that we could take reconnaissance of the city once the group makes camp near it." she opened to him, who furrowed a brow in interest.
"I mean it's not a bad idea- I bet there's somebody in that city that will be willing to support you- and that's all you'll need for a start really." he confirmed her idea, the Princess nodding with confidence.
"That settles it then- just be ready to head out once we set up the camp- perhaps we can find you a new tent in the city while we're at it?" she offered to him, who grinned in hope.
"Seeing I have no money I'm guessing you'll pay for it?" he asked, she rolled her eyes at his blatant abuse of power.
"I mean- I haven't paid you for your work in any meaningful way yet- so I guess that it would be fair enough that I could get you that- nothing more, may I stress." she told him, who nodded in confidence that he would get to go shopping, a past-time he had missed ever since leaving Ba Sing Se.
"Thanks Azula- you're the boss!" he winked at her with a cheer, making her look at him funny.
"But- I am the boss." she replied with a sense of confusion about his rather unusual phrase.
"That's not the point- you're 'a good boss' is what I meant." he reaffirmed, the Princess nodding back at him slowly upon understanding his intent.
"You're not very social are you?" he asked her, Azula squinting at him with frustration.
"Am I meant to be? I am the Crown Princess- I will be social to those who require socialising." she berated him, who rolled his eyes in respond.
"I mean in the more friendly sense- and this is coming for someone who only had his annoying sister for company for three years of my life." Sokka jested at her with his anecdotal comparison, making her shrill at the thought of being stuck to only talk to her brother.
She cleared her throat and nodded, "You do make a good point savage- never mind that I am above your peasant niceties and humour." she derided him, who rolled his eyes in response.
"Yeah yeah, you keep telling yourself that one." he mocked her, standing up and stretching his legs, "So are we heading out?" he asked her, the Princess taking a moment to frown at his insult before nodding at him.
"I guess so..." she confirmed, before stepping away to shout a command, "All of you- we're moving!" she shouted in her rather more commanding tone, which Sokka understood to contrast from her more snide and snarky tone that she had with him.
He quickly pulled himself back onto the saddle of his komodo rhino, checking to be sure none of his belongings would fall off before patting the beast on the neck to signal it to move, "Let's go buddy." he affirmed the animal, which growled before beginning to move itself forward, steering it in line to follow the other komodo rhinos, lining his mount beside her own as he had done the previous day.
Turning back to face Azula he decided to make some conversation while the group made their way downhill toward the riverbank- which to him, seemed as far away as anything else could be; his sense of distance had been skewed from the time he had spent drudging through the forest, making him amazed at the distance he could travel by mount- for the first time in his life, he truly appreciated the wonders of domesticated animals.
"Is it just me or are all the distances we travel feeling short because of that whole thing in the forest?" he asked her, who considered his idea for a moment.
"I'm inclined to agree with you for once peasant- that horrific time we shared in that forest was rather eye-opening in regards to the time it takes to travel on foot... well anywhere really." she confirmed his idea, Sokka nodding at her own thoughts.
"I'm sure glad we're going to be in Yu Dao soon- I'm starting to feel that I fear the wilderness more than the city again." he admitted, making her laugh at his words.
"Is that so? Well I'm more so looking forward to a proper bath that I will be afforded when the city falls to my righteous rule," she explained, sniffing her armour with slight disgust, "I smell of dirt and smoke- not surprising after what happened last night."
"You're telling me- I got a face full of dirt after getting hit by that damn bomb- it's like I'm covered with an extra layer of skin that's made of dirt." he cringed at touch of his skin, the Princess scratching her chin in thought.
"You could always wash yourself in the river if you need be- I'm above such disgraceful actions, but I can trust you to have no decency." she advised and mocked him at once, earning his glare of frustration.
"Uh- thanks, I guess?" he questioningly thanked her, who smirked with a devious grin upon the result of her rather playful use of words.
