Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

86. Chapter 86: The Slate-Festivals 4

Xin Long dropped Azula off at the Palace briefly, giving her a chance to have lunch before he flew her to Ty Lee's house. The Princess ate in her chambers: she caught sight of her sword sitting on the shelf by the wall just as she was about to take her leave. She could test Sokka's skills herself, to make sure he would be able to stand his ground against the Millenium Dragon, right?

With Wolf's Bane swung over her back, she made her way towards the refuge. Xin Long was waiting for her, nibbling on charred bones, which were the only remains of the hippo-cow leg he had been brought for lunch. He promptly set aside the bone when his rider appeared, and he offered her his back right away. They took off without wasting another moment, and they reached their destination in no time.

Xin Long descended on the street before Ty Lee's house, walking towards the entrance and stopping a few steps short from reaching it. Azula breathed deeply as she regarded the building with uncertainty, but she disregarded her reservations as she climbed off the dragon's saddle, sliding a hand through his soft mane.

"Make sure not to eat anyone's cows or pickens, will you?" she said, and Xin Long chuckled, conveying to Azula that he wouldn't put himself past such reckless behavior. "I wouldn't put you past it either, that's exactly why I'm warning you."

Xin Long smiled and groaned, and Azula laughed softly.

"Well, then, I'll let you know when to come fetch me," she said. "Good luck with your day off from me."

Xin Long pressed his head against her chest, and Azula hugged him briefly. The dragon chuckled playfully again, a twinkle in his eye before pulling away and taking off to the sky swiftly once again.

Azula watched his figure rise through the air, admiring her partner's elegant flight. A part of her felt irresponsible for having chosen to come here when she had to work so hard for her ceremony… yet her heart would beat faster just knowing Sokka was inside the house, merely a few footsteps away from where she stood right now. She took another deep breath and turned towards the house, wondering just what kind of training regime Sokka would be facing at their friends' hands.

She knocked on the door and only had to wait briefly before someone opened it: Azula's heart sank immediately when she saw who was behind the door.

"Mai…" she muttered, as the girl's eyes widened.

"Azula?" she asked. "Now that's a surprise. Why are you here? Weren't you busy preparing for your ceremony?"

"I was, but… I thought I'd come check on Sokka. Well, rather, Xin Long was the one who told me to do it, and indeed, I had to do it because we had agreed on giving him a month to train before accepting the challenge, and the month is up by now, so…" Azula knew it didn't befit her to ramble so much, but she caught herself before long and fell silent for a moment. Her gaze didn't meet Mai's until she made up her mind to address the elephant mandrill in the room. "Mai, I… I believe you deserve an apology."

"You believe that?" Mai asked, somewhat amused. "Really?"

"I wasn't exactly in my right mind when we last met, and I realize I might have been too harsh with how I treated you, and the things I said. So… sorry. I didn't mean to be so irrational, let alone towards you."

Mai raised an eyebrow, looking at Azula somewhat judgmentally before her gaze softened. She smiled a little and shrugged.

"I know you well enough to know you didn't do it intentionally. Whatever was going through your mind triggered your emotions, which always leads you to outbursts towards whoever is nearest…"

"You really have me figured out, don't you?" Azula asked, an eyebrow twitching as Mai smiled.

"As I said, I know you well enough, Azula," she said, and Azula rolled her eyes, but smiled. "It'd be shameful if I couldn't read you by now."

"Well, even so, I am sorry," said Azula, dropping her hands on either side of her body in a gesture of surrender.

"As you should be," said Mai, smiling and ushering Azula inside with a jerk of her head. "But I think we can put that behind us by now, can't we?"

"If you'd be so kind…" said Azula, stepping into the house upon Mai's insistence. "How has the training gone, then? Has it been any use?"

"Well, you'll be the one to say if it has or hasn't been," said Mai, as they crossed the vestibule and entered the living room, from where they would head out into the backyard. "I'd say he has progressed, but it's up to you to decide if it's good enough or not."

"He told me you'd be teaching him new fighting techniques," said Azula. "Which is fine, but by now he needs to train with firebenders… which I promised I'd do something about, but the matter slipped from my mind completely. So, I guess for the next month he'll have to…"

"He has been training with a firebender alright," said Mai, crossing the door into the veranda. "You can see it for yourself."

Azula was confused at first, but the meaning of her friend's words would be clear as soon as she glanced at what was unfolding in the house's backyard.

The first thing she saw was an array of fire unleashed through a pair of dao swords. She noticed who was bending such fire right away, and she was actually astounded to find her brother's bending was stronger than she had ever seen it before. Perhaps the blades were helping enhance his firebending… but still, Zuko? Sokka hadn't said anything about Zuko helping him, or had he?

Her gaze turned away from her brother now, though, and towards the target of his fire: she raised her eyebrows appreciatively when she caught sight of Sokka. The clothes underneath his armor were completely different from anything he'd usually wear. His hands held his two favorite weapons tightly, and his face was contorted in a stern frown as he calculated his movements carefully. He evaded the array of fire, moving with startling agility around the flames and darting forward with a quick pace. Zuko swung one of his swords down, producing more fire through the movement, but all Sokka had to do was leap to the side to evade the fire before lunging towards him, attempting to stab his rival.

Zuko parried the attack, and Sokka retaliated by slamming down his boomerang, but now Zuko's other sword swung towards Sokka's neck. He had to bend his body backwards to avoid being beheaded by the sharp blade, and he was lucky not to get burned by the blazes coating the metal.

Zuko jumped back, knowing Sokka was at his most dangerous at short range. His sword was a fearsome weapon, and it had given Zuko quite a few cuts during the past weeks. Sokka was struggling to regain his balance, though, and once he did he tossed his boomerang powerfully… but it was off-target completely. Zuko frowned, for Sokka usually wasn't that careless with his projectile weapon, but his throw probably had been so lousy because he had lost his balance. And now that he only had one weapon, Zuko had the advan-…

Before the word could form in his head, the boomerang struck Zuko on the nape of his neck. And a powerful pang of pain burst through his spine, forcing him to drop both his swords at once when his arms became unresponsive.

"Shit!" he said, gritting his teeth as Sokka grinned wildly, leaping forward to take his chance to defeat Zuko. The Prince stumbled back, trying to avoid Sokka's sword and boomerang, which he had caught again just an instant ago.

"Gotcha!" Sokka exclaimed, as Zuko's nervous backwards walking caused him to trip and fall on the ground, one hand falling on a sharp rock and drawing a brand-new cut across his palm. Luckily, the chi-blocking kept him from feeling any pain, but he didn't fail to notice he had gotten another injury at Sokka's expenses.

"Sokka!" he shouted, but he could barely move anymore, with his torso immobile as it was.

The gladiator only stopped moving once his sword was pointing at his opponent's forehead. Sokka snickered, an arrogant grin on his face.

"And that's how it's done."

"You… ow!" Zuko groaned, struggling to move. "I'm hurt, you idiot!"

"What, now you're going to start whining because I chi-blocked you, huh?" Sokka asked, looking at Zuko with malice and amusement. "Again proving how much of a sore loser you are!"

"Fine, I'm sore and I lost! Now how about you stop being an idiot about it and help me out here?!" he exclaimed, as Sokka chuckled.

"Must I, really?" he asked.

"Sokka, please," said Suki, who had been sitting at the veranda until then, watching the fight unfold attentively. She walked towards Zuko, helping him to a sitting position as Zuko groaned. "If you're not going to help, at least give him a break, will you?"

"Quit pampering him, Suki. He's a grown man, he ought to look after his own butt," Sokka said, proudly. Suki rolled her eyes and Zuko glared at Sokka.

"Well?" Mai asked, looking at Azula, who remained speechless beside her. "What's the official verdict?"

Haru and Ty Lee, who had been sitting at the veranda as well, only turned to look at the new arrival upon hearing Mai's words. Azula had been about to give Mai an answer when Ty Lee, as loud and shrill as ever, squealed:

"Azula!"

Sokka's cocky mockery of Zuko stopped abruptly as soon as he heard her name so suddenly. He turned towards the veranda, his heart drumming in his chest. Ty Lee would only exclaim the Princess's name with such enthusiasm if she was around, right…?

Time seemed to stand still when their eyes met again after two weeks. Azula's heart had already beat fast with anticipation over meeting him once more, but it quickened its pace even more once she looked upon him: it only dawned on her then just how much she had missed him. Just by finding his gaze she could forget about everything that had weighed on her weary mind recently. It was a momentary respite, for certain, but one she had needed more than she had realized.

Sokka's eyes seemed to gleam as he took in his sponsor's figure: after holding her gaze for a long, pregnant pause where no one else dared speak either, he began smiling. Beaming, rather. The utter joy in his face was so genuine that everyone, Azula included, was taken by surprise by such an enthusiastic reaction to Azula's presence.

"Azula…" he said, with a thin voice at first before exclaiming. "Azula!"

The Princess's eyes widened as he approached, dropping his weapons carelessly on the grass, still with that ridiculously large smile on his face. Azula gulped and stepped back on the veranda, painfully aware of everyone around them… whereas Sokka disregarded them completely. His surroundings had gone forgotten as soon as she had appeared before him.

And thus, everyone watched in utter disbelief as he slung his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Azula's face flushed, and her wide eyes betrayed the extent of her panic. He was crazy: he HAD to let go, this instant! But he kept hugging her tighter, laughing happily as he held her in his arms.

"W-what the…? What do you think you're doing, you brainless hog-monkey?!" Azula exclaimed, shoving him away from her without as much strength as she should have exerted.

"You're here, Azula!" he exclaimed, beaming still even if she had pushed him off her as she had. "I thought you'd never come but you're here! Ahaha, you're here!"

"Why, yes, thank you for stating the obvious, I am here, but that's no reason for you to…!" she started, her face still flushed as she tried to find a way to belittle his gesture, but nothing came to mind.

"Of course it is! I've missed you!" he exclaimed, lounging for another hug, but this time she managed to stop him, a hand catching his forehead and keeping him at a distance.

"Quit it!" she commanded, but he continued to wave his arms around quite foolishly.

"I won't! Azulaaaaa!" he said, still smiling no matter if she was rejecting him as openly as she was.

