sasukesdoom: Thank you :) It's always so much fun to really dig deep into Azula's psyche. There's a lot to work with and so many complexities to unravel.

Dinobotrex: Thanks! I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying it. :D

Laval Asher: And thank you as well :)

She finds that it is more or less a matter of sorting out her feelings. It is quieter in her mind now. Less chaotic. She has a lot to think about, a lot to process. But at least it is organized. At least it feels authentic.

This semi-clarity comes as a relief especially with the palace in view. She can't imagine returning with anything less than a clear head. She sits cross legged on the deck and watches as it looms closer. Admittedly, even with a wholly unclouded mind, she is apprehensive about returning.

Fully aware or not, Zuko had left her to get re-shaped and reformed beyond recognition. Fully aware or not, he hadn't bothered to check in on her. Perhaps if he had she wouldn't have fallen so far.

Azula inhales deeply and looks at her palm. She hasn't yet gotten around to firebending yet, hasn't mustered up the willpower to do so. She braces herself to see lapping and licking orange, but doesn't think that she will be ready at all if that is what she finds. She closes her eyes and closes her fist. With the opening of her hand, comes fire. She waits for just another moment or two before opening her eyes.

She just about cries with relief when she sees a gentle dance of blue. It is her fire.

"You must feel a lot better now." Aang remarks, taking a seat next to her.

She manages a nod. Truly she does; the sun on her skin feels that much warmer and the breeze keeping it's head at bay feels kinder as it rushes around her. Her tummy flutters with a feeling of exhilaration that she hasn't felt in a very long time. A feeling that is perhaps optimism. Hope.

She watches the flame dance on her palm for a very long while before finally letting it sputter out and putting her hand down.

"Feel more like yourself?"

Azula nods again.

At the very least she feels strong again.

At the very least, she is better able to start picking up the bits of her confidence and piecing them back together again.

"We should arrive at the palace a little after nightfall. That's what the captain told me."

"That will do just fine."

She never actually turns to face him. At last he takes the hint and mumbles something akin to, "alright, great, glad you're feeling better."

.oOo.

She is in better spirts and yet he is still reluctant to approach the princess. She is still dwelling on the deck and he isn't sure if it is because she simply enjoys the fresh air or because she is trying to avoid being below deck with him.

Based solely on the way she has herself laid out with the sun warming her back, he would guess that it is a pretty solid mix of both. She does seem rather relaxed for a change and he isn't sure that he wants to ruin this for her. But at the same time he has to know…

He takes a deep breath and, once again, takes a seat next to her. He waits for her to crack an eyelid and acknowledge his presence before stating, "you're still mad at me, aren't you?"

With a sigh, the princess sits up. "Not particularly."

"You haven't talked to me since we balanced your chakras." Evidently, he feels used. And maybe he deserves it. "I guess I can't blame you if you hate me."

"I don't hate you, Avatar." She says softly. "I just can't think about you right now." She pauses. He isn't exactly sure what emotion flickers across her face, but is something very close to desperation. Conflict, he realizes. Azula seems to wear the two emotions the same way. "I don't want to...I don't want to lose you. I don't have many friends. But there are other things that I need to focus on."

"Like your bending?"

"Correct."

"And how you're going to confront Zuko?"

Another affirmative nod.

"You do realize that you can do all of those things and be social, right?"

This time her nod is disagreeing. "Not with you."

He leaves her to herself and she leaves him contemplating the implications of that. He thinks that at least a part of him knows exactly what she is trying to tell him. Another part crave denial and yearns for him to stop thinking about it. It could be that he has it all wrong anyhow. He isn't sure if he'd prefer that he were wrong or if he is secretly thrilled at the prospect of being correct.

Somewhere, somehow, he has grown quite fond of Azula; she has an admirable amount of determination, a resilience that he doesn't come by often. In her own stern and stand offish way she is good for conversation. And beneath all of that hurt and fear, he has felt nothing but love and a protectiveness.

