The Royal Procession, shortened after the departure of half the Royal Guards, left Yu Dao right on schedule. Before taking off, Azula said her farewells to the Morishita family, thanking them for their hospitality politely.
"We will miss having you around, Princess," the Mayor said, smiling kindly at her. "Good luck on your travels!"
"I hope you win your next fights," said Kori, smiling at Azula. "And… I hope we'll meet again someday."
"In the sponsor's balcony next time, if everything goes as intended," said Azula, smirking at the girl.
Kori beamed as she nodded enthusiastically. Her admiration towards Azula seemed to know no ends. Azula climbed aboard her palanquin shortly after wrapping up their conversation, and the Procession made its way out of the city, struggling to pass through the crowd of curious onlookers that packed the streets once again, who hoped to catch a glimpse of Azula's palanquin one last time.
The Procession progressed all the way through the mountains east of Yu Dao. After around an hour of walking, they found what they had been looking for: the train-tank Azula had requested from the Mechanist.
"Woah! What is this thing?!" Sokka exclaimed, staring at the machine before him in awe.
Sokka had never seen anything like the train-tank. The vehicle consisted of several metallic wagons linked together, spearheaded by the railway engine car. The plow of the first wagon was shaped as an arrow, lined with spikes to help the vehicle pierce through any obstacles that might stand in its way. There was a chimney right above the engine car, which prompted Sokka to guess the machine was powered through fire, or else there would be no need to vent any smoke.
"This thing is seriously cool," he said, ducking to get a good look at the wheels of the machine. "It's creepy, but cool. Who built this?"
"That would have been the Mechanist up north," said a Royal Guard near him, startling Sokka. "And it's called a train-tank."
Sokka bolted up again and stared at the man beside him.
"I wasn't really expecting an answer… but thanks!" he said, smiling.
"It's the least I could do," muttered the man, sighing.
Sokka only realized the man's voice was familiar after he uttered that phrase. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if he'd be right to assume who the man under the mask was…
"Taro?"
"When did I tell you my name?" said the guard, genuinely surprised.
"Oh, you didn't," said Sokka, smiling sideways. "The Captain called you Taro when he asked me if I had brought you to the inn back then…"
"I see now," said Taro, smiling back even though Sokka couldn't see it.
"He said you had some sort of disease…?"
"Uh… yes, I do," said the man, sighing. "It would be fine if I had my medicine with me, but I left it in the mainland."
"Isn't that a little careless of you…?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow.
"People often say I'm not the sharpest man in the world," said the man, shrugging and sighing again. "But I wanted to thank you for taking your time to help me back then. I didn't have the chance to do it before…"
"Ah, no need to thank me," said Sokka, smiling proudly. "I did what any man would've done!"
Taro chuckled a little and patted Sokka on the shoulder. The gladiator smiled and the man walked away towards the back of the train, where Azula's palanquin was being loaded onto a cargo wagon. The Princess was overseeing the entire operation, focused on directing the guards and palanquin bearers as they brought everyone's luggage into the train.
Sokka lurked towards her nervously. After her odd mood swings during the day of his fight, Azula hadn't showed him much kindness on the following days… although she wasn't that irritated whenever he tried to initiate a conversation. Their exchanges never lasted long, but Sokka thought that was much better than nothing.
Sokka cleared his throat once Azula stopped giving out orders at last. Her eyebrows twitched at the sound. It was the way in which she acknowledged his presence nowadays. She glanced at him sideways, a frown prominent on her face.
"Y-you don't need to look at me like that…" said Sokka, raising his hands as if surrendering to her. "I just wanted to ask a few questions about this thing."
"And why would I want to answer them?" she retorted, looking back at the bearers as one of them squealed, holding his foot in his hands. The group of bearers had accidentally lowered the palanquin on his toes, and now he was hopping inside the wagon, squirming in pain.
"Uh, well…" muttered Sokka, staring at her blankly.
Azula rolled her eyes at the bearers and shook her head before turning to Sokka.
"Just ask your question and stop acting like a beaten dog."
"Huh?" asked Sokka, taken by surprise by her, as ever.
"Ugh, never mind," said Azula, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "What do you want?"
"I was just wondering… how does this thing work?" asked Sokka, growing enthusiastic as he spoke about the machine. "I'm guessing it has something to do with firebeding, right?"
Azula raised an eyebrow, eyeing Sokka with confusion.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"I'm just a little curious…" he said, shrugging.
"Curiosity killed the cat-owl…" Azula recited, making Sokka wince. "Yes, it works through firebending and coal. It fuels the whole machine."
"Really?" asked Sokka, forgetting her eerie words at once. "And that's enough to move the whole thing?"
"If what the Mechanist claimed about his creation is true, it should be," said Azula. "Is that all?"
"Oh, uh… almost," said Sokka, smiling nervously. "Where… where's my room?"
"Your room?" Azula repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What makes you think there's a room for you?"
"Well, it doesn't have to be a room, really…" said Sokka, sweating. "What I meant was where should I sit while the train moves? Or are you planning on not giving me a lift to Omashu…?"
"Oh, I wish that were the case," said Azula, sighing dramatically.
"Then… where do I go?" he asked, staring at her innocently.
Azula raised an eyebrow as she studied him closely.
"Would you like accommodations especially made just for you…?" she asked, her voice unusually suggestive.