"Okay… this is weird," Haru said, staring at the scene with wide eyes. Ty Lee had reacted just as he had at first, but now she was smiling as well, staring at the couple with amazement.

"Oh, they're adorable, Haru!"

Mai was startled by Sokka's gesture of affection also, but now she was mostly amused. If she still had any doubts regarding why Azula had acted as she had during the last months, they were all dispelled as she witnessed the exchange between gladiator and sponsor.

Naturally, the one who was most surprised was Zuko. He still had a hard time understanding the nature of the relationship between his sister and her gladiator, but now he was starting to think he didn't want to understand it at all. This was a terrifying sight to behold.

"Well, he's got guts, if anything," Suki commented, staring at the scene with Zuko's arm slung around her shoulder.

"She… she didn't set him on fire," Zuko muttered. "That's not right."

Suki laughed softly at his observation and stood up again, pulling Zuko up with her. By the time they reached the steps that led up to the veranda, Azula seemed to be at the ends of her patience.

"Enough!" she bellowed, and Sokka stopped struggling against her hand, albeit he still had that goofy grin on his face. "What the hell is wrong with you?!

"What? You can't blame a guy for missing his sponsor, can you?" he said, smiling.

"Why, I don't blame you indeed, your life must be unbearably bleak without me, but you still had no right to do… that!" she exclaimed, flustered.

"It was just a reunion hug, woman, no need to make such a fuss," he said, looking at her with amusement.

"I don't do reunion hugs, in case you haven't noticed," Azula growled.

"It's true," said Zuko, startling Azula. She knew they weren't alone, but only now did she remember just who comprised their company. And the blood drained her face as she started to calculate whether or not her life would be ruined now that Zuko had seen Sokka hug her… "I came back after ten years at sea and there was no hugging involved whatsoever."

"Oh, so now it turns out you wanted a hug from me?" Azula asked her brother raising an eyebrow and Zuko actually chuckled, surprising her.

"No, thanks. I still appreciate my life, unlike this dumbass," he said, jerking his head towards Sokka as he climbed up to the veranda.

"Oh, sure, I'm a dumbass," Sokka said, pouting and rolling his eyes before focusing on Azula again, and once more he was beaming happily. "Still, Azula, you have to see everything I've learned! The past weeks have been boring without you, true…"

"Gee. That's nice to know," said Haru, glaring at Sokka sideways but he was ignored.

"But they've been really helpful regardless," said Sokka, smiling. "See, look at this!"

He shed his armor quickly, showing Azula the clothes he was wearing underneath. Clothes that were styled in Fire Nation fashion, more so than anything Azula had ever seen Sokka wear.

"Ty Lee helped me get these," he said. "It's flame-retardant clothing! The Millenium Dragon will have to think twice before trying to set me on fire!"

"Huh. Good to know," said Azula, blinking a few times.

"And she also taught me chi-blocking!" said Sokka. "See, Zuko can't move his arms because I chi-blocked him. And Mai has been helping me improve my aim, so now I can chi-block with my boomerang! How cool is that?!"

"Cool, huh…?" Azula said, looking at Sokka warily. She wasn't at all used to seeing him this excited. He was akin to a child showing off all the toys he had gotten as birthday presents that year.

"And Suki has helped me with hand-to-hand combat, I even beat her the other day!" he said, proudly. "As for Zuko, he helps with training against firebenders, which we all know is what I need most. He's not that tough just with the fire, but when he's using his swords too he's a much bigger challenge. I figure I could do better if I had two swords myself or so, but even then, I've done well against him, I think."

"Well, I'd hope so," said Azula, with a smile. "If you couldn't stand a chance against Zuko, the Millennium Dragon would destroy you."

"No need to worry, then, because I can beat Zuko just fine, as you saw," said Sokka, smiling. "Anyhow, for how long were you there? Did you watch our fight?"

"Just the last part of it, but it was quite enlightening," said Azula. "I didn't expect you to become that efficient in a matter of weeks."

"It's been nearly a month by now, I think," he said, fitting his armor back on. "But yeah, I've gotten way better just with this. It's a good thing I'm a quick learner, huh?"

"Yeah, it sure is. But you probably should get back to training, don't you think, Sokka?" Ty Lee interrupted, looking at him questioningly.

"Uh, well, I would but Zuko is kind of useless right now" said Sokka, pointing at his previous opponent, who was currently sitting at the veranda as Suki looked at his hand. "So I guessed I could take a break, right? I mean, since Azula is here…"

"I'd rather you don't take a break, actually," said Azula, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'd like to see the full extent of your abilities by now, even if just against Haru or so."

"Maybe he could fight against me and Haru at the same time!" Ty Lee suggested, excitedly, surprising Azula.

"Is that right? You think he can take both of you?"

"Well, the Millennium Dragon ought to be stronger than the two of us, right, Haru?" she asked her gladiator, who stood up and cracked his knuckles.

"It would be my pleasure to fight him with you," he said, smiling.

"We'll make sure to give Sokka a real challenge," said Ty Lee, proudly, and Zuko huffed.

"As if I hadn't been one…" he grumbled, and Suki chuckled at his bitter comment.

"Oh, well," said Sokka, pouting a little and looking at Azula sideways before smiling. "Then keep a keen eye on the fight, Princess! You'll see just how good I am now, mark my words."

"Is that so?" Azula said, smiling as well.

Sokka chuckled and entered the backyard again, with Ty Lee and Haru this time. Azula stood where she was, somewhat relieved nobody had teased her over Sokka's hug, as Suki talked quietly to Zuko about his numb hand at the other side of the veranda.

"Well, then, I guess it's time for me to take my leave," Mai said suddenly, just as Sokka was ready to face Ty Lee and Haru simultaneously.

"Oh? You're taking off just now?" Azula asked her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"I always go home around this time. It's not right to leave the servants watching over Yuudai all day," she said, smiling. "I'll see you again if you decide to drop by once more. If not, then I guess I'll watch you when you perform your ceremony."

Azula nodded uneasily at that, giving her friend a weak smile. Mai grinned back and placed a hand on her shoulder before turning towards Zuko and Suki to bid them farewell too.

The fight between Ty Lee, Haru and Sokka began moments after Mai walked out the door. It wasn't as fast-paced as the previous one, for it mainly involved Haru pulling up thick earthen shields to protect himself and his sponsor from Sokka's black sword. This frustrated Sokka, naturally, but he didn't run out of patience as he tried to figure out an efficient way to defeat them.

"… I should be able to tend to it, but I have to find the first-aid kit. I know Ty Lee left it somewhere, but I'm not quite sure where. So just sit tight and wait here, okay?" Azula heard Suki tell Zuko.

"Alright, alright," he said, nodding weakly.

Suki entered the house again as Sokka dodged a few dangerous jabs by Ty Lee's hand. Azula sensed her leave the veranda, but she didn't pay her much mind. Part of her was still uneasy around Suki, but at the same time she wasn't as hostile towards her as before. Hopefully, she'd learn to grow used to her presence in time.

She had expected to continue watching the combat calmly after that, but she was surprised when her brother called out her name.

"Azula?" Zuko said, somewhat nervously. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, an eyebrow raised. Did he want to pester her about the hug just a moment ago? She sure expected him to. He would be either too foolish or too noble not to. "You can sit down, I mean… if you want to."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you," she replied, before looking at Zuko fully now. "Your arms are still unresponsive?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Which I guess is good because I can barely feel the cut on my hand. But it's not that good because it feels… well, very unpleasant."

"Chi-blocking often does," said Azula. "Ty Lee's great idea to demonstrate it to me and Mai when she first learned how to do it was to chi-block both of us. Only when we were limp on the ground did she seem to notice what she'd done."

Zuko chuckled, and Azula sighed at the memory but she smiled anyways.

"Sounds like Ty Lee, alright," he said. "Still… well, do as you wish. I was just saying…"

"You're unusually talkative today, considering what you're usually like around me," Azula said, raising an eyebrow and looking at him curiously. "May I inquire as to why?"

"W-why would there have to be a reason?" Zuko asked, flustered, and Azula shrugged weakly.

"Isn't there always one?"

"Well, was there one when I gave you the dagger…?" he muttered under his breath, and Azula frowned. She hadn't spoken with him about that yet.

"I'd like to think there was, in all honesty," she said, startling Zuko. "Because if you're going to start doing nice things spontaneously, I'm going to have to be far more wary of you than I've been up to date."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zuko asked, frowning.

"Well, merely that if you do enough things to be on someone's good side, you'll earn yourself a few benefits eventually. You could get the better of someone by doing that," said Azula, shrugging.

"And you really think that's what I'm after?" Zuko asked.

"Well, now that you've said it, I doubt it" she said, smiling. "You're too righteous, in your own way. You don't know how to manipulate people, which I guess is a good thing for the rest of us. We have more than enough manipulative people in our family as it is."

"Really?" Zuko asked, grimacing. As far as he knew, the only manipulative one was her. Azula chuckled.

"Why, yes, it's not just me, whether you believe it or not," she said, and Zuko blushed at how easily she had read him. He sighed heavily and shook his head.

"If you say so," he said, dropping his head against the wall.

"However… you did bring up the dagger," Azula noted, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Zuko frowned. "And whether or not you wanted to get on my good side through it, you still gave it to me for a reason. Or are you going to pretend otherwise?"

"I… well, it's really not a big deal," he said, frowning. "I just gave it to you because it was your birthday. Did you question everyone who gave you a present that day? I doubt it, so why are you questioning me?"

"Because it is you, Zuko. And it wasn't just any present," Azula said, turning towards him and staring at him with inquisitive eyes. "So…?"

Zuko sighed and shook his head, unusually bashful. Despite her better sense advised against it, Azula decided to sit down beside him, showing she wasn't about to let this go without an answer.

"Fine, then. I'll just wait until you decide to talk," she said, as he kept his mouth shut.

Zuko sighed heavily once more as she focused on the fight once again: Haru and Ty Lee were currently covered by a dome of earth that Sokka was trying to shatter with his sword, but whenever he cut through some of the earth, more would burst to take its place. One of the blocks actually captured Space Sword's blade, and if Sokka hadn't pulled it out quickly, it would have fallen inside that small dome, rendering Sokka nigh helpless.