The group continued in line down their path, walking along a narrow route that lead down the rather steep hill towards the flatter river-plain; the forest surrounded them once more, the darkness made by the canopy making it seem like dusk rather than midday as they descended toward the river. Soon enough he found himself squinting at the brightness of the full midday sun laying upon him as their group made their way out of the forest to walk along a marshy shoreline, following it up-stream until the marshland dissipated to be replaced with sandbars of fine dirt and pebbles, which lay across the entire width of the river, which Sokka guessed to be about as wide as two or three Fire Nation vessels; his lack of actual units of measurement made it a challenge to give words to the immensity of the river- he hadn't seen anything similar since the river they had sailed down from the West Lake. Ahead of him, he saw the Captain signalling the group to begin crossing the river, for which he had to wait for a number of guards on their mounts to cross before he and Azula did; he slowly trudged his komodo rhino into the shallow ford, the water lapping up to his knees as his mount found a slight struggle to walk through the flowing river. Making his way across to the other bank of the river, he dismounted from his komodo rhino, much to the guards surprise, to wash his face in the river-water, kneeling by the shoreline as he lapped the water onto his face; the Princess stepped to stand beside him and offered him a smug smile at noting his rather 'savage' behaviour.
"Feeling clean?" she asked him, the Water Tribesman nodding with relief.
"Yeah- you were right about the river, other than your mean comments." he told her, Azula chuckling at him.
"I'm not a peasant who cleans herself in water- I am the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation." she deflected his offence.
"Can you have a little humility?" he questioned her, who simply scoffed at his consideration of her degrading her pride.
"Not a chance." she told him before remounting her komodo rhino, "We don't have all day- do you want buy that tent or not?" she asked him, who nodded immediately at her question.
"Yep- let's go." he simply confirmed, practically jumping to his feet before swinging himself onto the saddle of his komodo rhino.
Patting his mount to signal it forward, he smiled at the progress they had made in a few quick hours; soon enough he would be in Yu Dao and finally able to do something productive- shopping and political intrigue- he wasn't exactly averse to the either of them by that point, after all, if he wanted to ensure that Azula would be the Fire Lord he wanted to see in the world, he would have to get her on the throne first.
Standing on the bridge of his massive imposing steel flagship, Admiral Zhao smiled in confidence at the sight of his impressive blockade- his forces had formed a line hundreds of miles long across the Mo Ce Sea, forming a barrier against his enemies that sought to claim the riches of the colonies for themselves; he had been stationed to ensure that the usurper's forces would not entire the Mo Ce Sea without him knowing about them and their trajectories. He would make sure that Zuko would pay not only for his treachery against his own father, but his dishonour against him- he most certainly had decided that he would ensure the boy suffered before his sister decided it would be best to kill him; he knew Azula to be above all else a pragmatic ruler- she wouldn't want her brother being a potential pretender for the throne that dissidents could gather around- she would have him either executed for treason, or at the very least claim he was dead to silence any potential rebels that would disgrace her glorious victory. The Admiral heard footsteps behind him and glanced to his side to sight the arrival- one of his subordinate officers, Captain Kazu.
"Admiral- I bear news from our scout ships down south," he begun with a bow, the Admiral turning around with interest, "the usurpers Royal Barge and escort ships are sailing northward as we speak from near the colony of New Ozai- the scouts believe from a timed observation that he is on course to the more northerly colonies." he explained tohim, who smirked in confidence upon hearing the words he had been awaiting for the weeks since he learnt of the Fire Lord's demise.
"This is exactly what we need- the Fire Lord will sail right into our trap- he'll go to the colonies thinking he will find loyalists to his rule but only find the armies of his sister awaiting him- before he could even try to leave, we could sink his ships and force his surrender." he explained to Kazu, who nodded with a submissive smile of approval.
"Should we inform the fleet?" he asked of his Admiral, who nodded as he turned back out to look at the water.
"Tell the ships of the blockade to spread out- double the gaps between ships so they can only make out the smokestacks- we must ensure that the false Fire Lord thinks his forces are safe to cross the blockade into our waters." he ordered.
He nodded in understanding of the commands, "Of course sir- I will have a document prepared and ready to sign at once." Kazu assured him, bowing once more to his superior,
"Is there anything else you need?" he asked of his commander, who turned back in consideration before nodding.