"Uh… w-well, I don't really need it, but if you feel like it…" said Sokka, knowing he was stepping on dangerous grounds with each word he said…
The devilish smirk she gave him was all he needed to confirm his fears. This simply wouldn't end well…
And indeed, it didn't.
"W-w-why did you toss me in here?!" Sokka squealed, staring at the beasts before him in terror.
The special accommodations Sokka had been given were truly special… in quite a negative light. He was stuck in the weirdest of all the wagons in the train-tank, a barn-like car with enough room to fit five large, green reptiles in it. And all of those reptiles were staring at Sokka seemingly blankly with their big yellow eyes, but he could sense they were just as curious about him as he had been about the train-tank when he first spotted it. The way they had surrounded him in a circle made him grimace in fright.
"Why are these creatures in here anyway?!" he yelled again, obtaining no answer. He knew she was on the next wagon, of course she was… and she was probably listening to his shouts, with that big smirk of hers on her face.
Sokka smiled nervously at the nearest lizard, which slipped its pink tongue out of its mouth in an odd smile of its own.
"G-good lizard…" he muttered…
And before he knew it, the reptile had jumped at him, licking his face intently while the others tugged at his clothes with their sharp teeth, amused by how he squealed and screamed as he tried to get out of their grasp. If he'd had his weapons with him, he would have used them to keep some distance between them, but alas, they had been thrown in the wagon with the rest of the cargo. He was completely defenseless as he tried to fend off the five mongoose dragons who were elated to have a human all to themselves.
"G-get off! Don't touch me with that tail, dammit! You tailed creatures have the nasty habit of going to the bathroom and forgetting to-…! Don't lick me! Quit it, lizard! Argh… Help! HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
The royal guards on the nearby wagon listened to his screams with slight concern. The train made quite a ruckus as it moved, but Sokka's yelling was loud enough to surpass the noise the machine was making. If only Azula hadn't been beaming, delighted by her gladiator's shrieks, the guards would have suggested bringing him into their wagon… but they knew better than to oppose Azula's obvious wishes to keep Sokka in the cabin of the mongoose dragons.
After what felt like ages to Sokka, the side door to the wagon opened up and the sunlight bathed the gladiator and his new friends. The mongoose dragons had gotten bored of picking at Sokka after a few hours, so they had decided to find comfortable places to nap within the wagon. One of them decided to nap atop Sokka, using his back as a mattress. Sokka had squirmed and tried to get the animal off him, but the mongoose dragon had merely shifted into a more comfortable position and it had fallen asleep soundly. Sokka had ended up closing his own eyes after a while as well, too tired to continue fighting against the weight of the animal. He woke up when the dragon sleeping on top of him jumped away from him and out of the wagon, along with the other four creatures.
"I… I live!" he exclaimed, climbing off the train and dropping on the grass, kissing the ground when he touched it. "I survived! I was just waiting for death to take me, but I'm alive! I'm…! Wait… what's going on here?"
He hoisted himself up to his knees and looked around him in confusion. They had come quite far from Yu Dao, since Sokka couldn't recognize the mountains nearby or the gravel road the train-tank had been coursing through before coming to a halt. He looked around himself to find the lizards were pacing on the grass happily. And right beside him, next to the wagon's door, was a Royal Guard, staring down at him.
"Uh… what's going on?" Sokka repeated, confused.
"Not much," said the guard, shrugging. From his voice, Sokka realized it wasn't Taro this time. "There was a town nearby, so the Princess passed through it on her palanquin while I drove the train to the other side of the town…"
"Why?" asked Sokka, sitting up. "What's the point of doing that?"
"Huh… I'm not sure if you know the full extent of the Princess's mission, so I'm not sure if I should explain or not," said the guard, folding his arms over his chest.
"Actually, I do know," said Sokka. "She explained it to me the other day… what does that have to do with this?"
"The Princess is trying to make it seem like her visit to the Earth Kingdom has nothing to do with chasing down the Rough Rhinos," said the guard. "To keep up appearances, she must cross through towns in her palanquin, as if she couldn't care less about how long it takes for her to travel. The train-tank would alert the people at those towns, because a machine like this one isn't something you see every day. It was developed for war purposes, the aggressive design shows as much. Therefore, the Princess decided to keep the train-tank as far from the commoners as possible, to avoid alerting them. It would be truly unsettling for those people to see this machine treading through their terrains, and word of it would likely spread quickly."
"Yeah, it must be," said Sokka, thoughtful. "That makes sense, I think… but what about the crazy lizards? Why were they in the tank?"
"These five creatures are around in case an emergency happens," said the guard. "If the Captain sends word that he needs backup, the Princess will send five of her remaining guards to help him. And the men she sends would need steeds to help them reach the Captain on time."
"Huh," said Sokka, staring at the nearest mongoose dragon with confusion. The dragon looked back at him for a moment before strutting off towards the other creatures. "Why did you release me, though? Won't she get mad at you for that? And is there no danger that the lizards will run off?"
"I released you because I thought you'd want to get some fresh air," said the guard. "It doesn't smell so good in there, does it?"
"Not at all," said Sokka, shaking his head.
"I don't know why the Princess would be mad to see you out here… she was amused by the way you were screaming, but I figure she wouldn't mind letting you out from time to time. Say, what did you do to annoy her? That sort of treatment isn't all that common in her. She may not be the nicest of people, but she certainly isn't always this ruthless…"
"Eh… I've done lots of things," said Sokka, tilting his head down as he shrugged. "You don't need to know what they were."
