Crazy trouble with love part 9
Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Sokka
Author's Note: People, I'm fine with suggestions and requests, but can we quit it with just copy and pasting the same list over and over? It gets boring real fast.
Series: Avatar the Last Airbender
xxxxxxxxxxxx
We find ourselves on a small water nation ship, cruising in open waters with several men on board with spears and weapons on guard.
"Sir, are we sure this is a good idea?" Asked Bato hesitantly. "This could be a trap."
"I know, believe me I know that." Spoke looking across the sea with a heavy expression. "Just being out in the open is making my nerves feel on edge, but we have no other option."
"I know that, but… should we have really brought THEM along as well?' Asked Bato, gesturing to the two younger water tribe members. One boy and one girl, who were currently playing tag with each other with child innocence. "I really think we should have left them behind."
"I know, but the royal family asked that we bring them, I think they want them to interact with their children, and foster peace."
"Or they will ask you to leave them there to 'become immersed in their culture', making them hostages to be used against them, with their lives constantly in danger." Remarked Bato crossing his arms. "With how few men we brought, I wouldn't be surprised if they already have an ambush set as soon as we land."
"I know, but if we didn't respond the raids would have continued, I don't know if our people would have survived another winter of constant raids." replied the chieftain looking at the water while hearing his children's laughter which eased him, but only a little. "I need to do what's best for the tribe, even if it's something we don't like. If this is the best chance we have to stop them and keep them from destroying us completely, we may have to take it."
"And what if they DO try to take the children?"
"I really don't want to think about the what ifs right now. All I can do is focus on the here and now. It's all I can do to keep from second guessing myself." He said with a sigh. "I don't like it, but this way, they should be safe for at least a year, or more depending if their offer of peace is sincere."
Bato looked down at the water for a moment and then over to the kids with the boy tagging the girl before running off and smiled. "You know, I remember the good old days when we were like them. Carefree without a worry in the world."
"And then we turned into grumpy old men." smiled .
"Easy now, we aren't THAT old yet." Chuckled Bato.
"Dad, are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Katara called out to her father.
"Yeah, are we? Are we? Are we?" asked Sokka.
"Not yet you two." he chuckled. "I told you it was going to be a long trip."
"But it's been hours! How far away is the fire nation?"
"Well, a few weeks with our boats, but I think we should be encountering a ship from the fire nation that will pick us up and take us the rest of the way soon."
"Have you ever been there before?" asked Katara with wonder. "What's it like?"
"I haven't been there, but I heard it's a very warm place." He replied before spotting something ahead and used a telescope to check on it, seeing a bigger ship made of steel heading their way. "That's them."
"Whoa, that's a ship?!"
"Wow...I've only seen them in the distance, then we have to go to the shelters." Sokka said in amazement.
The men on their ship moved together while on guard as the fire nation ship slowed down beside their own with the captain of the ship looking down at them.
"I take it you are the water tribe delegates we are supposed to be picking up?"
"Yes, I am Chief of the southern water tribe, I am here with my close advisors, comrades and my children." Spoke with his best professional tone. "We are here regarding the talk between our tribe and the fire nation."
"We will take you the rest of the way there." Called the captain as several soldiers began to lower ladders. "You may come ashore and bring any goods from your ship you wish to bring with you."
"Thank you." He said as he and his men began to climb up the ladders as several of them grabbed large packs and the kids before climbing up. When they got aboard Katara and Sokka looked around with awe.
"Wow, it's so big!"
"Yeah, this is incredible!"
"Captain, do you know how long it will be till we reach the mainland and are able to meet the royal family?"
"If we go the maximum speed, we should be reaching it in 2 hours. As for the fire lord and his family, they shall be meeting you there with their personal escorts."
"Alright, thank you, the rest of my ships crew will turn back and head back to my tribe." Hakoda said with a nod.
Bato himself kept his eyes on any of the soldiers on the ship and moved over to the kids. "Katara, Sokka, don't wander off on your own."
"Ok." Sokka said with a nod as he held Katara's hand.
"Good, now remember, we may be going on a peace mission, but keep in mind we are technically in enemy territory, so never let your guard down, ok?"
"But didn't dad say we were going to make peace?" asked Katara.
"Well yes, but until a final agreement is made we aren't at peace… think of it like you're stuck in a cave with a wild snow leopard caribou during a storm, you both may not be attacking each other, but you wouldn't let your guard down, would you?"
Both kids shook their head no.
"Well think of this meeting like that, we may not be attacking each other but it doesn't mean we're friends, so be careful, ok?"
"Ok."
(Later)
Sokka and Katara looked bored while looking out at the sea over the edge of the sea.
"Sokka…"
"Yeah?"
"I'm bored…"
"No way, I'm more bored…"
"No, I am, I'm the most bored in the w- hey, is that land?"
Sokka perked up and squinted his eyes before beaming. "It is! I see land!"
"Land!"
"Land!" They cried out as Bato let out a sigh.
"It seems we've arrived, time to walk into the lion's den."
"We've come this far, which means we handle whatever happens next." said as Bato and the other men nodded and began to put on their armor.
The ship began to slow down near the harbor that had numerous other ships, and with troops on standby with what looked like a large sitting area with curtains all around it being pulled by komodo rhinos.
"That must be the royal family." said as he approached an eager Sokka and Katara. "Sokka, Katara, I need to talk to you before we meet with them."
"About what?" Sokka asked curiously. "Aren't they like us? They're the leaders of the fire nation, so they're the chief and the chief's family, right?"
"Well it's different here. What I mean is that they might do things differently here." replied . "See here they have a lord and wife, not chief."
"Huh? Why? Isn't it the same thing as a chief?"
"Yes and no… it's complicated, just promise me you two will be on your best behavior, ok?"
"Ok!"
"Good, now let's go, and remember to stay by me and follow my lead."
The water tribe and kids made their way off the ship while the large area came to a stop while two soldiers moved over and pulled the curtains aside as a man and woman walked out in red robes with two children following them.
They watched as the ship's ram was lowered and numerous water tribe warriors, donned in war paint and armor, their weapons held proudly as Hakoda and his two children led them down. When they reached the bottom they looked at the man who held an air that put fear in people, but Hakoda and the men didn't waver. The man in an elegant black and red robe stepped forward, a firm and stoic frown on his face as he cleared his throat.
"Welcome to the fire nation, we welcome you to our grand nation. I am prince Ozai, and me and my family welcome you. It is my deepest regret to inform you that my father, the fire lord is unable to attend this historic moment."
"I am , chief of the southern water tribe. May I ask why he cannot come meet with us? We had this meeting set up with him." Hakoda asked, starting to feel wary of the fire prince.
"You may, and I assure you he would have wanted to be here, but he unfortunately woke up under the weather, I assure you that tomorrow he will gladly meet you at the royal palace. Until then me and my family will entertain you during your stay here."