"Alright, I… I guess I have a few things I've wanted to talk about for a while, but I hadn't found the right moment to do it," he said. "I thought maybe giving you the dagger would be a start, but it looks like you just figured I was after something, so…"

"Didn't I already say you're not the kind of man to try and manipulate others?" said Azula. "Whatever you were trying to accomplish with the dagger isn't really what I dreaded it would be."

"No, it wasn't. Because I just wanted to…" he said, but the words failed him. He sighed and shook his head, and Azula raised an eyebrow. "Well, really, we're just… we're brother and sister. And we're a mess."

"True. I'd accepted that long ago," Azula said, shrugging. "What of it?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Zuko retorted. "I mean… aren't siblings supposed to get along?"

"Says who?" Azula asked, smirking. "Siblings who get along have boring childhoods, I'm sure of it."

"How would you know?" Zuko asked, looking at her in disbelief and she shrugged.

"I have a very active imagination, I suppose," she said, and Zuko grimaced.

"Well, I… I still don't think we should be as we are," he muttered. "I just… never really considered that we could be anything but what we are. I'd taken for granted that you'd spend your entire life making me miserable, and that I had to be wary of you because I'd never know what you'd pull on me next. And… well, it took a punch to the jaw for me to start considering that maybe things weren't just the way I was seeing them."

"You're saying… what Sokka did in Ember Island?" Azula asked.

"I didn't get why he'd punched me at first," Zuko said. "And I was angry at him. How couldn't he see I was in pain? But… but later I realized you were in pain as well. And you've been in pain in other regards. I mean… you were sick that time when you fought the White Lotus, and yet you fought them, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I always thought you were perfect," Zuko said, and Azula froze. "I guess what you did against the White Lotus proves otherwise. It's not so much because you're perfect, which I guess you are in many ways, but still… you weren't in your best shape that day, and you still fought with everything you had. You just… you don't know how to stop, I suppose. You're a bit crazy like that. The only reason you succeed and overcome impossible odds constantly is because you take risks, and once you take them, you do everything you can to make things go your way. Right?"

"I guess?" Azula said, her eyes widening as she looked at Zuko worriedly. "What exactly are you getting at, though?"

"Well… that I'd always thought you were incapable of emotions, and feelings of any kind, and… and that night, I realized I was wrong. It took a conversation with Mai to realize what I was overlooking, everything I was taking for granted about you. I mean… I've envied you for a long time. In many ways, I wanted to be like you, just so I could be the superior sibling for once. That envy stopped me from seeing you for who you really were… and, well, you're my sister. You're mean, dangerous and frightening at times, but you're still my sister. And as much as our history so far is nothing short of awful, I wanted to change that for the better. It's… it's why I gave you the dagger. I thought it could help us make a truce or so, after what happened in Ember Island…"

"So, you want to change our relationship," Azula asked, dumbfounded, staring into the horizon now. Haru had created a tunnel just a moment earlier, from where Ty Lee had burst and nearly chi-blocked Sokka, but he evaded her successfully. "Do you think it's that simple, really? You can say that you want us to get along now, and with that, everything is left in the past?"

"Well, I'm willing to try," Zuko said, looking at her sideways. "Look… I know I haven't been the best older brother. I hate to admit it, but you've scared the hell out of me since we were kids. Eventually I turned that fear to bitterness, and I wanted to change things, so you'd be the one who was scared of me. But heh, that never worked out. You're too smart for me."

"You'd do well to remember that," Azula said, looking at Zuko with unease. "But I guess I'm not as smart as I thought. Because, for the life of me, I don't know what you're expecting from me. I'd help you if I could, but… what on earth is it you want? You want me to stop teasing you, is it? Or do you want me to hug you because I haven't done that since… well, honestly, I can't remember the last time I did. Surely Mother forced me to do it, if anything."

"Surely," said Zuko, chuckling. "And I probably kept telling you to get away from me."

"Indeed," said Azula. "That's how our relationship has been all along, after all. I'm well used to it by now, though…"

"You might be, but I don't want to be," said Zuko, stern again. "Because… I'm tired, Azula. I'm tired of thinking of you as an enemy, as someone who keeps standing in my way to… to what, really? The throne?"

Azula froze at that. She looked at Zuko warily now.

"We've been fighting over who's our father's heir for longer than I care to remember," Zuko said, shaking his head. "And what's the point of doing that now? He's never going to accept me, and you're a thousand times a better heir than me anyways. You can fulfill his expectations, while I just keep failing him. And heck, if I stop thinking about this stupid competition we have over the throne, life starts to be… well, better, really. Once I forget about that crown, I can stop thinking of you as a rival that needs to be crushed so I can get my birthright back. So I just want this to stop for good. I'm… I'm really tired of this, Azula. It's pathetic that I'm at my worst when I'm around you, or when I'm trying to please our father. That's when I want to be at my best, but I'm not. I'm just thinking about how to make him proud, without caring about what I have to do to get there. And I hate it. I mean, Mai asked me if I'd be willing to kill you if that meant earning our father's favor…"

Azula's eyes widened at that. She wouldn't fall before her brother, not in fair combat, but the revelation was surprising all the same, especially after Ozai had once talked about Zuko's possible death as something he would hardly care for…

"But as I thought about it, the idea was just revolting. I don't want to fight you anymore, Azula," he said, looking at her earnestly. "I know you're still bound to keep teasing me, because, I mean, that's you. You love to do that to everyone you know, and I guess I have to live with it. But I don't want to live with the rest of it. I don't want… well, to be your enemy. Father wants nothing to do with me, Mother is gone… of our family, you're the only one I have left. And I'd rather not let that go to waste."

"Well, you still have Iroh, don't you?" Azula asked, and Zuko nodded.

"Still, I meant from our side of the family," he said. "I mean, I look back at the old days and… and the four of us were happy once. Maybe it wasn't perfect, but it worked. One day it just stopped working, I guess, but… but I'd like to hold on to the good memories. It's better that way."

"Maybe it is," said Azula, dropping her head against the wall as well. "All the same, Zuzu, this is… well, weird, at a lack of a better word. I mean, I'm not quite displeased by your wishes to get along with me, but it's still somewhat easier said than done. You can't just expect me to forget our past… heck, you're the first one who shouldn't forget our past. I've tormented you since we were children and you're going to forgive me for it all of sudden just because…?"

"Because I'm sick of living in the past?" Zuko asked. "Yeah, I think I'm willing to forgive you if it means I get to move on. I'm done with feeling like a misfit at home just because the world moved on while I wasn't around. If I don't catch up now, chances are I never will. And… well, I think this is the first thing I can do to catch up. I know you think it's weird, and you probably think it's wrong, but…"

"I don't think it's wrong, I think it's idealistic. Too idealistic, perhaps," said Azula, sighing. "And how do you hope to accomplish this? What do you want me to do, stop tormenting you?"

"Well, I'd rather you don't torment me anymore, sure," said Zuko, smiling. "But that's up to you, I guess. I… I don't know what you want to do. I'm not going to force you to act any differently. Just know that… that I will. Because I'm really not up for this anymore. Every single time you earned honors I couldn't obtain, I just hated myself for it and I hated you for being so perfect. This time, though, when I heard of the ceremony I was surprised, and after a while I just hoped you'd do it well. But I guess that's a given. I mean, it's you, so you'll get it right."

"You'd think it's that simple…" Azula muttered, and Zuko frowned.

"What, it's not? How hard can it be? You just perform some routine and…"

"Naturally, you'd see it that way," Azula said, with a weak smile. "Well, it's not quite much more than a routine, sure. But I'm still working on it."

"Really? I thought you were here today because you were done with it," Zuko said, surprised.

"Not quite. Not yet, anyways," said Azula.

"Well… too bad, then," said Zuko, looking at her worriedly. "Still, you're going to blow everyone away with that ceremony. You always do."

"Or try to, at least," said Azula, shrugging. "But, uh… if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is fire for you, Zuko?"

"Uh… fire?" Zuko asked, surprised.

"It's just a question, nothing more," she said, raising her arms in gesture of innocence.

"Sure," said Zuko, smiling a little. "Nothing ever is with you, but…"

"Ah, so it turns out you can give me a dagger and I shouldn't question it, but when I ask you something without any ulterior motives, you think…?"

"Okay, okay, sorry!" Zuko said, laughing a little as Azula glared at him.

"Way to show you want our relationship to improve, Zuzu, really," she said.

"I just don't know what to tell you, I mean, it's the element I bend," he said, shrugging. "It gives me strength, even if at times it feels like it doesn't make me strong enough. When I was younger it scared me for a time, until… well, until Father told me I shouldn't fear my own fire. He explained it wasn't going to hurt me unless I let it. So… I guess I've been fighting my own fire, in a sense, for a time. I've tried to get better at bending it, but it gets hard at times. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Azula blinked a few times, staring at Zuko blankly as he eyed her with uncertainty. Going by her reaction, that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"You fight your fire? Really?" she asked again, and Zuko scowled.

"What of it?" he said, and Azula smiled.

"That you shouldn't do that, is all," she said. "Fighting it means you're still afraid of it. All the same as you don't want to be afraid of me, you can't be afraid of your own flames. You need to welcome them. They really aren't going to burn you, not your own flames anyways. You just have to start using fire as less of a weapon that can backfire on you, and more as a part of yourself. It might become easier to bend it that way."

"Y-you think?" Zuko said, startled by her advice. He had never gone to his sister for firebending advice. He hadn't expected her to hand any out to him randomly, either.

"It could help," she said, shrugging. "Still, I guess you use your emotions to boost your fire, don't you?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Being angry helps," he said, and Azula nodded. "Which is why I can use fire well enough while dealing with your gladiator. Few people make me as angry as he does."

Azula smiled at that, watching Sokka with a little less anxiety than before. Now that she had spoken with Zuko, she found she wasn't as bothered by what Sokka had done earlier – it was easier to feel at ease about it when she had other things in mind. Ty Lee was attempting to chi-block Sokka while Haru trapped him between walls of earth. Sokka managed to evade the attacks, despite the overwhelming odds. It truly surprised Azula to notice how agile he had become: he had always been fast, but his movements were much quicker than ever before.