"Add a clause to the command that expects reports of any ships crossing the blockade- I want to know exactly when that Royal Barge makes it past, understood?" he requested of him, who bowed once more.
"It is as you will Admiral." he affirmed, before turning and leaving Zhao by his lonesome on the balcony of his bridge.
Zhao turned to grasp the railing of his bridge, smirking out as he pondered his future plans- he was to be sure that he would attain a great victory over Zuko, to reclaim his honour and ensure that no man ever question his strategic insight and resolve- first the usurper, then the North- the world would know his name, and his victory would echo on throughout history; all that truly stood between him and ultimate victory was the judgement of his proclaimed Fire Lord- he knew that the Princess was the true heir- in mind, soul and right- of Fire Lord Ozai, but she was pragmatic in her judgement and stubborn in her ways- he would require a lot of goodwill for her to consider his future plans outright if she currently judged them unworthy. He had told himself long ago, when he found those papers in the depths of that spirit library that he would make himself the greatest man in the Fire Nation- he would attain ultimate glory- he was no great prince, Fire Lord, or nobleman- he would attain his right to history through pure will and power, as he was once taught as a child- the Fire Nation was not run by weak milk-drinkers, but by those who could defeat those who could claim their power through anything less than ability and will.
Standing before Azula's reassembled tent, Sokka felt a sense of calm- in a kind of eerie way, as he awaited her to come out; after arriving at their new campsite, located in the hills south-east of Yu Dao, he had changed his attire from that of a Fire Nation warrior to that of a colonial peasant- by combining his Fire Nation undergarments with his Earth Kingdom attire that he had been given by Yano those weeks prior, he could imitate the haphazard fashion of the colonials- who according to the Princess were a bastardisation of Fire Nation culture, mongrels of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation blood. He hoped that his imitation of a Fire Nation colonial might grant him the anonymity that he desired as they would enter the city, as to ensure nobody caught wind of her arrival- they both certainly didn't want a pro-Zuko garrison running up into the hills to fight them- although Azula told him that she doubted such a meagre force could defeat their elite force, it would a shameful waste of resources she certainly wanted to avoid. Before long, the canvas opened and she appeared before him, dressed in her own disguise- she had taken it upon herself instead to look more Fire Nation than he had, perhaps to align with her own skill of Fire Nation culture- she didn't want to be asked a question that only a mixed-race colonial peasant would know.
He mockingly bowed before Azula, "Ah- Lady Zaira, I presume?" he asked her in an imitation of a Ba Sing Se aristocrats voice, much to her amusement.
She narrowed her eyes at him and chuckled, "Hmm- you don't look like much of an Amaruq." she commented, making him chuckle- he ought to think of a new pseudonym for his new identity as a colonial- he couldn't go around with a Water Tribe name, that was for sure.
"Hmmm... How about Wang- Wang Fire!" he proclaimed a new name, making her face-palm, the guards nearby chuckling at the absurdness of his name.
"I would ask if that was a crude innuendo, but I've decided I don't want to know." she grimaced in disgust of the potential meaning of his fake name, making him break down laughing at her response, before wiping the tears of laughter off his face.
He raised a hand to consider once more, "Okay- how about just Wang- is that okay?" he asked, the Princess rolling her eyes.
"Fine- I'll let you know that your crude joke will be all I can think of when having to recite your damned name." she grumbled, making him chuckle once more, giving her a thumbs up to jest at her further.
"If we're all good, should we head on down to the city?" he asked her, who lifted up a small bag to give to him.
"We're peasant farmers going for an afternoon shop in Yu Dao- that's the act, I'm sure you can think of how to play it well." she told Sokka, who nodded with a smug smirk.
"I'm sure I can play 'the peasant' quite well." he told her, Azula smiling with realisation.
"Don't even act- just forget that you're from the Water Tribe and you will be fine." she noted to him, who pointed his hands at her with confidence, as if to tell her he could get the job done.