"I don't? Well, if you say so…" replied the guard, looking up at the pacing creatures in front of them. "And as for the mongoose dragons, they won't run away. They're feeble animals, and these ones have been well-trained not to run off. So you needn't fear."
"Mongoose what?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, pal… but that's a lizard."
"These animals are called mongoose dragons," grunted the guard, glaring at Sokka.
"That's not a dragon, not in a million years," said Sokka, shaking his head. "You firebenders should know as much. These things are just lizards. I called them lizards while we were in there and they were perfectly fine with it!"
"They're called dragons, no matter how you decided to name them," said the guard. "Now stop saying nonsense unless you want me to pack you with the cargo instead!"
"Sheesh, how sensitive," said Sokka, shaking his head. "But… they're lizards."
"Argh! Stop it! Just stop it! They're mongoose DRAGONS! DRAGONS!" the man insisted, his fists balled as he yelled furiously at Sokka, who just gazed at him in surprise.
"Way to lose your temper…" he muttered, gulping.
"Quit calling it a lizard! It's a dragon!" the man shouted, his loud voice muffling out the sounds of the Procession that was just walking up the road towards the train tank.
Azula climbed off the palanquin and stared at the screaming guard for a moment before approaching, struggling to grasp what was the matter with the man.
"Why can't you get it through that thick head of yours?! Dragon! DRAGON! Not lizard, dragon! It's a dragon! Even if they don't spit fire, they're dragons!"
"B-but they don't fly either…" muttered Sokka, staring at the guard sheepishly.
"Whatever! They're dragons!"
"As a matter of fact…" said Azula, startling the guard and Sokka with her intervention. "… they're called mongoose dragons, yet the gladiator is somewhat correct in believing they have little to do with actual dragons."
Sokka blinked a few times before realizing Azula had agreed with him on something. The guard had grown pale upon hearing Azula's voice, turning around towards her while feeling extremely foolish.
"But they are both reptiles… so it's fine to call them dragons or lizards, either term would be correct," Azula finished, staring at the guard. "There's no need to get so worked up about such a simple matter, though. If the gladiator is bothering you, simply threaten him and he'll shut up."
"Hey…" said Sokka, grimacing.
"I see, Princess," said the guard, bowing his head down towards her "I shall do that."
"Good," replied Azula, smiling.
"HEY!" Sokka squealed, even though he knew he'd be ignored.
"Get on with loading the palanquin again," said Azula, turning around towards the rest of her convoy, "We're to leave as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Princess!" replied the guards and palanquin bearers, and Azula climbed on the train once again, leaving her men to pack everything up to resume their trip as hastily as possible.
Sokka stared at Azula until she was out of sight, frowning slightly. He still couldn't make heads or tails of her behavior… had she wanted to save him from the screams of the impatient guard? Or had she done it simply to spare herself from the man's annoying shouting? Seeing how she had added a cruel remark at the end of their conversation, he suspected she actually had done something nice for him, yet she was trying to cover it up…
He sighed as he dropped inside his wagon again, confused and troubled. The guards led the mongoose dragons into the train just a moment later, and before Sokka knew it, the train-tank was in motion once again. The reptiles approached him, eyeing him with their curious yellow eyes before curling up near him and taking another nap by his side… save for the very lizard that had been sleeping on top of him before, who had decided to drop his head on Sokka's lap this time around.
Sokka petted the lizard, dragging his fingers down the dry scales of the creature and dropping his head against the metallic wall of the wagon.
"You know… I really shouldn't feel this way," he muttered, not caring if the reptiles understood what he was saying or not. "I shouldn't be so keen to get on her good side again. Because this is what I was aiming for… isn't it? Back when I thought things couldn't continue as they were, when I decided to try my luck with another woman… this was what I was aiming towards. I knew she'd grow to hate me. I knew she'd want nothing to do with me. And I thought I'd be able to handle it, because it'd be for the best. We're not supposed to be anything but what we were, that's what I kept telling myself, what I keep telling myself… so why? Why do I feel so bad when this is exactly what I was trying to accomplish?"
The mongoose dragon on his lap let out a gurgling sound before shifting the position of his head to find more comfort.
"I thought this would be for the best," Sokka continued, with a sigh. "I thought I could endure it… but it seems I can't. I didn't think of how much grief I would cause her… and how much grief I'd bring upon myself as well. And how am I supposed to fix it now? Maybe… maybe I'm not supposed to. Maybe I was right back then… and maybe I should leave this as it is."
The reptile made its strange noise again, lifting its head and staring at Sokka accusingly.
"You don't think so?" asked Sokka, smiling sideways. "Don't fret, it's the last thing I want to do… I want her to be happy again. I want to go back to the days when we could spend hours on end together, throwing jabs at the other back and forth until either of us ended up speechless at the other's words. I even suggested teaching her how to fight with swords, you know? But… I don't think she'd want to learn anymore. At least, not from me."
The lizard placed its head on his lap once again, fluttering its eyelids shut. Sokka patted its brow again, closing his own eyes as his thoughts drifted towards the Princess who sat in the next wagon.
"If this was for the best… why does it hurt so much?" he asked. "If I did the right thing by putting a stop to this before it became something else… why does it feel so wrong? Why do I keep wondering how things would have developed if I'd just given in to falling in love with her? What if I hadn't resisted? Would we be…? What would we be? What could we have been?"