"He's really an idiot," Zuko said, as Sokka made a feint of moving towards Ty Lee, but instead he lunged at Haru. "But I think I understand why you chose him as your gladiator by now."

"It speaks well of you that you have," Azula replied. "In any case, Zuko... About what you were saying."

"Yeah?"

"I can't say I share your concerns about our relationship," she admitted. "We both know I was almost always on the winning end of it, so it never bothered me as much as it might have bothered you. Still... You did get on my nerves more often than not ever since you returned. I could understand your plight, in a sense, but I didn't feel like comforting you in your pain. I... I guess I was somewhat pleased nobody would comfort you anymore. Mother always did, so I thought that if you were left to deal with this on your own you'd find your own path rather than going to anyone else for help or support. So, you weren't a great brother, true, but... I'm not a good sister either, and I'm well aware of it. I've relished in it for years, actually. We've both been waiting constantly for the other to fall so we can take all the glory for ourselves... it has never mattered that we're siblings. All along we've fought each other, and in all honesty I find it hard for that to change for the better now."

"So, you think I'm just wasting my time?"

"I didn't say that," Azula pointed out. "I merely meant that it's hard to put twenty years of resentment behind us. I suppose it could be done, but it will take a while. I just hope you don't expect me to become the nicest sister in the world because that would be unbearably boring..."

"Boredom isn't that bad at times, you know," said Zuko, smirking.

"Right," she said, sarcastically. "The point is, Zuko, that I'm not going to become a perfect sister for you, just like you're never going to become the perfect brother for me. If you want our relationship to improve, you need to understand that. We need to accept the other for who they are, without wanting them to change to suit our ideal of what a sibling should be like."

"Huh, I guess so," said Zuko, nodding.

"So, what I can do for you is accept you for who you are," Azula said, folding her arms across her chest. "Without trying to turn you into someone you're not. In return, you ought to do the same. And if that helps us get along somehow, you just might get what you wanted."

"Don't you want it too, though?" Zuko asked, and Azula smiled and shrugged.

"Well, it's too much fun to annoy you, and I'm afraid you really want this just so I stop doing it, but you're not going to get that lucky…"

"It's not just about that," said Zuko, rolling his eyes and Azula smirked.

"Then it is, partly, about that?"

Zuko scowled at her as she laughed. As ever, she was messing with him… but for once, he could stop scowling and smile as well, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No doubt you're never going to change," he said, smiling. "But I'll just get used to it…"

"Well, you've had plenty of time to get used to it by now," said Azula, raising her eyebrows.

Zuko would have replied to her, but his eyes left Azula's when Suki returned to the veranda, bringing first-aid equipment with her. Azula raised an eyebrow and followed her with her gaze as the girl approached, crouching at Zuko's right as she set down a small box.

"Still feeling numb?" Suki asked, and Zuko grimaced.

"A little, but it's starting to wear off by now. Not pleasant," he said, and Suki smiled.

"Yeah, I noticed yesterday," she said, and Azula looked at her inquisitively.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Oh, when Sokka defeated me yesterday he chi-blocked one of my arms," she said. "I'd never been chi-blocked before then, and I sure don't want to be chi-blocked again."

"Ever since Sokka learned how to do it, he's been resorting to it non-stop," said Zuko, rolling his eyes, and Azula turned to watch the fight again, her eyes narrow.

"Really, now?"

Just then, Sokka's boomerang cut through the air and struck Ty Lee's lower back, and her numbed legs gave way under her weight. Haru jumped towards her protectively as soon as he heard her groan in pain, and soon enough he had joined her on the ground, for Sokka had approached him rapidly. He tripped Haru with a swift movement, making him fall hard on his back, and before he could find his bearings there was a sword at his throat. Haru glared at Sokka before dropping his head on the ground and groaning in defeat. Ty Lee whimpered only a few feet away from him: Sokka chuckled and turned towards Azula proudly.

"Hehe! Did you see that?!" he asked, and she smiled. "I didn't even break a sweat!"

"Not true, but you did it indeed," Azula said, nodding. "Not bad. But now you have to help them, don't you?"

Sokka's enthusiasm froze then as he turned towards Haru and Ty Lee. The earthbender was rubbing his back and struggling to stand up. Once he was on his feet he tried to help Ty Lee too, and Sokka joined him at it, smiling guiltily at his friends, who only regarded him with playful resentment.

"Well, what do you know, he can beat those two at once now," said Suki, her eyes wide. "That's new."

"Maybe he's just trying way harder than usual to impress Azula," said Zuko, smirking as Suki's attention returned towards cleaning his wound. Despite Zuko's attempt to irritate his sister, Azula kept her composure.

"He should try indeed," she said. "Unless he proves he really can stand his ground against a firebender of high caliber, he's not going to the Slate, no matter how hard he trains. If he wants to convince me that he can do it, he'd better show me the full extent of his abilities."

"You should fight him yourself, then," Suki suggested, bandaging the numb hand as Zuko started squirming. He was starting to regain the feeling of his limbs. "That ought to… oh, sorry. Is that too tight, Zuko?"

"N-no, it's fine," he said, smiling weakly. "I'm just not as numb anymore, is all…"

"Such bad timing, just when I'm in the middle of this," she said, laughing softly. "Oh, well. Bear with it, alright?"

"I'll do what I can," said Zuko. "But you don't think I can bend like this, do you?"

"Well, not while you're chi-blocked, you can't," said Suki, matter-of-factly. "You'll have to find out later on."

"You still have your other hand, though, it's not a matter of urgency," said Azula, and Zuko frowned.

"I have to fight your gladiator, don't I? I can't do it with just one hand."

"Well, if things are as they look, the fighting time should be over by now," said Azula, surprising both Zuko and Suki. "He needs a different kind of training, one to help him brave through the conditions of the Slate."

"If you're talking about the extreme heat, Zuko has been trying to do some of that," said Suki. "He heats up the ground, scorches it, and Sokka has to keep his footing despite he's standing on burning earth. The metal platform in the Slate will heat up a lot, so this should help…"

"It sounds like it, but it's not all you can do," said Azula. "For instance, Haru could create an earth or glass dome, and Sokka sits within it. You'd heat it up from the outside, Zuko. This way, he would start building his temperature endurance for good. Someone could even fight him inside the contraption, if Haru makes it big enough to allow it."

"Huh…" said Zuko, raising his one eyebrow.

"You wouldn't need both hands just to heat that up," said Azula, shrugging and Zuko nodded.

"That could work. Still, I hope this heals sooner than later," he said, looking at his newly bandaged hand.

"Don't overdo things and it surely will," said Suki, smiling at him before gathering the first aid kit and heading inside the house again to put it away.

Zuko watched her go, a happy grin on his face. And Azula watched her brother in turn, a pleased smirk on hers. Once Zuko noticed the way Azula was watching him he started blushing.

"W-what are you looking at me like that for?!"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just impressed by the developments, is all," said Azula, shrugging. "I do hope things work out well for you, Zuzu. She seems to like you."

"What are you talking a-…?" he started, before freezing in the middle of his denial. "Y-you think she likes me? I mean… you do?"

"It's not that hard to tell," said Azula, grinning. It hadn't been hard indeed. When she saw Suki jump to help Zuko, and roll her eyes at Sokka's ridiculous comments, everything she had dreaded about the girl seemed to disappear in thin air. It was decidedly an unexpected development, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about it. "I'm still baffled by how it happened, but if this makes you happy, by all means, enjoy yourself… just, don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"Stupid like what?" Zuko asked, before shaking his head. "W-whatever you're talking about anyways, it's not like… like anything can really happen, right? I mean, I'm a Prince, and she's a slave, so…"

"Heh. Indeed, you are a Prince," said Azula, trying not to sound too bitter as she spoke. "But a Prince with a father who doesn't keep tabs on what his son does. You could knock her up for all he cares, and you'd face no hardships, or well, barely any hardships for it."

"Because I'm a Prince, or because Father doesn't give a damn about me?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, Princes don't need to be chaste and pure before marriage," Azula said, raising her eyebrows, and Zuko froze. That was true. He'd never heard of pressures of the sort weighing on him… "Just something to think about, I guess. Still, don't do anything you'll regret, Zuzu. If you do like her, you'll know better than to put her in a troublesome situation."

"Well, yeah. Why would I do anything I'd regret…?" he grumbled, blushing weakly.

His question went unanswered, though, for Sokka was done helping Ty Lee and Haru onto the veranda. The girl's legs were regaining their strength faster than Zuko's arms, since Sokka's attack had been less accurate on her body than it had been on Zuko's.

"I get it, I need to keep practicing. The longer the chi's blocked, the better," Sokka was saying, as Ty Lee critiqued his technique. "Still, I won and that's what counts, right?"

"It should be," Azula replied, standing up in one fluid movement, earning Sokka's attention immediately. "But it wouldn't hurt for you to be slightly more precise in what you do, right?"

"Well, I still have one more month to work on that, don't I?" Sokka said, smiling brightly at her.

"So… you want to do this?" Azula asked, folding her arms over her chest, scrutinizing Sokka with raised eyebrows. "You're certain you can fight against the Millennium Dragon?"

"I wouldn't say I'm certain of it, but I think I can survive," he said. "Wasn't my fight with these two convincing enough for you, huh?"

Azula smirked at that and shook her head slowly, and Sokka raised an eyebrow before grinning again.

"Not quite. I think she had the right idea," with that, she jerked her head towards Suki, who was returning to Zuko's side now. "If I'm to ascertain you've really improved as you must, there's only one way to find out."

"Heh," said Sokka, smirking. "If that's how you want it, then I'm all for it."

"Are you, now? You're not tired after training all day?" Azula asked.

"I've built up a lot of stamina after a month of this routine," he said, proudly. "So I'm ready for you, Princess."

Azula smirked at him and nodded, walking into the garden as she withdrew her sword from her sheath. Sokka smiled wildly as he followed her with his gaze, and he jumped out of the veranda as well, unsheathing his weapons excitedly as he stood opposite to her in the backyard.