"There is a difference, but yeah- let's do this." he affirmed her, before beginning to walk away from her tent, forcing her to pace after behind him.
"Slow down savage!" she demanded of him, who was already at full pace walking; he turned around and sighed to let her catch up to him.
"We've got to get there quick right?" he questioned her, who rolled her eyes at his conclusion.
"If I roll my ankle again because of your stupidity, I will personally break your leg in reciprocation." she eyed him, Sokka chuckling off her threat.
"Yeah, yeah- let's just go." he dismissed her threats, making her twitch at the sight of her being the one on the losing side of a pointless argument.
"I will not be commanded by the likes of you- but yes- let's go." she told him, pacing ahead of him as to prove her position as the leader and boss over him.
Walking down a dirt path leading out from the hillock they had camped upon, they made their way down into one of the valleys surrounding Yu Dao, a city nested on a plain between rough badlands, making it quite hard to attack- a problem the Fire Nation didn't find when establishing control over what had been little more than a fishing village and a few poor Earth Kingdom hamlets more than a century ago. The two disguised individuals started to note the appearance of farms and huts on the outskirts of the city, and knew they had to start playing their parts as Colonial villagers- he was the poor mixed-race farmer who was married to the slightly wealthier colonial woman 'Zaira', her part to play in the act- something that she probably would see as a continuation of the identity she had formed when they stayed in Fuchang. She stepped closer to him and whispered to him some advice, knowing too well he might run headstrong into their act.
"Act natural Sokka- you're a dirt-poor farmer who needs to buy a bed- it's half true anyway." she whispered to him, earning a glare from Sokka, who didn't like being called a peasant- he was a Water Tribe hunter and warrior- a free-man in any eye, except for maybe hers, but she would be fooling herself if she thought she could claim dominion over him.
As they walked closer they made sight of the city-walls, a large sandstone wall that had a green-roofed gate that towered up from the rather bland structure; she stood forward to talk to the standing guards, assuming that she would have to give reason to their entrance into the city. Walking up to the two Fire Nation guards that stood outside the city-walls, she smiled with a bow, to give the men the respect that she would think an ordinary citizen would deserve them.
One of the guards stood forward and awkwardly smiled from her deference, "Uh- good day miss- may I ask why you are entering the great city of Yu Dao this afternoon."
"Good afternoon officers- my husband and I are just going for a shop- the idiot got our bedding set on fire so we have to buy some new ones." she explained to the guards in a humourous tone, hoping they would take the absurd joke with a laugh and let them in.
The guard chuckled at her joke and smiled considerately, "Well I hope you two get what you're looking for- have a good evening." he accepted the request, standing aside with his fellow guard to let the two of them walk through the gate.
As the two of them passed the entrance and guards, Sokka stepped closer to Azula with a slight glare of offence, before whispering to her, "I didn't set anything on fire- I warned everybody about the explosions, remember?" he asked her, who scoffed at his attempt to argue about a fake story.
"It's just a story- I needed to say something that would give sense to what we're buying- we can't act suspicious around here, not when the whole Fire Nation knows a civil war is brewing." she disregarded his comments, the Water Tribesman sighing in realising the sense of her explanation to the guard.
Walking down the main street of the city, they noted the sight of various workings going on- metalwork and its derivatives a common sight, ethnic Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation people living in what seemed to be a kind of harmony; he was completely surprised to see this unusual mixture of people, after all having heard about the disgusting actions the Fire Nation had made elsewhere made him somewhat confused by the sight of those who expected the Fire Nation to push out their cities but in reality lived side-by-side their former enemies. She noted to him the sight of the City Hall at the centre of the city, down the main street that they were following through Yu Dao.
Pointing to it, she smirked at him, "That's where we'll get the information we need."
"This city will have a governor or something- that's how you guys run most these places, right?" he asked her with interest, Azula shrugging her shoulders.
"I don't know who runs this city, because it's not overly relevant- their allegiances are the more important issue, and the possibility of us swaying them is another." she explained to Sokka as they walked toward the building in question.