Hakoda and Bota shared a look while finding the reason a bit fishy, but didn't say anything as Hakoda nodded.
"Alright, we leave ourselves in your care."
"Excellent, may I offer you and your children a ride to the palace with me and my family aboard our palanquin?" Ozai offered, making sure to emphasize he was extending the offer only to Hakoda and the children.
'He's already trying to separate me from my advisors and men, but if I refuse it would be an insult… this man knows how to play politics well.' Thought Hakoda before nodding. "I would be honored, and I trust my men will be taken care of? We are new to your land and don't know our way around it of course."
"Of course, they will follow us back with my men and they will stay as honored guests in the guest palaces around the royal palace." Ozai replied coolly.
'So they will not be staying in the palace itself yet me and the kids will, that isn't ideal, but it is something we anticipated.' Hakoda thought as he nodded. "I see, that is acceptable, but I do hope they will be able to follow us into the palace with you, for we have brought several gifts for you and your family, and the fire lord, to show that we are sincere with our wishes of peace between our people."
"Of course, should the need arise for it, they can come and go as they wish, provided they are comfortable with our own soldiers accompanying them." Ozai replied as his guards led Hakoda and the kids onto the palanquin. "I would hate for them to get lost, our royal palace can be a bit overwhelming for those who are not used to it."
'So he wants to keep an eye on anything we do just in case. If I didn't have my cautiousness about him I'd almost find him respectful.' Hakoda thought as he and the kids sat themselves down as the royal family was. "I see, and does this rule apply to our children? I was hoping they would be free to interact with each other, so the youth will learn to cooperate with each other and learn about each other's culture."
"The children are free to mingle and play on their own. They'll merely be given a few of my guards to make sure they don't wander off too far." Ozai said as the palanquin began to move forward. "We may be looking for peace between our nations, but don't forget the earth nation is still at war with the fire nation, and is not above targeting children if it suits their needs."
"I am well versed in what others will do during times like this." Hakoda said with a nod.
As the two talked, Sokka and Katara began to look at the two fire nation children. One a boy, the other a girl, with the boy himself looking unsure while the girl gave off an innocent smile.
"Hi, I'm Sokka, what's your name?" Sokka asked, as the two children turned to him.
"I am Azula, and this is my brother Zuko. We're very happy to meet other children our age during this great and important meeting." She said with a smile, one that masked her true thoughts. 'Ugh, this is what passes for nobility in the water tribe? He looks like a filthy commoner, wearing dirty blue clothes and animal furs, it's a wonder he can articulate a single sentence.'
"Same. This is our first time visiting another nation." Remarked Katara.
"It is an honor to have you both here." Zuko said with a polite nod. 'I hope I don't embarrass father, I've never talked to kids from another nation.'
Soon the group began to approach the palace where the palanquin stopped at the front gates, allowing it's riders to depart. They got off it with the woman smiling.
"Welcome to our home." She said as Sokka and Katara looked around in amazement as Hakoda nodded. "We already went ahead to make a welcome feast made."
"Excellent, my family and men are hungry after our long voyage, will the fire lord be joining us?"
"I'm sorry, but my father will be busy at the moment to join us." He said as Hakoda nodded. "Also I just want to tell you now that it is custom in the fire nation that the children eat at a seperate table, so they will not be dining with us."
Hearing that made Bato narrow his eyes while the woman noticed.
"I give you my word that they will be watched, nothing will happen to them." She said soothingly. "We just believe that they should eat separately so they are allowed to have their own conversations, and aren't disrupting the adults."
"We understand completely." Spoke up Hakoda before looking at his kids. "Sokka? Katara? I want you two to be nice while we're apart."
"Yes dad." They both said with a nod.
"I expect manners from you two." Spoke the man to the boy and girl with a firm look.
"Yes father." They said with a small bow before walking away towards a small table as Sokka and Katara followed.
The adults were lead the other way to the bigger table, both areas having freshly made cuisine on both.
"So, I see you have a son and a daughter." Ozai said as they sat down. "An interesting coincidence that I also have a son and a daughter as well."
"Well I like to think of it as life giving me a chance to raise a son and daughter to make my experience more insighting." Hakoda said with a nod. 'Please don't bring up political marriages, they're too young for that.'
"I too understand. Of course I show no favoritism and expect the best from both of them." Ozai said proudly. "I am sure you expect the same from your children too, correct?"
"Yes, I am sure Sokka will make an excellent chief and Katara has a mind as sharp as a spear."
As the adults conversed, we cut over to the kids with Zuko and Azula sitting down while Katara and Sokka looked at the different food with curiosity.
"So… what is this stuff? And why is it all red?" Sokka asked as he poked the dish in front of him.
"It's spice, it makes everything tastier.' Azula said as she rolled her eyes. 'Not that a filthy ice rat from the south would know what good taste is.'
"Wow, all of this looks good." Complimented Katara.
"Well go ahead, try some." Zuko said as he began to put some of the food onto his plate.
Sokka and Katara went ahead to grab what looked good onto their plates, with less grace than Zuko and Azula by comparison. Sokka licked his lips and bit down on a piece of meat, only for his face to heat up.
"H-H-Hot! Hot hot hot!" He cried fanning his red tongue before grabbing the cup of water next to him and chugged it with Azula rolling her eyes.
"Be careful, the spice we have is usually very hot."
"Why?! Why would anyone want something this hot?!" He cried out as he finished the cup.
"We've had it our whole lives and it hasn't been that hot to us." Remarked Zuko.
"Well it's hot for us!" Sokka muttered as he reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of jerky.
"Wait, what is that?" Azula asked with a frown. "Did you bring food to a royal banquet?"
"I always bring snacks on a long trip." He said as he took a bite. "Besides, who wouldn't like blubbered seal jerky? Want a taste?"
Azula grimaced and shook her head while eating some rice. "No thank you."
"What, are you too good for some water tribe grub?" He asked with a grin. "Or maybe you lost your ability to taste stuff years ago from all this spicy stuff."
"Sokka, please." Katara whispered. "We're supposed to be on our best behavior."
"And I am, I'm sharing my culture with the princess."
'And dragging peasant food in here with real food already prepared.' Azula thought with a frown. "I will have to pass on your...generous offer."
"Well, your lost, I thought you wouldn't be able to handle it." Sokka said with a shrug, making Azula freeze and Zuko slightly groan.
'Now he's done it.'
"I'm sorry, care to repeat that?"
"Well blubbered seal jerky can be pretty strong, I don't think you'd be able to handle it, so it's ok if you want to back out and not try it." He said as he took another bite.
'Oh hell no, this savage did not just call me weak!' Thought Azula gripping her chopsticks and smiled. "Alright, if you wish me to try some, I'll gladly do so, but then you have to do something in return, it's only fair."