"I suppose you're not going to pull the 'no firebending' rule on me today, or are you?" Azula asked, swinging Wolf's Bane a few times as her inquisitive eyes met Sokka's.

"No point in doing that this time around, is there?" he said, lifting Space Sword towards Azula.

"Good," she said, a determined smile on her face.

Suki took her seat next to Zuko as she watched the scene in the garden. You didn't hear of gladiators and sponsors training together on any given day, let alone when the sponsor was someone as high-born as Princess Azula. Zuko was quite curious too, eager to witness his sister's prowess with her sword first-hand, and Ty Lee was giggling excitedly next to Haru, as all four of them waited for this fight unfold.

Their eyes clashed as they hadn't in a long time, and most of what they hadn't been able to speak about upon their reunion seemed to be exchanged through their gazes. The intensity of Sokka's eyes made something stir pleasantly within Azula. Inadvertently, her smile became warmer only brief moments before she lunged at him, a blast of blue fire in one hand, a slash of white in the other.

Sokka jumped back instinctively, finding the blue flames were more resilient than Zuko's fire. They grazed his armor, but naturally, they didn't set it on fire. Once Sokka was certain he had spared himself from the worst of Azula's attack he jumped forth, Space Sword swinging down on Wolf's Bane.

Azula parried his blow and attacked again, knowing he would block her next strike. Yet she spun quickly, her feet drawing an arch of fire on the ground. Sokka grimaced and jumped back yet again, but Azula didn't let him put distance between them.

She stabbed towards his head, knowing she'd make him lose balance that way. Sokka indeed ended up leaning backwards, struggling to keep his footing until he decided it was better to let himself fall just so he could push himself up and attempt to kick the Princess with both his feet. Azula had to jump back when Sokka's kick nearly reached her: he meant to inch closer to her once he had regained his footing and strike her with chi-blocking now, but before he could lift his hand Azula had blasted another fireball at him, through her sword, no less.

"Damn!" Sokka exclaimed, dropping to his knees to avoid the fire as Azula smirked.

"It seems I'm still too much for you," she said, proudly.

"You've always been," Sokka replied, with a grin of his own.

His response nearly made her blush, but his next attack kept her on edge. He darted forward and swung his sword, trying to keep her at a distance, but Azula simply shrunk on her frame and stomped on the ground, bringing forth a small pillar of fire right beneath Sokka. The gladiator panicked briefly before jumping backwards again, and Azula chuckled. The sight of her smile almost made him swoon, but at the same time it hurt his pride. He was better than this and he knew it.

With a quick motion he whipped out his boomerang and tossed it at Azula. She shot a blast of fire at it, simply to knock it off course, just as Sokka attempted to attack her again. She grinned and lifted a leg, kicking more flames at him, but she had forgotten about Sokka's new agility by then. She frowned once he dodged her attack, and she jumped, now creating another fire blast with her other leg. Sokka evaded it as well before reaching Azula, his sword attempting to cut through her defenses, yet it didn't work quite that well: her white sword parried his, twirling Space Sword and granting her a chance to throw another blast of fire at him. Sokka dodged once more, disengaging himself from the twirl and attempting to stab Azula again. She twisted her body to the side now as he lunged forward, and she struck the back of his head with her knuckles as he passed beside her.

Sokka stumbled forward, with a grin on his face as he caught his breath. Azula looked at him warily, but with interest.

"I've definitely gotten better at this," he said. "The last time you evaded me like that, you punched my jaw so hard I could barely keep fighting afterwards."

Azula's eyes widened as she recalled what he was talking about. Their very first confrontation had featured a very similar situation indeed… she grinned in acknowledgement and raised an eyebrow.

"Yet you're still far from delivering any real damage when I'm at my best," she said, and Sokka chuckled.

"One step at a time, Princess," he said. "One step at a time."

He jumped towards her again, and Azula smirked as she created a wall of fire after performing a very complex sequence of stances. Sokka froze in place and crouched soon enough, trying to use his armor as a shield from the fierce flames. He caught sight of his boomerang by the time the flames were about to reach him, noticing it was only a few feet from where he was. He jumped towards it and threw it through the fire, but most unlike how it had been with many firebenders he had faced recently, the Flaming Boomerang attack, as he liked to call it in his head, failed. Azula merely ducked and the weapon soared above her head… yet the momentary distraction helped Sokka briefly, for in that speck of a moment, Azula's wall of fire had weakened.

He breached through it, swinging his sword upwards only so it would meet hers again. Azula's free fist was coated with fire and she attempted to strike Sokka with it, but he dodged her, now trying to attack her from her other flank. Azula was left with no other way to defend herself than to twist her body again in order to avoid Space Sword's incredibly sharp edge.

"Not so fast!" she exclaimed, managing to swing Wolf's Bane quickly enough to parry Space Sword's advance.

They stood with their swords pressed against one another, glaring at the other fiercely, but with smirks on their faces.

"So? How good am I, huh?" he asked, trying to force her back, but Azula's footing was steadier than he expected.

"Not good enough," Azula replied, matter-of-factly before roaring with fire.

Sokka's eyes widened before he jumped back, shocked by Azula's latest resource. She laughed at his panicked reaction before jumping forth once more, swinging her sword down on his, blue sparks born each time metal crashed against metal.

"What the heck, woman?!" he exclaimed, as Azula kept laughing.

"You think you're the only one allowed to be creative on the battlefield? Well, think again!" she exclaimed, stabbing forward and creating a vortex of flames to accompany her sword.

"That's not the…!" he started, before his eyes widened and he ducked again, the fire nearly singing his hair. "Azula!"

"Oh, come now, is this really too extreme for you?" she asked. "Here I thought your training had been some use!"

Sokka groaned, pulling out his club now and Azula chuckled at that.

"Ooooh, are we getting serious now?" she asked mockingly, and the taunt was enough for Sokka to swing down the massive weapon towards her. Azula moved away from the trajectory of the weapon with ease. "Are you sure about that, Sokka? Really?"

He swung the club again, and she ducked to avoid it before shooting a weak plum of fire at his face. Sokka grimaced and inched away from it, just before it disappeared in thin air. Azula smiled at his reaction and readied herself to attack him again, but Sokka lifted Space Sword once more. Azula blocked it with Wolf's Bane and Sokka attempted to strike her with the club now, albeit Azula noticed he was doing it halfheartedly. She pushed his sword, making him miss on his attempt to hit her with the club, but he continued to try… which only resulted in the pair of them spinning in circles in what seemed would be a pointless chase.

Azula broke off from their cycle, laughing while Sokka stumbled and he struggled to keep his footing, dizzy after what had just happened. Azula was somewhat lightheaded herself, but she still darted towards Sokka, her sword in tow. He resorted to moving away from her, swinging the club wildly to keep her at a distance. Azula allowed him some room, but just momentarily, for she soon blasted a wheel of fire his way. Sokka gritted his teeth and swept it off with his club in one go, but only then did he realize he was done for.

He lifted Space Sword to defend himself, but it was too late. Wolf's Bane was already at his neck by the time his sword was at Azula's hip.

They stood still now, their chests heaving as they stared at one another intensely for a moment. They couldn't help but smile before long, lowering their weapons to put an end to the empty threats they had raised for each other.

"Still not good enough for you, I guess," Sokka said, smiling weakly.

"But much better than I expected, regardless," Azula replied. "Definitely better than our last sparring session."

"And a thousand times better than the first one, too," he said, smirking and Azula laughed.

"Well, I'd hope so. After all the training you've been through, you'd better be way past that level by now, gladiator," she told him.

"Oh, well. Maybe in another month I'll manage to stand on even grounds with you," he said, as Ty Lee approached them, beaming.

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed. "I'd never seen someone keep up with Azula like that, Sokka!"

"Meh, I still didn't win," he said, shrugging in defeat. "So I still have ways to go, I'd say."

"You tied, though. Isn't that a lot of progress by now?" Ty Lee asked, surprised.

"Tied?" Sokka repeated. "That wasn't a tie. If it had been a real fight, she would have beheaded me long before I could threaten her with my sword."

"And you'd do best to remember that," Azula stated, proudly, and Sokka pouted.

"You cruel woman," he said, shaking his head as Ty Lee giggled.

"Well, it was still a really amazing fight!" she exclaimed, smiling at them. "In no time Sokka will be fit for the Slate, don't you think, Azula?"

"He'd better be, if he really wants to fight there," Azula said, and Sokka smirked.

"I think I'll manage, actually. I really feel good about this now."

"So do I," said Ty Lee, giggling. Before Azula could so much as look at her inquisitively, she changed the topic. "Still, I figure that's enough training for now, right?"

"Yeah, please," said Sokka, grimacing. "I'm spent by now."

"Really? And I was only warming up," Azula said, teasingly, and Sokka smiled.

"Are you going to stay for dinner, Azula?" Ty Lee asked, looking at her friend expectantly. "We could make enough food for you, if you'd like. It'd be nice having you around a little longer."

"Huh, well," she said, raising an eyebrow. Xin Long was still enjoying a flight over the clouds, so it would seem he wouldn't return for her any time soon. "I suppose I could stay. No harm in that, is there?"

"Nope!" Ty Lee squealed, throwing her arms around Azula's neck and hugging her tightly. Azula patted the girl's back awkwardly, looking at her in confusion.

"What was that for?" she asked, as Ty Lee moved away.

"I hadn't greeted you properly yet, had I?" she said, giggling before turning back towards the house. "Alright, then! Haru, Suki, it's time to start dinner!"

Haru smiled and nodded at his sponsor, though he offered Sokka an approving grin before following Ty Lee inside.

"You did really well today," he told him. "You really just might make it in the Slate, at this rate."

"Heh, that's the plan, right?" said Sokka, with an awkward grin as he, Azula and Haru walked together to the veranda again.

"Here I was hoping you'd scorch him," Zuko told Azula, sighing, his arms already fully mobile by now. His sister raised an eyebrow.

"And here I thought you'd rather get back at Sokka for that wound yourself," Azula said, and Zuko smiled.

"Yeah, actually, that's a good idea."

"As if you could even try," said Sokka, smirking arrogantly.