He knows that he would not have been able to coax those emotions from her were they not already there.

And yet, she so stubbornly refuses to truly let people in.

.oOo.

Zuko is waiting at the docks when the ship pulls into port. The stars have just risen, they reflect tantalizingly on the water's surface. He hears the hasty clinging of hammers as dock workers make their final repairs for the night.

The sea splashes him with a light spray as the vessel in front of him drops its anchor. Late traders and buyers bid each other hurried goodbyes and scramble back to their dwellings. Every now and then he hears a coin ping against the wood and roll away.

He watches one gain momentum and come to settle at someone's feet. Her hair is shorter now and she isn't as well groomed and pampered as he remembers, but he recognizes her immediately.

He has an impulsive urge to rush over and embrace her the way an older brother ought to, but her temperament keeps him at bay. After days at sea and a significantly longer period cooped up in an institution, he isn't sure what mood she is in. He imagines that it is somewhere between exhausted and furious. Certainly, he can't imagine that Azula is in any manner of a pleasant mood.

He keeps his distance, only offering a small wave, until Aang comes to stand next to her. "Hi, Zuko!" He greets with a smile.

Zuko come closer and slings his arm over Aang's shoulder, "good to see you again."

"Yeah, I've missed talking with you and the others." Aang agrees. "Has Appa been good?"

"You'll have to ask Sokka and TyLee, they've been watching he and Momo."

With Aang's nod, Zuko turns to Azula. He grits his teeth and tries to come up with some sort of greeting. She offers him no help. He wonders how much energy she is investing into not frying him on the spot. But the more he looks, the less likely this seems to him. The more he looks, the more tired she seems. And for what it is worth, he can't particularly sense any hostility.

At last she speaks, "aren't you going to welcome me home?" Her tone is caught between a jest and a genuine inquiry. But she doesn't seem particularly resentful.

Somehow this is more perturbing than the notion of having to fight her. His stomach grows queasy; have they successfully shaped her into someone else entirely. Is that why she is home?

He knew that they would be utilizing spirit energy as part of her recovery process, but would they really go so far as to have twisted her spirit into something it was never meant to be.

He forces a smile, "yeah. Welcome home, Azula. You're probably looking forward to sleeping in your own bed again."

"Among other things." She confirms.

Some of his unease subsides; she, at the very least, still sounds and talks like Azula.

"Was Sangyul able to help you at all?"

Azula cuts Aang a glare, "just how vague was your letter?"

Aang shrugs, "I just told him that we were on our way back to the mainland and needed a boat."

Azula sighs, "let's head back, I'll tell you along the way."

The reach the palace before she finishes her recap. For a good while they linger on the steps as she covers the last stretch of her journey and boasts about how she has balanced her chakras so she can give him the ass kicking he deserves for leaving her in such a miserable facility.

And by the end of her story, Zuko still isn't certain that he has all of the details. He has a sneaking suspicion that she has left a lot out; whether it is because she doesn't want him to know or because she simply can't bring herself to talk about it, he doesn't know.

But he is decently disturbed all the same.

He looks between Aang and Azula as it all settles in. "I...I didn't realize…"

"Why didn't you come by to visit, Zuzu?" She asks, tone simmering in accusation. At last he feeling the resentment he had been expecting at the harbor.

"I thought that seeing me would upset you."

Azula shakes her head. "It wouldn't have. They would have had me nice and happy and sub…" she trails off, "relaxed, just for you."

His stomach lurches.

.oOo.

Where Zuko's stomach sinks, Aang feels bizarre pangs of relief. Azula is angry. She is all fire and icy fierceness. He hasn't seen this from her in quite a while. Perhaps he should have just brought her right to Zuko; he seems to have a very special way of bringing out her lashing tongue and her merciless wit and sarcasm.

Aang puts a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" She snaps.