"I already tried some of your spiced food, didn't I?"
"Ah ah, I mean something I choose." She wagged her finger. "You tried just a little, but there's plenty more food to enjoy."
"Ok… what do you want me to try?"
"I was thinking….some of the turtle duck soup, it can be quite delicious, especially for those who like it extra hot." She smiled wider pointing to the bowls.
"Huh… ok, how about we try it at the same time." He said as he pulled out a new stick of Jerky for Azula. "Here, this is some extra blubbery jerky, it helps preserve the meat."
"Thank you." She replied, taking it while inwardly scoffing. 'He wants to play that game? I can handle this disgusting meat easily.' She thought as she put the soup in front of him. "Here you go, extra hot."
Sokka gulped and grabbed the spoon.
"We start on 3. 1….2….3." Azula said as she bit into the meat as Sokka put a spoonful of the soup into his mouth. They both froze as the flavors hit them, Azula's face turning green as Sokka's turned red.
Zuko and Katara watched as Azula spat the jerky out and held her throat, while Sokka cried out and started running around the table with his tongue out.
"T-That was horrible! That tasted like spoiled meat! Disgusting!"
"Fire! Fire! AHHH!"
"Here." Katara held her cup out which Sokka took and started chugging down.
"T-Thanks…" Sokka groaned as Azula just kept coughing, trying to get the taste out of her mouth.
"Zuko! Give me something to get this taste from my mouth!"
"Um… here's some flaming fire flakes." He said as he held them out to his sister. She took them and scarfed them quickly and sighed with relief after nearly eating them all. "Better?"
"Yes, much."
"Great, because father and the water tribe chief are approaching our table." He said as Azula's eyes widened in horror.
She quickly sat back down and regained her previous posture without missing a beat.
"Azula, Zuko, do you mind telling me why I could hear screaming from our table?" Ozai asked coldly.
"Apologies father, it was merely the water tribe boy who was caught off guard from how naturally spicy some of the food was."
"Hey! You also screamed, you couldn't handle some simple jerky!"
"Jerky? Wait, Sokka did you bring jerky with you?" asked his father.
"I always have Jerky, you taught us to do it in case we ever got lost."
"That was back home, didn't I tell you not to do that while in the fire nation?"
"Well, maybe?" He said sheepishly. "But uh… I wanted to share our food with the royal family?"
"It was quite tasty." Remarked Azula with a smile, catching Sokka and Katara off guard.
"Really? Then you can have another bite, in fact you can have the whole stick." Sokka said with a smile, making Azula pause.
"Uh, that's quite fine. It would be wrong to leave all this fresh warm food go cold, isn't that right father?"
"Indeed, now all of you sit down and remain seated, and quiet." He said as Hakoda nodded,
"Of course father." spoke Zuko as the dads returned to their table and looked at his sister. "Way to go Azula."
"Shut up Zuko, this wasn't my fault." She growled as she glared as Sokka.
"Hey, I didn't do anything." he frowned. "You were the one who was too scared to try any jerky."
"I was not scared of your rancid meat!" She growled as he glared back at her, much to Katara and Zuko's chagrin.
(Later)
"That was delicious." Smiled Katara, the kids finishing up the meal.
"It was gross." Sokka muttered.
"Now then, since we are done eating why don't the children go play in the gardens, I think Azula's friends are scheduled to be visiting soon."
"I think that sounds like a good idea. Sokka, Katara? Why don't you kids go off and play?" Hakoda said as the two nodded. "Good, now have fun and be polite, ok?"
"Ok dad." They said as Zuko and Azula led them away.
"Hopefully their time together will prove beneficial for their young minds." Ursa said as Hakado nodded. Soon the kids were in the garden where Zuko and Azula turned to the two.
"Ok, now I don't know how things work at the water tribe, but we will not be spending time together." Azula said with a frown. "You both can go hang out with Zuzu for all I care, I will be with MY friends."
"Why?" asked Katara.
"Because I don't want to play with you, especially since I doubt you will be staying here long." She said as she rolled her eyes.
"Azula, be nice." Spoke Zuko with a frown. "In fact, why don't I show Katara around while you introduce Sokka to your friends?"
"What? Why should I dumb dumb?" She frowned back.
"Because you're the one being rude." He turned to the two and bowed. "Sorry about my sister, she tends to get her way a lot and thinks she can do whatever she wants."
"I see, she reminds me of a pushy penguin.' Sokka said as he crossed his arm, making Azula frown.
"Excuse me, a WHAT?!"
"You heard me, a pushy penguin." He said as they both glared at each other.
"Well, have fun you two. Say, have you ever seen a turtleduck Katara?" Zuko asked as he began to lead her away.
"No."
"Trust me, they're way cute up close." He said, leaving the two alone as they glared at each other.
"So… are your friends as bratty as you?"
"Ha, as if I would answer a commoner." She said with a huff.
"Why do you say that like it's an insult, at least I interact with my people, and what are you then? Your dad isn't even the fire lord, you're just...just… backup royalty!"
Azula bristled and scowled and would have retorted, but heard a call of "Azula!" and turned her head, making Sokka look as two girls their age, one with brown hair and a braided ponytail, and the other with short black hair with two small buns on the side of her hair walked over. "Ah, Ty Lee, Mai, it's good to see you." She said as the girl with the ponytail squealed happily and tackled her in a hug. "Gah!"
"It's so good to see you Azula!"
"Good to see you too." Mai said with a nod before turning to Sokka. Said boy gave a wave with her looking bored. "Who are you?"
"I'm Sokka, I'm from the Southern Water tribe."
"The water tribe?" Ty Lee looked up while getting off Azula. "Where's that at?"
"It's at the south pole. So… you're Azula's friends?"
"Yep."
"Yeah! She's the best, right?" Ty Lee asked happily.
"No, she's mean and rude." Sokka said with a frown. "She burned my mouth and hates jerky!"
"It's not my fault your palette is too barbaric to enjoy real food!"
"Jerky is real food!"
"No it's not!" She shouted as she stomped her foot. "It was disgusting and is peasant food!"
"Oh yeah? Well your food is all disgusting and over cooked and horrible! I bet you've never even had pickled sea prunes!"
"I would sooner let Ty Lee give me a makeover than try whatever those are!"
"Really?" Ty Lee asked excitedly as Mai rolled her eyes.
'This meeting is going to end poorly, I can tell.'
"But guess what? I wouldn't know what they taste like since they're all the way back in your tribe. Oh well." smirked Azula smugly.
"Ha, that's what you think." He said with a smirk as he crossed his arms. "We brought some of all our food with us as gifts to the royal family!"
Azula lost her smirk while Sokka pointed at her face.
"Which means you can try them and see for yourself how good they are."
"T-That...I…"
"Or you could let...Ty Lee was it?"
"Yep cutie!"