He nodded and continued to walk by her side as they approached the City Hall- it was a large building, bigger than most Fire Nation structures outside of Pohuai he had seen- it looked as if it housed an entire tribe's worth of people in his eyes- his little village wasn't that big, but for one building it seemed like quite a lot- and that was only for whoever governed the city. The two of them noted the guards standing outside the door but she immediately decided to start circling the building to look for entrances as well as if she could hear anything; following her, he noted sounds coming from inside the building and stopped as he noted an ajar paper window, and stepped closer to see if he could hear anything clear from the inside, signalling Azula with a wave of his hand.
Leaning in the two could made out the speech inside, "Mayor- you must understand- the Fire Lord is withdrawing his forces from the Earth Kingdom- if we say nothing, our city will be lost to the savages." a voice exclaimed, the Princess raising a brow in interest- whoever spoke was most certainly a critic of her brother and the Earth Kingdom, something she could use to her advantage.
"That is not my decision to make- Fire Lord Zuko has proclaimed his desire to protect our nation from enemies and traitors alike- he has sent soldiers to protect this very city, does that speak of disloyalty to you?" a voice questioned the other, who they presumed to be the given Mayor of Yu Dao.
"Please sir, you must consider- for the sake of our people, for your family- do you think they would be accepted in the mainland?" the first voice questioned, the Mayor remaining silent for some time before responding.
"I- I will not hear any more of these treacherous words- come back to me when you have something productive to say!" the Mayor shouted, a few moments later the sound of a door opening being heard.
Upon hearing the conversation at an end, Azula grabbed Sokka by the hand and walked him over to an alleyway, as to ensure that they could speak freely without the threat of someone accidentally overhearing them.
She turned to him with a devious grin, "Well, well- Sokka I believe we have an opportunity at hand." she proclaimed, the Water Tribesman looking to her with interest.
"Really? How exactly do you expect the 'loyal Mayor' to turn sides?" he asked her, who smirked near evilly at him, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable in her gaze.
"The Fire Nation will protect the sovereignty of it's colonies if I am Fire Lord, because our dominion extends beyond the petty boundaries of the Home Islands- I would never betray those loyal citizens to be expelled to the homeland, or worse, stranded in the arms of a foreign power." she explained to him, who looked confused at her propagandist speech.
"So what exactly does that do for 'swaying' the people?" he asked her, Azula pointing her hand into the window where the Mayor was likely sitting.
"That man is in a hard situation- he proclaims loyalty to Zuko, probably because of the forces he just spoke of, but his family would not be accepted in the homeland, where he would likely end up if the colonies were to be withdrawn- that means that he would not support their withdrawal, as I would not myself- I am therefore his preferred Fire Lord, assuming that Zuko doesn't grow half a brain and makes the same promises." she told Sokka, who nodded in understanding.
"Well I mean- if there's mixed Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom people here, I don't think they'd like to be split from their friends and families because of national divides, or worse, taken to a foreign land they've never known." he sympathised, understanding that many people in the colonies probably didn't desire to be thrown out for the greater good of the four nations.
"So you agree that the colonies should remain under Fire Nation rule?" she asked him, who shook his head.
"No- they should have self-determination- just like my tribe- do you think after all that's happened to my people that we would want an ounce of what the North would like to claim as tribal unity?" he asked her rhetorically, Azula understanding his sentiment.
"But would you think they would prefer the unifying rule under my reign, or to be divided up by my brother's ignorance?" she narrowed her question, the Water Tribesman sighing in defeat and nodding at her.
"You'll probably handle it better than him." he confirmed to her, the Princess smirking with confidence before raising a finger to her chin.
"Oh yes- you wanted to buy a tent-" she reminded herself, pulling out some coins from one of her pockets and handing them to him, "now go on 'Wang', go get your things while I have a look around." she told him, implying that she would continue to look around for entrances to the City Hall.
He nodded in understanding, "Uh- yep- Wang Fire has got to go buy a tent." he confirmed with a grin, Azula rolling her eyes at his specific mentioning of his pseudonym.