A sigh escaped his lips and he shook his head, knowing his regrets wouldn't be enough to change anything. They wouldn't change the things he'd said. They wouldn't change the way he'd hurt Azula, they wouldn't change the way she saw him now. And they wouldn't change the way he longed to find a way to make up for all the damage he'd inflicted, to heal the throbbing ache that burned through his chest, the constant reminder of the pain he had inflicted upon Azula.
The train-tank made its way through the arid countryside during two weeks, although Sokka lost track of time, for he spent most the trip locked up with his new friends, the mongoose dragons. He would be released from the wagon whenever the train halted, but all of sudden he wasn't too uncomfortable about being stuck with the creatures anymore.
Azula had been surprised to discover Sokka had adjusted to his life amongst the mongoose dragons. She had caught sight of him sleeping soundly with the beasts by opening a small window that allowed her to peek into his wagon. Seeing him grow accustomed to the circumstances had bothered her, somewhat. How was he able to find a way to adapt to everything around him? Was it something inherent that came with being a snow savage? She had the feeling she had been told in school, at some point, that the Water Tribesmen were just like water: they could change their form and adapt to the circumstances just as water shifted its forms. It was somewhat irritating, though, that he'd even adapt to living amongst lizards. Perhaps by the time they made it to Omashu he would even be talking the language of the lizards…
Their arrival to Omashu came by just as Azula had scheduled it. Even when she had to step down from the train and pass by the towns and villages in her palanquin from time to time, it seemed the train-tank was a far more efficient way to travel than she had originally thought it would be. Crossing through a few rivers had been the worst predicament they had faced, but, to the Princess's relief, the bridges in the area had withstood the weight of the metallic train.
The Captain had sent word only twice, and neither of the messages had satisfied the Princess. He kept finding villages the brigands had pillaged, yet he still hadn't caught up with the bandits. He was following their trail, just as he was supposed to, but Azula couldn't relax even when she knew he would catch up with the criminals eventually. It seemed more likely to Azula that she would run into the Rough Rhinos than for the Captain and his men to find them.
The train-tank had stopped behind the mountain range that surrounded the city of Omashu. The guards would take shifts every day to keep watch on the machine, by Azula's command. While her men readied themselves to head into the city, Azula commanded one of the guards to release Sokka.
"Where…? What's going on? What's this?" asked Sokka, completely confused as he looked at the mountain range and at the palanquin. He normally was let out of the train-tank after Azula had already gone into the villages…
"You're supposed to be back amongst the humans, that's what's going on," said Azula. "It seemed you got along with your reptiles a lot better than you do with people… beasts understand each other, is it?"
Sokka glared at her as she smirked cruelly.
"Why did you let me out…?" he asked, his eyebrow twitching.
"Why, would you have rather stayed in the wagon with your new friends?" asked Azula, raising a curious eyebrow.
My new friends don't insult me… they don't even talk, but that's beside the point,Sokka thought bitterly before pouting towards Azula.
"I didn't say that…" he grunted.
"Then what is this contempt I'm sensing…? Oh, is it perhaps because I sorted the civilized and the uncivilized, and you were cast into the second group?" asked Azula, basking in the sight of his pulsating temples.
"… How about you just explain what's going on?" he muttered, his teeth clenched tight as he held back all the comebacks he wanted to throw at her.
Azula was slightly disappointed to see he still wouldn't take her ruses to fall into a full-fledged argument, but she didn't give it much importance.
"We have arrived to Omashu," she said, surprising him.
"What… we made it? So soon?" he asked, astounded.
"We made good time," Azula replied. "Your fight will happen three days from today, so get ready for it. Remember you'll be facing an earthbender this time… so you'll have to be extra cautious."
"Alright," said Sokka, nodding as he looked around himself. "But… where's the city? Is it underground or something?"
Azula rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"We're on the other side of the mountain that holds the city. In case you haven't noticed yet, I don't want people to realize I'm in the Fire Nation Colonies on a mission, thus I'm trying to keep the train-tank hidden because it's a dead giveaway of the true nature of my visit. Got it now?"
"Oh… oh," said Sokka, blinking a few times. "Y-yeah, I got it…"
"Go get your stuff," said Azula, jerking her head towards the cargo wagon, which the guards and bearers were unloading at the moment. Sokka nodded and sprinted towards the car, telling the other men to be careful with his boomerang.
In a short time, the Procession was ready to head into Omashu. Azula was quite uncomfortable by sitting on the palanquin while they climbed the steep roads that led to the city, she hated the way the bearers tilted her as they progressed up the hill. Sokka treaded right behind the vehicle, right between the two guards that closed the group. His eyes widened in amazement when the city came into sight. Four pyramidal structures stood in the middle of a chasm, all of them the work of powerful earthbenders of old times. The city would have been far more appealing to him if he hadn't glimpsed the Fire Nation banner right above the gates of the city, or the smoke that came out of the metallic ducts that could have only been set there by the Fire Nation, because they looked completely out of place in what once was an extraordinary Earth Kingdom city.
A very long walkway stood between the city and the mountains, and walking it felt longer than it should have. With every step he took, Sokka grew more uneasy. He knew he shouldn't feel so bitter towards the Fire Nation, not after so long of living within said nation and getting used to the fact that they almost ruled the world by now, but the sight of that banner hanging on the city walls made his blood boil. It was so wrong…
A soldier caught sight of them when they were halfway through the bridge, and he shouted orders for the gates to be opened immediately. The metallic doors swung open to reveal blocks of earth, which were withdrawn by some earthbenders who were out of sight, and they cleared the way for the Princess and her Procession to enter the city.