"O-Ok, or you could let Ty Lee here give you that makeover you talked about." He blushed with the comment with Azula frowning while he crossed his arms and smirked. "Or are you scared?"
"N-No, I'm not! Not at all! B-But we can't get them right now, so there's nothing we can do." She said as she perked up and regained her smirk.
"We could just sneak in and grab some." Mai spoke up. "It should be easy, and it would be fine since they're gifts, right?"
"Oooh, that sounds really fun." perked up Ty Lee.
"Alright, let's do it, are you in princess, or are you scared?"
"Scared? Scared? Ha! Sneaking in to grab something like that is child's play." Azula said smugly. "In fact, this is childsplay, let's go now so I can prove that all your food is garbage!"
Sokka glared at the remark, but didn't say anything as the four of them headed off.
(After a long scene of sneaking in and taking the food, back at the garden)
"Alright, here they are!" Sokka said as he held up a large jug. "You ready?"
"I...yes, but how about we all try them, so we can all taste your culture?" Azula said as Mai and Ty Lee's eyes widened.
"That's a great idea." Sokka said with a smile as he opened the jar, releasing a pungent stench that made all three girls cover their noses.
"Azula, what are you doing?" Whispered Mai.
"I am choosing the lesser of two evils." She groaned.
"I meant dragging me and Ty Lee into this."
"If I have to suffer, it only makes sense for you two to know what I have to deal with."
"Why?!" She groaned as Sokka reached into the jar and grabbed a purple, crinkled vegetable.
"Feel free to grab one, they're floating in the brine." He spoke before biting into one with a hum while Ty Lee looked in and gulped while forcing herself to reach in and grab one. She lightly whimpered as she pulled it out.
"So...uh...what does this...taste like?" She asked nervously.
"Kinda crunchy." He said with a shrug. "A little bit tart, sour and sweet at the same time. Try it."
She looked at the prune and shivered before making herself take a bite out of it and chewed. She paused as she kept chewing.
"Well, what do you think?" Sokka asked as Ty Lee paused before she began to cough and spit out the prune.
"Too...sour!" She groaned as he rolled his eyes.
"They're not that sour. Now then, you and Azula want to take one?" Sokka said as he held the jar towards the other two girls.
"I'm good." Spoke Mai with her hands up.
"Ok, maybe later, now how about you Azula, will you take one or do you want a makeover?" Sokka asked with a grin.
She grimaced seeing the prune and glanced at Ty Lee who wiped at her tongue. 'Crap, did this peasant just trap me? I can't say no and I can't say yes!'
"Well?" Sokka asked with a small smirk. "Come on princess, go ahead and take one...unless you're scared? Or maybe you can't handle it?"
"I can handle it easily." She said as she grabbed a prune. "If you can do it then so can I!"
Sokka smirked as Azula bit into it with a grimace and forced herself to chew while Mai found odd enjoyment from this. 'Huh, this is...oddly fun.' She pondered as Azula forced herself to swallow the bite.
"T-There...I...did it."
"So? How'd it taste?"
"Awful! How can you eat that garbage?"
"Awful?! I'll have you know that was a delicacy in the south pole!"
"If you call that a delicacy then I feel more sorry for your tribe than before!"
"Hey! At least we work for our food, I bet you've never had to do any work for anything before you spoiled princess!" Sokka shot back as the two glared at each other.
"Well, it looks like those two are close friends." Groaned Ty Lee.
"I can't tell which one is being more childish." Remarked Mai.
"At least I'm not an uncultured swine like you! I have class, education, something you lack!"
"I have plenty of class and education! I was taught how to start a fire, fish, skin fish, and how to bottle food so it stays nice and fresh through winter."
"I meant real education, not servant stuff!"
"Hey! I need to know that to survive, I bet you wouldn't last a day without your servants!"
"Oh please, I could get by far more than a day without them."
"Then prove it!"
"Are they just going to be doing challenges the entire time?" Ty Lee asked curiously.
"With Azula, I can believe it." Mai said with a sigh. "We might want to stop them or we'll just be watching them make fools of each other all day long."
"First one to reach the other side of the garden wins!"
"You're on! Ready set go!"
"Oh! I wanna play!" Ty lee giggled as she shot off, soon outpacing Azula and Sokka.
"Hey!" the two cried with Mai sighing and shaking her head.
'Maybe I should see if Zuko wants to hang out.' Mai thought as Ty lee reached the other side of the garden.
"Yes! I win! I'm the best!"
"Ty Lee, that doesn't count." Frowned Azula with Sokka panting and feeling really warm due to his coat. "It was meant to be a contest between me and this commoner."
"So….kka…." he let out before wiping at his head. "Phew, it's really hot out."
"Maybe you could take your coat off." suggested Ty Lee. "It's probably too hot for you to keep it on, right?"
"Ha….ha….yeah, that makes sense." He said as he began to take off the coat. When it was unzipped he dropped it down and sighed in relief. "Ah, much better."
"I want a new challenge, this one doesn't count!"
"Aw, are you salty you lost twice princess?" He teased making her puff up her cheeks and glare at him.
"I am NOT 'salty', which quite frankly is a dumb word to use. The correct term is upset."
"Nah, you seem pretty salty." He chuckled as Mai approached them.
"How about we play an actual game instead of damaging Azula's pride?"
"Sure, like what?" Sokka asked as Azula glared at Mai before smirking.
"How about we play hit the apple? We can put it on Mai's head and then try to knock it off."
Mai looked caught off guard with Sokka smirking.
"Is that all? Ha! I'm an expert when it comes to using a boomerang, so I could knock off an apple no problem."
"Then let's play, and when you fail I can use my bending to knock it off." She gloated with a smirk. 'Ha, take that peasant, I am a firebender, I am one of the elite, something you clearly aren't!'
"Huh? You can do weird magic?"
"...magic?" She looked at him confused before smirking and covered her mouth. "Wait...you think bending is...hahaha….hahahaha….HAHAHAHAHA!"
"What? Is it weird to think that you controlling fire is magic? Sounds pretty magical to me, and it's not like I can ask a bender back home, your people took them all!" he threw back with a glare, making Azula snicker and try to stop laughing.
"Bending is as simple as breathing for royalty. But if calling it magic makes you feel better, go right ahead."
"S-Shut up! At least I'm smart, to be the leader in the southern water tribe you have to be smart, unlike here where all you have to do is play with fire!" He shot back angrily, making her stop laughing.
"Are you insuinating I'm….stupid?" She growled as Mai and Ty Lee paled.
"Well my tribe isn't the one who got themselves stuck in a hundred year war and hasn't found a way out of it, so maybe I am!"
"Oh that's it! We're making a wager! Whoever can knock the apple off first gets to make the loser do whatever they say!"
"Fine by me!" he shot back as they glared at each other.