"You two really make a fearsome combination," said Suki, staring at Sokka and Azula with subtle admiration. "You don't see gladiators and sponsors like you two every day."

"Nope, you sure don't," said Sokka, grinning goofily at Azula now. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"For better or for worse, I guess that's so," she said, shoving Sokka away just before he tried to surround her shoulders with an arm.

Ty Lee, Haru and Suki took off to the kitchen to make dinner, and Zuko, facing the perspective of ending up in the company of both his sister and her gladiator, chose to tag along with the other group instead. Only time would tell if his conversation with Azula had yielded actual results. The outcome seemed positive so far, but he wasn't about to test his luck by spending time with Azula and Sokka at the same time. They both enjoyed mocking him so much that he dreaded all his progress with his sister would be forgotten right away.

Azula and Sokka chose to stay outside, both because they knew they wouldn't prove too helpful with cooking and because they wanted a moment to speak privately. The Princess took her seat at the veranda yet again as Sokka removed his armor and weapons, setting them on the ground and dropping next to Azula, a heavy sigh of relief escaping him once he had taken his seat.

"Damn, I'm beat," he said, and Azula smirked.

"Why, yes, I beat you indeed. I'm glad you're willing to acknowledge it."

"I didn't mean it like that," he said, smiling. "And you know what? You actually broke my victorious streak. I hadn't lost against anyone for the last three days… and then you had to go and change that."

"As I must. I can't let you think too highly of yourself, can I?" Azula asked, and Sokka chuckled. "Still, I have to say I'm pleased. It speaks well of you that you're able to defeat Zuko even though he wields two swords and fire against you."

"His dual swords had me at a bit of a disadvantage for a while," Sokka said. "I could take him on if it was just his bending, but with the swords he had a pretty good edge on me. Still, I've gotten the hang of his style by now. He's not going to defeat me ever again if I can avoid it."

"Well, he shouldn't. How shameful would it be for my own gladiator to fall before my brother," Azula said dramatically, and Sokka chuckled. "Still, I think you could gain the upper hand against him more easily if you had another sword, perhaps. Dual jian swords aren't as popular as dao swords, but you could learn how to fight that way."

"I probably could," Sokka admitted. "I've also thought about a shield, the warriors back in my Tribe used them. It might be helpful to have a shield in the Slate, don't you think?"

"Hmm…" Azula said, frowning and staring at Sokka thoughtfully. "I'm not quite sure. A shield might not be a bad idea, but it's bound to slow you down. And depending on the material it's made of, it might prove troublesome during the fight. A metallic shield could heat up to unbearable temperatures, and it might even burn your hand if you hold it for very long…"

"Uh, I hadn't thought about that," said Sokka, grimacing. "Still, I guess there are other materials for shields… though you're right about a shield slowing me down."

"From what I saw, your agility is better than ever," Azula said, and Sokka smiled proudly. "It's an edge you'll need in that fight. You're better at evading than at defending yourself, I think."

"And if worst comes to worst, I can just use my thick skull as defense, right?" said Sokka, and Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, if you want the Millenium Dragon to set your head on fire, be my guest," she said, shrugging and Sokka cringed.

"I-it was just a joke…" he said.

"A stupid one," said Azula, smiling. "A thick skull isn't going to help you overcome fire, Sokka."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you very much," he said, looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Therefore… I think we'll have to go with the first option," she said, removing Wolf's Bane from her waist and extending it towards Sokka. He blinked blankly a few times before staring at Azula with disbelief.

"Y-you want me to…? Eh?" he said, and she placed the sword on his lap.

"I understand you use your boomerang with your free hand, but two swords just might be better than one in the fight looming ahead," she said. "I suggest you only resort to the boomerang in occasions where you know using it will yield results. It's a better long-distance weapon than a short-distance one. You won't deliver the same amount of damage with a sword and a boomerang as with two blades."

"Yeah, well… I get that," said Sokka, nodding. "But don't you think it's somewhat ominous for the Blue Wolf to fight with a sword called Wolf's Bane?"

"Oh, you can't be serious. Are you really that superstitious?" Azula asked, laughing as Sokka shrugged.

"Well, what am I supposed to think, huh?" he said, with a smile as well. "It does seem counterproductive for a wolf to fight using his bane, you know?"

"Maybe the wolf has learned to use his bane to his advantage" she said, smiling and Sokka rubbed his chin, thoughtful. "How about that?"

"That's actually pretty clever of you, now that I think of it," he acknowledged, before looking at the sword in detail. "Still, Wolf's Bane is a little different from what I'm used to… but I guess a month of training should get me used to wielding it, huh?"

"I'd hope so," said Azula.

"Are you sure about this, though?" Sokka asked. "The last time you leant me one of your possessions for a gladiator fight you were very displeased by what happened to it…"

Azula's eyebrow twitched and her mouth twisted into a grimace, as she quickly recalled that Sokka had stabbed someone with her hairpiece, no less. She took a deep breath, however, and nodded.

"Well, yes, you could say I'm having a leave of my senses by doing this. But this is the only way in which I can help you in your training, since I really can't take part in it as I am," she said. "So either take it or leave it. But if you do take it, make sure to take decent care of my sword, alright?"

"I will, I will," he said, nodding.

"So… you're going to continue training for the next month," she said. "And then the Slate awaits."

"Yeah. I don't think I can win, in all honesty I don't even want to worry about that," he said. "Especially when I'll be up against the second-best gladiator in the League. But I'm starting to think I really can pull this off. I might be wrong, maybe he'll knock me out five seconds into the fight, but I really hope not."

"I think we all do," said Azula, smiling weakly. "Well, then, it's decided. I'll let Shoji know we'll accept the challenge."

"Yeah," said Sokka, taking a deep breath. So far, the Slate had been a distant, looming object in the horizon: now it was his immediate future. He wasn't ready for it yet, but he would make sure to be by the time he fought the Millennium Dragon. "Uh… you say that lending me your sword is the one thing you can do to have some part in my training? Does that mean you're not here to stay?"

"You thought I was?" Azula asked.

"Well, I hoped, rather…" he said. "I wasn't kidding when I told you things are slightly more boring when you're not around."

"Flattering, really," said Azula, as he smiled. "But I came just to make sure you were making proper progress, so I could decide if we accepted the challenge or not."

"Huh," said Sokka, disheartened. "I guess that ceremony is a bigger deal than I realized."

"Indeed," said Azula, frowning. "It's been… taxing, really. Overwhelming, in some senses. I already know the movements by heart, but…"

"But?" Sokka asked, when she fell silent for a moment. Azula sighed.

"Something's not right about my fire, apparently," she said, and Sokka looked at her in utter confusion. "It's the perfect fire for combat, but not for ceremonial purposes. It seems I'm missing out on something important when I bend, and, well… I'm still in the process of figuring out what it is."

"That's weird," said Sokka, staring at her worriedly. "I'd never heard fire needs to be of different qualities to be used for different purposes."

"I hadn't heard of it myself, but I had noticed it," said Azula. "I've seen ceremonies since I was young, so I'd noticed that the performers don't use fire in the same way I do. I guessed there would be a logical reasoning behind that, but apparently there's none. The Head Sage just said that my fire wasn't quite appropriate for the ceremony, despite I mastered the routine in one go. I've spent the last month trying to figure out how to make my fire suitable for this ceremony. Xin Long has been helping me, and thanks to him I've made good progress, but I feel it's not enough just yet. So, even if your life is boring without me, I really can't train with you as I am. I still have to figure this out somehow."

"I see," said Sokka, biting his lip and sighing. "Dang, that sounds rough."

"It doesn't sound that rough," said Azula, smiling a little. "If you think about it, it's really not something to be so worried about. Or it wouldn't be, if…"

"If what?"

"If only I'd never heard anyone say my fire is inadequate until now," said Azula, shaking her head. "I've spent my whole life in the pursuit of perfecting my firebending, but now it seems it was all a waste. Apparently, the fire needed for this ceremony shouldn't be perfect. It's like… like I'm killing my flames' soul when I bend them. And I can't do that, or else I'll be ignoring the ceremony's purpose."

"Which is…?" Sokka asked.

"Offering our fire to the Fire Nation's regent, meaning, the sun," said Azula, lifting her gaze towards the sky. "It should be an offering of our finest fire, the fire that resembles the sun's warmth the most, or so. And mine… mine doesn't cut it, it seems."

"Then what are you going to do?" Sokka asked, worried. "I mean, if you think you can't do it…"

"Even if I couldn't do it, I'd have to do it," Azula said, matter-of-factly. "My father won't stand for anything else. He demanded I did the ceremony, so I must. There's no way around it."

"But… oh, well," said Sokka. "You're actually sounding more hopeless than you should be, if you ask me. I mean…"

"Yeah, it's me," said Azula, rolling her eyes. "Things always go my way somehow, and I always blow people's minds with the final result of whatever I'd set my mind to. The thing is, Sokka… I don't think that's going to happen this time. I don't think I can figure this one out through my wits or plain luck. I can't make my fire adequate for the ceremony just by willing it."

"I guess not," said Sokka, sighing. "Well, for what it's worth, your fire is the most impressive I've ever seen, and that stands true to this day. I'm willing to bet even the Millennium Dragon won't change my mind about that."

"I appreciate that," said Azula, smiling. "It does comfort me on some level to think that some people might not sense anything wrong with my fire during the ceremony. I figure only the Sages would find it unfit, and perhaps my Uncle. I don't think my father will care either way, so long as I perform the ceremony as he wants me to."

"Oh, well, if that's the case then you don't have much to worry about, right?" he said. "A lot of people won't see anything wrong with it."

"Yeah, maybe," said Azula. "But I'll know I failed. And even if I were showered in praise and glory, I'd know it's undeserved. That's why… why I feel so lost about this. I don't know what to do. I've read books, I asked the Head Sage and my uncle, then I went to Xin Long… and I feel I'm just taking baby steps. I'm supposed to be a prodigy, a girl who gets things right in one go… and this time I can't get it right, no matter how many times I try. It's… frustrating."

"Now, now," said Sokka, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Stop being so hard on yourself, Azula. You're doing everything you can as it is, right?"

"Right," she said.