Sokka gazed about in mild curiosity, but mostly, in distaste. Back in Yu Dao, the legacies of both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom had been combined into the city, and people lived in peace amongst both elements. Omashu was the entire opposite of that. The houses, roads, buildings and even the odd delivery system comprised by slides and carts, had been developed by the people of the Earth Kingdom before the Fire Nation came to take what should have never been theirs. Factories protruded between the buildings, and their fumes polluted the air around them with the dark smoke they were releasing. Steel covered the city, pavement had been engraved in the grounds, and only from time to time Sokka would be able to glimpse something, a house or a store, that hadn't been covered by the metal the Fire Nation favored to keep earthbenders in control. The city would have impressed Sokka if he had seen it before the Fire Nation conquest, but right now it merely disturbed him. It was a sour reminder of the Fire Nation's nature: to tear down everything in their path and impose themselves on top of it.
People stared at the Procession just as they had in Yu Dao, but instead of being regarded by cheerful people, this time they were received by the fierce glares of the Former Earth Kingdom citizens who had been lost their city and their rights. Only the soldiers seemed pleased to witness Azula's arrival, and they weren't too excited about it anyway. The Princess could sense the cold reception from within her palanquin, even through the drawn curtains. She frowned, having expected to find the city of Omashu in a far less depressing state. It seemed Mai's parents hadn't done such a grand job as governors… or perhaps they shared their daughter's gloomy ways and Azula hadn't noticed it until now.
It took the Procession quite a long time to climb to the highest peak of the city, the one which hosted the governor's palace. Sokka had been gazing up towards the pyramid, gazing at the place they would be staying at, but something other than buildings caught his eye at the very top of the mountain. He frowned as he eyed the statue, the distance making it difficult for him to recognize the figure… and the scowl on his brow grew more prominent when he did. The ridiculously pointy beard and the golden artifact behind the giant statue's head gave away the structure as a homage to Fire Lord Ozai.
He had only seen the man once before, but his features had been engraved in his mind. That man was the enemy, his one true enemy. Not the other gladiators he had fought against, not the Royal Guards, not Azula… it was him. Only him. If he ever had the opportunity to rid the Fire Nation of that man's rule, he'd do it without a second thought. Because he knew now that the Fire Nation in itself wasn't evil, and neither were its people. But their ideals were wrong, and he was the one responsible for enforcing those ideals upon the Fire Nation… well, him and his forefathers before him. That man was sending troops to invade his home and his sister tribe, and he had been the one to bring so much misery to this very city…
His dark musings were interrupted momentarily when he noticed there was something chained to the Fire Lord's statue. The statue had its hands before its chest, and there was something that looked ominously like a coffin chained to the right hand. Sokka didn't know for certain, but he thought he had seen a face peeking out through the top of the box… but the nearby buildings were tall enough to block the statue from sight as they continued walking, and Sokka couldn't confirm if the coffin had held a man or not. It seemed beyond creepy for these Fire Nation people to lock people up in cages and hang them in the hands of their nation's leader. Perhaps it was a way to show Fire Lord Ozai was a giant, and his opponents were so tiny he could hold them in his hand in that manner, threatening to squeeze them to death if they dared think of fighting back.
Sokka had quite a scowl on his face as they arrived to the governor's house's doorstep, repulsed by the city as he was. Another family greeted them this time around, although they didn't look half as lively as the Morishita family. The man was thin and lanky, and he didn't seem to be too nervous about dealing with Azula. The woman next to him looked a lot like him, although her hair was darker than his. Between the pairing stood a young boy with jet-black hair and an amazed look on his face. He gazed at the Palanquin expectantly and beamed when Princess Azula climbed down.
"Hi!" he shouted, making Azula raise an eyebrow towards him. The last time she had seen Tom-Tom he had only been five years old and he hadn't been the best-mannered kid… it seemed his ways hadn't improved that much, seeing how he had squealed the first thing that came to his mind as soon as he saw her.
"Welcome to Omashu, Princess Azula," said the man, smiling at Azula as both he and his wife bowed down towards Azula.
Tom-Tom blinked in confusion when his parents bowed, but he rushed to imitate them regardless, tilting his head down hastily and placing his hands in the wrong position.
"Thank you, governor," said Azula, prompting the family to lift their heads again. "Is everything faring well? The citizens seemed to be at unease upon our arrival…"
"Oh, the citizens are at unease at most times, Princess," said the woman, beaming and shaking a hand as if not to give it any importance. "It's a matter of growing used to it."
"Is it?" asked Azula, displeased. "You seem to have a small misconception on what a governor's duty should be. A good ruler isn't supposed to keep their people at unrest. People are the ones who make a nation what it is, after all."
Sokka's jaw dropped at her words. Was she actually quoting him? Was she really repeating something he had told her a few months ago? His distaste towards the city of Omashu fell back in his list of priorities as he stared at the back of the Princess in utter disbelief. She had remembered what he had told her. She had actually listened to what he'd said! And she was using it to teach a lesson to the other governors in the Fire Nation! His body was taken over by a strange shivering as he smiled sideways, feeling an unusual surge of pride burning in his chest.
"O-of course, Princess… we'll do something about it," said the governor, grimacing and bowing his head down towards her.
"You'd better," said Azula, glaring at him.
"Where's Mai?" squealed the kid, looking at the Procession. "Didn't you bring her with you?"