"Wow, they really don't like each other." Whispered Ty Lee.
"I know." Mai said with a sigh.
"Ty Lee! Put an apple on your head too! I'll be aiming for Mai and Sokka will get you!"
"Ok." Her friend grabbed an apple and balanced it on her head.
"Now then, let me show you why the fire nation is the greatest nation in the world!" smirked Azula before she began to take several movements and stances and thrust her foot out, firing a stream of fire that hit the apple. As she did this Sokka threw his Boomerang towards the apple on Ty Lee.
Both girls closed their eyes, expecting the worst. What happened was the apple on Ty Lee getting knocked off, but the one on Mai stayed and caught fire.
"Ha, yes! I win!" Sokka smirked as Azula frowned.
"Two out of three."
"Nope, one and done, and I won!"
"No! I said two out of three!"
"Uh, guys?"
"WHAT?!"
"The apple's still on fire."
"Oh, sorry." Sokka said as he raced over and knocked the apple of Mai's head. "Still, I won and now you have to do what I say Azula."
"He's right you know." spoke up Ty Lee. "You did say-"
"I know what I said Ty Lee." growled Azula through gritted teeth.
"You also didn't give a time limit, so I think he gets to tell you what to do until you beat him at something." Mai said Azula just let out another groan.
"You are not helping Mai."
"Ha! She's right! Now then… I want you to say I'm better and smarter than you." Sokka said with a grin.
"What?"
"You heard me. You gotta say I'M better and smarter than you." He said as Azula's eye began to twitch. "Come on, say it, say it!"
'This arrogant little peasant!' She thought as her hands began to smoke. "You….you…"
"Come on, say it~"
"You….are….better….and smarter….than me." She choked out as Sokka grinned happily.
"Thank you, was that so hard?"
"You have NO idea." She growled.
"Oh, ok, then go ahead and say it again." He said as Mai and Ty Lee looked at each other nervously.
"Azula's gonna kill him, isn't she?" Ty Lee whispered.
"Big time."
"What did you say, PEASANT?"
"I said say it again, go on, just keep doing it until it's not hard anymore."
She growled with her hands steaming more before flames ignited from them, making all of them feel the heat and Sokka to look nervous. "Oh that's it!"
"Yipe!" He let out before she sent flames at him, which he ducked, before he took off running with her in pursuit.
"Get back here and take your punishment like a man!"
Ty Lee and Mai watched this with Mai sitting down.
"Might as well wait until she calms down, which might take a while."
"Yeah, I just hope Azula doesn't burn him TOO bad."
(Later)
"So, how was your run?" Ty Lee asked with a smile.
"Long...and….scary." panted Sokka laying on his stomach while looking almost burned with parts of his hair singed while Azula had left them alone to get something to drink.
"Yeah, Azula can get like that when she doesn't get her way and when she's mad, and you did both." Remarked Mai bluntly while Sokka rolled on his back as Ty Lee patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't let it get to you. She's actually really fun and nice when you get to know her."
"I know that she hates losing and can't take a joke." He groaned. "Is she always like this?"
"Nope, you just really pushed her buttons."
"I know something that'll cheer you up." Spoke Ty Lee before she stood up and began to do several back flips and balanced on her hands with ease. "Ta da."
"Whoa, how did you do that?" He asked as he sat up.
"I'm learning about acrobatics." She said with a smile. "It's really fun!"
"Acro-what?"
"She's learning how to jump around a lot." Mai responded. "Trust me, it's harder than it looks."
"Yeah, and I'm learning about chakra and chi point's, it's super cool! One day I might even be able to turn off someone's bending!"
"Like that'll happen." Remarked Mai dryly.
"Hey, it could happen! I almost got this new technique down that paralyzes someone's right arm!" she huffed.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Mai said as she shook her head.
"I can too! Let me touch your arm!"
"No… but you can do it to Sokka."
"Wait, what?"
"Oh! That could work." Smiled Ty Lee before moving over and held Sokka's arm. "Don't worry, I read it's quick and not that painful."
"Wait, I do-"
CRACK
"There we go, done!" Smiled Ty Lee as Sokka yelped and felt his arm feel like a noodle.
"W-Wha...how...is this permanent?!"
"No, it should only last for… an hour or two?" guessed Ty Lee with Sokka sitting up and held his arm. "The book said it can vary depending on if it's done right."
"Well, did you?" He asked nervously.
"I think so." She said with a shrug. "Either way that was fun!"
"Y-yeah...fun…" He muttered while poking his arm and gulped in worry.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Mai said with a shrug.
"You're not the one who can't feel their arm!"
"Please, she said it'll be better in an hour or so, and think of it as a reason Azula can't beat you up now."
"Would that even stop her?"
"...probably not." Mai said with a shrug. "She was pretty mad."
"Yeah...hey! What if you try to make it up to her, like in that book you and I read Mai!"
"...that was a romance novel Ty Lee." deadpanned Mai.
"But it could work." She said with a smile before leaning in. "And imagine Azula's face if he accidentally confesses, it'll be so funny!"
"Confesses what?" asked Sokka, looking confused.
"Oh, we're just planning out how you'll get Azula to stop trying to kill you, but you have to do EXACTLY what we say, ok?" Smiled Ty Lee with Mai shaking her head.
"What's this 'we' part? Since when was I part of it?"
"Since now, you've been recruited to help!"
"...can I refuse?"
"Nope~"
Mai sighed and shook her head again. "Fine, but when Azula gets mad, I'm telling her you roped me into it."
"Sure, but you won't have to because this will work!"
"So...what's the plan?"
(Later)
"Ty Lee? Mai? Peasant? Where are you?" Called Azula coming back to the garden and saw they were gone. "Wait… did that peasant convince them to ditch me?!"
She frowned at the sheer idea and started looking around harder. "Ty Lee! Mai! Answer me if you can hear me!" As she heard silence she began to grow angry, but also sad. 'Did… did they leave me?'
She stopped under the tree and rubbed her arm, a small habit when she started to feel down, but stopped herself and shook her head. "Don't be silly, those two are loyal, they probably just had to get that peasant when he went off wandering on his own I bet."
"Now Azula, is that any way to talk to your new friend?"
Azula whirled around and frowned when she spotted Sokka. "So, you decided to show yourself?"
"Yes, and I have something to say to you Azula." He said as he walked towards her before stopping and getting on one knee.
"What?" she asked, caught off guard and confused. 'What is he up to?'
"Azula, I know we haven't known each other long, but I can say for sure that you are someone dear to me." he said, remembering what Ty Lee had told him to say.
"What?" Azula spoke, going wide eyed and REALLY caught off guard.
"Yes, it's true, I know now that you are someone I consider a dear friend, and hopefully one day, as something more." He continued, trying to remember each word with Azula going even more wide eyed and speechless while Mai and Ty Lee watched this with the latter trying hard to keep herself quiet.