She shakes his hand off before he can retract it on his own. "Sorry." He grumbles. "I was just hoping that the two of you would give each other a chance." Granted Zuko has given her a chance-he vocalizes as much-it is Azula who has thrown up her walls. Even so he doesn't want to aggravate her more. "I think that it would make things easier if you two weren't arguing."

"He left me with him." Azula snarls. "With you."

Aang swallows, he thinks that Azula's eyes betray at least a little regret.

"I'm due for a bath." She grumbles, with an almost sheepish folding of her arms.

"Azula! Calm down."

"Grab your spirit vines and make me." She hisses. It is equally devastating and reassuring. Doubly so when she ignores his requests that she stays and finishes talking things out. He very nearly goes after her but Zuko holds him in place at the shoulder. "Let her have her bath, she might be less cranky after

Aang nods.

"And besides, I was hoping you could tell me things from your side. Without side commentary."

Aang allows himself to chuckle.

.oOo.

Where Azula had left blank spaces, Aang fills him in. He goes quiet when she reappears, smelling freshly of jasmine shampoo. She spares him a glance before disappearing into her room. This time Aang lets her have her way quietly.

"She didn't tell you, but she lost her fire for a while-I mean I did take it but even after I gave it back she was having trouble. Zuko, it was bad. Really bad." He steals a glance at her bedroom door. "I'm still kind of worried about her."

Zuko doesn't particularly need him to elaborate. He has a hard time picturing his sister without her fire, even if it is only for a span of time.

"And then for a while, when it came back, it wasn't even blue."

And the implications of that are jarring. "Is there anything else I should know about." Exactly what could break her to the point where her fire faded.

Aang grimaces and seems to contemplate whether or not he should share. "He-Sangyul made her cut her hair. She called him, 'father'. And he...he did things to her. Humiliated her. He would make it seem like she had choices and then he would make these little remarks until she changed her mind." He takes swallows hard. "And for a while after our escape she wasn't making decisions on her own…"

"What the fuck, Aang!?" The Avatar flinches at his outburst. "How could you let that happen? I told you to work with her spirit energy to help her not...do that!"

"I know." Aang replies quietly. "I don't know how I let it happen. I guess...I guess that Sangyul is good at what he does. He convinced me that I was helping her and by the time I realized what was going on…" He makes a vague gesture. "She says that she isn't angry with me but I think that she is."

"I am." Comes a declaration from behind a closed door. Zuko can vividly picture her laying on her side, arms folded, face fixed in a pout.

.oOo.

Quieter, Aang mutters, "I'm not sure if she's angry that I just told you all of the details or because of everything that's happened. Happened." He has a feeling that it is a blend of both, perhaps with a more heavy lean on him blabbing away.

He imagines that her resentment had been carefully put aside while he helped her through everything. And now that it has come up, it is coming out. And maybe that is a good thing, maybe he needs to let her work through it.

"Let her sleep it off." Zuko confirms. "She hates long boat rides, she complained almost the whole time when we went on family trips to Ember Island." He laughs to himself.

Aang nods. "I just don't want to lose her as a friend. I know that you two don't get along but she's…"

"I know that she's not a bad person. She sure as Roku's beard isn't friendly, but she's not a bad person."

Aang smiles. At least that's some progress. "She's actually kind of nice when she's in a good mood."

.oOo.

Azula stares up at the ceiling, head spinning with frustration and unease. Aang had told Zuzu much more than she wanted him to know and now she has an extra helping of shame and indignity to work around on top of all else. Likely he sees weakness where he used to see strength.

She inhales sharply. He'd already seen her thrashing about, tethered to a grate, he can't possibly view her anymore pitifully than he does already. She inhales again and tries to focus on what she'd learned from her meditation.

There is depth in shame. Pride in shame.

She rolls onto her side and rests her head on her hands.

And maybe they see strength in her ability to overcome and carry on.

Maybe they see dignity in the reclaiming of her autonomy.

At the very least, she can see the dignity and strength in it.