"Mai has some matters she needs to take care of right now," said Azula "Namely, her child."
"What?! She gave birth already?!" gasped Mai's mother, her hands covering her mouth.
"She didn't let you know?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"N-no, she… she didn't," muttered the governor, his head down.
Azula wasn't too surprised to hear this. Mai's relationship with her parents had never been smooth. It wasn't good, but it wasn't really bad either. It was awkward, that's what it was.
"What's the baby called?!" asked Tom-Tom, smiling broadly. "Is it a boy? Or is it a girl?"
"It's a boy," said Azula. "His name is Yuudai."
"Yuudai!" exclaimed Tom-Tom, amazed.
"Yes, you're an uncle now, Tom-Tom," said the kid's father, smiling at the child.
"An uncle? Me?!" squealed Tom-Tom. "But uncles are old! I'm not old!"
Tom-Tom's parents chuckled at their child's innocent statement before turning to Azula again.
"Please, come right in," said the governor. "You must long for comfortable lodging after spending such a long time on the road."
"Indeed," said Azula. "Do you have enough room to house my entire Procession?"
"Oh, yes, all arrangements have been made," replied the man. "There's plenty of space for everyone to stay here."
Azula nodded and the family entered the palace while the Princess turned around to address her men. She commanded them to bring the Palanquin into the house and to settle down quietly, while also ordering them to not cause any trouble to the governor and his wife. Sokka listened intently, gazing at Azula while enjoying a tingling feeling that ran down his spine. Azula didn't seem to notice he was staring at her, which allowed Sokka to smile to himself as they walked into the house at last.
The dining room was large enough to house the entire Procession, albeit the men had to sit quite tight together so that everyone could reach the table. Naturally, Azula was sitting at the head of the table, so she was perfectly comfortable while having dinner.
"Is everything faring well in Omashu, governor?" she asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow as she eyed the man. "The weaponry development…"
"Is progressing without delays," finished the governor.
"How about the rebellious earthbenders?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"They have settled down lately," the man muttered. "Probably because of their leader's circumstances…"
"Has anything happened with that mad king?" asked Azula. "Wasn't he chained to the statue?"
Sokka cringed upon the mention of the statue, and he only started paying attention to the conversation then. Mad king, she had said? Hanging on the statue… that had to mean that the coffin really held a person. His appetite decreased upon the confirmation of such an act of cruelty. Why did Azula seem to be alright with something so heinous…?
"Yes, but he has fallen into a deep slumber," said the governor. "He hasn't woken for several weeks now. His old age might have gotten to him, and being held in that box for almost seven years must have taken its toll on him. His devoted supporters have stopped their revolts because they know that, without him, they don't stand a chance."
"I see," said Azula, nodding. "It's good news. This should help you keep the citizens in check."
"It has helped, although they seem quite unhappy about these developments," said the governor. "But they'll grow out of their misery, I'm sure…"
Like hell they will, Sokka thought, frowning. Everything about this situation was so twisted that he just wanted to scream out loud in frustration and tell the governor off for his way of treating his people, like Azula had done with his wife earlier. And what Azula said had been something he had told her before, right? Perhaps if he told her how wrong it was for them to hold a man in a box, she would listen to him.
He found his chance to talk to Azula after dinner was over. She excused herself from the table and he followed suit, catching up with her in the middle of the hallway.
"Azula… wait."
"What…? What's the matter?" asked Azula, growing wary when she realized Sokka had followed her.
"W-what you were talking about just now… that mad king," said Sokka, frowning. "What's… why is he there?"
"Why? Isn't it obvious?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow. "He used to rule Omashu. He is a powerful earthbender, although he's quite insane, from what I've heard. He surrendered the city to the Fire Nation without fighting back. Yet his men, the Omashu Resistance, remain loyal to him, claiming that he'll bring himself out of his imprisonment and that way he will help them take back their city."
"Is there a chance for that to happen?" Sokka asked, his frown deepening.
"Why? Do you want to assist him on his escape?" asked Azula, folding her arms across her chest.
"N-no, that's not… I just figured there wouldn't be," he said. "Given how he's been locked in there for seven years, according to the governor…"
"He might not last much longer. From what he said, it seemed like he was about to cross the boundaries between the world of the living and the dead. He's old enough, it might be best for him…"
"How old are we talking about, exactly?" asked Sokka, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know," said Azula, shrugging. "A century, give or take."
"W-what?! He's been around for a century… that man is over a hundred years old and you've locked him up in a coffin?!" Sokka asked, aghast. "What's that for? Are you trying to torture him to his death or something?"
"Who exactly are you talking about when you say 'you'?" Azula asked, glaring at him.
"You! The Fire Nation!" Sokka exclaimed. "Isn't this too cruel even for your standards?!"
"Curious… I was sure you thought we had no standards in the first place," said Azula.
"It's starting to look like it," Sokka growled.
"It's funny you say so… you don't even know the quality of the coffin he's been locked in," said the Princess. "There are spikes inside the box, spikes that will push the pressure points on his body in case he tries to make a move of any kind, blocking his chi and thus rendering him completely unable to move. And you know why that's the case? Because, even when he's as old as he is, the man is a threat. He is one of the most powerful earthbenders in the world. He might even be stronger than the Blind Bandit. Think his confinement is cruel if you will, it's of no importance. If it's necessary to keep him there, we, the Fire Nation, will keep him there."