'This is hilarious! Oh! Azula is getting so red! I wonder what she's gonna do?' Ty Lee thought as she barely managed to keep herself from laughing.
'This won't end well.' thought Mai who found each line cheesy and made her almost barf and gag. 'I'm sticking with more morbid books after this.'
"So now, Azula, what do you have to say?" Sokka asked as he tried not to gulp nervously. 'Why did she want me to say this, this sounds like something from a bad story! Azula's gonna kill me any second now, look how red she is!'
'Did he….just propose to me?!' She thought as her face got more and more red. 'I-I...this is too soon! Oh agni, what do I say?! He's a water savage, a barbarian but… no one's ever talked to me like that before, not even my own family…' She thought while looking down with her hair shadowing her eyes, which made Sokka feel even more nervous.
"Um...Azula?" He asked nervously. 'Ok, any second now she'll snap and burn me to a crisp, Ty Lee tricked me, didn't she?'
"You've got some guts, I'll give you that." Azula said, her hair still covering her face. "Saying that to me after we only met, after so little time together, you're pretty bold for a southern water tribe peasant."
"Oh, thanks." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck. 'Wait, did it work? Is she not mad at me anymore?'
"No boys ever had the guts to say something like that to me."
"Well, I guess I'm the first then, huh? So what do you say?"
"I say….if you have guts like that, I might consider it."
"Really? Great!" he said with a grin as Ty Lee and Mai's eyes widened.
"Did...did she just say she'll consider it?" Mai whispered.
"She did." Spoke Ty Lee bouncing on her heels with a wide smile. "I just hooked them up!"
"No, you just got Azula excited to possibly marry a guy who proposed to her without even knowing he did."
"It still counts~"
"Only if he doesn't say anything stupid and makes it backfire." She hissed. "What if he says something like he feels the same for you and me, then Azula would flip and kill us all."
"Oh come on, that's just silly."
"Great! Now we all can be great friends, you, me, Mai, and Ty Lee!"
"...I think you underestimated how dumb Sokka is." Muttered Mai with Azula now looking confused.
"What are you on about?"
"Well, I think it would be great if we all got along, and that includes Mai and Ty Lee, right? Aren't they both our friends?"
"Well they're my friends, but….I suppose if they allowed you to be their friend, I won't stop them." She said as she rubbed her chin. "But they will not be part of our relationship if we do decide to pursue one, you will be mine and mine alone."
"Uh….ok, sounds fair." He replied, confused by what she meant by that, but went with it.
"Oh my god, they're both so dense when it comes to things like this." Groaned Ty Lee.
"Congrats Ty Lee, you went ahead and got this whole thing started." Mai said with a sigh. "When this blows up in all our faces I'm going to blame you."
"Just keep in mind, I expect only perfection for the ceremony."
"Um...ok? What ceremony?"
"Ah, I suppose you'll have to be taught our customs for the ceremony, but we have plenty of time for that I suppose." She smiled while he got up. "Not to worry, I'll be sure to teach you all of them."
"Ok, I guess I did come here to learn about the fire nation." Sokka said as he scratched the back of his head.
"We should put an end to this before it horribly backfires."
"Good call." Ty Lee said as she got up, only for the door to slam open and Hakado to run out with Katara under one of his arms.
"SOKKA! We're leaving now!"
"But why?"
"Negotiations broke down, Ozai refused to listen, things got heated and then I kicked him in the crotch, now we gotta go!" He spoke before rushing over and picked his son up and booked it away, the girl's eyes widening and Azula dropping her mouth open hearing that.
"W-What? B-but...I….the wedding…" She spoke up, with Ty Lee and Mai walking over as Azula didn't notice they came from the bush.
"Huh, that didn't end how I thought it would, but at least we aren't in trouble." Whispered Mai to Ty Lee.
"True, but I'm more shocked by what he said. Kicking Azula's own dad….down there? I've heard that hurts, a lot."
"Yeah, I wonder what he said to make the southern water tribe chief so mad?"
Azula snapped out of it and growled while flames erupted from her hands. "He did WHAT to father?!"
"Apparently kick him in the balls? That is what he said." Mai said cooly as Azula growled.
"That impudent FOOL! He's essentially declared war!"
"Well, he did say your father refused to listen to any of their demands, maybe he had no choice?" Ty Lee asked. "Maybe he knew he had to escape quickly and decided to incapacitate the strongest firebender in the palace?"
"Oh he will suffer for that." Fumed Azula while we cut away to the chief, his kids, and his men as they bolted from the palace with soldiers chasing them.
"Dad, what happened, why are we leaving so soon?"
"This was a trap son, all the firelord's demands essentially made us slaves, and when I asked for the release of the waterbenders they took they told me they were all dead." He said as his kids gasped. "They also demanded that we hand over any natural resources and any other waterbenders that were living in the south pole, this nation never saw this meeting as a peace conference, but rather us surrendering to them!"
"That's horrible!" Spoke Katara while the men used their shields to block any flames that nearly hit them.
"Yes, luckily I have a backup plan and had men come here several weeks before we arrived, and they should have a ship ready to leave at a moment's notice waiting for us." Hakoda said with a grin.
"But we could kick their butts now." Spoke up Sokka.
"No Sokka, we couldn't. We need to get out of here, get back home, and come up with a new plan." He said with a frown. "Luckily the fire nation shouldn't have that much of a reason to attack us, out of all the nations we're the smallest, and any resources they want like coal or gold is miles below the ice, out of their reach."
Eventually the group managed to escape the palace and got onto a ship that had been disguised as a supply ship from the fire nation and were off at high speed, using a makeshift smoke screen from some supplies to help cover their trail. Soon they were out of fire nation waters and were well on their way back home.
"So, kids… how was your time with the fire nation kids?" Hakoda asked, trying to pass the time.
"Well at first when I talked with Zuko, he seemed really shy." Admitted Katara. "But he wasn't mean or rude, he was actually really nice when we started talking about each other."
"Well that's nice, suppose not all fire nation citizens are horrible monsters.' Hakoda nodded. "And what about you Sokka, did you have fun with...Azuka, was that her name?"
"Azula, and….it was odd, to say the least. She seemed really smug and arrogant, but I managed to beat her at some games which got her mad." He smirked with pride. "But then I did some things that her friends suggested and she got kind of weird and she turned red."
"What did you do?"
"Well, I told her that I saw her as a friend and that one day I hoped we could be more?"
"Oh really now? More?" His father smiled knowingly. "I gotta say Sokka, didn't think you'd take a liking to her that fast."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, you just asked her to one day be your girlfriend, or something more." His father chuckled as Katara blushed.
"He did?"
"Yes, he did, but I doubt that will actually happen given what just occurred. To be honest I'd be surprised if you two even saw each other again."