"Go on now, before I change my mind." she grumbled at him with frustration, making him nod and quickly begin to pace away from their conversation, knowing all to well that he ought to remain in character while he was in public; a public argument was one thing that would catch the attention of people.
Walking back out of the alleyway, he circled back around the City Hall, deciding to walk down the main street in search for a shop that might sell what he required; he thought a tent would be a pretty simple thing that people ought to sell, though he noted that most colonials were a little less in need of mobile housing, unlike himself. Continuing down the main street he noted the number of goods on sale- meats, vegetables, fruits, spices- all the kinds of things he would expect the Fire Nation to eat; finally he caught sight of what seemed to be a hunting stall- he immediately decided that was the kind of place that would have something like a tent.
Walking up to the stall clerk, he brandished a smile to ensure that he seemed polite, "Hey- do you guys sell anything like a tent here?" he asked the clerk, who looked in interest.
"A hunter, are ya?" the man asked him, the Water Tribesman nodding with a grin- he knew exactly how to talk about hunting, although he was guessing that they did it a little differently in places that wasn't tundra.
"Yeah- I'm in need of one for a trip I'm taking- going far out into the wilds." he made up to the clerk, who nodded in understanding.
"Ah well I don't sell those here, but I think there's a place to the east of here-" the man explained, pointing down a side-street, "they sell all that old army stuff- you should be able to find a tent or two there."
He smiled at the man sincerely, and dropped a coin on his stall, and walked off with a wave, "Thanks!" he told him, before turning and walking down the side-street the clerk that noted to him.
Heading down the street, Sokka noted how narrow it was compared to main street, and that it winded sharply, similar to the streets that were all too common in Ba Sing Se; he made his way down the street until he found a shop that distinctively felt like what he was looking for: 'Zoru's Supply Store'. Opening the doors of the store, he noted it's expansive supply of goods- swords, bows, armour, tents, saddles- the kinds of things he expected someone might've pulled out of a battlefield.
"Wow!" he exclaimed in near amazement- if only he had found a store like this earlier- he would have made great use of it.
Checking around he scanned the tents they had on offer- most of them seemed to be similar to the one he had been given by Azula before they left Pohuai, but nearly all of them were tattered and repaired with odd bits of fabric; he considered the possibility that they had been tossed after being damaged and people gave them back to shops like this to fix up- not a bad way to make a quick buck, in his own eyes. To his side the salesman walked up to him with a somewhat acted smile- one that he saw coming due to his past experience having to act his way out of things.
"Ah- you want to buy a tent- lucky for you they're the cheapest items we have on offer!" the salesman explained to him, who raised a brow in interest, not overly convinced by such a claim.
"Uh okay- how much is it?" he asked, the salesman thinking for a moment before responding.
"Twenty silver pieces- that includes the steel pegs and tarpaulin." the salesman explained, the Water Tribesman handing him the coins he asked of, shaking his hand in the process.
"You got a deal buddy." he smirked confidently, thinking he had gotten a decent deal for his money.
"Just pick up one of those tents and I'll get the parts from out back." the salesman told him, Sokka nodding before stretching down to grab one of the haphazardly repaired tent fabrics.
Taking the tent fabric, he rolled it up before tying the roll with some of the spare rope he had on his belt; the Water Tribesman smiled at the thought of getting a good nights sleep instead of falling unconscious after a fight- he was also concerned with being stuck in Azula's tent again, which he found to be quite unusual. He wasn't one to completely ignore the norms any society would impose upon him, and was not unaware of the position of respect and distance one ought to place upon a member of royalty; he was her friend, no doubt about that, but he didn't want her to be in a situation where she'd have to explain a Water Tribesman sleeping in her tent, which would raise questions amongst any thoughtful member of her force.
The salesman returned with a knapsack full of tent parts and a rolled tarpaulin, handing them both to him, "There you go- have a good afternoon, and enjoy the tent." the salesman nodded with a courteous smile before turning around to return to the counter.