"But that's… that's wrong, Azula," Sokka whispered, shaking his head. "You can't… you can't treat people like this just because they're threats."
"I treated a threat much more lightly than I should have quite recently…" Azula muttered, making Sokka gasp. "And look at where that has landed me. I'm not making that mistake again."
Sokka watched her walk away from him, a sense of helplessness taking over his body as he stared after her. He already felt bad about himself, but now he felt even worse. It seemed his actions had been all Azula had needed to convince herself that the Fire Nation's cruel ways were the right path. Eliminating threats had been the Fire Nation's take on this war, and it seemed an ideal the country had taken as its motto. Azula hadn't eliminated the threat he posed to her, she had given him a chance to discover if he could become a valuable ally instead… and, clearly enough, she had come to regret her decision altogether. It didn't justify what the Fire Nation was doing, it didn't change that he believed it to be wrong… but now he realized he hadn't been able to change Azula's way of thinking. Worse, he had reinforced it.
He sighed and shook his head, heading towards his room and dropping on a soft mattress for the first time in weeks, although he would have preferred being in his wagon with the mongoose dragons than to be alone right now. Reflecting on the damage he had wrought upon Azula became worse every time. Just how deeply had he hurt her, how far had he injured her soul…? And how was he supposed to find a way to make amends for it?
Sokka was somewhat confused upon arriving to what was supposed to be the stand-by room of Ozai Arena. This particular arena was held inside Omashu's mountains, yet it was far more rudimentary than Sokka had expected it to be. Everything seemed to have been assembled with rocks and earth, all the way from the vestibule to the stand-by room. According to what Omashu's governor had told them during dinner the past night, the fighting area had been built by the former king of the city for unknown ends. Upon establishing the Fire Nation's authority on the city, the army had torn down the old king's palace, yet they had kept the arena to use it for gladiator fights. The arena in itself had nothing to do with Fire Lord Ozai, but it seemed Omashu had become a city devoted to worshipping the Fire Nation's leader feverishly.
Tension between Sokka and Azula had escalated again after their short squabble. She had walked down to the stand-by room with him, but they still hadn't spoken a word to the other. As usual, the Princess was the one to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Your opponent is called the Hallowed Rock," said Azula, and Sokka jumped a little at hearing her voice. "He's strong, although he relies too much on his stances to make his movements. You might be able to use that to your advantage."
"Alright…" said Sokka, nodding. "Anything else I should know?"
"He's not too young, so his movements will be stiff. Maybe that will be of some use as well," said Azula, shrugging.
"Got it," whispered Sokka, nodding.
"Good luck," Azula muttered before turning around to leave.
"Thanks," Sokka replied, almost by reflex.
Their interactions had become so rigid, so cold… Sokka grimaced as he tied down his right armguard a little rougher than intended, trying to use the pain to bring himself back to reality. Thinking about his relationship with Azula wouldn't help him today. He couldn't let the fight against the Butterfly Lady repeat itself.
The stone that separated the stand-by room from the sand pit was removed after a few minutes … only, it wasn't a sand pit this time. Just like the rest of the Arena, the ground was stone and rock, not sand. Sokka walked into it feeling somewhat eerie about the whole situation… an earthbender with all sorts of earth at his disposition? He cringed as he walked to the center of the fighting area, evading the spikes of stone that served as the obstacles in these fighting grounds.
The man who would fight him was close to his fifties, from what Sokka could guess. He was dressed in long, flowing green robes and he had a very solemn look to him. Sokka couldn't help but stare at him in slight confusion. He hadn't met too many earthbenders, but the general idea he had of them was that they'd be burly, tall, strong foes… this man seemed to be the exact opposite of that.
Just as the Blind Bandit had looked the exact opposite of that. Sokka frowned upon this thought and brought Space Sword out of its sheath, readying himself for battle. Whatever the man looked like, he would fight to his best.
"START!" was the sole scream Sokka heard. It seemed people in Ozai Arena didn't care for the lengthy introductions he had gotten used to in the Amateur Arena and the Grand Royal Dome…
The Hallowed Rock, just as Azula had told him, struck a very firm pose, his feet steady on the ground, before lifting his fists in a powerful movement. It was all Sokka could register before the ground beneath him began shaking and a column of earth shot upwards suddenly, tossing him into the air before he could begin to compose a strategy.
He collapsed on the ground and rolled on his back, hopping on his feet right away to get back on track, but the earthbender pulled back one of his fists. The earth underneath Sokka's right foot moved brusquely towards the Hallowed Rock, separating Sokka's legs and breaking his bodily balance. Sokka jumped to the side quickly, his teeth clenched, and he wondered if he wouldn't catch any breaks in this fight just as a boulder flew at him, courtesy of the Hallowed Rock. Sokka reacted quickly by slicing the rock with Space Sword, nullifying its menace, but two cilinders of earth shot out from the walls of the arena this time, almost squashing Sokka when they crashed against the other in the center of the ring. The Blue Wolf managed to jump out of reach just in time to avoid a painful fate.
Azula, up in an earthy sponsors' balcony, frowned upon the performance Sokka was putting on this time. At this rate, he wasn't going to win in a thousand years… and the worst part was to realize it really wasn't his fault. The terrains in which the fight took place would give any earthbender an overwhelming advantage over his enemies. He would need a miracle to win this fight.