"B-B-But I was told it would get her to stop picking on me!" Sokka protested as his face heated up.
"And I bet she did, didn't she? Hehe, don't worry about it, I bet she'll forget about this in a week."
"Sokka has a crush~" Katara laughed as Sokka tried to protest.
"N-No, I don't! I-I bet you have a crush on Zuko though!"
"I do not!" She frowned back with a light tint on her cheeks.
"Ha! Yes you do, you're blushing right now!"
"Wow Hakoda, somehow both your kids fell for some fire nation brats, Kya is gonna kill you." Bato chuckled.
"Well that just means they inherited my natural charm."
"Or incredible bad luck." Chuckled his friend. "They both fell in love with the enemy, and the kids of the man you just kicked in the nuts."
"Well I wouldn't worry about it too much. Right now all we can worry about is what to do for now." He spoke seriously while his kids started to try and slap at each other.
"Take that back!"
"No, you take it back!"
(Timeskip)
It had been years since that fateful day, and much had happened. Katara and Sokka found Aang, ran into Zuko, which was an awkward meeting on many levels and many other shenanigans and events had happened.
Right now though they were going to return a small toddler in an exchange for Bumi, since they wound up with the kid by accident, and with Omashu taken over by the fire nation. But due to all the confusion while everyone was trying to leave, a certain water tribe man had been left behind.
Sokka himself was carefully peaking out through a sewer grate in an alley and climbed up when he saw the coast was clear. 'Ok, it looks like it's safe, now I just need to go get some food then get back to the sewer, easy.'
He made sure his bag was on and peaked out from the alley to see no soldiers were around and discretely made his way to the market area. 'Ok, keep calm, you just have to make sure you aren't taken prisoner until you hear from Aang or Katara.'
He headed down the street while completely unaware two other people were going the same way.
"So, this is Omashu, seems… underwhelming, this is the city that resisted the fire nation for a hundred years?"
"Yup."
"Seems vacant. Tell me Ty Lee, have you seen any citizens of the city? All I've seen are fire nation soldiers and the colonists they brought with them, no one of Earth Nation descent."
"Well there was that plague, maybe they're all sick?"
"Wait, what plague?" Asked the other figure, who was revealed to be Azula.
"Oh, I heard one of the guards talking about it, apparently it was something called a 'pentapox', a lot of citizens had it so they opened up the gate to get them out of the city."
Azula stopped walking and looked at Ty Lee with a raised eyebrow. "Ty Lee, what in this world is 'pentapox'?"
"The plague the people of Omashu had, or at least that's what the guards said." She said with a shrug.
"I mean the symptoms. If there was a plague, then why aren't the soldiers cleaning the streets? For that matter, why wasn't I warned ahead of time? We should be wearing masks if it's contagious." She said with a frown. "If it's bad enough they were letting people leave to go die in the desert then there should have been precautions! How did everyone get sick so fast?!"
"I dunno." Replied Ty Lee making Azula facepalm with a groan.
"I'm going to be talking with Mai's father personally about this completely idiotic action." She growled in annoyance. "Really, this is just silly and ridiculous! Such incompetence, ugh!"
"Now now, why don't you try those breathing exercises you told me about to control your anger?"
Azula closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing down.
"There, do you feel better?"
"A tad… thank you." She said as she collected herself.
"See? All you need to do is be calm and collected, and you can manage anything." She said with a smile. "I bet Sokka would be surprised to see you controlling your anger if he was here."
"Ty Lee? What have I said about that name?" Asked Azula with her eyes closed and a warning to her voice.
"Um… to not too?" Ty Lee said nervously.
"Exactly. I don't want to think about him, what he said, because right now we have bigger things to take care of." She said calmly as the air around her heated up a bit. 'I can't allow myself any distractions.'
"Ok, ok…" Ty Lee said before looking up and spotting said blue clad man walking down the street towards them. Her eyes widened with Azula not noticing as she resumed walking. "Uh, Azula?"
"What Ty Lee?"
"You know how I couldn't say Sokka's name? How would you feel about seeing him in about… five seconds?"
"Ty Lee, if this is some kind of-" Azula started before Ty Lee grabbed her head and pointed it at Sokka, who still had not noticed them. Her eyes widened, quickly noticing the older male as the boy she met and was caught completely off guard. "I...wha...what?" She said as she tried to process what was happening. "How...why….why isn't he at the south pole?!"
"I don't know, but it's definitely him. I can tell by his aura." Ty Lee said with a nod. "Should we go say hi?"
Azula narrowed her eyes and went right at Sokka who was looking at an abandoned stand with fruit.
"Hello? Is anyone there? Is...is it ok if I take some fruit?" He called out as he looked around. 'Ok, just pretend that you don't know that literally everyone who isn't from the fire nation is gone, you're a normal, confused guy.'
"YOU!"
"Huh?" Sokka said as he turned around in both confusion and fear, only to find himself grabbed by his collar. His eyes met with Azula's, who looked infuriated.
"You….what are you doing here?"
"Huh? What are you talking ab- wait...Azula?" He said in surprise. "Is that you?"
"Of course it's me!" She yelled while he felt his collar getting hot. "After all these years you can't tell?"
"B-But I said your name." He gulped, feeling every part of his body tell him to be careful. "W-What are you doing in Omashu?"
"I asked you first!"
"I-I was uh...travelling? I was hoping to find...supplies for my tribe when uh….ah! When the fire nation attacked and took over I hid, I didn't know if I'd be allowed to leave?"
Azula narrowed her eyes while Ty Lee walked over and waved.
"Hi Sokka, remember me?"
"Um...Ty Lee?"
"Yay! You remember!" She cheered happily. "Oh it's been so many years, and you've grown up so much."
"Uh, you too." he admitted, glancing at her while Azula tugged at his collar.
"You're coming with us, now."
"W-What? Why?" He asked nervously. 'Crap, she's arresting me!'
"After what you promised me all those years ago, I aim to collect." She spoke before she began to drag him by the collar with him unable to break her grip. "Ty Lee, if he tries to make a break for it, stop him."
"You got it." She said with a salute.
"Wait, what?" He said in confusion. "A promise?"
"Yes, the promise you made before your father dragged you off after assaulting my father. Speaking of which, he's still held quite the sore spot for that."
"Had it coming." Muttered Sokka to himself. "Bastard didn't listen to dad at all and wanted to kill more people in the tribe."
"Quiet, we can talk about that after the ceremony, and I do expect a traditional fire nation ceremony, no southern tribe nonsense, I want it to be proper."
"Hey! We at the southern tribe have great ceremonies." He countered crossing his arms. "Also, what ceremony are you talking about?"
"Marriage ceremony." She rolled her eyes with him going wide eyed.
"Say what?!"
"You promised to me that in the future we could get married, of course I gave in when you wanted to include Ty Lee and Mai, but I suppose it won't be the end of the world."