"Well, then, either it'll work out or it won't, but worrying about it and thinking lowly of yourself isn't going to make it better," he said, and Azula frowned. "I mean… people have different affinities, they're good at some things and bad at others. I'm great at eating, but terrible at cooking, which is why these guys won't ever let me help them with dinner…"

"A wise decision, actually," said Azula, with a weak smile.

"So maybe… maybe you're better at combat bending, and ceremonial bending isn't your best front," he said, and her smile disappeared. "But that's not something to feel miserable about, you know. I mean… I really don't care whether or not you can perform ceremonial bending. From what you said, your father barely does either because he simply wants you to do it, right?"

"Sure, but that doesn't mean I don't want to do this properly," Azula said.

"It doesn't, and I understand that," said Sokka. "But… you're not a lesser bender, let alone person, if you can't pull this off as you hoped. You're still amazing, Azula. And heck, you're really miserable about it right now, but maybe by the time the ceremony takes place, you'll have mastered ceremonial bending. You can't say for certain right now, can you?"

"No, I guess not, but… I doubt that," said Azula, shaking her head as Sokka dropped his hand on her lap now, finding hers.

"Well, even if you refuse to believe in yourself, I can do it for you," he said, making her stare at him in confusion. "No matter what happens in that ceremony, I'll be there for you."

"You think that's reassuring?" said Azula, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, but… that just makes it worse. Because I don't want to disappoint you, of all people."

"Me, of all people?" Sokka asked, biting his lip, and Azula rolled her eyes.

"I shouldn't have said that…"

"Well, why not?" he asked, chuckling before glancing over his shoulder. Once he made sure the others were in the kitchen, and that the kitchen's window had its drapes drawn over it, he slid his fingers between hers. Azula sighed, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You really like taking unnecessary risks, huh?" she said. "It's not bad enough that the Captain is already after us, you just can't wait for these guys to find out about us too."

"They won't find out," said Sokka, smiling. "They can't look out that window with the drapes in the way, and if they were coming out to the veranda again we'd hear them long before they could see us. So really, it's not as much of a risk as it could be."

"Not at all," said Azula, sarcastically, and Sokka squeezed her hand.

"Azula…"

"I know, I know," she said, sighing again. "I need to stop being so negative and to stop worrying about this. Xin Long keeps telling me the same thing. He thinks I bend better when I'm not thinking about the ceremony, which is probably true. It seems my fire feels warmer when that happens."

"Your fire feels warmer…?" he repeated, confused.

"Well, that's the only thing the Sage was able to tell me," said Azula. "That my fire felt 'cold', or so."

"Heh? Your fire is pretty hot, mind you," said Sokka, grimacing. "If he thinks otherwise, maybe you ought to burn him and show him just how wrong he is."

"My fire is pretty hot, then?" Azula asked, smirking. "Now, I wonder how I should take that…"

"Oh, blast it," said Sokka, as Azula laughed. "You can't let a single one of those slide, can you?"

"Not when you say things like those, I can't," she said. "Still, I have to say, when I fought you, just now… well, maybe my fire was better by then."

"Huh? Not as cold, you mean?"

"I was enjoying myself a lot," she admitted. "Messing with you with my fire never fails to amuse me. And Xin Long seems to think I have to reconnect with the fun side of fire. So maybe I actually did it better just now and I didn't even notice it."

"Maybe you did," said Sokka, smiling. "See? No need to be so hopeless about this! I'm sure you can make it through. And hey, even if the final result isn't exactly how the sages want it to be, I'm pretty sure it'll be okay. I mean, your fire by itself is such an impressive sight that… oh, come on, don't misunderstand that too, woman!"

Azula started laughing, and turned her head into his shoulder, trying to suppress the laughter. Sokka rolled his eyes, his arm going around her shoulders now as he smiled, despite himself.

"What does a guy have to do to be taken seriously around here, really?" he said, as her laughter started to subside.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I really am not," she said, pressed against him. "Still… I do appreciate your intent. If anything, whatever I do will satisfy you."

"I don't know better, so yep, whatever you do will work for me," he said, smiling. "And maybe that's not enough, but maybe it helps, if only a little bit."

"If anything, it makes me feel less inadequate, on some level," Azula admitted, with a shrug. "Not that your standards are too high, but it's good to know that at least you'll be supporting me."

"You know I always will be," he said. "And if some stuck-up Sage dares say you're doing it wrong, I'll chi-block his face and he won't be able to talk anymore!"

Azula laughed again, shaking her head. Sokka squeezed her shoulder, looking at her intensely. At least she was smiling again by now.

"I really don't think that will be necessary, but I appreciate it," she said, lifting her head and looking back into his eyes.

"Any time," he said. "And hey, if you get bored of practicing for the ceremony, you can always come here with us. We could totally take on the rest of these guys together, you and I, and we'd beat them all!"

"Confident, are we?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Well, if we pull off the Electric Sword trick, sure thing," he said, and Azula scoffed.

"The Electric Sword trick?"

"It's just a temporary name, nothing definitive," he said, chuckling. "I'm considering the Thunder Blast, but it's less about the thunder and more about the lightning, right? So…"

"Must you give it a name?" Azula asked, simply, and Sokka looked at her, as though offended, as he dropped his arm.

"Of course! Skills with names are the ones to be feared! I thought you'd know as much."

"Well, at least try to make it sound less ridiculous, can you?" she said. Sokka scowled.

"Sure thing, Princess" he said. "But you're not one to talk, I mean, you named your sword Wolf's Bane…"

"I was trying to mess with you by doing that, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh, I remember all too well," he said. "But it's still a lousy name!"

"Not as lousy as Knightmare, mind you" Azula said, and Sokka jumped, looking at her accusingly.

"Hey! That IS a cool name!" he said, as Azula chuckled again.

They sat in silence momentarily after that. Azula breathed deeply and closed her eyes, a strange sensation of calm taking over her body. It was something she only ever felt when she was near Sokka, she knew it by now. Nobody had ever proved more successful than him at cheering her up, no matter which way he went about it. And nobody could make her inner fire flare as it did when she was with him.

She frowned a little, wondering if she had been sensing her inner fire for good whenever she had felt that strange fire she couldn't bend within her body. She had always assumed it was something else, though. Something she hadn't quite put into words just yet, mainly because she wasn't sure she could even utter the sentence… but what if those feelings had something to do with her inner fire indeed? What if…?

The flame shifted and burned within her when Sokka's hand found hers again. She looked at him, to find he was looking at her with a smile on his face.

"I really missed this," he said, and Azula smiled as well.

"What did you miss? The arguments?" she asked. "Or the way I end up laughing at your expenses? My criticism of your taste for names?"

"All of them, I guess," he said, chuckling. "But what I really missed was you. Every time I succeeded at something in training, the one person I wanted to tell about it was you. I even wondered if maybe I could sneak into the Palace one day just to go see you, but I figured it was better if I didn't bother you. You had stuff to deal with. Still, I wanted to be near you again. Not being around you for this long has been… well, bearable, to some extent. But it's felt like I'm sleepwalking through life, sort of, just waiting to see you again so I can wake up and start living properly once more."

"Really?" Azula asked, staring at him in disbelief, her cheeks reddening.

"Would I lie about this?" he asked, smiling at her. "I've really missed you, Azula."

She smiled and moved closer to him again, her head on his shoulder once more.

"I missed you as well," she admitted, blushing harder as she spoke the words. "But even so, I couldn't just hug you back in front of everyone else. It would have caused us a lot of unnecessary trouble…"

"Ah, I know. It's why I didn't mind that you pushed me off," he said, smiling. "I know I got carried away. But I was just… really happy, for the first time in about a month, huh?"

"Good to know," she said, eyes closed in bliss. "For a moment I really thought you were going to do something else, though."

"You thought I was going to do something else, or you wanted me to do something else?" Sokka asked, smirking.

"If we had been alone, I would have wanted it," she said. "I guess I did want it, to some extent. Else I wouldn't have let you get that close, to begin with."

"Heh. I knew it," he said, smiling proudly as Azula laughed under her breath. "Still… I seem to notice we are alone now, aren't we? So…"

"Must you continue to toy with your fortune, Sokka?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes. "Can't you just enjoy this and stop pushing your luck?"

"Well, if things don't go our way, we won't see each other for another month," he said. "So I'm sorry, but I'll gladly push my luck if that'll help me get by yet another month without you."

"You're… an idiot," she said, shaking her head, and Sokka smiled. "You really are."

"Yep. No doubt I am," he thought, his hand releasing hers so it could slip around her waist to keep her near him.

One of her hands moved towards his face, angling it towards her so she could kiss him fully. Sokka's eyes closed in a flutter as he was swept away by the kiss, and her free hand gripped his clothes tightly. Their lips moved together, their tongues found each other, their breaths mingled and became one.

And all the while, that flame burned bright in Azula's chest. The wild flame whose nature she still barely understood… but she enjoyed the feeling most thoroughly. She relished in the fire only he could start inside her soul. She didn't want that feeling to fade away, not even once they parted for the day, but it was unavoidable for it to be replaced by lingering sadness when that moment came, a few hours after dinner. She would have offered Sokka a ride home on Xin Long, if only to spend more time with him, but she knew how suspicious that would seem for everyone else.

So she took off on her dragon's back, merely offering him a smile as a farewell and telling him to continue trying his hardest with his training. Knowing Sokka was putting his every effort in his growth as a fighter somehow served as a source of inspiration. If he had become so strong over the past month, surely Azula as well could overcome the obstacles in her way eventually.

But as she started practicing on the next day, she still couldn't quite bend as she was supposed to. Maybe it was because she still wasn't able to bring the proper warmth to her fire… or maybe because her head was filled with thoughts of Sokka. She couldn't bring herself to focus on her task, not when all she wanted was to be around him again. He had lifted her spirits after a month of being frustrated and miserable, and now that he wasn't around she wasn't frustrated anymore: she simply missed him. Being near him made everything better…

Xin Long groaned at her when he noticed she wasn't focusing at all as she performed the ceremonial routine. Her mind usually was set on what she had to do, but today it was nowhere close to that, and he knew it just as well as Azula did.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," said Azula, sighing deeply. "I'm just… distracted, I guess."