He turned and walked out of the door again, trudging at a slower pace with all his tent supplies on his person; he made his way down the side-street back to the main-street of Yu Dao, considering which way to go- he trusted that Azula would be handling her job correctly and he was in no place to do much with all of his things, so he decided it would be best to head back to the gatehouse and wait there for her. The disguised Water Tribesman walked down the main street, slowed down by the traffic and his need to sidestep and dodge others who might run into his rather large bag and rolls, that annoyingly obstructed his view; after a few minutes, Sokka had made his way to the end of the main-street, at the rather open courtyard that sat beside the gate out of the city- to his surprise, the disguised Princess was standing by the gate, avoiding small talk with the guards to the best of her ability. Upon noticing him, she made a faked gasp and walked up to him with a played face of relief.
"Wang! I didn't know where you had gone- lucky for me you're smart enough to come to the gates- well at least you got what you were looking for." she acted out a story, trying to do her best in front of the guards that were stationed nearby.
"Uh yeah- that's right Zai, we'll have somewhere to sleep now." he assured her in a somewhat deeper tone than usual, trying to make himself seem like more of an adult; he walked past her and smiled at the guards, keeping up the act, "Thanks boys for keeping an eye on her." he thanked the guards, who chuckled at his words.
"No worry- you two have a good evening." a guard affirmed to them, to which Sokka nodded, twitching his head to signal her to follow.
Walking away from the city gates, he turned to Azula with interest, "So what else did you find honey?" he asked her in his acting voice, joking about their false identities.
She chuckled at his joke, rolling her eyes in dismissal of his humour, "Very funny savage- I was unable to find much other than a few more windows to glance in- there was a few doors that lead into the building that could be used, but I doubt anyone would be able to go through them without being seen." she explained to him, who scratched his chin with his open hand.
"Well, we could try and get in through the second storey." he suggested, to which she glanced back with a face of intrigue.
"Now that's an interesting idea- if we could make our way onto the second-storey and avoid getting spotted, we could get in without anyone seeing- to our luck, my new squadron of Yuyan Archers is capable of shooting lines of rope to cross from building to building, so we could enter from the roof of another building no issue." she confirmed his idea with a smirk of confidence.
"So that's that- sneak up on the governor, prove your point, and if we're lucky, he'll bend over to your majesty." he jested at her, the Princess smirking at him.
"I am his rightful Fire Lord- he ought to do that without the persuasion." she told him with the same confident smirk, "If all goes to plan, Yu Dao could be mine within a day- but first we ought to let the men rest up- we can't go rushing into a stealth infiltration with little sleep on our backs." she explained, Sokka nodding with a smile of hope.
"I cannot wait to sleep- I've never been this excited to sleep in my life." he cheered, Azula chuckling at his attitude.
"You better- your aptitude for tact will earn us a victory in and of itself." she noted, the Water Tribesman raising his brows in surprise.
"Wow- a compliment from the Princess herself- I'm keeping that one at heart." he smiled at her jokingly.
"I simply desire the greatest potential from my followers." she deflected his claim, making him raise a brow in interest.
"Well I mean that's a good thing- it's not like you're going to buy me a bed out of the good of your heart." he commented, the Princess nodding with his acceptance of her point of view.
"Exactly- now that's the last I want to hear of my great 'virtue'." she snidely glared at him, who nodded with slight disappointment, falling silent as they waked up toward the camp.
As they walked toward their encampment in the hills surrounding Yu Dao, Sokka's mind turned to Azula's comment; he was conflicted on what he thought she was actually thinking, knowing too well it was hard to get the truth when it came to her own emotions and valuations of individuals- he thought that she either had become humble enough to deny being virtuous, or she was in enough denial of her own kindnesses that she would claim that they weren't kindness at all. He did understand one thing after his conversation with her, and that was that she was not a straightforward person, someone who believed so much in her own ideal version of herself that she was blinding herself to her true nature- he might've had a similar point of view for himself in the past- a great Water Tribe warrior in the making, a man who would strike the heart of the Fire Nation with all his fury- that ideal of himself had faded to reveal his true calling- he wanted to help people, make the world a better place, not perpetuate the violence that caused him to leave home with his father in the first place.