Sokka went slack jawed and silent the rest of the way.
(Later)
And found himself tied to a chair while Mai and Ty Lee stood guard at the door with Azula gone to talk to Mai's father.
"This really is a small world." Remarked Mai while sharpening one of her knives. "Who knew we'd run into each other again?"
"Yeah, and right when we're all together again after so long for the first time? It's perfect!" Ty Lee hummed happily.
"This...this can't be happening….that marriage thing...we were kids! A-And we're enemies now!" Spoke Sokka, trying to get his mind together. "I mean, I don't remember marriage being brought up!"
"That part is slightly our fault, remember the words you said to her and then included us?" Mai whispered to him. "Azula thought you were talking about marriage, and well, she hasn't exactly gotten a lot of love in her life so she agreed."
"But you said she'd just stop being a bully!" He cried out while Ty Lee smiled.
"Well in a way it was true."
"So...you mean….oh spirits! I really did propose!" He cried out going pale.
"Yes, and she's been focused on that ever since you left, to be honest it grounded her a bit and kept her from going out of control." Mai said as Ty Lee nodded. "Anytime she would start to lose control she could calm herself down and mutter something about you."
"B-But….this is crazy, she wants all of us to get married! How are you two ok with this?!"
"Well we DID have time to think it over." Smiled Ty Lee front flipping over near him and leaned against the chair. "Honestly I didn't mind since you were cute at the time, and you still are."
"And for me it was a bit harder, at the time I had a small crush on Zuko, but I got over it, apparently Azula wasn't the only one who got a crush on someone from the southern water tribe during your visit." Remarked Mai putting her blade away with a sigh. "Seems he got something for your sister and it never left."
"What!" Sokka gaped and looked at his lap. "So...all those awkward moments….oh spirits no! She had a crush on him!?"
"Yes." Mai said with a sigh of annoyance. "He wouldn't shut up about her, so I moved on, and here we are."
"B-But...I can't!" He sputtered out. "I mean I've gotta-" 'Wait! If I say what I'm really here for, they'll know about Aang and the others!'
"Gotta what?"
"Gotta...get back to the tribe? Yeah! I can't just disappear!" He lied with a nervous sweat. "I mean, with my dad busy, it's up to me to help the tribe with food and hunting."
"I'm sure Azula will send food and supplies to her new husband's tribe." Ty Lee said as she patted his head.
"But what about the children? I mean I have to help teach them this stuff so they know what to do." He said as he struggled to get out of the chair. "I have to go! I can't stay here and get married!"
"Kids have a tendency to learn quick on their own. Besides, I'm pretty sure the only kids Azula will care about are the ones you get to making." Remarked Mai dryly with Sokka blushing. "Besides, your dad and the other men in the tribe will help teach them."
"B-But-" he said, trying to find any excuse that didn't involve revealing he was traveling with Aang. "W-What will the fire nation say, huh? I doubt her father will approve, right?"
"Hmm, he does have a point." Admitted Ty Lee who wound up sitting on Sokka's lap without realizing it, making him turn brighter red. "I bet this will cause a big stir, even if she was marrying someone Ozai would approve of she gave no notice and didn't ask for his permission, he isn't even here too, and that's usually frowned on."
"R-Right, so how about you let me go and we go our own ways?"
"Not a chance." spoke Mai bluntly with a frown. "The last thing we need is Azula going on a rampage, especially if she sees Ty Lee trying to get you out of your clothes. Might wanna get off him."
"Aw….fine." She huffed as she got up. "But Mai's right, we're more scared of Azula than we are of Ozai."
'Oh great, could this get any worse?' He thought with a groan as the door opened to show a pissed off Azula.
"Mai, your family fucked up and lost your brother!"
"I already know that."
"And we just got a ransom note demanding we give them king Bumi!"
"And are we?"
"No! It's a powerful earth bending king for a two year old!"
"Then why are you mad?"
"Because we can't get married until we deal with this!"
Sokka sighed in relief while Azula tried to calm her breathing down.
"Do you wanna sit down?" asked Ty Lee.
"Yes, I do." She groaned as she rubbed her head.
'Wait, there's no chairs, so where is she gonna s-' he was cut off when he found her sitting on his lap, making him stiffen up. "A-Azula? Why are you s-"
"Shush, I need to think Sokka." She said as she leaned back. She sighed feeling him against her back and slowly relaxed. "Ok….ok, this could work, we can get the baby back and capture the ones who kidnapped him, we'll meet them in the city for the trade off."
"Which puts my brother at risk." Reminded Mai with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I have a plan, if my sources are right this might be the Avatar who wants King Bumi. Think about it, everyone in the city hates Bumi because he surrendered, so why would someone demand his freedom unless they were after his earth bending skills? The avatar might be after him because he needs an earth bending teacher, and since the current avatar is a monk he would never harm Mai's brother."
"But we haven't seen the avatar face to face." Remarked Ty Lee with her finger on her chin. "What if he's the not so nice kind of monk?"
"Ty Lee, he's a monk, trust me, it'll be fine." Azula said as she rolled her eyes.
"Ok, and what do we do until the trade off?" Ty lee asked curiously. "And what should Sokka do during it?"
"I'll have him stay here and wait until we get back." She said as Sokka gulped nervously.
'Crap, this might be my one change to escape! I have to go with them!' "Uh, or, or, I could come with."
"Why?" Azula asked as she craned her head back to look at him. "Why would you want to come watch us capture the avatar?"
"Uh...because….I wanna make sure it all goes alright for you." He said quickly. "Besides, we were separated for so long, wouldn't it be horrible if we were again?"
"Hmmmm." She rubbed her chin to think it over. "I suppose you are right about that."
"So Sokka's coming with us? Great! After we capture the avatar we can go out to a nice restaurant!" beamed Ty Lee.
"You would suggest that." Remarked Mai.
"Because it would be fun!"
"Cool, so...can someone untie me now?"
"I will, after we leave for the meeting." Azula said with a small smirk. "I think I'll be staying here for now~"
"W-What?"
"Well, I'm nice and comfortable here, so why would I get up?"
"Probably worried he'll get too excited." piped up Mai.
"Well, if he's gonna stay like that can we move him to a couch so we can all sit down?"
"No." Frowned Azula.
"Aw come on, if you want us all to get married we have to share, right?" Pouted Ty Lee. "It's unfair to hog him all to yourself."
"I'm the one he proposed to first, so I get first dibs and the most time with him." Azula said as if that made sense. "You'll get your turn, eventually."
"Fine." Mai said with a nod. 'I doubt that, Azula doesn't like to share her toys.'
'I'll give them their turn, after me and Sokka get to work on producing an heir.' Azula thought with a faint blush. 'A-After we're married of course, a-and then it will be ok, really!'