Xin Long shook his head disapprovingly and Azula looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, alright? I just… see, you've been telling me to have fun with fire, to enjoy what I'm doing and that's what I did yesterday. Fighting Sokka again was fun. And talking with him… I didn't realize just how much I needed it. You've always told me to forget about the ceremony and just have fun, and for the first time I managed to do it."

Xin Long said that was great, but she had to bring the feeling into their practices as well. If not, was it really any progress? She wasn't going to perform the ceremony with Sokka's help, was she?

"No, of course not," said Azula. "But I don't know how to bring that feeling into this. I seriously can't just…"

Azula froze in the middle of the sentence, a frown on her face. She didn't know for certain if she could bring the feeling back, it was true. But she could try, if anything, couldn't she?

She had been embarrassed when Xin Long had brought up Sokka, back when they were at the volcano. Now she evoked the image of his face willingly, the sight of his smile, the sound of his laughter, the way his voice cracked whenever he tried to stand up for himself whenever she said something particularly mean. Just with that, the inner fire she always associated with him came back, not at full strength, but close enough.

And for the first time, she wondered if it really was a fire she couldn't bend. Maybe it was. But she had never actually tried to bend while feeling this way, had she?

She closed her eyes and continued to think of him, to focus on the way she felt when she was around him. The exhilarant sensation when they sparred, how she teased him relentlessly, whether about his poems or her blue fire…

Her hands were moving, and she tried to bring out the fire flaring inside of her, to make it one with her motions. But if she thought about that, she stopped thinking about him. She cursed herself inwards and evoked the most powerful thoughts she could manage.

Remembering their first kiss made her fire flare again, but she knew that wasn't the best one. She continued to think of every time he had kissed her, every time she had felt the world could fall apart around her for all she cared, because she was in his arms. Nothing mattered as much as that did. But then he had loved her for one night… and a few months later, he had said he was in love with her for good.

Thinking about that moment seemed to do it, Azula assumed, as her fire became more reckless, more powerful. Maybe it wasn't so much about Sokka, but about what she felt when she was with him. Emotions had great weight on the power of a firebender, she knew as much, and she also knew anger gave firebending a great boost. A wild boost, just as she needed it to be. But what if she could boost her fire through another emotion? What if her feelings for Sokka, rather than his feelings for her, were what could make her firebending suitable for the ceremony?

She frowned a little, somewhat unsure of herself, but she was determined to give it a try before long. If something could give her bending the quality it needed… it just might be love.

The thought solidified in her mind, the fire inside of her growing stronger as she evoked Sokka once more. As she thought of how much she had grown to love that foolish gladiator. For this was love, and she had known it for a very long time. She wouldn't resist it anymore. She wanted to give in completely to it, to allow the feeling to envelop her and set her ablaze completely.

She opened her eyes when she felt the warmth of flames dancing on the palm of her hand.

Her eyes widened, and Xin Long released a soft reptilian yelp in surprise, at the sight of the new fire nestling on her palm.

"This is…" Azula thought, stunned into silence.

The flames glowed golden, pure gold, and they sparkled wildly as they moved on Azula's hand. Never before had she conjured fire like this… but as soon as the warmth in her heart disappeared to leave room to her astonishment, the flame turned blue once again.

"W-wait, I didn't imagine that, did I?!" she asked, looking at Xin Long in surprise. The dragon shook his head promptly, staring at her hand in utter disbelief. "I… I actually produced golden fire?"

Xin Long nodded now, and Azula laughed. She allowed the flame in her hand to disappear and she focused on the feeling once again. She smiled and brought forth the flames only when her inner fire had flared as powerfully as it had before, and there it was again. Golden fire.

"Xin! Look at it!" she said, ecstatic now. Her utmost joy was such that the fire didn't shift back to blue this time. "It's… it's another kind of fire. It's…!"

Xin Long groaned and said it was a new type of fire. Fire that felt truer than any other flames he had sensed until now. He didn't quite understand why, but something about it made him feel at ease. It was warm, and it was beautiful.

Azula smiled and looked at the flame once more, her breath hitching.

"It's different because… because I drew it from a different source. For a different purpose," she said, beaming. "It's… I can't believe it. It's actually gold, Xin! I never knew naturally produced fire could be of any color other than orange and blue!"

Xin Long laughed as he told her she was the firebender of colors, and Azula joined in his laughter, the flame still holding strong in her hand.

"Who knew… who knew this would be the answer," she said, smiling. "It's something the books didn't register, so… so maybe it's not the answer?"

Xin Long raised an eyebrow as Azula shrugged.

"I don't think anyone has ever bent golden flames before," she said, with a smile. "So this might not be what they want in the ceremony either."

Xin Long frowned and shook his head vigorously, smoke pouring from his nostrils. Azula was startled by his negative response, and he insisted that she had to use this fire for the ceremony. It didn't matter if this wasn't orange fire, as they probably expected it to be. This was the purest fire he had ever seen. Nothing would befit a ceremony better than this.

Azula smiled and shrugged.

"I'll have to ask the Head Sage if he approves, I suppose," she said, as she closed her fist and the flame disappeared, but Xin Long leapt forward and asked her to do it again. Azula laughed. "Again? Come on, now, Xin…"

Xin Long insisted, for she wouldn't master this new skill unless she continued to practice it. Besides, how would she know the full power of her fire if she didn't test it? Azula smiled at his enthusiasm, and she took a deep breath before triggering the power of her inner flames yet again. She had always thought she couldn't bend this fire, but now she knew otherwise. Something told her this really wasn't the kind of fire that was suitable for warfare, most unlike her blue flames, but it was fascinating all the same.

As she held the golden fire on her hand, she wondered just what might happen if she tried to perform the ceremony with it. It surely wouldn't be easy, but she had to try, at least. She might shift back to blue flames at some point through stances, but so long as she kept returning to her inner flames for power, she knew she would pull it off.

When Azula thought about golden fire shifting to blue, Xin Long sent a sneaky thought her way. What if she combined both types of fire? Gold and blue flames ought to yield an interesting result, right?

"I don't know if that's how it works," said Azula, smiling. "And I don't think I can conjure blue flames and gold at the same time. At least, I can't right now. Maybe once I master this skill I will be able to, but for now…"

Xin Long said she didn't have to master the skill, and he jumped happily before setting himself in position. Azula raised an eyebrow but nodded, and the dragon unleashed a wave of blue fire into the air.

Azula extended her index and middle fingers, commanding the gold fire to move with her hand. She made her gold fire flare, and she pushed onwards, wondering only brief instants before the two flames met if perhaps something dangerous would happen with this…

Both her and Xin Long were stunned again when, on the spot where the flames met, the fire suddenly sparkled with new colors. They both stopped bending and shared their astonishment briefly through their gazes. With just that one glance, they knew they had to try again.

This time, Azula sustained the golden flames, and the fire grew stronger as she held it with both hands. Xin Long moved towards her and spat a plum of blue fire into the golden flames, and Azula's eyes widened when, again, more colors burst. Green, red, blue, gold, pink, orange…

"Do it again, Xin," she said, amazed. "Once more! Let's see if I can hold it."

The dragon used more firepower now, and the flames in Azula's hand shifted completely. Colors started pouring out of her hands, and she couldn't hold back a laugh of amazement as she watched the spectacle unfold before her.

"This is… Xin, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, and the dragon nodded, watching the flames dance with admiration.

The fire burned warmly, changing and shifting, giving Azula a sense of fulfillment she had never known before. Suddenly she wondered if perhaps it was this sort of fire that had allowed Feng Huang to give birth to the man and the dragon. Blue flames, in essence, were the aggressive aspect of fire. They were ruthless, cold, and they could prove deadly. But the golden flames, on the other hand, were the purifying aspect of it. They were warm, loving, soothing. And together…

"Life," she said, smiling in joy as she stared at the fire in her hands. "Fire… Fire is life, Xin Long. True fire… that's what it's about. Fire can be many things at the same time, but so far, I had only been encompassing one of them. I'd forgotten fire was life… which is stupid, because that's what the books said, actually. I just didn't realize… that when the book said the fire came from inside the dragon, it was referring to these flames. To these inner flames that dwell in both you and me, Xin. All along, the inner fire I've held inside me… it must be this, Xin. It allows me to feel things the way I do, to love, to hate, to… to bend. And for the first time, I'm seeing it with my own eyes. It's… I can't even believe this, Xin. I really can't."

Xin Long gurgled happily and stared at the colorful flames with delight, as Azula's face bore the most heartfelt smile she had ever showed him. No longer was there any frustration or misery in her heart. She was finally happy, and her fears had been appeased. At long last, she truly understood the essence of fire.

A/N:

And with this chapter we've hit another milestone, none other than Gladiator's second anniversary (technically it's in two days, but I figured you guys had waited long enough for the update already xD). Thanks to all of you for your support! Every review, favorite and follow is a new incentive to get me working harder on this story. I know updates have been slower as of late, it's hard to help it when life gets in the way, but don't fret because this train never stops! There's much more to come, for many more years.

Since many things have taken place in our story since we hit the first Anniversary, and there are many new readers as of late, I'll hold again the event I did back in chapter 56. Feel free to answer these questions if you haven't yet, or if your answers have changed by now. It's a nice way to have more feedback and to know what I'm doing right or wrong with this fic. Of course, you don't have to do this, but I'd greatly appreciate it if you did. The questions would be:

Name (optional, and it doesn't have to be the real name anyhow, it's just for the sake of keeping track of the different answers)

When did you start reading Gladiator?

Your favorite and least favorite moments in the story so far?

Favorite character?

Favorite OC?

Favorite dialogues?

Favorite story arc?

Favorite chapter?

What were you expecting from the story when you started reading it? Did it meet your expectations?

Favorite side pairing?

What are you looking forward to in Gladiator's future?

And anything else you might want to say about the story!

You can send your answers through PMs on this site or through my tumblr (you can do it through either my personal blog or the Gladiator blog, the links for both are in my profile). You don't need an account on tumblr to do it, you can just hit the submit button and send in your answers.

Thanks yet again for the support, and I hope you keep enjoying this story :)