Sokka struggled to avoid the blocks of earth that kept being sent his way, but it was becoming really difficult to keep up with his rival. In an act of despair, he unsheathed his boomerang and tossed it at the Hallowed Rock, hoping to hit him with his weapon and finally get a chance to attack the man directly… but the Hallowed Rock fashioned a stone wall from the ground, with which he stopped Sokka's boomerang effectively.
Sokka snarled, but he lunged forward regardless. The boomerang hadn't been enough of a distraction, but no matter how small the opening provided had been, he would have to make the best of it.
Yet all rational thoughts vanished from his head when a pillar of earth darted out right beneath him, aimed at his chin. His head was forced back with an unsettling 'crack' and his helmet flew off his head due to the impact. Sokka fell to the ground, completely disoriented, but still conscious… until the Hallowed Rock tossed a boulder straight at his head. Sokka's body refused to respond even when he urged it to move away, to get out of that attack's reach… and then everything turned black.
Every inch of his head throbbed horribly when he came to his senses again. From what he could feel, someone had wrapped his head in bandages. His neck hurt badly, even when there was a very soft pillow underneath it to appease his pain.
What had happened? He had a hard time recalling it. All he knew was that he hadn't really expected to wake up ever again. For a moment he really had thought his number was up. Discovering otherwise was somewhat soothing, yet it was quite disappointing too. Secretly, in the darkest corners of his heart, he had a small longing for death, a longing that had lodged itself within his soul ever since Azula had defeated him in the South Pole.
Azula… Azula would be furious. Now he remembered. He was fighting the Hallowed Rock, and the man had overwhelmed and defeated him. There could be no other explanation to the fact that the last he remembered was a huge rock flying at him, yet now he was lying in a very comfortable bed. He had been knocked out in battle for the very first time.
Sokka cringed as he lifted himself up from the bed. The rest of his body seemed fine… his head was killing him, though. He had been brought back to the room he had been given in the governor's home. He had been stripped off his armor and shirt, obviously to provide him with the medical treatment he had required after blacking out. For how long had he been unconscious? He had no idea, and there was nobody in the room to clarify his doubts, so he guessed he would go find someone, anyone, to let him know what had happened, and to let him know if Azula was through with him this time around. He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.
But his ill fortune followed him everywhere, apparently. He had been hoping to find someone to tell him what Azula had decided to do with him right now… he didn't expect to run into the Princess herself, sitting before a table in one of the balconies of the governor's home.
Sokka's eyes fell as he approached her, knowing it would be best to get this over with. Azula had a hand on her forehead as the other held something Sokka couldn't quite see from where he was standing, but she was alone. He decided to clear his throat, and let his presence be known even if Azula would burn him to a crisp as soon as she saw him.
The rasping sound that came out of him wasn't exactly what he had expected, and Azula didn't react upon hearing it. Sokka gulped, realizing a little too late that swallowing probably wasn't such a good idea when his head and neck hurt so badly. And, with more efforts than he should have needed, since his jaw hurt horribly, he muttered:
"H-hey…"
Azula still said nothing, but she surely had realized he was there anyway.
"For how long was I out…?" he asked, not knowing how else to start this conversation.
"Three days," Azula replied curtly, yet her voice wasn't angry, as Sokka had thought it would be. He frowned a little before his face pained him upon that simple motion.
"I'm… I'm sorry," he said. "It was really hard… t-that guy, he was stronger than I thought he would be, and he had all the rocks he could need at his disposal, so I… y-you know what? No matter… there's no use excusing myself. I should've been able to do better…"
"No," said Azula, lowering her hand at last, and Sokka realized now that she was holding a letter. "You're not excusing yourself. You're stating facts. The outcome was what it would have been in those circumstances, be it today or tomorrow, or in a year or two."
"I'm just… I guess I'm not good at fighting earthbenders," said Sokka, somewhat relieved to see Azula wasn't angry at him… but she seemed upset, for some other reason. "What's… what's that?"
Azula frowned and crumpled the paper on her hand, closing her eyes tightly as she did.
"I… I guess I should be scolding you," muttered Azula. "It's what you were expecting, most likely…"
"What… what happened?" Sokka asked, growing increasingly worried. There was only one thing nowadays that concerned Azula more than his success or his failure as a gladiator. And that paper in her hand… it could only be one thing. He looked around the balcony, and he spotted what he had been expecting to see: a messenger hawk posed on a perch.
"They found them," Azula muttered, clenching her fists. "They found the Rough Rhinos."
Sokka's eyes widened upon her words, knowing she hadn't told him about all the content of the letter just yet.
"They found them right before entering the Oasis," Azula continued. "A fight broke out… and they escaped. But not before… not before killing one of my men."
Sokka's mouth opened a little as he stared at Azula in shock. So one of the guards, one of the apparently indestructible men that had flanked the Princess at all times, had been slain…
"Bao died for nothing!" Azula exclaimed, striking a fist on the table before her. "His wretched killers are still at large. And I'm completely powerless. I can't do a damn thing where I am! I…! I…"
Sokka would have surrounded her shoulders with an arm, he would have tried to comfort her somehow… but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wasn't worthy of doing it. He knew she wouldn't even want him to try soothing her. She would push him away, because she would find no comfort in anything but bringing the Rough Rhinos to justice. Sokka hadn't expected to discover she had such an emotional attachment towards her men: she had always been so cold towards them, pushing them away from her whenever she had the chance. For her to care so much about the fate of her men, of the men she had sent out to battle…
Sokka didn't have to think twice to see why she was so distressed: she blamed herself for the death of the man who had once served as her Royal Guard.